Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh - Season 8 - Episode 12 - video Dailymotion

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Watch Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh - Season 8 - Episode 12 - Showtimes on Dailymotion

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00:00:01I know, you couldn't tell them, could you? You know, you try. No, morning. Yes, just casually hanging out with

00:00:08my llama friends. Meet Indigo and Barnaby, stars of the silver screen and recently seen taking centre stage in Richard

00:00:16Osman's Thursday Murder Club. They'll be spilling the beans on their stardom later. It's time for Love Your Weekend. Come

00:00:24on then. So, what was Pierce Brosnan really like?

00:00:56Love Your Weekend

00:01:04Go on. Breathe it in. That crisp, fresh spring air with a tang to it. The fields are stirring, the

00:01:14buds are bursting, and everywhere you look, the British countryside is waking up around you.

00:01:21However you measure it, spring has officially arrived. Thanks to the equinox on Friday, we now get more than 12

00:01:28glorious hours of daylight a day.

00:01:31As the late, great Robin Williams once said, spring is nature's way of saying, let's party.

00:01:37And here on the farm, we know the way to celebrate. Coming up, she made Head's Turn in the hit

00:01:43drama Cutting It back in 2002, and she's been making Head's Turn ever since.

00:01:48Sarah Parrish on teaming up with Rupert Penry Jones for her latest theatrical foray, and he's led a rock and

00:01:55roll life.

00:01:56Peter André, currently celebrating 30 years since his big breakout and back with a brand new album.

00:02:03And whether you're a houseplant addict or completely devoid of any greenhouse mates, houseplant expert Claire Lowry returns to the

00:02:11farm with her top houseplant first aid tips for your indoor greenery.

00:02:16And they already have an abundance of humps, but now they're adding stripes into the mix.

00:02:23We visit friend of the show, Daisy Fawcett, in Warwickshire, to see how some new arrivals at the family farm

00:02:29are overshadowing the camels.

00:02:36But first, the stage is set for today's guests.

00:02:40First lady of this parish, local Hampshireite and Manor Farm favourite, Sarah Parrish.

00:02:45And with a man who's been entertaining us for 30 years, unbelievably, with his genial personality and natural native charm.

00:02:54Welcome to Peter André.

00:02:55How do you find something in common between an Australian and someone who lives in Hampshire?

00:03:00And the answer is, unbelievably, Somerset.

00:03:02Yes.

00:03:03That's right.

00:03:04Australian, but Somerset now.

00:03:06Yeah, Somerset.

00:03:06So, I mean, my wife's family are all from Somerset, Taunton.

00:03:12And actually, my wife's father is a urologist, and he operated on my kidney.

00:03:17And that's how I eventually met my wife.

00:03:20I thought we were getting into the realms of oversharing.

00:03:23You were.

00:03:23I see why now.

00:03:24You were, because actually, had he known then what he knows now, he might have done a different operation.

00:03:30We, we, I love Somerset.

00:03:32I love that whole area.

00:03:33Isn't it lovely?

00:03:34I love it so much.

00:03:35And whenever we want to escape, that's where we go.

00:03:38But, you know, it's becoming very popular now, Somerset.

00:03:41Yeah, for lots and lots of people moving there.

00:03:43I can't leave the fact that you said, so he did the operation.

00:03:47Yes.

00:03:48And then you married his daughter.

00:03:49Yeah.

00:03:50You know when you wake up from the operating, in the operating theatre, and they have that big bright light,

00:03:54and he was standing in front of it, looking down to see if I was right.

00:03:57And I, honestly, I thought it was Jesus.

00:03:59I, I just, I just didn't know where I was.

00:04:02We became really good friends with his family for two years, and two years later, we were all together.

00:04:08And I literally realised I had feelings, and I thought, what do I do?

00:04:13What do I say?

00:04:14And I asked his permission if I could ask Emily for a date, and we did, and we went for

00:04:19a date, and that was that.

00:04:20Oh, that's so romantic.

00:04:21We're married ten years now.

00:04:23Gosh.

00:04:23Goodness me.

00:04:24Yeah.

00:04:25What a lovely story.

00:04:26Yes, what a nice boy.

00:04:27Yeah.

00:04:27Well, he's a, he's a good man, and we're still best friends.

00:04:31Well, with her whole family, they're lovely.

00:04:33So, Sarah, which operation did you have to meet Jimmy?

00:04:36Yes, I didn't, unfortunately.

00:04:39But no, Somerset, it is a lovely, lovely place.

00:04:41I, I mean, I don't very often go down there now.

00:04:44Obviously, both my parents have passed, but when I do go down, it's that sort of very lovely nostalgia.

00:04:52There's a smell about Somerset.

00:04:54There's something about it that calls me back.

00:04:56How long were you there?

