- 18 hours ago
My Life at Christmas with Anita Rani Season 2 Episode 3 br Anita Rani Meets Floella Benjamin
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The nights are drawing in, everything's getting a bit twinkly.
00:04It's about joy, it's about parties, but also this is a moment
00:08to think about the journeys we've come on and the people we've made them with.
00:12So I wish you a Merry Christmas.
00:14I wish you a Merry Christmas.
00:17Come on!
00:17How are you?
00:18Over three weeks of Advent, I'll be meeting some well-known faces
00:22Come on, baby!
00:24as they share what makes the season so special to them.
00:27It's my favourite time of the year.
00:30The most important thing about Christmas is being with my family.
00:33The moments which have brought them to where they are today.
00:36Oh dear, it is a wonderful honesty between the two of us.
00:40As a little girl, I was here with my little grip.
00:43And Platform 19 was where I first stepped out in London.
00:49The faith that sustained them on the way.
00:51I'm definitely calling upon someone that's higher than me to give me that courage.
00:57And I think you can pray at home, you can pray in the garden, you can pray at a football pitch.
01:03I'm sure Rod's prayed a few times at home.
01:04I'm waiting for her.
01:05Hoodie!
01:06It's amazing!
01:07And how Christmases past and present...
01:10Out comes my little snowman.
01:11...mark key moments in their lives.
01:14They used to do the okie-kokey, out into the street, all the way up the street, and it was snowing.
01:18I remember seeing the snow for the first time.
01:23I mean, that's what you call matching.
01:26I don't know where I would be now if I'd had to spend those Christmases on work.
01:31I'm in central London, just a stone's throw from the Palace of Westminster, where my guest today does her day job.
01:46A member of the House of Lords as Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham since 2010.
01:51She was appointed a Dame in 2020 for services to charity and made a member of the prestigious Order of Merit in 2022.
01:59But it's not what most of us know her and love her for.
02:03A generation grew up with her as her play school babies.
02:08What time's the clock saying today? Do you know?
02:10She's also a serious actress.
02:13We're taking kindness for love.
02:16An author and proud advocate for the Windrush generation.
02:21The unveiling of the National Windrush Monument.
02:26Fluella Benjamin has come a long way from her Caribbean roots to the halls of power.
02:32But she's also an iconic part of British TV culture and means so much to so many of us.
02:39This one's personal.
02:40I can't wait to meet her.
02:41Luella, how wonderful to meet you.
02:53Ah.
02:54Ah, incredible.
02:56Oh, you look magnificent.
02:57Oh, so do you.
02:58We've come dressed for the occasion, haven't we?
03:00Shall we go and talk Christmas?
03:02Why not?
03:02Let's do it.
03:03My favourite time of the year.
03:05This is wonderful, isn't it?
03:21Wonderful.
03:21How do you feel being surrounded by Christmas decorations?
03:24I feel at home and we're both dressed appropriately, silver and gold.
03:28I know, we match the decor.
03:30What will you be doing this year?
03:31I'll be with the family this year.
03:34My son and his wife is coming over.
03:37They live abroad and my daughter and her partner will be coming.
03:39And we're going to have a wonderful, wonderful family traditional Christmas.
03:43I always make a speech on Christmas morning.
03:45Oh, do you?
03:46Love it.
03:47My hubby Keith.
03:48Like the Queen.
03:51My hubby Keith, you know, he has a camera running and we say,
03:54well, it's Christmas once again.
03:57What a year we've had.
03:58And I've run through things and the kids go, you know, yes, mum.
04:02Fluella, please can you record one for the nation and put it on social media?
04:06I feel like we all need a Christmas message from you on Christmas morning.
04:10It's important.
04:11It's really important.
04:12It's really important that we have a Christmas message and look back at the year.
04:17Now, you are so important to so many of us.
04:22How incredible for me that I get to talk to you about your childhood.
04:25Oh, yeah.
04:26Are you ready?
04:26Yeah.
04:29Fluella Benjamin was born in Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean in September 1949,
04:36the second of what would become six siblings.
04:39I had two of the most incredible parents.
04:44My dad, Roy, he was a philosopher.
04:47He was an adventurer.
04:49My father taught us that there was a world out there.
04:53He taught us that we were from African heritage.
04:58We learned about Harry Selassie.
05:01We loved Marcus Garvey.
05:02So, very political.
05:04Very, very, oh, yeah.
05:05My grandfather was the deputy prime minister of Antigua when my father was born.
05:09So, he showed us that there was this incredible world out there to go and explore,
05:13to have an adventure in this world that was far beyond the shores of Trinidad.
05:20But my mother, Veronica, mommy, I used to call her mommy, she was an earth mother.
05:27My mom clamped all her six children with love every day.
05:33She'd tell us, I love all you.
05:35She was a strong, feisty woman who had a terrible childhood herself.
05:40But she brought her children up never to hate, never to feel you have to get revenge,
05:48but to aspire and show people it doesn't have to be this way.
05:53You're not going to put me down.
05:55How were the Christmases in Trinidad?
05:56Oh, the best.
05:58Take me there.
05:59My mom loved preparing for Christmas and she'd prepare the Christmas cake at least six months in advance.
06:08Six months?
06:08So, I have to soak the fruits, raisins and currants, with at least two bottles of rum in a big jar, you know, leave it to ferment.
06:19My mom's black Christmas cake was the best Christmas cake in the world.
06:23I can smell it now, actually.
06:25I'm there with the Christmas cake and the joy in you and your siblings.
06:29My father was also a musician.
06:32He played the tenor sax.
06:33In fact, I remember the first time he took me to a party he was playing at, it was Christmastime, Boxing Day.
06:40My mom was having a home birth with my brother, who was 15 months younger than me.
06:44And my mom said to my dad, Roy, take the girls to your fet.
06:50And apparently my dad told me he was playing on the stage and I got onto the stage and I said to everybody, stop, stop dancing.
06:57You're not doing it properly.
06:59This is how you dance.
07:01My moves.
07:03How important was faith?
07:05Well, we used to go to church a lot.
07:07Sunday best and we'd go to morning service, Sunday school, evening service.
07:16Wow.
07:17In fact, I've got a lovely postcard of the preacher man and he'd be standing there telling us about the Bible, about philosophy, about the parables, you know, and we had little children looking up.
07:31And I think that was great grounding as a child.
07:35Because I believe all children should understand philosophy, to understand how they fit into the world.
07:44So I had this beautiful foundation of love from my parents.
07:47Then going to church, I had another spiritual foundation to be resilient, to bounce off if anything happened.
07:53Because when you listen to the parables and you listen to the Bible, it goes into your head.
08:01You will know when you come and you meet adversity how to deal with it because good always prevails.
08:09The family needed this strong foundation because in the late 1950s, like so many others at the time, their lives were about to change forever by the promise of a new life helping rebuild Britain after the war.
08:25An opportunity to make a difference which Floella's politically proactive father couldn't resist.
08:30My father was very political. He wanted to make change in Trinidad, but it was very difficult at the time.
08:38And he decided that living in Trinidad, if he wasn't careful, he'd end up in prison.
08:42Okay.
08:43So he started reading the newspaper ads and he saw people wanting to come to Britain.
08:49So he started to persuade my mum and my mum said, no, I'm not leaving. I don't want to go.
08:54And my dad said, come on.
08:56And it was the mother country.
08:57Yeah, well, he said the streets of England are paved with gold.
08:59They want us to come and rebuild Britain after the war. Let's go, have an adventure.
09:03Remember, he loved an adventure.
09:05My mum said, no, I'll never leave my children.
09:08So my dad went off.
09:09Do you remember him walking up?
09:10Yeah, yeah.
09:11Do you remember saying goodbye?
09:11I was about seven, eight. Bye-bye, bye-bye, bye-bye.
09:15A year after he'd gone, my mum told us the thing that made my world fall apart.
09:27She said, I'll go into England to meet your daddy.
09:30I'd taken Cynthia and Juno with me, the two youngest ones.
09:33Well, I felt heartbroken because my mother always said she would never leave us.
