Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh Season 7 Episode 28

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Transcript

00:00:00Hello and welcome. Just taking my morning stroll.

00:00:04You know, one of the joys about the English countryside

00:00:06is you never know who you're going to bump into.

00:00:07Morning, Alan.

00:00:08Morning.

00:00:11It was him, wasn't it?

00:00:13Time for a lovely weekend.

00:00:30As the leaves turn and the air takes on that familiar crispness

00:00:54and slightly sour tang,

00:00:56what better time to celebrate the joys of the British countryside

00:01:00and with Bonfire Night just around the corner,

00:01:03the landscape seems alive with the crackle of fires,

00:01:06the scent of wood smoke and the sparkle of fireworks

00:01:09lighting up the night sky.

00:01:11And lighting up the show today,

00:01:14from Paddington to Notting Hill to W1A,

00:01:17Hugh Bonneville on saying farewell

00:01:19to the phenomenally successful Downton Abbey.

00:01:22And he's got a new book too.

00:01:24From Treading the Corridors of Power

00:01:26to Treading the Lawns here at Manor Farms,

00:01:28Sir John Major on Family Passions,

00:01:31Finding a Path to Power,

00:01:32and his love of the music hall.

00:01:35And getting us in the mood for Bonfire Night

00:01:37without needing to light a single sparkler,

00:01:40Jonathan Mosley gets creative with flowers

00:01:42with his fireworks-inspired display.

00:01:44And it's the story that embodies eternal childhood

00:01:48with the boy who wouldn't grow up.

00:01:50Peter Pan, actress Lolita Chakrabarty

00:01:53and the Neverland Adventures

00:01:54with a place in all our hearts.

00:01:57And they're one of the oldest English long-haired sheep breeds.

00:02:01In a first here at Manor Farms,

00:02:02say hello to our new flock of border lesters,

00:02:06known for their adorable rabbit-like ears.

00:02:08First time to meet today's salubrious line-up,

00:02:17all of whom are making their Manor Farm debut.

00:02:20Sir John Major,

00:02:21Lolita Chakrabarty

00:02:22and Hugh Bonneville.

00:02:24Welcome to you all.

00:02:25First time here,

00:02:25which is very nice.

00:02:27But all three of you

00:02:28well-connected with the countryside.

00:02:31Hugh,

00:02:31you do live in the countryside now,

00:02:32not too far from here,

00:02:33so you clearly do enjoy living in the countryside.

00:02:35Well, I'm half and half.

00:02:37I sort of grew up in my early years in London

00:02:39and have had the benefit of both parts.

00:02:42And being around here,

00:02:44I absolutely love the South Downs.

00:02:45It's one of my happy-go-to places

00:02:48and anything between sort of Winchester

00:02:51and Eastbourne at the end of the South Downs Way,

00:02:53I'm familiar with that part of the landscape.

00:02:55So you walk up?

00:02:56I have been.

00:02:57I do walk occasionally, Alan.

00:03:01But doing the South Downs Way,

00:03:03I heartily recommend it.

00:03:04It's both beautiful and therapeutic.

00:03:06I mean, John,

00:03:07when you were Prime Minister,

00:03:08every county you must have visited.

00:03:10So you know the land well, presumably.

00:03:14Reasonably well, yeah.

00:03:16But I suppose my principal thought

00:03:18about all that over the years

00:03:19is that, thank God,

00:03:22I was born in a country that has seasons.

00:03:24I can't imagine living in a country that doesn't.

00:03:27I've worked in some,

00:03:29but I think the seasons in this country

00:03:31are something that will always bring me back.

00:03:33Favourite season, which one?

00:03:35Spring, summer, autumn or winter?

00:03:36Spring or autumn.

00:03:37Yeah.

00:03:37It's a toss-up.

00:03:38Probably spring.

00:03:39Yeah.

00:03:40Renewal.

00:03:41Yeah, Sam, it's beautiful.

00:03:43When you see the trees begin to bud

00:03:44and the flowers begin to bud

00:03:45and everything comes to life

00:03:47from being naked,

00:03:50as many of the plants are,

00:03:51and they begin to leaf.

00:03:52It's a wonderful time.

00:03:53Lita, countryside or you're a city girl?

00:03:56I'm totally a city girl,

00:03:57but I really love the countryside.

00:03:59So when I come back to the city,

00:04:00I feel at home.

00:04:01I grew up in Birmingham,

00:04:02so I'm very city.

00:04:03It's in my blood.

00:04:04But when I go to the countryside,

00:04:05I'm like, oh, why don't I live here?

00:04:07I'm a true Gemini.

00:04:09Yeah.

00:04:10Splits personality.

00:04:11Looking at you all from your disparate areas,

00:04:14from theatre, from writing,

00:04:17from politics, the whole thing,

00:04:19it strikes me that the people

00:04:21that you three have met over the years,

00:04:23whether they've been members of the public

00:04:25who tell you exactly what they think, John,

00:04:27or fans or great people that you've worked with,

00:04:32actors in particular,

00:04:33I mean, are there things for you

00:04:34that have stayed with you

00:04:35that you've been told by folk

00:04:38that perhaps in a moment

00:04:40that you didn't really expect

00:04:41and suddenly you're aware

00:04:43that that's going to stick with you for life?

00:04:44Actually, yes.

00:04:45One that has occurred to me

00:04:47is my very first day

00:04:49at the National Theatre

00:04:50when I was very, very nervous

00:04:51and holding a spear

00:04:52and understudying

00:04:53and this other actor

00:04:55came up to me at the tea urn

00:04:57as we were both sort of mixing

00:04:59our coffees and teas

00:05:00and it was Celia Imry

00:05:01and she said,

00:05:02this is nerve-wracking, isn't it?

00:05:04I thought, gosh,

00:05:05well, she's pretty well established

00:05:06and she's nervous, you know, then...

00:05:08And she then,

00:05:09later in the conversation,

00:05:10she said something

00:05:11that her mother had said to her

00:05:13which was,

00:05:13do it now.

00:05:15And I thought nothing of it at the time

00:05:17but it,

00:05:18on reflection,

00:05:18it became a real sort of mantra for me.

00:05:20We're only here once

00:05:21and I lost my brother

00:05:23very suddenly,

00:05:24overnight,

00:05:24he died, you know,

00:05:25very unexpectedly

00:05:26and so the next day

00:05:27I went and planted

00:05:28that copper beech

00:05:30that I'd been meaning to plant

00:05:31for ten years

00:05:32and had never got round to.

00:05:34I thought, do it now.

00:05:36Gosh, gosh.

00:05:37Lolita,

00:05:38for you,

00:05:39things that have stuck.

00:05:40So my first play,

00:05:41Red Velvet,

00:05:42was a really hard-earned piece of work

00:05:45and we were lucky enough

00:05:48to transfer it to New York

00:05:49and when we went to New York

00:05:51I invited someone

00:05:52I'd met a few times,

00:05:53James Earl Jones,

00:05:54to come and see the opening night.

00:05:55Oh, what a boy, wow.

00:05:57And the main character...

00:05:59That was a name drop.

00:06:00I'm just going to pick that up.

00:06:01Really wonderful.

00:06:02I'm just going to pick that up.

00:06:03But the main character,

00:06:04in my head

00:06:05as I'd written Ira Aldridge,

00:06:06elements of him

00:06:07were James Earl Jones.

00:06:09Anyway,

00:06:10he came to see the show

00:06:11and afterwards

00:06:12he said to me,

00:06:13I had no idea,

00:06:14he said,

00:06:15I thought Ira Aldridge

00:06:16was an English actor.

00:06:17I had no idea

00:06:18he was American

00:06:19and that he did all that.

00:06:21I thought,

00:06:21my God,

00:06:22James Earl Jones

00:06:22is saying that to me.

00:06:23I thought,

00:06:24OK, I've done my job.

00:06:25You have done your job.

00:06:26In the political arena then,

00:06:28John,

00:06:28I mean,

00:06:29things that you've been said

00:06:30that have stuck with you

00:06:31that you've not forgotten.

00:06:33Gosh,

00:06:33there are so many.

00:06:35Let me offer you one.

00:06:36Right.

00:06:37I was walking in the Kremlin

00:06:38with Boris Yeltsin.

00:06:40That's another name drop.

00:06:42I don't think anybody else

00:06:43can sit here

00:06:44and say to me,

00:06:45I was walking in the Kremlin

00:06:47with Boris Yeltsin.

00:06:48Well, I was.

00:06:49I was walking in the Kremlin

00:06:50with Boris Yeltsin

00:06:52and I said to him,

00:06:53tell me,

00:06:54Boris,

00:06:54in one word,

00:06:56what is the state of Russia?

00:06:58He said,

00:06:59good.

00:07:00I was surprised.

00:07:01It was falling to pieces

00:07:02at the time.

00:07:03I said,

00:07:03tell me in two words.

00:07:04He said,

00:07:04not good.

00:07:07And I thought,

00:07:08there's more to this man

00:07:10than I thought.

00:07:10You all over the years

00:07:14had royal collections

00:07:16or connections

00:07:16or done things.

00:07:18You were part of the

00:07:19coronation concert

00:07:20at Windsor Castle.

00:07:22Yeah.

00:07:22Hugh was with someone

00:07:23extraordinarily famous.

00:07:25Here's Hugh

00:07:25in the coronation concert

00:07:26at Windsor.

00:07:27Wait a second.

00:07:29Are you single,

00:07:31your lordship?

00:07:32Well, look,

00:07:33I mean,

00:07:33I'm flattered.

00:07:35Oh,

00:07:35you feel it too.

00:07:37Lady Piggy,

00:07:38it just sounds so right.

00:07:40Does it?

00:07:41Does it?

00:07:42Oh,

00:07:42good grief.

00:07:44Just point us

00:07:45to the royal box,

00:07:46you,

00:07:46and we will both

00:07:47be out of your way.

00:07:48Yes, darling.

00:07:49Show him the way.

00:07:51King Charles E. Whirls.

00:07:53He is expecting him.

00:07:55Well,

00:07:56aren't you sitting

00:07:56in the royal box as well?

00:07:58Oh,

00:07:58not anymore.

00:07:59I'll get him to the box,

00:08:01but then I have

00:08:02a wedding to plan

00:08:03for a lord

00:08:05and future lady.

00:08:08Well,

00:08:08I can't wait.

00:08:09So, look,

00:08:09it's up the stairs,

00:08:11chaps in tall fuzzy hats.

00:08:13They'll show you the way.

00:08:14Thank you so much, Hugh.

00:08:16Let's go, Piggy.

00:08:16Come on.

00:08:17Oh,

00:08:17back soon.

00:08:19Don't forget to get a ring.

00:08:23A big one, too.

00:08:26Being flirted with

00:08:27by Miss Piggy.

00:08:28That was a career

00:08:30point,

00:08:31let's put it that way.

00:08:33Yeah,

00:08:34she's not as tall as that.

00:08:34Can you forget about

00:08:35the puppetry?

00:08:35Can you forget about

00:08:36the puppetry

00:08:36and all that's going on?

00:08:37You're going to start

00:08:38telling me she's not real.

00:08:39She'll be furious.

00:08:40She's at home.

00:08:40Sorry, darling.

00:08:41I'll be back soon.

00:08:43Was Paddington

00:08:44more trouble?

00:08:46Yeah,

00:08:47he had different issues.

00:08:49to John.

00:08:50Lelita,

00:08:50you got your OBE

00:08:52at Windsor Castle.

00:08:53I did,

00:08:54yeah.

00:08:54It was an amazing day.

00:08:55Amazing day

00:08:56from Princess Anne,

00:08:57yeah,

00:08:57and just with so many

00:08:58extraordinary people,

00:09:00unforgettable experience.

00:09:02It's very special,

00:09:03and John,

00:09:04you particularly,

00:09:04I mean,

00:09:05you know,

00:09:05all those years

00:09:06as Prime Minister

00:09:07and meetings

00:09:08and meetings

00:09:08with the Queen

00:09:09and encounters

00:09:10at Buckingham Palace

00:09:11and Balmore

00:09:12Windsor Castle,

00:09:12a whole lot,

00:09:13all the sort of

00:09:13royal residences

00:09:14you've encountered,

00:09:16presumably.

00:09:17Yes.

00:09:17I remember

00:09:18staying with the Queen

00:09:19in Scotland,

00:09:20getting up

00:09:21very early in the morning

00:09:22because

00:09:22some wretched

00:09:24pipes

00:09:25piping

00:09:25around the building.

00:09:27You wouldn't have said

00:09:28that when she was alive.

00:09:30Well,

00:09:31not to the Queen,

00:09:31I wouldn't know.

00:09:32And I looked

00:09:34out of the window

00:09:34and there was

00:09:36this lady

00:09:37in her headscarf

00:09:38and a raincoat

00:09:39in rather grotty weather

00:09:41with dogs,

00:09:43corgis,

00:09:44and it was the Queen

00:09:44out very early

00:09:45in the morning

00:09:46walking her corgis.

00:09:47I remember that

00:09:48very plainly.

00:09:49Saying,

00:09:49come in,

00:09:50it's wet.

00:09:51Get yourself in it.

00:09:52She seemed quite relaxed

00:09:53in a way.

00:09:54Yeah,

00:09:54I think she is,

00:09:55particularly up in Scotland,

00:09:56which she used to love,

00:09:57really.

00:09:58Much more from

00:09:59Lolita,

00:10:00Sir John and Hugh

00:10:01coming up.

00:10:02Now,

00:10:02tuck into today's offerings

00:10:03with the best china

00:10:05out today

00:10:05and there's some

00:10:07Madeira cake

00:10:07courtesy of

00:10:08Mrs Patmore,

00:10:09you'd be pleased.

00:10:09No,

00:10:10very good.

00:10:10Still to come.

00:10:11You thought you'd shed it here,

00:10:12I'm sorry.

00:10:13Still to come.

00:10:14In the latest

00:10:15Weekend With,

00:10:16we join the punk icon

00:10:17singer Toya,

00:10:19welcomes us to her home

00:10:20and reveals her passion

00:10:21for living life

00:10:22on the river

00:10:22and long upright ears

00:10:25and elegant arched

00:10:26Roman nose

00:10:27and his sheep

00:10:28aren't too shabby either.

00:10:29Tom Davies presents

00:10:30his Border Leicesters,

00:10:32a first for Manor Farm.

00:10:34I'll be back with Tom

00:10:35and his stately sheep

00:10:36right after this.

00:10:38Slice of Madeira,

00:10:39anyone?

00:10:40Did you say yes,

00:10:41Prime Minister?

00:10:42Oh,

00:10:43I've always wanted to say that.

00:10:44In the other gardens

00:11:00and all up in the vale

00:11:02from the autumn bonfires

00:11:04see the smoke trail.

00:11:06Pleasant summer over

00:11:07and all the summer flowers.

00:11:09The red fire blazes,

00:11:12the grey smoke towers.

00:11:14Lovely words

00:11:15by Robert Louis Stevenson

00:11:17and timely

00:11:17with Bonfire Night

00:11:18just around the corner.

00:11:20Before the fireworks

00:11:21with our own

00:11:22sparkling line-up.

00:11:23Coming up,

00:11:24the only thing exploding

00:11:25is his creativity.

00:11:27Florist Jonathan Mosley

00:11:28reveals his

00:11:29firework-inspired

00:11:30floral arrangements

00:11:31to light up

00:11:32the inside of your home

00:11:33this bonfire night.

