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Antiques Road Trip’s Anita Manning breaks show records with eye-watering profit on Buddha statue
ANTIQUES Road Trip's Anita Manning broke show records with an eye-watering profit on a Buddha statue.
The BBC One presenter, who purchased the rare item for just £50, made a staggering 7,500 per cent profit at auction.
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The 73-year-old expert bought the statue from a vintage shop in Kent and sold it in Battle, East Sussex, for a whopping £3,800.
Anita, who was joined by antiques dealer Raj Bisram, was left gobsmacked as the bids went into the thousands.
The episode from 2016 saw an anxious Anita nervously wait for the auction to start.
She told Raj: "I’m on the edge of my seat. Hold my hand."
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But the pair had nothing to worry about, the auctioneer declared: “There are a lot of bids on this and I have a lot of absentee bids on this. I am starting this at £1,000.”
The duo could not believe their luck as the bids kept coming in and a relieved Anita said she was thrilled that she trusted her instinct.
She said: "The old instinct kicked in, didn’t it?”
Raj was also left open-mouthed, saying it was a historic moment for the programme.
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The TV expert said: "It’s flying and that’s a Road Trip record broken.”
The pair were giggling with excitement as the bidding war continued for the precious bronze Buddha.
The auctioneer finally brought down the hammer as someone had made a a last bid of £3,750.
The overwhelmed pair were besotted with the extraordinary profit and cheered with excitement.
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“I think that deserves a round of applause. Brilliant! The day belongs to you,” Raj declared as the auction room celebrated Anita’s win.
After the auction, Anita told viewers that she was pleased that she took a gamble on the unique piece.
She said: "Things like that can happen, so get out into your antique shops and keep searching."
When the competition started, the former bronze Buddha owner had £414 in the bank but walked away with a total of £3543.82.
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“I think I’m a wee bit ahead of you now,” Anita told her co-star.
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Some of the biggest profits have seen a £60 sub-miniature camera bought for £20,000.
Antiques Road Trip is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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