What happened in the final of the BBC art competition series The Big Deal with Steph McGovern?
After six episodes, countless art-world challenges and a rather surreal journey into a world we had only really begun exploring, we found ourselves in the final three.
The final challenge took us to the Affordable Art Fair Battersea in London, where the remaining finalists were given the opportunity to curate and sell their own gallery stand over two days. This time, we weren't being given a brief for a particular client, hotel or cruise ship. We had to choose artwork from a selection presented to us by the BBC, create a collection that we believed would sell, and then bring it to life in our own gallery space to sell to the public.
It was probably the closest we'd come during the competition to doing what we actually wanted to do in the real world.
Curating our gallery at the Affordable Art Fair Battersea
The three finalist stands were positioned alongside one another upstairs at the Affordable Art Fair Battersea, which made the challenge particularly interesting. We weren't just thinking about which artworks we liked. We were thinking about how someone walking into the fair would experience our space, what would make them stop, and ultimately what might make them want to take a piece of artwork home.
The artwork we chose ranged from around £1,200 to £7,000, within the Affordable Art Fair's pricing parameters of affordable art pieces up to £10,000.. We had to make decisions about which artists we wanted to represent, negotiate our commission with them and then decide how we wanted the work to be presented.
For us, the collection needed to feel considered rather than simply like a selection of individual artworks we liked.
We chose work by artists Mathilda Mai, Bob Davidson and Mark Houghton, bringing together quite a varied collection of figurative work, folk-inspired elements, autumnal florals, geometric forms and sculpture. Visually, the artists were very different, but we liked that. We didn't want to create a stand where every piece looked as though it had come from the same artist or belonged to exactly the same interior.
Instead, we were looking for a collection that had variety, but still felt cohesive.
And, as we've found ourselves doing more and more since, we kept coming back to one simple question: Where would you imagine this in your home?
From the artwork to the person buying it
That question became a really useful way of approaching the challenge.
Rather than looking at a piece and thinking only about whether we personally loved it, we started imagining the different people who might connect with it. What kind of home would it live in? Who would buy it? What would they see in it? And, perhaps most importantly, could we imagine someone becoming emotionally attached to it?
Over the two days, we spoke to such a wide mix of people. We had an interior designer looking for artwork for a client, couples imagining pieces in their own homes and people who were drawn to a particular artist because of their story as much as the work itself.
One couple were even imagining one of the pieces in their villa in Greece. Those conversations were probably some of the most valuable parts of the whole challenge.
Because selling art isn't simply about standing beside a painting and telling someone its price. It's about understanding what has made them stop in the first place, finding out what they are drawn to and then helping them see how that artwork could become part of their life.
We spent a lot of time talking about the artists and their stories, because we believe that knowing something about the person behind the work can completely change the way you experience it. The artwork becomes more than an image on a wall.
It becomes something with a story, a feeling and a reason for being there.
Where fashion, interiors and art meet
Looking back, this challenge also made us realise how naturally our two creative backgrounds come together when it comes to art.
Before Bella + Ollie Art, we'd spent years working in very different creative worlds. Bella's background was in fashion, building a brand and understanding what makes people connect with a product, a story and a visual identity. Ollie's background is in interior design, working across private residential and commercial spaces and thinking about how objects, materials, colour and artwork come together within a room.
Those experiences might sound quite separate from the art world, but actually, they give us two sides of the same conversation.
Bella naturally thinks about the artist, their story, the emotion behind the work and the person who might connect with it. Ollie thinks about where that piece could live, what it would sit alongside and how it would actually work within an interior.
The Affordable Art Fair challenge was probably the first time we really saw those two things working together in a commercial art environment.
Great taste is one thing. Understanding how that taste translates into something people want to live with, is another.
And that became a much bigger part of how we started thinking about Bella + Ollie Art.
Discover the artists we’re championing
Elfyn Lewis
Elfyn Lewis
Charlie Evartisto- Boyce
Charlie Evartisto- Boyce
Maximillian Boxer
Maximillian Boxer
Putting Our Art Dealing Skills to the Test
Of course, there is one part of the final that didn't quite go the way we'd hoped.
We had some very close conversations and some potential deals that were getting seriously close, but the challenge came to an end before anything was secured. We were later told by the mentors that, had we had another couple of days, they believed we would have converted some of those conversations into sales.
And while it would obviously have been nice to see a red sticker go up on one of our artworks, we were still incredibly proud of the stand we'd created and the response we'd had from visitors. More importantly, the challenge gave us something that was difficult to get from simply looking at artwork online or visiting galleries.
We got to put our own taste to the test.
We had to choose work, curate it, present it, talk about it and then stand back and see how real people responded. That experience taught us a lot about the difference between choosing artwork you love and choosing artwork that someone else can see themselves living with.
From Battersea to Frieze London
After the Affordable Art Fair challenge, the competition moved into its final stage at Frieze London.
By this point, we had left the competition, so we watched the final challenge unfold from the other side. The remaining two finalists, Gavin and Liam, the Belfast boys, were challenged to pitch a £100,000 artwork to industry professionals at Frieze.
The artwork chosen for the challenge was Ghost by Erwin Wurm, taking the finalists into the blue-chip part of the art market, very different from the work we'd been selling at the Affordable Art Fair.
Frieze London takes place in The Regent's Park each October and has become one of the major dates in the international contemporary art calendar, bringing together galleries, artists, collectors and art-world professionals from around the world.
It was quite a fitting place to finish a competition that had been built around one central idea: that anyone can sell art.
