Don't forget your chequebook...

They came from all over London to bag a bargain from the great Chris Evans house clearance.

Using cunning and guile they haggled. Some tried to follow the TV tycoon's rules, painted on the entrance to his Aladdin's cave in Camden's Stables market - "discounts given to those who tell us something we don't know".

Deborah Mulrooney, 29, a personnel manager from Queen's Park, was one of the first to engage with Evans.

She asked: "How much for the stool?" Evans retorted: "The prices are all marked." She persisted. "You say you'll give a discount if I tell you something you don't know, so what's my mother's name?"

Pinned down, he said: "You can have it for £21. I bought it from an antiques shop in Bramley, Guildford, with Billie. It used to live in my kitchen."

The last thing Evans sold off to the highest bidder was his radio station. But now he was seeing how much he could fetch for some of his more personal belongings in a sale first revealed last week in the Standard.

Returning to his roots as a market holder his latest money-making scheme, he claims, is an attempt to clear £1 million of furniture from half a dozen of his houses. It follows his estrangement from wife Billie. Some of the so called "bargains" among his first selection included a set of three stuffed birds (£500); Bob Dylan's teak and leather sofa "honest" (£4,250); and his "ace" LA marital bed for £2,250.

As the morning progressed a steady river of punters flowed into his emporium. Even Richard Madeley made an appearance to buy a rusty candlestick holder for £49.

The bargain of the day was snapped up by Francesca De Takats, a 37-year-old mother from Chalk Farm, who paid £350 for a limited print of the rock band The Who by David Wedgbury.

But not all the shoppers were satisfied. Erol Bryce, 54, a talent scout for Arsenal, was keen on a leather Chesterfield sofa, being sold for £1,950. But his attempts to bargain fell on stony ground. "Sorry the price is marked. "It's not negotiable," said Evans.