THE hammer hits the table, the auctioneer shouts "Sold for £35" and the camera zooms in on a young girl's grinning face.

Thirteen-year-old Anne Robinson has just made an incredible 17,400 per cent profit on a bowl and plate she picked up for 20p in a charity shop.

She is being filmed for BBC2's flog it! show, which visited Thomas Watson Auctioneers, in Darlington, yesterday.

The show, while not commanding the cult status of its BBC1 counterpart, Bargain Hunt, is clearly popular with North-East treasure seekers.

Hundreds of people have squeezed themselves in among the antiques and bric-a-brac at the auction house, in Northumberland Street, to get a peek as filming takes place.

Out of more than 650 lots, the flog it! team charts the reactions of 20 sellers, from the moment their items are valued to the nerve-wracking auction.

Anne, of Redcar, east Cleveland, is the youngest, and is told to expect between £20 and £30 for her orange glazed bowl and plate.

"I was pleased with the amount but a bit nervous," she admits.

"I would definitely do it again though. I bought the items when I was out with my grandma, but I had no idea they were worth anything. I'm going to use the money to pay for a saddle for the horse I ride."

Teapots, medals, candlesticks and postcards of Darlington are just some of the items to go under the hammer, with a Royal Doulton figurine fetching the best price - £1,400.

A 19th Century silver snuffbox, which has sat in a drawer for a decade, makes £90 for pensioner Val Carter, exceeding her expectations.

"My husband used it to keep his heart tablets in but since he died its just sat there," says Mrs Carter, 71, from Middlesbrough.

"I'm pleased with what I got for it and have loved being filmed. But I've got a houseful of stuff which I now wish I'd brought."

Flog it! expert David Barby says that the show is not about antiques, but any items which people want to sell.

"We've had a good day with just two lots not being sold," he says. "We've had some fantastic items and people have been really friendly - very different to a London auction house."

Two programmes based on yesterday's filming are due to be shown on BBC2 next spring