The Big Deal - a programme about selling art

The Big Deal with Steph McGovern - Media Release

A new programme about art was broadcast last week on BBC1. It's a novel idea - about seeing whether complete novices can become art dealers!

The Apprentice for the Art World?

My questions as I started to watch concerned what is it actually about and what is it trying to do. Specifically:

• Is it educational or not?
• Is it going to be informative about the business side of the art world?
• will it help artists understand better how to deal with the business side of art?
• Or is it just a game show with a spin?
• Or as characterised on the programme is this "The Apprentice for the Art World"

The proposition seems to be "art is no different to any other business". 

How would you describe The Big Deal?

It’s like The Apprentice for the art world, but the deals are all real, and it’s as much about the hustle as it is about art.

So maybe educational about the sort of knowledge and skills you need to do well - much the same as happens with Sir Alan Sugar in in "The Apprentice"?

According to the media brief

Seven pairs of trainee art dealers from around the UK are putting their creativity, negotiating and profit-making skills to the test in the highly competitive art world 

The bottom line is the seven pairs compete to win £50,000 of "brilliant British art" (I spotted a David Shrigley)

The Seven Trainee Dealers

Back row: Bella, Ollie, Liam, Gavin, Phil, Ellie
Middle row: Charles, Darren, Steph McGovern, Cordelia de Freitas, Claire, Aaron
Front row: Deborah, Rebeckah, Daisy, Rebecca

Now realistically, none of them are actually trainee art dealers! Their backgrounds seem to be completely random.

However they do, of course, cover all the demographic and diversity bases. (Do you get as bored as I do ticking all the boxes for every dimension covered? Disability - tick; Gay - tick; Black - tick)

Their media profiles suggest very little involvement in the art world in terms of making, reviewing, buying, selling, collecting or anything else.

UPDATE: After I published - and after I got some odd comments on Facebook from Art Dealers who seemed very offended by the programme - I went looking and found what are "said to be the criteria used" for those who were selected to be trainee art dealers

The production team selected contestants who met specific criteria:

• No professional experience: None of the participants had a background or professional history in buying, selling, or trading art. [1]
• Walks of life: Producers recruited ordinary people from diverse backgrounds across the UK who showed a strong competitive drive, natural curiosity, and a willingness to learn. [1, 2, 3]
• Auditioned pairs/individuals: They were chosen through standard casting processes handled by production company Stellify Media to test how well their interpersonal dynamics and business instincts translated to the high-stakes contemporary art market. [1, 2]

So is that clear? NONE of the participants had any experience or history as art dealers. They are complete amateurs.

This, of course, is where the competition starts for the viewers - spotting those likely to go to the end!

• Darren (43) and Charles (40) - characterised as the "go getters". They reminded me of second hand car salesmen. I'm not expecting much of them.
• Ollie (26) and Bella (29) - siblings who are trying to get a business off the ground. Seem to be tuned into what young people like
• Claire (59) and Aaron (36) - Welsh friends Claire and Aaron are from Pembrokeshire and have a background in sales and the building industry. She's obviously the mover and shaker. I think he's along for the ride.
• Gavin (32) and Liam (28) - Best friends Gavin and Liam from Belfast have an interest in graffiti art and want to learn more about the art world. I'm expecting them to leave early.
• Deborah (42) and Rebeckah (42) - Friends Deborah and Rebeckah, from London, hope their eye for fashion can would translate successfully into selecting and trading art pieces. I think they may go far - possible winners.
• Phil (74) and Ellie (28) - the Dad and daughter team from the West Midlands love visiting art galleries together.
• Daisy (27) and Rebecca (61) - Mother and daughter Rebecca and Daisy from Warwickshire work together on the family farm – which specialises in camel hire. I also think this couple could go far. They seem to have a good eye.

The programme has two constants throughout the series.

• Steph McGovern is the host. She has been a television presenter for some years but her background is actually in business journalism. She has a knack for business and a curiosity about how to “make money’ so seems like a good match for the programme. Her previous jobs on BBC are probably more impressive than you realise! There's a reason why she does The Rest Is Money alongside ITV political editor Robert Peston. Plus her Dad was actually a professional artist - a sculptor and art teacher.
• This is the interview with her

Art is for everyone. We all like nice things on our walls and that could be anything from a cheap poster to something you've spent loads of money on, or one your kids’ pictures. No one should be excluded from being part of the art world, whether as a creator, a collector or someone wanting to cash in. On The Big Deal we show that, despite appearances, the art market is no different to other businesses. You just have to know the rules of the game

• Cordelia de Freitas (Instagram) is an Art Fair Director and Art Dealer and is also the Series Mentor to the trainee art dealers. It's her first time on TV and she got coaching from Steph!
• This is the interview with her.

And finally, what piece of advice would you give to any budding art dealers who become inspired after watching the series?

Go for it but always be willing to change and adapt. Even if you do well at something for years, never take that for granted. Always be willing to change, adapt and be humble. And don't be greedy.

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A post shared by Cordelia de Freitas (@cordeliadefreitas)

The Process

It seems likely that the different episodes will be covering different types of dealing in different types of places.

The first episode covered 

• artists at the Royal College of Art and artwork from what I assume was their graduation shows.
• each pair having to:
• select four artworks
• agree a reserve price with the artist for each artwork
• an auction at which the artwork was sold - or not
• a review of how all the artists did in terms of sales and commission

Of the artists, there were two highlighted by the show as having established sales records

• Jinhee Park (Instagram) - who was descrobed as a "phenomenal painter" with sales in the US and UK. She has a BFA in Painting from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, in 2025, and graduated with an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art in 2026.
• Abijoy Samuel (Instagram) In 2025, she completed the Graduate Diploma in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art with distinction. In 2026, she completed an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art, supported by the Leverhulme Arts Scholarship.

The interviews and dialogue between artists and trainee art dealers was interesting. for me, this demonstrated very quickly who had "got it" and who hadn't. Much as happens in The Apprentice!

At the end of the auction was the feedback

• sales totaled £20.4K
• Becca and Deborah did best - selling all their art for £5.2K and earning £1.56k commission

The top four went through to the next week. They then chose from the bottom three which pairs had performed best in relation to all aspects - not just sales - and which one didn't quite achieve the level they would like to see.

.....and the dad and daughter team went home, mainly due to weak teamwork.

Conclusion

It's interesting. I'm NOT a huge fan of artificial game shows - unless they have real learning to offer

It does seem to me that there's going to lots to learn about how the art market works and what dealers are trying to do when interacting with artists and selling their art for them.

How to watch 

Watch The Big Deal With Steph McGovern 

• on BBC Two and iPlayer from 13 August at 8pm, and 
• on BBC Northern Ireland from the 12 August.