00:11:34And clandestine affairs,

00:11:37family secrets,

00:11:38social ambition,

00:11:39joyous young love

00:11:40and dark doings

00:11:42of the scheming

00:11:42and the scurrilous.

00:11:44Hugh Bonneville

00:11:44on the worldwide success

00:11:46of Downton Abbey

00:11:47and his own success

00:11:48as a children's author.

00:11:51But first,

00:11:51recognised for their

00:11:52characteristic Roman noses,

00:11:54prominent upright ears

00:11:56and superior fleece,

00:11:59Balder Lester sheep

00:12:00are one of our

00:12:01most distinguished breeds

00:12:02as the largest

00:12:03indigenous sheep

00:12:04in the British Isles.

00:12:05The Border Lester

00:12:06is highly regarded

00:12:08for its dual-purpose qualities

00:12:09offering both

00:12:10rapidly maturing

00:12:11high-quality meat

00:12:12and exceptional wool.

00:12:14Here to learn more

00:12:15about this rare

00:12:16and versatile breed,

00:12:17welcome Cassandra

00:12:19and Jumbo

00:12:20with our resident farmer

00:12:22Tom Davis.

00:12:23We should talk about

00:12:24the colour first of all,

00:12:25Tom.

00:12:25So we've got Cassandra here

00:12:26who's what you might call

00:12:27normal sheep colour.

00:12:28What's with Jumbo

00:12:29and his tint?

00:12:30So this is called

00:12:31bloom dipping.

00:12:32And there are a few

00:12:33breeds of sheep

00:12:33in the UK

00:12:34where, you know,

00:12:35for showing

00:12:36and sale purposes

00:12:37they're bloom dipped

00:12:38and you can get

00:12:39a range of different colours

00:12:40and in some of the

00:12:41days gone by

00:12:42it would have been

00:12:43maybe peaty soil

00:12:44or even like

00:12:46a more natural

00:12:46sort of grey colour

00:12:47that would have

00:12:48covered the fleece.

00:12:50And what it does

00:12:51is it just makes

00:12:52those white legs

00:12:53and that very

00:12:53iconic face

00:12:55of the Border Lester

00:12:56pop out

00:12:56that little bit more.

00:12:58And because

00:12:59Jumbo

00:13:00is a recent

00:13:01addition

00:13:02to the flock

00:13:03at Mud Chute

00:13:04that's why

00:13:05he's in his

00:13:06show clothes.

00:13:08In his show attire.

00:13:10And they originated

00:13:10where?

00:13:11In Leicester?

00:13:12Well,

00:13:12Northumberland.

00:13:13The sort of

00:13:14border counties

00:13:15are said to have

00:13:16been created

00:13:17around in the

00:13:17sort of 1700s,

00:13:19mid to late 1700s

00:13:20there.

00:13:21And as with

00:13:22all breeds of sheep

00:13:23if we go back

00:13:24to their sort of

00:13:25origins

00:13:25they will have

00:13:26changed dramatically

00:13:27since that sort

00:13:28of initiation.

00:13:29A lot of hybridisation

00:13:30between different breeds.

00:13:31And the ears

00:13:32are so distinctive

00:13:33aren't they?

00:13:33They're like hairs.

00:13:34They're so long.

00:13:36They are.

00:13:36And it's one of the

00:13:37things that makes

00:13:38the breed stand out.

00:13:39Once you see

00:13:40a Border Lester

00:13:41you will never forget it.

00:13:42So the life cycle

00:13:43of them then

00:13:44is when is

00:13:45the ram put to the sheep?

00:13:47So the ram goes to

00:13:48the old sort of

00:13:48wives' tale

00:13:49or farmers' tale

00:13:50is you put the ram

00:13:51in on bonfire night

00:13:52and you'll have

00:13:53lambs on April

00:13:54Fool's Day.

00:13:55So that's generally

00:13:56the cycle

00:13:56but with breeds

00:13:58like this

00:13:58if we're wanting

00:13:59early lammers

00:14:00early lambs

00:14:01for some of the shows

00:14:02you'd be

00:14:02lambing anywhere

00:14:03between

00:14:04sort of December

00:14:05or January

00:14:06right the way through

00:14:07to sort of

00:14:08you wouldn't want

00:14:08them any later

00:14:09than the beginning

00:14:09of March really.

00:14:10But also if you're

00:14:11in a colder part

00:14:12of the country

00:14:12you wouldn't want

00:14:12them too early

00:14:13would you?

00:14:14No.

00:14:14Are these sheep

00:14:15which tend to be

00:14:16more lowland?

