S7 E28 – Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh - Vídeo Dailymotion

WESTCOLManiaticos

Suscríbete para más programas de TV

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.

00:00:08Morning, Alan.

00:00:08Morning.

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

00:00:13Time to love you 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.

00:01:23From Treading the Corridors of Power

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

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

00:01:31Finding a Path to Power,

00:01:33and 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,

00:02:29well-connected with the countryside.

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

00:02:32not too far from here,

00:02:34so 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 Bounds.

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

00:02:48and anything between sort of Winchester and Eastbourne

00:02:52at the end of the South Bounds Way,

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

00:02:55So you walk on?

00:02:56I have been.

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

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

00:03:03I heartily recommend it.

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

00:03:06I mean, John, when 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,

00:03:28but I think the seasons in this country

00:03:32are something that will always bring me back.

00:03:34Favourite season?

00:03:34Which one?

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

00:03:36Spring or autumn.

00:03:37Yeah.

00:03:38It's a toss-up.

00:03:38Probably spring.

00:03:39Yeah.

00:03:40Renewal.

00:03:41Yes, I mean, 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.

00:03:54Lita, countryside or are you 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.

00:04:11Yeah.

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,

00:04:26John,

00:04:27or fans or great people

00:04:30that you've worked with,

00:04:32actors in particular.

00:04:33I mean, are there things to 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

00:04:56at the tea urn

00:04:57as we were both

00:04:58sort of mixing our 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 if she's nervous,

00:05:07you 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.

00:05:14And I thought nothing of it

00:05:16at the time

00:05:17but on reflection

00:05:18it became a real

00:05:19sort of mantra for me.

00:05:20We're only here once

00:05:21and I lost my brother

00:05:23very suddenly overnight.

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

00:05:31to plant for ten years

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

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

00:05:36Gosh, gosh.

00:05:37Lolita, for you,

00:05:39things that have stuck.

00:05:40So my first play,

00:05:41Red Velvet,

00:05:42was a really hard-earned

00:05:44piece 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

00:05:54the opening night.

00:05:55Oh, what an important one.

00:05:56Oh, what a lovely voice.

00:05:58And the main character...

00:05:59That was a name drop.

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

00:06:01Really well.

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.

00:06:24I thought,

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

00:06:25Yeah, I've done your job.

00:06:27In 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, there are so many.

00:06:35Let me offer you one.

00:06:36All right.

00:06:37I was walking in the Kremlin

00:06:39with Boris Yeltsin

00:06:40That's another name,

00:06:41John.

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

00:06:43can sit here

00:06:44and say to me,

00:06:46I was walking in the Kremlin

00:06:47with Boris Yeltsin.

00:06:48Well, I was.

00:06:49I was walking in the Kremlin

00:06:51with Boris Yeltsin

00:06:52and I said to him,

00:06:53tell me, Boris,

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.

00:07:13You all over the years

00:07:14had,

00:07:14you know,

00:07:15royal connections

00:07:16or connections

00:07:17or done things.

00:07:18You were part of the

00:07:19coronation concert

00:07:20at Windsor Castle.

00:07:22Yeah.

00:07:23Hugh 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.

00:07:30Are 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,

00:07:40doesn't it?

00:07:41Does it?

00:07:42Oh, good grief.

00:07:44Just point us

00:07:45to the royal box,

00:07:46Hugh,

00:07:46and we will both

00:07:47be out of your way.

00:07:48Yes, darling.

00:07:50Show him the way.

00:07:51King Charles,

00:07:52he whirls,

00:07:53he is expecting him.

00:07:55Well,

00:07:56are you sitting in

00:07:56the 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,

00:08:12fuzzy hats.

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

00:08:14Thank you so much,

00:08:15Hugh.

00:08:16Let's go,

00:08:16Piggy,

00:08:16come on.

00:08:17Oh,

00:08:18back soon.

00:08:19Don't forget

00:08:20to get a ring.

00:08:22A big one,

00:08:24too.

00:08:24Being 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 cool as that

00:08:35in real life.

00:08:35Can you forget about the puppetry

00:08:35and 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?

00:08:44Yeah,

00:08:47he had different issues

00:08:48for John.

00:08:50Lisa,

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

00:09:08with the Queen

00:09:09and encounters

00:09:10at Buckingham Palace

00:09:11and Balmore

00:09:12and Windsor 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 some

00:09:24wretched pipe

00:09:25was piping

00:09:26around 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.

00:09:33And I looked

00:09:34out of the window

00:09:34and there was this

00:09:36lady in her

00:09:37headscarf

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

00:09:45out very early

00:09:45in the morning

00:09:46walking her corgis.

00:09:47I remember that

00:09:48very plainly.

00:09:49And saying,

00:09:49come in,

00:09:50it's wet.

00:09:51Get yourself in the air.

00:09:52She seemed quite relaxed

00:09:53in the wet.

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,

00:10:08courtesy of

00:10:08Mrs Patmore,

00:10:09you'd be pleased to know.

00:10:10Oh, very 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.

00:11:10The 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.

00:11:35And 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,

00:11:59Border Leicester 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 Leicester

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 Davies.

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?

00:12:31So this is called

00:12:31bloom dipping

00:12:32and there are a few breeds

00:12:33of sheep in the UK

00:12:34where, you know,

00:12:35for showing and sale purposes

00:12:37they're bloom dipped

00:12:38and you can get a range

00:12:39of different colours

00:12:40and in some of the days

00:12:41gone by

00:12:42it would have been

00:12:43maybe peaty soil

00:12:44or even like a 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 iconic face

00:12:55of the Border Leicester

00:12:56pop out that little bit more

00:12:57and because Jumbo

00:13:00is a recent addition

00:13:02to the flock

00:13:03at Mud Chute

00:13:04that's why he's

00:13:05in his show clothes.

00:13:08In his show attire

00:13:09and they originated

00:13:11where?

00:13:11In Leicester?

00:13:12Well, Northumberland

00:13:13the sort of border

00:13:14counties

00:13:15is said to have been

00:13:16created around

00:13:17in the sort of 1700s

00:13:19mid to late 1700s there

00:13:20and as with

00:13:22all breeds of sheep

00:13:23if we go back

00:13:24to their sort of origins

00:13:25they will have changed

00:13:26dramatically

00:13:27since that sort of

00:13:29initiation.

00:13:29A lot of hybridisation

00:13:30between different breeds.

00:13:31Yeah.

00:13:31And the ears

00:13:32are so distinctive

00:13:33aren't they?

00:13:33I mean they're like hairs

00:13:34they're so long.

00:13:36They are

00:13:36and it's one of the things

00:13:37that makes the breed

00:13:38stand out

00:13:39once you see

00:13:40a Border Leicester

00:13:41you will never forget it.

00:13:42So the life cycle

00:13:43of them then

00:13:44is when

00:13:45when is the ram

00:13:46put to the sheep?

00:13:47So the ram goes to

00:13:48the old sort of

00:13:49wives' tale

00:13:49or farmer's tale

00:13:50is you put the ram

00:13:51in on bonfire night

00:13:52and you'll have lambs

00:13:53on April Fool's Day

00:13:54so 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 lambing

00:14:03anywhere between

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 them

00:14:08any later than

00:14:09the beginning of March

00:14:10really.

00:14:10But also if you're

00:14:11in a colder part

00:14:12of the country

00:14:12you wouldn't want them

00:14:13too early would you?

00:14:14No.

00:14:14Are these sheep

00:14:15which tend to be

00:14:16more lowland?