09:38She'd always be with us.
09:39We're part of her.
09:41But suddenly she was going to England to meet her husband and take in the two youngest ones
09:48and left my sister Sandra and me and my brother Lester Ellington
09:52with two sets of the most horrible foster parents.
09:56Yeah.
09:58With both parents and the youngest two siblings now in England,
10:02Floella, her older sister and two younger brothers
10:05would spend the next 15 months in the care of foster parents
10:08who did not treat them well.
10:11My brothers, well, they had to fight for their food, one plate of food, winner takes all.
10:16It's funny because the woman who looked after me and my sister Sandra,
10:20she was very religious, very superstitious.
10:23And she used to wake us up to sprinkle holy water around the house every day
10:27to keep the evil spirits out.
10:29I thought, hang on a minute.
10:31The evil spirits are already in this house and stopping them getting out of the house.
10:36She was cruel.
10:37But I could take it because I knew I was loved.
10:40I could live it.
10:41I could do it.
10:42And because hope, if you cut me open, I've got a capital H in me
10:47because my mother instilled that hope, everything is going to be all right.
10:52Because of that, I could get through those 15 months.
10:55It was 15 months, but yet it felt like 15 years.
10:57Especially when you're little.
10:59Everything takes a lot longer to get through when you're little.
11:01Hold on to hope.
11:03Hold on to love.
11:04And that's what we did.
11:06After 15 long, painful months left behind in Trinidad,
11:09Floella and her siblings finally got the letter they'd been waiting for.
11:13It was time to join their parents in England.
11:16Four of us.
11:17Four of you together.
11:18Right.
11:19Sandra's 11.
11:20I'm 10.
11:21Lester's 9.
11:22Ellington is 7.
11:23And we'd travel on this big ship, four children, without any supervision.
11:28Can you imagine?
11:291960.
11:301960.
11:30Four kids.
11:31Four kids.
11:32On a row.
11:32For how long?
11:33How long did the journey take?
11:34Two and a half weeks.
11:36What do you remember?
11:37Can you imagine?
11:38It was like, you know, freedom, freedom, freedom.
11:41Yeah.
11:41It's exciting.
11:42This, for us, was an adventure.
11:45After more than two weeks at sea,
11:47Floella's ship docked in Southampton in September 1960.
11:50The first thing I saw was my mum, looking up like an angel.
11:56She stood on, as I look down the side of the ship, there she was, you know.
12:01And I remember running into her arms and she clamped me with love, love, love.
12:07And she said, I thought it would be a little cool.
12:10So she gave me a blue knitted Marks and Spencers cardigan with yellow flower.
12:14And we got on this train from Southampton docks to Waterloo station.
12:20Which is just over there.
12:21I think we should go.
12:22Yeah, let's go.
12:23Yeah, you can tell me the story when we get there.
12:25Let's have an adventure.
12:26Let's do it.
12:40Well, Floella, Waterloo station.
12:43This is where your story in the UK began.
12:46Yes, yes.
12:47When I arrived in London, I arrived in this cathedral-like building.
12:52Look at it.
12:53Like you say, it's a cathedral of a place.
12:55But what does it look like to a 10-year-old?
12:57Because there's a little girl here with my little grip, my pretty dress.
13:01There I am coming to London.
13:04And Platform 19 was where I first stepped out.
13:14Shall we see if we can get onto the platform?
13:16Why not?
13:17Hello, sir.
13:18Hello, sir.
13:19This is Dame Floella Benjamin.
13:20As if you didn't know, I think we all need to bow and curtsy.
13:23So, what's your name?
13:25Shai.
13:26Shai?
13:27Are you one of my babies?
13:28You are one of your love-love babies.
13:31I feel privileged.
13:33So, Shai, check this out.
13:34When Baroness Benjamin came to the UK at the age of 10,
13:38she arrived at Platform 19.
13:40Right, I'm going to let you come in too.
13:42Thank you so much.
13:44Access all areas.
13:45Oh, thank you.
13:46There we go.
13:48Wow.
13:48Does this happen everywhere you go?
13:49Everywhere I go.
13:50The gate's open.
13:53Here we go.
13:54Platform 19.
13:55How are you?
14:01So, what was the weather like when you arrived?
14:03It was cold.
14:04Obviously.
14:05Trinidad.
14:06It's only 10 degrees away from the equator.
14:08Here I am, there are 40, 50 degrees of the equator,
14:11but I had my blue cardigan on.
14:14Yes.
14:14And the love of my mum to keep me warm.
14:16Aw.
14:17You know, and the excitement.
14:18When you're excited, when you're, you know,
14:21you're in this kind of wonderland,
14:24you don't feel the cold.
14:25No.
14:26No.
14:27And beyond that barrier is London.
14:30That's it.
14:31No, it's the escalator.
14:32Oh, the escalator.
14:33How was that?
14:33Woo!
14:37I've been on an escalator before.
14:38Oh, whoa, suddenly.
14:39Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa.
14:44I genuinely thought it was an earthquake.
14:47Because in Trinidad, in the 50s, there was an earthquake.
14:50Yeah.
14:51And the earth shook.
14:53And so when it was shaking like that, I thought,
14:55oh, my goodness, me.
14:56I'm backing over.
14:57An escalator is an earthquake.
14:59Mummy reassured her, no children, no children.
15:01It's all right.
15:01It's all right.
15:04I can only imagine what little 10-year-old you
15:07stepping out into the hustle and bustle of London.
15:09Yeah, with all people that bowl a hat, you know,
15:11and their umbrellas, and they're walking really fast.
15:13But people who walk fast in Trinidad, walk slowly.
15:16LAUGHTER
15:17It was like being in a movie.
15:20Being in, you know, in something that you've heard about,
15:24you're living it.
15:25Mm.
15:34So you arrived at Waterloo, and then you travelled to Chiswick.
15:39What was it like in 1960?
15:41Walking along the streets were a bit kind of strange
15:44because people were staring at me.
15:46And we came to this house, which had a brown door,
15:49and my mum opened the door.
15:52And we went up some stairs, and she opened another door.
15:56And then she said,
15:57This is your new home.
16:01One room.
16:03One room for eight people.
16:05Mm-hm.
16:06How was that?
16:06Cooked on the landing.
16:07Cooked on the landing?
16:09Goodness.
16:09With all the other tenants in the house.
16:10Because at that time, black people couldn't find places to rent or to buy.
16:17It had signs saying,
16:20No Irish, no dogs, no colours.
16:24We used the outside toilet with all the other tenants in the house.
16:27And so, I started to cry.
16:31My mum said something very important.
16:33She said,
16:35Children, don't cry.
16:37This room is full of love.
16:40And love is all you need in the world.
16:43Love is all you need.
16:44And she was right.
16:45Fluella and her family would need that love,
16:50because outside of their home,
16:521960s England could be an unpleasant place
16:55for the Windrush generation it was supposedly welcoming.
16:59Well, I think it's pretty awful.
17:02I think they should live in a district all to themselves,
17:07because I've got to bring this little boy up amongst them.
17:11They're not clean.
17:13Leave in the room to go to school.
17:15Yeah, how was that?
17:16And that's when I realised what England was going to be truly like.
17:21Yeah.
17:21Because they were telling me,
17:22My kind, go back to where you've come from.
17:24What are you doing here?
17:25And I went,
17:26But, I'm British.
17:29I'm like, you?
17:30My kind?
17:31What are you talking?
17:31Because words I hadn't heard before.
17:34But, I didn't cry.
17:35I remember digging my nails,
17:37thinking I'm not going to cry.
17:37I'm not going to cry.
17:39I'm not going to cry.
17:41So I went home.
17:43My mum had to explain that people are not going to like you,
17:49because of the colour of your skin.
17:51How do you make sense of that?
17:52I couldn't.
17:55I remember having dreamed,
17:56bad dreams, nightmares about being chased, you know.
18:01Because that was the day I realised that
18:03I was no longer a person,
18:05I was a colour.
18:05And even now,
18:07people describe you as a black person.