00:04:58I lived there for 18 years.

00:05:00Oh, sure.

00:05:00Yeah, and then moved up to London after that.

00:05:03But I've got such fond memories of Somerset.

00:05:05It's a beautiful place.

00:05:06But also, I'm delighted that you both at least show an interest in gardening.

00:05:09I mean, I've either got to take an interest in it or just, you know, get somebody else to do

00:05:14it.

00:05:14But also mum and dad are from Cyprus originally and I bought land there maybe 20, 25 years ago and

00:05:21I built a house there and I, my gardens there are my pride and joy.

00:05:26And I only noticed it when dad first, dad designed it and he put all the trees in their place.

00:05:31And I used to say to dad, yeah, this is all great, but what do I know about this stuff?

00:05:35And he said, just wait.

00:05:36And now 20 years later, I go there and I can't wait to just, that's where my real pride and

00:05:42joy.

00:05:42Now, Sarah, I remember you having a veg patch.

00:05:45I did when I lived not far from here, actually.

00:05:48I had a big veg patch.

00:05:50It was great.

00:05:50I loved it.

00:05:51And we grew all our own veg.

00:05:53We had chickens and, you know, they would, oh, it was just great.

00:05:57It was lovely.

00:05:58Now, Jim and I are too busy for the veg patch, unfortunately.

00:06:01So we have brought a gardener in, which I feel very embarrassed in front of you to say.

00:06:05That's all right.

00:06:05No, don't do that because it just supports the industry.

00:06:08Exactly, exactly.

00:06:08That's fine.

00:06:09But no, I loved it.

00:06:10I love doing my veg patch and I love pottering about in the garden.

00:06:13It's just lovely.

00:06:14It's intriguing to have an actor and, you know, well, an actor but also a musician because

00:06:19I've noticed when I've been sort of keeping an eye on what's going on, you've both actually

00:06:23done crossover because Peter's done some acting and you've done some singing.

00:06:27And in McDonald and Dodds, there was an unforgettable moment where Sarah Parrish became Tina Turner.

00:06:35Oh.

00:06:36You're simply the best

00:06:56So what's singing, simply the best, on camera, fun or absolutely mortifying?

00:07:02It was, it was incredibly embarrassing having to do that because I'm not a singer and she's

00:07:08not supposed to be a singer.

00:07:10I mean, she isn't supposed to be a singer, but it was so, it was so much fun doing it.

00:07:14I loved it.

00:07:15But no, you can say I won't be doing any musicals in the future.

00:07:19I bet you could absolutely do that.

00:07:21That was the character you were playing.

00:07:24Yeah, it was fun.

00:07:25It was really good fun to do.

00:07:26Would you fancy a new backing singer?

00:07:28Well, by the sounds of it, I'm going to have to be...

00:07:32Well, I've done it to you, so I've really got to do it to Peter as well.

00:07:35So shall we have a look at your acting class?

00:07:37Oh, yes, let's have a look.

00:07:37Well, this might have been my favourite, depending where you're going.

00:07:40We're going to football as wives.

00:07:42That was, that was, like you, that was the one I just wish had never seen the light of

00:07:47Let's see.

00:07:47Let's have a look at it.

00:07:48Here we go.

00:07:51Peter, darling.

00:07:55Hey, Don, you must be out.

00:07:57How are you going?

00:07:58Good.

00:07:59I'm a little confused, though, because my agent said something about Conrad, and you had

00:08:03a business proposition for me at some point.

00:08:05Conrad?

00:08:07Typical agent, say.

00:08:09No, it's just me, sweetheart.

00:08:11But why don't we talk shop over dinner?

00:08:13Right.

00:08:14Champagne?

00:08:15Yeah, all right.

00:08:17You see, the thing about a collaboration is there's got to be some sort of connection,

00:08:22you know?

00:08:24Spiritual.

00:08:25Well, that's why I think we could do it, because, well, I'm very spiritual, Peter.

00:08:32And I think Hal looks so complimentary.

00:08:34I could be your mysterious girl.

00:08:37Yeah, you could.

00:08:38A rather gruff and frustrated version of yourself, I feel there, Peter, very much wondering what

00:08:44she was going to say next.

00:08:47Yes.

00:08:47Were you the footballer or the wife?

00:08:49Well, I don't know what I was, but I just, it was one of those where I, because it was

00:08:55one of the first things I'd done, like 20, that was like 20-something years ago.

00:08:58Yeah.

00:08:59And I remember sitting next to my cousin, and he said, have you done acting before?

00:09:02I said, well, I studied it as a kid, but I've been doing music for 20 years.

00:09:06Yeah.

00:09:06And he said, yeah, just stick to music.

00:09:08I remember him saying that.

00:09:09And then, of course, since then, I've done film, but that was 20 years ago.

