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00:00:00The noble Frisian horse, what began as a regional war horse during medieval times has now been transformed into a
00:00:08show-stopping superstar, where once it trotted from battle to battle, now you'll find it capturing hearts with its majestic
00:00:17gait and beautiful black coat.
00:00:19Today, classic comedy, countryside capers and a couple of hedgehogs find their forever home. With these two beauties, it can
00:00:29only be. Love you weekend.
00:01:05Beautiful wax wings, common spawning frogs, mizzle thrushes singing from the tops of tall trees.
00:01:14Just some of the wildlife sounds and sights to enjoy as we emerge from those cold, dark months.
00:01:22Something to warm you up is today's show.
00:01:25Coming up from a geek in a duffel coat in Johnson Creek to TV's biggest taskmaster, Alan Davis, on returning
00:01:32to his comedy roots as he takes to the road for a brand new tour.
00:01:36And she exploded onto our screens in the late 80s with shows like The Really Wild Show and The Hitman
00:01:43and Her. Remember that?
00:01:45Michaela Strachan currently is celebrating 40 years on the box and she still only looks 23.
00:01:51And it's the Holby City for Hedgehogs.
00:01:53How one Buckinghamshire couple have spent the past five years setting up a hedgehog hospital in their back garden.
00:02:00And they're Poplar's favourite duo, Annabelle Atzian and Cliff Parisi, on what's next for Fred and Violet.
00:02:08And we're sampling some female-owned bevies, sure to get your spirits up on a March morning.
00:02:14Drinks expert Becky Paskin on the women breaking the glass ceiling in this week's Leicester British.
00:02:26Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. I feel a song coming on.
00:02:31Please welcome to the bar, Michaela Strachan and Alan Davis.
00:02:35Now, things guests have in common. You two, it's a big year this year.
00:02:3960. Alan, you've just turned 60. Michaela, yours is coming up in April.
00:02:43It's true.
00:02:44Am I allowed to say this?
00:02:45Month apart. Month apart. We're both 60.
00:02:47Yes.
00:02:48Do you know, I'm really excited about being 60, because I think once you get to 60, you can kind
00:02:52of say what you really want to say.
00:02:55I don't feel that the filter is there anymore.
00:02:58So, this could go anyway, this show, couldn't it?
00:03:00Look at what to this.
00:03:01You kind of know who you are, don't you?
00:03:03Yes, you do.
00:03:04Yeah.
00:03:05No, a bit more enthusiasm. Come on.
00:03:07No, I'm okay with it.
00:03:10I mean, I didn't have any qualms at 50. I quite liked it.
00:03:14But 60, and when I was a kid growing up, 60 was really ancient.
00:03:19Oh, yes.
00:03:2170 was really old and 80 was unthinkable, but things have changed, right? 60 is the new 40, that's what
00:03:27I'm told.
00:03:27You don't let age define you. That's the thing. That's my new motto. Don't let age define you.
00:03:32I think you get kind of sort of bullish about it, don't you? Okay. But what you hesitate, you suddenly
00:03:39realise, you say, I'm 76.
00:03:42And you don't want to turn into that little old lady who says, I'm 83.
00:03:45Yeah.
00:03:47And then you let a day go by without telling people how old you are. That's key as you get
00:03:51older.
00:03:51Yes.
00:03:52Of course so. Some older folk, they do the same as you do when you're a child, which is you
00:03:57say, well, how old you are next birthday?
00:03:59How old are you? I'm 83 next birthday.
00:04:02Did you celebrate?
00:04:04Yes, I did.
00:04:05In a huge way.
00:04:06I nearly didn't make it here, I mean.
00:04:09You know, partying for your 60th, I've rather stupidly decided to go on tour six days after my birthday.
00:04:16Oh, no.
00:04:16That's really silly, isn't it?
00:04:18So, don't you think you'll have a six-day hangover? That's going to be so hard.
00:04:21I'm postponing my celebration.
00:04:23You're going to do this filter-free tour now. It's going to be unmissable.
00:04:27Do you think so? Filter-free?
00:04:30Yeah, because I can say whatever I like, but now I'm 60.
00:04:32You might as well, they've come.
00:04:34Not just a wildlife, it really will be. Not just a wildlife.
00:04:37Not just a wildlife, because you'll begin your life in musical theatre.
00:04:40I mean, she's a girl of musicals, you know.
00:04:43From your point of view, have you ever been asked to do musical theatre?
00:04:45Yes, I was asked.
00:04:47Oh.
00:04:48And you didn't?
00:04:49I was asked to do Caractacus Pots in Chitty Chitty Bank.
00:04:53Oh, wow.
00:04:54My father said to me, the Dick Van Dyke part?
00:04:56And I said, yeah.
00:04:57And he said, but Dick Van Dyke was marvellous.
00:05:01That was encouraging.
00:05:02Don't need your kids then.
00:05:03Like father, like daughter.
00:05:04Yeah.
00:05:05So I went and I said, listen, I've never done this.
00:05:07I don't know about singing.
00:05:08I went along to meet the musical director.
00:05:12And he said, well, we'll sing this song.
00:05:14I started to sing it.
00:05:15And he said, hmm.
00:05:16And then he came round and he put his hand on my diaphragm, which I didn't know I had.
00:05:21And he said to me, you're not breathing at all.
00:05:25Which I didn't take as a positive.
00:05:27And also I thought was medically not possible.
00:05:31And I didn't do it in the end.
00:05:33You have to sing with your diaphragm.
00:05:34Yeah, that's what he said.
00:05:35Yes, you do.
00:05:36Yeah.
00:05:36But also I was working with Leslie Sharp at the time.
00:05:39Oh, gosh.
00:05:40My favourite ever.
00:05:40Of the co-stars.
00:05:42And she said, so I said I'd have been asked to do this.
00:05:45And she just said, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
00:05:47La, la, la, la, la, la, la.
00:05:50La, la, la, la, la, la, la.
00:05:52And she said, in the next door dressing room every night for a year.
00:05:57Yes.
00:05:58So I had a little insight into what it might be like.
00:06:01What it might be like.
00:06:03So did they eventually say to you, thank you, but no.
00:06:06No, once I'd said, I don't think I can do this.
00:06:08Never heard from them again.
00:06:09Oh, they believed you.
00:06:10It is ruthless.
00:06:12There's nothing more ruthless than musical theatre.
00:06:15It's all this out front.
00:06:16It's the jazz bands.
00:06:19I took the kids to see Anything Goes at the Barbican,
00:06:23which was not long after COVID restrictions had finally been lifted.
00:06:28So it's everybody packed in the theatre for the first time for a while.
00:06:31And it was euphoric.
00:06:33It was extraordinary.
00:06:35And there are two massive tap routines in that show.
00:06:38Yeah.
00:06:38Full company.
00:06:39And they got standing ovations in the middle of the show,
00:06:42which was hard on the dancers.
00:06:44Yeah.
00:06:45They were all holding some pose.
00:06:47In a lift.
00:06:52There's nothing quite like a really good musical.
00:06:55There's nothing quite like it.
00:06:56I tap danced on all-star musicals.
00:06:58I decided to do 42nd Street because I thought no one's tap danced on it before.
00:07:03And I was thinking telly terms.
00:07:04I think, well, that would be a good variety, wouldn't it?
00:07:06So, yeah, I ended up doing 42nd Street.
00:07:09But I went to see Showstoppers recently.
00:07:11Have you seen that?
00:07:12Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:07:35Improvised.
00:07:36Don't ask Alan Davis to do it.
00:07:38No.
00:07:38Especially if there's a number from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
00:07:41I think we should do it right here, right now.
00:07:42We could do it on something like, let's make the musical about iced buns.
00:07:45This is what you people are like.
00:07:47Let's do one now.
00:07:48No.
00:07:48Go on.
00:07:49Big old musical.
00:07:49I've been worked at my show for months.
00:07:51It's perfect.
00:07:54Oh, let's do a song in it.
00:07:55No, you do yours.
00:07:57This is clearly.
00:07:58I'll do my tour.
00:07:58You do your tour.
00:07:59It's like being in the Hitman and her.
00:08:01I feel like being Waterman.
00:08:02You do that, Michaela.
00:08:04I'll stand in the corner and count the money.
00:08:06Do you know what I think would work really well, Alan?
00:08:08If we did mix our tours.
00:08:10Yes.
00:08:11You're going off in September.
00:08:12I'm going off in April.
00:08:13Sometime in the middle, we could put them together and see what happens.
00:08:16Special guest, Michaela Stracker.
00:08:19Wait, the audience.
00:08:20Oh, brilliant.
00:08:22She's going to tap.
00:08:23She's 60.
00:08:26I'm going to skate on, dance to an ice, do a song.
00:08:28Look at her go.
00:08:29Talk about wildlife.
00:08:31Come on.
00:08:31Come on.
00:08:31A bit portly.
00:08:32Another story about my childhood.
00:08:34Oh, God.
00:08:38Are you going to come on?
00:08:38Give me, Michaela.
00:08:40I don't know.
00:08:41I feel I've seen the show already.
00:08:43Mr. T.
00:08:44Mr. T comes on at the end of the day of the valley.
00:08:47With a plant.
00:08:48I pity the fool.
00:08:49I think so.
00:08:50He's best all his plants.
00:08:52Round it off with a few gardening tips.
00:08:54I think it would be an absolute hit.
00:08:56Tell you my favourite plant, Alan.
00:08:58Fritillaria.
00:08:58Oh, very good.
00:08:59Yeah.
00:09:00Well, the crown imperial or the snake set?
00:09:01The tall one.
00:09:02The crown imperial?
00:09:03Yeah.
00:09:04I grew one by mistake.
00:09:05How can you grow a fritillaria by mistake?
00:09:07I got some bulbs.
00:09:10Yes.
00:09:10I planted tulips and daffs and normal sort of bulbs.
00:09:13Yeah.
00:09:13I say normal.
00:09:14They're the ones I know.
00:09:15Yeah.
00:09:15Yeah.
