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

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S7 E28 – Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh 🌿☕

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.

01:15:05PIANO PLAYS

01:15:10¡Gracias por ver el video!

01:15:40Gracias por ver el video!

01:16:10Gracias por ver el video!

01:16:40Tom Surgis put his black tie on and he's serving up decadent martinis and you're all invited.

01:16:47I'll be back with Tom, our guests and those toe-tappingly good martinis right after this.

01:16:52Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

01:17:07Time for today's Best of British and a cocktail so iconic it's become a byword for Hollywood glamour and British sophistication.

01:17:16From its storied past to the endless variations enjoyed today, the martini stands out as a symbol of style and elegance.

01:17:25Given our esteemed guest list today, it seemed only appropriate we laid on the good stuff, guiding us through classic recipes, inventive modern twists and the stories that made this cocktail a classic are very suave.

01:17:38Martini maestro Tom Surgis, welcome Tom.

01:17:41Thank you Alan, what a joy I was over the moon when I was asked to put together five martinis.

01:17:46It's my favourite category of cocktails. It's the best. I'll hear no alternative opinions. It's the best.

01:17:53In many ways, it's the original cocktail. You know, the birth of the martini essentially was the birth of the cocktail as we know it.

01:18:00You had stuff like sherry cobblers and things like that before, but the martini is the birth of vermouth being used.

01:18:07So these are drinks that are spirit and vermouth and pretty much nothing else, which is all right.

01:18:13But they're all different.

01:18:14They're all different. So yeah, we've done funky little twists on each. Shall we begin?

01:18:18Yes.

01:18:19So the first drink you're going to have here is with an olive in it. That's what you want to find.

01:18:23I've done my favourite type of martini. It is a vodka martini. People think that martinis must be gin.

01:18:28And in fairness, gin martini has been around since the late 1800s, but vodka turned up within about 40 years of that.

01:18:34So it's pretty much as old. And whatever you choose to garnish it with is fine, as long as it's an olive or a lemon.

01:18:39But this is a classic modern or contemporary vodka martini. Five parts vodka, one part very dry vermouth.

01:18:48And we're using Edward's vodka, which is made in Lincolnshire from King Edward potatoes.

01:18:53So it gives you this nice, textual, soft character. And sacred, which is beautiful, English dry vermouth made in North London.

01:19:01Stirred down, not shaken. We'll get there.

01:19:04Stirred? Oh, right.

01:19:07Gorgeous.

01:19:07Come on.

01:19:08Do you notice we've all gone silent?

01:19:09I love it.

01:19:10It's delicious.

01:19:11There's a sort of gentle sensation of fear, isn't there? There's a transformation. There's definitely that of a Sunday morning.

01:19:17Why are martinis so scary? Is it because they're so strong?

01:19:20They're powerhouse cocktails, aren't they? I think it sets the tone. So if you walk in to see a friend or someone, you go to their house for Sunday lunch, they offer you a glass of wine.

01:19:28And if you say, look, should we have a martini? There's an immediate naughtiness. It sets the bar, doesn't it? Which I think is lovely.

01:19:34How different would it be if it was stirred, not shaken?

01:19:37That's a really good question. So stirring martinis down creates this kind of liquid silk texture. It chills them down enormously and you end up with this really fine, really refreshing texture.

01:19:48Silky, you're right.

01:19:48Silky. And then if you shake drinks, what happens is you get more aeration. They get richer, they get fuller, they get more creamy in texture.

01:19:55So all of this stuff about James Bond, shaken and not stirred. The classic martinis are stirred. It really is a stirred drink.

01:20:02But shaking it, if you're into that, if you like a bit of extra texture, it's fine.

01:20:07Let's see how this has gone down. Hugh, do we like?

01:20:09I'm very keen on a dirty, dry martini. And often I find that the vermouth can overpower. And 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 lunchtime.

01:20:23It's delicious. I'm not a martini person, but it's, my gosh, it's packs a punch.

01:20:32But I really liked the olive, the salt of the olive against the sort of the flavour of it. It's, yeah.

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

01:20:40I do, yeah. I only discovered them about 20 years ago, but I love martinis.