00:09:13I thought it was pretty good.

00:09:14No, that was shocking.

00:09:15Did you?

00:09:15Yeah.

00:09:16Thank you very much.

00:09:18Thanks for embarrassing us.

00:09:19That's all right.

00:09:20Well, I thought we had to do it both ways, really.

00:09:22That was great.

00:09:23The thing they always say, they always call the filming business hurry up and wait.

00:09:26In other words, you've got your, and then it's ages.

00:09:30What do you both do?

00:09:32Do you play games?

00:09:33Do you embroider?

00:09:34Or what, Sarah, what do you do to fill those borings up?

00:09:37Gosh, all sorts, really.

00:09:39I mean, I always have a book on set so I can read.

00:09:42Obviously, I run a charity as well as acting, so if there's any emails to do, I've got my computer

00:09:46with me.

00:09:47I can, you know, shoot off some emails, things like that.

00:09:50But, yeah, generally, I try not to get on my phone all the time, because all actors now,

00:09:55we've all got our phones, and we just...

00:09:57And in the olden days, you'd all sit and chat to each other, which was great.

00:10:00You got to know the crew, you got to know everyone, and that doesn't happen so much now,

00:10:03so I try not to take my phone on set.

00:10:05Of course, you're instantly isolated, aren't you, at the moment you're doing it?

00:10:08Yeah, yeah.

00:10:09Peter, what do you do?

00:10:11Well, so I've been with the same manager for 30 years, and I remember at the start,

00:10:16when things were really going well on the music front, she said,

00:10:19oh, I'm going to get you into presenting.

00:10:20And I said, but why would I want to do presenting?

00:10:22I want to do music.

00:10:23And she said, because there'll come a time when the music will slow down,

00:10:26and you need to have all these different avenues.

00:10:28So the benefit of that was I get to do loads of different things,

00:10:31but the downside of that is there's never downtime.

00:10:36Obviously, I'm very grateful for it, but it just...

00:10:38My brain's constantly going, I need to do something else.

00:10:41I can't sit still.

00:10:44So I don't really...

00:10:46The downtime is when we all, as a family, go somewhere.

00:10:50That's the only time.

00:10:51But apart from that, I'm just constantly thinking, what's next?

00:10:54What do I do next?

00:10:55What do I do?

00:10:56More coming up from Sarah and Pete a little bit later.

00:10:59Now, pull up a hay bale and grab yourself a caramel slice.

00:11:02Still ahead, adequate light, sufficient water, and a strong root system.

00:11:06It's a houseplants rescue.

00:11:08Claire Lowry and the houseplant hacks to help revive your leafy favourites.

00:11:13Just in time for summer.

00:11:15Also coming up, long eyelashes, banana-shaped ears,

00:11:19upturned mouths and stocky bodies.

00:11:21We'll be catching up with our movie star llamas,

00:11:24currently taking the spotlight over in Paddock 2.

00:11:27I'll see you with our llamas and more,

00:11:29right after I've invited Peter to indulge himself with a fond and fancy overcoat.

00:11:34Sorry about that.

00:11:35Already?

00:11:36I should have waited for my cue.

00:11:37I should have waited for my cue.

00:11:40Look at that.

00:11:41That's a fond and fancy and a half, isn't it, really?

00:11:46Help yourself.

00:11:47Sarah, do you want to be the Battenberg?

00:11:48I will have a Battenberg, actually.

00:11:50Lovely.

00:11:50Look at that.

00:12:06There's an old country saying, told to me, by Percy Thrower, no less.

00:12:12March dust worth a pound a peck, meaning that a dry spell and a good covering of blue sky right

00:12:20now can mean great things for the season ahead.

00:12:22After the wettest start to the year on record, a few days of settled weather isn't just a good omen

00:12:29for growers, it's a real spirit lifter, isn't it?

00:12:31You just feel a whole lot better.

00:12:32Your shoulders come down.

00:12:33And we've lots to lift the spirits and lower your shoulders on today's show, including a man who oozes natural

00:12:40charisma, likability, and boasts a large fan base.

00:12:45No one likes a show off, Peter.

00:12:46Peter Andre, sharing the stories and the songs from the illustrious 30-year career.

00:12:52And forget the Cocteau Twins, remember them.

00:12:56Today we bring you the Cocktail Twins.

00:12:58They're not twins, but never let facts get in the way of a good title.

00:13:02Master mixologists Hannah and Siobhan make their Manor Farm debut with some citrusy sippers in this week's Master British.

00:13:11Now, we've welcomed a cacophony of animals to our paddocks in recent years, all enriching our understanding of the great

00:13:18British countryside.

00:13:19Today's visitors may be less recognisable than some we've met, but these herbivores certainly rival any when it comes to

00:13:28personality.

