Collectibles expert Matt joins forces with Storage Hunters' star

Matt Taylor (35), who set up Time Train in Clitheroe with his partner Lisa Pickles (29) five years ago, will appear with Storage Hunters’ Jesse McClure in “British Treasure, American Gold” on the Quest channel.

The six-part series, which started last night (Wednesday), sees the pair travel the length and breadth of the UK in search of antiques and collectibles to send back to Los Angeles where McClure’s family has an antiques mall.

Time Train, which is based in Shawbridge Street and sells retro and vintage items, sources pieces from across the country.

Matt said: “They started filming back in January and it’s been great for our business as we’re featured very heavily in the programme. I’d say we are in fifty to sixty per cent of every episode. It has been a lot of fun, but a bizarre year. We’ve done the filming and also opened a new restaurant in the town - Hoof and Rooster - which opened last month.”

In the programme Matt helps Jesse find all manner of crazy things that he can make a profit on including unusual taxi-dermi and military items.

“We went to a lot of auction houses and we often ended up bidding on the same item which added a lot of entertainment value,” said Matt.

In the last episode of the series Jesse and Matt are filmed having a curry eating competition at The Double Tree restaurant which used to be located on York Street in the same address ironically as where Matt’s Hoof and Rooster restaurant has now opened.

“I didn’t know at the time of filming that six months later I would end up opening my new restaurant business there,” he said.

“The thrill I get from my work is when you find something that seems so simple and normal and you find an amazing story behind it when you look a bit harder. I enjoy speaking to everyone who comes to my store,” Matt added.

The former Ribblesdale High School pupil has enjoyed a variety of careers including managing a local reservoir and working in a burger van.

“All the time though I was buying and selling things, then one day the penny dropped that I should be doing this full time,” Matt explained.

Jesse McClure shot to fame as the major breakout star from US reality show Storage Hunters.

A spokesman for the show: “Jesse will put $100,000 of his family’s hard-earned cash on the line as he hits the streets in search of the biggest and boldest bargains Britain has to offer before shipping them back to the US in an effort to turn a profit in the family’s LA antique store.

“Jesse is a larger-than-life personality whose laid back demeanour, not to mention his trademark sideburns and shades, masks an encyclopaedic knowledge of even the most obscure goods’ resale value.

“Growing up in Canyon County, California, he was fascinated by the resale trade from an early age and worked for his family’s antique mall.”

The show will be aired every Wednesday from 8 pm.