Catch up TV

Series 1: Episode 16

Antiques dealers Melissa Drabble, Lucy Ryder Richardson and Jon Swanston are on a buying trip to the south of France. Their base is a historic farmhouse in Provence - perfectly located close to some of the country’s best antiques markets, or brocantes, as they are known locally. \n\nThe trio are heading to Carpentras, home to France’s oldest synagogue and now host to a market that attracts dealers from all over the region looking for new stock. Here, they compete to find two hidden treasures each to buy then sell online for the most profit.\n\nThe trio’s first challenge is to find something they know will appeal to their loyal customers and social media followers. Reclamation queen Mel hasn’t met a bit of metal she doesn’t think she can shift, and today is no exception. She steams ahead and selects a railway lamp so substantial, she can barely lift it. But carry it off she does, hoping that its original features will appeal enough to railway collectors to deliver her a first-class profit.\n\nAs a dealer of the decorative, Jon opts for a timeless design classic - a French faux-bamboo mirror. With its foxing and distressed paintwork, it is effortlessly chic but hardly rare, so he will have a job on his hands if he is to see enough profit to take the crown this time.\n\nLucy isn’t fazed by the landlocked market, settling on a 1980s buoy as her catch of the day. She knows there is a great market for industrial items repurposed as interiors pieces, but she doesn’t normally deal in the nautical, so she will have to cast her net wide in the hope of snagging a sale.\n\nThe dealers don’t only have to contend with the language barrier and a short selling period. Each day, one of them gets a chance to throw down the gauntlet and set them all a challenge to shop to a specific brief. Now, it is Lucy’s turn, and she challenges them to search this bustling weekly market for ‘something to put liquid in.’ This shouldn’t be hard in an area that boasts some of France’s finest vineyards.\n\nWith six items bought between them, it is back to the farmhouse to size up the competition. The 17th-century farmhouse, set amongst vineyards and olive groves, provides the ideal backdrop for our dealers to take the photographs and videos they hope will make their Provençal pieces stand out when they come to post their objects to sell online.\n\nWith just a day to secure a sale and the battle on to make the most profit, which of our trio will come out on top?

Source: BBC 1