00:13:29A South American relative of the camel, llamas were first brought here in Victorian times as zoo attractions.

00:13:37Today, they're predominantly kept as pets, but some owners do specialise in breeding and offer llama experiences, trekking through the

00:13:47English countryside.

00:13:48It's exactly what Sarah Brown from Katanga Llamas in Northampton she does.

00:13:53She joins me now with Indigo and Barnaby.

00:13:58It's very interesting.

00:13:59Normally, all animals present their bottom to camera.

00:14:02We've got half of tail here.

00:14:04We've got half and half.

00:14:05Sarah, let's clear this up first of all.

00:14:07Difference between a llama and an alpaca.

00:14:09What is it?

00:14:09Alpacas are half the size.

00:14:12Yeah.

00:14:12They're slightly more timid.

00:14:14They're not as outgoing and, you know, confident as llamas.

00:14:18And they're predominantly a fibre and meat producer in South America, whereas the llama is the all-round utility animal.

00:14:24So, pack llama.

00:14:26They do use their fleece as well.

00:14:28And they use their dung for heating and cooking.

00:14:31They're just the all-rounder, basically.

00:14:33They've never ridden, are they?

00:14:34But they're beasts of burden.

00:14:35They carry stuff.

00:14:37Yeah.

00:14:37So, they can carry up to about 25 kilos.

00:14:39So, they trade with other communities around the Andes.

00:14:42I'm going to say, look.

00:14:43This is Indigo.

00:14:44Who you met last time.

00:14:45Hello, Indigo.

00:14:46I've met you before.

00:14:47Do you know they're beautifully soft?

00:14:48And you stroke them gloriously.

00:14:50And I love this hum.

00:14:52You're very handsome, aren't you?

00:14:54He is.

00:14:55Mmm.

00:14:57This is Indigo.

00:14:58That's Barnaby.

00:14:58Ages here, Sarah.

00:14:59So, Indigo is 17 and Barnaby is 16 this summer.

00:15:04And how long can they live?

00:15:05Late teens, early 20s.

00:15:07Yeah.

00:15:07I mean, we've got a 23-year-old at the minute and his grandfather lived to be nearly 27.

00:15:11Graciously.

00:15:12Yeah, really.

00:15:13If you look after them, they can go into their 20s.

00:15:15But average is about 18, I'd say.

00:15:17And people come to you to go trekking.

00:15:19Yes.

00:15:20Long country walks with a llama carrying your bag.

00:15:22Yes.

00:15:23So, we do an on-farm trek and a half-day experience where we go cross-country.

00:15:27Because we've got 20-acre woodland at the farm.

00:15:30And they're just really, you know, confident companions to trek with.

00:15:34They have a reputation, even as all llamas, they spit, don't they?

00:15:37They do have a bad reputation for it, but it is just a bad reputation.

00:15:41They do spit, but they should never, ever spit at people.

00:15:44And it's because of a lot of petting zoos and places where they're prodded and poked all day and quite,

00:15:49you know, stressed.

00:15:50But they have the most wonderful eyes and eyelashes that most women would kill for, you know.

00:15:56You're getting hungry.

00:15:56But they're a large, they're a broad animal, aren't they?

00:15:59It's quite a broad back.

00:16:00Hence the beast of burden bit.

00:16:02They are, but actually, under all of that fibre, it's quite a small body, really.

00:16:07Yeah, they look bigger than they actually are, but they, yeah, you can carry...

00:16:11Excuse me while I do this, won't you?

00:16:12Yes.

00:16:13It is very dense.

00:16:15It's up to there.

00:16:16Yeah.

00:16:16Yeah, look at that, really.

00:16:19There's loads of it there.

00:16:20Yeah.

00:16:21It's really, very extremely deep.

00:16:23Quite coarse.

00:16:24Is it coarser than alpaca?

00:16:26Yeah, so alpacas just have one coat, which is all down hair.

00:16:30Llamas have a double coat, so they have down hair next to their skin,

00:16:33and then they have this outer layer of guard hair, which protects the down hair.

00:16:37The neck is particularly soft.

00:16:39Yes.

00:16:39How long have you been working with them?

00:16:4113 years now.

00:16:42Gosh.

00:16:43Yeah.

00:16:43And you'd rather be with them than pigs, sheep and cows?

00:16:46Well, I used to be a pig farmer.

00:16:47Did you?

00:16:48Yeah.

00:16:48What a difference.

00:16:49Yeah, yeah, so I have, I used to be a pig farmer, and then I've gone to llamas.

00:16:52It's a lot less stressful.

00:16:54They have one baby.

00:16:55Yeah, right, so they're one baby, generally speaking, when?

00:16:59So we're coming up to the crea season now.

00:17:02The young are called creas.

00:17:04Yes, so we're due our first in April.