00:09:15And in this package of bulbs I ordered, a massive bulb came and I didn't know what it
00:09:20was.
00:09:21And I put it in a pot on a windowsill.
00:09:24And after a few months, things started to appear.
00:09:27Anyway, it grew to about this high.
00:09:29And I didn't know what it was.
00:09:31And until you told me what it was, Morgana Robinson, who's a brilliantly funny comic actress
00:09:35I was in Taskmaster with, she's a gardener.
00:09:38And I kept taking pictures of her and she told me what it was.
00:09:41And it was beautiful.
00:09:43It sprang up and then these little bells came out of it.
00:09:46Yellow or orange?
00:09:47Orange.
00:09:47Yeah, that's the normal one.
00:09:49It's a lovely story attached.
00:09:50I don't take the mood down.
00:09:52But the story was that when it first grew, the Crown Imperial was white and its flowers
00:09:57were upturned.
00:09:59And it was the only flower in the Garden of Gethsemane that didn't bow its head when Christ
00:10:04died.
00:10:05So an angel came down and admonished it.
00:10:08It blushed, orange, turned its flowers down.
00:10:12And if you look inside each flower, you'll find a teardrop.
00:10:15This is flower mythology.
00:10:17But how amazing that he just brings it out of the bag, that story.
00:10:20That's all history being passed away.
00:10:21Yes.
00:10:21Yeah.
00:10:22I mean, you and I were hanging on your every word there.
00:10:24It's unusual.
00:10:26Not many people do.
00:10:28Now, a tantam.
00:10:28A tantam.
00:10:30Okay.
00:10:30Well, we could.
00:10:31I feel we're doing the entire show here.
00:10:33But alas, we have to move on.
00:10:36More barnside banter from these two.
00:10:39We can't have an hour later.
00:10:40Coming up, we'll try and fit the rest in if we can.
00:10:43If you fancy a summer bounty of bargain bouquets, now's the time to be planning.
00:10:48Horticulturist Ashley Edwards on the cut flowers you can grow from seed rather than bobs, including poppies and marigolds.
00:10:55It almost smelled the summer and described as a modern day black beauty.
00:10:59Oh, known to their majesty.
00:11:03Athleticism, impressive gait, temperament and shiny black coat.
00:11:07You have to see these horses.
00:11:08They're out there.
00:11:08They're gorgeous.
00:11:09Frisian horses.
00:11:10They've been captivating equine enthusiasts for centuries.
00:11:14We'll be catching up with our noble steeds and much more right after this.
00:11:18Alan, can I tempt you to a cream horn?
00:11:20Yeah, you bet.
00:11:22Oh, okay.
00:11:23I'll eat a strawberry.
00:11:24Oh, so, yeah.
00:11:25How did you know I'd go for the strawberry?
00:11:27I can just tell.
00:11:29I've lost my nerve with the cream horn, but I'm not disappointed.
00:11:49For nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own, and from morning to night,
00:11:56as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we
00:12:03can scarcely mark their progress.
00:12:05Lovely words from Hampshire-born Charles Dickens on the ever-changing face of nature in the British countryside,
00:12:12which we continue to celebrate here at Love Your Weekend.
00:12:16Coming up, you've seen her wide awake on Saturday mornings, cuddling orangutans, wrangling Chris Packham,
00:12:23and keeping Pete Waterman in check in The Hitman and Her.
00:12:26Michaela Strachan shares the anecdotes and the stories of an incredible career.
00:12:31Also coming up, the awards just keep on coming.
00:12:34Recently voted Best Continuing Drama, how Call the Midwife continues to reign supreme.
00:12:40Taking time out from their haberdashery, Cliff Parisi and Annabelle Apsian on Poplar's favourite handyman and queen of local government,
00:12:49Fred and Violet Buckle.
00:12:51But now, if you've ever enjoyed a story of the knights of old galloping on horseback to perform a daring
00:12:58deed,
00:12:59odds are you might have in mind a Frisian horse.
00:13:03They really do look as though they're trotted straight out of a fairy tale.
00:13:07Originally hailing from the Netherlands, the Frisian Stud Book, founded in 1879, describes the breed as fiery, strong, intelligent, and
00:13:18looking just a bit superior.
00:13:20As if she knows of her centuries-old heritage.
00:13:23As if she knows of the place she has in so many hearts.
00:13:27Well, they certainly won over my heart last time they were here.
00:13:31It's a warm welcome back to Frisian breeders Ian Garbutt and Gaynor Morris.
00:13:35Having brought with you today, welcome.
00:13:38Who have you got here, Ian?
00:13:39Well, this is Venda.
00:13:41Venda.
00:13:42We saw Venda here some time ago.
00:13:44Her mother was here, which is Yaldo.
00:13:46She was the two-times British Supreme Champion.
00:13:49And we brought her here today so we can show you how we're going to start training with her now
00:13:53she's three years old.
00:13:55And then we have Senna here, who's a five-year-old mare, who's in foal to the world champion stallion
00:14:01called Yepa.
00:14:02Wow.
00:14:02So we're very excited about that.
00:14:04So, I mean, there's a lot of breeding, Ian.
00:14:07I mean, how many horses in foal have you got at the moment?
00:14:10We have seven foals due this year.
00:14:12Wow.
00:14:12Four pure Frisians and three part-breds that we breed carefully with other horses to make more sporty, light-footed
00:14:21animals.
00:14:23It must be very exciting when you kind of don't know what you're going to get, do you?
00:14:27Especially when you're going to be ready for a champion.
00:14:29It's always about improving all the time.
00:14:33No horse is perfect, same as no people aren't.
00:14:36But Senna has faults.
00:14:38She's a star mare.
00:14:40She's very good quality.
00:14:41She's got a superb temperament and she's so calm for a five-year-old.
00:14:44Ian can take her out happy hacking totally safely.
00:14:47She goes in the carriage.
00:14:48We only use her lightly because she's in foal, but it's really good to keep them fit.
00:14:52Well, for you, Ian, why Frisians?
00:14:54You could pick any breed of horse you wanted.
00:14:56I'm saying that looking and thinking, well, I know why.
00:14:59You look so wonderful.
00:15:00Yeah, well, I know why as well.
00:15:01I mean, they're so majestic, aren't they?
00:15:03Yes.
00:15:03But it's actually Gaynor's fault, believe it or not.
00:15:06Oh, I see.
00:15:06Because around 13 years ago, she brought me a book of horses for the world and I just
00:15:11went, I want that one.
00:15:12I want that one.
00:15:12And that was it.
00:15:13So you're training yourselves now, I think, isn't it?
00:15:15We're training ourselves.
00:15:16I think we've got to the stage that we've learnt enough now that we know what the judges in
00:15:21the KFPS are looking for.
00:15:23And therefore, we're going to start training ourselves.
00:15:26This young lady has started her training only just recently because she's only just three
00:15:31years old.
00:15:31Yeah.
00:15:32And she won't be grading until she's three and a half in September.
00:15:36And therefore, she's just learning, really.
00:15:39It's about manners at the moment.
00:15:40Yes.
00:15:41I think we should let them have her on, don't you?
00:15:44Do you want to just let one off?
00:15:45Then we've got some control.
00:15:46You can go over that side and I'll go over here.
00:15:48And she should run back towards centre.
00:15:49You can see the power can't be on these horses.
00:15:52I don't know about you, but watching a horse run like that, I can just stand for hours.
00:15:58Watch.
00:16:00Look at the way it lifts its hooves.
00:16:04It's just naturally elegant.
00:16:06I'll run, Gainer.
00:16:07Go on, pshht.
00:16:09Gainer.
00:16:10I'll run.
00:16:11They can get...
00:16:11Then you can...
00:16:12You can exercise yourself, don't you, Will?
00:16:15Yeah.
00:16:16I don't know who's got any more, the horse or the owner.
00:16:18It's all right.
00:16:18But look at that conformation.
00:16:20Look at the way it lifts its feet.
00:16:24It seems to float.
00:16:29Wow.
00:16:30You're very fit, Ian.
00:16:31That's so impressive.
00:16:32Ian, that's a wonderful conformation.
00:16:35Goodness me.
00:16:36What a sight.
00:16:41Ian, you've only a cup of coffee.
00:16:43That's all you get from me.
00:16:45That is all we would ask from you.
00:16:48I'd be skiing if I wanted to do that.
00:16:49I'm no athlete.
00:16:50I think you are, man.
00:16:53Wonderful.
00:16:54So, when's the foal due?
00:16:56Here?
00:16:58She's due at the end of May.
00:17:00Yeah.
00:17:01So, you can see she carries her first foal.
00:17:03Yes.
00:17:04And you can see she carries very tight.
00:17:06You can hardly show she's in foal.
00:17:07No, you can't.
00:17:08It's amazing.
00:17:08But the big growth with the foals, it's probably about the size of a cat now.
00:17:12Right.
00:17:12It's amazing.
00:17:13The last three months, she's absolutely mad.
00:17:15That's where the size comes.
00:17:16So, it's grown all its bits now.
00:17:18Yeah.
00:17:18It has ears and eyes and legs and everything.
00:17:20Gestation is how long?
00:17:2111 months and a week.
00:17:22It's just wonderful to see you both again.
00:17:25Yeah, thank you.
00:17:26And to see these two.
00:17:27Yeah.
00:17:27And meeting people who are passionate and knowledgeable about what they love.
00:17:32Yeah.
00:17:32Particularly in terms of livestock.
00:17:34It's always such a treat.
00:17:35It's quite mind-blowing.
00:17:36Yeah.
00:17:37Thank you, ladies.
00:17:38Thank you very much indeed.
00:17:39Ian, you can have a light hand.
00:17:42Yeah.
00:17:42I can't run to save my life.
00:17:44Brilliant.
00:17:44Frisian Horses, the original Black Beauty, I think.
00:17:46Bless you.
00:17:47Coming up, the couple who've devoted their life and their savings to helping hedgehogs,
00:17:53even setting up their very own hedgehog triage room in the back garden.
00:17:58Can you imagine?
