They spend thousands on pieces of Del Boy’s carpet and props from Noel’s House Party – and they’d rather you didn’t know too much about them. We step inside the world of television nostalgia
It’s hard to imagine that Mr Blobby is worth three times as much as John Lennon. In 2011, the Beatle’s tooth fetched £19,000 at auction, while on 26 January this year, someone on eBay agreed to pay £62,101 for an original – but crucially never used – 90s BBC costume of the pink and yellow Noel’s House Party star. So, perhaps it’s not surprising that the buyer ended up backing out, and tens of thousands of pounds weren’t spent on a bulbous belly, wobbly eyes and that trademark polka dot bow tie.
Then again, perhaps it is. Little known to most of us, there is a ferocious, often highly secretive trade in British TV props. In 2019, for example, a painting from the 80s sitcom ’Allo ’Allo! sold for £18,000 – The Fallen Madonna With the Big Boobies is officially worth just a grand less than a molar pulled from Lennon’s head. It’s not quite the £2m that an original R2-D2 can go for at auction – or the £3.5m someone once paid for a Batmobile – but it’s still big money.