18:10Not a person,
18:11you're a black person,
18:12you're an Asian person,
18:13you're a Chinese person,
18:14you're,
18:15you're never just a person.
18:17And having to come to terms with that was pretty tough.
18:22You only stayed in Chiswick for a brief period,
18:24and then you moved to a two-bedroom place in Penge.
18:27Penge.
18:28Do you remember the first Christmas there?
18:29You know,
18:30it took away all of that kind of trauma,
18:32and all that sort of adversity,
18:34because my mum tried to represent,
18:37a replica,
18:38the Christmas that we had in the Caribbean.
18:40And the lucky thing about that
18:41is that we had the weather.
18:44Because in Trinidad,
18:46you just saw the Christmas cards
18:47with snow and Father Christmas,
18:49and Christmas trees.
18:50Suddenly,
18:51you become part of that wonderful British-English Christmas.
18:56The turkey,
18:57the ham,
18:58the cake,
18:59and snow.
19:00And then your mum took you on a Rootmaster bus.
19:03Oh, yes.
19:04Yes, in snow,
19:05we went up to the West End,
19:07to Regent Street.
19:08You see the lights.
19:10Oh!
19:11Oh!
19:12And then we went to Trafalgar Square,
19:15and you saw this huge, huge, huge Christmas tree.
19:19You felt it was going to reach the sky.
19:23Oh, the magic of it all.
19:24Yeah.
19:26Christmas brought relief
19:28from the family's daily encounters with racism,
19:31and now settled the staunchly Christian Benjamin family
19:34sought further comfort
19:35by returning to the Sunday services
19:37that had been such an important part
19:39of their life in the Caribbean.
19:41How was your first experience of church in England?
19:43It wasn't a very pleasant one.
19:45Everyone was looking at us very strange.
19:49You know, I thought,
19:52hmm, what's going on when we were singing?
19:56And then I heard somebody say something
19:57that made me realise that
20:00not everybody in the church
20:02is a true Christian,
20:04is a good person.
20:06And the hearing,
20:08I see the letting those kind in now.
20:10And I couldn't understand
20:15how they could say such a thing.
20:19The Bible is being told,
20:21the preacher is telling them
20:22to be a good person,
20:24to love thy neighbour.
20:25And that's when I realised
20:27the church wasn't the be-all and end-all
20:31of being a good person.
20:32My church is anybody
20:34who believes in doing good.
20:37Yeah.
20:38Anybody who believes
20:39in making a difference.
20:41Anybody who believes in giving.
20:42And that, to me,
20:43is what,
20:45if you're supposed to be
20:45a religious person,
20:46it's all about.
20:47Not necessarily getting dressed
20:49and going to a church
20:50and praying and singing.
20:52And my mum used to say,
20:54children,
20:55you know what you have to do in life.
20:58You have to be a role model
20:59to other people
21:00and to give them aspiration.
21:02Yeah.
21:02By the time Floella was a teenager,
21:06she'd developed a way
21:06of dealing with the racism
21:08she and her family
21:09faced every day.
21:10But her instinct
21:11to physically fight back
21:12was challenged
21:13by a life-changing
21:14spiritual experience
21:15at 14.
21:18For the first
21:18four years of my life
21:20in Britain,
21:21I was angry.
21:24I had a fight every day.
21:27Because you never knew
21:28who was going to be abusive.
21:30Every day?
21:30Every day.
21:31Walked to school.
21:33People would be coming at you
21:34and as soon as they saw you,
21:35they felt they had a right
21:36to abuse you.
21:38What would they say?
21:39Awful names.
21:40Names I hadn't heard before.
21:41You never knew
21:42where it was going to come from.
21:43And my mum sent me shopping
21:44and I know when I went to the shop
21:45I wouldn't get served.
21:46Because that's what used to happen.
21:48You stand there
21:48and you wouldn't get served.
21:49But I knew I couldn't go home
21:50without the shopping.
21:51Because my mum would say,
21:52go back to the shop
21:53until they serve you.
21:55I had this anger in my soul
21:58that gave me strength and power.
22:01And I thought the fist was the answer.
22:05I thought I could beat people
22:08into submission,
22:10into respecting me.
22:11I never started a fight
22:13but if somebody picked on me
22:15and felt they could abuse me
22:18in whatever way,
22:19I was going to defend myself.
22:20Don't mess.
22:21And then this boy
22:23about the same age as me,
22:24about 14, 15,
22:25he started a name.
22:26Fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting.
22:29This really vicious fight.
22:31But all of a sudden
22:31I heard a voice.
22:34Fluella, what are you doing?
22:36Because of this boy's prejudices,
22:39his ignorance,
22:40his stupidity.
22:42You're going to get yourself
22:43into trouble, Fluella.
22:44Stop it, stop it now.
22:44You can't change
22:45the colour of your skin.
22:47And if he has a problem
22:48with the colour of your skin,
22:49it's his problem, not yours.
22:51Start loving who you are.
22:53I'm sure that voice
22:54was the voice of my mum,
22:57the voice of the preacher
22:58back in Trinidad,
23:00the voice of love
23:02that was given to me.
23:04And it told me,
23:05it wasn't my fist,
23:06it was my brain I had to use
23:08and my smile.
23:09Because my smile
23:10is my armour.
23:12It's a magnificent smile.
23:14And so that's what I've learned
23:15to do from the age of 14.
23:18So at 14,
23:19you almost had, what,
23:20a spiritual epiphany.
23:22Nobody attacked me after that
23:23because I had this,
23:25rather than like that,
23:26I'm like,
23:28this force,
23:30this thing
23:30that takes me through life.
23:33Nothing can get me.
23:34After this life-changing episode,
23:39Floella was excelling in school.
23:41But with little money in the household,
23:43at 16,
23:44she was expected to find work
23:45rather than continue her education.
23:48I'm the second eldest
23:49and my mum said,
23:50Flo,
23:51Sandra's already gone to work,
23:53you've got to go to work now.
23:54And I said,
23:54oh, mummy,
23:55I want to go to training college
23:57to be a teacher.
23:58I wanted to be a teacher.
23:59I said,
23:59no, I'm sorry,
24:00I got a job in a bank.
24:02And I thought,
24:03well,
24:03I'll be the first
24:04black woman bank manager.
24:07Yeah.
24:07Always, you see.
24:08Ambitious.
24:09Ambitious.
24:09Yeah.
24:10My mum made me
24:10this lovely trouser suit
24:11and I was the first woman
24:13to turn up
24:13wearing a trouser suit.
24:16Power.
24:17Regardless of your experience,
24:18you had confidence
24:19to be yourself.
24:20Oh, yeah.
24:21Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:24Floella had always shared
24:26her dad's love of performing
24:28and even sang
24:29in the family band.
24:31In 1969,
24:32while working at the bank,
24:33she saw an advert
24:34for an open audition
24:35and took a bold decision
24:37which would change her life.
24:40Well, I realised,
24:40you know,
24:41at the age of 19,
24:44after working in the bank
24:45for three years,
24:46that I was not going
24:47to be a bank manager.
24:48And I saw this advert
24:49in a newspaper
24:51saying singers and dancers
24:53wanted for a show
24:55touring the country.
24:56And I thought,
24:56well, hey,
24:58I can sing
24:59and I can dance.
25:01I'm going to go for this.
25:04So I went
25:05for the audition
25:06in my lunch hour
25:07because I'm in the bank
25:09and in the toilets
25:10and I'm changing
25:11in my miniskirt.
25:13And I had this kind of wig,
25:14a pageboy wig,
25:16like the Supreme.
25:17I wanted to look
25:17like the Supreme.
25:18Quite right, yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:20And I go
25:20for this audition
25:21and I'm standing
25:23on the stage.
25:24Can you move, love?
25:26Can I move?
25:28Well,
25:29I went
25:30one way,
25:31the wig went
25:32the other way.
25:34Oh, no!
25:36I'm in this mini dress.
25:37It was 1969.
25:39Because you were
25:39really moving.
25:41And so
25:42they said,
25:42yes, yes, yes.
25:44Can you,
25:44can you stay back
25:46and read for us?
