From an £800 trinket box to a rusty ice cream fridge receiving zero bids, Bargain Hunt has seen thousands of items go under the hammer.

The cornerstone of BBC One’s daytime schedule and the nation’s favourite antiques game show is celebrating 25 years on our screens.

Contestants are given one hour to spend up to £300 on three items at an antiques fair.

The team that makes the biggest profit or smallest loss at auction wins – but it has been about the joy of taking part for many.

“We literally went on it just to have a bit of fun to be honest, we weren’t, should I say, serious contestants,” said Jane Cooke, from Cardiff.

“Sadly, I was pretty poorly back in about 2017 so I didn’t go out much.

“So I watched it every day then.

“And then, when I was better, my daughter said, ‘oh, mum, we should, we should apply for Bargain Hunt’. And I stupidly agreed.”

Jane and daughter Megan took part in 2019, but she admitted they did “dreadfully”, adding: “We lost £155.”

The show is made by BBC Studios in Cardiff, and remains hugely popular, pulling in an average two million viewers every day.

Its format has also been sold to 186 countries around the world.

Every year the programme receives around 35,000 applications from people who want to don the famous red and blue fleeces, to see if they can spot a bargain and make a profit.

In total, 10,000 people have appeared on the show over the last quarter of a century.

So what about the bargains that have been snapped up?

The biggest profit ever made by a team on a single item was in 2002.

Blue team Ally and Diane, alongside expert Michael Hogben, were shopping at Ardingly antiques fair in West Sussex.

They paid £140 for a George Johnson 1908 Royal Worcester flamingo trinket box.

It sold at auction for £800, making a profit of £660 and earning them a place in the Bargain Hunt history books.

The biggest loss accolade goes to expert Tim Weeks and his blue team who paid £60 for a vintage, rusty ice cream fridge.

Despite the auctioneer lowering the starting bid to just 50p, nobody bid and the item was unsold.

The programme has earned some surprising celebrity fans over the years too, from Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson to author and presenter Richard Osman and Radio 2 DJ Tony Blackburn.

In 2018, for a BBC Music Day special, Bez from the Happy Mondays caused a cheating scandal that made the headlines when the band took on Pulp.

When it came to the auction, it was discovered that Bez’s girlfriend had been bidding on items.

After the cheating was uncovered the ending was re-filmed, Bez handed back his winnings, and Pulp were victorious.

The programme launched on 13 March 2000 and was hosted by the then-unknown presenter David Dickinson.

There are now seven presenters and a pool of more than 20 antiques experts.

Every programme now ends with the famous Bargain Hunt kick.

Contestants, experts and the presenter all link arms in a line and kick one leg in the air.

It started with presenter Tim Wonnacott and is now a staple of the show.

But for expert-turned-presenter Danny Sebastian, one particular kick led to an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction.

An over-enthusiastic leg raise in tight trousers caused his front zip to rip, all caught on camera.

Danny said he now kept a spare pair of trousers and a sewing kit to hand.

So what is the secret to Bargain Hunt’s enduring appeal?

It’s a game show, but there’s no big money prize.

In fact, contestants can be absolutely delighted with a profit of just a few pounds, especially if they secure the coveted Golden Gavel – a simple lapel pin, awarded if they make a profit on every item.

Executive producer Paul Tucker said: “It’s simple and easy to follow and culminating with an auction always provides a platform for drama, excitement and fun.

“As producers we can’t be complacent and we are constantly refreshing the format but very careful not to ‘break’ it.

“We have introduced new presenters providing diversity and variety to our line-up representing our broad audience.

“We never ‘churn’ episodes out.

“Each one is tailored and carefully scripted with considered inserts that we know our audience will connect with, whether we’re featuring the largest Star Wars collection in a suburban house to the largest collection of historic hankies and tea towels.”

You can watch 25 Years of Bargain Hunt on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on Thursday 13 March at 12:15 GMT