00:14:17Well 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

00:14:26they'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

00:14:32to milk well

00:14:33and carry big lambs

00:14:34inside that big

00:14:35deep frame

00:14:36you know

00:14:37so they will need

00:14:38a bit of looking

00:14:39after

00:14:39you know

00:14:40and you'll need

00:14:41to potentially

00:14:42if you're lambing

00:14:43early

00:14:43you will need to

00:14:44lamb them inside

00:14:45as opposed to

00:14:45outside

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 at you

00:14:54saying he's new

00:14:55to the flock

00:14:56as it were

00:14:56it's very important

00:14:57obviously

00:14:58whatever your flock

00:14:59wherever you are

00:14:59whatever the breed is

00:15:00is to keep new

00:15:01blood 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

00:15:11just to keep

00:15:12the hybrid vigour

00:15:13going then

00:15:14really

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

00:15:20few 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

00:15:26you know

00:15:27but you always

00:15:28want to keep

00:15:28that genetic diversity

00:15:29as wide

00:15:30as possible

00:15:31and you know

00:15:32you need to look

00:15:33for what 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

00:15:40the purchase

00:15:41of Jumbo

00:15:42there

00:15:43we're looking

00:15:43at improving

00:15:44the 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

00:15:48presence

00:15:49and that power

00:15:49and the flock

00:15:50that he comes from

00:15:51is a prize winning

00:15:52flock

00:15:52you know

00:15:53wins up and down

00:15:54the country

00:15:54at a lot of the

00:15:55big major shows

00:15:56so he's a fantastic

00:15:57new addition

00:15:57and his life

00:15:58and his life as a ram

00:15:59will be

00:15:59how long

00:16:00serving

00:16:00well 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 have 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 wool

00:16:30presumably they do

00:16:31better than most

00:16:32yes they will

00:16:33and what you would

00:16:34want 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

00:16:49right well we wish

00:16:50you luck with them

00:16:50Jumbo we hope

00:16:51you'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

00:17:00Prime Minister

00:17:00Sir John Major

00:17:01on his dowering

00:17:03street years

00:17:03and his life

00:17:04after politics

00:17:05and from the

00:17:06bill to Broadway

00:17:07Lolita Chakrabarti

00:17:08on the runaway

00:17:09success that won

00:17:10five Olivier's

00:17:11and three Tony Awards

00:17:13I'll see you with

00:17:14the multi-talented

00:17:15Lolita

00:17:16and 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

00:17:37could be made

00:17:38by filling a glass

00:17:39with gin

00:17:39and waving it

00:17:40in the general

00:17:41direction of Italy

00:17:42well he may not

00:17:43be waving

00:17:44in the general

00:17:45direction of Italy

00:17:45but he does

00:17:46know how to

00:17:46fill the glass

00:17:47Tom Sergi

00:17:48is Master of Ceremonies

00:17:49in today's

00:17:50Best of British

00:17:51and it's a

00:17:52martini 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

00:18:01own childhood

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

00:18:08come

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 from the word

00:18:25go

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

00:18:48why 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

00:19:18Lolita Chakrabarti

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

00:19:30or whatever

00:19:30they're good

00:19:31but the colour

00:19:32isn't quite like

00:19:33it was in your imagination

00:19:34but oh my goodness

00:19:35it most certainly

00:19:36was with that

00:19:37but the pressure

00:19:38Lolita

00:19:39of taking that book

00:19:40which was prized

00:19:41by so many

00:19:42book a winner

00:19:43ok Lolita

00:19:44here you are

00:19:45we'd like you to

00:19:45turn this into a stage play

00:19:47hey there must have been

00:19:48the thrill of it

00:19:49but be closely

00:19:50following on its heels

00:19:51I suspect it was

00:19:51oh my goodness

00:19:52I mustn't break this

00:19:53is that what it was like

00:19:55it 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

00:20:02I thought yeah

00:20:03I loved it

00:20:03great

00:20:04so 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

00:20:24but 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 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 in War Horse

00:21:12I think if you describe to somebody

00:21:14you know

00:21:14who'd come through the age

00:21:15of Muffin the Mule

00:21:16and Bill and Ben

00:21:17and marionettes like that

00:21:19that one day puppets

00:21:20could actually take 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

00:21:27watching the way they operate

00:21:28you really don't see the people

00:21:30who are operating them

00:21:31something happens

00:21:32they breathe together

00:21:33and watching how they learned

00:21:36to be the 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'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 graduated

00:21:49into this place

00:21:50that they can make

00:21:51the impossible happen

00:21:52on stage

00:21:53I remember being allowed

00:21:55to ride War Horse

00:21:56Joey

00:21:57actually sitting on it

00:21:58but it moves like a horse

00:22:00the confirmation was right

00:22:01it doesn't just look like a horse

00:22:03it feels like a horse

00:22:04when you're actually sitting on it

00:22:05yeah absolutely

00:22:06to come from acting

00:22:08you know

00:22:08trained at RADA

00:22:09to come from that

00:22:10and then into riding

00:22:12is a journey a path

00:22:13a lot of actors take

00:22:15because there's often

00:22:16a lot of down time

00:22:17between acting

00:22:18but to achieve the success

00:22:19you've achieved

00:22:20has been quite remarkable

00:22:22and now you're keeping

00:22:23the acting going

00:22:24because at the moment

00:22:25you're in Wendy and 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 10 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 home

00:22:37to London

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

00:22:39is obviously a London story

00:22:41it's a spectacular piece

00:22:43I mean I'm coming in

00:22:45for 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

00:22:51because it's really

00:22:51very truthful

00:22:52and loyal to the original work

00:22:54but it has a spin on it

00:22:56that is just about now

00:22:58and introduces the environment

00:23:01of 1910

00:23:02you know suffragettes

00:23:03and political situation

00:23:05in the background

00:23:06of London at 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 is on Wendy

00:23:12so 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 for the story

00:23:21really

00:23:22there'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 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 played 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 to be exhausting

00:23:56I mean he's going to be

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

00:23:58but he's going to be fit

00:23:59at the end of this

00:24:00it is constant changes

00:24:01and coming on and off

00:24:03and it's delightful

00:24:04it's really funny

00:24:05you were born in this country

00:24:06you were born in Birmingham

00:24:08your sister is Rita

00:24:09Rita Chakrabarti

00:24:10and we know from the news

00:24:12yeah

00:24:12you then were taken

00:24:14by your parents

00:24:14back to India

00:24:16for a while

00:24:16did they want to go

00:24:17back to

00:24:18yeah my parents

00:24:19are from Kolkata

00:24:21and they always wanted

00:24:22to emigrate back

00:24:23they never meant to stay here

00:24:24so we emigrated back

00:24:26when I was three

00:24:27for three months

00:24:27and then we did it

00:24:28when I was ten

00:24:29for 18 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 19 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

00:24:43we'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 although it was a very

00:25:08slow burn success

00:25:09so it took me a really long time

00:25:11to get that production together

00:25:12a because it's based on a historical

00:25:15a real person

00:25:16so it took me 15 years of research

00:25:18to find out who Ira Aldridge was

00:25:20and then it took about seven years

00:25:22to actually get the play on

00:25:23so by the time I got it on

00:25:24I was a bit tired

00:25:25I was like oh 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 successful