25:47And I went,
25:47yeah, you know.
25:48So I went
25:48and I read for them.
25:50They said,
25:50lovely, lovely,
25:51lovely, lovely.
25:52Can you hang around
25:53a bit longer?
25:55With her lunch hour
25:57ticking away,
25:57Floella
25:58was in a predicament.
25:59But once again,
26:00she had the self-confidence
26:01to stand up for herself
26:02and make things happen
26:04on her own terms.
26:05And I said to him,
26:07Oh, no.
26:08Now, listen.
26:09I've got a proper job
26:11in a bank.
26:12And if you want me,
26:13I want £30 a week
26:14and I'm not taking
26:15my clothes off.
26:18Well, that was so good.
26:20But you've got to
26:21take your clothes off.
26:21This show is called Hair.
26:23And Hair has got
26:24a nude scene.
26:25And I went,
26:26oh, no, no, no, no, no,
26:27no, I'm off, I'm off.
26:29I went back to the bank
26:30and lo and behold,
26:31they called me up
26:32and offered me the job.
26:33Wow.
26:34They said,
26:34we loved your feistiness.
26:36Yes.
26:37There you go.
26:41Floella joined
26:42the national tour
26:43of the rock musical Hair,
26:44one of the 1970s biggest
26:46and most controversial shows.
26:48And it was here
26:49that she met Keith,
26:50the production's
26:51assistant stage manager
26:52and her future husband.
26:55When we first met,
26:56we realised
26:57we had so much in common
26:58because he had
27:00mushroom-coloured
27:02velvet trousers
27:04and patent leather shoes.
27:06And I thought,
27:07I've got a pair
27:08of mushroom-coloured trousers
27:09and patent leather shoes.
27:10We realised
27:11we were as one
27:12and we realised
27:13then we're born
27:14two days apart,
27:16same year,
27:17same month,
27:17same everything.
27:18When he was 10,
27:19he came from Yorkshire
27:21to London.
27:21When I was 10,
27:22I came from Trinidad
27:23to London.
27:24And we lived streets apart
27:25for the next nine years
27:27of our lives,
27:28criss-cross, criss-cross,
27:29criss-cross,
27:29until we met in the theatre.
27:31He's the most wonderful,
27:32wonderful husband.
27:33Mummy said,
27:34when she first met him,
27:36Keith,
27:37Floella's a difficult woman.
27:39I want you to look after her
27:42for the rest of your life.
27:43Promise me you will.
27:44And that was 55 years ago.
27:46He said,
27:46yes, Mummy,
27:47I will.
27:48With a stage career underway,
27:50offers for small TV parts
27:52also started to come in,
27:54including some gritty roles
27:55such as a tough prisoner
27:56in the unflinching 1970s series
27:59Within These Walls.
28:01Oh!
28:03Don't put that pebble on again!
28:05Why shouldn't I?
28:07Because it's rubbish,
28:08that's why.
28:08It's a good record, this one.
28:10Oh, my goodness, please.
28:12Oh!
28:13Now, get off!
28:14Oh!
28:15Oh!
28:19What's it like watching yourself?
28:21I'd forgotten about this.
28:23I had the nerve
28:24to say to the writer,
28:27a black 16-year-old shoplifter
28:29wouldn't say these lines,
28:30you've got it all wrong.
28:31Yeah.
28:31And he said,
28:31oh, what would they say?
28:33Well, this is what they said,
28:34and I changed.
28:35I said, this is what you should change.
28:36But she said,
28:36you're absolutely right, Floella,
28:38we'll change it.
28:39Yeah.
28:39And she changed it.
28:40And thank goodness,
28:41because Within These Walls
28:42used to go out on a Friday.
28:44And by the Monday,
28:45the phone didn't stop ringing.
28:49More musical theatre followed,
28:51including a part
28:51in The Black Mercado
28:53with a certain Derek Griffiths,
28:54who would prove to be
28:55a huge figure
28:56in Floella's life.
28:57got a message for you
28:59from somebody
29:00that you met
29:01around this time.
29:02So I want you
29:03to press play
29:04on this.
29:06Hi, Floella.
29:07I've been asked
29:08to chat about
29:09our work together,
29:11but I suddenly realised
29:12there's not one anecdote
29:14I could reveal
29:14about our year-long run
29:16in the West End
29:17production of Black Mercado
29:18because I played
29:19such terrible tricks
29:20and pranks on you.
29:21I'd get myself
29:23into trouble.
29:24So I would like
29:26to wish you
29:27and Keith
29:28and family
29:29a very Merry Christmas.
29:34Derek Griffiths.
29:36He was the most
29:37talented entertainer
29:39you can imagine.
29:39Oh, yeah.
29:40He can sing,
29:40he can dance,
29:41he can write,
29:42he can play music.
29:44And we got on so well.
29:46We had such fun.
29:47But he says
29:47he can't tell the stories.
29:48Oh, no, he can't.
29:49He can't tell the stories.
29:50On stage,
29:51we had such a laugh.
29:53You know,
29:53backstage,
29:54we had such a laugh.
29:55We travelled the country,
29:56we had such a laugh.
29:59Floella was making
30:00a name for herself
30:01in drama,
30:02comedy and musicals,
30:03but a children's TV show
30:05she'd seen during the daytime
30:06had caught her eye.
30:08And in 1976,
30:09a nudge from friend
30:10Derek Griffiths
30:11persuaded her
30:12to apply for an audition
30:13that was to change her life.
30:16When you work in the theatre,
30:18in the daytime,
30:18you see children's programmes
30:20and I'd see them
30:20on television,
30:21and I'd say,
30:22oh, Derek,
30:22I'd love to do that.
30:23He said,
30:23well, go and audition for it.
30:25So I went for this audition.
30:27Now, at the time,
30:28I had my hair
30:28in plaits and beads,
30:30so it was pretty
30:30kind of outrageous.
30:33Anyway,
30:33I wasn't sure
30:35whether the BBC
30:36would like
30:37the plaits and the beads.
30:38I had this wig,
30:39bubbly kind of wig,
30:40so I put that on
30:41to go for the audition,
30:42covering up my beads.
30:44And I went
30:45and I was telling
30:45the producer
30:46what I could do.
30:47I've done this
30:48and I've done that
30:49and I've sung
30:49and I've done this.
30:51And I could see
30:51maybe I wasn't
30:52really impressing her
30:53that much.
30:55I remember leaning forward
30:56and I said,
30:56oh, by the way,
30:58I don't really look like this,
30:59you know?
31:00And she went,
31:00oh, what do you mean?
31:02This is what I really look like.
31:04And I whipped my wig off
31:05and down came
31:07these plaits and beads
31:08and she went,
31:08oh, that's fantastic.
31:10And I got a camera audition
31:12and the rest is history.
31:14In fact,
31:14the BBC used to have
31:15to send instructions
31:16how to plait your hair
31:18and put beads in your hair
31:19like Cloe.
31:19Of course.
31:20And I became known
31:21as the lady with the blue beads.
31:23I've got a clip.
31:24Oh.
31:25It's going to take us
31:26all down memory lane now.
31:27It's Monday.
31:34Oops.
31:37Hello.
31:38Oh, dear, dear Johnny Ball.
31:40And this is Floella.
31:42Hello.
31:44This leaf's almost
31:45as big as my hand.
31:46Oh, bigger?
31:47Bigger than my hand, isn't it?
31:48I sound so posh.
31:51Ready, steady, go.
31:55Very competitive,
31:56like always.
32:00Oh, and Hamble's winning.
32:03No, Hampty's winning.
32:04Hampty.
32:04Oh, look at that.
32:08In a time
32:09when there were
32:10only three channels,
32:11Floella was watched
32:12by millions
32:13and became almost
32:14a surrogate mum
32:15to a generation of children,
32:17including me.
32:18When did you realise
32:20the importance
32:21of your role
32:22as the woman
32:24with the blue beads
32:24on children's television
32:26in Britain?
32:28Tina,
32:28I'm realising
32:29even more today
32:32because so many people
32:33of a certain age
32:34tell me
32:35what I meant to them.
