Bargain Hunt fans left stunned after 'scandalous' item disqualified despite selling for huge profit
Natasha bared bad news for the red team
BBC
Bargain Hunt viewers were left stunned and branded recent scenes a "scandal" after an item was controversially disqualified before it went up for auction and made a decent profit.
In a classic episode which originally aired in March, the two teams were taken to Exeter's Westpoint Arena and were tasked with finding an item which matched specific criteria.
The blue team consisted of mother and son duo Ann and James, who had to find a maritime object, while the red team saw friends Lisa and Helen having to find an agricultural item.
Kicking off the hunt and finding a gem within moments, the blue team purchased a menu holder from a shipping liner for a staggering £70, whilst the reds found a mole spade, setting them back by £18.
Proud of their find, the red team and their expert Phillip Serrell believed the spade was made for digging out moles which would have fitted their chosen category perfectly.
However, when it came to being at the auction house they were given some bad news, as David Sumner inspected the spade and said he believed it to be a bread peel from the 19th century - used to get crumbs out of the oven.
The red team had one of their items disqualified
BBC
Sumner said he'd reached this conclusion after speaking to other experts, who said it was not a mole spade and, therefore not an agricultural item.
Natasha Raskin Sharpe said that the Bargain Hunt team had also inspected the spade and agreed with Sumner's conclusion, which ultimately left the red team disappointed due to the item being disqualified.
The red team were only informed of the bad news after they arrived at the auction house, despite Serrell believing the disqualification to be "wrong".
Despite the item being disqualified, the spade still went up for auction and left the red team devastated even further when they learned it sold for £50, which would have given them a £32 profit.
Natasha had to inform the team of the bad news
BBC
The decision to disqualify the red team proved to be controversial and left fans to discuss the move on their X account.
One wrote: "Absolute scandal. The way they made them stand there and watch it make a profit. A villain origin story unfolds."
Another said: "Disqualified spade makes a profit."
"I would have been fuming if that happened to me! Surely they could have let them off as it does look like a spade... crumb scraper? Who knew!" a third expressed.
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Natasha has been part of the BBC series since 2014
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Someone else quipped: "Bet they are fuming! Good on them for being good sports but I would have walked out no doubt."
After the rest of their items were sold, Lisa and Helen were on a £55 loss. However, the blues were still defeated, ending on a loss of £63.
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