00:17:58And the woman who shares my love for the great outdoors and everything that's great about our
00:18:03countryside, with her trademark leggings, hiking boots, and a light waterproof.
00:18:08Michaela Strachan boots up once more as she takes to the great outdoors.
00:18:13This time, here at Manor Farm.
00:18:15I'll see you with Michaela, right after this.
00:18:32Welcome back to Manor Farm.
00:18:33Coming up, my favourite detective-slash-magician.
00:18:37And, of course, there are so many to choose from.
00:18:39The star of Jonathan Creek and long-serving QI panellist Alan Davies on his triumphant return
00:18:45to stand-up comedy.
00:18:46And he's a new memoir, too.
00:18:48Also, coming up, the inspiring story of the couple who've set up their own hedgehog hospital
00:18:53in their back garden.
00:18:54But first, to quote the late, great Vincent van Gogh, as I so often do of a Sunday morning,
00:19:00if you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.
00:19:04Words that will no doubt resonate with my next guest, who's spent the last 35 years celebrating
00:19:11the great outdoors and the animals that inhabit it.
00:19:15Well, Chulu may be a newcomer here at the orphanage, but already she knows the milk routine.
00:19:20And she's just as keen and eager as all the other orphans.
00:19:31It's very obvious which one is Chulu's bottle, because it has this tea, thanks.
00:19:36It's hardly surprising she's so keen to get her bottle.
00:19:40It's thought that she was without her mum for about two weeks, and in that time she became
00:19:44very dehydrated.
00:19:46And the telltale signs of that are these sunken cheeks.
00:19:49You shouldn't be able to see the cheekbones on an elephant of this age.
00:19:54So, we need to patten you up a little bit.
00:19:57Look at you, the elephant diaries.
00:20:00Amazing, brave, not just because there's quite a lot of weight behind a baby elephant,
00:20:04but you are allergic to elephants.
00:20:06I'm allergic, I know.
00:20:06You're mad for Michaela, what possessed you to go into.
00:20:09But you might be allergic to elephants.
00:20:11I've never got close enough to discover.
00:20:14Which I did ride on one in India, and it seemed to pass without incident.
00:20:18Yeah, I mean, absolutely bonkers, isn't it?
00:20:20I'm slightly allergic to long-haired cats as well, so maybe there's a link there.
00:20:23Did you not discover it then, until you were there?
00:20:26Not really.
00:20:27I mean, I'd been sort of on safari, and every time we got near elephants, I'd start sneezing.
00:20:32So I thought, well, that's interesting.
00:20:34But it wasn't until I'm with orphans in Nairobi elephant orphanage, you know, with trunks all
00:20:39over me and saliva all over me, and really in amongst them, that I realised that, yes,
00:20:44I am definitely allergic.
00:20:46But I was also pregnant at the time, and your hormones, when you're pregnant, can heighten
00:20:50allergies.
00:20:51Yeah.
00:20:51So it was quite bad.
00:20:53I mean, there was a rash from, like, here to here, and swollen eyes, and, yeah, I looked
00:20:57like I had flu.
00:20:58There's a little right picture on the box.
00:21:00No close-ups, please.
00:21:02Keep your distance.
00:21:03The fascination with animals, I mean, they're there since childhood?
00:21:06Obviously, I've always loved animals.
00:21:08But my passion as a youngster was musical theatre.
00:21:11Yeah.
00:21:11I share that with you, Alan.
00:21:13You do, you do.
00:21:14So I trained for the theatre, and I was in musicals to begin with.
00:21:18I was in Seven Brides of Seven Brothers, and then went into presenting children's television,
00:21:22and then sort of fell into presenting wildlife.
00:21:26So that's how it happened.
00:21:28I mean, I was always incredibly empathetic towards animals, but my knowledge and my passion has
00:21:33grown over the years.
00:21:34But also an innate curiosity as well.
00:21:37Yes.
00:21:37An inquiring mind and wanting to know, because it's evident when you're presenting that you
00:21:41are enthusiastic about your subjects, and that, you know, you want to know more, and
00:21:46this is one way.
00:21:47I think it was John Ruskin who said, if you ever want to know about anything, write a
00:21:50book about it.
00:21:51Yes, that's so true.
00:21:52That was before television existed.
00:21:53But in a way, the same applies, doesn't it?
00:21:55If you want to know more, make a television series about it.
00:21:58Yeah, and on Springwatch, you know, every year we learn something new on all the watches.
00:22:03I mean, we delve into the little stuff, which is always fascinating.
00:22:08You know, once you get into the macro side of wildlife, then it's way more interesting
00:22:13than looking at lions and tigers and bears.
00:22:16You know, it's the detail.
00:22:19The devil's in the detail, isn't it?
00:22:21But also, just by watching wildlife, as we do on Springwatch, when we've got the cameras
00:22:26in the little nest, each year we see something that we've never seen before.
00:22:31Let's have a look at you on Springwatch.
00:22:33This is a hugely successful series.
00:22:36I've got a question for you.
00:22:37Go on.
00:22:37Sometimes you like to name the animals that we feature.
00:22:40OK.
00:22:40So if you were going to name this partridge, what would you call it?
00:22:43Think, hold on, think before you answer.
00:22:44OK.
00:22:45Think about where we are.
00:22:45OK.
00:22:46Erm, Ken.
00:22:48Ken.
00:22:49Why, why Ken?
00:22:50Ken.
00:22:51No, not Ken.
00:22:52We're in Norfolk, aren't we?
00:22:53We're in Norfolk.
00:22:54A partridge in Norfolk.
00:22:56Aha.
00:22:57Knowing me, knowing you.
00:22:59Aha.
00:23:01Alan.
00:23:02Alan Partridge.
00:23:03Very obviously.
00:23:06My goodness.
00:23:07Chris Packham at his most off the wall.
00:23:10Keeps you fresh, doesn't it, really?
00:23:12I chose that clip specially for you.
00:23:15I really did.
00:23:16Because it was so funny, because I didn't get the joke, obviously.
00:23:18You can see the complete blank look on my face.
00:23:20But, you know, I often don't get what Chris is saying instantly.
00:23:24No, a lot of us don't, really.
00:23:26He does.
00:23:26He goes so off a tangent.
00:23:29But, you know, I'm going on tour,
00:23:31and one of the things that I'm celebrating
00:23:33is our relationship.
00:23:35And, you know, I've worked with Chris Packham
00:23:37for 35 years on and off,
00:23:39and I think that's something to be celebrated.
00:23:41And we have such a lot together.
00:23:42It's something to be congratulated upon, really, isn't it?
00:23:45Not Just a Wildlife, you're calling this tour.
00:23:47So are you covering the musical theatre years?
00:23:49Are you going to be doing any tap?
00:23:52I should, shouldn't I?
00:23:54You should do some tap.
00:23:54I should come on tap dancing.
00:23:55You should.
00:23:56Not Just a Wildlife is the tour I'm going on,
00:23:58and it's to celebrate 40 years in television.
00:24:02And it's called Not Just a Wildlife,
00:24:04because obviously these days I'm very well known
00:24:06for doing wildlife and conservation environment programmes.
00:24:08But before that, it was Saturday morning kid shows,
00:24:13Hitman and Her, singles.
00:24:15You know, I've had a really varied career.
00:24:17I mean, you are living proof of a variety
00:24:19being the spice of life, really, aren't you?
00:24:21Thank you, Alan.
00:24:21Is there anything you wouldn't do?
00:24:24Anything you say no to?
00:24:25Do you know that in the show, in the tour,
00:24:27there is the one thing that I bottled out of?
00:24:30Because I've done Michaela's Wild Challenge.
00:24:31You know, I was challenged to do things.
00:24:33I get mixed up with Annika Rice, you know?
00:24:35I'm somebody that likes a challenge.
00:24:37And so all of that is in the show.
00:24:40But the one thing I bottled out of, Alan,
00:24:42was on The Really Wild Show,
00:24:44they were building a spider's web
00:24:45from Clifton Suspension Bridge.
00:24:47And I'd never been to Bristol before.
00:24:49I was 24.
00:24:49I didn't really know how high Clifton Suspension Bridge was.
00:24:52It's high.
00:24:53It's really high.
00:24:54I thought it was going to be like a bridge over the River Thames.
00:24:57And I thought, OK, I could probably manage that.
00:24:59It wasn't until I got there and I looked over at this drop
00:25:03that I just thought, oh, my gosh, I've got a fear of heights.
00:25:06I'd kind of forgotten that I'd got a fear of heights.
00:25:09And I've got the footage, the rushes,
00:25:13and you can smell the fear.
00:25:15So you were on camera when you said no?
00:25:17You were actually there?
00:25:18I was there.
00:25:19I was there.
00:25:20And I bottled out.
00:25:21I didn't do it.
00:25:22I was supposed to be dangling in the middle
00:25:24of this incredibly impressive spider's web built out of ropes.
00:25:29And instead, I stood at the top.
00:25:30So it worked as a piece.
00:25:32If God hadn't intended you to do that,
00:25:33it'd have given you another four limbs, wouldn't it?
00:25:35Exactly.
00:25:37The eight-limbed Michaela's.
00:25:40But it's been so interesting looking back at 40 years
00:25:43and trying to pick which bits I want in the show.
00:25:47I mean, I could have done a five-hour show.
00:25:49It's been a long career.
00:25:50You did really incredibly well on Dancing on Ice.
00:25:54And you danced in front of Torval and Dean to Bolero.
00:25:58Now, this takes guts.
00:26:00Here we are.
00:26:41Look at that.
00:26:42You'd have been a shoo-in in the Winter Olympics.
00:26:45That was not remotely embarrassing, was it?
00:26:47I mean, that was good stuff.
00:26:49Original moves and the music.
00:26:51A bit scary in front of Torval and Dean, though, wasn't it?
00:26:54Well, it was the final,
00:26:55so we'd done an awful lot of skating in front of Torval and Dean.
00:26:57I absolutely loved every moment of Dancing on Ice,
00:27:01except for the fact that I did end up injured.