32:37I'd be reading
32:38the stories
32:39but yet all the imagery
32:41were all
32:42of white children,
32:43all the illustrations
32:43were all of white children
32:44and I knew
32:46children like yourself
32:47and children of colour
32:49needed to see themselves
32:51to know that they belonged
32:52within the story.
32:54So I said to the producer
32:55one day,
32:56a woman called
32:56Cynthia Felgate,
32:57wonderful woman,
32:58Cynthia Felgate,
32:59I said,
32:59Cynthia darling.
33:00Now,
33:02I'm telling the stories,
33:03sometimes I use
33:05my Caribbean accent
33:06but yet all the imagery
33:07are all of white children.
33:09Can't we have some black
33:10and Asian
33:11and Chinese faces?
33:12And she said something
33:13to be very interesting,
33:14she said,
33:14oh,
33:15we hadn't noticed.
33:17Yeah.
33:18Because
33:19the way children
33:20see the world
33:21is not the same way
33:22as adults
33:23would see the world.
33:23If you see
33:24life through the eyes
33:25of the child,
33:26you have this magical world,
33:28seeing things
33:29for the first time.
33:30Innocence.
33:31Nothing better.
33:31Yeah,
33:32totally pure.
33:33So you've influenced
33:33so many of us,
33:35Floella,
33:35but is it true
33:36that Princess Diana
33:37told you that
33:38it was because of you
33:39that she wanted
33:39to work with children?
33:40Oh, yes.
33:41I remember the first time
33:42I met her,
33:43she went,
33:43oh my goodness me,
33:45I've always wanted
33:46to meet you.
33:47Because of you,
33:48I worked with children.
33:50I always tried to jump
33:51as high as you did.
33:52And, you know,
33:53we got on really well,
33:54Princess Diana and I,
33:56because she,
33:56in fact,
33:57loved children.
33:58She's one of these people
33:59who,
33:59when she walked into a room,
34:00if there was ever children,
34:01she would get down
34:02to their level.
34:03And she saw the world
34:05through the eyes
34:06of the child,
34:06you know,
34:07so I really enjoyed
34:08working with her
34:09on many children's
34:10charities together.
34:11Yeah.
34:13Floella's campaigning
34:14would become a huge part
34:15of her life off screen,
34:17but she hadn't finished
34:18breaking barriers
34:19on screen yet.
34:20So whilst you got the job
34:22on Play School,
34:23you became pregnant
34:24with your first child,
34:26with your son,
34:27Aston.
34:27I thought
34:28they might have to
34:30get rid of me.
34:31Yeah.
34:31Because at the time,
34:32you didn't see women
34:33or pregnant women.
34:35Yeah.
34:35And again,
34:36Cynthia Felgate,
34:36this lovely woman,
34:37I went and I told her
34:38and I said,
34:39well,
34:39I suppose you're going
34:40to get rid of me,
34:41aren't you?
34:41She said,
34:42oh no,
34:43I want you to stay.
34:44Yeah, brilliant.
34:45And go all the way through.
34:45I was up until
34:46eight months pregnant
34:47and I remember
34:48telling the children
34:49that you see me
34:50getting a bit bigger
34:51as time goes on.
34:53It's not because
34:53I'm eating too much,
34:54it's because I've got
34:55a baby in my tummy
34:56growing and it's going
34:58to get bigger and bigger
34:59as time goes on.
35:00Well,
35:00lo and behold,
35:02children would start
35:03sending me drawings
35:04and they'd have me
35:05with my blue beads on
35:06and in my tummy,
35:08there'd be a baby
35:08with blue beads on
35:09as well.
35:10Of course.
35:13Oh my God.
35:14And it was their baby.
35:15Yeah.
35:16It was their
35:16and it was the
35:18play school baby
35:18and in fact,
35:19when I had the baby,
35:20when I had Aston,
35:21they sent the cameras
35:22round to the house
35:23to film in his nursery
35:24and through the windows,
35:26he saw baby Aston
35:28and then,
35:29because the children
35:30felt the baby
35:31belonged to them.
35:32It was their baby.
35:33Was so invested
35:34in your life.
35:34Yeah,
35:35their baby.
35:36So now you're
35:36a family of three.
35:37Wonderful,
35:38yeah.
35:38He used to sleep
35:41for hours.
35:43He'd wake up
35:44and he'd just,
35:44you could take him
35:45anywhere.
35:46He was the,
35:47what you call
35:47the perfect baby.
35:49Beautiful.
35:50Then we had lovely
35:51three years with him.
35:52I wanted him to have
35:53his own space
35:54as a child growing up.
35:55Yeah.
35:56Everything's lovely,
35:56lovely, lovely.
35:57I said,
35:57let's get pregnant again.
35:59Got pregnant,
36:00straight away.
36:01Bang.
36:02Eight weeks later,
36:04I'm in a hotel
36:05in Sheffield
36:07doing a book fair.
36:09And I have a miscarriage.
36:11What's going on?
36:11What's going on?
36:12What's going on?
36:12It's not Floella.
36:14Then you went through
36:14quite a few miscarriages.
36:16Must have been
36:16a really tough time.
36:18I think,
36:19out of all the things
36:19that's ever happened
36:20to me in my life,
36:22that was the most traumatic.
36:23But how did you feel?
36:25I felt
36:26a sense of loss.
36:28Yeah.
36:29A sense of,
36:30of,
36:31of,
36:31um,
36:32wanting to shout
36:33to the world,
36:34saying,
36:34this is what's
36:34happening to me.
36:36I then realised,
36:37you must never,
36:38ever,
36:39ever ask a woman
36:40who's just been married,
36:42when are you having children?
36:45Are you going to be,
36:46are you getting pregnant?
36:47Never ask that question.
36:48Because you never know
36:49what they might be
36:50going through.
36:53It would be a pain
36:54she found a positive
36:56outlet for in the future.
36:57And at last,
36:58after seven years,
36:59in 1988,
37:01Floella and Keith's
37:02dream of a second child
37:03came true.
37:06When I eventually
37:07got pregnant,
37:08when my beautiful
37:09daughter,
37:10Alvina,
37:11and so I,
37:11I thought I got
37:12my fingers crossed.
37:13I remember not telling
37:14anybody for the first
37:15five, six months.
37:16I didn't show,
37:17I didn't say anybody.
37:18I'm not,
37:18because I didn't want
37:19anything to happen,
37:20you know.
37:20Of course, yeah.
37:21And, uh,
37:22and when I had her,
37:23she came out
37:24in one hour,
37:2520 minutes.
37:26Keen to get here.
37:26She was keen
37:27and she's all,
37:27she's been the same.
37:28She, you know,
37:29unlike Aston,
37:30she was the complete
37:31opposite.
37:32She was a rebel.
37:33Aston really,
37:34really wanted
37:35to have a brother
37:35or a sister.
37:37So when she arrived,
37:39he was the happiest
37:39little boy,
37:40you know.
37:41He looked after
37:41his little sister
37:43and really cared for her.
37:45He used to cuddle her.
37:46And they've got
37:46this wonderful relationship
37:48even now,
37:49taking care of each other.
37:50And, you know,
37:51she,
37:52she just
37:52perfected our world,
37:55even though she was
37:56very, very naughty.
37:57We call her Kitty.
37:58She was always scratching.
38:00Took three of us
38:00to put on a nappy.
38:03And so now you've got
38:04your family of four,
38:06your unit.
38:07How was Christmas now?
38:09Tell me about
38:10the Christmases
38:11of bringing up the kids,
38:13the four of you.
38:14What were they like?
38:14Oh,
38:15I've got a lovely picture
38:16of our first Christmas card.
38:18Alvina sitting like
38:19a little doll
38:20in a little red velvet dress
38:21and Aston's so happy.
38:23And what was the meaning
38:23of Christmas with the kids?
38:25The important thing
38:26for them to learn
38:28was to learn
38:28from their grandparents.
38:31Aston and Alvina
38:32loved going
38:33to grandma's
38:33for Christmas
38:34and my dad
38:35would get his saxophone out
38:36and he'd play,
38:38you know.