01:20:44Made up for it since.

01:20:47Well, I have a bit. I mean, often, I don't drink a great deal, but often at the beginning of a meal, I'll take a martini and nurse that through the meal rather than moving on to wine.

01:20:56So, yes, I love them.

01:20:57It's such a...

01:20:58This is very nice.

01:20:58P.G. Woodhouse always called it a stiffener.

01:21:00Exactly.

01:21:00And I think it's just a wonderful phrase for it, really. Lovely.

01:21:03Next one.

01:21:04The original martinis in the late 1800s in London and in America would have been much more what we call wet.

01:21:10And the wet martini is when it is half, or at least a lot more, vermouth and a little bit less spirit.

01:21:16So this is a 50-50 martini in the style that you might have found in a bar in America or in London in the sort of 1880s into the early 1900s.

01:21:24And what I've done with this is I've combined gin, so a switching spirit.

01:21:29This is forest gin, which is made from foraged botanicals in the Macclesfield forest, which is absolutely lovely.

01:21:36Berries.

01:21:37There's junipers and citruses in there, which they bring in.

01:21:39But there's also mosses and ferns foraged from the National Park around Macclesfield, which is absolutely beautiful, distilled up there.

01:21:45And mixed with one of my favourite vermouths, absolutely sensational, Vault Meadow.

01:21:50And so this is a sort of very floral, very fragrant, very grassy, dandelion, kind of rich, stunning.

01:21:56This is so different to that first one, isn't it?

01:21:57So different.

01:21:58Completely different.

01:21:59Much softer, much less firm alcoholic attack.

01:22:03It's a lot lower in alcohol, but not low in alcohol by any stretch.

01:22:06I like that one.

01:22:07Yeah.

01:22:07This will be my favourite, for sure.

01:22:09Yeah, it's a thing.

01:22:09Yeah, this is lovely.

01:22:11I'm still trying to focus on foraging in Macclesfield.

01:22:14I know, I know, I know.

01:22:15It's a thing.

01:22:16It's one of the highest altitude distilleries in the country.

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

01:22:20There's a pub with a cat in the field.

01:22:21The mountains of Macclesfield.

01:22:22The mountains of Macclesfield, absolutely.

01:22:24You, as our connoisseur of martinis, how does that one compare with the first one?

01:22:27Do you know, I've never really liked gin martinis, and this is the first one I've really...

01:22:32This is lovely.

01:22:33You, come on.

01:22:34I'm even getting the acorns from the woods in Macclesfield.

01:22:37No, it's really delicious.

01:22:40Tom, we have three to go.

01:22:41We do.

01:22:42Move on.

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

01:22:45What I've done here is I've created a non-alcoholic French martini.

01:22:50It's a martini from the 1980s.

01:22:52It looks like a martini from the 1980s, doesn't it?

01:22:55It's got shoulder pads, a bit of pineapple.

01:22:57Shoulder pads.

01:22:58And this is a twist on a classic style of martini that sort of martini purists don't think is a martini at all.

01:23:04The original cocktail is vodka, pineapple juice, chambord, raspberry liqueur.

01:23:09It's, you know, shaken together.

01:23:11It's a much more viscous, sweet thing.

01:23:12Tom, be on this.

01:23:13This is very nice, but it's a fruit juice.

01:23:15It is.

01:23:15Well, isn't it?

01:23:16Well.

01:23:16This is not a martini.

01:23:18It's a fruit juice.

01:23:18It's a good palate cleanser.

01:23:19Nice.

01:23:20After those first two and before the last two, but it's fruit juice.

01:23:24This is using something called sentia.

01:23:26So I love this.

01:23:26This is made in the UK and it is a, what they call a functional non-alcoholic spirit.

01:23:32So instead of alcohol, what they're trying to do is combine different functional...

01:23:35So that's a personal non-functioning alcohol spirit.

01:23:36Exactly.

01:23:38So these are, it's created with lots of different botanicals and herbs brought together,

01:23:43the combination of which is meant to trigger feelings and sensations in your GABA system,

01:23:47which is your kind of emotional regulation system in the body.

