Steph McGovern: If I could own any painting it would be one of David Hockney's Yorkshire pieces

The Big Deal With Steph McGovern could change that, with seven pairs of aspiring art dealers given the opportunity to test their creative instincts, flex their entrepreneurial muscle and see if they can make money.

Under the watchful gaze of host McGovern, series mentor Cordelia de Freitas and industry insiders, each episode pulls back the curtain on a corner of the art market, tasking the pairs with real-world challenges designed to test the different skills needed to succeed in the art business.

Every penny they make, they get to keep, and for the last pair standing, there is a prize of brilliant British art worth £50,000. "Art is for everyone,” says McGovern, who grew up in Middlesbrough and recently lived in Yorkshire. “We all like nice things on our walls and that could be anything from a cheap poster to something you've spent loads of money on, or one your kids’ pictures.

"No one should be excluded from being part of the art world, whether as a creator, a collector or someone wanting to cash in. On The Big Deal we show that, despite appearances, the art market is no different to other businesses. You just have to know the rules of the game.

"The key thing I came away with is that it’s all about the art of storytelling; work out what the artist is trying to tell the world and then get that across to potential buyers. Nail that and there is money to be made whatever your background or experiences in life.”

The show, she says, is like The Apprentice for the art world, “but the deals are all real, and it’s as much about the hustle as it is about art”.

McGovern’s dad, an artist, was the first person she called when she got the role of host. “I grew up in a home full of curiosities,” she reflects. “The kids in our neighbourhood found it weird coming to our house with the life-like sculptures in the garden and his curious paintings inside. (My dad) went to the Royal College of Art, which was an amazing achievement for a working-class kid, but the realities of trying to make a living out of it meant he also had to take on teaching jobs."

Despite that, McGovern hopes to show that art “isn’t as exclusive as you might think”. “A hustle is a hustle no matter what you’re buying or selling,” she says.

As for her own tastes when it comes to art, if she could own any piece, what would it be? “If it was a painting, it’d be a Hockney - one of his amazing pieces of Yorkshire. He is the perfect example of someone who didn’t change to fit in, and the world loved him for it. If it was a sculpture, it would be an Antony Gormley. Maybe I’d commission my own version of the Angel of the North, for the gar den.”

- The Big Deal With Steph McGovern is a BBC Two show and is also available to watch on BBC iPlayer.