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 particularly

00:25:41I felt very responsible

00:25:42for him

00:25:43yeah

00:25:44how was he received

00:25:46in truth

00:25:48originally in truth

00:25:49originally he came over to England

00:25:50in 1824

00:25:51and he played Othello

00:25:53at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden

00:25:54in 1833

00:25:55which was a huge deal

00:25:56it's like playing the National Theatre

00:25:57the main actor at the National Theatre

00:25:59and although he was very well received

00:26:01in the provinces in Britain

00:26:02and he was really well received abroad

00:26:05he went to Russia

00:26:05Poland

00:26:06Sweden

00:26:06France

00:26:07he toured internationally

00:26:08and was the highest paid actor ever

00:26:10in Russia at the time

00:26:12at the Bolshoi

00:26:13but in London

00:26:14we were voting about

00:26:17colonial rights

00:26:19and so the reviews were pretty racist

00:26:22and so he didn't play London again

00:26:24gosh

00:26:24so it was mixed

00:26:25well you kind of did right by him

00:26:27in the end

00:26:27didn't you

00:26:28yeah he came back to the London stage

00:26:30yeah he came back to the London stage

00:26:31congratulations on what you've given us so far

00:26:33thank you

00:26:33keep doing it

00:26:34I mean it's just fascinating

00:26:35what you've achieved

00:26:36and you've been

00:26:36you know I hope

00:26:37artistically well rewarded for it

00:26:39thank you very much

00:26:40thank you very much indeed

00:26:41time now for us to take a moment

00:26:43to enjoy all the extraordinary images

00:26:45that you've been capturing

00:26:47right across Britain

00:26:48it's time for Walk 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

00:27:00music playing in the Wild Side

00:27:05Gracias por ver el video.

00:27:35Gracias por ver el video.

00:28:05Gracias por ver el video.

00:28:35Gracias por ver el video.

00:28:37Gracias por ver el video.

00:29:09Gracias por ver el video.

00:32:11Gracias por ver el video.

00:40:13Es just, I love this tree.

00:40:16I come and give it a 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 to do that now.

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

00:40:24There you go.

00:40:31My wife's inner child continues to rock.

00:40:33And if I don't feel like a child, I just go in the river and then I feel very young.

00:40:40I don't want to go to school.

00:40:46When my little Abby is on the boat, she is in charge and she is completely free in her own

00:40:54world, the world which she's known since her childhood.

00:40:57When I was a child, I used to volunteer with my parents to run the locks on every Sunday.

00:41:06And I used to go to an old mill and break in and I would play underneath in the water.

00:41:12I now own that mill.

00:41:14This is my life.

00:41:16Working the land, working in water.

00:41:19This is the highest flood level I have ever seen.

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

00:41:30So at the height of my success in the 1980s, you'd find me on a caravan here.

00:41:36Or on a boat, just hiding.

00:41:38And no one would give the game away and I could have a normal life here.

00:41:43I mean, I love my audience.

00:41:44I love my music.

00:41:46And I love the fact that here I am at 67 and I'm still touring.

00:41:50That's fantastic.

00:41:52But I would do anything to get back every single night.

00:42:05Thanks, Toya and Robert.

00:42:06It's great to see their passion for protecting our precious waterways.

00:42:10Coming up, Martinis and Hugh Bonneville.

00:42:14Well, it doesn't go much better than that, does it?

00:42:16And it's been claimed he was one of the late Queen's favourites.

00:42:20Sir John Major, on his warm relationship with Queen Elizabeth.

00:42:23His life at number 10 and his passions away from politics.

00:42:28I'll see you with Sir John right after the break.

00:42:30Welcome back.

00:42:45Coming up, the Earl himself, Hugh Bonneville, on saying farewell to everyone's favourite sumptuous period drama.

00:42:52And a drink that I think the Earl of Grantham would approve of.

00:42:55Tom Surge is turning up the style stakes in today's Best in British as martinis are on the menu.

00:43:01The ultimate in sophisticated indulgence.

00:43:04My next guest is one of Britain's best-known politicians, serving as Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997.

00:43:11Recognised for his commitment to public service and the instrumental role he played in advancing peace in Northern Ireland.

00:43:19He also secured a record number of votes for the Conservatives to win the 1992 general election.

00:43:27A moment when the typically reserved man shared the emotion of his greatest triumph with the British public.

00:43:34After 16 months on an uncertain lease, Mr Major is already a different man.

00:43:40Downing Street is now, he says, home.

00:43:42Thank you very much indeed. I've only got one thing to say. It's nice to be back.

00:43:47The boost to his confidence was obvious as he strode into Downing Street,

00:43:51a street which is normally closed to the general public,

00:43:53but which today was opened up to let supporters and well-wishers come and say hello.

00:43:58Someone called for three cheers.

00:43:59To John Major, the fact that he's now been chosen by the people, albeit a minority of the electorate,

00:44:09rather than by the secret committee room votes of his fellow MPs, is important.

00:44:13I can now accept that the country have elected me in my own right to be Prime Minister.

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

00:44:21I shall try and ensure that I reach the aspirations of people and that I let no one down.

00:44:27That is, I'm delighted to have it.

00:44:29John, you must recall the feeling at that time of, you know, walking up Downing Street

00:44:35and knowing that you live there in a way legitimately, you know, more legitimately.

00:44:39And looking now at what happens in politics,

00:44:43nobody more than you knows the ups and downs of politics

00:44:47and the feelings of those in that seat of power.

00:44:50You must look at it now, reflecting on those times alongside the times of today.

00:44:56Well, my principal reflection looking at that bit of film was, was I really that young once?

00:45:02It was a very long time ago now, of 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 and there are some very bad times

00:45:12and there's quite a lot of times in between that could go either way.

00:45:15But that's the nature of the game.

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

00:45:18It's what you choose to enter.

00:45:20When you were young, did you have aspirations from a really early age to be in government?

00:45:24I did. I did.

00:45:26I can tell you exactly from when.

00:45:28From the age of 13.

00:45:30I'd been to the House of Commons, a seat, tickets given to me by a local Labour MP, actually, Marcus Lipton.

00:45:38But I went to the House of Commons and when I walked into the house for the first time,

00:45:42the atmosphere gripped me.

00:45:45I was interested in history.

00:45:47It was one of the few things at school that I actually worked at.

00:45:51And I knew a lot about the history of the Commons, but suddenly it just reaches out and envelops you.

00:45:58Or it did me.

00:45:59And I thought, this is where I wish to spend my life.

00:46:02You left school at 16.

00:46:04Your father, famously, a musical artist and told brilliantly in your book, My Old Man, said Follower the Van, all about your dad.

00:46:15And growing up, you grew up in a household, very working class, but as you always said, comfortable, but, you know, but working.

00:46:23And so you were in this milieu of real life, you know, in Brixton, growing up there as well.

00:46:30So, you know, although you became a Tory prime minister, your upbringing was very much in and among proper working class people.

00:46:37What swayed you to go Tory rather than Labour, which must have been most of the people around you?

00:46:43Well, that's quite complex, but at its most basic.

00:46:47I looked at the two, I think instinctively I was conservative, not extreme conservative, but moderate conservative.

00:46:56But when I looked at the political parties, I thought the one that is most concerned with aspiration,

00:47:02that opens doors for you to move from where you are to where you wish to be, seemed to be the conservative party.

00:47:08And I was dazzled by some of the politicians in the 50s, notably one man, Ian MacLeod.

00:47:13So is it, do you think, harder today to be a politician?

00:47:17I think it is harder. And it's mainly the advent of social media and 24-hour-a-day media.

00:47:24Those two things together have made life much more difficult for politicians.

00:47:29They're expected to have the answer to something complex that's just happened immediately.

00:47:33And, of course, being forced to answer immediately, they answer casually and imperfectly.

00:47:38They really need some time to think.

00:47:41And they should be thinking forward, not back.

00:47:45Forward, not how do I repay the last hostile speech against me with a hostile speech against the person who made it.

