Man pays £1,000 for a painting after getting into bidding war – with himself

'All of this happened on September 13, as well - how unlucky!'

A man has cost his wife £1,000 after falling into a bidding war with himself for a painting of characters from ‘Still Game’.

Debbie Stephens, 60, said all she could do was ‘watch in shock’ as her husband Craig, 55, bid on the artwork against himself prior to a theatrical adaptation of the BBC show.

Not realising how an auction worked, Craig kept standing up and shouting out increments of £50 – starting with £650.

The theatre erupted into laughter when he realised – a bit too late -that no one else had been bidding on the painting.

But taking it in stride, the couple have since given the £1,000 artwork a pride-of-place on their living room wall in Portobello, Edinburgh.

Over the years, Craig has cost Debbie £5,000 with his antics – including melting their fridge and crashing their car while trying to switch the radio station.

Debbie, who works as a podcaster, said: ‘Craig takes me to the edge sometimes – but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

‘Besides, the money went to a good cause. He has a mind of his own, sometimes he’ll listen to me, sometimes he’ll not. But he’s just strong-headed that way – and I just need to accept it.’

Debbie and Craig love ‘Still Game’ so much that they visited the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh to watch a stage performance of it last September.

They hadn’t realised the show would kick off with local artist Rachel Jordan auctioning off her painting of the characters.

Once someone started the bidding war off at £50 – Craig took it upon himself to shout out the highest offer.

But he didn’t realise he was actually expected to buy the painting afterwards.

Debbie explained: ‘The starting bid was £50, but he put his hand up for £650. I don’t think he was too sure how it worked – because he stuck his hand up again and shouted £850.

‘I shouted back, “What are you doing? You’re bidding against yourself!” Everyone around us just roared with laughter.’

But thanks to Craig’s massive bid, the auctioneer invited the couple backstage to meet the cast.

While Debbie says she wasn’t very happy with her husband, she was pleased the money was going to Skillz Academy, a children’s charity.

‘All of this happened on September 13, as well – how unlucky!’

Craig and Debbie decided to hang the painting on the living room wall – but Debbie has to watch him when he cleans it, as he tried to use a can of polish on the oil painting.

Debbie says the couple are still going strong despite Craig’s clumsiness.

She laughed: ‘I just know something’s gone wrong, as soon as he wonders off and I can hear shouting in the background.

‘We’re 30 years married next year – it’s a long time to be with someone as clumsy as that. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.’

Craig added: ‘I laugh off the title of “Britain’s clumsiest husband”, but I feel honoured. Even as a child I was clumsy – I fell off a cliff once, playing hide-and-seek.

‘On the whole, I just try to be helpful to my long-suffering wife!’

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