Bargain Hunt expert's heartache after losing bid on Freddie Mercury item worth thousands

Bargain Hunt's Thomas Forrester has admitted he missed out winning an item at the huge Freddie Mercury auction in Sotheby's last year much to his wife's relief. The BBC star confessed he was "obsessed" with following the event which ultimately made £40 million pounds.

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk he revealed: "I was obsessed with Freddie. I remember the day [he died] I woke up in my boarding school and my study mate said Freddie's dead. I remember that day and music and everything. It's been part of my life. So I went to the [auction] preview and just fell in love with it. It was like stepping back to 1990s. It was like a 1990s auction.

"The prices were extraordinary. I walked out that sale and I spoke to one of the specialists I knew and I said, I think you've got a 10 to 12 million pound sale here. I just feel it's going to make over 10 million. And of course, it was extraordinary, phenomenal.

"That week, I was obsessed with watching it online and I bid on one picture, which I just fell in love with. It was a very simple print by Patrick Proctor. You could buy this Patrick Proctor print on in any auction for £400 to £600 pounds - not more than £1,000.

But because it belonged to Freddie, it was already at £1,800 pounds. I think my wife was about to read me the riot act when I said, I had just dropped out at £7,500 pounds. She said, 'if you would have bought it, I would have had a fit!'" he recalled. " In the end it went for over £10,000. So I had the excitement, but lost out."

In the cold light of day Thomas reflected that print probably woudn't resell for what it went for at the time.

"That picture, with that provenance from that sale - would it still be worth that money if I put it in the cold light of day in an auction in the back of beyond of Cornwall? No, it wouldn't make the money again," he conceded. "We were all wrapped up in the excitement."

The record breaking auction included iconic items such as Freddie's stage costumes as well as the contents of his Garden Lodge home. It was originally estimated it would make £6 million, with some of the proceeds being donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John Aids Foundation. The final total surpassed this amount by almost sevenfold.

Following more than 41,800 bids, the late rock legend's personal effects made £40 million, a new record for any collection of its kind. Almost 99 per cent of the lots sold for prices in excess of their high estimates with the Queen star’s Yamaha Grand Piano taking the most at £1.7 million; a record for a composer’s piano.

Thomas was speaking in advance of raising his gavel for Oxfordshire’s OxTrail, which will feature a stunning selection of life-sized ox sculptures and mini oxen, all available for bidding to raise funds of Sobell House Hospice.

Throughout the summer more than 130 oxen have decorated the county as part of the charity’s Wild in Art trail which has invited people from across the country to discover hidden ox designs in Oxford and surrounding areas. With the art trail finishing at the end of August 43 of the sculptures are going to auction.

Despite a long career in the antiques business Thomas has never overseen an auction like this and admits he can't wait to "have a crack at it. "I had an email from Sobell House saying, 'Would you like to have a conversation about this? Would you be prepared to be our auctioneer on the evening?' And I've never done one of these. I have seen other auctioneers do them, and thought I'd probably quite like to have a crack at that.

"And of course, the money goes to the great cause of the hospice Sobell House , which offers palliative care and end of life care. How we cope with our ill and how we cope with people in their last, final moments with dignity and respect is so important as that sort of encompasses the whole of life, so to speak. I take my hat off to those people who work so tirelessly," he said.

The OxTrail auction in aid of Sobbell House will be held both online and in person at the Saïd Business School, Oxford on Friday, 13 September at 7:30pm. The sale Those looking to attend can check out the online auction via the digital catalogue and register their interest today.