00:17:07So they're induced ovulators, so they don't have a season,

00:17:11so they can actually get pregnant any time of the year.

00:17:13So we breed them spring, summer, for a spring, summer baby the following year.

00:17:17So the climate's much better for them.

00:17:19Yeah, because it's an 11 and a half month gestation, so it's a long time.

00:17:22Yeah.

00:17:23Wonderful.

00:17:23Now, they've got this ability, because they're from the Andes, to cope with high altitude.

00:17:28Yes.

00:17:29I gather.

00:17:30They're particularly adapted to that then, presumably.

00:17:32Yeah, their blood corpuscles are elongated, so they take in more oxygen, so they can be

00:17:36at such higher altitudes than us.

00:17:38They actually donated blood for cancer research years ago, because they were studying, you

00:17:44know, because they fight off viruses and infection a lot more than we can because of that.

00:17:48So they actually donated blood to cancer research because of that.

00:17:52So if somebody wants to keep llamas, as you say, more often it is alpacas, but what do they

00:17:57need in terms of accommodation?

00:17:59As long as they've got the right amount of grazing and field shelter or barn for them to come

00:18:04in.

00:18:05Well, if you're having just a few llamas, you'd need at least an acre or two, and you'd

00:18:10need to be able to split the paddock so that you can rest the fields.

00:18:15Wonderful.

00:18:16You're a sweetheart, aren't you, really?

00:18:18They're also television stars, aren't they?

00:18:20They are, yeah.

00:18:20Both of these are, actually.

00:18:21What have they been on?

00:18:22Come on, give us your CV.

00:18:25So, I mean, they've done lots, but more recently.

00:18:27Apart from Indigo being on Love Your Weekend, which, of course, is top of the list.

00:18:31They recently did the filming for the Thursday Murder Club on Netflix, which aired at the end

00:18:36of last year.

00:18:37So Indigo and Barnaby went and did that.

00:18:39And then Barnaby has actually just done something else for Netflix, but we're not allowed to say.

00:18:45Yeah, and that comes out at the end of this year.

00:18:47Right.

00:18:48But, yeah, that's quite a big one as well.

00:18:49When they come back, do you notice them being particularly starry?

00:18:52Oh, yeah, he's a terrible diva now.

00:18:55Look, I mean, I'm not standing still.

00:18:57I'm just going to strut me stuff.

00:18:59He's gone straight to his head.

00:19:00Are they always the same colour?

00:19:01We've got here really quite dark legs.

00:19:02No, these two are very similar.

00:19:04Yeah.

00:19:04They have got the same dad but different mums, but you could put two white llamas together

00:19:08and get a brown.

00:19:09It's very random.

00:19:10So, yeah, you have no idea.

00:19:13We've got spotty ones, pure white ones, brown and white, you know, it really varies in colour.

00:19:18How many are you looking after?

00:19:20I think we've got about 38 at the minute.

00:19:22We've got three babies due.

00:19:24Now, diet, I mean, clearly they graze.

00:19:26Do they browse as well?

00:19:28Yes, they're browsers rather than grazers, actually.

00:19:30So, obviously, if there was hedges and trees, they'd be straight in there.

00:19:34But they're continuous grazers and then they obviously ruminance, so they do have to eventually

00:19:39stop grazing and chew the cud.

00:19:41Right.

00:19:41But, yeah, grass and hay ad-lib, but they are grazers, so they do...

00:19:46And supplementary feeding during the winter?

00:19:48The older geriatrics we give extra feeding for and, obviously, the pregnant mummies and

00:19:56the youngsters.

00:19:57But these trekking boys are really hardy.

00:19:59So, in South America, they'd have really sparse vegetation.

00:20:02So, actually, they can get too fat in this country, so you do have to watch their weight.

00:20:07They are really hardy because they're from the Andes.

00:20:10And presumably winter cold means nothing to them with a coat this thick.

00:20:13Do you use them as sort of therapy animals as well?

00:20:17Because a lot of animals now, horses, dogs particularly, are used for therapy.

00:20:21Yeah, we do have lots of groups come with various special needs.

00:20:25We've had blind groups and, you know, all sorts.

00:20:28And I think also being head level with a calm animal that's not intimidating gives a lot

00:20:35of people confidence.

00:20:36We have a lot of children come as well, so they're all around us.

00:20:40It is interesting because, as you say, when you're in close proximity with this glorious

00:20:44head and these glorious eyes and that little hum...

00:20:49They call it llama karma.

00:20:50It is the hum, certainly calming llama.

00:20:54Yeah.

00:20:55They're lovely.

00:20:55Bless you.

00:20:56Thank you very much for bringing them in.

00:20:57You're welcome.

00:20:57Indigo, nice to have you back.

00:20:59Glad you've made such a fuss of me.

