The Vintage French Farmhouse: Episode 1 (BBC One Monday 25 September 2023)

The Vintage French Farmhouse: Episode 1 airs Monday 25 September 2023 on BBC One

What can we expect from this episode

Adi Higham, James Gooch, and Jacqui Harries, three antiques dealers, are currently in the south of France on a buying trip. Their home base is an old French farmhouse in Provence, not far from some of the finest Brocantes in all of France. The three friends have decided to spend the day hunting for hidden treasure at a beautiful market in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon that opens once a week beneath the watchful gaze of Fort Saint-André. The first obstacle the three must overcome is determining what will most interest their current clientele and online audience.

Adi, an expert in toys and textiles, has been importing antiques from France for over 20 years. He also speaks the language fluently, giving him a possible edge in this endeavour. He quickly locates what he believes to be a 17th-century Jesus Christ figurine made of wood and paint. He is confident that not only will he be able to sell the piece in the United Kingdom, but that fellow dealer James will be disappointed that he passed on it.

James, however, is drawn not to a statue of Christ but rather to a harlequin figurine made of bisque and painted by hand. Despite his limited French, James is sure he can negotiate a fair price for the harlequin he believes to date back to the 1800s with the help of the calculator on his phone. James goes ahead with the sale even though the vendor says the year is much later and proves it by entering 1970 into his phone. Could the joke be on James that he sold the harlequin within a day when back at the farm he typically deals in much older pieces that can take months to sell?

Specialist in items from the interwar era, Jacqui is the last to find a piece for her domestic buyers. The fact that the brass water canteen she’s eyeing may have been used by soldiers in World War I seals the deal. But will her usual customers flock to her online store to purchase it?

It’s not enough that the dealers have to negotiate in a foreign language; each day they take it in turns raising the stakes by challenging one another to shop to a specific brief. It is Jacqui’s turn to be the leader, and she has mandated that the three of them search all of Villeneuve-lés-Avignon for something mechanical or useful. Whose shopping list included opera glasses, homemade roller skates, and a flipping bird toy?

After picking up a total of six items, they head back to the farm to scope out the opposition.

The 17th-century farmhouse is nestled amongst olive groves and vineyards, making it the ideal location for our dealers to shoot photos and videos of the Provençal pieces they hope to sell online.

With only one day to make a sale, who among our three contenders will come out on top today?

Three antique dealers head to a French farmhouse on a buying trip to the region’s best antiques markets and compete to sell their French finds online in a day.

Season 1 Episode 1

When can we see the episode

The Vintage French Farmhouse: Episode 1 airs Monday 25 September 2023 at 16:30 on BBC One

Featured image credit: BBC One