New Halifax filmed series The Bidding Room starts on BBC

From the award-winning makers of The Repair Shop, Nigel Havers presents a new BBC One series, The Bidding Room, in which a group of expert dealers attempt to outbid each other to buy extraordinary items brought in by the public.

Filmed earlier this year at the Andy Thornton Showroom, Victoria Mills, in West Vale near Halifax, the series will see Nigel welcome people with an item they’d like to sell.

First, he introduces the seller to The Bidding Room’s resident valuation expert Simon who has more than thirty years’ experience as an auctioneer.

Simon will examine the item and tell the would-be seller all about its key selling points before valuing it.

All this advice will help the sellers know how best to sell their item when they come face to face with five eager dealers - all ready to spend their own money.

Each show will feature four sellers - and four high stakes bidding battles.

Presenter Nigel Havers explained what attracted him to the show: "It’s fun to present a show for a change, getting to know new people, and not having to learn lines or wear a costume!

"I am keen on antiques in general, so it was an easy decision for me.

"It’s an upbeat, fun show that combines interesting objects with a bit of drama and comedy thrown in, so it’s easy to lose yourself in it and forget about what’s going on outside."

The dealers have no idea who is going to walk in or what they’ve brought in to sell. When the seller enters the bidding room, they’ll present the item to the dealers who then try to work out what it might be worth.

It’s the seller’s opportunity to talk up the item in the hope of pushing up the potential bids, without giving away Simon’s valuation.

Then it’s on to the bidding - a high stakes, tense game of bluff and double bluff. The dealers bid against each other; the more of them who bid, the higher the price will go.

The seller will try to push them up as far they can - hopefully without giving away any idea of the price they might sell at.

As the bidding progresses, each dealer will have an idea about what they’d prefer to pay for the item - so if the bids go beyond that, they’ll drop out.

One by one, the dealers stop bidding until there’s just one left. The seller can then decide if the final price offered by the last remaining dealer is high enough for them to sell.

The Bidding Room will air weekdays from today (Monday) at 3.45pm.