BBC faked Bargain Hunt too, claim contestants

Jim Samuels, who was seen on the antiques game show last month, said prices for the contestants' 'bargains' are agreed before the cameras roll.

He also claimed that experts tell them what to buy, rather than just help them.

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On the BBC1 show, which turned presenter David Dickinson into a household name but is now hosted by Tim Wonnacott, two teams of two contestants are each given £300 to spend in an hour at an antiques fair.

An expert helps each pair pick the best bargains, which are later sold at auction. The team which makes

the most profit is the winner. Mr Samuels, 70, said he and his wife Maureen had 'all the time in the world' rather than just an hour to look for bargains and she was told exactly what to say on the show.

He also claimed he saw a BBC crew member loading one of his bargains, a drop-leaf table, into their van after it was auctioned.

The BBC strenuously denied yesterday that a member of its team bought the table. But it admitted that, in parts of the show, contestants, sellers and experts effectively act out for the camera what has already happened, for example choosing the goods and striking a deal for them.

Mr and Mrs Samuels from March, Cambridgeshire, snapped up bargains at Peterborough Showground in March which went to auction in Cambridge in April.

Mr Samuels said: 'We went off and had a look at the stuff as they were filming other couples, thought what we wanted to buy and were introduced to our adviser. He then told us what we were going to buy.

'Then they came round with a cameraman where we were pretending to buy the stuff. It had already been bought. It became obvious that they had all fixed the prices.'

The BBC admitted the price of goods is negotiated off camera rather than on screen as is suggested in the show. Once a deal is done an 'accurate reconstruction' is filmed. It said contestants do get an hour to choose their bargains, but admitted that is also reconstructed.

The corporation denied that contestants are told what to buy or that prices are agreed without their knowledge or are fixed in advance.

Last month, the BBC apologised to the Queen after a programme trailer wrongly implied that she walked out of a portrait session during the filming of a documentary.

The BBC was also fined £50,000 after faking results of a Blue Peter competition.