Antiques Road Trip descended into bitter clash on Sunday afternoon’s episode as an expert abandoned co-star during a heated row that saw them split up at the auction house
Antiques Road Trip descended into a bitter clash on Sunday afternoon’s episode as an expert abandoned co-star during a heated row. The BBC afternoon favourite returned over the weekend with a previous instalment when Paul Laidlaw joined fellow expert Margie Cooper on the valuation programme, and the pair ventured from Lincolnshire as they set off on their way to the auction house in Harrogate.
With Paul behind the wheel as Margie set out on an expedition that would see her try to contact spirits from beyond, she warned him ‘not to start with all this war stuff’ as they made their way to the auction house.
Paul began: “I don’t know much about it, airfields! Lincs, East Coast. I’ve got to bring the war up.” Margie then joked: “Oh, don’t, you’re not going to start with all this war stuff!”
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Paul shot back: “My tactic is… but you won’t. I’m sure this won’t upset you. I will just be hovering behind, ready to snatch. Is that the best you can do?”
Margie hit back: “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare!” Paul, who was pursuing the purchase of military memorabilia and did go on to discover some rather interesting artefacts, joked to his co-star: “We may end up in the same shop this morning. I’m talking about militaria.”
Not quite satisfied with that stance, Margie shot back: “Sniffing around! Oh no! Please! You’re not still buying that old rubbish, are you?” and she suggested once they had arrived: “Shall we divide and conquer? I’ll just abandon you by the roadside!”
Once inside, Margie deliberately crept up on her co-star and he fumed: “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you familiar with the concept of trespassing? I thought you were,” but she fired back: “I am allowed to go where I want to! I was told!”
Paul, furious at this stage, ranted: “is this? An interrogation? You come in here and interrogate me!” Despite this, the pair still maintained a good rapport on screen for the rest of the episode and were on civil terms by the time the auction came around.
It comes just days after dealer Paul was gobsmacked after he stumbled upon a rare vintage camera in an antique shop. The camera later fetched a whopping £20,000 at auction.
Paul had snapped up the camera for a mere £60 and was left stunned alongside competitor Kate Bliss at the Bury St. Edmunds auction in Suffolk when the hammer fell at such an astronomical price, especially after watching the bidding increments soar.
The specialist found the camera while hunting for curiosities and collectables in Margate, Kent. The shop owner explained: “Three floors, the upstairs is mainly furniture, but there’s stuff everywhere. And on this floor, there are four rooms through, and in the middle, there’s a staircase which goes down to a room full of chairs and another room full below!”
Faced with the daunting task ahead, Paul joked: “Don’t send the cavalry, okay?” After spending a considerable amount of time rummaging through the treasures, Paul returned to the counter and proposed: “In your cabinet over there, optical instrument… £75 on that, I bid you £50.
“Give me £60 and I’ll shake your hand, but I’m not doing any better than that, I’m afraid,” the proprietor responded. “Shake my hand!” Paul retorted, and the owner added, “Good man, deal done.”
He then turned to the camera and revealed: “What do you get for your money when you open it up? That looks like a peepside and it is!”.
“I think this is a very early camera. If I’m right, that could be quite exciting. The photographic market is very much in the ascent, it’s a hot market, I think that’s a good thing.”
Antiques Road Trip is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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