From learning how to value and talk about artwork, to selling at the Affordable Art Fair Battersea, and finally pitching a six-figure work at Frieze London, the series showed just how many different sides there are to the art world. Gavin and Liam ultimately went on to win the competition. But for us, leaving at the Affordable Art Fair didn't really feel like the end.
What we took from The Big Deal
One of the biggest things The Big Deal with Steph McGovern gave us was a much clearer understanding of where we could fit within the art world. We had the opportunity to learn from people who had spent their careers working in it, including Cordelia de Freitas and Matt Carey-Williams, and to see the different sides of art dealing, collecting, curation and sales.
Cordelia in particular gave us feedback that has stayed with us. She told us that she saw us as true art dealers and that she believed we would go far. Coming from two people who had spent years working within the industry, that meant a lot.
We had entered the competition largely out of curiosity. We wanted to learn more about the art world, meet people within it and see whether our own creative instincts could translate into something beyond the worlds we'd already worked in.
By the time we reached the final, we had a much better idea of what that could look like.
Spotted an artist you loved in the final?
If artist Charlie Evaristo-Boyce caught your eye duringThe Big Deal , you can discover his limited edition prints and collect his work through Bella + Ollie Art. His work was selected by another finalist for the Affordable Art Fair final - and we’re proud to be able to represent his prints now too!
And that's where Bella + Ollie Art comes in
The Big Deal didn’t simply create Bella + Ollie Art overnight. We’d already started building the foundations around the time we filmed the show, but the experience helped us understand what we wanted it to become. It showed us that our backgrounds in fashion and interiors weren’t separate from the art world - they were actually part of what we could bring to it.
We could combine the story and emotion behind an artwork with an understanding of how it lives within a space, while always keeping the person buying it at the heart of what we do. Whether it’s someone buying their first original, an interior designer sourcing for a client, or a hotel looking to give its spaces a sense of identity, we want to make finding art feel personal.
That’s what we’re building with Bella + Ollie Art - discovering contemporary artists, sharing their stories and helping people find artwork they genuinely want to live with.
And if The Big Deal is where you first discovered us, we hope you’ll stay for what comes next. The show gave us the opportunity. Now we get to build something of our own.
Sign up below to follow the journey - and be the first to hear about our gallery space coming Spring 2027.
Who were the winners of The Big Deal with Steph McGovern?
The winners ofThe Big Deal with Steph McGovern were Gavin and Liam, the Belfast duo. They made it through the final stages of the competition and ultimately won the £50,000 prize of British art.
What happened in the final of The Big Deal with Steph McGovern?
The final saw the three remaining teams take on a challenge at the Affordable Art Fair Battersea in London. Each finalist had to curate a collection of artwork, create and present their own gallery stand and try to sell the work to visitors over two days. After this challenge, the final two moved on to Frieze London, where they were challenged to pitch a £100,000 artwork to art-world professionals.
What is the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea London?
The Affordable Art Fair Battersea is a contemporary art fair in London designed to make buying and collecting art more accessible. It brings together galleries and artists showcasing original contemporary artwork across painting, sculpture, photography and other mediums. The London Battersea fair has a £10,000 price ceiling for individual artworks, making it a very different environment from some of the higher-value works seen at major international art fairs.
The next Affordable Art Fair Battersea Autumn takes place from14–18 October 2026at Evolution London in Battersea Park, with more than 100 UK and international galleries exhibiting.
What art did Bella and Ollie choose to sell in the final?
For the Affordable Art Fair challenge, Bella + Ollie Art selected artwork by Mathilda Mai, Bob Davidson and Mark Houghton. We wanted the collection to feel varied and considered, bringing together figurative and folk-inspired work, autumnal florals, geometric pieces and sculpture rather than choosing artwork that all looked the same.
Who are Bella and Ollie Art?
Bella + Ollie Art is a contemporary art gallery and art curation business founded by siblings Bella and Ollie as seen on BBC 2's ' The Big Deal with Steph McGovern.' .Our approach combines Bella's background in fashion, branding and storytelling with Ollie's experience in interior design. We work with contemporary artists across original artwork and limited edition prints, as well as helping private clients, interior designers and hospitality businesses source and curate artwork for their spaces.
Whos Cordelia de Freitas on The Big Deal with Steph McGovern?
Cordelia de Freitas is an internationally recognised art dealer and Miami art fair director who mentored the contestants throughout The Big Deal with Steph McGovern. For us, having the opportunity to learn from someone with her experience was one of the most valuable parts of the competition. Her feedback on our approach to art dealing was particularly meaningful, including telling us that she saw us as true art dealers.
Who is Matt Carey- Williams from The Big Deal?
Matt Carey-Williams is an established figure in the international contemporary art world and was one of the art professionals involved in mentoring and judging the contestants onThe Big Deal with Steph McGovern. Alongside Cordelia de Freitas, he helped us understand more about the commercial and professional side of working with artists and selling art.
What is Freize London?
Frieze London is one of the world's major contemporary art fairs, taking place each October in The Regent's Park, London. It brings together international galleries and artists, from emerging practices through to established blue-chip art names, alongside collectors, curators and other art-world professionals.
In 2026, Frieze London takes place from 14–18 October, alongside Frieze Masters.
What was BBC2's The Big Deal with Steph McGovern about?
At its heart, The Big Deal with Steph McGovern was about challenging contestants to prove that anyone can sell art. Across the series, the teams had to learn how to choose artwork, understand buyers, work with artists, price and sell art, curate collections and ultimately pitch work within the professional art world.
For us, it also became a way of discovering whether our own creative backgrounds and instincts could translate into the art world — something that ultimately helped shape what we were building with Bella + Ollie Art.
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