'Four Rooms' series announced by Channel 4

Channel 4 has unveiled details of its new series Four Rooms.

The programme will see participants attempting to sell their art, antiques and collectibles to four experts, who are all sitting in separate rooms.

The members of the public will have to decide when to agree to a deal, because once they leave the room the expert's offer will be void.

The participants will have to persuade the dealers to buy their item, while the experts will have to try to work out the real value of the objects.

The first expert, 39-year-old Emma Hawkins, owns a business dedicated to antique curiosities and taxidermy. She explained that she got the antiques "bug" when she was young as her father worked in the industry but explained that the "variety" on Four Rooms surprised her.

"From taxidermy to paintings to the nose of Concorde, there has been a good, diverse range," she said.

The second dealer, 41-year-old Andrew Lamberty, has been described as one of the leading dealers of his generation and claims to own "the most amazing furniture shop you have ever been to". He revealed that he knows to buy an object when he feels "a fizz up the spine" and admitted that some of the sellers on Four Rooms were "a bloody nightmare" and "delusional".

The third expert is Jeff Salmon, 57, an art and design dealer who has been working in the industry since he was a teenager. His clients include stars such as Kate Moss, Lily Allen and Uma Thurman and he has said that dealing is "in his blood".

He claimed that there "were some awful measures of greed" on Four Rooms and added: "I never take any s**te from the seller. You have to be upfront with people. I don't think dealers take any crap. If I smell blood, then I am like a hound dog. I will go for it big time."

The final dealer on the show is 54-year-old Gordon Watson, one of the world's leading authorities on 20th century design. Watson, who has worked for Sotheby's, described Four Rooms as "a rollercoaster of emotions".

"Some of the sellers have really tragic stories, others are bulls**tters," he said. Some really want to deal and others are time wasters. Some are so innocent it breaks my heart and others are wily characters. I love them all."

Channel 4's commissioning editor Tanya Shaw said: "Four Rooms is real edge-of-your-seat viewing with some spectacular, jaw-dropping moments. The range of artefacts and cultural items we see on the programme is phenomenal and it provides a fascinating insight into the arts market and the usually closed world of the dealers."

Four Rooms will begin on May 24 at 8pm on Channel 4.