38:39We did lots
38:39of Christmas carols.
38:40Yeah.
38:41But we sing ourselves.
38:42We didn't go to church
38:43to do that.
38:44Our home
38:44was our church.
38:46We could,
38:46I can sit and pray now
38:48just here
38:48and feel comfortable.
38:50You can imagine
38:51what the house was like.
38:52Christmas cake,
38:54ginger beer,
38:55punchy creamer,
38:56Morby,
38:56sweet bread,
38:58you name it.
38:58You go to grandma's house
39:00and it was always
39:01full of food.
39:02I've got some more clips
39:03to show you.
39:04A couple of special ones
39:05for you.
39:07So many fond memories
39:08of Christmas with mum.
39:10Oh,
39:11get Aston.
39:12Her rendition
39:13of Last Christmas
39:14by Wham,
39:15a song that she hasn't
39:17quite grasped the lyrics to
39:19after all these years.
39:20But she still really
39:22enjoys singing
39:22and really enjoys
39:23singing along with her too.
39:26On Christmas Eve,
39:27mum will always put out
39:28a glass of port
39:29and a mince pie for Santa
39:31and a carrot for Rudolph.
39:35I think another memory
39:36that I have of mum at Christmas
39:38is going up to London,
39:39central London,
39:40to see all of the Christmas lights
39:42on Regent Street,
39:43on Bond Street.
39:44I know it's something
39:45that's very special to her
39:46that she did when she was little
39:47and she's always shared
39:49that with us.
39:50Oh,
39:50she's lovely.
39:52How important
39:52is the festive season?
39:54Christmas is everything.
39:56Christmas is a time
39:57for families to get together.
39:59A lot of the Christmas memories
40:00I have
40:01have been passed down
40:02from my mum and dad.
40:04The mantelpiece
40:05is decorated,
40:06but we have
40:07the Christmas stockings
40:08up, you know,
40:09and we have
40:10the table
40:12where Santa had come
40:14and left the presents.
40:15Even though my children
40:16are kind of 44
40:17and 37,
40:19they still expect it.
40:20In fact,
40:21months in advance,
40:22we will plan
40:23what we were going to do
40:24and what's going to happen
40:25and who's going to be
40:25in charge of cooking,
40:27who's going to be in charge
40:28of making the Christmas day
40:30and Boxing Day special.
40:32Christmas in the Benjamin household
40:34certainly sounds special
40:36and Floella has brought along
40:37a selection
40:38of some of her most
40:39treasured decorations
40:40to show us.
40:41Here they are.
40:42Oh, Floella.
40:44These are actually
40:45your decorations.
40:46Oh, yes, yes, yes.
40:47I've collected over the years
40:48from all over the world
40:50and these are the oldest
40:52that I've got.
40:53I got these three items here
40:55when I went to Norway.
40:56I did play school in Norway
40:57many years ago,
40:59back in the 70s,
41:01and Norway,
41:01big on Christmas,
41:02I got my little elf
41:04and my glass Christmas tree.
41:05Norwegian.
41:06And they're Norwegian.
41:08They come out every year
41:09and they sit
41:10on the mantelpiece.
41:12And this one,
41:14Aston made that
41:15when he was three.
41:16No, how old
41:17is that toilet roll?
41:18He's now 44.
41:1944, that's...
41:20They don't make them
41:21like they used to, do they?
41:22And he made this.
41:23They've got his name
41:24on the back of it there,
41:24Aston, you see?
41:26Oh, my gosh.
41:27You know,
41:27when you get them
41:28to decorate things
41:29for Christmas,
41:30make things for Christmas,
41:31one of the easy things
41:32to do is a toilet roll.
41:33I love that one.
41:34This one is from Bologna.
41:37My sister and I,
41:38we went to Bologna
41:38because I was judging
41:39the children's singing competition
41:41and Roger Moore
41:42was the host
41:43and I was one of the guests
41:44on the show.
41:45I think that was about
41:461989, 1990.
41:48Was Roger Moore with you
41:49when you bought that?
41:50No, he didn't come with me.
41:51He didn't come with you.
41:52He didn't come shopping with you.
41:53Yeah, though.
41:53Isn't that lovely?
41:54Yeah.
41:55And he keeps sweets in it.
41:56Yeah.
41:56A little secret stash.
41:58This one we got
41:59when Alvina was about
42:00three or four
42:01when we went to
42:02San Francisco.
42:04And she loved it
42:04because it kind of,
42:05you can make funny noises.
42:07Hello, one, two.
42:08Oh.
42:09And this one,
42:10oh, it's very dear to me.
42:12This one's,
42:13my mum gave me that.
42:14Hmm.
42:14This is about
42:15nearly 50 years old.
42:17Mommy.
42:17When we got
42:19our first house together,
42:20my mum gave me
42:20that as Christmas present
42:21because she loved Christmas.
42:22And so all these things
42:24are very,
42:24from all different parts
42:25of the world
42:26but they will have
42:27a special meaning
42:28and every year
42:29they come out.
42:30You look at photographs
42:30from way back,
42:32you see them somewhere
42:33in the house.
42:34Keith says,
42:35are we going to get rid
42:35of some of these?
42:36Oh, well, maybe.
42:37These are your treasures?
42:39Your Christmas treasures?
42:40Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
42:41First of December,
42:41I'm there with a Christmas tree.
42:43Keith always cooks
42:44a venison pie.
42:45Ooh.
42:45Family tradition.
42:46Always a venison pie.
42:47And he does the cooking.
42:48He's a keeper.
42:49Yeah.
42:49Can I come round?
42:50Thank you for bringing
42:52these in.
42:52Beautiful.
42:56Throughout the 80s
42:57and 90s
42:58with a growing family
42:59and still appearing
43:00on screen,
43:01Floella also had formed
43:02her own production company
43:03to carry on her passion
43:04for creating quality programs
43:06that children could enjoy.
43:08But her dedication
43:09to the education
43:10and well-being
43:11of young people
43:12went even further.
43:14I started to see
43:16the world even more
43:17through the eyes
43:18of the child.
43:19Yeah.
43:20And I realised
43:21that I had to start
43:21campaigning for children
43:23because children
43:24didn't have a voice.
43:25I campaigned to get
43:26seatbelts on school buses.
43:28It was Peter Bottomley
43:29who was then
43:29the Minister of Transport
43:30who read an article
43:31that I'd written
43:32and he said,
43:33yeah, I agree.
43:35We need to change the law
43:36and that's how we got that.
43:37And I started campaigning
43:38saying we need
43:39a Cabinet-level minister
43:40for children.
43:41Yes.
43:41And first of all,
43:42I was told no,
43:43doesn't matter,
43:44then I was told.
43:45And it was 1997
43:46when Gordon Brown,
43:47David Blunkett
43:48and Tony Blair came in
43:49that they said
43:50this is a brilliant idea.
43:52The feistiness
43:54that had opened doors
43:55into her acting career
43:56was now seeing Floella
43:57transform from presenter
43:59into politician,
44:01helped in part
44:01by a generation
44:02of those
44:03who'd grown up
44:04watching her,
44:04her play school babies,
44:06now holding positions
44:07of power.
44:08There's room there
44:09for something
44:09really spiritual
44:11for you to feel
44:11when you go in.
44:13She was devoting herself
44:14to causes
44:15close to her heart
44:16and finding
44:16some high-profile allies.
44:20Hello, my dear friend Floella.
44:22It's Cherie here.
44:24Most people
44:25don't realise this,
44:26but you and I
44:27are basically twins,
44:29both born
44:30on the 23rd of September.
44:32Every year
44:33we message each other,
44:34it's our birthday tradition.
44:37One of my favourite
44:38memories of us
44:39was with the Lumber Foundation
44:41when I persuaded you
44:42to herd goats
44:43across London Bridge
44:44at a weekend,
44:46all to raise awareness
44:47for the plight
44:48of poor widows
44:48and their children
44:49around the world.
