Blackburn: AJ Odudu new show The Greatest Auction comes to Channel 4

The former St Bede’s High School pupil is hosting The Greatest Auction, a new eight-part series that brings ambitious millionaires, passionate private collectors, and seasoned dealers face-to-face, as they compete to buy the extraordinary array of items.

For the sellers, parting with their cherished possessions is an emotional moment, but it’s also the chance to find out what they’re really worth.

AJ said she has always been attracted to auctions and bought her first car at an auction house in Blackburn.

She said: “I've always found the thrill of being in auction houses really exciting, so this show seemed like the perfect opportunity for me.

“I bought my first two cars from an auction house in Blackburn and I found it so exciting. 

“The first time I bought my Vauxhall Corsa, my dad was getting bid happy with my money, getting excited on my behalf, so we ended up having a little tiff. 

“The second time I bought a car was amazing. I found that so exciting, as a last-minute bidder.”

The 35-year-old said there were many emotional moments on the show admitting that she was brought to tears.

In Tuesday night’s show Bolton man, Kevin, brought Buzzcocks memorabilia to auction that he had owned for more than 43 years.

AJ said: “There was a man with a Buzzcocks collection who was just amazing.

“The more I chatted to him about this collection of album memorabilia, posters, badges, tickets, the more I wondered why he was selling them.

“I kept wanting to tell him he didn’t need do it and I'd give him the money, but I think for him, he just really wanted to let go of it.

“He wanted to see it in the hands of someone else who appreciated that collection.

“He said that if he left it to his kids, they'd end up selling it for a fiver at the car boot sale, so he had to let go of it before that day comes.

“He was so emotional about it. And I remember thinking, “Oh, my gosh, I'm sat with this man crying”, and now we’re both crying over Buzzcocks memorabilia.”

Another emotional moment for AJ was when she met a man named Isaac who brought in a human skeleton.

She said: “He's grown up with what he calls Mr Bones and when I saw it lying on this table in front of us ready to be sold, I was sure it wouldn’t sell.

"It was amazing to see how emotional he was about parting with something that to most people would seem like quite a strange object to form an attachment to.

“But for him there are so many beautiful stories that he shared with his late mother, his children and why of course he was he was coming to sell it. 

“I found one minute I was laughing with him about why he’s got a human skeleton, and the next minute I was crying as there’s so much attachment to these items and so many stories within.”

From a taxidermy unicorn, a Louis Vuitton skateboard and five pickled pig foetuses in a jar, to a pristine Hermes handbag, a pinball machine owned by Elton John and a piece of wall with a work attributed to Banksy, every item that comes into the auction house will have a story to tell,

AJ said: “There was Elton John's pinball machine – that was really amazing.

“There was lots of artwork, a Hermes bag.

“A bunch of pickled pigs and celebrity hair is quite shocking. They're all shocking in their own beautiful ways.

“There was a woman who found an old football programme in her loft when she was doing a loft conversion and let's just say it pretty much paid for the loft conversion, and she’d just found a bit of paper!

AJ hopes the show clears up any misconceptions around auctions.

She said: “There’s this misconception with auction shows on TV that they’re stuffy with old items and things of value from years gone by being sold, but in this series, there are a lot of cool items.

“I think this captivates people from all walks of life and that makes it really special. Plus, it makes me want to root through my own bin to see what I can find to sell!”

The Greatest Auction airs Tuesdays at 8pm on Channel 4 from May 9.