Family-run antiques shop in Northampton set to feature on Celebrity Antiques Road Trip on BBC Two

A family-run antique shop in Northampton is set to appear on BBC Two’s Celebrity Antique Road Trip on Wednesday (October 25) at 7pm.

Click Antiques & Vintage shop in Moore Street, Kingsley is appearing on the hit TV show for a whopping fifth time.

Owner Claire Wallace-Sims said: “This is the fifth time we’ve been on it. We thought when we first got invited to do it it was going to be a one off, but I think we're on their radar now."

In the episode, BBC journalist Sima Kotecha, presenter of Newsnight, and DJ Bobby Friction from BBC Asian Network tour Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire hunting for cut-price treasures.

On hand to help are experts Roo Irvine and Phil Serrell. Together, they amass an eclectic selection of antiques: from truncheons to art deco cutlery and cruet sets to a goat’s head vase, according to the BBC.

Claire revealed as much as she is allowed to ahead of the episode. She said: “I will be watching. Just the one time – I don’t like watching myself on the TV. We’ll be waiting to see how they did with our piece they bought. The thing they bought is extremely unusual.”

The 64-year-old added: “Some people say it’s rigged but it’s not. The haggling is live, we don’t agree a price beforehand. But yes of course we do good deals with them, because it gets broadcast to millions of people.”

Being featured on national TV has been tremendously beneficial for the shop's business.

Claire said: “It’s extraordinarily good for business. Every day, somebody will come and say, ‘I didn't know you're here’. National TV makes a massive difference. It’s a showcase for the shop.”

Moreover, the show is inspiring a renewed interest in antiques among younger generations.

Claire said: “We’re getting a lot of young antique hunters in the shop. A family came in a couple of months ago who were doing their own antiques road trip and they all had £50 to buy stuff and they were then going to sell it on Ebay and see who made the most money.

"We’re getting real youngsters in, between ages eight and 15 who are already starting to collect things. I think the TV programme has sparked interest in possibly an entire generation that wouldn’t have had it. Young collectors are the future of our business, so we try to encourage it.”

Reflecting on the shop's journey, Claire said: “My dad died and my mum started to clean out my dad’s stuff, he was a collector of the weird and wonderful. We didn’t know this but he had sheds, and one of his sheds was a radio museum full of 1910, 1920, 1930s radios. So we started out selling my dad’s stuff and we just got the bug! We carried on going out buying stuff ourselves and selling it on. It’s happened quite quickly. We started with a stall in Vintage Retreat in Semilong, then a shop in Wootton and now we’re here in Kingsley since 2020.”

And for anyone who fancies popping down to the shop, Claire revealed some of the quirky items, absolute bargains and expensive stuff currently on offer.

She said: “We’ve got first edition books so old how did they survive. Silly things like vogue magazines from the ‘60s which someone discovered when clearing their house out. Everyone would have thrown those away! Where are you going to get another one. You can buy solid oak chest of drawers with us under £100. We’ve got a gold pocket watch for £700. We always say to people to allow an hour to browse the shop! We like to think there is something of interest to everybody.”

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