00:21:02And Barnaby, you too.

00:21:03And we look forward to your appearance on the top secret Netflix drama, whatever it is,

00:21:11come the end of the year.

00:21:12But lovely to be...

00:21:12I could just stand and gaze at these all day, you know.

00:21:16I love that.

00:21:17And you're very calm.

00:21:18I know.

00:21:18And you're very beautiful.

00:21:21And I think you know that.

00:21:23Always back.

00:21:24Is that a good thing or not?

00:21:26I'm not sure about that.

00:21:27He's eyeing you up.

00:21:28I'm backing off now.

00:21:28OK.

00:21:28You've got my number.

00:21:30Thank you, sir.

00:21:31Thank you, Indigo.

00:21:33Thank you, Barnaby.

00:21:34Coming up, ahead of their retirement, we catch up with the zebras, currently residing at one

00:21:40Warwickshire farm.

00:21:41And it was the year they cloned Dolly the sheep.

00:21:44The Euros ended in disappointment, and the Macarena went viral.

00:21:49Do you remember that?

00:21:50Mmm, I can't remember.

00:21:52Yes.

00:21:52Enough fella, thank you.

00:21:53But to his adoring fans, the biggest revelation of 1996 was this.

00:21:58Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

00:22:01No, no.

00:22:01Peter Andre talks 30 years since the UK release of that song.

00:22:06And much more right after this.

00:22:09Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

00:22:13Mysterious girl, move your body close to my...

00:22:23Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

00:22:25Still aired, she's arguably the doyen of alpha female roles, having starred in hits like Bancroft,

00:22:32Broadchurch and my favourite W1A.

00:22:35Hampshire local Sarah Parrish on cornering the market in TV baddies.

00:22:39And she's so nice in real life.

00:22:42Also coming up, how your trash is nature's treasure.

00:22:45TV carpenter Wayne Perry brings us everything that's great about the green, brown and the beautiful world of compost bins.

00:22:53Oh, the glamour of telly.

00:22:54Now, my next guest is a bona fide household name, who for 30 years has toured his way around the

00:23:01world,

00:23:01and along the way, he's also picked up a rather successful TV career.

00:23:06But it's music that will always be his home, as he's about to release his most personal album yet,

00:23:11his 11th studio album, to be precise.

00:23:15Before we say hello or g'day, let's take an astounding trip back to the 90s.

00:23:21If you're down, throw your hands up in the air, to match back with a flavor of the air.

00:23:26Here we go, there's a party over here.

00:23:29Oh, yeah, it's coming to the end.

00:23:30Slay me down, throw your hands up in the air, to match back with a flavor of the air.

00:23:35That's right, I'm kicking you a flavor.

00:23:45Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, mysterious girl, I wanna get close to you.

00:24:08Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, mysterious girl, move your body close to mine.

00:24:19Close to mine.

00:24:19I mean, be honest, Peter Andre, you never ate, did you?

00:24:23You just did not eat anything.

00:24:25You know, you just spent your life in the gym.

00:24:27Well, you do, you really think it's an interesting thing.

00:24:30Back then, I used to train to try and look a certain way.

00:24:34Now, I train to feel a certain way, and there's a big difference in that.

00:24:37Well, your baggy trousers aren't quite...

00:24:39Well, I mean, who wears jeans in a waterfall?

00:24:43I still sometimes see that video and think,

00:24:45why didn't anyone say, can you take your jeans off?

00:24:48Probably better I didn't, actually, thinking about it.

00:24:51Yeah, they were good days.

00:24:53They were good days, as much as I can remember.

00:24:55A lot of it's a bit of a blur now, but great times.

00:24:58The 11th album, Legacy, with old hits, new stuff,

00:25:03you write as well as perform.

00:25:05But you've had a chance to sort of revisit the old things,

00:25:08re-orchestrate them, you know, and use Friends on the album too.

00:25:11Yeah, so basically, the first song I wrote, I was 13,

00:25:14I was riding my bike home from school, and I wrote it.

00:25:19The whole thing really quickly ran home,

00:25:21said to my brother Chris, who is an incredible musician,

00:25:24what song is this?

00:25:25And he said, well, it might be yours.

00:25:27And I said, what do you mean?

00:25:28He said, well, you've probably just written a song.

00:25:30And I didn't know I could do that back then.

00:25:32So that was it, the obsession started.

00:25:35And some of the songs on the first album,

00:25:37we're talking 11 albums ago,

00:25:39was songs that I'd written when I was that young,

00:25:42and I eventually got to record them.

00:25:43And it was this summer, 30 years ago,

00:25:45that Mysterious Girl became a worldwide hit.

00:25:47So I thought, why don't I do something to celebrate that,

00:25:51revisiting some of those old songs,

00:25:53and then writing some new songs, and that's what we did.