00:47:52That's not politics.

00:47:54We need a kinder, gentler form of politics if we're really going to improve the status of the House of Commons

00:48:01and the public's view of politics.

00:48:03It does not help that politics is often, to such a very high extent, the subject of negative publicity.

00:48:12Some of it is deserved.

00:48:14Certainly, on many occasions, I think the hostility of the public and the media has been well deserved.

00:48:20But not always.

00:48:21What strikes me looking back is that the degree of agreement between the parties is much greater than you would possibly know.

00:48:30The disagreement is not, we want more people to be well housed, we want a better health service, we want our defence to be more secure.

00:48:37Every party would agree with that.

00:48:39The difference is on how you achieve it.

00:48:42And that's a point.

00:48:43That's why I think there are occasions where a coalition is a good idea.

00:48:48When a country is in particular trouble, it's not a bad idea if the main parties, well, you could put it this way, all have a finger in the blood.

00:48:57But if there's difficult things to be done, it's worth listening.

00:49:01There's often a case where you can look at your opponents, you may not agree with everything they say,

00:49:06but part of what they say will be justified and part of it will be right.

00:49:11That's why we mustn't move to the extremes of the far right or the far left, because they are cut off from the mainstream.

00:49:20And once you're cut off from the mainstream, you get a very angry and aggrieved nation.

00:49:26And we are at this moment...

00:49:28Angry and aggrieved.

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

00:49:30There is that famous...

00:49:31And we need to change that.

00:49:32Famous saying that says, all political careers end in failure.

00:49:36You must look back with great pleasure and pride on the Northern Ireland Agreement and the creation of the National Lottery.

00:49:42Two great achievements, though.

00:49:43You must be really pleased about those two.

00:49:44Well, the lottery figure is now over 50 billion.

00:49:46Gosh.

00:49:47And that isn't prizes to prize winners.

00:49:49That's separate.

00:49:50Yeah.

00:49:50This is to good causes.

00:49:54And it hasn't all gone to great big causes like opera houses and millennium stadiums.

00:49:59The vast bulk of the money has gone in relatively small amounts to villages in every part of our country.

00:50:05And Northern Ireland was such a long-running thing.

00:50:08It must have seemed at the time completely insoluble.

00:50:12It did look like it, but I didn't believe it was insoluble.

00:50:16And neither did Albert Reynolds, whom I came to know very well, who was by then the Taoiseach in the Republic of Ireland.

00:50:24And I remember how we began it.

00:50:27He came over for a visit and we talked about the problems of Northern Ireland.

00:50:32And I remember saying to him very clearly, if this violence had been going on in any county in England, we would not have tolerated it.

00:50:40We shouldn't tolerate it in Northern Ireland.

00:50:42And he agreed.

00:50:43And we decided we would have a go at starting a peace process, which we did.

00:50:49We continued for a couple of years till Albert lost his position as Taoiseach and then with his successor.

00:50:55And we were within stretching distance.

00:50:57We weren't there with the peace agreement, but we got a very long way towards it.

00:51:01And then I rather think the IRA stopped negotiating about 1996 because the hostility they had to the Conservative Party because of things like the hunger strikes and Bobby Sands was visceral.

00:51:17And I don't think, I don't think they wanted to proceed.

00:51:21They thought that Labour would win the next election and in that, of course, they were quite right.

00:51:26And I think they thought they would get a, would be more and more agreeable for their volunteers if they reached an agreement with the Labour Party.

00:51:34And, of course, the Labour Party, Tony Blair and his colleagues, picked up where we were and settled an agreement, which has utterly changed the face.

00:51:45Occasionally there are problems and a little bit of violence moves.

00:51:48But, by and large, Northern Ireland is a different place from anything anyone imagined in the early 90s.

00:51:55During your time as PM, you had the weekly audience with Majesty the Queen.

00:52:01We've got some footage here of you at Balmoral and a remarkable lady.

00:52:05And we'll talk about your relationship with her.

00:52:08The feeling in Moscow in the period I was there was just astonishing.

00:52:12It was actually like living with history.

00:52:15One was in the middle of a meeting and somebody burst into a room and said,

00:52:19I've just finished talking to Gorbachev or Yeltsin or Solayev and this is what they're going to do.

00:52:25I mean, certainly here one can't take it in, but there it must be even more traumatic, mustn't it?

00:52:30Well, it was absolutely amazing.

00:52:32I laid a wreath near the Kremlin at the site where the three demonstrators were crushed and killed.

00:52:40And there were huge crowds there.

00:52:41And I had the opportunity of stopping to talk to some of them.

00:52:44Not too many of them spoke English.

00:52:46I found one man who spoke beautiful English.

00:52:49And I asked him how he felt.

00:52:50And he said he was extremely interested, but he came from Woking.

00:52:56It's the sort of thing that happens to me when I talk in a crowd.

00:52:59You see, that's so rare to see these meetings, which are never talked about.

00:53:05You keep your counsel as indeed you should.

00:53:09But wonderful to see that relaxed atmosphere between you and the late Queen and the wisdom that she has there,

00:53:17which, in terms of sovereigns and now the king, of course, he's been involved since he was in his teens of seeing things come along.

00:53:25Such a useful thing.

00:53:26I should think a bit of a safety valve for a prime minister, isn't it, to have the one person who knows how difficult it is up here somewhere.

00:53:33Well, the monarch is the one person the prime minister can absolutely talk to in perfect confidence.

00:53:40I don't propose to talk about what the Queen and I talked about.

00:53:42I'll say two things about it.

00:53:44Firstly, my meetings were expected to last three quarters of an hour every week.

00:53:48They were rarely under an hour.

00:53:50I think we averaged about an hour and a quarter.

00:53:53Secondly, they were fun.

00:53:54It wasn't just grisly business about this or that particular topic.

00:54:00There was a lot of gossip.

00:54:01There was a lot of looking forward, not to what had happened, what was going right or going wrong,

00:54:06but what we thought might happen in the future.

00:54:08And it was a lot about people.

00:54:10All of those were there.

00:54:11And the only audience were the corgis, invariably there, invariably sitting in a sort of semicircle,

00:54:19unbugged, fortunately, or all our secrets would be out.

00:54:22But it was a part of the week that I looked forward to.

00:54:27She has, you would be surprised, I think, to know how much she knew and understood

00:54:34about how people lived in all levels of income.

00:54:40She knew not only reading the red boxes and knew what was going on in terms of politics and diplomacy,

00:54:47but in terms of the problems that people faced and how they lived.

00:54:50And the king is the same.

00:54:54I haven't had these discussions with the king, but I do think he's gone off to a fabulous style.

00:54:59You have become, like it or not, an elder statesman, if not the elder statesman of the UK.

00:55:06Oldest.

00:55:08It's the word you're searching for.

00:55:10But you're listened to.

00:55:12And was there a decision where you thought, either I go away and pipe down now or I can contribute?

00:55:17Was there a moment that you remember thinking, you know, I will say something?

00:55:21Because I often think when retired heads of the armed forces start chipping in to the current heads of the armed forces,

00:55:28the current heads must think, well, you've had your turn to sit down quietly.

00:55:31You've managed to avoid that kind of criticism by offering wisdom, I think, really,

00:55:36which is now apolitical in a way in terms of it's not a lie to one particular party,

00:55:39but it's a lie to the country.

00:55:41Well, I decided I lost the election rather heavily in 1997.

00:55:49I left parliament in 2001.

00:55:52And I thought, really, there's a new generation there.