44:51Only a true friend
44:52would let me talk her
44:53into chasing goats
44:54in public
44:55for a good cause.
44:57What I love about you,
44:58Floella,
44:58is your faith,
45:00your energy,
45:01and the way you lift
45:02everyone around you,
45:03children,
45:04families,
45:04whole communities.
45:06You shine
45:07from the inside out
45:08and you inspire me
45:10more than you know.
45:12So happy Christmas,
45:13my slightly older twin.
45:15Thank you for your friendship,
45:17your laughter,
45:18and your light.
45:19Here's to many more birthdays
45:21and who knows,
45:23maybe even more goats.
45:26We're sisters.
45:27You are herding goats
45:28over London Bridge.
45:29Oh, yes, yes, yes.
45:31We, you know,
45:32she's wonderful.
45:32She was the president
45:33of Barnardo's
45:35and I was one
45:36of the vice presidents
45:37and she had a reception
45:38for us,
45:39all the runners,
45:40because I used to run
45:40the marathon
45:41for Barnardo's
45:42and she was always
45:44very conscious
45:45about making people
45:46feel good
45:46about who they are
45:47and to thank them
45:49for what they were doing
45:50for this,
45:50to make this world
45:51a better place.
45:52Yeah.
45:52And we've been friends
45:54for many, many years.
45:55Well, it just goes
45:56to show the sort of
45:57power that you have.
45:59Like, people fall
46:00in love with you
46:00and that you,
46:02like she said,
46:03you know,
46:03she finds you
46:04as a constant source
46:05of inspiration.
46:05Fluella was making
46:08real change
46:09as the well-being
46:10of children
46:11and young people
46:11became her life's work.
46:13It was a mission
46:14which was recognised
46:15in 2006
46:16with a landmark invitation
46:17to become Chancellor
46:18of Exeter University.
46:21I was the first
46:22black woman Chancellor
46:23in this country.
46:26That's huge.
46:26First woman Chancellor
46:27to be the Chancellor
46:29of a UK university,
46:30the University of Exeter,
46:32which was a
46:33green welly university,
46:34which was very unusual.
46:35People weren't quite sure,
46:37you know,
46:37how could you be a Chancellor
46:39at such a fine university?
46:40Some people would say,
46:41and I'd say,
46:42watch me.
46:42And for 10 years,
46:44I was a Chancellor.
46:45I used to hug
46:46all the graduates.
46:48I was known
46:48as the hugging Chancellor.
46:50Sometimes I'd hug
46:501,000 a day.
46:52We had three ceremonies
46:53and there'd be over 300
46:54at each ceremony.
46:56I'd hug them all,
46:57tell them to go out
46:58and change the world,
46:59make a difference,
47:00make a difference
47:01to our world.
47:02And I'd tell them
47:03the philosophy
47:04of my three Cs,
47:05consideration,
47:07contentment,
47:09confidence,
47:09wrapped up with courage.
47:12In 2007,
47:14Floella's dad passed away,
47:15followed in 2008
47:17by her beloved mommy,
47:19just two years
47:20before the ultimate
47:20recognition
47:21of her growing power
47:23as she was made
47:24a Baroness,
47:25a member
47:26of the House of Lords.
47:27How did you learn
47:30to navigate that world
47:31and understand
47:32that now you could
47:33have real influence
47:34and implement change?
47:36I was brought up
47:37with politics
47:38in my world,
47:39coming from
47:40a political background.
47:41Because my father
47:42was, you know,
47:43a union man,
47:44my grandfather
47:45was the deputy prime minister,
47:47so I've got politics
47:49in my DNA.
47:50I've always used my life
47:51to persuade people
47:52to do things differently.
47:54And I didn't feel
47:55any different.
47:56I literally,
47:56instead of going through
47:57the arched window,
47:59I went through
47:59the neo-Gothic window.
48:01In fact,
48:02Keith says,
48:02I was made,
48:03I was born to be
48:04in the House of Lords,
48:05to be able to speak out,
48:07you know.
48:07He's not wrong.
48:08He's not wrong.
48:10It was a position
48:11Floella was determined
48:12to use to full effect,
48:14amplifying her voice
48:15as an advocate
48:16of children's well-being,
48:18with one of her
48:18landmark achievements
48:19being her work
48:20on the Online Safety Act
48:22to help protect
48:23children online.
48:25For 12 years,
48:26I campaigned to get
48:27children not too easily
48:29accessing online pornography.
48:31Yes,
48:32the Online Safety Bill.
48:33When I first started off,
48:342011,
48:35nobody was talking about it.
48:37I was the only person
48:38in Parliament
48:39to be standing up
48:39saying,
48:40we need to stop children
48:42easily accessing
48:42online pornography.
48:44Got to be playing a game
48:45and suddenly up and pop pornography.
48:48And the satisfaction I felt
48:50as I sat there
48:51and lots of other peers
48:52across the House,
48:54because it was a cross-party
48:55decision to have this,
48:57all said,
48:57we have to thank
48:58Lady Benjamin
48:58for being so persistent
49:00and dogged,
49:01determined
49:01to make that difference.
49:02Because it takes
49:03a lot of determination
49:04to do that.
49:05Absolutely.
49:05Especially when you're
49:06going up against technology
49:07because it moves so quickly
49:08that laws can't keep up with it.
49:10Oh, very much so.
49:11We talked about
49:12your own personal experience
49:13of miscarriage
49:14and you were instrumental
49:16in bringing about
49:18the baby loss certificates.
49:20That's right.
49:20Which is so important
49:21to so many families.
49:22It's so important
49:22because I knew
49:23there were millions
49:25of other women
49:25who've been through that.
49:27That's why
49:27when I got into Parliament
49:29I started campaigning
49:30to get a certificate of loss.
49:32Yeah.
49:32And it became,
49:33you know,
49:34reality seven years later.
49:36Yeah.
49:36And anybody out there
49:37who had baby loss,
49:39you can find some solace
49:40and understanding
49:41of that emotions
49:44of never forgetting
49:45your baby
49:45to get your certificate of loss.
49:47and when we applied
49:49for our certificate
49:50I mean,
49:50it must have been
49:51there was a little tear.
49:53Floella had gone
49:54from bank clerk
49:55to baroness
49:56and as the chancellor
49:57of Exeter University
49:58in 2012
49:59had an incredibly special visit
50:02from the head of state
50:03who she'd learnt about
50:04as a little girl
50:05in Trinidad,
50:06Queen Elizabeth II.
50:09Can you tell me
50:10about that exchange?
50:11What did you talk about?
50:12Well,
50:12it's a magical moment
50:13for me.
50:14One of the magical moments
50:15in my life
50:16because me being
50:18the chancellor
50:18she came to celebrate
50:21her diamond jubilee
50:22and so I had to
50:23take her around
50:24introduce her to everyone.
50:26I had the most
50:27fascinating
50:28two and a half hours
50:29with the Queen.
50:31Goodness me.
50:32She loved to chat
50:33to the Queen.
50:35She talked about children,
50:36we talked about
50:36the House of Lords,
50:38we talked about
50:38and I thought
50:39I can't believe
50:41this is the woman
50:42I stood in the playground
50:44and thank God
50:44save the Queen.
50:46And now here I am
50:47meeting her,
50:49sitting with her,
50:52having this
50:52extraordinary conversation
50:53so I thought
50:54I'd tell her my story.
50:56I said,
50:56you know,
50:56Mum,
50:58when I was a little girl
50:59in Trinidad
50:59I used to stand
51:00and sing God
51:00save the Queen.
51:01I was told
51:01the Queen loved me
51:02but when I came here
51:03it was not like that.
51:04I had to break down
51:04so many barriers.
51:06You told her?
51:07Faced so much adversity.
51:09Adversity can break you
51:10or make you stronger
51:11but I don't hate anyone.
51:13All the people
51:14have been horrible to me,
51:15have forgiven them
51:15because forgiveness
51:17frees the soul.
51:18If you don't forgive
51:19you remain a victim.
51:21A foolish person
51:23forgives and forgets.
51:24Yeah.
