Bargain Hunt is a British television programme in which two pairs of contestants are challenged to buy antiques from shops or a fair and then sell them in an auction for a profit.

The show is punctuated by footage of the host visiting a place of historical interest, such as a stately home or museum, and talking about the items housed there.

In the early David Dickinson-era episodes, teams were given £200 each, and could buy as many or as few items as they liked within the hour given to wander around a trade fair.

Teams achieving the difficult feat of earning a profit on all three items are awarded a "golden gavel";[2] originally a wooden trophy, but latterly a lapel pin.

A separate celebrity version of the show premiered on 1 December 2008 on BBC Two featuring team pairs made up of one well-known personality accompanied by a friend or family member.

Later a primetime version, hosted by Dickinson, was also made (2002–2004), which was similar to the daytime show except that the teams' budget was increased to £500.

A team led by Michael Hogben purchased a Royal Worcester box at Ardingly Fair for £140; the item made £800 in the live primetime auction.

The show airs on the Australian Foxtel and Austar cable television channel, Lifestyle, at 6.30 pm weekdays.

Several episodes recorded in late 2014 were presented by Anita Manning, Charlie Ross, Christina Trevanion, Natasha Raskin, Charles Hanson, and Paul Laidlaw whilst Wonnacott took part in the BBC 1 entertainment programme Strictly Come Dancing.

In December 2017, four of the Bargain Hunt antique experts Charlie Ross, James Braxton, Charles Hanson and Philip Serrell got together to create a Christmas single in aid of BBC Children in Need.

It was a rock cover of the classic Christmas song "Sleigh Ride", written by Leroy Anderson & Mitchel Parish.

The programme marked its twentieth anniversary on air with a week of special editions broadcast between 19 and 23 October 2020.

On 28 September 2018, Bargain Hunt aired a special episode as part of BBC Music Day.

[9] On 26 September 2019, the second BBC Music Day special was shown with The Darkness (lead singer Justin Hawkins and bassist Frankie Poullain) competing against Feeder (lead singer Grant Nicholas and bassist Taka Hirose) at the Stamford Meadows antiques fair in Lincolnshire.

It featured four long-term cast members from the series: Dex Lee, Dido Miles, Sarah Moyle and Kia Pegg.

[14][15] In March 2003, ITV children's TV channel CITV's Saturday morning children's programme SMTV Live introduced a parody sketch of the programme entitled "Garbage Hunt" with presenter Des Clarke parodying Dickinson as "David Dustbin" looking at old unused merchandise from people's rubbish bins.