00:55:55I'm not going to get into the day-to-day scruffy nature of miserable parliamentary disputes and parliamentary debates.

00:56:02But there are things relating to the well-being of the nation or international matters.

00:56:07If I think I have a contribution to make, I will contribute.

00:56:11But rarely.

00:56:12You didn't go into the House of Lords?

00:56:14No, had no appeal for me at all.

00:56:16I mean, I think the House of Lords is a remarkable place.

00:56:20But it...

00:56:20I had left politics when I left the House of Commons.

00:56:25There's a great world outside.

00:56:27Mostly cricket?

00:56:28Well, a lot of it, but not only that.

00:56:32I mean, there are all sorts of other things that I...

00:56:34It's all sports, really.

00:56:35Cricket is my premier sport.

00:56:36But there are many other things I do.

00:56:39I love the theatre.

00:56:41I love music.

00:56:43I've learned a lot travelling.

00:56:44You must tell me the last time you drove a car.

00:56:481989.

00:56:49Lucky man.

00:56:50And the traffic statistics are far better than I'm not on the road.

00:56:57Thank you very much, Tom.

00:56:58Now, coming up, Tales from the Martini Glass.

00:57:01It must be the best of British time.

00:57:03Tom Serges serving his finest versions of the classic cocktail,

00:57:06each with a famous yarn to go with it.

00:57:09And from the Crawley family estate to my own country pile,

00:57:12swapping Downton Abbey for Manor Farm actor Hugh Bonneville,

00:57:16who joins me right after this.

00:57:17Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

00:57:32Still ahead.

00:57:33Immortalised by James Bond.

00:57:36Served by Tom Sergi.

00:57:37Well, you cunt of it all, can you?

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

00:57:41And he has a melange of martinis chilling till his guests arrive.

00:57:45Not long now, Tom.

00:57:46On our way.

00:57:47But first, it's like saying farewell to an old family friend.

00:57:51As the Crawley household faces a changing world,

00:57:55secrets are revealed, old flames rekindled,

00:57:58and long-standing loyalties tested

00:58:00when tradition meets transformation

00:58:03and every ending opens a new beginning.

00:58:07It's hard to accept that it's time to go.

00:58:13Your friendship has never been more important to all of us.

00:58:18But the future of Downton Abbey is now in Mary's hands.

00:58:25You will be a sensation.

00:58:26Lady Mary must go now.

00:58:47She's divorced.

00:58:48I'm very sorry.

00:58:51I shouldn't have come.

00:58:52Oh, almost as much frisson as when Mr Moseley curtsied to Queen Mary.

00:59:03You know, one of our favourite moments there.

00:59:05You know, 15 years it's been.

00:59:06I mean, from our point of view as an audience, it's flown by.

00:59:10All those series and then three films

00:59:12and finally we'll say goodbye to the Crawley.

00:59:14Well, like you just said, it's like a family friend

00:59:17who perhaps doesn't know when to leave, but we finally have.

00:59:21You do like it as well.

00:59:21Without doing the washing up.

00:59:22But no idea, presumably, when you started doing it quite

00:59:27what a big hit it would become.

00:59:29I mean, did you, you know, when you sent a script like that,

00:59:31Julian Fellowes, Gosford Park, you know, good reputation,

00:59:35got an Oscar for that.

00:59:36What did you think when you saw it first off?

00:59:38Well, when I read it first, before it was cast,

00:59:41the characters popped off the page and were very vivid,

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

00:59:45Sometimes the characters can be interchangeable,

00:59:47but everyone had a distinct voice

00:59:49and I think that's, a lot of that's down to the fact

00:59:52that Julian Fellowes is an actor himself

00:59:53and so has a very good ear for dialogue and character

00:59:56and also I couldn't put it down when I got to the last page.

00:59:59I wanted, like everybody else, wanted to know what happened next.

01:00:01So it had that soap page-turning quality

01:00:03as well as rich characters you enjoyed spending time with.

01:00:06I remember Ian Fleming saying

01:00:08the secret of writing a good novel and the same story

01:00:11is just to keep people wanting to turn the page,

01:00:14wanting to find out what happens next.

01:00:15Yeah, yeah.

01:00:16And they very cleverly kept that going.

01:00:18You had a cast, a lovely cast,

01:00:21all of whom become friends of ours,

01:00:22but one in particular, Dame Maggie Smith,

01:00:25who absolutely lit up the screen

01:00:28and we were all in awe of her.

01:00:30I suspect you were pretty much in awe of her too

01:00:32because she was also working with another great screen icon,

01:00:36Shirley MacLaine.

01:00:38What have you been up to?

01:00:39As a matter of fact, I've found myself a new occupation,

01:00:43but I'm afraid Cousin Violet doesn't think it's quite appropriate.

01:00:46Can we talk about it afterwards?

01:00:48Are there still forbidden subjects in 1920?

01:00:51I can't believe this.

01:00:54I speak of taste rather than law.

01:00:57Well, it's not my taste.

01:00:59What about you, Cora?

01:01:01I agree with my mom.

01:01:03Some subjects are not suitable for every year.

01:01:06Oh.

01:01:06A part of only domestique?

01:01:10Come on, my dear.

01:01:11Carson and Alfred know more about life than we ever will.

01:01:15Can't we stop this?

01:01:17How?

01:01:18It's like a runaway train.

01:01:20Working with two grand dames in theatre.

01:01:24I mean, you're sitting there.

01:01:26It's rather like watching verbal ping-pong, isn't it?

01:01:28It really is.

01:01:29But, you know, yes, you're playing a character, but even so, daunting people to act with.

01:01:33Oh, and they were wondering.

01:01:34Do you know, I'd forgotten that Dan Stevens was still in it.

01:01:37So, season three.

01:01:38I thought it was later.

01:01:39But anyway, they were both great titans, obviously, of the screen.

01:01:42And sitting there in between setups and just thinking, my gosh, you work with, you know,

01:01:47Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon on the one hand and, you know, Maggie having worked with Olivier

01:01:52and all the other greats and won two Oscars.

01:01:55It was quite an experience having them both there.

01:01:58And I'll never forget Shirley teaching Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael, two of my screen

01:02:03daughters, some Bob Fosse moves from, you know, when she was on Broadway.

01:02:08I mean, it was great to see this, you know, these two legends just, A, sparring with us

01:02:13or rather educating us, our generation, but also having a twinkle with each other.

01:02:18It was great.

01:02:18They'll never forget that.

01:02:20And interesting for you watching, then, when the show started, unknowns, Michelle Dockery

01:02:25and Laura Carmichael, you know, unknown actually, first jobs, really.

01:02:29So, for them to be in such august company, particularly with Dame Maggie, who could be quite fearsome.

01:02:36I met her once or twice and she was actually, I actually really enjoyed being with her.

01:02:39But testing, you know.

01:02:41Oh, yes.

01:02:42Exactly.

01:02:43Yeah.

01:02:43Every new director, she'd test out on the first day and sort of virtually say,

01:02:47oh, we're doing it like that, aren't we?

01:02:49You know.

01:02:51And she was, yeah, she was quite a force.

01:02:53But, you know, I mean, just even that one of the, a couple of those lines, the inflections

01:02:57she uses, which, you know, just really make the lines sing.

01:03:00It's just the magic of technique and talent.

01:03:02And they had an auction a month or so ago of props and costumes for it, including your

01:03:08suit, which I was quite tempted by.

01:03:10Then I realised we're a slightly different building.

01:03:13So, I didn't go for it.

01:03:14But Maggie's walking cane went for about 28,000 or something.

01:03:18I couldn't believe it.

01:03:19It's only made out of plywood or something.