00:27:03In fact, that was the final,
00:27:05and without realising it,
00:27:06I had a torn hamstring and torn glutes
00:27:08doing that particular Bolero.
00:27:10You see, will you never learn?
00:27:11It's adrenaline, isn't it?
00:27:13I have to confess, I was asked to do Dancing on Ice.
00:27:16I was 68 at the time.
00:27:19I can't tell you the words I said to my agent
00:27:21because they're not broadcastable at this time in the morning.
00:27:25But I indicated to her how old I was
00:27:27and there was an expletive in that.
00:27:29Well, I was 58 when I did it.
00:27:32And I was the oldest celebrity to get to the final.
00:27:35And, you know, it's taken a long time
00:27:38for that injury to get better because I'm older.
00:27:41Now, you live in South Africa,
00:27:43so this is an amazing commute you have to do
00:27:46to come here for Spring Watch.
00:27:47How does your year pan out?
00:27:48What do you do?
00:27:49I tend to come over in big chunks.
00:27:51So I've just been here for a month
00:27:53and then I'm going home again
00:27:55and then I'll have a bit of time at home
00:27:57and working from home
00:27:58and then I'll come back and do Spring Watch.
00:28:01Well, I'm coming back.
00:28:02The next time I come back will be to do the tour.
00:28:04It starts on April 13th.
00:28:05So then I'll be here for a few weeks doing the tour,
00:28:08going to all sorts of different theatres around the country.
00:28:10You can escape our weather too.
00:28:12Do you know, my family keeps sending me pictures
00:28:15of these gorgeous sunsets
00:28:16and I'm sending them pictures of, you know, another grey sky.
00:28:20I mean, it's rained a lot, hasn't it?
00:28:22It has rained a lot.
00:28:23It has rained an awful lot.
00:28:24And being a garden, people say to me,
00:28:26good for the garden, and I restrain myself.
00:28:29Yes.
00:28:29From that, you know, from that.
00:28:31You have a son, Ollie.
00:28:32Yes.
00:28:33Interested in nature?
00:28:34Have you managed to let it rub off?
00:28:35Do you know, I mean, when we take him out,
00:28:37he does enjoy himself, but his passion is sport.
00:28:41So he's at Loughborough University
00:28:42and works for Oxford United Football Club
00:28:45with our academy team.
00:28:47And not playing, he does the social media for them.
00:28:50So sport is his passion.
00:28:52And I gather once you took him on a tour
00:28:53and he wasn't terribly impressed with backstage.
00:28:56No, it's...
00:28:57Is that right?
00:28:58Do you know, I haven't been impressed with some backstage.
00:29:00I did an arena tour once, Alan,
00:29:03with walking with dinosaurs.
00:29:04And I was the only human in the whole thing.
00:29:06The rest were huge animatronic dinosaurs.
00:29:08And I remember going to one of the back...
00:29:10I think it was Newcastle Arena.
00:29:12There wasn't even a mirror in the dressing room.
00:29:15And there was just like a seat.
00:29:16And that was it.
00:29:17And I thought I'd made it.
00:29:18You know, I thought, I've made it.
00:29:18I'm in arenas.
00:29:19And there I was in this seat.
00:29:21But apparently the big stars bring in their dressing rooms.
00:29:24So they'll bring in a fridge and a sofa and a plant.
00:29:28Dosh!
00:29:28And I was just sitting there on my seat.
00:29:29You know, you need a 40-page rider saying what you demand.
00:29:33Whenever I've done it, they say,
00:29:34What's on your rider?
00:29:35And they say,
00:29:36A glass of wine in the interval and a towel.
00:29:38Yeah, that's all I need.
00:29:39That's all I need.
00:29:41Warm you up.
00:29:41Lovely to talk with you.
00:29:42Lovely to have you on the programme.
00:29:44It's always lovely to get another nature lover on,
00:29:45you know, in a programme which is actually predicated
00:29:47on the great outdoors.
00:29:49So lovely to have you with us.
00:29:50Oh, well, thanks very much.
00:29:51I mean, you know, nature heals you, doesn't it?
00:29:53The healing power of nature.
00:29:55That's why you and I have big smiles on our faces.
00:29:57It is.
00:29:57It's why, you know, we feel connected to the earth.
00:30:00Sometimes a very wet earth.
00:30:03Now, in this fast-paced world
00:30:05where the emphasis is on immediacy,
00:30:08a still photograph stops time
00:30:10because in the same way that Michaela and I love nature,
00:30:13so do you.
00:30:14And this gives you a moment to think, to reflect
00:30:17and to feel, yep, it's time for Walk on the Wild Side.
00:30:39And he talks all about me.
00:30:39So, you know, we feel we have applicants and tuning inонов,
00:30:42so many people are holding boxes.
00:30:42We're going to see her as well thinking,
00:30:42because we're going toâuこ from Egland.
00:30:44That's what I think.
00:30:45You know that's never going to be a lot.
00:30:51Of course there.
00:36:05If we sew now, then we'll have flowers continuously, so we can start indoors now while the temperatures
00:36:10are still cool outside.
00:36:11So, we're talking windowsill sowing at the moment?
00:36:13Yeah, windowsill.
00:36:13Or propagator if you've got one.
00:36:15Yeah, if you're lucky to have a greenhouse, you could do them in an unheated greenhouse
00:36:18or a conservatory even.
00:36:20um but yeah this is just a few of the things you could grow in your so we've got lovely
00:36:25things
00:36:25i mean sunflowers classic for those competitions for primary schools yes so what's your recipe for
00:36:30the tallest sunflower i think you need to start with a good deep pot because uh they don't like
00:36:35root disturbance so you start them off strong in a small pot and then plant them out when they've
00:36:40when they're stocky and they've got plenty of leaves on them because they slugs and snails do
00:36:44love them as well so you need to protect them from so get them out the way of slugs and
00:36:47snails
00:36:47exactly and sun and really rich soil really yeah full sun as much sun as possible and yeah like
00:36:53you say rich soil and you could feed them liquid feed that will give them boost and hopefully
00:36:57they'll be 10 foot tall and stocks you've got here which a lot of glorious scent yeah they smell
00:37:02amazing and they're actually biennials so they will likely flower in the second year yeah but if you
00:37:07sow them now then you'll get flowers earlier next year so they're a good one to do um and another
00:37:13beautifully scented plant sweet peas oh you know a garden without sweet peas like a kiss without a
00:37:18squeeze isn't it they are delicious i just made a poem up there didn't realize didn't you yeah but
00:37:23they're fragrant wonderful sweet peas gorgeous and the colors are just yeah fantastic and they'll just
00:37:29keep coming and coming and you have to keep cutting them to produce more and more and then things like
00:37:33amni they act as a great kind of filler plant for your vase because they are quite a neutral color
00:37:39and yeah i love them for the dainty carrot like flowers and yeah marigolds african marigolds people
00:37:44are so sniffy about marigolds i know they i think they in the 80s they used to plant like loads
00:37:49of
00:37:49them on mass i remember like around around my estate they would have like big beds of them
00:37:53and i don't know for some reason they they lost favor but they're great cheerful yeah they're so
00:37:58sniffy about marigolds and they're a great companion plant so if you're growing things like
00:38:02tomatoes they'll attract nematodes that can be beneficial for the soil
00:38:06i actually saw a project where they're using them to get rid of rose sickness uh for replant
00:38:11syndrome so right it's not only great for the vase but they're really good for your garden yeah
00:38:15beneficial um so there's lots of ways you can sow these seeds um we've just got a few things here
00:38:21you can upcycle things from your home you've got cardboard rolls we've got so you chop these up
00:38:25into bits yep so they would be great for the sweet peas which need to go quite deep so these
00:38:29would be
00:38:30really good almost like a root trainer and then you've got reusable this is actually rubber
00:38:34uh natural rubber and these you can use them year after year and then you've got biodegradable pots
00:38:39which are great because the roots will actually start to come through this and you can plant the
00:38:44whole thing in the ground without disturbing provided it's wet yeah it does need to be wet the important
00:38:48thing is not to let it dry out isn't it because that becomes a bit less permeable yeah i usually
00:38:52put
00:38:52them in this in a tray yeah let them absorb that water so i'm going to show you a few
00:38:57seeds that
00:38:57we've got to sow and i'm going to start with the sweet peas yeah they're a big seed so that
00:39:02means
00:39:02they need to go deep and they like the darkness to germinate um so that's always a good indication
00:39:07looking at the seed size and they are quite big so these need to go a few centimeters deep
00:39:13so there's a lot of guides with sweet peas that say you should nick the coat because they have a
00:39:17very
00:39:17hard coat and you should nick them with a knife and i've done that before but and do you finger
00:39:21yeah
00:39:21it feels really dangerous yeah and it's really fiddly so would you what do you do i don't bother
00:39:27no but what i do sometimes do is soak them overnight okay a little you know a lid from a
00:39:33jar
00:39:33which is about half an inch deep just fill that full of water drop these in and soak them overnight
00:39:38but generally speaking i don't bother with that i just sew them straight into compost water them in
00:39:44and they come up because it's a miracle of nature that's good to know so so many of these fiddly
00:39:48things
00:39:49i will fill up a pot yeah so we can we can demo this one i'm going to fill this
00:39:53up to the top
00:39:54with some seed compost and sweet peas need quite a deep root run they don't like their roots disturbed
00:39:59you could probably get away with sowing two in here what do you think oh i've had so three in
00:40:02there
00:40:02three yeah yeah i'm greedy and then all you want to do you can use your finger or you can
00:40:07use a
00:40:07dibber if you fancy so yeah we're going to bury these about two centimeters deep put them in and then
00:40:13like you said you want to keep them wet now we've got smaller seeds i've got poppies here which are
00:40:17almost like dust yeah so these are a lot sneeze yeah don't breathe almost so this is one that you
00:40:22can do
00:40:22in cells so i would just fill this whole thing up with compost you can smooth it out there you
00:40:29are look how tiny they are with these they need to be closer to the surface of the soil to
00:40:33get light
00:40:34and that's how they'll germinate so that's why poppies grow in wastelands really because
00:40:38this the soil is constantly disturbed they get brought to the surface and they germinate
00:40:42you take a little pinch and you can literally sprinkle you could barely see them
00:40:49in each cell and with poppet you don't really need to cover those um because once you you can
00:40:54either water it from below so can let it go or if you water that with a can it would
00:40:58actually with a
00:40:58fine rose it would actually settle the seeds into the surface these will germinate after a week or two
00:41:04weeks um and then yeah keep them in a light bright place that's cool so you don't want them near
00:41:10a
00:41:10radiator if you are putting them on a windowsill make sure they're not near a radiator it will turn the
00:41:13radiator off and then once they've started germinating you can prick them out using a
