BBC Bargain Hunt fans demand antiques expert Raj is fired after 'hopeless' mistake

Bargain Hunt's antiques expert Rajkumar 'Raj' Bisram has been labelled a "liability" by viewers after a recent mishap.

The 68-year-old came under fire for convincing two contestants on the BBC show to part with £90 for what they thought was a genuine Mouseman chopping board earlier this year.

During the purchase, Raj suggested that the wooden piece might fetch "get somewhere between £50 to £70" at auction, while confessing his partiality towards breadboards.

Yet, when the vendor offered a "special price" of £130, Raj responded: "There would be no profit on that. It's a nice thing but I would go to £100, but I can't go any lower than that, so we'll come back to it."

The duo eventually circled back and bought the supposed Mouseman chopping board. Later in the show, Christina Trevanion consulted an auctioneer about the contentious item.

The 42-year-old described the situation as "controversial", the Mirror reports.

In response, the valuer revealed that the mouse had merely been glued on and added that if the mouse were "carved", the authenticity of the Mouseman origin wouldn't be in question.

He explained: "But if you look at it you can see it doesn't have the quality".

At the auction hall, the contestants were overjoyed over their £10 profit on a wooden spoon but their happiness was sadly short lived when they learned they'd brought a fake Robert Thompson item to the hall.

Christina Trevanion gently informed the red team of the snag with the words: "Now, your little chopping board, the auctioneers have catalogued it as Mouseman style."

She elaborated on the predicament: "They have, unfortunately, seen another couple of examples that's just been stuck on, so probably not by Mouseman himself."

Rag confessed his mistake as he said: "I have to take some of the blame because I didn't check that it was stuck on I've bought so many Mouseman pieces over the years and I've never needed to check."

Despite the apparent setback, the questioned chopping board still managed to accrue £25 at auction. The team labelled the ordeal a "spectacular loss", but Raj took a glass-half-full viewpoint, suggesting it "could've been worse".

Post broadcast, avid Bargain Hunt viewers took to social media to air their opinions and it seems they were not impressed by Raj's error.

One fan remarked on X, the platform previously known as Twitter: "Hopeless Raj should have noticed. #BargainHunt."

A second echoed: "Raj should be sacked #bargainhunt" as someone else pointed out it's his "only job".

Another chimed in: "That Raj is a liability #BargainHunt."

One viewer was baffled by the expert's evaluation, tweeting: "How could an expert fail notice that isn't a Mouseman and you could buy one on a town market for £5? #bargainhunt."

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