01:03:20But it is amazing.

01:03:22I went to see the exhibition of it.

01:03:23And I found it rather touching because it was the first time I'd seen all the, so many

01:03:27bits of memorabilia in one place and to see the passion with which people were bidding

01:03:32for it and how much the show meant or a piece of the show meant to them was really lovely.

01:03:38And I was particularly pleased that people got to see up close the art department's work,

01:03:42the letters and the telegrams and all the things that the camera doesn't really see

01:03:46close up.

01:03:46But we all did on set.

01:03:48All these things that really gave it a touch of authenticity, even though we're in a fake

01:03:54environment, that really added to what we were doing on set.

01:03:57And so, for the visitors to come and see that and go, oh, my gosh, there's a letter from

01:04:01Lady Rose explaining that she's in wherever she is on her trip abroad or Tom Branson talking

01:04:08about his car firm.

01:04:09And, you know, there I am at breakfast reading it, you know, and the camera never sees it.

01:04:14And I was always so blown away by that sort of detail.

01:04:16In the show.

01:04:18Talking of things you don't see, Paddington, whom you never saw, or if you did, he didn't

01:04:25move much.

01:04:26That's been a wonderful series of films there which have brought Michael Bond's Bear to

01:04:32life.

01:04:32And you got to meet Michael, I think, before he died.

01:04:35Lovely man with those glorious points.

01:04:37Oh, yes.

01:04:37He was a dear man.

01:04:39And we were all very nervous.

01:04:41And this is a great credit to David Heyman, the producer who did the Harry Potter films as

01:04:46well, and Rosie Allison, our principal producer, who, you know, we all cared so much about

01:04:51getting it right for him, really.

01:04:53It's like trying to, you know, please your parents, get it right.

01:04:56And we were so touched when he came out of the first screening of the first film and said,

01:05:00I came, I saw, I was conquered, which was very diplomatic of him, even if he hated it.

01:05:07But no, he passed away on the final day of shooting on the second film.

01:05:11But his spirit is very much there, particularly in the second film, I think.

01:05:14And he appears as a cameo in the first, raising a glass of wine to his creation who goes by

01:05:20in a taxi, which is rather lovely.

01:05:22And beautifully voiced by Ben Whishaw.

01:05:24Here we are.

01:05:28Left a bit.

01:05:31Right a bit.

01:05:34Oh, there are a lot of rocks.

01:05:36What on earth are you doing in there?

01:05:39I appear to be driving the boat, Mrs. Brown.

01:05:42But where's Gina?

01:05:43She's not here.

01:05:45I don't think Mr. Hunter's here either.

01:05:46I can put it in reverse.

01:05:47Put the boat in reverse.

01:05:48Good idea.

01:05:51Reverse.

01:05:52That will do it.

01:05:56It's awesome!

01:06:02Now, you're going to tell me that you weren't on a river in Peru, aren't you?

01:06:05You're going to ruin the impression that I had, wouldn't you?

01:06:08Well, we got wet.

01:06:09Put it that way.

01:06:11And I'm sure it says wet in Peru as it is in Boreham Wood.

01:06:13And also, presumably, you've got to work only with...

01:06:18Do you get the voice of Ben Whishaw?

01:06:20Because you don't get the movement and all that.

01:06:22No, it's a complicated process.

01:06:24Ben records, I think, a sort of guide track.

01:06:27But we actually have an actor who provides the voice, as well as having physical representations

01:06:34of the bear.

01:06:35Because I do need to break it to the audience, that sometimes the bear doesn't turn up.

01:06:38And so we have various stand-ins.

01:06:41And the bear emerges from its trailer about 3pm for its close-up.

01:06:46But that's all you're getting that day.

01:06:48You've had, well, I can say the great good fortune to be in so many years.

01:06:51But then they've had the great good fortune to have you.

01:06:53And one of the things that really blew us all the way and surprised us hugely was that

01:06:57the fact that the BBC put on a programme called W1A, which actually took the mickey out of themselves.

01:07:04Did they know what they were letting themselves in for with this?

01:07:07Because W1A, in which I didn't realise I was going to have a little role.

01:07:11However, W1A, let's have a look, which is so cracking.

01:07:14You're playing head of values.

01:07:16I'm head of values at the BBC.

01:07:19And you really, you were the only kind of, what you might call, real ordinary person.

01:07:24You were us.

01:07:24You were every man, really, weren't you, in this role?

01:07:26Yeah, well, I think it sort of works on many levels because it's not really about the BBC.

01:07:31It's about management.

01:07:32And I think anyone who's sat on a village hall committee or a FTSE 100 boardroom knows

01:07:39that certain people around the table say they're going to do something by Thursday

01:07:41but really haven't a chance of doing so or aren't listening or will, you know, do the wrong thing.

01:07:46And Ian Fletcher is our sort of guide through these chicanes of perhaps, you know, educated idiots around one.

01:07:54Here we are. Let's have a look at him in action.

01:07:56So, like, peanut and butter, two things. Peanut butter, one thing.

01:08:00Yes.

01:08:00Yes, no, very strong.

01:08:01BBC and Wimbledon, two things. BBC Wimbledon, one thing.

01:08:05Yes, no, I think we've got that.

01:08:06No, sure, it's like, what's not to get?

01:08:08And this is an area where you could have some ideas?

01:08:10Well, hang on.

01:08:11Well, we could have ideas?

01:08:12Yes.

01:08:12Like there are areas we don't.

01:08:14Right.

01:08:14OK, good.

01:08:15Shall we just have a think about exactly how we want to play this?

01:08:17The fact is, this is important.

01:08:19Yes.

01:08:19I've already made that clear.

01:08:20Yes, no, brilliant.

01:08:21But, Siobhan, I don't want to spoil this party we're all having now,

01:08:24but you can actually have other kinds of butter.

01:08:27Excuse me?

01:08:27I don't believe this.

01:08:28You can have, like, brandy butter or just ordinary butter.

01:08:31It doesn't have to be peanut.

01:08:32There's no such thing as monkey butter, OK?

01:08:34What?

01:08:35Brilliant.

01:08:35Get over it.

01:08:36Brilliant, very strong.

01:08:39How the Dickens, you all learned this quick-fire dialogue.

01:08:44There's no room for any kind of...

01:08:47No, it's genuinely the hardest job I've ever done,

01:08:50and every incarnation of it.

01:08:52The first one was 2012, all about the Olympics,

01:08:55and then we did W1A,

01:08:56and I swore I'd never do it again because I find it impossible to learn

01:08:59because it is nonsensical, most of it.

01:09:02And the dialogue, unlike something like The Thick of It,

01:09:04where they do have an element of improvisation,

01:09:06this is entirely scripted.

01:09:08Every um and uh is scripted, and it's all very rhythmical.

01:09:10So I swore I'd never do it again.

01:09:12So we've just done a show called 2026,

01:09:14which is about a major international football tournament next year,

01:09:18which will be coming to your screens in April, May, I guess.

01:09:20Wonderful.

01:09:21I'm going to be self-indulgent now because I'm going to show a clip

01:09:23which, in our household, is famous because we love this.

01:09:26Because having met Julia Roberts and having met you

01:09:30and seen you in Notting Hill making this wonderful gaffe with Julia Roberts,

01:09:35you just love this as much as I do, I hope.

01:09:38Always imagined it's a pretty tough job, though, acting.

01:09:40I mean, the wages are a scandal, aren't they?

01:09:42They can be.

01:09:44I see friends from university, clever chaps,

01:09:46been in the business longer than you.

01:09:48They're scraping by on 7,000, 8,000 a year.