00:41:18dibber and pop them on and with poppies you could probably just take that whole thing and put it
00:41:23put it into a new pot yeah because they don't don't like root disturbance they don't like being
00:41:26they don't like being disturbed that's the great thing about growing them in those surgery is you
00:41:29saying you pop those out yeah without actually having to dig up the seeding a lot of things like
00:41:34african marigas they don't mind a jot being dug up with a few little roots and transplanted but
00:41:39things like poppies and a lot of hardy annuals don't like that root disturbance they're perfect
00:41:44yeah and these are easy to push out so that's really good i like the rubber idea once they've
00:41:49grown to a decent size so here we have a pot marigold as an example and i just want to
00:41:54show
00:41:54you the seeds because i think they're so beautiful and pot marigold is one of the first plants i ever
00:41:59germinated as a child because my neighbor she used to make me pick up all the dead heads yeah they're
00:42:05great
00:42:05for kids i think and i know they were at the um eden project they have a building actually modeled
00:42:11in the shape of one of these which is quite cool that's class isn't it really i'm going to make
00:42:15my
00:42:15greenhouse in the shape of a pot marigold seed so so this is your pot marigold once it's grown on
00:42:24and you want to pinch out the tops to produce more flower buds and a bushier plant and it feels
00:42:30it always
00:42:30really cruel to do this i hate doing it but all you have to do is take off the top
00:42:35uh kind of few
00:42:37leaves pinch it down to a strong set of leaves like that and then it feels really evil doesn't
00:42:45it yeah but as you say you'll then get more flowers but in the long run you're benefiting the
00:42:50plant it's going to grow bushier you have loads of flowers on it and it's going to be a nice
00:42:54strong
00:42:54plant now you want to harden off your plants if you've grown them indoors that's really important
00:43:00putting them straight outside can send them into shock so you've got the air movement less
00:43:04humidity outside and also cooler temperatures so ideally what you want to do is put this outside
00:43:11in the daytime and then bring it indoors at night time for about two weeks and it should be hardy
00:43:17enough to then plant out permanently and you need to protect them from any frosts because you can get
00:43:23caught out by late frosts i mean you can have frost in may so you have to be really careful
00:43:27yeah generally
00:43:28always just say the end of it actually it's generally felt it's about middle of may almost
00:43:32isn't it yeah i think in london where you've got microclimate where i'm growing from about middle
00:43:36of february yeah you probably could get away with in some places um and yeah this can then go out
00:43:44into
00:43:44the ground keep them well watered you can mulch them with a really good farm of manure or garden
00:43:49compost if you have your own and with taller plants like snapdragons for example you might want to put
00:43:55netting like string around them just to keep them upright there we are thanks thank you thanks alan
00:44:05since 2000 the number of hedgehogs has declined by up to 30 percent in rural areas and 75 percent
00:44:15in urban areas they're now listed as vulnerable on the red lists for british mammals so thank goodness
00:44:22for couples like joe and terry who took a rather unusual step five years ago they spent sixty thousand
00:44:30pounds of their own money and set up a hedgehog triage room in their back garden
00:44:46so when my husband and i terry moved into this house 26 years ago the couple that we bought the
00:44:51house from asked us if we would continue to feed the hedgehogs that were visiting their garden
00:44:55we said of course we would we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw a mum and babies walking across
00:45:00the lawn and then from that day on i said to terry i want a feeding station and i want
00:45:05some cameras
00:45:06so when my wife came up with the idea of a hospital you know hedgehog rescue i immediately thought oh
00:45:12that's going to take over our life and it has and that's what we did so we had a couple
00:45:16of years
00:45:16training we then decided it was time to set up prickle lodge we've given over our life and our house
00:45:22they're hedgehogs and we love it hedgehogs are endangered they're near threatened which means
00:45:27that they could be vulnerable to extinction and sadly one of the main reasons is their loss of habitat
00:45:33and also loss of natural food so since we first started five years ago we've admitted over 500 patients
00:45:42last year was our record intake of just over 200 and i'm delighted to say that we managed to rehabilitate
00:45:49treat and release over 80 percent looking after a rescue is pretty much full-on it is 365 days a
00:45:57year
00:45:58hedgehogs of course are nocturnal animals you know at night when we're all asleep that's when they're
00:46:03foraging for food if you see a hedgehog during the day normally it's in trouble and needs help from a
00:46:09rescue this is where all the activity happens this is our mission control so we've got 22 cameras in
00:46:18total if we see that a hedgehog is particularly stressed if they're climbing if they're really
00:46:24unsettled then it could be that there's something else going on internally that we're not aware of
00:46:30so that's when we would go back and sample their poo just to see if there's something else that we're
00:46:35not aware of that needs to be treated you know i often get sort of elbow in the ribs at
00:46:39night there's
00:46:40a hedgehog in need we need to go down now and get it
00:46:44the most common internal parasites i see on a day-to-day basis is lungworm despite common belief
00:46:51hedgehogs don't like to eat slugs and snails the slugs contaminate the food that hedgehogs eat
00:46:57a hedgehog's natural food in the wild would be caterpillars beetles or grubs but sadly there just
00:47:04isn't enough natural food michael was incredibly lucky because his finders have wildlife cameras in
00:47:11their garden and around the feeding station and they heard michael coffin on the camera and they
00:47:17know that that was a sign of poor health
00:47:21this is ariana and ariana's being treated for lungworm
00:47:26and also ringworm ringworm is a fungal infection and it creates intense itchiness for the hedgehog
00:47:35and also spine loss so the ringworm treatment is a really soothing medicated bath and it will kill
00:47:42the ringworm so ariana will need four baths over 12 days and this is her second bath so there are
00:47:50lots
00:47:50of things that people can do to help hedgehogs the first thing is to provide access into your garden
00:47:56this will stop them from going into the roads and it will help them forage for food it will also
00:48:02help
00:48:03them to look for a mate the other thing you can do is to provide food and water any meat
00:48:08-based
00:48:09kitten biscuits are ideal for hedgehogs i think one of our biggest success stories is izzy and rider
00:48:16izzy and rider were orphaned hoglets and they were brought into us when they were about 11 days old
00:48:21they couldn't see they couldn't hear and they couldn't walk properly they required syringe feeding
00:48:26every two to three hours and their wounds needed managing to ensure that they were kept clean and i'm
00:48:32delighted to say that they're both now in the garden so we've got izzy in here so she's hibernating
00:48:38conserving valuable energy through the winter ready for the spring got rider in here but he's off
00:48:46walkabout at the moment very delighted to say that he's thriving in the wild
00:48:53the hedgehog rescue is emotionally challenging it's physically challenging and it's financially
00:48:58challenging you're required to do things at all hours when you're very tired but what we do takes over
00:49:04we love it oh well done joe and terry what a wonderful thing to do don't you think still ahead
00:49:12poplar comes to manor farm call the midwives cliff parisi and annabel absin take a nostalgic look back
00:49:19at the iconic drama that continues to capture all our hearts i'll see you with mr and mrs buckle and
00:49:27more
00:49:27right after this
00:49:43welcome back to love your weekend coming up from detective magician jonathan creek to mainstay on
00:49:49the qi panel alan davis lifts the lid on an incredible career both on and off the comedy circuit
00:49:57but first known for their charming often humorous and bossy on-screen relationship violet and fred
00:50:03buckle have become something i can't say it any other way something of a popular favorite reminding
00:50:09viewers that love loyalty and shared laughter are often the strongest medicine of all
00:50:14there could never be a portrait of my life
00:50:26after the quiet ceremony violet wanted the wedding party went not to her home or to fred's but to a
00:50:34place
00:50:34where everyone was cherished and all doors and hearts were open you will never see
00:51:05like the face of a devoted parent
00:51:09nanata's house was etched with a little more time each year with each small shadow every fading grace
00:51:17it grew more beautiful and was loved more than words can say
00:51:22cliff parisian and about absolutely it's such a tearjerker i mean the music there but also
00:51:28vanessa redgrave's voice finishes me off every time moving to be in as well as to to watch for you
00:51:37is it
00:51:38i felt very emotional watching that and seeing everybody so young including us my dear because
00:51:46that was probably 11 years ago but it was very moving and seeing all of that yes i was quite
00:51:52surprised
00:51:53most of the cast have now sat where you're sitting which has been delight for me as a firm fan
00:51:59favorite
00:51:59really there's clearly a great family feeling cliff in all the cast i think really oh yeah i mean we've
00:52:05been working together for donkeys years now so 15 years and um everybody that's come into the show has
00:52:13slipped straight into the family and they've become part of the you know and it's such a wonderful show i
00:52:21mean it makes you weep for joy and it makes you weep for sorrow and not many shows on tv
00:52:28can do that
00:52:29it takes you through the human condition from birth to death and relationships and community and family
00:52:37and all of those things are explored in real detail and and some horror as well because people can be
00:52:46bad and sickness can be cruel and so we explore all of that but what the backbone of it is
00:52:56is that actually
00:52:57the the nuns the nurses the community that come together always to support whatever story lines going
00:53:05on to try and drive it through to you know a conclusion and often that can be joyful
00:53:13it redresses the balance of the regular sort of tragedy and misery we get via the news of showing
00:53:20the triumph of goodness and the fact that goodness and kindness exists in far greater quantities in
00:53:26the world than the opposites which we're treated to every day really it just reminds us what human
00:53:33beings are capable of being with one another on the positive side really doesn't it anything and now of
00:53:39it's worrying for me because it's now coming up to the 70s you know hang on a minute that's that's
00:53:45modern
00:53:45isn't it fun parts to play for both of you i think really and the chemistry between the two of
00:53:50you
