Celebrity Antiques Road Trip - TV review

He was referring of course to people on horseback, wearing red coats and funny hats, chasing their quarry around the country.

The latest series of the BBC's antiques programme has a group of celebrities of mostly advanced years pursuing their quarry across the country, all in aid of charity.

Perhaps Wilde would have described them as the antiquated in pursuit of antiquities.

It seems the cult of celebrity knows no boundaries. From the no-hopers in Big Brother to the faded wannabes and the C-listers on I'm A Celebrity, it seems every paper or magazine you pick up or every TV channel you flick to they are constant unwanted companions.

The word celebrity itself now makes the hackles rise, but it seems that status can be justified in the name of making cash, in this case for BBC's Children In Need.

The format has the star turns testing bargaining skills as they buy antiques to sell on at auction for a profit.

In the case of this programme, our antique hunters actress Sheila Hancock and Danish comic and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, took their pot of £400 each to the Isle of Wight.

Tame experts Philip Serrell and David Barby were on hand to offer advice, as the pals slugged it out to see who has the best eye for a bargain.

The Isle of Wight is a land of contradictions, a modern tourist destination but also having a flavour of 1950 and 60s England. It has been frequented by royalty and rockers. One of

Queen Victoria's favoured residences is Osborne House is in East Cowes, and it is also home to a bronze statue tribute to legendary rocker Jimi Hendrix, who played at the famous island festival.

It was also home to Hancock who was born on the island and set out on their search with pal Toksvig in a pair of vintage cars.

The island proved a fertile hunting ground for what eventually was proved to be mostly junk, the pair parting with their cash for items such as a Mary Quant hat and bag and a vintage toy crane.

They also found time to visit a globe manufacturing company and a museum where the work of cheeky sexy postcard creator Donald McGill is immortalised.

Other objects secured included vintage pipes, ancient inkwell, random clothing, a chess set, and a host of other paraphernalia. How could the bidders possibly resist such tempting offers, many secured at knockdown prices because of the purchasers' celebrity status.

So it was off to auction where it all went under the hammer at the Tunbriddge Wells and Hastings Auction halls.

The auctioneer was pretty sniffy about the items and it soon became clear why. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig as potential bidders delivered their judgement by mostly keeping their cash in their wallets or handbags.

Our not-so-dynamic duo each started with £400, hapless Hancock turned a profit of £103 while Team Toksvig took the honours with £193 profit Entertaining? Moderately so and certainly profitable for the stars who put themselves in the shopping window for the next job on the Beeb.

But what the heck, it's all in aid of charity.

Bill McCarthy