BARGAIN HUNT CELEBRATES CHILDREN IN NEED AND BLUE PETER WITH NEW SPECIALS

The fan-favourite, produced by BBC Studios, sees two teams of amateur collectors face off against each other to bag the best bargains with these specials featuring some extra special ‘hunters’.

Bargain Hunt joins forces with another legendary BBC show – Blue Peter – to celebrate its 65th anniversary. For the first time ever, the Red and Blue teams searching for antiques are made up of children!

They’re guided by presenter Natasha Raskin Sharp, toy experts Tim Weeks and Thomas Forrester and two current Blue Peter presenters - Joel Mawhinney and Abby Cook. The children scour a huge toy fair at Sandown Park in Surrey, in search of vintage toys which could earn them some serious pocket money when their items go under the hammer at the auction.

Natasha also looks at the history of Blue Peter memorabilia, from badges to books – and meets Anthea Turner, the former Blue Peter presenter whose famous home-made model of Thunderbirds’ Tracy Island caused a nationwide craze back in the early 1990s.

Natasha said: "What an incredible and exciting experience to welcome the very first children's teams to the show! Blue Peter is a British children's classic, the longest-running children's TV show in the world, and this is the perfect way to celebrate its 65th anniversary, while welcoming our incredible special guests for the occasion."

In a special BBC Children in Need edition of the show, Christina Trevanion and Pudsey host an action-packed celebrity showdown in Malvern, Worcestershire which sees TV chefs versus musicians. On the Red team are Michelin star chef Jean-Christophe Novelli and Caribbean cooking queen Rustie Lee.

They’re up against the Blue team, Heather Small from ‘M People’ and legendary musician Rick Wakeman. To highlight one of the many projects funded by BBC Children in Need, Jean-Christophe, who has a child with severe autism, makes an emotional visit to a family in Hampshire.

He meets an 11-year-old girl with complex medical conditions and autism, whose life has been transformed by a black Labrador called Luna, provided by a charity called ‘Dogs For Autism’.

Then, at the auction in Staffordshire, hundreds of people gather to bid on the Red and Blue teams’ items and many more special lots and experiences, with all proceeds going to BBC Children in Need.

Christina said: "It's a real honour for me to host this special episode, as I've seen first-hand the difference BBC Children in Need makes to people's lives on a daily basis with my sister who has Down's syndrome. So it's important for me to highlight their work with the support of the celebrity contestants who have helped us raise awareness and money for the various projects and charities."

The specials will be broadcast on Fridays 17th November (BBC Children in Need) and 1st December (Blue Peter) at 12:15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.