51:24An angry, bitter person
51:26never forgives,
51:27never forgets.
51:28A wise person
51:29forgives
51:30but don't forget.
51:32Well suddenly
51:33our relationship changed.
51:39She sat back in her chair
51:40and she looked at me.
51:43The sparkling blue eyes
51:45shone brightly
51:46and she said
51:47speaking to you like this
51:50reminds me of my conversations
51:52with Nelson Mandela.
51:55He too has that same philosophy.
51:58I'd met her before
51:58on several occasions.
52:00When I got my OB
52:01I met her
52:01and I've met her
52:02when I've been to functions
52:03at Buckingham Palace
52:03but this was quite an intimate
52:05situation with her.
52:07She was a very spiritual woman.
52:09In recent years
52:20Floella has played
52:21a key role
52:22in recognising
52:22the contribution
52:23the Windrush generation
52:25have made
52:25to the fabric
52:26of British life
52:27with the unveiling
52:28of the National Windrush Monument
52:30at London Waterloo.
52:33So we popped
52:34over the road
52:35to take a look.
52:36The problem is
52:37she's come to mean
52:38so much
52:38to so many
52:39that going anywhere
52:40with Floella
52:41means you need
52:42to allow plenty of time.
52:46OK.
52:47There we go.
52:51How do you actually
52:52get anywhere?
52:53I know.
52:54Shopping is the word.
52:54I bet it is.
52:56Floella,
52:56can we discuss
52:57this?
52:59This is magnificent.
53:00You were instrumental
53:08in this monument
53:10being put here.
53:11I got a call
53:12from the Prime Minister
53:13who said
53:14they wanted
53:16to commemorate
53:17the Windrush generation
53:18and they felt
53:20I was the person
53:21to establish
53:22this monument
53:23in the centre
53:25of London
53:26to celebrate
53:27the contribution
53:28Caribbean people
53:29have made
53:29to Britain.
53:30What an honour
53:31to be able to pass
53:32to do that.
53:33It took me
53:34four years
53:35four hard years
53:37resilience
53:38determination
53:39because I had
53:41Brexit
53:41and I had
53:42Covid
53:42I had five
53:43ministers
53:43I had to deal
53:44with
53:44and each one
53:45brought a different
53:46problem
53:46and there were
53:47so many miracles
53:49that happened
53:50for us
53:50to get
53:50this monument up
53:51and we had
53:53two of the
53:55Windrush pioneers
53:56the ones
53:57who came here
53:57in 1948
53:58to come and unveil it
54:00with their
54:00relatives
54:01and their
54:02grandchildren
54:02great-grandchildren.
54:03What's the significance
54:04of this for you though?
54:05When you think
54:06of it emotionally
54:07it's such a huge
54:08achievement
54:09to get this put here
54:1162 years later
54:12from that 10 year old
54:13who landed here
54:14you did this
54:15but what does it
54:17mean?
54:17What does it
54:18mean for you?
54:18I feel a sense
54:19of pride
54:20I feel as if
54:21this is something
54:22that's going to be
54:22here in 100 years
54:24time
54:24long after I've
54:25gone
54:25because children
54:26are studying
54:27this monument
54:28understanding
54:30the feeling
54:30of coming
54:32with pride
54:32coming with
54:33expectations
54:34coming with
54:34loyalty
54:35coming with
54:36courage
54:36this is what
54:37it represents
54:38it represents
54:39something that
54:40part of British
54:41history
54:42not black history
54:43but British
54:43history
54:44it's beautiful
54:45shall we go
54:46back to the
54:46winter wonderland
54:47back to our
54:48little Christmas
54:48guatto
54:49and pick up
54:49the story
54:50well done
54:51in late 2022
54:58following the
54:59death of the
55:00Queen
55:00Floella
55:01was surprised
55:02to receive
55:02one final
55:03very special
55:04gift from
55:05Her Majesty
55:05an invitation
55:07to join
55:07the prestigious
55:08Order of Merit
55:10Two days
55:11before she died
55:12she had my
55:14autobiography
55:15on her desk
55:15what are you
55:17doing here
55:18and she said
55:19to her private
55:20secretary
55:20Edward Young
55:21I want to
55:22appoint Floella
55:23Benjamin
55:23into the
55:24Order of Merit
55:25that's the
55:25highest accolade
55:26you can get
55:26from the
55:27monarch
55:27she said
55:28I want
55:28that little
55:29ten year old
55:30girl
55:30to realise
55:31there's always
55:31hope
55:32and for all
55:33ten year olds
55:34to live with
55:35hope in their
55:35hearts
55:36can you imagine
55:37there are only
55:3824 living
55:39people in
55:40that order
55:40and the
55:41Queen was
55:41thinking about
55:42me two
55:43days before
55:43she died
55:44who would
55:44have thought
55:45that's my
55:46family motto
55:46who would
55:47have thought
55:48the following
55:50year
55:51Floella was
55:51chosen to
55:52play a
55:53central role
55:53in a new
55:54chapter of
55:55British history
55:55a stunning
55:56illustration
55:57of her
55:58journey
55:58from Caribbean
55:59schoolgirl
56:00to a
56:00changemaker
56:01at the
56:01heart of
56:02power
56:02I mean
56:04who would
56:05have thought
56:05the coronation
56:07yes
56:10yes
56:11yes
56:11you're
56:12carrying
56:12the
56:12scepter
56:13I know
56:14I felt
56:15really proud
56:16that day
56:17I felt
56:18this is a
56:19glimpse of
56:20diversity
56:20and inclusion
56:21yeah
56:21to give
56:22hope
56:22to all
56:23the young
56:23people out
56:24there
56:24to say
56:25anything
56:25is possible
56:26this is
56:26part of
56:27history
56:27long after
56:28I've gone
56:29people be
56:29watching this
56:30knowing
56:30Floella
56:31Benjamin
56:32was asked
56:33by the
56:33King
56:33and the
56:34Queen
56:34to be
56:35part
56:35of their
56:36coronation
56:36in fact
56:37the King
56:38had
56:38myself
56:39Valerie
56:40Amos
56:41Rose
56:41Hudson
56:42Wilkins
56:42three
56:44women
56:44of
56:45Caribbean
56:45heritage
56:46taking
56:46part
56:47in his
56:47coronation
56:48that showed
56:49diversity
56:50and inclusion
56:51was something
56:52that he's
56:52aware of
56:53and wanted
56:53to display
56:54in a
56:55historic
56:56moment
56:56who would
56:57have
56:57thought
56:57I have
57:06had such
57:07a wonderful
57:07time
57:08talking
57:09about
57:09Christmas
57:09your life
57:10at Christmas
57:11Floella
57:11I've got
57:12a Christmas
57:12present for you
57:13do you like
57:15presents
57:15I love presents
57:16who doesn't like
57:16I never
57:17tear the paper
57:19my play school
57:21training
57:21you always use
57:22the paper
57:22and the ribbon
57:23for the hair
57:24or for something
57:25we never tear
57:26the paper
57:27we want to write
57:28Christmas cards
57:29or birthday cards
57:30we never write
57:31the name
57:31on the envelope
57:33because you reuse it
57:34there
57:36open it up
57:41it's a Marks
57:43and Spencers
57:44powder blue
57:45cardigan
57:46how did you
57:47find this
57:48oh my
57:49goodness me
57:51oh
57:51I'm a princess
57:53like the one
57:54maybe your mum
57:55Veronica gave you
57:56the day you arrived
57:57absolutely beautiful
57:58I should wear it
57:59with pride
58:00can I get one
58:01of your famous hugs
58:01of course you can
58:02there we go
58:03oh
58:04that's lovely
58:07it's nothing like
58:08a hug
58:08it's a brilliant hug
58:09yeah
58:09thank you so much
58:10thank you for all
58:11of it from all of us
58:12on behalf of everybody
58:14watching all of your
58:15PlaySchools babies
58:16thank you and keep going
58:17more power to you
58:41thank you so much for watching
58:45and see you next time
58:45and see you next time
58:46and see you next time
58:47and see you next time
58:49and see you next time
Be the first to comment