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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Zara Woodcock & Howard Lloyd

BBC Bargain Hunt presenter left red-faced after contestants lose more than £100 on his advice

A presenter on Bargain Hunt was left red faced after two contestants lost more than £100 on Wednesday's episode. Bargain Hunt presenter Thomas Forrester actually apologised after telling them a bonus buy item could 'make them a fortune', only to see it fail spectacularly at auction.

Fans were complaining about the prices of mundane items when two new teams were introduced on the show. Married dup Ben and Mandy were part of the Red Team while Janet and her son Xander joined the Blue Team.

The teams were given £300 to purchase items in Brackley, Northamptonshire. The winner is whoever makes the biggest profits or most minor losses, the Mirror writes.

The red team lost more than £100 (BBC)

Red Team buyers Bill and Mandy purchased an oil lantern for £35, a Clarice Cliff pot for £85 and a Swedish glass vase for £50. However, they made a £20 loss on the pot and a £10 loss on the glass vase.

Presenter Thomas gave the couple a 'bonus buy' option to give them a chance to gain a profit. The host brought out a sack barrow - which is from the 20th century - and told the married couple that the trolley could see them rake it in.

Bill decided to take the risk and Thomas estimated the barrow could earn them up to £180. Unfortunately, it only sold for £45, bringing the couple's total loss to £115.

Feeling bad about the situation, Thomas told Bill and Mandy: "Oh no, no. We can't have that. That's awful, I'm sorry."

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Viewers were shocked at the estimated price of the sack barrow and rushed to social media to complain about it.

"No way I'd be paying £130 for that", one user said while another added: "Sack trolley, no chance".

One person posted: "Sack barrow for £130? Lunacy."

It is not the first time viewers were left unimpressed as an episode from earlier this month saw one team get disqualified. The teams were given the challenge to comb for an item that matched very specific criteria. Pals Lisa and Helen were on the red team and had to find something agricultural. They ended up purchasing a mole spade for £18.

Lisa and Helen, along with their expert Philip Serrell, assumed it was a spade for digging out moles but later found out it was probably a bread peel from the 19th century - which wouldn't be part of their criteria. The host said the Bargain Hunt team also thought it wasn't a mole spade, which meant the red team were disqualified.

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