The BBC show has been on our screens for 25 years and in that time there have been some incredible profits made by the red and blue teams – but one item still holds the record

David Dickinson and the blue team were thrilled to make a huge profit in a 2002 Bargain Hunt episod (Image: (Image: BBC))

Bargain Hunt’s record for the highest profit made from an item has remained unbroken for 23 years. Set in 2002 a team bought a trinket box for £140 and sold it at auction on the BBC show for £800.

The memorable moment was revisited during a special episode celebrating the show’s 25th anniversary, with original presenter David Dickinson seen cheering on the result. The successful Blue team, consisting of Ally and Diane, were guided by expert Michael Hogben as they shopped at the Ardingly antiques fair in West Sussex.

They spent £140 on a George Johnson 1908 Royal Worcester flamingo trinket box. While high hopes were held for the piece, everyone was taken aback when it fetched a profit of £660, securing the team a place in Bargain Hunt history. This record has remained unbeaten for the past 23 years.

In stark contrast, the show also highlighted the worst-performing item ever featured, reports the Express. Expert Tim Weeks led a blue team that paid £60 for a vintage, rusty ice cream fridge. Despite the auctioneer dropping the starting bid to a mere 50p, no bids were placed in the sales room, leaving the item unsold.

David Dickinson was the Bargain Hunt presenter when a team turned the highest ever profit (Image: (Image: BBC))
Weeks recounted the incident during the anniversary show, which included a clip of the unfortunate event. His team had spotted the ice cream cart listed for £80.

After negotiating the price down to £60 and bringing it to auction, Weeks quickly realised they were unlikely to make a profit.

“I remember Catherine Southon telling me off as I walked in the sale room,” he recalled, as footage of the infamous auction was shown.

Despite a humble request for 50p for the item, it received no bids, leading to one team member’s mortified declaration: “I’m so ashamed!”.

“No bids and unsold on Bargain Hunt. I made history,” Tim chuckled.