00:14:17They're not on

00:14:18Well they are used

00:14:19up in sort of

00:14:20higher country

00:14:21for producing

00:14:22crossbred sheep

00:14:23this fantastic

00:14:24white face

00:14:24these big framey

00:14:25bodies

00:14:25they'll produce

00:14:26what's called

00:14:27a mule ewe

00:14:28you know

00:14:28a big framed

00:14:29female crossbred sheep

00:14:31that will be able

00:14:31to milk well

00:14:33and carry big lambs

00:14:34inside that big

00:14:35deep frame

00:14:36you know

00:14:36so they

00:14:37will need a bit

00:14:38of looking after

00:14:39you know

00:14:40and you'll need

00:14:41to potentially

00:14:42if you're lambing

00:14:42early

00:14:43you will need

00:14:43to lamb them

00:14:44inside as opposed

00:14:45to outside

00:14:46but later on

00:14:47in the country

00:14:48especially up north

00:14:49more

00:14:49you'd be sort of

00:14:50lambing around

00:14:51about sort of

00:14:51April time

00:14:52if they're outside

00:14:53now looking

00:14:54and saying

00:14:54he's new

00:14:55to the flock

00:14:55as it were

00:14:56it's very important

00:14:57obviously

00:14:58whatever your flock

00:14:58wherever you are

00:14:59whatever the breed is

00:15:00is to keep

00:15:01new blood coming in

00:15:03and is that something

00:15:04you know

00:15:04you're constantly doing

00:15:05is introducing

00:15:06new stock

00:15:07with a different line

00:15:08obviously still

00:15:08the same breed

00:15:09but from a different

00:15:11branch

00:15:11where we're there

00:15:12just to keep

00:15:12the hybrid vigour

00:15:13going then really

00:15:14yes

00:15:14so these are

00:15:16one of the more

00:15:16recent additions

00:15:17to the Rare Breed

00:15:18Survival Trust

00:15:19watch list

00:15:19over the last few years

00:15:20and since they've

00:15:22come onto the list

00:15:23there seems to have

00:15:23been an increase

00:15:24in keepers

00:15:25which is fantastic

00:15:25you know

00:15:27but you always want

00:15:28to keep that genetic

00:15:29diversity

00:15:29as wide as possible

00:15:31and you know

00:15:32you need to look for

00:15:33what you want

00:15:34your rams

00:15:35and your females

00:15:36to do

00:15:36and always looking

00:15:37at the next generation

00:15:38what you're improving

00:15:39so with the purchase

00:15:41of Jumbo there

00:15:42we're looking at

00:15:43improving the size

00:15:44and the length

00:15:45in the borders

00:15:46that we produce

00:15:47you know

00:15:48and having that presence

00:15:49and that power

00:15:49and the flock

00:15:50that he comes from

00:15:51is a prize winning flock

00:15:52you know

00:15:53wins up and down

00:15:54the country

00:15:54a lot of the big

00:15:55major shows

00:15:55so he's a fantastic

00:15:57new addition

00:15:57and his life

00:15:58as a ram

00:15:59will be

00:15:59how long

00:16:00serving your views

00:16:01well for us

00:16:01I mean

00:16:01unfortunately for him

00:16:02we've only got

00:16:02three years

00:16:03this time

00:16:04but you know

00:16:04who knows

00:16:05we may expand

00:16:06that in the future

00:16:07and also as well

00:16:08you know

00:16:09he may go out

00:16:09to a few other places

00:16:11on a working holiday

00:16:12and hopefully

00:16:14leave the ladies

00:16:14that he goes

00:16:15and sees

00:16:15with more than

00:16:16just happy memories

00:16:16Jumbo

00:16:17a lot's resting

00:16:18on you

00:16:19for mud chute

00:16:19you know what to do

00:16:21go out and do it

00:16:23go on

00:16:24enjoy yourself

00:16:25we hear a lot about wool

00:16:26and about how difficult

00:16:27it is now

00:16:28to get a good price

00:16:29for wool

00:16:29but this is quality

00:16:30wool here

00:16:30presumably they do

00:16:31better than most

00:16:32yes they will

00:16:33and what you would

00:16:33want to do

00:16:34is leave it

00:16:35until that length

00:16:36has grown

00:16:37full staple length

00:16:38and you shear it off

00:16:39incredibly carefully

00:16:40and that lovely fleece

00:16:41with beautiful crimp

00:16:43right the way down it

00:16:44is a more premium price

00:16:46the long wool breeds

00:16:46of sheep in the UK

00:16:47are the ones

00:16:48that you get

00:16:48a premium price for

00:16:49well we wish you

00:16:50luck with them

00:16:50Jumbo

00:16:51we hope you'll do well

00:16:52for Tom

00:16:52you know

00:16:53he's chosen you

00:16:54so just do right

00:16:55by him

00:16:56all right

00:16:56still to come

00:16:57the cricket loving

00:16:58politician

00:16:59who became Prime Minister

00:17:00Sir John Major

00:17:01on his dowring street years

00:17:03and his life

00:17:04after politics

00:17:05and from the bill

00:17:06to Broadway

00:17:07Lolita Chakrabarti

00:17:08on the runaway success

00:17:10that won five

00:17:11Olivier's

00:17:11and three Tony Awards

00:17:13I'll see you

00:17:14with the multi-talented

00:17:15Lolita and more

00:17:16right after this

00:17:17welcome back

00:17:31to Love Your Weekend

00:17:32still ahead

00:17:33as the late

00:17:34great Noel Cowan

00:17:35famously said

00:17:36a perfect martini

00:17:37should be made

00:17:38by filling a glass

00:17:39with gin

00:17:39and waving it

00:17:40in the general direction

00:17:41of Italy

00:17:42well he may not be

00:17:44waving in the general

00:17:44direction of Italy

00:17:45but he doesn't know

00:17:46how to fill the glass

00:17:47Tom Sergi

00:17:48is Master of Ceremonies

00:17:49in today's Best of British

00:17:51and it's a martini special

00:17:53can't wait

00:17:54and buckle up

00:17:55for the adventure

00:17:56of a lifetime

00:17:57Hugh Bonneville

00:17:58and his hilarious

00:17:59debut children's novel

00:18:00inspired by his own

00:18:02childhood

00:18:02but first

00:18:03West End

00:18:04and Broadway success

00:18:05is never a given

00:18:07but when it does come

00:18:08it's a reflection

00:18:10of a show

00:18:10that's like a magnet

00:18:11to audiences

00:18:12which brings me

00:18:13to my next guest

00:18:14whose stage adaptation

00:18:16of Jan Martel's

00:18:17Life of Pi

00:18:18was nothing short

00:18:19of a masterpiece

00:18:20with its innovative

00:18:21storytelling

00:18:22that had audiences

00:18:23gripped

00:18:24from the word go

00:18:25I will tell you

00:18:27everything

00:18:28because my story

00:18:31will make you

00:18:33believe in God

00:18:34I lived in

00:18:37Pondicherry's

00:18:38botanical gardens

00:18:39it was a huge zoo

00:18:41spread over

00:18:42acres and acres

00:18:43and now it's so small

00:18:45it fits in my head

00:18:55why are you looking

00:18:58at me like that

00:18:59is it me next

00:19:00is that what you think

00:19:01you scare me

00:19:11but when I'm with you

00:19:13I feel better

00:19:15welcome to writer

00:19:17and actress

00:19:18Lalita Chakrabarty

00:19:19who did the screenplay

00:19:20the stage

00:19:21the dialogue

00:19:23the play

00:19:24from the book

00:19:25Life of Pi

00:19:26do you know

00:19:26as a reader

00:19:28so often

00:19:29when you see

00:19:29adaptations

00:19:29or whatever

00:19:30they're good

00:19:31but the colour

00:19:32isn't quite

00:19:32like it was

00:19:33in your imagination

00:19:34but oh my goodness

00:19:35it most certainly

00:19:36was with that

00:19:37but the pressure

00:19:38Lalita

00:19:38of taking that book

00:19:40which was prized

00:19:41by so many

00:19:42book a winner

00:19:43and all

00:19:43okay Lalita

00:19:44here you are

00:19:44we'd like you to

00:19:45turn this into

00:19:46a stage play

00:19:47hey there must have

00:19:48been the thrill of it

00:19:49but be closely

00:19:50falling on its heels

00:19:50I suspect it was

00:19:51oh my goodness

00:19:52I mustn't break this

00:19:53is that what it was like

00:19:54it was exactly like that

00:19:56I'd loved the novel

00:19:56when it first came out

00:19:57in 2002

00:19:58and so 15 years later

00:19:59when I was asked

00:20:00to write the play

00:20:01I thought yeah

00:20:02I loved it

00:20:03great

00:20:03so I just worked at it

00:20:05and it wasn't until

00:20:06about two years later

00:20:07when we had the first preview

00:20:08in Sheffield

00:20:09at the Crucible

00:20:10we were about to open

00:20:12in front of our first audience

00:20:13I thought

00:20:13what was I thinking

00:20:15I don't know

00:20:16what this is

00:20:17and I don't know

00:20:18you know

00:20:18this is a loved book

00:20:20read by 15 million

00:20:21plus people

00:20:22and a film

00:20:22that won so many prizes

00:20:23but actually

00:20:25it turned out alright

00:20:26it's a bit like

00:20:27Alec Guinness

00:20:27in Bridge on the River Kwai

00:20:29when he finally says

00:20:29what have I done

00:20:31what have I done

00:20:31about to stop the bridge

00:20:33being blown up

00:20:34that moment of realisation

00:20:35but you must have been

00:20:36thrilled at the reaction

00:20:37oh so thrilled

00:20:38and so proud

00:20:39because on that first show

00:20:41watching it with an audience

00:20:42is a totally different experience

00:20:44to just doing it on your own

00:20:45so when we would watch it

00:20:47together with no one

00:20:47in the audience

00:20:48you're thinking

00:20:48oh that doesn't work

00:20:49this doesn't work

00:20:50we need to change that

00:20:51and then the audience

00:20:52comes in

00:20:53and it just

00:20:53it changes it

00:20:55it becomes electric

00:20:56in the room

00:20:56and everybody's work

00:20:58in the piece

00:20:59all the different creatives

00:21:00the cast

00:21:01everybody

00:21:01just put their top game

00:21:03into the place

00:21:04and now we have great

00:21:06I'm so reluctant

00:21:07to call them puppeteers

00:21:08because it's not

00:21:08even close to what they do

00:21:10having seen them

00:21:11in War Horse

00:21:12yes

00:21:12I think if you described

00:21:14to somebody

00:21:14you know

00:21:14who'd come through

00:21:15the age of Muffin the Mule

00:21:16and Bill and Ben

00:21:17and Marionettes

00:21:18like that

00:21:19that one day puppets

00:21:20could actually

00:21:20take your breath away

00:21:22you wouldn't believe it

00:21:24but with War Horse

00:21:25and with this

00:21:25it's so emotional

00:21:26watching the way

00:21:27they operate

00:21:28you really don't see

00:21:30the people who are

00:21:30operating them

00:21:31something happens

00:21:32they breathe together

00:21:33and watching how they

00:21:35learned to be

00:21:36the different animals

00:21:37is a skill in itself

00:21:39and you're right

00:21:40they're actor puppeteers

00:21:41they're performers

00:21:42they're collaborators

00:21:43it is

00:21:44it's really emotional

00:21:45and I think puppetry

00:21:46as you say

00:21:47from Muffin the Mule

00:21:48has just sort of

00:21:48graduated into this place

00:21:50that they

00:21:51they can make

00:21:51the impossible

00:21:52happen on stage

00:21:53yeah

00:21:53I remember being

00:21:54allowed to ride

00:21:55War Horse

00:21:56and Joey

00:21:57actually sits on it

00:21:58but it moves

00:21:59like a horse

00:22:00the confirmation

00:22:00was right

00:22:01it doesn't just

00:22:02look like a horse

00:22:03it feels like a horse

00:22:04and you're actually

00:22:04sitting on it

00:22:05yeah absolutely

00:22:06to come from acting

00:22:07you know

00:22:08trained at RADA

00:22:09to come from that

00:22:10and then into writing

00:22:12is a journey

00:22:13a path

00:22:13a lot of actors take

00:22:14because

00:22:15there's often a lot

00:22:16of down time

00:22:17between acting

00:22:18but to achieve

00:22:19the success

00:22:19you've achieved

00:22:20has been quite remarkable

00:22:22and now

00:22:22you're keeping

00:22:23the acting going

00:22:24because at the moment

00:22:25you're in Wendy

00:22:25and Peter Pan

00:22:26for the RSC

00:22:27I am

00:22:28tell us about that

00:22:29so this is a production

00:22:30that was done

00:22:31ten years ago

00:22:31at the RSC

00:22:32and has since had

00:22:33great revivals

00:22:34in Leeds and in Japan

00:22:35but it's never come

00:22:37home to London

00:22:38because J.M. Barry's

00:22:39story is obviously

00:22:40a London story

00:22:40it's a spectacular

00:22:42piece

00:22:43I mean I'm coming

00:22:44in for the first time

00:22:45playing Mrs Darling

00:22:47and Ella Hickson

00:22:48has done the version

00:22:48the adaptation

00:22:49and it's so clever

00:22:50because it's really

00:22:51truthful

00:22:52and loyal

00:22:53to the original work

00:22:54but it has a spin

00:22:56on it

00:22:56that is just

00:22:57about now

00:22:58and introduces

00:22:59the environment

00:23:01of 1910

00:23:02you know

00:23:02suffragettes

00:23:03and political situation

00:23:05in the background

00:23:05of London

00:23:06at the time

00:23:07that's all kind of

00:23:08it's not part of the story

00:23:09but it's there

00:23:09and the focus

00:23:11is on Wendy

00:23:11so Wendy is definitely

00:23:13part of Peter's story

00:23:14but in this

00:23:15it's Wendy's story

00:23:17and Ella has introduced

00:23:18something that makes sense

00:23:20for me

00:23:21for the story really

00:23:21there's a loss

00:23:23there's a family loss

00:23:24in the Darling House

00:23:25and that is what

00:23:26creates the need

00:23:28for Peter to come

00:23:29and for Wendy to go

00:23:31oh it's a charm

00:23:32I remember seeing it

00:23:33many many many

00:23:34many years ago

00:23:35at the Leeds Grand

00:23:37the original Peter Pan

00:23:38with Alistair Sim

00:23:39as Captain Hook

00:23:40and Julia Lockwood

00:23:41as Peter Pan

00:23:42but your Captain Hook

00:23:43and Mr Darling

00:23:44two parts

00:23:45played by the same person

00:23:46you've got Toby Stephens

00:23:48we have

00:23:48he's not bad is he

00:23:49oh he's not half bad

00:23:50he's amazing

00:23:51and he's brilliant

00:23:53in both the roles

00:23:54and it's going

00:23:55to be exhausting

00:23:56I mean he's going

00:23:57to be

00:23:57I mean he's fit anyway

00:23:58but he's going

00:23:59to be fit

00:23:59at the end of this

00:24:00it is constant changes

00:24:01and coming on

00:24:02and off

00:24:02and it's delightful

00:24:04it's really funny

00:24:05you were born

00:24:06in this country

00:24:06you were born

00:24:07in Birmingham

00:24:08your sister is Rita

00:24:09Rita Chakrabarti

00:24:10and we know

00:24:11from the news

00:24:12you then were taken

00:24:14by your parents

00:24:14back to India

00:24:15for a while

00:24:16did they want

00:24:17to go back

00:24:18to their country

00:24:19yeah my parents

00:24:19are from Kolkata

00:24:21and they always

00:24:22wanted to emigrate back

00:24:23they never meant

00:24:24to stay here

00:24:24so we emigrated

00:24:26back when I was

00:24:26three for three months

00:24:27and then we did it

00:24:28when I was ten

00:24:29for eighteen months

00:24:31so that's the bit

00:24:31that I lived in Kolkata

00:24:32yeah which was

00:24:33life changing really

00:24:34and then we came back

00:24:35for educational reasons

00:24:36and then they left

00:24:38when I was nineteen again

00:24:39from your own point of view

00:24:40the acting

00:24:41we know we've seen you

00:24:42in the bill

00:24:42we've seen you

00:24:43in lots of different things

00:24:45particularly on television

00:24:46and on stage

00:24:48but as well as

00:24:49adapting Life of Pi

00:24:50you also wrote

00:24:51your own play

00:24:51you wrote Red Velvet

00:24:52I did yeah

00:24:53your first play

00:24:54and a huge success

00:24:56and award winning

00:24:57okay so the nerves

00:24:58in terms of doing

00:24:59Life of Pi

00:25:00were sort of there

00:25:02the nerves in doing

00:25:03your own play

00:25:03you were responsible

00:25:04for everything

00:25:04must have been

00:25:05even higher

00:25:05weren't they

00:25:06it was

00:25:07although it was

00:25:07a very slow burn

00:25:09success

00:25:09so it took me

00:25:10a really long time

00:25:11to get that

00:25:11production together

00:25:12A because it's based

00:25:15on a historical

00:25:15a real person

00:25:16so it took me

00:25:1715 years of research

00:25:18to find out

00:25:19who Ira Aldridge was

00:25:20and then it took

00:25:21about seven years

00:25:21to actually get

00:25:22the play on

00:25:23so by the time

00:25:24I got it on

00:25:24I was a bit tired

00:25:25I was a bit like

00:25:26oh god it's on

00:25:27thank goodness

00:25:28it's on

00:25:28get it done

00:25:29yeah get it done

00:25:30so when it was

00:25:31successful

00:25:32I was really surprised

00:25:34really surprised

00:25:35but thrilled

00:25:36because I'd had

00:25:37with a real character

00:25:38you feel

00:25:39well with this one

00:25:40particularly

00:25:41I felt very

00:25:42responsible for him

00:25:43yeah

00:25:43how was he received

00:25:46in truth

00:25:47originally

00:25:48originally he came

00:25:50over to England

00:25:50in 1824

00:25:51and he played

00:25:52Othello at the

00:25:53Theatre or Covent Garden

00:25:54in 1833

00:25:55which was a huge deal

00:25:56it's like playing

00:25:56the National Theatre

00:25:57the main actor

00:25:58at the National Theatre

00:25:59and although he was

00:26:00very well received

00:26:01in the provinces

00:26:02in Britain

00:26:02and he was really

00:26:04well received abroad

00:26:05he went to Russia

00:26:05Poland

00:26:06Sweden

00:26:06France

00:26:07he toured

00:26:07internationally

00:26:08and was the highest

00:26:09paid actor ever

00:26:10in Russia

00:26:11at the time

00:26:12at the Bolshoi

00:26:13but in London

00:26:14we were voting

00:26:16about colonial rights

00:26:19and so the reviews

00:26:20were pretty racist

00:26:22and so he didn't

00:26:23play London again

00:26:24gosh

00:26:24so it was mixed

00:26:25well you kind of

00:26:26did right by him

00:26:27in the end

00:26:27didn't you

00:26:28yeah he came back

00:26:29to the London stage

00:26:29yeah he came back

00:26:30to the London stage

00:26:31congratulations

00:26:32on what you've given us

00:26:32so far

00:26:33thank you

00:26:33it's just fascinating

00:26:35what you've achieved

00:26:36and you've been

00:26:36I hope artistically

00:26:38well rewarded for it

00:26:39thank you very much

00:26:40thank you very much indeed

00:26:41time now

00:26:42for us to take a moment

00:26:43to enjoy all the

00:26:45extraordinary images

00:26:45that you've been

00:26:46capturing right across

00:26:48Britain

00:26:48it's time for

00:26:50Walk on the Wild Side

00:26:50your dose of nature

00:26:53sorted

00:26:54Walk on the Wild Side

00:26:56on Love Your Weekend

00:26:57sponsored by WWF

00:27:00Walk on the Wild Side

00:27:03¶¶

00:27:33¶¶

00:28:03¶¶

00:28:13¶¶

00:28:15¶¶

00:28:18¶¶

00:28:31Oh, the power of photography never ceases to amaze and delight.

00:28:35Stunning, as always.

00:28:36Please keep sending them in. We do love them.

00:28:39Still ahead.

00:28:39From Northern Ireland to the National Lottery

00:28:42to a passion for cricket and in-depth knowledge at British Music Hall.

00:28:46Sir John Major on his achievements and his passions

00:28:49and bringing the vibrancy of Bonfire Night in from the cold.

00:28:53Jonathan Mosley and the firework-inspired floral displays as dramatic as the real thing.

00:28:59I'll be back with Jonathan and his whiz-banger of a display right after this.

00:29:03Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

00:29:18Coming up, his presence on the cast list is a hallmark of quality.

00:29:23A stalwart of some of our most dearly loved comedies and dramas from Notting Hill to W1A.

00:29:29Hugh Bonneville on the roles that propelled him to superstardom.

00:29:33And his latest foray as a children's author.

00:29:36And as American poet Dorothy Parker once confided,

00:29:39I like to have a martini, two at the very most.

00:29:43After three I'm under the table.

00:29:45After four I'm under my host.

00:29:46I shall have to heed her wise words today as Tom Surge is here

00:29:50with classic martinis given a modern twist.

00:29:54Before that, it's time for your Voice of Nature.

00:29:57Today it's the turn of Darcy Bustle and the Fairies by William Owingham.

00:30:10Up the airy mountain, down the rushy glen,

00:30:14we darn'n't go a-hunting for fear of little men.

00:30:22We folk, good folk, trooping all together.

00:30:27Green jacket, red cap and white owl's feather.

00:30:34Down along the rocky shore, some make their home.

00:30:38They live on crispy pancakes of yellow-tied foam.

00:30:52Thank you, Darcy.

00:30:54Describing the varied and capricious nature of fairies and fairy folklore.

00:30:59Now, bonfire night is fast approaching,

00:31:02marking an occasion when we as a nation celebrate with firework displays

00:31:07that illuminate the night sky with colour.

00:31:10But what if you're looking to create that same sparkle indoors?

00:31:15Here to show us how to create flower arrangements that pop

00:31:18with the same colour and energy but minus the loud bangs and smoke.

00:31:23Welcome back.

00:31:24Florist Jonathan Moseley, who's got a firework jumper on himself.

00:31:28Well, a little subtle.

00:31:29Freshly crocheted.

00:31:31Well, we've got the colours of the fireworks in the flowers today, Alan,

00:31:34and they really are quite riotous.

00:31:35So vibrant, so bright.

00:31:38And I don't know how you feel,

00:31:39but I always think a noreen looks like a firework just exploding.

00:31:42It does, and the fact that it sits in your border,

00:31:44at the front of a border at home where it lights the light,

00:31:47the leaves come out first,

00:31:48and then the flowers pop up at this time of year.

00:31:51You think, gosh, fancy you coming this late.

00:31:53Exactly.

00:31:54They are super, aren't they?

00:31:54They're quite an unexpected pleasure, aren't they?

00:31:56Yeah.

00:31:56But I love them, Alan, and they've got a great vase life.

00:31:59They have.

00:31:59Really long-lasting.

00:32:00But I do think nature gives us fireworks at this time of year

00:32:03because we're losing colour, aren't we, in the garden,

00:32:05and nature's becoming a little bit flat,

00:32:08and the leaves have been riotous with the colours,

00:32:11but they're starting to drop now.

00:32:12So any bits of colour that we can grab onto, I adore.

00:32:16So you've got pink simphry carpus there, is it?

00:32:17We've got some berries because autumn's about berries, isn't it?

00:32:20Yeah.

00:32:20And bonfire night, you know, traditionally,

00:32:22lots of berries around, like, the wonderful blackberries

00:32:26and, of course, the rowan berries and the crab apples.

00:32:29The slones.

00:32:30And I've just popped a few berries in there, Alan,

00:32:32because it's quite nice, I think, to work with berries

00:32:35because, again, they're long-lasting.

00:32:37Yeah, so you've got white snowberry.

00:32:39Yeah.

00:32:39Orangey-yellow pyracanthor, firethorn.

00:32:43And then rose hips.

00:32:44Yeah, a selection of rose hips in there.

00:32:45Lots of different ones.

00:32:46Oh, and you've got hypericum down the front here.

00:32:48Yeah, and the nice thing, Alan, with that sort of design is,

00:32:51you know, people could use little bottles and little jars from home

00:32:54to make something like that.

00:32:55Yeah, lovely.

00:32:56Look at these, all different.

00:32:57And the berries, Alan, and the grasses,

00:32:59they're going to go on for eight weeks easily.

00:33:02But this design, Alan, I'm inspired by my grandfather for this one.

00:33:06When I was a child, we didn't have organised bonfires.

00:33:08Grandfather always used to be the creator of the bonfire.

00:33:11And he used to start creating it two months before,

00:33:15and it was ginormous, absolutely enormous.

00:33:18And as a child, you know, I can remember the excitement of seeing him

00:33:21around sort of mid-September time, starting to build this pile in the garden.

00:33:27And week after week, it got larger and larger.

00:33:29And I was so excited for firework night to come.

00:33:33Yeah, the worry, of course, if they're there for a long time,

00:33:36is that hedgehogs might be ibernating underneath.

00:33:37So if you can just sort of throw them about a bit and disturb them

00:33:40and say anything is alive and sort of there comes out.

00:33:43That's really a good point.

00:33:44I love the way you slipped in there,

00:33:46this thing that always looks so artificial, doesn't it?

00:33:49It looks unreal.

00:33:52Calicarpa, these purple berries.

00:33:53I mean, they don't look as if nature could have made those.

00:33:55No, it's the most sensational colour, isn't it?

00:33:58And then these lilac purple berries.

00:34:00Oh, they're just gorgeous.

00:34:01And I love the way they're in the little blocks and groups

00:34:03and it's almost like a rocket exploding, that, isn't it?

00:34:06Similar, Alan, it's almost like a buried version of Liatris,

00:34:10which is that same sort of wonderful movement that it has

00:34:14with that shooting stem.

00:34:15The curious thing about Liatris also is that the flowers open

00:34:17from the top downwards.