01:23:51Lolita, do you feel you're being triggered in your GAMBAs?

01:23:54I hope so.

01:23:56I think this is delicious.

01:23:57It is delicious.

01:23:58And the martini glass makes me feel like I am having a martini.

01:24:01It's a good, I really like it.

01:24:03John?

01:24:03I think my GABA system approves.

01:24:07Hugh.

01:24:07My mother always said, if you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say it.

01:24:11Just leave it at that.

01:24:12Move on, move on.

01:24:13We're moving through.

01:24:14We're moving through.

01:24:15Now, back onto the booze.

01:24:17We have got a brilliant take on a martini.

01:24:20So this is from the early 1900s, created at the Savoy by a lady called Ada Coleman,

01:24:25who was the head bartender at the Savoy at the time.

01:24:28And it's called the Hanky Panky, which I like a lot.

01:24:32For the love of Ada.

01:24:33Absolutely.

01:24:34So it is gin, heavily gin.

01:24:38And the vermouth added to it, one fifth.

01:24:40Vermouth, like the first martini we had, is Rosso vermouth.

01:24:43And this is made by the brilliant Astley Brothers in South London.

01:24:47But crucially, just a little dribble of something called Fernet is put into there.

01:24:52And that is a super bittersweet Italian-style liqueur.

01:24:56A bit like a vermouth, but much more alcoholic.

01:24:58Minty.

01:24:59It's got myrrh in there for you three wise men enthusiasts.

01:25:02Bit of air.

01:25:03And it's a much more kind of, yeah, intense thing.

01:25:06The gin in here is Mouse Hall, which is from East Sussex,

01:25:09and it's sensational.

01:25:10It's much more punchy.

01:25:11Yeah?

01:25:12John, do you like that one with the Rosso martini in?

01:25:17Well, the myrrh might be good.

01:25:18I think it misses the incense.

01:25:20I'm not so sure.

01:25:22I'm not so sure about this one.

01:25:24Not so sure about that.

01:25:24It's a bit too heavy for it, I think.

01:25:26It is much heavier, isn't it?

01:25:28Bitter.

01:25:28It's a sweet.

01:25:29For me, the pleasure in a martini is that crisp hit.

01:25:32Yeah.

01:25:32And this is just a bit rounder.

01:25:34Yeah.

01:25:35Slightly medicinal.

01:25:36That's true.

01:25:37It's become the bastion of the kind of food scene in London, if you like.

01:25:41So amazing chefs like Fergus Henderson at St John and things,

01:25:44because, you know, this is their absolute kind of benchmark cocktail.

01:25:48Anthony Bourdain was a big fan.

01:25:49It's a very gastronomic drink.

01:25:51Can we move on to the last one?

01:25:51Let's move on to the last one.

01:25:51Thank you, Ada.

01:25:52Thank you.

01:25:53Thank you, Ada.

01:25:54Thank you, Ada.

01:25:54Now, finally, and this is a bit of an easy option, really,

01:25:59but look, it is the classic, the quintessential,

01:26:02you can't go on a hen party without one,

01:26:05the espresso martini.

01:26:06Wait.

01:26:06Which is a thing.

01:26:07Now, the espresso martini,

01:26:10despite being ubiquitous and everywhere,

01:26:12is one of those bartender classics.

01:26:15Ooh.

01:26:17Stunning, eh?

01:26:18Ooh.

01:26:18Oh, yeah, that is lovely.

01:26:19I mean, so moreish.

01:26:20That is lovely.

01:26:21You want to down it in one.

01:26:23It's like a chocolate, isn't it?

01:26:24For you, I guess.

01:26:25It is.

01:26:25It's chopped tea and rich.

01:26:27This is made with the toasted coffee bean vodka

01:26:30from Portobello Road Distillery,

01:26:31which is a sensational potato-based vodka,

01:26:33again, like Edward's,

01:26:34great textural vodka made in London.

01:26:36They make good gin, too.

01:26:38And Conker, which is from Dorset,

01:26:40which is a coffee liqueur.

01:26:42Mix that with a little bit of sugar,

01:26:43some actual espresso, fresh espresso,

01:26:45shake it, and you've got this.

