Antiques Road Trip expert David Harper was left embarrassed after making an awkward comment to newcomer Tahmina Ghaffar during a recent episode. The incident occurred just before an auction, leading David, 56, to quickly apologise for his remark.
Tahmina, a specialist in Indian and Islamic art, is head of department at Chiswick Auctions in London. She recently joined the popular BBC show to compete against veteran David in a five-part series.
David Harper's comment
© BBCThe awkward moment came when David jokingly referred to Tahmina as an "interesting creature" before asking: "Have you ever been to an auction before?"
Tahmina immediately responded with laughter, reminding him: "David, don't you know I work in auction?" Realising his mistake, David quickly apologised, admitting: "I forgot – I'm so sorry."
The light-hearted exchange amused viewers, but David was clearly embarrassed by the slip-up.
Difficult start for Tahmina
© BBCDespite Tahmina's experience in auctions, her items struggled during the auction in the episode. She faced several losses, starting with a brass crocodile that sold for £18 — a loss of £7.
Reacting to the result, Tahmina exclaimed: "Oh dear." Even the auctioneer agreed the item was "too cheap."
Her struggles continued as a brass cauldron and a jelly mould both sold at losses. The jelly mould fetched just £10, prompting her to say: "Oh dear, here we go again," adding: "Someone got a bargain."
Significant losses
© BBCTahmina's bad luck continued with her final item — an antique fencing set — which suffered the biggest loss of the day at £53. Visibly disappointed, Tahmina admitted she was "getting worried."
Summarising her performance, Tahmina joked to David: "I did a lot of trash-talking for someone who's not doing very well today."
At the end of the auction, Tahmina's total loss for the episode stood at £123.24, a difficult start to the competition.
David takes early lead
© BBCIn contrast, David had a far better result, making a profit of £27.70 during the auction. This gave him a clear lead early in their competition.
The score at the end of the episode was 2-0 in David's favour, with three more rounds to go. All profits from the competition will be donated to Children in Need.
Viewers react to awkward exchange
© BBCViewers quickly responded to David's awkward comment online. While many found the exchange amusing, some fans expressed surprise that David forgot about Tahmina's extensive auction background.
One viewer tweeted: "David Harper forgetting Tahmina literally works in auctions was hilarious. Awkward but funny."
Another added: "Love Tahmina's response — handled with humour!"
Competition heats up
© BBCTahmina still has three more chances to turn her luck around in the best-of-five series. Fans will be keen to see if she can stage a comeback against David's early lead.
The friendly rivalry between the two experts has already provided entertaining moments, and viewers will be eagerly awaiting the next episodes.
Antiques Road Trip continues weekdays at 4.30pm on BBC One.
