Bargain Hunt viewers have complained that the show has become stagnant with the same format being repeated for decades on the long-running BBC programme.
The stalwart series, which first aired on BBC One in 2000 with David Dickinson as host, follows two pairs of contestants who’re challenged to buy antiques from vendors and sell them at auction for profit.
In the latest episode, competitors were taken to King’s Lynn and Swaffham in Norfolk alongside auctioneer Charlie Ross as well as antiques experts Caroline Hawley and David Fergus.
Team members Kerri and Lorraine of the red team competed against Bruno and Tom of the blue team with the women swooping to victory despite making a £58 total loss on a Norwegian brooch, vintage typewriter and some dinner-service china.
Viewers were left bored by the episode, with one person writing on X/Twitter: “Bargain Hunt is so predictable. Needs a total shake up. Get[ting] rid of Charlie Ross would be first.”
Meanwhile, another fan added: “I cannot believe that utter drivel is still going and it’s not changed since it first started!” Other viewers complained that the editing had been “a bit off” throughout the episode.
Bargain Hunt, now in its 25th year, regularly attracts 2 million viewers, enjoying a 35 to 40 per cent share of the TV audience, per the Royal Television Society.
On the programme’s quarter of a century anniversary Executive Producer Paul Tucker said “subtle changes” had been made to the series over the years: “Don’t ruin what’s good,” he said. “But at the same time…keep changing things to keep it relevant.”
It comes after Bargain Hunt fans celebrated auctioneer Charles Hanson’s announcement that he would be returning to the programme on 2 June after being found not guilty of subjecting his wife to years of violence and coercive control following a three-week trial in February.
Hanson first joined Bargain Hunt in 2002 when he was just 23, making him the youngest expert on the programme at the time.
Upon being found not guilty of his wife’s accusations Hanson told reporters outside the courtroom: “I'm delighted that after a year and a half the truth has finally come out. I can finally live my life again. I feel this burden has finally been lifted. It has been a tormentous time and all I want now is to readjust to what has been such an ordeal.”
Bargain Hunt airs on weekdays on BBC One at 12.15pm
