Bargain Hunt

I will always have fond memories of this.

It's not a show I would ever watch on my own but it made for an agreeable thing to just have on when I visited my grandparents.

It's fun but inobtrusive and the many little trinkets gave grandma and me a lot to chat about.

It was fairly fast paced, very positive, but never lost the feel of a competition with a ticking clock.

The vignette about some type of local curiosity mixed it up swimmingly and they have an army of energetic and likable hosts.

That Scottish chick and look over family jewels any day.

But it's irritating when they say "what's your BEST price?" and they get told it and THEN try to haggle it down. I mean...dude: do you know what "best" means?

Two teams (of two) have a limited budget and an hour at an antiques fair to acquire the best bargains. These are then sold at a real auction and the team with the greatest profit, or smallest loss as is often the case, wins the game.

Enjoyable afternoon viewing, with the host in fine form.

A very entertaining programme based on the simple premises that you try to buy articles cheap at antique fairs and then sell them at a profit at auction. There are to teams of two each with an expert to help them. My favourite expert is Phillipa Deeley from Tunbridge Wells although she is not that good. My least favourite is Michael Hogben who appears to be a bit of a wide boy from the south coast. I do, however acknowledge the expertise of David Barby and James Braxton. The star is David ( Duke ) Dickinson who presents with warmth humour and knowledge. The programme has been transfered to prime time but it has suffered from two things. 1. It has been up against the very popular soaps 2. They have tried to inject too much humour into it.

Two teams of amateur antiques collectors are given £500 & sent out to hunt for bargains in one of the many antique fairs the length & breadth of the British Isles. An expert is on hand to help with advice on what to buy and how to haggle. The antiques are later sold at a local auction. The team to make the most profit wins.

Doesn't sound like the most exciting show eh? Well you've reckoned without the charm, flair & caddish wit of the one & only . . . the man, the myth, The Duke . . . David Dickinson! With his dapper suits, the spray on tan & classic barnet he is a mix of Lovejoy & Roger Moore with an added dash of Leslie Phillips & a merest hint of David Niven! One eye on the antiques & one eye on the ladies he took the daytime schedules by storm ripping up the rule book of dull TV & is now pushing open the envelope of entertainment in a prime-time slot!

His love of antiques & the ladies radiates out of the screen! The warmth flows from the TV - every man wants to be him, every woman wants to be loved by him! Resplendent in his classic English gent finery & his trademark quips - "cheap as chips", "for the ladies " - he is never afraid to take the mickey out of himself with the many sketches that permeate the show. Nevertheless when it comes to the final showdown, the climactic auction, The Duke knows his stuff! He is honest in his evaluation of the antiques bought by the contestants & is invaribly proved right but is the first to admit when he has misjudged an item. No matter how much you know - & The Duke knows a lot - you can still be surprised. Such is the random factor of the antique buying world!

Whilst interviewing the contestants & throughout the show there are various asides to the camera. Knowing glances. Wonderful quips. He involves the public at home. Whether in council flat or castle millions of bums are on the edge of millions of seats. Will the contestants make a profit? What witty aside will The Duke come out with next? Throughout we are referred to as Bargain Hunters not viewers! Its true, aren't we all in some way Bargain Hunters of one sort or another in the great antique fair of life?

For so long the sole delight of the daytime viewer - the unemployable, the chore neglecting housewife, the layabout student - Bargain Hunt is now in a prime-time evening slot. Make no excuses! Delay no longer! Watch one episode & become hooked! You know it makes sense!

I think that it's quite an entertaining show. I only have one pet hate though, the contestants shouldn't be heard in the background shouting for people to bid higher. I know that it's a competition and they want to win, but I find the shouting by the contestants to be a bit embarrassing frankly. They should watch from a separate room where the bidders can't hear them.