01:09:51It's not life.

01:09:55What sort of acting do you do?

01:09:57Films, mainly.

01:10:00Oh, splendid.

01:10:01Oh, well done.

01:10:02How's the pay in movies?

01:10:05I mean, last film you did, what did you get paid?

01:10:10$15 million.

01:10:13Right.

01:10:18Because it's Julia Roberts that you're doing to it then,

01:10:21because you're having to be the best.

01:10:23There's a strange chemistry between the two of you during that.

01:10:26There's kind of surreality and reality to it,

01:10:29if that makes any sense at all.

01:10:31Fun to play with, Julia.

01:10:32It was, actually, but it was quite interesting

01:10:36because in the rehearsals,

01:10:38in the original script it was $10 million,

01:10:41and then in rehearsals she changed it to $12 million,

01:10:44and then on that final close-up of hers

01:10:47she changed it to $15 million.

01:10:48And when we finished the shot,

01:10:51I said, out of interest, why did you change it?

01:10:52And she said, I was kind of tired of low-balling.

01:10:55And then a week later it was announced

01:10:57she was getting $20 million for Erin Brockovich,

01:10:59so, you know, it'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, to have another string to your bow,

01:11:06because we now have Hugh Bonaville,

01:11:08Rory Sparks and The Elephant in the Room.

01:11:11So, first, children's book.

01:11:12I've read your memoirs, you know, on the piano,

01:11:15on the piano.

01:11:16But children's books,

01:11:17have you always had a yen to write children's books?

01:11:19Absolutely not.

01:11:21It came out of the blue, rather,

01:11:22or came out from a colleague of my literary agent

01:11:25who, in my memoir, I'd written,

01:11:29I have no idea about writing,

01:11:30and they'd commissioned,

01:11:31they'd have said that we want 100,000 words.

01:11:34So I gave them 165,000,

01:11:36thinking they'd be thrilled,

01:11:37because they're getting nearly two for the price of one.

01:11:39And I said, well, what's the problem?

01:11:41They said, well, we're on page 100,

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

01:11:43Could we just move this narrative on a bit, you know?

01:11:45And so I cut out huge amounts of stuff.

01:11:48And for some reason,

01:11:49I'd written really vividly and from memory

01:11:52about my childhood.

01:11:54And so a colleague of my age and said,

01:11:55well, why not develop that into, you know,

01:11:57into a world that you clearly remember it well

01:12:00and liked visiting it,

01:12:02and it's quite funny and innocent pranks

01:12:04and all that sort of thing.

01:12:05So that's really where it sprung from.

01:12:07So there's a degree of autobiography, isn't it?

01:12:08Well, there sort of is.

01:12:09I mean, we had, back in the day,

01:12:11there was Billy Smart Circus

01:12:12that used to come and pitch on Blackheath,

01:12:14where I grew up.

01:12:15And the children from the circus

01:12:18would come and be in our school for a month or so

01:12:20or have along they were in town.

01:12:21And occasionally they'd come to school on an elephant,

01:12:24which, you know, it was quite different days then.

01:12:28And so, and then another example was,

01:12:32I obviously dug a grave for my sister

01:12:33because she needed to be got rid of

01:12:35when I was about nine.

01:12:36And so these threads sort of came together.

01:12:40And I sort of enjoyed exploring a bit of my childhood

01:12:44that some of it had been locked away.

01:12:45And you know what it's like when you're writing.

01:12:46You really do find your imagination takes over.

01:12:50And so you begin to blur fiction and reality quite easily.

01:12:53I know, Hugh, you also champion young authors coming along,

01:12:57particularly young children's authors.

01:12:59We have one with us today, Sam Sejman.

01:13:00Sam, come in.

01:13:01Sam, you've done a series of children's books.

01:13:04Isaac Turner investigates the clockwork conspiracy.

01:13:07I've got to read it back.

01:13:08It says,

01:13:08I mean, it's like that.

01:13:24You know, you read the first place and think,

01:13:26oh, yes, and you just want to go on, don't you?

01:13:29Have you always been children's writer, Sam?

01:13:31I've been a children's writer for about five years now.

01:13:34I've written stories ever since I was a kid.

01:13:36But I, much like Hugh, never thought,

01:13:37oh, I want to grow up and be a children's writer.

01:13:39I thought I wanted to write big, serious,

01:13:42important books for grown-ups.

01:13:43And then those ended up being quite boring.

01:13:46And the real thrill is when you get to write for children,

01:13:48you actually get to have a lot of fun.

01:13:50And no one asks you, but why is this book fun?

01:13:52Yeah, well, it just turns out to what you were saying, Hugh.

01:13:54You let your imagination go,

01:13:55you can be a child again.

01:13:56Ben Miller is a regular on this show,

01:14:00and Ben has become one of the top ten selling children's writers.

01:14:03But when you're in there and you get success

01:14:05and you feel you are speaking

01:14:07and the children are lapping it up and enjoying it,

01:14:10it's a sense of achievement, Hugh.

01:14:12Well, it's the same as when I remember doing Panto

01:14:15and, you know, you're in front of a pretty tough crowd

01:14:17and they tell you pretty damn quickly if they're enjoying it or not.

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

01:14:22I'm dreading next week when this book comes out

01:14:24because I'm going to get, you know,

01:14:25peanuts and all sorts thrown at me

01:14:26from any number of schoolchildren who I go and read to.

01:14:29Do you get intimidated by your audience?

01:14:31Oh, I was terrified when I had to go into school for the first time.

01:14:34But if a kid loves a book,

01:14:36they love it more than any adult loves a book.

01:14:38And there's nothing like the joy of when you meet a kid

01:14:41who absolutely loves your books or loves reading generally

01:14:44and nothing is as good as that feeling.

01:14:47Lovely to talk to you both.

01:14:48Good luck both with Rory Sparks and The Elephant in the Room.

01:14:52And I know this is one of the first ones, isn't it?

01:14:54Isaac Turner-Vessay, it's Clockwork Conspiracy.

01:14:56Thank you both indeed very much.

01:14:58Good to see you.

01:14:59Thank you so much.

01:15:00Time to sit back now and relax for a moment of calm

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

01:15:05Thank you.

01:15:10¡Gracias!

01:15:40¡Gracias!

01:16:10¡Gracias!

01:16:40Tom 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, our guests

01:16:49and 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 enjoyed today

01:17:21the martini stands out

01:17:23as a symbol of style and elegance

01:17:25Given our esteemed guest list today

01:17:27it seemed only appropriate

01:17:28we laid on the good stuff

01:17:30guiding us through classic recipes

01:17:32inventive modern twists

01:17:34and the stories that made this cocktail a classic

01:17:36our very suave martini maestro

01:17:39Tom Sergis

01:17:40Welcome Tom

01:17:40Come on

01:17:41Thank you Alan

01:17:42What a joy

01:17:42I was over the moon

01:17:44when I was asked to 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 the birth of the cocktail

01:17:59as we know it

01:18:00you had stuff like sherry cobblers

01:18:02and things like that before

01:18:03but the martini

01:18:04is the birth of vermouth

01:18:06being used

01:18:07so these are drinks that are

01:18:08spirit and 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 you'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 my favourite type of martini

01:18:25it is a vodka martini

01:18:26people think that martinis must 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

01:18:33within about 40 years of that

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

01:18:35and whatever you choose to garnish it with

01:18:37is fine

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

01:19:00stirred 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 we've all gone silent

