TELE reporter Rosemary Lowne will swap the newsroom for the salesroom tomorrow as she appears on the BBC’s Bargain Hunt show.

The 31-year-old journalist and her mum Mary will star as the ‘blue team’ on the popular daytime programme, haggling for hidden gems at a fair in Edinburgh.

Their bargains are then put under the hammer by Scotland’s queen of the antiques trade, Anita Manning.

Rosemary and her mum, who works as a learning assistant in a primary school, auditioned for the show earlier this year ‘for a laugh’.

The duo’s bubbly personalities and outgoing natures impressed producers, who invited them to appear in an episode.

Rosemary said: “I had just finished work for the day when I got a message from my mum telling me to expect a call from the BBC.

“I was totally confused so I phoned my her back and she told me she’d applied for us to go on Bargain Hunt.

“I burst out laughing; I thought she was having me on until one of the researchers rang me for a phone interview.”

After making it through the interview, Rosemary and Mary, who both enjoy browsing charity shops and antiques fairs, were called to an audition in Edinburgh.

Mary, 59, said: “We were interviewed on camera in front of a room full of people.

“They seemed to like the fact that we are both very sporty, as Rosemary is in a triathlon club and I enjoy running.

“The producers also set up challenges to test our knowledge of antiques and to see if we were any good at haggling.

“We left not thinking for a minute we would get through. We just thought the fact we had auditioned would be a funny story to tell around the dinner table.”

But to their surprise, they made it through and attended at the Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston in Edinburgh for filming.

Rosemary added: “We were both so nervous when we arrived as there were camera crews, producers and researchers everywhere.

“Kate Bliss, who was our expert, was absolutely lovely. She really put us at ease.

“The show’s presenter Thomas Plant was also great and even wore a kilt especially for the occasion.”

After snapping up their bargains, Rosemary and Mary were filmed as their wares were put under the hammer at Great Western Auctions in Glasgow.

The duo say their friends and family, including Rosemary’s dad Paul, 59, and sister Cat, 28, will be tuning in to watch them tomorrow.

To see how they got on, tune in to BBC1 tomorrow at 12.15pm.