#JusticeForJarvis

The hotly-anticipated special episode of Bargain Hunt in which Pulp take on Happy Mondays has aired – seeing Bez cheat and hand the game over to Jarvis Cocker. See footage from the episode below.

Aired as part of BBC Music Day today, Cocker and Pulp’s Candida Doyle battled Bez and Rowetta Idah from Happy Mondaysto make the most profit from antiques.

Anticipation was high after it emerged that Cocker refused to wear the usual Bargain Hunt blue fleece and polo shirt uniform, and that the ending of the episode had to be re-shot after Happy Mondays broke the rules.

The Mondays seemed to have won with a profit of £8 from sales of their “vintage rustic novelty mirror” in the shape of a horse collar, biscuit tin and a mid-century record player. However, a member of the Bargain Hunt team soon spotted that one of the main bidders on the lots was Bez’s girlfriend – resulting in their disqualification.

“It was a genuine error,” said Bez. “My girlfriend thought she was helping out.”

Doyle added: “I’m speechless.”

Filmed at Kent County Showground back in July, he show saw both bands given £300 and the help of experts to buy three items and sell them off for as much profit as possible. Pulp purchased vintage plates, a Russian painting of a “semi-nudist camp somewhere”, and a vintage gramophone that came with a copy of their seminal ‘Different Class’ on vinyl.

The £95 painting used most of their budget, and overall the band lost money after the auction.

Meanwhile, fans are awaiting the return of Jarvis Cocker after touring to launch his new project ‘JARV‘ earlier this year.

Speaking to NME back in 2015 about the chances of the band returning for more new material and live shows from Pulp, Cocker said: “We’re very cloak and dagger about that, well, it isn’t cloak and dagger, we just don’t know! We’re not being mysterious, we’re just not very together.”