00:34:19It goes on reverse, doesn't it?

00:34:19Most flowers, like delphiniums, they start at the bottom

00:34:22and they work on liensis.

00:34:24It's got this glorious name.

00:34:26It's called the Kansas Gay Feather.

00:34:28Which is so camp, but wonderful.

00:34:30But that's what it's called.

00:34:32Take a look at that.

00:34:32It's quite beautiful.

00:34:34It's gorgeous.

00:34:34This is Euphorbia fulgens.

00:34:36And it's coming into its own now as we embrace the winter months

00:34:41and the latter part of the year.

00:34:42And I couldn't not use these, Alan,

00:34:44because these are, again, just one of the nicest things.

00:34:48So the guy who used to drive the tractor in the Parks Department nursery

00:34:52who was on his tractor mowing grass for, you know, nine-tenths of the year.

00:34:57Yes.

00:34:58And he didn't know much about plants and flowers,

00:35:00but if ever anybody held up any flower at all and said,

00:35:02what's this, he would always say, Chinese lantern flower.

00:35:06That was his answer.

00:35:07Now he could say it and they'd be right.

00:35:08It'd be quite great.

00:35:09And the good thing with these, Alan,

00:35:10I can just sort of poke these into the twiggy pile

00:35:12and it doesn't matter if they don't go into water

00:35:15because they're going to dry out.

00:35:17They'll last for us.

00:35:18Now, you've got monks, oh dear.

00:35:19People worry about monks because it's very poisonous.

00:35:20Yeah, aconitum.

00:35:21Yeah, it is a toxic plant.

00:35:23As you'll be aware, it's the roots, isn't it,

00:35:26that's the sort of main toxic part.

00:35:28But if we're working with this,

00:35:29then always better to wash our hands

00:35:31and make sure it's not near young children or pets

00:35:34because you don't want anybody having a nibble on it.

00:35:36You'll have such delight when he turns this round

00:35:38because he's working on this side.

00:35:39It's almost like a firework.

00:35:40You're waiting for it to explode.

00:35:41Yeah, I know.

00:35:41Wait until it turns round and then you get the explosion.

00:35:44And just before it does explode, Alan,

00:35:45I'll just mention how wonderful gourds are at this time of year.

00:35:49And I've got some little decorative gourds there

00:35:51in the top of that wirework basket.

00:35:54And I love celebrating the last few flowers from the garden.

00:35:58As we're entering into November time,

00:36:00there's not many things around,

00:36:01but rubecchias, until we get a sharp frost,

00:36:04they will keep going and going and going.

00:36:07And they really are proper autonnal colours.

00:36:09They're wonderful colours.

00:36:10I think they are such a great thing to grow.

00:36:12That's an annual one, Alan,

00:36:13and just a packet of seeds give you so many stems.

00:36:16Have you sprayed these with gold?

00:36:18I have.

00:36:18So this is my little bit of sort of smoke

00:36:21wafting through the bonfire.

00:36:23I've got to have a very literal imagination for this.

00:36:26But this is a little bit of panicum grass

00:36:28that I've just sprayed with gold.

00:36:29So it's almost like the little embers

00:36:31flying up from the bonfire,

00:36:33dancing through this twiggy pile.

00:36:35I think we need to get you to turn this round.

00:36:37Well, I think we're about there.

00:36:38So are you ready, Alan,

00:36:39for that final finale of the fireworks?

00:36:41There it is.

00:36:43A whoosh of natural colour.

00:36:45Look at that.

00:36:45Jonathan, you're a magician.

00:36:48Isn't that wonderful?

00:36:49And, you know,

00:36:50I'd rather have that in a box of fireworks.

00:36:52Me too,

00:36:52because the pleasure will last a lot longer.

00:36:54Exactly what I was going to say.

00:36:55Not here today and gone in a second.

00:36:57Absolutely.

00:36:57Don't you have it all week?

00:36:59Exactly.

00:37:00Isn't that wonderful?

00:37:00That is so beautiful.

00:37:01We'll take it in the barn

00:37:02so we can enjoy it later on.

00:37:04Glorious.

00:37:04Time now for the latest instalment

00:37:11of our Weekends With series,

00:37:14which sees us drop in on a famous face

00:37:16to discover how they unwind away from the spotlight.

00:37:20Last month,

00:37:21Martin and Shirley Kemp took us apple picking.

00:37:24But how does punk rock icon Toya

00:37:26while away her Sundays?

00:37:28It's a mystery,

00:37:29till now,

00:37:30as we recently joined her

00:37:32and her husband, Robert,

00:37:33at home in Worcestershire

00:37:34to find out more.

00:37:36It's a mystery,

00:37:39oh, it's a mystery.

00:37:41I'm still searching

00:37:43for a clue.

00:37:46It's a mystery

00:37:48to me.

00:37:51I think the most important thing to us

00:37:53is our garden,

00:37:55which we absolutely adore.

00:37:57We're in the middle of a market town

00:37:58and we're right on the river.

00:38:01But we observe

00:38:02and follow the seasons

00:38:04very strongly

00:38:05because this is all floodplain.

00:38:07So how do you feel about

00:38:09the water

00:38:10and obeying

00:38:11how the water moves

00:38:13in the garden?

00:38:14There's no force like nature.

00:38:17I obey my wife firstly,

00:38:18nature second.

00:38:20That's how we spend our weekend.

00:38:22We have different interests.

00:38:24Well, our professional lives

00:38:26always took us apart

00:38:27to different continents.

00:38:29So an example

00:38:30of how different we are,

00:38:33because I'm insomniac

00:38:34and I'm always up by 2 a.m.

00:38:38The house was lonely,

00:38:39it was empty,

00:38:40and all I could do

00:38:41was go to my office

00:38:42and work.

00:38:43And that was all I was doing.

00:38:44And I said to Robert,

00:38:45I'm getting a rabbit.

00:38:46This is Eno.

00:38:49Currently 7 kilos.

00:38:51He will be 9.

00:38:52He's 11 months old

00:38:54and he has an attitude.

00:38:57So we go to view a rabbit

00:38:59and we come back with 2

00:39:00and they're brothers

00:39:02and they hate each other.

00:39:03So this has kind of made my life

00:39:05quite complex at home

00:39:07because we have to keep them apart

00:39:08all the time.

00:39:09Fripp,

00:39:13he's a gorgeous,

00:39:14gentle little bunny.

00:39:15And if they both have a biscuit,

00:39:18they're a little bit more civil.

00:39:20On a Saturday night,

00:39:21I can be playing to

00:39:22anything from

00:39:23500 people

00:39:25to 30,000 people

00:39:26and to come home

00:39:28and these little guys

00:39:29just need a carrot

00:39:30and some kale.

00:39:32So my weekends here

00:39:34are outside.

00:39:36They're with two

00:39:37beautiful bunny rabbits

00:39:38who I just love so much

00:39:40who ground me.

00:39:42You know,

00:39:43when I'm working too hard,

00:39:44when I'm thinking,

00:39:45oh, I've got a spare hour,

00:39:46I'll go and do

00:39:46the company accounts.

00:39:48I think, no,

00:39:49just spend time

00:39:50with these little bunnies

00:39:51because I am a workaholic.

00:39:53Well, that's one particular

00:39:54approach to relaxing.

00:39:56Have you even noticed?

00:39:58Yes, of course I notice

00:39:59what my wife does.

00:40:00He's always in a book.

00:40:03So what I love about

00:40:04this tree is

00:40:05as a child,

00:40:07Dad would bring me

00:40:08on the boat

00:40:09past this tree

00:40:11all my life.

00:40:13It's just,

00:40:14I love this tree.

00:40:16I come and give it

00:40:17a hug from time to time.

00:40:18Do you?

00:40:18Yes, I do.

00:40:19I just climb it.

00:40:20I might be too old

00:40:21to do that now.

00:40:23No, you're not.

00:40:27There you go.

00:40:30My wife and the child

00:40:32continues to rock.

00:40:35If I don't feel like a child,

00:40:37I just go in the river

00:40:38and then I feel very young.

00:40:46When my little Abby

00:40:47is on the boat,

00:40:48she is in charge

00:40:50and she is completely free

00:40:52in her own world,

00:40:55the world which she's known

00:40:56since she's childhood.

00:40:59When I was a child,

00:41:01I used to volunteer

00:41:02with my parents

00:41:03to run the locks

00:41:04on every Sunday

00:41:05and I used to go

00:41:07to an old mill

00:41:08and break in

00:41:09and I would play

00:41:10underneath in the water.

00:41:12I now own that mill.

00:41:14This is my life,

00:41:16working the land,

00:41:17working in water.

00:41:18This is the highest flood level

00:41:21I have ever seen.

00:41:26I think we're going to be okay.

00:41:30So at the height

00:41:31of my success

00:41:32in the 1980s,

00:41:34you'd find me

00:41:34on a caravan here

00:41:36or on a boat

00:41:37just hiding

00:41:38and no one

00:41:39would give the game away

00:41:40and I could have

00:41:41a normal life here.

00:41:43I mean,

00:41:43I love my audience,

00:41:44I love my music

00:41:45and I love the fact

00:41:47that here I am

00:41:47at 67

00:41:48and I'm still touring.

00:41:50That's fantastic

00:41:51but I would do anything

00:41:53to get back

00:41:53every single night.

00:42:05Thanks,

00:42:05Toya and Robert.

00:42:06Great to see

00:42:07their passion

00:42:07for protecting

00:42:08our precious waterways.

00:42:10Coming up,

00:42:11martinis

00:42:12and Hugh Bonneville.

00:42:13Well,

00:42:14it doesn't go much better

00:42:15than that,

00:42:16does it?

00:42:16And it's been claimed

00:42:17he was one of the late

00:42:18Queen's favourites,

00:42:19Sir John Major,

00:42:20on his warm relationship

00:42:22with Queen Elizabeth,

00:42:23his life

00:42:24at number 10

00:42:25and his passions

00:42:26away from politics.

00:42:28I'll see you with Sir John

00:42:29right after the break.

00:42:43Welcome back.

00:42:45Coming up,

00:42:46the Earl himself,

00:42:47Hugh Bonneville,

00:42:48on saying farewell

00:42:48to everyone's favourite

00:42:50sumptuous period drama

00:42:52and a drink

00:42:53that I think

00:42:53the Earl of Grantham

00:42:54would approve of.

00:42:55Tom Sergis

00:42:56turning up the style stakes

00:42:57in today's Best in British

00:42:59as martinis

00:42:59are on the menu,

00:43:01the ultimate

00:43:01in sophisticated indulgence.

00:43:04My next guest

00:43:05is one of Britain's

00:43:06best-known politicians,

00:43:08serving as Prime Minister

00:43:09from 1990 to 1997.

00:43:12Recognised for his commitment

00:43:14to public service

00:43:15and the instrumental role

00:43:16he played

00:43:17in advancing peace

00:43:18in Northern Ireland,

00:43:20he also secured

00:43:21a record number of votes

00:43:22for the Conservatives

00:43:24to win the 1992

00:43:26general election,

00:43:27a moment

00:43:28when the typically

00:43:29reserved man

00:43:30shared the emotion

00:43:31of his greatest triumph

00:43:32with the British public.

00:43:35After 16 months

00:43:36on an uncertain lease,

00:43:37Mr Major

00:43:38is already a different man.

00:43:39Downing Street

00:43:40is now, he says,

00:43:41home.

00:43:42Thank you very much indeed.

00:43:43I've only got one thing

00:43:44to say.

00:43:45It's nice to be back.

00:43:47The boost to his confidence

00:43:49was obvious

00:43:49as he strode into

00:43:50Downing Street,

00:43:51a street which is normally

00:43:52closed to the general public,

00:43:53but which today

00:43:54was opened up

00:43:55to let supporters

00:43:55and well-wishers

00:43:56come and say hello.

00:43:58Someone called

00:43:58for three cheers.

00:44:03To John Major,

00:44:05the fact that he's now

00:44:05been chosen by the people,

00:44:07albeit a minority,

00:44:08of the electorate

00:44:09rather than by the secret

00:44:10committee room votes

00:44:11of his fellow MPs

00:44:12is important.

00:44:13I can now accept

00:44:15that the country

00:44:16have elected me

00:44:17in my own right

00:44:18to be Prime Minister.

00:44:19I'm immensely proud of that.

00:44:21I shall try

00:44:22and ensure

00:44:23that I reach

00:44:24the aspirations

00:44:25of people

00:44:26and that I let

00:44:26no one down.

00:44:27That is,

00:44:28I'm delighted to have it.

00:44:29John,

00:44:29you must recall

00:44:30the feeling

00:44:31at that time

00:44:32of, you know,

00:44:34walking up

00:44:34Downing Street

00:44:35and knowing that

00:44:35you will live there

00:44:36in a way legitimately

00:44:37or more legitimately

00:44:38than,

00:44:40and looking now

00:44:41at what happens

00:44:42in politics,

00:44:43nobody more than you

00:44:44knows the ups

00:44:46and downs

00:44:46of politics

00:44:47and the feelings

00:44:48of those

00:44:49in that seat of power.

00:44:50You must look

00:44:51at it now,

00:44:52reflecting on those times

00:44:54alongside the times

00:44:55of today.

00:44:56Well,

00:44:56my principal reflection

00:44:57looking at that bit

00:44:58of film

00:44:59was,

00:45:00was I really

00:45:00that young once?

00:45:02It was a very long

00:45:03time ago now,

00:45:04of course.

00:45:04It's over 30 years ago.

00:45:061992.

00:45:06But you do.

00:45:07Politics is a rollercoaster.

00:45:09There are some very good times

00:45:10and there are some very bad times

00:45:12and there's quite a lot

00:45:12of times in between

00:45:13that could go either way.

00:45:15But that's the nature

00:45:16of the game.

00:45:16You can't complain about it.

00:45:17It's what you choose

00:45:19to enter.

00:45:20When you were young,

00:45:20did you have aspirations

00:45:21from a really early age

00:45:23to be in government?

00:45:24I did.

00:45:25I did.

00:45:26I can tell you

00:45:26exactly from when.

00:45:28From the age of 13.

00:45:30I'd been to the

00:45:31House of Commons.

00:45:32A seat,

00:45:33tickets given to me

00:45:34by a local Labour MP,

00:45:37actually,

00:45:37Marcus Lipton.

00:45:38But I went to the

00:45:39House of Commons

00:45:39and when I walked

00:45:40into the house

00:45:41for the first time,

00:45:42the atmosphere

00:45:43gripped me.

00:45:45I was interested

00:45:46in history.

00:45:47It was one of the

00:45:47few things at school

00:45:49that I actually worked at.

00:45:51And I knew a lot

00:45:53about the history

00:45:54of Commons,

00:45:54but suddenly

00:45:55it just reaches out

00:45:57and envelops you,

00:45:57or it did me.

00:45:59And I thought,

00:46:00this is where I wish

00:46:01to spend my life.

00:46:02You left school

00:46:03at 16.

00:46:04Your father famously

00:46:05a musical artist

00:46:08and held brilliantly

00:46:09in your book

00:46:10My Old Man,

00:46:12said Follard Van,

00:46:13all about your dad.

00:46:15Growing up,

00:46:15you grew up

00:46:16in a household

00:46:17very working class,

00:46:20very,

00:46:20as you always said,

00:46:20comfortable,

00:46:21but, you know,

00:46:22but working.

