Bargain Hunt

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!

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 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.

When I first started watching Bargain Hunt, I dismissed David Dickinson as a harmless clown. The entire purpose of the show, moreover, seemed to be that the people at flea markets and antique shows always know the worth of their goods and will get the better of the buyer almost every single time. After several seasons, however, I've changed my mind.

First, Dickinson is indeed a bit of a clown, but he also imparts much more realistic and helpful information on antiques and collectibles than almost any of the competing programs. Want to know how to tell cut glass from pressed glass? Interested in spotting fake brass figurines? Has your antique table been hybridized? Is your rare vase a victim of some restorer's attempt to cover up the chips and cracks? You're much more likely to discover the answer to these questions on Bargain Hunt than on Antiques Roadshow or even the otherwise wonderful Cash in the Attic.

So, too, will Dickinson be much more honest with his colleagues in the field, not to mention the poor contestants who blow their wad on some worthless twentieth century imitation fakery. As opposed to the valuers, who almost always over-reach, Dickinson seems to have a much better pulse on the only real value of items up for auction, which is, of course, defined as the money someone is willing to pay--and no more. And especially pity the poor contestant who overpays for some silver plated trifle. How bad it must be to have Dickinson laughing at you on nationwide TV, while revealing that you spent £200 on a POS.

Comparatively speaking, Dickinson is brutal to the people who appear on his program. And what a breath of fresh air it all is. How truly informative and honest in comparison to the pasty faced gnomes who mumble greedy nothings into the ears of the gullible and avaricious lemmings lined up on Antiques Roadshow. Dickinson reveals the real business side of antiques. And when he's through, you'll realize making money in the art and antiques world is not nearly so easy as it seems.

Finally, one other thing to note. If I were a seller OR a buyer, I'd sure hate to have Dickinson on the other side of the transaction.

Bargain Hunt is a breath of fresh air, hosted by the incredible fascinating and humourous David "Love Joy" Dickenson.

Two teams are given £200 and sent out into a antiques fair to buy as many items as they can within the 1 hour time limit, each team has an expert to advise them on what they buy (Some of the "better" experts include Philip Serrel and David Barby). Whatever they buy will go into a real live auction in a weeks time, the good news is whatever the items make in profit the teams keep.

Bargain Hunt breaths a breath of fresh air into daytime TV.

8/10