ITV’s Million Pound Pawn star Dan Hatfield on some of the life-changing deals he's made as a pawnbroker in Sheffield

The man behind it is quickly becoming a household name thanks to the show and he is known for his generous life-changing deals with everyday Yorkshire folk.

“We’re independent, friendly and we’re not greedy,” says Dan.

He likes to know his regulars by name, do a good job and be part of the community where he works.

And his deals now lead people from all walks of life to entrust the Sheffield lad with their fortunes.

“I’ve been approached to sell an aristocrat’s palace, all his artwork and his yacht but there’s nothing I enjoy more than doing a deal on something like a watch that might change someone’s life.

"Yes I love the big deals but I enjoy good old Yorkshire folk coming to see me to trade what they think are everyday items but are actually worth life-changing amounts of money.”

One of those life-changing moments was aired on the show when Dan offered a former care home tea lady Kathryn, who had lost her job, £15,550 for a Rolex watch that she had been hoping to receive £3,000 for.

"I never expected this in a million years and I really thought it could be fake," said Kathryn who was unsure prior to the deal whether she would be getting enough money to go to York or New York.

She added: "I feel sick. It's a lot of money."

Like Kathryn, who had been gifted the Rolex watch by the wife of a former care home resident, Dan was classed as an essential worker during the pandemic.

“People were buying lots at the start of the pandemic but now they’re selling more,” the 39-year-old says.

He says that people had an influx of cash in the early days of the pandemic but as the rising cost of living bites, people are now selling their items to make ends meet.

But Dan warns people not to settle on the first offer, especially some of the prices offered by high street pawnbrokers.

“It’s important to shop around for the best deal,” he says, claiming he sometimes offers people five times more than they had been offered at some of the chain stores.

He is passionate about getting more cash into people’s pockets, although he has a different strategy to Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis.

“I help people empower themselves to get more cash in their pockets.

"Martin gives you facts about the situation we’re in and how to address it with the suppliers.

"Where I kind of go ‘look at the things around you, look at the world around you.

"How can you take advantage of that and make as much money as possible?’ We compliment each other.”

Dan often gets approached by investors to create a portfolio of stores.

But he is set on staying in Yorkshire and if he branches out, he would look at setting up stores in Leeds, Huddersfield or Wakefield.

“People always ask me why I don’t have more stores but I like to do a good job well.

"I love the shop in Sheffield and I have an office in London,” says Dan who splits his life between the two cities.

He stays with his fiance Joff Powell half the week when he is in London then Joff and Dan live in Sheffield the rest of the week, enjoying dog walks in the Peak District, close to their three-bed cottage in Dore.

“I always feel like I’m home when I am back in Yorkshire,” Dan says. “Yorkshire people are the best. We like to take things slower.”

When I speak to Dan, Joff has been busy organising a surprise 40th birthday treat for him as well as completing the London Marathon in aid of SEED, an eating disorder charity.

“I wanted to be there to support him but I had Covid,” says Dan, as we chat on Zoom.

Dan isn’t spending his life driving around in Rolls Royce’s and Lamborghinis, even though often people think he lives a lavish lifestyle.

“I have a nice comfortable life, he says. “Many of the wealthy clients I work with are time poor and don’t have time to enjoy their valuables.”

From unwanted technology or gadgets to clothes, Dan is passionate about turning “rags into riches”.

Dan is in talks about his own TV show, he would love to write a book “because everyone keeps asking” him to and is inundated with opportunities.

He has even pawned his own items utilising his own services.

As a Pawnbroker, Dan either buys items, people loan off him or he facilitates part of a large deal.

Among the more unusual items he says people have tried to trade with him are a cast of singer Justin Bieber’s genitalia and a macabre bottle of bath water, allegedly from the tub in which singer Whitney Houston died.

He says we all have an average £2,000 of unwanted goods in our homes.

“One thing I am trying to take to the people of the country, particularly Yorkshire, is that we've got to start rummaging through our goods, looking under our beds.

"People think their items might not be worth anything but they are.”

He adds: “We are a nation of collectors...We collect everything and anything.

"If you box smart you could take your items to market and earn £2,000 without doing much work.”