00:46:23And so you were

00:46:25in this milieu

00:46:26of real life,

00:46:28you know,

00:46:28in Brixton,

00:46:29growing up there

00:46:29as well.

00:46:30So, you know,

00:46:30although you became

00:46:31a Tory prime minister,

00:46:32your upbringing

00:46:33was very much

00:46:33in and among

00:46:34proper working class people.

00:46:37What swayed you

00:46:38to go Tory

00:46:39rather than Labour,

00:46:40which must have been

00:46:41most of the people

00:46:41around you?

00:46:42Well,

00:46:44that's quite complex,

00:46:46but at its most basic,

00:46:48I looked at the two,

00:46:49I think instinctively

00:46:50I was conservative,

00:46:52not extreme conservative,

00:46:54but moderate conservative.

00:46:56But when I looked

00:46:57at the political parties,

00:46:58I thought the one

00:46:59that is most concerned

00:47:01with aspiration,

00:47:02that opens doors

00:47:03for you to move

00:47:04from where you are

00:47:04to where you wish to be,

00:47:06seemed to be

00:47:07the conservative party.

00:47:08And I was dazzled

00:47:09by some of the politicians

00:47:10in the 50s,

00:47:11notably one man,

00:47:13Ian MacLeod.

00:47:14So is it, do you think,

00:47:14harder today

00:47:15to be a politician?

00:47:17I think it is harder.

00:47:19And it's mainly

00:47:19the advent of social media

00:47:21and 24-hour-a-day media.

00:47:24Those two things together

00:47:25have made life

00:47:27much more difficult

00:47:27for politicians.

00:47:29They're expected

00:47:29to have the answer

00:47:30to something complex

00:47:31that's just happened

00:47:32immediately.

00:47:33And of course,

00:47:34being forced

00:47:35to answer immediately,

00:47:36they answer casually

00:47:37and imperfectly.

00:47:39They really need

00:47:40some time to think.

00:47:41And they should be

00:47:42thinking forward,

00:47:43not back.

00:47:45Forward,

00:47:46not how do I repay

00:47:47the last hostile speech

00:47:49against me

00:47:49with a hostile speech

00:47:50against the person

00:47:51who made it.

00:47:52That's not politics.

00:47:54We need a kinder,

00:47:56gentler form of politics

00:47:58if we're really going

00:47:59to improve the status

00:48:00of the House of Commons

00:48:01and the public's view

00:48:03of politics.

00:48:04It does not help

00:48:05that politics is often

00:48:07to such a very high extent

00:48:09the subject of negative publicity.

00:48:12Some of it is deserved.

00:48:14Certainly,

00:48:15on many occasions,

00:48:16I think the hostility

00:48:17of the public

00:48:18and the media

00:48:18has been well deserved.

00:48:20But not always.

00:48:21What strikes me,

00:48:22looking back,

00:48:23is that the degree

00:48:25of agreement

00:48:26between the parties

00:48:27is much greater

00:48:28than you would possibly know.

00:48:30The disagreement

00:48:31is not,

00:48:32we want more people

00:48:33to be well-housed,

00:48:34we want a better health service,

00:48:35we want our defence

00:48:36to be more secure.

00:48:37Every party

00:48:38would agree with that.

00:48:39The difference is on

00:48:40how you achieve it.

00:48:41And that's a point.

00:48:43That's why

00:48:43I think there are occasions

00:48:45where a coalition

00:48:46is a good idea.

00:48:48When a country

00:48:48is in particular trouble,

00:48:50it's not a bad idea

00:48:51if the main parties,

00:48:54well, you could put it this way,

00:48:55all have a finger

00:48:56in the blood.

00:48:57But if there's difficult

00:48:58things to be done,

00:48:59it's worth listening.

00:49:01There's often a case

00:49:02where you can look

00:49:02at your opponents,

00:49:04you may not agree

00:49:04with everything they say,

00:49:06but part of what they say

00:49:08will be justified

00:49:08and part of it

00:49:10will be right.

00:49:12That's why

00:49:12we mustn't move

00:49:13to the extremes

00:49:14of the far right

00:49:15or the far left

00:49:16because they are cut off

00:49:18from the mainstream.

00:49:20And once you're cut off

00:49:21from the mainstream,

00:49:22you get a very angry

00:49:24and aggrieved nation.

00:49:26And we are,

00:49:27at this moment,

00:49:27angry and aggrieved.

00:49:28Angry and aggrieved as a nation.

00:49:30There is that famous

00:49:31saying that says

00:49:33all political careers

00:49:34end in failure.

00:49:36You must look back

00:49:36with great pleasure

00:49:37and pride

00:49:38on the Northern Ireland

00:49:39agreement

00:49:40and the creation

00:49:41of the National Lottery.

00:49:42Two great achievements,

00:49:43though.

00:49:43You must be really

00:49:43pleased about those two.

00:49:44Well, the lottery figure

00:49:45is now over 50 billion.

00:49:46Gosh.

00:49:47And that isn't prizes

00:49:48to prize winners.

00:49:49That's separate.

00:49:50Yeah.

00:49:50This is to good causes.

00:49:53And it hasn't all gone

00:49:55to great big causes

00:49:56like opera houses

00:49:57and millennium stadiums.

00:49:59The vast bulk of the money

00:50:00has gone in relatively

00:50:02small amounts

00:50:03to villages

00:50:03in every part of our country.

00:50:05And Northern Ireland

00:50:06was such a long-running thing.

00:50:08It must have seemed

00:50:09at the time

00:50:09completely insoluble.

00:50:11It did look like it

00:50:13but I didn't believe

00:50:15it was insoluble

00:50:16and neither did

00:50:17Albert Reynolds

00:50:18whom I came to know

00:50:19very well

00:50:20who was by then

00:50:20the Taoiseach

00:50:22in the Republic of Ireland.

00:50:25And I remember

00:50:25how we began it.

00:50:27He came over for a visit

00:50:28and we talked about

00:50:29the problems

00:50:30of Northern Ireland.

00:50:32And I remember

00:50:32saying to him

00:50:33very clearly

00:50:33if this violence

00:50:35had been going on

00:50:36in any county

00:50:37in England

00:50:38we would not

00:50:39have tolerated it.

00:50:40We shouldn't

00:50:41tolerate it

00:50:41in Northern Ireland.

00:50:42And he agreed.

00:50:44And we decided

00:50:44we would have a go

00:50:45at starting a peace process

00:50:47which we did.

00:50:49We continued

00:50:50for a couple of years

00:50:51until Albert

00:50:51lost his position

00:50:53as Taoiseach

00:50:53and then with his successor.

00:50:55And we were

00:50:56within stretching distance.

00:50:57We weren't there

00:50:58with the peace agreement

00:50:59but we got a very long way

00:51:00towards it.

00:51:02And then

00:51:03I rather think

00:51:05the IRA

00:51:06stopped negotiating

00:51:07about 1996

00:51:08because the hostility

00:51:11they had

00:51:11to the Conservative Party

00:51:12because of things

00:51:13like the hunger strikes

00:51:14and Bobby Sands

00:51:15was visceral.

00:51:17And I don't think

00:51:18I don't think

00:51:20they wanted to proceed.

00:51:21They thought

00:51:22that Labour

00:51:22would win the next election

00:51:23and in that

00:51:24of course

00:51:24they were quite right.

00:51:26And I think

00:51:26they thought

00:51:27they would get

00:51:28would be more

00:51:29and more agreeable

00:51:30for their volunteers

00:51:30if they reached

00:51:31an agreement

00:51:32with the Labour Party.

00:51:35And of course

00:51:35the Labour Party

00:51:36Tony Blair

00:51:37and his colleagues

00:51:37picked up where we were

00:51:39and settled

00:51:40an agreement

00:51:42which has utterly

00:51:43changed the face.

00:51:44Occasionally

00:51:45there are problems

00:51:46and a little bit

00:51:47of violence.

00:51:48But by and large

00:51:49Northern Ireland

00:51:50is a different place

00:51:51from anything

00:51:52anyone imagined

00:51:53in the early 90s.

00:51:54During your time

00:51:56as PM

00:51:57you had the weekly

00:51:58audience

00:51:59with the Majesty

00:52:00of the Queen.

00:52:01We've got some footage

00:52:01here of you

00:52:02at Balmoral

00:52:03and a remarkable lady

00:52:04and we'll talk

00:52:05about your relationship

00:52:07with her.

00:52:08The feeling in Moscow

00:52:09in the period

00:52:10I was there

00:52:10was just astonishing.

00:52:12It was actually

00:52:13like living with history.

00:52:15One was in the middle

00:52:16of a meeting

00:52:17and somebody

00:52:17burst into a room

00:52:18and said

00:52:19I've just finished

00:52:20talking to Gorbachev

00:52:21or Yeltsin

00:52:22or Solayev

00:52:23and this is what

00:52:24they're going to do.

00:52:25I mean certainly

00:52:25here one can't

00:52:26take it in

00:52:26but there

00:52:27it must be

00:52:27even more traumatic

00:52:28mustn't it?

00:52:30Well it was

00:52:31absolutely amazing.

00:52:32I laid a wreath

00:52:33near the Kremlin

00:52:35at the site

00:52:37where the three

00:52:37demonstrators

00:52:38were crushed

00:52:39and killed

00:52:39and there were

00:52:40huge crowds there

00:52:41and I had the

00:52:42opportunity of stopping

00:52:43to talk to some of them

00:52:44not too many of them

00:52:45spoke English.