00:53:51is clearly enjoyable thank you we always try we don't really like each other we're wonderful actors
00:54:00and of course you're not the only people in that household there is another person yeah in the buckle
00:54:04household reggie you're really afraid there's a battenberg cape by the kettle that wants a home smashing
00:54:24just a moment oh hello reggie love hello mum
00:54:41don't you look lovely there oh was he crying yeah it was lovely it was a lovely storyline to do
00:54:48with um reggie coming into the family and violet was saying oh you know he shouldn't be here and um
00:54:54um and danny does the part so brilliantly he's such so lovely to work with so yeah it's very special
00:55:01so we
00:55:02you know sorry well i'm glad it works
00:55:07those of us it's open we're feeling like that you know it's good to know that you do as well
00:55:13so
00:55:14from your point of view though as an actress it's it's a it's a part you've played quite different
00:55:19past quite different to mrs beach in goodnight mr tom who was a bit of a piece of work tell
00:55:25us a bit
00:55:25about her well she um sends her son off during the war you know when they would get the children
00:55:33out of
00:55:33london to the countryside and he bedwets i don't know if you remember the story this is with john thor
00:55:40with john thor who's mr tom and he's a grumpy old man and he's but he starts to realize that
00:55:47the little
00:55:47boy has had a very unhappy childhood and um anyway the mother wants him back so he's sent back to
00:55:56london and then you realize that she's very mentally unwell actually so it was a very challenging role
00:56:03to do because i had to think myself into that part and think how could somebody do that so i
00:56:12had to do
00:56:13lots and lots of thinking what's happened what's going on um making your own backstory and yes then
00:56:19yes you were brilliant in that thank you and really scary let's have a look let's be scared you know
00:56:30willie
00:56:35you look different put weight on
00:56:40see i'll take that i'll say what to take and not to take
00:56:49so how are you feeling now fine i'm fine i mean they said you was ill did they so what
00:56:59you got in the
00:57:00bag then just me things and a present for you from mr tom mr tom mr oakley the man i
00:57:06stays with down
00:57:07now well i don't need charity thank you it's just some bed socks and mrs little that's a doctor's wife
00:57:13she sent you a bottle of tonic wine wine haven't i told you about the evils of drink it ain't
00:57:19a real
00:57:20drink mum like you get in a pub it's got iron in it to help you get your strength back
00:57:24and what would
00:57:25you know about what you get in a pub he must have been really hard to be so nasty to
00:57:33such a lovely
00:57:34lad that lad was amazing what's the thing about mr tom and i'm going to meet up with him um
00:57:39his uh his
00:57:41partner contacted me and said uh would i meet up with him i used to do um funny things in
00:57:47between the
00:57:47takes because i was worried about him being upset by it so i can't wait to meet him i think
00:57:54i think
00:57:54yeah playing against type your actors that's the challenge isn't it that's what we do but again
00:57:59you in eastenders i mean as as minty still got a pair of overalls i don't know i've got my
00:58:06own overalls
00:58:07now taken with me everywhere yeah i mean i tend to play um characters that are working class i've got
00:58:14a
00:58:15spanner in her head do you yearn to play an aristocrat yes sir i would rather do that of
00:58:20course it's actually very good as marlon brando aren't you you're always doing the godfather well
00:58:27we generally we would do the scene and i i will do the first rehearsal was marlon brando so yeah
00:58:32fred
00:58:33brando you do do quite a bit of uh location filming on call the midwife and i gather there was
00:58:39a beach
00:58:40scene when storm agnes is coming through just meant to be jolly and funny and sunny and a bit tough
00:58:46ice creams were sanding yeah and shells yeah um it was sideways i mean literally sideways the way it
00:58:54was impossible for continuity because it was obviously supposed to be sunny and our wigs were
00:58:59like totally flat and but there was no continuity and they just gave up so you know normally they would
00:59:07dry your hair and reset it they they couldn't we had like it was fun it was really yeah we
00:59:16just had
00:59:16to go with it yeah yeah we did yeah thank you both for coming pleasure lovely to with you you're
00:59:22with
00:59:22us every sunday evening or you know for a good part of the year anyway so lovely to see the
00:59:26both of you
00:59:26together on our sofa we're talking butterflies now not the 70s sitcom featuring wendy craig and jeffrey
00:59:41palmer but the living jewels of the garden with their vibrant color and magical elegance here's
00:59:48leslie joseph and everything you need to know about that most delicate of insects the butterfly
00:59:55good morning alan there's a definite feeling of anticipation in the air and we're all cautiously
01:00:00optimistic about putting the winter coat away right and then quite suddenly a flicker of color flutters past
01:00:09oh hello you gorgeous thing nothing says spring has truly sprung quite like a butterfly emerging from
01:00:18those colder months the butterfly can now be found basking in the sunshine angling their wings towards
01:00:24the sun so they can heat their flight muscles ready for takeoff the first butterflies we tend to see are
01:00:31the
01:00:31clever ones spending the colder months tucked away in sheds hollow trees dense ivy sometimes even the
01:00:37garage they wait for the temperature to creep above about 10 degrees celsius before making their grand
01:00:45reappearance oh gosh i wish i woke up looking that refreshed butterflies are cold-blooded they need warmth
01:00:52to fly well rather like me before my morning tea did you know when it comes to color it's often
01:00:59the males who
01:01:00turn up the volume brighter and bolder because females frequently choose their mate based on that
01:01:07dazzling display the females meanwhile tend to be more subtly dressed carrying eggs means keeping
01:01:13a lower profile less eye-catching to predators sensible understated but oh so chic perhaps surprisingly
01:01:21in many british butterfly species females are slightly larger than males in order to carry those precious
01:01:28eggs each butterfly starts as a tiny egg hatches into a ravenous caterpillar whose main hobby is eating
01:01:36these hungry caterpillars mold and grow before forming a chrysalis and out emerges a butterfly
01:01:45oh who could resist such charm and from one charmer to another back to you alan
01:01:54thanks leslie did you know butterflies can taste with their feet it's true they have sensors known as chemoreceptors
01:02:01on the bottom of their legs which they use to sense nutritious sugars and viable food sources
01:02:07butterflies often drum with their feet against the surface of a leaf to bring out
01:02:10the plant juices i just lob it in you know coming up showcasing the women tearing up the rule book
01:02:17and making their mark in this section of spirit land drinks expert becky paskin serves up some of her favorite
01:02:24female producers and distillers including a spicy margarita and a strawberry rhubarb smash oh yummy and
01:02:34it was the role he says changed his life forever the curly-haired divisor of magic tricks who often found
01:02:41himself solving murders as you do alan davies celebrating nearly 30 years of the iconic duffle
01:02:48coat wearing puzzle solver johnson creek i'll see you with alan right after this
01:03:08welcome back coming up whether it's the drinkers the makers or the shakers the world of alcohol has
01:03:16historically been heavily dominated by men till now drinks expert becky paskin will be showcasing
01:03:23a handful of women tearing up the rule book and making them out with their gins whiskies and
01:03:29pre-made cocktails but first improbable crimes solved with wit and flair i'm talking the 1990s
01:03:37murder mystery following the adventures of duffel coat wearing curly-haired magical mystery solver
01:03:44jonathan creek well any way you slice it couldn't have been the same woman both times that'd be some
01:03:50trick and you wouldn't say she was the cleverest person in the world no but maybe she didn't need
01:03:58to be say again if i was just suddenly disappear now right here in this garden would you call that
01:04:06a
01:04:06clever trick come on okay close your eyes and count to three very quickly one two three oh hey
01:04:30this is just
01:04:42you see it's just like that wasn't it yeah very clever yeah 20 years jonathan creek yeah that was
01:04:501999 i think yeah that's tom goodman hill yeah who's a wonderful comic actor and he was part of a
01:04:57jonathan creek appreciation society so that's why he's got the duffel coat and they had a meeting part
01:05:03of the script and all these actors and then supporting artists turned up with wigs and duffel
01:05:08coats on it was very creepy do you mind it's interesting whenever you get with me i suppose it's ground
01:05:15force and i really don't mind that's remembered for anything but is it a bit yes i've done a lot
01:05:20since then or do you mind jonathan creek it was so quirky uh i don't mind it and um and
01:05:27and not least
01:05:27because people still watch it you know yeah in fact they've put it all up on iplayer and uh and
01:05:35people
01:05:35still finding it and and younger audiences it's timeless you know yeah it didn't rely on anything
01:05:41quirky or gimmicky at the time uh david renwick who wrote it he understood television the mysteries in
01:05:49the heart and so it's something that survived the test of time because it's so well crafted
01:05:54you weren't the first choice for the part no i was the 38th uh person to audition
01:06:00they uh wanted nicholas lindhurst right and he had just finished well i say finished falls and
01:06:07horses because of course they revived falls and horses brilliantly afterwards but he didn't fancy
01:06:12it and then then it was going to be hugh lorry and then anyway i ended up being me and
01:06:17i no one knew
01:06:18i was in tv land and so alan yentob who was in charge of bbc one at the time took
01:06:24some persuading but
01:06:25he uh let me do it excellent well the rest as they say is jonathan creek uh you popped in
01:06:32last
01:06:32time to talk about your first well the volume of autobiography dealing with your early years
01:06:37called just ignore him with and with the most heart-rending title really your second one is out
01:06:44now i'm about to grab your paper white male stand-up so we're moving on now to slightly happier years
01:06:49and
01:06:50i mean you that's it is a sort of fairly basic title white male stand-up going back to that
01:06:56was
01:06:56what you are um but so this is the stand-up years is it well it it goes really way
01:07:02up to the present
01:07:03day really but that's um that was the descriptive term for what that what i was and uh and they
01:07:10were
01:07:10very happy at times on the comedy circuit and there are lots of little anecdotes in there from
01:07:16contemporaries of mine like harry hill and lee evans and steve coogan and joe brand and all these
01:07:21people that i met at that time did lots of gigs with and then it goes into jonathan creek and
01:07:28qi and
01:07:29all the things i've done since where i've been very lucky to have these long-running shows but because
