BBC Antiques Road Trip's Irita Marriott admits 'I seriously might cry' as item makes huge loss

Antiques Road Trip expert Irita Marriott was left devastated on the BBC show after she was forced to sell a cup and saucer at a massive loss

On Antiques Road Trip, Irita Marriott faced a heart-wrenching moment against her fellow expert Ishy Khan.

With £200 each to spend on hidden gems to sell at auction on the popular BBC programme, Irita emerged victorious overall but was left gobsmacked by the disappointing sale of one particular item.

As she eagerly awaited the auction of a porcelain shell cup and saucer, Irita's anticipation was palpable. She nervously joked to Ishy, "If this makes less than £200 I seriously might cry."

Her fears were realised when the bidding opened at a paltry £5 and only climbed to £25 before the gavel confirmed her worst fears.

The sale not only resulted in a £5 loss for Irita but also fell short of her £200 expectation by a staggering £175. In disbelief, she turned to Ishy and exclaimed, "Did that just happen?," reports the Express.

Despite the setback with the cup and saucer, some of Irita's other items either broke even or made a slight profit.

Nevertheless, after accounting for auction costs and sales losses, neither expert managed to turn a profit. Ishy ended up with £164.82p, while Irita fared slightly better at £188.60p.

Although both suffered financial losses, Irita still claimed the upper hand with three auction wins during their trip, compared to Ishy's two.

As their week of competitive bargain hunting drew to a close, the pair expressed their disappointment at parting ways.

Despite Irita's staggering loss, in another episode, her co-star Paul Laidlaw made a stunning discovery when a camera he purchased made thousands.

Paul had found the vintage camera in a treasure-filled antique shop in Margate, Kent, where the owner had warned him: "Three floors, the upstairs is mainly furniture but there's stuff everywhere. And on this floor, there are four rooms through, and in the middle, there's a staircase which goes down to a room full of chairs and another room full below!"

After buying the camera for £60, Paul said: "I think this is a very early camera. If I'm right, that could be quite exciting. The photographic market is very much in the ascent, it's a hot market, I think that's a good thing."

And it turned out, the expert was right as the camera sold for an eye-watering £20,000.

Antiques Road Trip is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.