00:25:56Who are we heroes?

00:25:58Who are your heroes?

00:25:59I mean, looking back, and you've met a few of them, I guess.

00:26:01Yeah, well, I was six years old

00:26:03when I first heard Off the Wall album, Michael Jackson,

00:26:07and I remember it being this unbelievable sound,

00:26:10because it was all Quincy Jones production, wasn't it?

00:26:12And I remember playing it at home on a record player,

00:26:16and my dad walked in in his strong Greek accent,

00:26:18and he said,

00:26:20who is this woman singing?

00:26:22And I said, Dad, what do you mean?

00:26:24This is Michael Jackson.

00:26:25This is the greatest singer of all time.

00:26:26And he said,

00:26:28wait.

00:26:29And he went and he got this record of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin,

00:26:33and he said this, listen to this.

00:26:35And back then I didn't appreciate it,

00:26:38because I was into what I liked.

00:26:39And, you know, the songs were great.

00:26:41Michael Jackson's, of course, music was incredible.

00:26:43But I grew up understanding what my father listened to

00:26:46and what my brothers listened to.

00:26:47So I had a lot of heroes.

00:26:49But you're also, you know, utilising now the music of Frankie Valli.

00:26:53Frankie Valli.

00:26:54Frankie Valli in the Four Seasons.

00:26:56I mean, my daughters, when we took them to see the Jersey Boys,

00:26:59you know, they said,

00:27:00but we didn't know those songs came from that long ago.

00:27:02They knew the songs so well.

00:27:04Yeah.

00:27:04They were from discos and things like that.

00:27:05But Frankie Valli, you've also been enjoying that.

00:27:07I am.

00:27:08And when I first got approached to do it,

00:27:10I remember saying to the producer,

00:27:11that's really kind of you,

00:27:13but I don't really know any Frankie Valli songs.

00:27:14And he said, yes, you do.

00:27:15Yes, you do.

00:27:17And I realised that when we were kids on the Gold Coast,

00:27:20that the speakers, they used to have speakers on the beaches

00:27:22and they used to play local radio stations,

00:27:25used to play music.

00:27:26I always thought it was the Beach Boys,

00:27:28and some of them were.

00:27:29But what I didn't realise was a lot of those songs

00:27:32embedded in our childhood were Frankie Valli.

00:27:34So it was a real honour to take that on.

00:27:36Yeah.

00:27:37You've done various genres over the years.

00:27:40The people you've encompassed within your act

00:27:44also were encompassing people like Jack Sparrow.

00:27:47And I can never forget this scene...

00:27:50I know what you're talking about.

00:27:51...from Strictly Come Dancing,

00:27:53when Peter Andre suddenly descended.

00:28:25There you are.

00:28:26You're best Jack Sparrow.

00:28:27You're best Johnny Depp.

00:28:28There's Janet Menrara there.

00:28:29Wow, Janet Menrara.

00:28:30That music.

00:28:31I mean, you only have to hear that, don't you?

00:28:33And you all feel you could dance like that.

00:28:34Well, it's such powerful music.

00:28:37That was, I have to be honest,

00:28:39of all the TVs I've ever done,

00:28:41Strictly was the scariest experience I've ever had in my life

00:28:44because you're being judged by real dancers.

00:28:47You're not being judged by, you know, celebrities.

00:28:50You are being judged by people who know their craft.

00:28:53And when they tell you your foot's wrong, your foot's wrong.

00:28:56So you try so hard to do it properly.

00:28:59And it's really scary.

00:29:01Really scary, but very rewarding as well.

00:29:04You get to do different things with different people

00:29:06and different skills.

00:29:07I mean, Jeanette, they're a brilliant dancer,

00:29:08but it's very intriguing.

00:29:10Watching Jill Scott with you doing Mysterious Girl

00:29:15in a league of their own.

00:29:16Here we are.

00:29:18You know, I said earlier that we hadn't booked Peter Andre

00:29:20to come out and sing with you.

00:29:22I was lying.

00:29:23It wouldn't be a league of their own

00:29:25without making dreams come true.

00:29:27It is time, Jill Scott, for your duet

00:29:29with Mr. Peter Andre!

00:29:31All right!

00:29:31Yes!

00:29:37Go, Jill!

00:29:40Come on, Jill.

00:29:41I want you to sing it with me.

00:29:43You promised me a word.

00:29:49Mysterious Girl

00:29:49Move your body close to mind

00:29:52Are you going to do the rap?

00:29:54Here we go.

00:29:55Well, I've been taking my day

00:29:57for hoping you call my time.

00:30:10¡Suscríbete al canal!

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00:35:01Courtesy of you at home, it's time for Walk on the Wild Side.

00:35:31Walk on the Wild Side.