00:52:46I found one man

00:52:47who spoke beautiful English

00:52:49and I asked him

00:52:49how he felt

00:52:50and he said

00:52:51he was extremely interested

00:52:52but he came from Wokie

00:52:53That's the sort of thing

00:52:57that happens to me

00:52:58when I talk in a crowd

00:52:59You see that's so rare

00:53:01to see these meetings

00:53:03which are never talked about

00:53:05you keep your counsel

00:53:07as indeed you should

00:53:08but wonderful to see

00:53:10that relaxed atmosphere

00:53:13between you

00:53:14and the late Queen

00:53:15and the wisdom

00:53:16that she has there

00:53:17which in terms of

00:53:19sovereigns and now

00:53:19the King

00:53:20of course he's been involved

00:53:21since he was in his teens

00:53:23as seeing things come along

00:53:24such a useful thing

00:53:26I should think

00:53:27a bit of a safety valve

00:53:28for a Prime Minister

00:53:29isn't it

00:53:29to have the one person

00:53:30who knows how difficult

00:53:31it is up here somewhere

00:53:33Well the monarch

00:53:34is the one person

00:53:35the Prime Minister

00:53:36can absolutely talk to

00:53:38in perfect confidence

00:53:39I don't propose to talk

00:53:41about what the Queen

00:53:41and I talked about

00:53:42I'll say two things

00:53:43about it

00:53:43Firstly

00:53:44my meetings were expected

00:53:45to last three quarters

00:53:47of an hour every week

00:53:47they were rarely

00:53:49under an hour

00:53:50I think we averaged

00:53:51about an hour and a quarter

00:53:52Secondly

00:53:53they were fun

00:53:54it wasn't just

00:53:55grisly business

00:53:57about this

00:53:58or that particular topic

00:53:59there was a lot

00:54:00of gossip

00:54:01there was a lot

00:54:02of looking forward

00:54:03not to what had happened

00:54:04what was going right

00:54:05or going wrong

00:54:05but what we thought

00:54:07might happen in the future

00:54:08and it was a lot

00:54:09about people

00:54:09all of those were there

00:54:10and the only

00:54:12the only audience

00:54:14were the Corgis

00:54:14invariably there

00:54:15invariably sitting

00:54:17in a sort of semicircle

00:54:18unbugged

00:54:19fortunately

00:54:20or all our secrets

00:54:21would be out

00:54:22but it was a part

00:54:25of the week

00:54:25that I looked forward to

00:54:26she has

00:54:27you would be surprised

00:54:30I think

00:54:31to know how much

00:54:32she knew

00:54:33and understood

00:54:34about how people lived

00:54:36in all levels of income

00:54:39she knew

00:54:41not only reading

00:54:42the red boxes

00:54:43and knew what was going on

00:54:44in terms of

00:54:45politics and diplomacy

00:54:46but in terms of the problems

00:54:49that people faced

00:54:50and how they lived

00:54:50and the king

00:54:53is the same

00:54:53I haven't had

00:54:55these discussions

00:54:55with the king

00:54:56but I do think

00:54:58he's gone off

00:54:58to a fabulous style

00:54:59you have become

00:55:01like it or not

00:55:02an elder statesman

00:55:04if not the

00:55:05elder statesman

00:55:06of the UK

00:55:06oldest

00:55:06is the word

00:55:09you're searching for

00:55:09senior

00:55:09but you're listened to

00:55:12and was there

00:55:13a decision

00:55:13where you thought

00:55:14either I go away

00:55:15and pipe down now

00:55:16or I can contribute

00:55:17was there a moment

00:55:19that you remember

00:55:19thinking I will say

00:55:20something

00:55:21because I often think

00:55:23when retired

00:55:23heads of the armed forces

00:55:25start chipping in

00:55:26to the current heads

00:55:27of the armed forces

00:55:28the current heads

00:55:28must think

00:55:29you've had your turn

00:55:30to sit down quietly

00:55:31you've managed to avoid

00:55:32that kind of criticism

00:55:33by offering wisdom

00:55:35I think really

00:55:36which is now

00:55:36apolitical in a way

00:55:37in terms of

00:55:38it's not a lie

00:55:38to one particular party

00:55:39but it's a lie

00:55:40to the country

00:55:41well I decided

00:55:43I lost the election

00:55:46rather heavily

00:55:47in 1997

00:55:48I left parliament

00:55:50in 2001

00:55:51and I thought

00:55:53really there's

00:55:53a new generation there

00:55:54I'm not going to get

00:55:57into the day-to-day

00:55:58scruffy nature

00:55:59of miserable parliamentary

00:56:00disputes

00:56:01and parliamentary debates

00:56:02but there are things

00:56:03relating to the well-being

00:56:04of the nation

00:56:05or international matters

00:56:06if I think I have

00:56:08a contribution to make

00:56:09I will contribute

00:56:11but rarely

00:56:12you didn't go

00:56:13into the House of Lords

00:56:14no

00:56:14had no appeal

00:56:15for me at all

00:56:15I mean I think

00:56:16the House of Lords

00:56:17is a remarkable place

00:56:18but it

00:56:20I had left politics

00:56:23when I left

00:56:24the House of Commons

00:56:25there's a great world

00:56:26outside

00:56:26mostly cricket

00:56:27well a lot of it

00:56:29but not only that

00:56:31I mean there are

00:56:32all sorts of other things

00:56:33that I

00:56:33it's all sports really

00:56:35cricket is my

00:56:36premier sport

00:56:36but there are many

00:56:38other things I do

00:56:39I love the theatre

00:56:41I love music

00:56:42I've learned a lot

00:56:44travelling

00:56:44you must tell me

00:56:45the last time you

00:56:46drove a car

00:56:461989

00:56:48lucky man

00:56:50and the traffic

00:56:53statistics are far

00:56:54better that I'm not

00:56:55on the road

00:56:55thank you very much

00:56:58now coming up

00:56:59Tales from the Martini

00:57:00Glass

00:57:01it must be

00:57:01best of British time

00:57:02Tom Serges

00:57:03serving his finest

00:57:04versions of the

00:57:05classic concept

00:57:06cocktail

00:57:06each with a famous

00:57:08yarn to go with it

00:57:09and from the Crawley

00:57:10family estate

00:57:11to my own country

00:57:12pile

00:57:12swapping Downton Abbey

00:57:13for Manor Farm actor

00:57:15Hugh Bonneville

00:57:16who joins me

00:57:16right after this

00:57:17welcome back to Love Your Weekend

00:57:32still ahead

00:57:33immortalised by James Bond

00:57:35served by Tom Sergi

00:57:37well you can't have it all

00:57:39can you

00:57:39Tom's back behind the piano bar

00:57:41and he has a melange of martinis

00:57:43chilling till his guests arrive

00:57:45not long now Tom

00:57:46on our way

00:57:47but first

00:57:48it's like saying farewell

00:57:49to an old family friend

00:57:51as the Crawley household

00:57:53faces a changing world

00:57:54secrets are revealed

00:57:56old flames rekindled

00:57:58and long-standing

00:57:59loyalties tested

00:58:00when tradition

00:58:01meets transformation

00:58:03and every ending

00:58:05opens a new beginning

00:58:07it's hard to accept

00:58:10that it's time to go

00:58:12your friendship

00:58:14has never been more important

00:58:16to all of us

00:58:16but the future of Downton Abbey

00:58:20is now in Mary's hands

00:58:23you will be a sensation

00:58:26Lady Mary

00:58:45must go

00:58:46now

00:58:47she's divorced

00:58:48I'm very sorry

00:58:51I shouldn't have come

00:58:52oh almost as much

00:58:59frisson

00:59:00as when Mr Mosley

00:59:01curtsied to Queen Mary

00:59:02one of our favourite moments

00:59:0415 years it's been

00:59:06I mean from our point of view

00:59:07as an audience

00:59:08it's flown by

00:59:10all their series

00:59:11and then three films

00:59:12and finally we say

00:59:13goodbye to the Crawley

00:59:14well like you just said

00:59:15it's you know

00:59:15like a family

00:59:16a family friend

00:59:17who perhaps doesn't know

00:59:18when to leave

00:59:19but we finally have

00:59:20without doing the washing up

00:59:22but no idea presumably

00:59:26when you started doing it

00:59:27quite what a big hit

00:59:28it would become

00:59:29I mean did you

00:59:29you know when you sent a script

00:59:30like that

00:59:31Julian Fellows

00:59:32Gosford Park

00:59:33you know good reputation

00:59:34got an Oscar for that

00:59:35what did you think

00:59:36when you saw it first off

00:59:37well when I read it first

00:59:40before it was cast

00:59:41the characters popped off the page

00:59:43and were very vivid

00:59:44which isn't always the case

00:59:45sometimes the characters

00:59:46can be interchangeable

00:59:47but everyone had a distinct voice

00:59:49and I think that's

00:59:50a lot of that's down to the fact

00:59:51that Julian Fellows

00:59:52is an actor himself

00:59:53and so has a very good ear

00:59:54for dialogue and character

00:59:56and also I couldn't put it down

00:59:58when I got to the last page

00:59:59I wanted to like everybody else

01:00:00wanted to know what happened next

01:00:01so it had that soap page turning quality

01:00:03as well as rich characters

01:00:05you enjoyed spending time with

01:00:06I remember Ian Fleming

01:00:08saying the secret of writing

01:00:09a good novel

01:00:10and the same strength play

01:00:11is just to keep people

01:00:12wanting to turn the page

01:00:14wanting to find out

01:00:15what happens next

01:00:15and they very cleverly

01:00:17kept that going

01:00:18you had a cast

01:00:20a lovely cast

01:00:20all of whom become

01:00:21friends of ours

01:00:22one in particular

01:00:23Dame Maggie Smith

01:00:25who absolutely

01:00:26lit up the screen

01:00:28and we were all in Aurova

01:00:30I suspect you were pretty much

01:00:32in Aurova too

01:00:32because she was also working

01:00:33with another great screen icon

01:00:36Shirley MacLaine

01:00:37what have you been up to

01:00:39as a matter of fact

01:00:40I found myself

01:00:41a new occupation

01:00:42but I'm afraid

01:00:44cousin Violet doesn't think

01:00:45it's quite appropriate

01:00:46can we talk about it afterwards

01:00:47are there still forbidden subjects

01:00:50in 1920

01:00:51I can't believe this

01:00:53I speak of taste

01:00:55rather than law

01:00:56well it's not my taste

01:00:58what about you Cora

01:01:00I agree with my ma

01:01:02some subjects

01:01:03are not suitable

01:01:04for every year

01:01:05oh

01:01:06pas d'avoir les domestiques

01:01:09come on my dear

01:01:11Carson and Alfred

01:01:12know more about life

01:01:13than we ever will

01:01:14can't we stop this

01:01:17how?

