Antiques Road Trip presenters Anita and Raj couldn’t believe the bids (Image: BBC)
An unforgettable episode of made television history when a £50 find turned into a massive 7500% profit.
In the memorable 2016 episode, Scottish antiques guru and TV host Anita Manning discovered a vintage bronze Buddha in a Kent shop.
The bargain piece, snapped up for just £50, caused a sensation at the Battle auction house, with the opening bid shockingly starting at £1,000.
Manning was visibly astounded by the initial offer, but the excitement only escalated as the bids soared higher.
Amidst the escalating bids, Anita confided to co-presenter and expert Rajkumar ‘Raj’ Bisram: “The old instinct kicked in”, prompting him to respond with an enthusiastic “fantastic”, reports .
Both Anita and Raj were visibly taken aback as the bidding war intensified. The climax came when the Buddha finally went under the hammer for an impressive £3,800.
Scottish antiques expert Anita was chuffed with the results (Image: BBC)
The presenters couldn’t contain their joy, throwing their hands up in triumph as Anita jubilantly shouted: “Yesss! “.
“I think that deserves a round of applause,” declared Raj, before praising the moment as “brilliant!”. This sale marked the highest profit ever recorded on Antiques Road Trip, an astonishing 7500%.
Looking back on the remarkable sale, Anita encouraged viewers at home: “Things like that can happen, so get out into your antique shops and keep searching.”
With the day’s success behind them, the presenting pair humorously hinted at celebrating with Champagne after such a phenomenal profit.
Anita, a familiar face from Bargain Hunt and Flog It, enthusiastically recalled the intense auction room moment, saying: “I was drawn to the bronze Buddha in my first shop of the day knowing that the Asian market is strong at the moment.”
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The old bronze Buddha sold for £3,800 (Image: BBC)
She described the scene at the auction, “The bidding started at £1,000. There was a gasp in the saleroom and then silence, as the auctioneer’s voice recorded the bids went fiercely up and up.”
Anita, who could hardly contain her excitement, shared, “My heart was thumping. The final bid of £3,800 was a terrific result.”
Having begun her journey into antiques as a buyer in the 1970s, the Scottish expert’s passion was ignited after engaging with an Irish dealer, leading to her first purchasea bed.
In the sphere of auctioneering, Anita, alongside her daughter Lala, established Great Western Auctions in 1989, which soared to become one of Scotlands premier auction institutions.
Cementing her place in history, Anita also earned the distinction of becoming Scotland’s first female auctioneer.