01:19:09it's delicious

01:19:10there's a sort of gentle sensation of fear

01:19:13isn't there

01:19:13there's translation

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

01:19:21I think it sets the tone

01:19:23so if you walk in to see a friend

01:19:25or someone

01:19:25you go to their house for Sunday lunch

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

01:19:28if you say

01:19:28should we have a martini

01:19:29there's an immediate naughtiness

01:19:31it sets the bar

01:19:32doesn't it

01:19:32which I think is lovely

01:19:34how 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 liquid silk texture

01:19:43it chills them down enormously

01:19:44and you end up with this really fine

01:19:46really refreshing texture

01:19:47silky

01:19:48silky

01:19:49and then if you shake drinks

01:19:51what happens is you get more aeration

01:19:53they get richer

01:19:53they get fuller

01:19:54they get more creamy in texture

01:19:55so all of this stuff about James Bond

01:19:57shaken and not stirred

01:19:59the classic martinis are 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 extra texture

01:20:05it's fine

01:20:07let's see how this has gone down

01:20:08Hugh do we like

01:20:09I'm a big

01:20:09I'm very keen on a dirty dry martini

01:20:12and often I find that the vermuth can overpower

01:20:16and this is actually a very good proportion I'd say

01:20:20you need very little really don't you

01:20:22and it's not even lunch time

01:20:23it's delicious

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

01:20:29but it's my gosh it's packs a punch

01:20:32but I really liked the olive

01:20:34the salt of the olive

01:20:35against the sort of the flavour of it

01:20:37it's yeah

01:20:38John do you indulge in a martini ever?

01:20:40I do yeah

01:20:41I only discovered them about 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 I don't drink a great deal

01:20:51but often at the beginning of 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

01:20:57P.G. Woodhouse 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 in the late 1800s

01:21:06in London and in America

01:21:07would have been much more what we call wet

01:21:10and the wet martini is when it is half

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

01:21:13and a little bit less spirit

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

01:21:18in the style that you might have found in a bar in America

01:21:21or in London

01:21:21in the sort of 1880s

01:21:23into the early 1900s

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

01:21:26I've combined gin

01:21:27so a switching spirit

01:21:28this is forest gin

01:21:30which is made from foraged botanicals

01:21:33in the Macclesfield forest

01:21:34which is absolutely lovely

01:21:35berries

01:21:36there's junipers and citruses in there

01:21:38which they bring in

01:21:39but there's also mosses and ferns

01:21:41foraged from the national park around 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

01:21:50and so this is

01:21:51so very floral

01:21:52very fragrant

01:21:53very grassy

01:21:54dandelion

01:21:55this is so different

01:21:56to that first one

01:21:57completely 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 focus on

01:22:12foraging in Macclesfield

01:22:14I know

01:22:15it's a thing

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

01:22:18in the country

01:22:19it's a beautiful place to go and visit

01:22:20the mountains of Macclesfield

01:22:22the mountains of Macclesfield

01:22:23absolutely

01:22:24you as our connoisseur of martinis

01:22:26how does that one compare with the first one

01:22:27do you know

01:22:28I've never really liked gin 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 in Macclesfield

01:22:37no it's really delicious

01:22:39Tom we have three to go

01:22:41we do

01:22:41move on

01:22:42now

01:22:43I thought I'd give you a bit of a gap

01:22:45what I've done here

01:22:46is I've created

01:22:47a non-alcoholic

01:22:49French martini

01:22:50it's a martini from the 1980s

01:22:52it looks like a martini from 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 a twist on

01:23:00a classic style of martini

01:23:01that sort of martini purists

01:23:03don't think is a martini at all

01:23:04the original cocktail is vodka

01:23:06pineapple juice

01:23:07chambol

01:23:08raspberry liqueur

01:23:09you know

01:23:10shaken together

01:23:11it's a much more viscous sweet thing

01:23:12Tom be on this

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 something 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 non-alcoholic spirit

01:23:32so instead of alcohol

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

01:23:33is combine

01:23:34so as opposed to

01:23:35non-functioning alcohol

01:23:36exactly

01:23:37exactly

01:23:37so these are

01:23:39it's created with lots of

01:23:40different botanicals 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 GAMAs

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

01:24:26Savoy at 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

01:24:47but 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

01:24:55bit like a vermouth

01:24:56but much more

01:24:57alcoholic

01:24:57minty

01:24:58it's got myrrh

01:24:59in there

01:25:00for you three

01:25:01wise men

01:25:01enthusiasts

01:25:02bit of air

01:25:03and it's a much

01:25:04more kind of

01:25:04intense thing

01:25:05the gin in here

01:25:06is Mouse Hall

01:25:07which is from

01:25:08East Sussex

01:25:08and it's sensational

01:25:10it's much more

01:25:11punchy

01:25:11yeah

01:25:12John do you like

01:25:13that one

01:25:13with the

01:25:14Rosso martini

01:25:16in or

01:25:16the myrrh

01:25:17might be good

01:25:18I think it

01:25:18misses the incense

01:25:19I'm not so sure

01:25:23about this one

01:25:24not so sure

01:25:24it's a bit too heavy

01:25:25for it

01:25:25it is

01:25:26it is much heavier

01:25:27it does

01:25:28for me

01:25:29the pleasure

01:25:30in a martini

01:25:30is that crisp hit

01:25:32and this is just

01:25:33a bit rounder

01:25:34slightly medicinal

01:25:36that's true

01:25:37it is

01:25:38it's become

01:25:38the bastion

01:25:39of the kind of

01:25:40food scene

01:25:40in London

01:25:41if you like

01:25:41so amazing chefs

01:25:42like Fergus

01:25:43Henderson

01:25:43at St John

01:25:44and things

01:25:44you know

01:25:45this is their

01:25:45absolute

01:25:46kind of

01:25:46benchmark cocktail

01:25:47Anthony Bourdain

01:25:48was a big fan

01:25:49it's a very

01:25:50gastronomic drink

01:25:50let's 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

01:26:12is one of those

01:26:13bartender

01:26:13classics

01:26:14ooh

01:26:15stunning hey

01:26:18oh yeah

01:26:18that is lovely

01:26:19that is lovely

01:26:21you want to

01:26:22down it in

01:26:22wonderful

01:26:23like 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 with

01:26:28the 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 Edwards

01:26:34great textural 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

01:26:42a little bit of 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 already

01:27:01moorish

01:27:02it slips down

01:27:03John

01:27:04I think I'd better

01:27:05get some invitations

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

01:27:17the date

01:27:171980

01:27:18whatever it was for

01:27:19what inspired him

01:27:21was it someone

01:27:22falling asleep

01:27:22at the counter

01:27:23so I wonder

01:27:25if you're leading me

01:27:25into something

01:27:26that could get me

01:27:26into trouble

01:27:27but it was invented

01:27:29in London Fashion Week

01:27:301984

01:27:30and the legend goes

01:27:32that a supermodel

01:27:33of the time

01:27:33who I know who it is

01:27:34and will remain nameless

01:27:35walked into the Soho

01:27:36Brasserie one 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

01:27:42to 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

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

01:28:07for lunch

01:28:07it'll need to have

01:28:09a 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

01:28:15and of course to Tom

01:28:15for cheering us

01:28:17with all these

01:28:17join me next week

01:28:18for some more

01:28:19barn side banter

01:28:20but until then

01:28:21well you see

01:28:22it's difficult to speak

01:28:22now isn't it

01:28:23till then

01:28:24in the words

01:28:24of US comedian

01:28:25Jackie Gleason

01:28:27you try saying that

01:28:28after 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

S7 E28 – Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh

Categoría

Transcripción

Sé la primera persona en añadir un comentario

Recomendada