01:01:18it's like a runaway train

01:01:20working with two grand dones

01:01:24I mean

01:01:25you're sitting there

01:01:26it's rather like

01:01:27watching verbal ping pong

01:01:28isn't it

01:01:28it really is

01:01:29but you know

01:01:30yes you're playing a character

01:01:31but even so

01:01:31daunting people to act

01:01:33with that

01:01:33oh and they were wondering

01:01:34do you know

01:01:34I'd forgotten that

01:01:35Dan Stevens was still in it

01:01:37so season three

01:01:38I thought it was later

01:01:39but anyway

01:01:39they were both great titans

01:01:41obviously of the screen

01:01:42and sitting there

01:01:43in between set ups

01:01:44and just thinking

01:01:45my gosh

01:01:46she worked with

01:01:46you know

01:01:46Billy Wilder

01:01:47and Jack Lemon

01:01:49on the one hand

01:01:50and you know

01:01:51Maggie having worked

01:01:52with Olivier

01:01:52and all the other greats

01:01:54and won two Oscars

01:01:55it was quite

01:01:56it was quite an experience

01:01:57having them both there

01:01:58and I'll never forget

01:01:58Shirley teaching

01:02:00Michelle Dockery

01:02:01and Laura Carmichael

01:02:02my two screen

01:02:03two of my screen daughters

01:02:04some Bob Fosse moves

01:02:06from you know

01:02:06when she was on Broadway

01:02:08I mean it was great

01:02:09to see this

01:02:09you know

01:02:09these two legends

01:02:10just a sparring with us

01:02:13or rather educating us

01:02:14our generation

01:02:15but also having a twinkle

01:02:17with each other

01:02:18it was great

01:02:18they'll never forget that

01:02:19and interesting for you

01:02:20watching

01:02:21then when the show

01:02:23started

01:02:23Unknowns

01:02:24Michelle Dockery

01:02:25and Laura Carmichael

01:02:26you know

01:02:27Unknown actors

01:02:27first jobs really

01:02:29so for them to be

01:02:30in such august company

01:02:32particularly with Dame Maggie

01:02:34who could be

01:02:35quite fearsome

01:02:36I met her once or twice

01:02:37and she was actually

01:02:38I actually really enjoyed

01:02:39being with her

01:02:39but testing

01:02:40you know

01:02:41oh yes

01:02:41she absolutely

01:02:42yeah

01:02:43every new director

01:02:44she'd test out

01:02:45on the first day

01:02:46and sort of

01:02:46virtually saying

01:02:47oh we're doing it

01:02:48like that aren't we

01:02:48you know

01:02:49and

01:02:51but she was

01:02:52yeah

01:02:52she was quite a force

01:02:53but you know

01:02:54I mean just even that

01:02:55one of the

01:02:55couple of those lines

01:02:56the inflections she uses

01:02:57which

01:02:57you know

01:02:58just really make the lines sing

01:03:00it's just the magic

01:03:01of technique and talent

01:03:02they had an auction

01:03:03a month or so ago

01:03:05of props and costumes

01:03:07for it

01:03:07including your suit

01:03:08which I was quite tempted

01:03:10by

01:03:10because I realised

01:03:11we're a slightly different

01:03:12builder

01:03:12so I didn't go for it

01:03:14but Maggie's walking cane

01:03:16went for about 28,000

01:03:18or something

01:03:18I couldn't believe it

01:03:19it's only made out of plywood

01:03:20or something

01:03:20but it is amazing

01:03:22I went to see the exhibition

01:03:23of it

01:03:23and I found it rather touching

01:03:24because it was the first time

01:03:26I'd seen all the

01:03:27so many bits of memorabilia

01:03:28in one place

01:03:29and to see the passion

01:03:31with which people

01:03:32were bidding for it

01:03:33and how much the show

01:03:34meant

01:03:34or a piece of the show

01:03:35meant to them

01:03:36was really lovely

01:03:37and I was particularly pleased

01:03:39that people got to see

01:03:40up close

01:03:40the art department's work

01:03:42the letters

01:03:42and the telegrams

01:03:43and all the things

01:03:44that the camera

01:03:45doesn't really see close up

01:03:46but we all did

01:03:47on set

01:03:48all these things

01:03:49that really gave it

01:03:49a touch of

01:03:51authenticity

01:03:52even though we're

01:03:53in a fake environment

01:03:54that really added

01:03:55to what we were doing

01:03:56on set

01:03:57and so for the

01:03:58for the visitors

01:03:59to come and see that

01:04:00and go

01:04:00oh my gosh

01:04:01there's a letter

01:04:01from Lady Rose

01:04:02explaining that she's

01:04:03in wherever she is

01:04:04on her trip abroad

01:04:06or Tom Branson

01:04:07talking about his car firm

01:04:09and you know

01:04:09there I am at breakfast

01:04:10reading it

01:04:11and the camera

01:04:12never sees it

01:04:13and I was always

01:04:14so blown away

01:04:15by that sort of detail

01:04:16in the show

01:04:17yeah

01:04:17talking of

01:04:19things you don't see

01:04:20Paddington

01:04:22whom you never saw

01:04:24or if you did

01:04:24he didn't move much

01:04:26that's been a wonderful

01:04:28series of films there

01:04:30which have brought

01:04:31Michael Bond's

01:04:32bear to life

01:04:32and you got to meet

01:04:33Michael I think

01:04:34before he died

01:04:35lovely man

01:04:36with those glorious

01:04:37oh yes

01:04:37he was a dear man

01:04:39and I was

01:04:40we were all very nervous

01:04:41and this is a great credit

01:04:42to David Heyman

01:04:43the producer

01:04:44who did the Harry Potter

01:04:46films as well

01:04:46and Rosie Allison

01:04:47our principal producer

01:04:49who

01:04:49you know

01:04:50we all cared so much

01:04:51about getting it right

01:04:52for him

01:04:53really

01:04:53it's like trying to

01:04:54please your parents

01:04:55get it right

01:04:56and we were so touched

01:04:58when he came out

01:04:59of the first screening

01:04:59of the first film

01:05:00and said

01:05:00I came

01:05:01I saw

01:05:02I was conquered

01:05:03which was very

01:05:04diplomatic of him

01:05:05even if he hated it

01:05:06but no

01:05:08he passed away

01:05:08on the final day

01:05:09of shooting

01:05:09on the second film

01:05:10but his spirit

01:05:11is very much there

01:05:13particularly in the second film

01:05:14I think

01:05:14and he appears

01:05:15as a cameo

01:05:16in the first

01:05:16raising a glass of wine

01:05:18to his creation

01:05:19who goes by

01:05:20in a taxi

01:05:20which is rather lovely

01:05:21and beautifully voiced

01:05:23by Ben Whishaw

01:05:24here we are

01:05:25left a bit

01:05:29right a bit

01:05:32oh there are a lot of rocks

01:05:36what on earth

01:05:38are you doing in there

01:05:39I appear to be driving

01:05:40the boat

01:05:41Mrs. Brown

01:05:42but where's Gina

01:05:43she's not here

01:05:44I don't think

01:05:45Mr. Hunt is here either

01:05:46I think you can put it

01:05:47in reverse

01:05:47put the boat in reverse

01:05:48good idea

01:05:50reverse

01:05:51that will do it

01:05:53it's awesome

01:05:57now you're going to tell me

01:06:03that you weren't on a river

01:06:04in Peru aren't you

01:06:05going to ruin the impression

01:06:07that I had

01:06:07well we got wet

01:06:09put it that way

01:06:10and I'm sure it says

01:06:12wet in Peru

01:06:12as it is in Boreham Wood

01:06:13and also presumably

01:06:17you got to work

01:06:18only with

01:06:18do you get the voice

01:06:19of Ben Whishaw

01:06:20because you don't get

01:06:21the movement

01:06:22no it's a complicated

01:06:23process

01:06:24Ben records

01:06:26I think a sort of

01:06:27guide track

01:06:27but we actually

01:06:29have an actor

01:06:30who provides the voice

01:06:31as well as having

01:06:33physical representations

01:06:34of the bear

01:06:35because I do need

01:06:35to break it to the audience

01:06:36that sometimes

01:06:36the bear doesn't turn up

01:06:38and so we have

01:06:39various stand-ins

01:06:40and the bear emerges

01:06:43from its trailer

01:06:44about 3pm

01:06:45for its close-up

01:06:46but that's all

01:06:47you're getting that day

01:06:47you've had

01:06:48well I can say

01:06:49the great good fortune

01:06:50to be in so many years

01:06:51but then they've had

01:06:52the great good fortune

01:06:53to have you

01:06:53and one of the things

01:06:54that really blew us

01:06:55all the way

01:06:55and surprised us hugely

01:06:57was that the fact

01:06:58that the BBC

01:06:59put on a programme

01:07:00called W1A

01:07:01which actually took

01:07:02the mickey

01:07:03out of themselves

01:07:03did they know

01:07:05what they were

01:07:05letting themselves in

01:07:06for with this

01:07:07because W1A

01:07:08in which I didn't realise

01:07:09I was going to have

01:07:10a little role

01:07:10however

01:07:11W1A

01:07:13let's have a look

01:07:13which is so cracking

01:07:14you're playing

01:07:15head of

01:07:16I'm head of values

01:07:17at the BBC

01:07:18and you really

01:07:20you were the only

01:07:21kind of

01:07:22what you might call

01:07:22real ordinary person

01:07:24you were us

01:07:24you were every man

01:07:25really weren't you

01:07:26in this role

01:07:26I think it sort of

01:07:28works on many levels

01:07:29because it's not really

01:07:30about the BBC

01:07:31it's about management

01:07:32and I think anyone

01:07:33who's sat on a

01:07:34village hall committee

01:07:35or a FTSE 100

01:07:36boardroom

01:07:37knows that certain

01:07:39people around the

01:07:39table say they're

01:07:40going to do something

01:07:41by Thursday

01:07:41but really haven't

01:07:42having a chance

01:07:43of doing so

01:07:43or aren't listening

01:07:44or will do the wrong

01:07:45thing

01:07:46and Ian Fletcher

01:07:47is our sort of

01:07:47guide through

01:07:48these chicanes

01:07:50of perhaps

01:07:51educated idiots

01:07:53around one

01:07:54here we are

01:07:54let's have a look

01:07:55at him in action

01:07:55so like

01:07:57peanut and butter

01:07:58two things

01:07:59peanut butter

01:07:59one thing

01:08:00yes

01:08:00yes no

01:08:01very strong

01:08:01BBC and Wimbledon

01:08:02two things

01:08:03BBC Wimbledon

01:08:05one thing

01:08:05yes no

01:08:06I think we've got that

01:08:06no sure

01:08:07it's like

01:08:07what's not to get

01:08:08and this is an area

01:08:09where you could have

01:08:09some ideas

01:08:10well hang on

01:08:11where we could have

01:08:11ideas

01:08:12yes

01:08:12like there are areas

01:08:13we don't

01:08:14right

01:08:14okay good

01:08:15shall we just have a

01:08:16think about exactly

01:08:16how we want to play this

01:08:17the fact is this is

01:08:18important

01:08:19yes

01:08:19I've already made

01:08:20that clear

01:08:20yes no brilliant

01:08:21but Siobhan

01:08:22I don't want to spoil

01:08:23this party we're all

01:08:24having now

01:08:24but you can actually

01:08:25have other kinds of

01:08:26butter

01:08:27excuse me

01:08:27I don't believe this

01:08:28you can have like

01:08:29brandy butter

01:08:29or just ordinary butter

01:08:30it doesn't have to be

01:08:31peanut

01:08:32there's no such thing

01:08:33as monkey butter

01:08:33okay

01:08:34what

01:08:34brilliant

01:08:35get over it

01:08:36brilliant

01:08:36very strong

01:08:37how the dickens

01:08:40you all learned

01:08:42this quick fire

01:08:44dialogue

01:08:44because there's no

01:08:45room

01:08:45no

01:08:46for any kind

01:08:47of

01:08:47no

01:08:48it's genuinely

01:08:49the hardest job

01:08:50I've ever done

01:08:50and every incarnation

01:08:52of it

01:08:52we did

01:08:53the first one

01:08:53was 2012

01:08:54all about the Olympics

01:08:55and then we did W1A

01:08:56and I swore I'd never

01:08:57do it again

01:08:58because I find it

01:08:59impossible to learn

01:08:59because it is

01:09:00nonsensical

01:09:01most of it

01:09:01and the dialogue

01:09:02unlike something like

01:09:03The Thick of It

01:09:03where they do have

01:09:04an element of improvisation

01:09:06this is entirely scripted

01:09:08every um and uh

01:09:08is scripted

01:09:09and it's all very rhythmical

01:09:10so I swore I'd never

01:09:11do it again

01:09:12so we've just done

01:09:12a show called

01:09:132026

01:09:14which is about

01:09:15a major international

01:09:16football tournament

01:09:17next year

01:09:17which will be coming

01:09:18to your screens

01:09:19in April May

01:09:20I guess

01:09:20wonderful

01:09:21I'm going to be

01:09:22self-indulgent

01:09:22because I'm going

01:09:23to show a clip

01:09:23which in our household

01:09:24is famous

01:09:25because we love this

01:09:26because having met

01:09:28Julia Roberts

01:09:28and having met you

01:09:30and seen you

01:09:31in Notting Hill

01:09:32making this wonderful gaffe

01:09:33with Julia Roberts

01:09:35you just love this

01:09:36as much as I do

01:09:37I hope

01:09:37always imagined

01:09:39it's a pretty tough job

01:09:40though acting

01:09:40I mean the wages

01:09:41are a scandal

01:09:41aren't they

01:09:42they can be

01:09:43I see friends

01:09:44from university

01:09:45clever chaps

01:09:46been in the business

01:09:47longer than you

01:09:48they're scraping by

01:09:49on seven

01:09:50eight thousand a year

01:09:51it's no life

01:09:53what sort of acting

01:09:56do you do

01:09:57films

01:09:58mainly

01:09:59oh splendid

01:10:00oh well done

01:10:02how's the pay

01:10:03in movies

01:10:04I mean

01:10:06last film you did

01:10:08what did you get paid

01:10:0915 million dollars

01:10:11right

01:10:14it's

01:10:18because it's

01:10:19Julia Roberts

01:10:20that you're doing to it

01:10:21there

01:10:21and because you're having

01:10:22to be the worst

01:10:22there's a strange chemistry

01:10:25between the two of you

01:10:26during that

01:10:26there's kind of

01:10:27surreality

01:10:27and reality to it

01:10:29if that makes

01:10:29any sense at all

01:10:30fun to play with

01:10:31Julia

01:10:32it was actually

01:10:33but it was

01:10:34it was quite interesting

01:10:36because in the rehearsals

01:10:37in the original script

01:10:39it was 10 million dollars

01:10:41and then in rehearsal

01:10:42she changed it to 12 million

01:10:43and then on the

01:10:45on that final close-up of hers

01:10:47she changed it to 15 million

01:10:48and when we finished the shot

01:10:50I said out of interest

01:10:51why did you change it

01:10:52and she said

01:10:53I was kind of tired of low-balling

01:10:54and then a week later

01:10:56it was announced

01:10:57she was getting 20 million

01:10:58for Erin Brockovich

01:10:59so you know

01:11:00it's a different sphere

01:11:01but she was lovely

01:11:02still on the plane

01:11:03well it's good of you though

01:11:04to have another string to your bow

01:11:05because we now have

01:11:07Hugh Bonneville

01:11:08Rory Sparks

01:11:09and The Elephant in the Room

01:11:10so first

01:11:11children's book

01:11:12I read your memoirs

01:11:14you know

01:11:14on the piano

01:11:15but children's books

01:11:17have you always had a yen

01:11:18to write children's books

01:11:19absolutely not

01:11:20it came out of the blue rather

01:11:22or came out from a colleague

01:11:24of my literary agent

01:11:25who

01:11:25in my memoir

01:11:27I'd written

01:11:28I have no idea about writing

01:11:30and they'd commissioned

01:11:31they'd have said

01:11:32we want 100,000 words

01:11:33so I gave them 165,000

01:11:35thinking they'd be thrilled

01:11:36because they're getting

01:11:37nearly two for the price of one

01:11:38and I said

01:11:40well what's the problem

01:11:41they said

01:11:41well we're on page 100

01:11:42but you're still only eight

01:11:43could we just move

01:11:44this narrative on a bit

01:11:45you know

01:11:45and so I cut out

01:11:47huge amounts of stuff

01:11:48and for some reason

01:11:49I'd written really vividly

01:11:51and from memory

01:11:52about my childhood

01:11:53and so a colleague

01:11:54of my age

01:11:55said well why not

01:11:56develop that into

01:11:57you know

01:11:57into a world

01:11:58that you clearly

01:11:59remember it well

01:12:00and liked visiting it

01:12:02and it's quite funny

01:12:02and innocent pranks

01:12:04and all that sort of thing

01:12:05so that's really

01:12:06where it sprung from

01:12:07So it's a degree

01:12:07of autobiography

01:12:08Well there sort of is

01:12:09I mean we had

01:12:10back in the day

01:12:11there was Billy Smart Circus

01:12:12that used to come and pitch

01:12:13on Blackheath

01:12:14where I grew up

01:12:15and the children

01:12:16from the circus

01:12:18would come

01:12:18and be in our school

01:12:19for a month or so

01:12:20or have along

01:12:20they were in town

01:12:21and occasionally

01:12:22they'd come to school

01:12:23on an elephant

01:12:24and which you know

01:12:25it was quite different

01:12:26days then

01:12:26and so

01:12:29and then another example

01:12:31was I obviously

01:12:32dug a grave

01:12:33for my sister

01:12:33because she needed

01:12:34to be got rid of

01:12:35when I was about nine

01:12:36and so these threads

01:12:38sort of came together

01:12:39and I sort of

01:12:41enjoyed exploring

01:12:42a bit of my childhood

01:12:44that some of it

01:12:44had been locked away

01:12:45and you know

01:12:45what it's like

01:12:46when you're writing

01:12:46you really do find

01:12:48your imagination

01:12:49takes over

01:12:50and so you begin

01:12:51to blur fiction

01:12:51and reality

01:12:52quite easily

01:12:53I know Hugh

01:12:54you also champion

01:12:55young authors

01:12:57coming along

01:12:57particularly young

01:12:58children's authors

01:12:59we have one with us today

01:12:59Sam Sajman

01:13:00Sam come in

01:13:01Sam you've done

01:13:02a series of children's books

01:13:03Isaac Turner

01:13:05investigates the clockwork

01:13:06conspiracy

01:13:06I'd got to read back

01:13:08because it says

01:13:08aspiring inventor

01:13:09Isaac Turner

01:13:10lives with his dad

01:13:11the urologist

01:13:12in charge of Big Ben

01:13:13but when his father

01:13:15vanishes from the belfry

01:13:16on the night

01:13:16the clocks go back

01:13:17leaving behind

01:13:18only a smashed pocket watch

01:13:20and a cryptic message

01:13:21Isaac determines

01:13:22to find him

01:13:23I mean it's like that

01:13:24you know

01:13:24you read the first

01:13:25and you think

01:13:26oh yes

01:13:27and you just want

01:13:28to go on

01:13:28don't you

01:13:29have you always been

01:13:30children's writer

01:13:31Sam?

01:13:31I've been a children's writer

01:13:33for about five years now

01:13:34I've written stories

01:13:35ever since I was a kid

01:13:36but I

01:13:36much like Hugh

01:13:37never thought

01:13:37oh I want to grow up

01:13:38and be a children's writer

01:13:39I thought I wanted to write

01:13:40big serious

01:13:41important books

01:13:43for grown-ups

01:13:43and then

01:13:44those ended up

01:13:44being quite boring

01:13:45and the real thrill

01:13:47is when you get to write

01:13:47for children

01:13:48you actually

01:13:48get to have a lot of fun

01:13:50and no one asks you

01:13:51but why is this book fun?

