Man sells famous bridge model to Nigel Havers on BBC show

Tarquin Shaw-Young, from Barnards Green in Malvern, appeared on the BBC show The Bidding Room in an episode that aired on Wednesday (March 6).

It took Mr Shaw-Young six says to build the giant model from his Malvern home, which was created from hundreds of metres of bamboo and used as a prop for his backyard movie nights.

The former actor and casting agent had been searching for a potential buyer for the model as it was too large to keep at his home.

The model was built during lockdown in 2021 and featured on the first episode of the new series of The Bidding Room - hosted by Mr Havers - on BBC One this week.

"I built the model during lockdown in 2021," he said.

"The episode went out on Wednesday (March 6) and was repeated on Friday - it's also available on the iPlayer.

Mr Shaw-Young [LEFT] featured on the BBC programme two years ago which aired on Wednesday afternoon [March 6] on BBC One (Image: BBC)

"It was filmed two years ago almost to the day, they filmed series five and six together.

"They approached me. They had obviously seen the bridge that I had put up for sale and thought it was an interesting item for their new series."

The show was filmed over two days at the Leith Theatre in Edinburgh, with Mr Shaw-Young shown talking to potential bidders about the full-scale model.

"It's a large bit of kit, it's 12 metres long to full scale," he added.

"I built it for a film night. I do interactive film nights of which I have done various ones over the years."

The model ended up being sold on the programme for £300, which was bought by Mr Havers himself on behalf of one of the shows dealers Adrian 'Adi' Higham.

Mr Shaw-Young revealed the money he profited from the sale went to St Richard's Hospice.

"Adi, one of the dealers, wasn't there on the day but he was on the end of the phone talking to Nigel," said Mr Shaw-Young.

"I managed to push the price up a bit, which was great."