The Bidding Room

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Factual: Antiques

Sellers come face to face with five dealers who battle it out to make the highest bid.

Nigel Havers presides as sellers come face to face with five dealers who battle it out to make the highest bid.

Nigel Havers presides as members of the public with interesting items to sell come face to face with five dealers who bid against each other to try to bag themselves a bargain.

Before facing the dealers, each seller has their item valued by auctioneer Simon Bower. Simon also gives them top tips on the history and key characteristics of their piece, so that when they enter the bidding room, they have all the information they need to try to haggle the best possible price from the dealers.

All the dealers are spending their own money but have no idea what the sellers have brought in.

Series 5

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Nigel Havers

Claire Egerton-Jones

Rae Gilder Cooke

Dave Martin

Ricochet Ltd

The Bidding Room: Series 5: Murano Vase

Murano Vase

BBC One - The Bidding Room, Series 5, Murano Vase

Items including a gentleman's companion and a Murano glass vase are up for sale.

Nigel Havers presides as five sellers aim for the best price for their items, including wind-up toys, a Murano glass vase, a gentleman’s companion, industrial lamps and a filing cabinet.

Nigel Havers welcomes sellers of collectables and curiosities to the Bidding Room's home in Edinburgh, where they ply their wares to five dealers.  

First through the doors of the Bidding Room is Carol with a collection she hopes will play to the dealers’ inner child. Her wind-up tin-plate toys were bought by her mother in Switzerland and have entertained Carol’s sons for years, but the time has come to move the toys on. Will the added fun factor mean these toys sell like clockwork?   

Next to arrive is David, a glass collector of 30 years and avid charity shop hunter. He discovered a Murano glass vase that just doesn’t fit with his collection, but he’s hoping for a sparkling return on the £5 purchase price.  

Third in to the Edinburgh HQ is June, selling a smokers’ companion on behalf of a friend who had big plans to repurpose it as a sewing table. Will there be enough of a spark between the dealers and the 20th century walnut piece for them to pipe up with some bids? 

Lita is the next seller to bring in her wares, and she’s got something to spark the dealers’ interests. A pair of industrial lamps bought at an antiques warehouse have become an abandoned project in Lita’s shed, so it’s time to show the lamps the light of day and move them on to a new home.  

Finally, it’s Reverend Cindy with an antique filing cabinet that can’t be categorised. The quality item speaks for itself, but because Cindy is not letting the cabinet go for a song, she has a few tricks up her sleeve to entice the dealers. 

The dealers today are Ian, Estelle, Moses, Lucy and, new to the Bidding Room, Glasgow-based dealer and mid-century furniture restorer Mac.

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