01:13:52Yeah well

01:13:52it turns out to what you were saying

01:13:54Hugh

01:13:54you let your imagination go

01:13:55you can be a child again

01:13:56and do what

01:13:57you know

01:13:58Ben Miller

01:13:58is a regular on this show

01:14:00and Ben has become one of the

01:14:01I think a top ten selling

01:14:02children's writers

01:14:03but when you're in there

01:14:04and you get success

01:14:05and you feel you are

01:14:06speaking and the children

01:14:07are lapping it up

01:14:09and enjoying it

01:14:10it's a sense of achievement

01:14:11Hugh

01:14:12well it's the same as when

01:14:13I remember doing Panto

01:14:14and you know

01:14:15you're in front of a pretty

01:14:16tough crowd

01:14:17and they tell you pretty damn

01:14:18quickly if they're enjoying it

01:14:19or not

01:14:20and I'm sure the same will be

01:14:22I'm dreading next week

01:14:23when this book comes out

01:14:24because I'm going to get

01:14:24you know peanuts

01:14:25and all sorts thrown at me

01:14:26from any number of school children

01:14:28who I go and read to

01:14:29do you get intimidated

01:14:30by your audience

01:14:31oh I was terrified

01:14:32when I had to go into school

01:14:33for the first time

01:14:34but if a kid loves a book

01:14:35they love it more

01:14:36than any adult loves a book

01:14:38and there's nothing like the joy

01:14:39of when you meet a kid

01:14:41who's absolutely

01:14:41loves your books

01:14:43or loves reading generally

01:14:44and nothing is as good

01:14:46as that feeling

01:14:47lovely to talk to you both

01:14:48thank you

01:14:49good luck both

01:14:49with Rory Sparks

01:14:51and the elephant in the room

01:14:52and I know this is one of the first ones

01:14:53isn't it

01:14:53Isaac Turner Messer

01:14:54it's Clockwork Conspiracy

01:14:55and the little series

01:14:56that I come

01:14:57thank you both indeed

01:14:58very much

01:14:58good to see you

01:14:59thank you

01:14:59thank you so much

01:15:00time to sit back now

01:15:01and relax for a moment of calm

01:15:03in today's Ode to Joy

01:15:04Ode to Joy

01:15:34Ode to Joy

01:16:04Oh that was Tynemouth

01:16:26and St Mary's Lighthouse

01:16:28courtesy of Alan Magee

01:16:29and set to the Symphony No. 102

01:16:31by Josef Haydn

01:16:33he wrote far too many

01:16:34didn't he

01:16:34104

01:16:35still to come

01:16:37he has the classiest ticket in town

01:16:39just as well

01:16:39our guest list is so strong

01:16:41Tom Sergis put his black tie on

01:16:43and he's serving up decadent martinis

01:16:45and you're all invited

01:16:47I'll be back with Tom

01:16:48our guests

01:16:48and those toe-tappingly good martinis

01:16:51right after this

01:16:52welcome back to Love Your Weekend

01:17:07time for today's best of British

01:17:10and a cocktail so iconic

01:17:12it's become a byword for Hollywood glamour

01:17:14and British sophistication

01:17:16from its storied past

01:17:18to the endless variations

01:17:20enjoyed today

01:17:21the martini

01:17:22stands out

01:17:23as a symbol

01:17:23of style

01:17:24and elegance

01:17:25given our esteemed guest list

01:17:27today

01:17:27it seemed only appropriate

01:17:28we laid on the good stuff

01:17:30guiding us through

01:17:31classic recipes

01:17:32inventive modern twists

01:17:34and the stories

01:17:34that made this cocktail

01:17:36a classic

01:17:36are very suave

01:17:38martini maestro

01:17:39Tom Sergis

01:17:40welcome Tom

01:17:40thank you Alan

01:17:42what a joy

01:17:42I was over the moon

01:17:44when I was asked

01:17:45to put together five martinis

01:17:46it's my favourite category of cocktails

01:17:48it's the best

01:17:49I'll hear no alternative opinions

01:17:51it's the best

01:17:53in many ways

01:17:54it's the original cocktail

01:17:55you know

01:17:56the birth of the martini

01:17:57essentially was

01:17:58the birth of the cocktail

01:17:59as we know it

01:17:59you had stuff like

01:18:01sherry cobblers

01:18:02and things like that before

01:18:03but the martini

01:18:04is the birth of

01:18:05vermouth being used

01:18:07so these are drinks

01:18:07that are spirit

01:18:08and vermouth

01:18:09and pretty much nothing else

01:18:11which is alright

01:18:12but they're all different

01:18:13they're all different

01:18:14so yeah

01:18:15we've done funky little twists

01:18:16on each

01:18:17shall we begin

01:18:18yes

01:18:18so the first drink

01:18:20you're going to have here

01:18:20is with an olive in it

01:18:21that's what you want to find

01:18:22I've done

01:18:23my favourite type of martini

01:18:25it is a vodka martini

01:18:26people think that martinis

01:18:27must be gin

01:18:28and in fairness

01:18:29gin martini's been around

01:18:30since the late 1800s

01:18:31but vodka turned up

01:18:32within about 40 years of that

01:18:34so it's pretty much as old

01:18:35and whatever you choose

01:18:36to garnish it with

01:18:37is fine

01:18:38as long as it's an olive

01:18:38or a lemon

01:18:39but this is a classic

01:18:41modern

01:18:41or contemporary

01:18:42vodka martini

01:18:43five parts vodka

01:18:45one part

01:18:47very dry vermouth

01:18:48and we're using

01:18:49Edward's vodka

01:18:50which is made in Lincolnshire

01:18:51from King Edward Potatoes

01:18:53so it gives you this nice

01:18:54textural

01:18:55soft character

01:18:56and sacred

01:18:57which is beautiful

01:18:58English dry vermouth

01:18:59made in North London

01:19:00mmm

01:19:01stirred down

01:19:02not shaken

01:19:03we'll get there

01:19:04stirred

01:19:04oh

01:19:05right

01:19:06gorgeous

01:19:07come on

01:19:07do you notice

01:19:08we've all gone silent

01:19:09it's delicious

01:19:10there's a sort of

01:19:11gentle sensation of fear

01:19:13isn't there

01:19:13there's a temptation

01:19:14there's definitely that

01:19:15of a Sunday morning

01:19:17why are martinis so scary

01:19:18is it because they're so strong

01:19:20they're powerhouse cocktails

01:19:21aren't they

01:19:21they

01:19:21I think it sets the tone

01:19:23so if you walk in

01:19:23to see a friend

01:19:25or someone

01:19:25you go to their house

01:19:26for Sunday lunch

01:19:26they offer you a glass of wine

01:19:28if you say

01:19:28look should we have a martini

01:19:29there's an immediate

01:19:30naughtiness

01:19:31it sets the bar

01:19:32doesn't it

01:19:32which I think is lovely

01:19:33how different would it be

01:19:35if it was stirred

01:19:36not shaken

01:19:36that's a really good question

01:19:38so stirring martinis down

01:19:40creates this kind of

01:19:41liquid silk texture

01:19:43it chills them down enormously

01:19:44and you end up with this

01:19:45really fine

01:19:46really refreshing

01:19:47texture

01:19:47silky

01:19:48silky

01:19:49and then if you shake

01:19:51drinks

01:19:51what happens is

01:19:52you get more aeration

01:19:53they get richer

01:19:53they get fuller

01:19:54they get more creamy

01:19:55in texture

01:19:55so all of this stuff

01:19:57about James Bond

01:19:57shaken and not stirred

01:19:58the classic martinis

01:20:00are stirred

01:20:01it really is a stirred drink

01:20:02but shaking it

01:20:03if you're into that

01:20:04if you like a bit of

01:20:05extra texture

01:20:05it's fine

01:20:06let's see how this has

01:20:07gone down

01:20:08Hugh do we like

01:20:09I'm a big

01:20:09I'm very keen on a

01:20:11dirty dry martini

01:20:12and often I find

01:20:14that the vermuth

01:20:15can overpower

01:20:16and this is actually

01:20:18a very good proportion

01:20:20I'd say

01:20:20you need very little

01:20:21really don't you

01:20:22and it's not even

01:20:23lunch time

01:20:23it's delicious

01:20:27I'm not a martini person

01:20:29but it's

01:20:30my gosh

01:20:31it's packs a punch

01:20:32but I really liked

01:20:33the olive

01:20:34the salt of the olive

01:20:35against the sort of

01:20:36the flavour of it

01:20:37it's yeah

01:20:38John do you indulge

01:20:39in a martini ever

01:20:40I do yeah

01:20:41I only discovered them

01:20:42about 20 years ago

01:20:43but I love martinis

01:20:44made up for it since

01:20:45well I have a bit

01:20:48I mean often

01:20:49I don't drink a great deal

01:20:51but often at the beginning

01:20:51of a meal

01:20:52I'll take a martini

01:20:53and nurse that through the meal

01:20:55rather than moving on to wine

01:20:56so yes I love them

01:20:57it's such a

01:20:58PG Woodhouse

01:20:59it's always called it a stiffener

01:21:00exactly

01:21:00and I think it's just a wonderful phrase for it

01:21:02lovely

01:21:02next one

01:21:03next one

01:21:04the original martinis

01:21:05in the late 1800s

01:21:06in London and in America

01:21:07would have been much more

01:21:09what we call wet

01:21:09and the wet martini

01:21:11is when it is half

01:21:12or at least a lot more vermouth

01:21:13and a little bit less

01:21:15spirit

01:21:15so this is a 50-50

01:21:17martini

01:21:18in the style

01:21:19that you might have found

01:21:20in a bar in America

01:21:20or in London

01:21:21in the sort of 1880s

01:21:23into the early 1900s

01:21:24and what I've done with this

01:21:26is I've combined gin

01:21:27so a switching spirit

01:21:28this is forest gin

01:21:30which is made from

01:21:31foraged botanicals

01:21:33in the Macclesfield forest

01:21:34which is absolutely lovely

01:21:35berries

01:21:36there's junipers

01:21:37and citruses in there

01:21:38which they bring in

01:21:39but there's also mosses

01:21:40and ferns

01:21:41foraged from the national park

01:21:42around Macclesfield

01:21:43which is absolutely beautiful

01:21:44distilled up there

01:21:45and mixed with

01:21:46one of my favourite vermouths

01:21:47absolutely sensational

01:21:48Vault Meadow

01:21:49and so this is

01:21:51a sort of very floral

01:21:52very fragrant

01:21:53very grassy

01:21:54dandelion

01:21:55kind of rich

01:21:56this is so different

01:21:56to that first one

01:21:57so different

01:21:58completely different

01:21:59much softer

01:22:00much less

01:22:01firm alcoholic attack

01:22:02it's a lot lower in alcohol

01:22:04but not low in alcohol

01:22:05by any stretch

01:22:05I like that one

01:22:07this will be my favourite

01:22:09for sure

01:22:09this is lovely

01:22:10I'm still trying to

01:22:12focus on foraging

01:22:13in Macclesfield

01:22:14I know

01:22:15it's a thing

01:22:16it's one of the highest

01:22:17altitude distilleries

01:22:18in the country

01:22:19it's a beautiful place

01:22:19to go and visit

01:22:20the mountains of Macclesfield

01:22:22the mountains of Macclesfield

01:22:23absolutely

01:22:24you as our connoisseur

01:22:25of martinis

01:22:26how does that one

01:22:26compare with the first one

01:22:27do you know

01:22:28I've never really liked

01:22:29gin martinis

01:22:30and this is the first one

01:22:31I've really

01:22:32this is lovely

01:22:33you

01:22:33come on

01:22:34I'm even getting the acorns

01:22:35from the woods

01:22:36in Macclesfield

01:22:37but no

01:22:38it's really delicious

01:22:39Tom

01:22:40we have three to go

01:22:41we do

01:22:41move on

01:22:42now

01:22:43I thought I'd give you

01:22:44a bit of a gap

01:22:44what I've done here

01:22:46is I've created

01:22:46a non-alcoholic

01:22:49French martini

01:22:50it's a martini

01:22:51from the 1980s

01:22:52it looks like a martini

01:22:53from the 1980s

01:22:54doesn't it

01:22:55it's got shoulder pads

01:22:55a bit of pineapple

01:22:56shoulder pads

01:22:58and this is

01:22:59a twist on

01:22:59a classic style of martini

01:23:01that sort of

01:23:02martini purists

01:23:03don't think

01:23:04is a martini at all

01:23:04the original cocktail

01:23:05is vodka

01:23:06pineapple juice

01:23:07chambord

01:23:08raspberry liqueur

01:23:09it's you know

01:23:10shaken together

01:23:11it's a much more

01:23:12viscous sweet thing

01:23:12Tom be honest

01:23:13this is very nice

01:23:14but it's a fruit juice

01:23:15it is well

01:23:15isn't it

01:23:16this is not a martini

01:23:17it's a fruit juice

01:23:18it's a good palate cleanser

01:23:19after those first two

01:23:21and before the last two

01:23:22but it's fruit juice

01:23:23this is using

01:23:24something called sentia

01:23:25so I love this

01:23:26this is made in the UK

01:23:27and it is a

01:23:28what they call

01:23:30a functional

01:23:30non-alcoholic spirit

01:23:32so instead of alcohol

01:23:33what they're trying to do

01:23:33is combine

01:23:34as opposed to

01:23:35non-functioning alcohol

01:23:36exactly

01:23:37so these are

01:23:39it's created

01:23:40with lots of different

01:23:40botanicals and herbs

01:23:41brought together

01:23:42the combination of which

01:23:44is meant to trigger

01:23:45feelings and sensations

01:23:46in your GABA system

01:23:47which is your

01:23:48kind of emotional

01:23:49regulation system

01:23:51in the body

01:23:51so

01:23:51Lolita do you feel

01:23:52you're being triggered

01:23:53in your gammas

01:23:54I hope so

01:23:56I think this is delicious

01:23:57it is delicious

01:23:58and the martini glass

01:23:59makes me feel like

01:24:00I am having a martini

01:24:01it's a good

01:24:01I really like it

01:24:03John

01:24:03I think my GABA system

01:24:04approves

01:24:05Hugh

01:24:07my mother always said

01:24:09if you haven't got

01:24:09anything nice to say

01:24:10don't say it

01:24:11just leave it at that

01:24:12move on

01:24:13move on

01:24:13we're moving through

01:24:14we're moving through

01:24:15now

01:24:16back onto the booze

01:24:17we have got

01:24:18a brilliant take

01:24:19on a martini

01:24:20so this is from

01:24:20the early 1900s

01:24:21created at the Savoy

01:24:23by a lady called

01:24:25Ada Coleman

01:24:25who was the head

01:24:26bartender at the Savoy

01:24:27at the time

01:24:27and it's called

01:24:29the Hanky Panky

01:24:30which I like a lot

01:24:31for the love of Ada

01:24:33absolutely

01:24:34so it is gin

01:24:36heavily gin

01:24:37and the vermouth

01:24:38added to it

01:24:39one fifth

01:24:40vermouth

01:24:41like the first

01:24:41martini we had

01:24:42is Rosso vermouth

01:24:43and this is made

01:24:44by the brilliant

01:24:45Astley Brothers

01:24:45in South London

01:24:46but crucially

01:24:48just a little dribble

01:24:50of something called

01:24:51Fernet

01:24:51is put into there

01:24:52and that is a

01:24:53super bittersweet

01:24:54Italian style liqueur

01:24:55a bit like a vermouth

01:24:56but much more alcoholic

01:24:57minty

01:24:58it's got myrrh

01:24:59in there

01:25:00for you three wise men

01:25:01enthusiasts

01:25:02bit of air

01:25:03and it's a much more

01:25:04kind of intense thing

01:25:05the gin in here

01:25:06is Mouse Hall

01:25:07which is from East Sussex

01:25:08and it's sensational

01:25:10it's much more punchy

01:25:11John do you like that one

01:25:13with the Rosso martini

01:25:16well the myrrh

01:25:17might be good

01:25:18I think it misses the incense

01:25:19I'm not so sure

01:25:21about this one

01:25:23it's a bit too heavy

01:25:25for it

01:25:25it is much heavier

01:25:27it does

01:25:28for me

01:25:29the pleasure in a martini

01:25:30is that crisp

01:25:31pit

01:25:32and this is just

01:25:33a bit rounder

01:25:34it's slightly medicinal

01:25:36that's true

01:25:37it's become the bastion

01:25:39of the kind of food

01:25:40scene in London

01:25:41if you like

01:25:41so amazing chefs

01:25:42like Fergus Henderson

01:25:43at St John

01:25:44and things

01:25:44this is their absolute

01:25:46benchmark cocktail

01:25:47Antonia Bourdain

01:25:48was a big fan

01:25:49it's a very gastronomic drink

01:25:50can we move on

01:25:51to the last one

01:25:51thank you Ada

01:25:52thank you Ada

01:25:53thank you Ada

01:25:54now finally

01:25:56and this is a bit

01:25:57of an easy option

01:25:58really

01:25:59but look

01:25:59it is the classic

01:26:00the quintessential

01:26:01you can't go on

01:26:03a hen party

01:26:03without one

01:26:04the espresso martini

01:26:06which is a thing

01:26:07now

01:26:07the espresso martini

01:26:08despite being ubiquitous

01:26:11and everywhere

01:26:11is one of those

01:26:13bartender

01:26:13classics

01:26:14oh

01:26:15stunning hey

01:26:18oh yeah that is lovely

01:26:19that is lovely

01:26:21you want to down it

01:26:22in wonderful

01:26:22like a chocolate

01:26:24for you I guess

01:26:25it is

01:26:25it's chocolatey

01:26:26and rich

01:26:27this is made

01:26:28with the toasted

01:26:29coffee bean vodka

01:26:30from Portobello Road

01:26:31Distillery

01:26:31which is a sensational

01:26:32potato based vodka

01:26:33again like Edward's

01:26:34great texture of vodka

01:26:35made in London

01:26:36they make good gin too

01:26:37and Conker

01:26:38which is from Dorset

01:26:39which is a coffee liqueur

01:26:41mix that with a little bit

01:26:43of sugar

01:26:43some actual espresso

01:26:44fresh espresso

01:26:45shake it

01:26:46and you've got this

01:26:46and it was invented

01:26:48as a style of martini

01:26:49by Dick Bradsell

01:26:50arguably the UK's

01:26:51greatest and most

01:26:52influential bartender

01:26:53in 1984

01:26:54in Soho

01:26:55Lolita

01:26:56what do you think

01:26:57I think this is delicious

01:26:58it's very dangerous

01:26:59isn't it

01:27:00it's very dangerous

01:27:01because it's only

01:27:01moorish

01:27:02it slips down

01:27:03John

01:27:03I think I'd better get

01:27:05some imitations

01:27:06to hen parties

01:27:06we'll see what we can do

01:27:10this is absolutely delicious

01:27:13and I particularly like

01:27:14that I'm intrigued

01:27:15by the vodka

01:27:15I'm intrigued by the date

01:27:171980 whatever it was for

01:27:19was it

01:27:19what inspired him

01:27:21was it someone falling asleep

01:27:22at the counter

01:27:23do you know

01:27:23so I wonder if you're

01:27:25leading me into something

01:27:26that could get me into trouble

01:27:27but it's

01:27:27it was invented in London

01:27:29Fashion Week

01:27:301984

01:27:30and the legend goes

01:27:32that a supermodel of the time

01:27:33who I know who it is

01:27:34and will remain nameless

01:27:35walked into the Soho Brasserie

01:27:37one morning

01:27:37and said to Dick

01:27:38we're in the middle

01:27:39of London Fashion Week

01:27:40I'm exhausted

01:27:41and I need you to make me something

01:27:42that's going to wake me up

01:27:44and shake me up

01:27:45we'll say for the sake of TV

01:27:46and he responded

01:27:49by turning around

01:27:50to the Illy Espresso machine

01:27:51had just been given

01:27:52which was a rare thing

01:27:53in 1984

01:27:54made an espresso

01:27:55chucked some vodka in

01:27:56and hey presto

01:27:57a legend was born

01:27:59and so that is

01:28:00the origin story

01:28:01London Fashion Week

01:28:02I'll drink to that

01:28:03I'll drink to that

01:28:04that's it for today's show

01:28:06where are we going for lunch

01:28:07it'll need to have a lot of stodge in it

01:28:10soak it all up

01:28:11thanks to all my guests

01:28:12to Sir John

01:28:13to the leader

01:28:14to Hugh

01:28:14and of course to Tom

01:28:15for cheering us with all these

01:28:17join me next week

01:28:18for some more barn side banter

01:28:20but until then

01:28:21well you see it's difficult to speak now

01:28:23isn't it

01:28:23till then

01:28:24in the words of US comedian

01:28:25Jackie Gleason

01:28:27you try saying that

01:28:27after a sip of his

01:28:28espresso martini

01:28:29a man must defend

01:28:31his home

01:28:31his wife

01:28:32his children

01:28:33and his martini

01:28:34I'm defending this

01:28:35cheers all

01:28:36cheers

01:28:37cheers

01:28:38cheers

01:28:39cheers

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