01:07:34in the background all the time there's this lugging along this childhood trauma which i sort of thought
01:07:41oh well the future's ahead of me the past is behind me it's all going to be fine and then
01:07:45you get to
01:07:45the future and the past just turns up yeah with you like it's in the car yeah and so you
01:07:50have to
01:07:50try and find a way to manage all that so that's all in there as well didn't you do one
01:07:56at the
01:07:56comedy club in 1999 i think you're talking about doing one you did one there and and and it really
01:08:01put you off doing stand-up well i went down to the comedy store which i love and this is
01:08:05a wonderful
01:08:07brilliant comedy room that all comedians love and i went down i thought i'll just drop in do
01:08:1210 minutes you know always felt comfortable and happy there and i went on stage and people started
01:08:18chatting out things about jonathan creek or the abbey national commercials i was doing back in the time
01:08:22and did i have a perm and was having an affair with my co-star and was and lots and
01:08:28lots of shouting
01:08:29and people that had a drink and i couldn't really all the time i was thinking oh no this is
01:08:37this is my
01:08:38favorite thing the stand-up with the microphone you talk about is it better to be well known it would
01:08:43the the anonymity to go on and they don't know you and then they are amazing or funny is actually
01:08:49really nice and i really loved all the and it had gone and i didn't go back there for 10
01:08:53years gosh i
01:08:54should have gone away to little comedy clubs and worked up an act instead of just thinking
01:08:58i could wander on and wing it so i did i did it i did lose stand-up for a
01:09:03while and i don't think
01:09:04it was good for my mental health i don't think having not having that outlet yeah i thought was a
01:09:10disaster for me really you got it back and you're doing a tour in new zealand and you're touring here
01:09:15as well yes later on in the year yes in september october so the tickets going on sale um imminently
01:09:22and
01:09:22so yeah i toured last year and it was i loved it and the show went really well and the
01:09:27show a lot
01:09:27of the show comes out of that book which i was kind of doing the two at the same time
01:09:31and i love
01:09:33being back on stage and so we're just going around again it's another 20 dates but yeah i'm looking
01:09:39forward to it well jonathan creek might have stopped in in 2016 but qi keeps on going you were in
01:09:46the
01:09:46very first episode of qi yes all the shows i've been there we're doing the alphabet every year
01:09:53it's the letter of the alphabet we're doing x um as we speak short show they've they say they've got
01:10:02a lot of x questions and then y and then zed yeah and i could hardly believe it really that
01:10:08it's
01:10:08gone so long it doesn't seem like a quarter of a century it never does no let's have a look
01:10:14at qi
01:10:16spider pie bats is he regarded as a bit of a looker yeah if yoda had accepted the dark side
01:10:25that's how he would have looked but um that's a very suave looking bat hello
01:10:32would you mind all me if i nipped you on the toe
01:10:37well having a few friends over who uh would like a cure
01:10:42what do they do
01:10:46how do they ingest their blood i mean what do they do
01:10:50um sniff it up swallow it lick it slurp it hide it
01:10:54all right throw it off who do you think you are
01:10:57who do you think you are
01:11:00for a couple of years
01:11:04stephen fry that is really and you can just see how you enjoy riffing off one another i mean that's
01:11:08the capacity you need there isn't it is to be completely just relaxed into it and let it go
01:11:14that's a lovely clip actually and and uh bill and jimmy car were in the first series
01:11:21you know two of the really you can say this now with all the years gone by two of the
01:11:26greats of
01:11:27british comedy you know and you don't really realize at the time what's happening yeah but
01:11:32stephen fry's a living legend of our lives you know who i revere and love dearly and and and see
01:11:38bill and jimmy there like that very very happy memories fit he makes you feel fortunate it also
01:11:43sharpens your game doesn't it you know so if you play tennis with a really good player they say it
01:11:47lifts your own game those two especially if they're going to start talking it's going to be funny
01:11:52yeah and then sandy took over from stephen you know thinking gosh who could possibly and in her
01:11:58own way the same ability to be shy the thing that people perhaps don't really realize is all the work
01:12:05behind the scenes you know the there's a research team who work for months and they create these
01:12:11scripts and all the stuff that's on the cards for the for the host and that's what keeps the show
01:12:17going really and it's all that kind of uncertainty they're the kind of
01:12:20feet beneath the swan while we're on our job as the comedians is to go and slightly spoil it
01:12:28not to do it quite right yeah yeah a near effort um i love the fact that um you were
01:12:35talking about
01:12:35because you've got three children and we got are they teenagers now 16 14 and 10 well done dad
01:12:41they'll be impressed with that and a daughter who is obsessed with agatha christie which loves
01:12:47agatha christie yeah absolutely loves it i mean reads them all and they've got the audio books and
01:12:53i mean i like that that about them you know reading for pleasure and having books in the house it's
01:13:00something that katie and i really value you know katie and wife writes children's books and i've got
01:13:06my memoirs and so we just we just love books and and and i hope that they continue to do
01:13:12that it's
01:13:12hard once they get once they get that the touching stone in their hands and they're doing this all
01:13:17time it's quite hard for them these some of these websites are so addictive and i say to them it's
01:13:22not your fault they're designed to keep you on there but please put it down yeah but you've done a
01:13:28marple she must have been impressed by that well the funny thing about the marple i did which i love
01:13:32doing with jerry mckeon it was it's it was a story called towards zero that agatha christie wrote
01:13:38and marple's not in that so they inserted miss marple into it and created a marple episode
01:13:46and it was fantastic fun i was a inspector and i had a couple of sidekick coppers two young actors
01:13:53who were really funny and we really really enjoyed it we shot it all down in devon i think it's
01:13:58one of
01:13:58those shows that people like if you get the call would you like to be marple yes well um i've
01:14:04got a
01:14:05little clip to show now of mcdonald and dodds because you've now joined the the love your weekend
01:14:10alumni of regulars that we enjoy having and jason watkins is is a regular
01:14:16and a few weeks ago we had sean phillips so i thought we'd haul out mcdonald and dodds
01:14:22yeah and see all three of you together here we are you sergeant dodds are most definitely a north
01:14:29somerset man preponderance of centralized nuclei diphthongs would place you in northwest bath but
01:14:36that post vocalic roticity those elongated vowels leads me to the conclusion that you were born
01:14:43bred and still reside in south twerton
01:14:47my goodness sir that is remarkable dion golden year strikes again um as i was saying sir um i
01:14:57wondered if i might pick your professional linguist brain just a little well i would love to help you
01:15:05sergeant but i'm due to give another one of my talks oh come on spud nobody cares about your george
01:15:11of the
01:15:11jungle adventures help the man i've always brought you up to be a law-abiding citizen within reason
01:15:23i remember that episode we loved mcdonald and dodds and they're not recommissioning it which is
01:15:27tragic real shame now i love doing it although i don't know why i wore that scarf
01:15:33that looked like she got into the wrong part of the costume department but yes sean phillips was
01:15:38amazing and i loved being with her and hearing her and hearing her anecdotes about peter o'toole and
01:15:45any number of people and she always calls him o'toole yeah never calls him peter or peter it's always
01:15:51o'toole you would love to have a sean phillips gene because it's a sharp attack great sense of humor
01:15:57yeah what about your comedy heroes um well i had a big hero of mine was dave allen oh yes
01:16:05but i suppose
01:16:06it's been thinking about jonathan creek one of the thrills for me was having all well three of the
01:16:13main cast of the young ones turning up yeah nigel planer adrian ederson and rick may all appeared in
01:16:22jonathan creek and rick in particular was such a comic hero for my age i was 16 when the young
01:16:29ones
01:16:29came on tv and all of us at school came in the next day saying the lines and also it
01:16:36coincided with
01:16:37getting a vcr for the first time so then you could watch these episodes over and over just for the
01:16:42younger that's a video cassette recorder yeah it predates a tape vinyl if you rented one you had to
01:16:51rewind it which took about 10 minutes yes oh gosh i've forgotten that then take it back to blockbuster
01:16:56the following day yeah always a delight to torture look good luck with the chalk good luck with the
01:17:03book white male stand-up says what it is on the cover yeah lovely to be with you thank you
01:17:08now it's not
01:17:10always possible to get out and about in nature and the british countryside often because of the weather
01:17:16but never fear because we like to bring a slice of the countryside to you at home
01:17:20each week for a moment of calm yep it's time for today's ode to joy
01:17:29so
01:17:40so
01:17:41so
01:17:41so
01:17:55ORGAN PLAYS
01:18:24ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:10ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:11ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:14ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:17ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:20ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:24ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:26ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:26ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:29ORGAN PLAYS
01:19:48Now, from craft distilleries to boutique breweries, female entrepreneurs are carving a space in an industry that's historically been dominated
01:19:58by men.
01:19:59Over the past few years, female ownership and leadership within the alcohol industry has been steadily increasing as more women
01:20:06create and lead beverage brands.
01:20:09And now, a significant share of new alcohol ventures are founded by women.
01:20:14Here to highlight the female spirit and give us rather a delicious selection of beverages while she's at it, welcome
01:20:22drinks expert Becky Paskin.
01:20:24Hi, Ellen.
01:20:25I bet you had fun finding these, didn't you?
01:20:27Do you know what? It makes my life so easy when there are some amazing drinks that we can share
01:20:32with you guys.
01:20:33And the fact that they're female-owned as well is just phenomenal because it's very difficult for women in the
01:20:38UK and the world to raise capital to create their own brand.
01:20:41I think only 2% of venture capital investment actually goes to female-founded businesses.
01:20:46Deborah Meaden's not working hard enough.
01:20:48Well, there's a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes but also in front of them too.
