Bargain Hunt couple make loss with 180-million-year-old item
A couple competing on BBC’s Bargain Hunt made an unfortunate GBP121 loss at auction with four ill-fated items. Nick, a joiner, and his partner Tena, a support worker, were the Red team in an episode from 2021 which was shown again today, April 6. As always, the Reds were up against the Blue team, the Mayor and Mayoress of Grantham, Dean and Flo, who met in an RAF regiment.
Both teams were given an hour and GBP300 to spend on three items – two of which had to meet the criteria of challenges – at an antiques centre in Heanor, Derbyshire. Presenter Natasha Raskin Sharp set the Reds the challenge of finding an item originating from the north of England, whilst their opponents were tasked with finding an antique from the south. After being handed to their experts, the two teams went bargain hunting.
Read more: Bargain Hunt’s Charlie Ross baffles Devon residents with item Nick and Tena were keen to spend as little as they could in order to make the most money, with Dean and Flo going in the total opposite direction, spending a whopping GBP298 on three items, leaving their expert Thomas Forrester with just GBP2 to spend on their Bonus Buy. The Red team’s haul included a stunning Whitby Jet memorial brooch, a Denby lamp base, and a 1940s vintage Triang trike, which Nick was eager to buy as it reminded him of his childhood.
Boasting an 180million-year-old gemstone, The Whitby Jet memorial brooch, which ticked off Natasha’s northern England challenge, was picked up by the couple for GBP100. When Natasha presented the piece to auctioneer Charles Hanson, he was sceptical that Nick and Tena would be able to make their money back, estimating a sale between GBP30-50.
This brooch contained a precious gemstone dating back millions of years (Image: BBC One)
Unfortunately, even Charles was out in his estimate, and the Whitby Jet brooch crashed and burnt at auction, selling for just GBP25. As Tena looked around the room in shock, Natasha reassured the couple: “Oh no, that’s a loss of GBP75… let’s not dwell.”
Nick and Tena tried to get over their mammoth loss and instead focused on their GBP30 Denby lamp base, an item local to the auction house. After being predicted to sell for between GBP40-60, the item failed to make it past the GBP25 mark, meaning the Red team lost GBP5 on it, adding further insult to injury. Up next was the 1940s Triang trike, which Nick and Tena believed would bring home the biggest profit after they bought it for GBP44.
The “charming” item, as it was described by Charles, was given a guide price of GBP40-60, with the auctioneer starting bids at GBP20, a number it failed to progress past. With GBP126 for expert Catherine Southon to spend in a desperate attempt to claw back some cash for the sorry couple, she picked up an early 20th century Anglo-Indian charger dish for GBP20. Nick and Tena’s spirits were lifted when Charles gave the beautiful Bonus Buy a guide price of GBP40-60, but they came crashing back down when it sold for only GBP18 – the fourth item for the couple to lose on.
Nick and Tena were shocked at the huge loss (Image: BBC One)
“It’s just not our day,” Nick said, as the couple learnt they had collected an overall loss of GBP121.
Unfortunately for the Reds, the Blue team, Dean and Flo, lost just GBP17, making them the winners. Click here to subscribe to the South West TV Talk newsletter, bringing you the hottest showbiz news, gossip and features from across the West Country every week. Read more:
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