01:26:47And it was invented as a style of martini

01:26:49by Dick Bradsell,

01:26:50arguably the UK's greatest

01:26:52and most influential bartender

01:26:53in 1984 in Soho.

01:26:55Lolita, what do you think?

01:26:57I think this is delicious.

01:26:58It's very dangerous, isn't it?

01:27:00It's very dangerous

01:27:01because it's already Moorish.

01:27:02Yeah.

01:27:02I mean, it slips down, John.

01:27:03Yeah.

01:27:04I think I'd better get

01:27:05some invitations to hen parties.

01:27:07Yeah.

01:27:09We'll see what we can do.

01:27:10You.

01:27:11This is absolutely delicious,

01:27:13and I particularly like

01:27:14that I'm intrigued by the vodka.

01:27:16I'm intrigued by the date,

01:27:181980, whatever it was for.

01:27:19What inspired him?

01:27:21Was it someone falling asleep

01:27:22at the counter?

01:27:23Do you know?

01:27:23So I wonder if you're leading me

01:27:25into something that could get me

01:27:26into trouble.

01:27:27But it was invented

01:27:29in London Fashion Week, 1984.

01:27:30OK.

01:27:31And the legend goes

01:27:32that a supermodel of the time,

01:27:33who I know who it is

01:27:34and will remain nameless,

01:27:36walked into the Soho Brasier

01:27:37one morning and said to Dick,

01:27:39we're in the middle

01:27:39of London Fashion Week,

01:27:40I'm exhausted,

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

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

01:27:44and shake me up,

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

01:27:46And he responded

01:27:49by turning around

01:27:50to the Illy Espresso machine

01:27:51had just been given,

01:27:52which was a rare thing

01:27:53in 1984,

01:27:54made an espresso,

01:27:55chucked some vodkarin

01:27:56and hey presto,

01:27:58a legend was born.

01:27:59Wow.

01:27:59And so that is

01:28:00the origin story.

01:28:01That is London Fashion Week.

01:28:02I'll drink to that.

01:28:03Yes.

01:28:03I'll drink to that.

01:28:05That's it for today's show.

01:28:07Where are we going for lunch?

01:28:09It'll need to have

01:28:09a lot of stodgy in it,

01:28:10soak it all up.

01:28:11Thanks to all my guests,

01:28:13to Sir John,

01:28:13to the leader,

01:28:14to Hugh and of course

01:28:15Tom for cheering us

01:28:17with all these.

01:28:18Join me next week

01:28:18for some more barnside banter.

01:28:20But until then,

01:28:21well you see it's difficult

01:28:22to speak now,

01:28:23isn't it?

01:28:23Till then,

01:28:24in the words of US comedian

01:28:25Jackie Gleason,

01:28:27you try saying that

01:28:28after a sip of his

01:28:28espresso martini,

01:28:30a man must defend

01:28:31his home,

01:28:31his wife,

01:28:32his children

01:28:33and his martini.

01:28:34I'm defending this.

01:28:35Cheers all.

01:28:36Cheers.

01:28:37Cheers.

01:28:38Cheers.

01:28:39Cheers.

01:28:40Cheers.

01:28:41Cheers.

01:28:42Cheers.

01:28:43Cheers.

01:28:44Cheers.

01:28:45Cheers.

01:28:46Cheers.

01:28:47Cheers.

01:28:48Cheers.

01:28:49Cheers.

01:28:50Cheers.

01:28:51Cheers.

01:28:52Cheers.

01:28:53Cheers.

01:28:54Cheers.

01:28:55Cheers.

01:28:56Cheers.

01:28:57Cheers.

01:28:58Cheers.

01:28:59Cheers.

01:29:00Cheers.

01:29:01Cheers.

01:29:02Cheers.

01:29:03Cheers.

01:29:04Cheers.

01:29:05Cheers.

01:29:06Cheers.

01:29:07Cheers.

01:29:08Cheers.

01:29:09Cheers.

01:29:10Cheers.

01:29:11Cheers.

01:29:12Cheers.

01:29:13Cheers.

S7 E28 – Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh 🌿☕

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