01:20:54So, we've got some amazing drinks for you.
01:20:57We're going to kick off with Mother Roots.
01:20:59So, speaking of a dragon, this one is actually had investment from a dragon, Stephen Bartlett, but it was founded
01:21:06by Bethan Higson.
01:21:07So, this is Mother Roots. It's your first drink here with the pineapple on it.
01:21:11Mother Root is a shrub, essentially, so it's based on apple cider vinegar with ginger root in there, some blossom
01:21:17honey.
01:21:17And I've lengthened it with pineapple juice and some soda water just to make it a really nice, refreshing, lifting
01:21:25drink.
01:21:25But there's a bit of chilli in the ginger which gives it the kick, which makes you think that maybe
01:21:30there's alcohol in there, but there's really not.
01:21:31But you've not put too much in it. That's very pineapply.
01:21:35It's very refreshing.
01:21:37It's very refreshing.
01:21:38That sounds like a sort of...
01:21:40It looks medicinal with the bottle, but it's not.
01:21:42I feel I should have played tennis before I had this. It's that sort of drink, isn't it?
01:21:46Yeah, summery.
01:21:47You feel summery. You feel like you should have got rid of some energy before you down this one.
01:21:52But it's lovely. Very nice. I like it.
01:21:53Great. Yeah.
01:21:54So, does that get the sums up from both of you?
01:21:55Yeah, I love ginger.
01:21:57Yeah.
01:21:57Very nice. We like that.
01:21:58Next, we're coming on to a ready-made drink. So, I haven't really had to do anything here at all.
01:22:03But this is Pimente, which is a ready-to-drink margarita brand.
01:22:07And this is founded by two ladies, Alice Palmetter and Winter Caro.
01:22:12And this is inspired by some of the drinks they had in Mexico, brought them back to the UK, created
01:22:18their own brand.
01:22:18This is the spicy margarita version.
01:22:21Got quite a nose on it.
01:22:22Actually, you could just pour it into your glass, straight from the freezer.
01:22:25That might need some lengthening.
01:22:27Yes.
01:22:28What have you put on the side of the glass?
01:22:30So, on the side here, this is just a sprinkling of tahin, which is a chilli and lime salt brim.
01:22:37So, you can drink from it or not drink from it.
01:22:39It's totally optional.
01:22:41I do recommend you try it, first thing, Alan.
01:22:45Gosh.
01:22:46The thing that surprises you, you don't expect it to be a margarita because it's not coloured like a margarita.
01:22:50It's very light.
01:22:51It's very light, very fresh.
01:22:53It does taste very strong, that.
01:22:54Actually, I think maybe we'll only have a couple of those, Alan.
01:22:57How's the spice level for you in there?
01:22:59The stuff on the side of the glass is pretty good.
01:23:01If you take it from the side, yeah.
01:23:02Yeah.
01:23:03You'll spice it up.
01:23:04No, it's weird.
01:23:05I don't think it's good, but actually, it's quite easy to drink.
01:23:08It's very easy to drink.
01:23:09I'm keeping away from that.
01:23:13It's actually nice.
01:23:14It's like, you know when you normally have the salt, it kind of takes the place of the salt, doesn't
01:23:18it?
01:23:18Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
01:23:19It's something a little bit different.
01:23:20So every time you have a sip, you can sit from the side without or the side with, and it
01:23:24just changes up your experience.
01:23:25What's your alcohol percentage in there, Becky?
01:23:2614.5%.
01:23:29So about average for a margarita.
01:23:31Alan, you look like you're falling off the stool already.
01:23:35I'm an ear too, sweet.
01:23:37It's always refreshing when you find your glass is fuller than your guest glass.
01:23:41If you've been a good host, you know.
01:23:43Okay, right.
01:23:44Well, we're moving swiftly on.
01:23:46Yeah, warm us up, that one.
01:23:47We're actually going to a brand which is close to my heart, being a Brighton girl myself.
01:23:50This is Brighton Gin.
01:23:52This is founded by Cathy Caton, who's a bit of a legend in the spirits industry.
01:23:57Brighton Gin is very much, embodies the spirit of Brighton, so we're very free-thinking and fun-loving down in
01:24:02Brighton, obviously.
01:24:03And this, if I do say so myself, this is made with, the glass from the bottle is actually 100
01:24:11% recycled glass from using Brighton recycled bottles, which is fantastic.
01:24:16Do you know you can taste that?
01:24:18You can taste the glass in the drink.
01:24:21But there's some beautiful orange notes, and there's a very coastal style of gin.
01:24:25What I've done with this is I've paired it with a soda from Double Dutch.
01:24:29This is a pink grapefruit soda, also female-owned, so Joyce and Raisa de Haas.
01:24:33They founded this incredible range of mixers.
01:24:36These are beautiful.
01:24:37And I've created a kind of coastal seaside paloma made with gin.
01:24:41Just a touch of salt in there to bring out some salinity, but essentially lovely, orangey, grapefruity.
01:24:47It is very grapefruity.
01:24:49Yes.
01:24:50Very grapefruity.
01:24:51I mean, it doesn't taste like it's got a lot of alcohol in it.
01:24:53That's always a bit dangerous, isn't it?
01:24:55Yes.
01:24:55So in this serve, I actually put 50ml of gin, so there is a double serve of gin in this
01:25:00drink.
01:25:00So if you can't taste it, then it maybe is quite dangerous.
01:25:02So don't drink one of these before the 10s, Michaela.
01:25:06Yes.
01:25:07Moving on to our fourth drink, and this is where we move into whiskey territory, which is spirit.
01:25:11They're very close to my heart.
01:25:13And this is a newish brand that is called the Heart Cut.
01:25:16This is from a wife and husband duo, so Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leone.
01:25:21They actually founded this at the same time as having twins, which is very brave.
01:25:25They probably needed it.
01:25:26They're very different at the same time, yeah.
01:25:27No doubt.
01:25:29Great wisdom, as it's all.
01:25:30So normally they focus on independent bottlings.
01:25:33So whiskeys, they've sourced them all around the world, and they do small runs of them.
01:25:37But this particular whiskey is their first core whiskey.
01:25:40This is called barley, and it is a blend of English single malt.
01:25:44So five different distilleries have gone in here.
01:25:46Lots of flavours of strawberry and cream, vanilla, marshmallows.
01:25:51So I've created a strawberry and rhubarb old-fashioned, and just garnished it with a toasted marshmallow on the top.
01:26:00That's, yeah, that's quite strong.
01:26:02That's delight.
01:26:03That's love.
01:26:05Yeah, it's quite strong, that.
01:26:06Yeah, no lightening here.
01:26:07It's quite strong, that.
01:26:08I like that one.
01:26:09This is delicious.
01:26:11Yeah, I'm a bit worried about the marshmallow going in Alan's eye.
01:26:14That's my only one.
01:26:15Take mine off.
01:26:19Tell me if I've got a marshmallow stuck in my eye, won't you?
01:26:24Well, Michaela, if you thought that one was strong, then we're moving into neat whiskey now.
01:26:29So this is our fifth.
01:26:31And actually, this is one of my favorite whiskeys at the moment.
01:26:34This is called Nick Nian.
01:26:36This is up on the west coast of Scotland, and it's founded by a lady called Annabel Thomas.
01:26:41So she left her job working in the city in London to start a distillery on her family's farm
01:26:46and created this beautiful organic single malt.
01:26:50They have sustainability at their heart.
01:26:52This is also made from 100% recycled bottles, lots of flavours of peach stone, apricots, just maltiness.
01:27:00I just find it so fruity, so delicious, such a heartwarming, beautiful dram.
01:27:05That is your last swig before you hit the pillow, isn't it?
01:27:08Wow.
01:27:10That's a late-night snifter, that.
01:27:12It's gorgeous.
01:27:14Oh, yes.
01:27:14It's very nice.
01:27:15Yeah.
01:27:15Yeah.
01:27:15Well, and you're leaning more and more on the bar.
01:27:17Look at that.
01:27:18You know, some of those Scotch whiskeys, they taste a bit weird in a good way.
01:27:22They taste a little bit antiseptic, some of them.
01:27:24It's one of those ones.
01:27:25That's probably the peat.
01:27:27So actually only about 10% of Scotch whisky is peated, so it's only a small amount.
01:27:31This one doesn't have any peat in it, so it's unpeated single malt whisky.
01:27:36What I would say is if you're not too sure about the strength of whisky in sipping this
01:27:40neat, I think this is 46% ABV.
01:27:43So if you wanted to, you could add some water or add a cube of ice.
01:27:47I think this one.
01:27:48You like the grapefruit one?
01:27:49Yes, I like the grapefruit one.
01:27:51Yeah.
01:27:51Alan, do you have a favourite?
01:27:52I like the margarita.
01:27:54It's really nice.
01:27:55That's it.
01:27:55Thanks to all my guests today, to Michaela, Alan, Annabelle and Cliff.
01:27:59And of course, to Becky, to rounding off a very verbose programme, which I suspect in
01:28:05the next hour or so is going to get even more verbose.
01:28:07Joining me, if I could say the word, it'd be good, wouldn't it?
01:28:10Joining me next week for Mothering Sunday, Queen of Crime, Linda Laplante and Wild Cherry
01:28:15star, James Murray.
01:28:17Pleasure's Family Farms next, but I'll leave you with some meaningful words from Marlon Brando,
01:28:21no less.
01:28:22Regret is useless in life.
01:28:24It's because I've got a cold that I can do Marlon Brando.
01:28:27It's in the past.
01:28:29All we have is now.
01:28:31How terribly profound.
01:28:33You have a few glasses of this to come up with something like that.
01:28:35Now, though, I'm feeling very content.
01:28:37Happy 60th.
01:28:38Cheers.
01:28:39Cheers.
01:28:39Happy birthday.
01:28:41Happy birthday.
01:28:41Happy birthday.
01:28:43Happy birthday.
01:28:44Happy birthday.
01:28:45Happy birthday.
01:28:58Happy birthday.
01:29:00Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
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