00:36:01Walk on the Wild Side.

00:36:45Oh, thank you for all your wonderful pictures there.

00:36:48Please do keep sending them in.

00:36:50It's a very special part of this programme.

00:36:52Still ahead.

00:36:53If you think your houseplants need some CPR, that's care, pruning and refreshing,

00:36:58houseplant guru Claire Lowry has it covered.

00:37:01How to repot, rescue and revive your plants.

00:37:04Coming up, I'll show you.

00:37:19There really is no season like spring.

00:37:23And as our gardens wake from their winter sleep, it's no wonder that displays of our early risers

00:37:30can put a smile on anyone's face, as we hope we will today.

00:37:34Coming up, spoilt, psychopathic, salt of the earth.

00:37:38She's led a variety of characters.

00:37:40Sarah Parrish on mixing it up when it comes to choosing her roles.

00:37:44But first, it's time for your voice of nature.

00:37:47Today, it's the turn of Patience stars Ella Mae Purvis and Nathan Welsh with Hope by Edith Nesbitt.

00:38:04Oh, thrush, is it true?

00:38:06Your song tells of a world born anew,

00:38:09of fields gold with buttercups,

00:38:12woodlands all blue with hyacinth bells.

00:38:14Of primroses deep in the moss of the lane,

00:38:17of a princess asleep and dear magic to do.

00:38:21Will the sun wake the princess?

00:38:23Oh, thrush, is it true?

00:38:25Will spring come again?

00:38:26Will spring come again?

00:38:28Now at last, with soft shine and rain,

00:38:31will the violet be sweet where the dead leaves have lain?

00:38:35Will winter be past?

00:38:36In the brown of the copse,

00:38:38will white-wind flowers star through,

00:38:40where the last oak leaf drops,

00:38:43and the daisies come too?

00:38:45And the may, and the lilac,

00:38:47will spring come again?

00:38:48Oh, thrush, is it true?

00:38:58Thank you, Ella and Nathan.

00:39:00Lovely words capturing that anticipation of spring renewal

00:39:05that we all feel when the sun comes out.

00:39:07Now, they've filled our shelves and populated porches for decades,

00:39:12from the exotic specimens in grand Victorian glasshouses

00:39:16to the humble spider plants on 1970s windowsills.

00:39:20Our love affair with houseplants shows no signs of fizzling out,

00:39:24but after a long and dusty winter,

00:39:27it's time to give your leafy friends some TLC.

00:39:29Thankfully, we have just the woman.

00:39:32Welcome back, houseplant expert Claire Lowry,

00:39:34here with her rejuvenation masterclass

00:39:37to get your houseplants prepped, primed and positively thriving.

00:39:42Welcome, Claire, let me tell you back.

00:39:44Thank you for having me back.

00:39:45It is, isn't it?

00:39:46Because there they sit, like bits of furniture,

00:39:48the occasional flick-over with a feather duster,

00:39:51lobsome water, but now they're a bit weary, aren't they?

00:39:54They are.

00:39:55I mean, you actually, you just mentioned about the flick-over

00:39:57with the feather duster,

00:39:58and one of the first things I was actually going to touch on

00:40:00is plants that don't get a dusting enough.

00:40:03And I think especially as the days kind of start to pick up

00:40:06and the light is beautiful,

00:40:08you really want to be kind of optimising that

00:40:10as much as possible so the plant can photosynthesise.

00:40:13And so I've got a very dusty plant here.

00:40:16I mean, I typically don't let it get this bad,

00:40:18but when it starts to kind of get quite dusty,

00:40:20because I think a lot of the time people kind of think,

00:40:22oh, no, my plants aren't dusty, they look absolutely fine,

00:40:24but you don't realise, in the same way as your skirting boards

00:40:27build up dust, your plants build up dust as well.

00:40:30Besides the fact that, obviously,

00:40:32you can't kind of allow them all the light that they need,

00:40:35it's kind of like having a sheer curtain over them.

00:40:37They can't absorb the light.

00:40:39They also are far more susceptible to pests.

00:40:42Right.

00:40:43So, yeah.

00:40:44So, clean them.

00:40:44Yeah, so I'm just using,

00:40:46literally, just some lukewarm water.

00:40:48Look at that.

00:40:49Oh, yeah.

00:40:50Eh, as Larry Grayson used to say,

00:40:52eh, the muck in here.

00:40:54But it looks totally different.

00:40:56It literally shines.

00:40:57And you don't need anything other than water.

00:40:59I know.

00:41:00It's amazing.

00:41:01They used to say in the elders,

00:41:02do them with milk,

00:41:03and you think, well, actually,

00:41:04it then starts to smell a bit cheesy after a while.

00:41:07I've had all of these.

00:41:08But hairy plants, of course,

00:41:10you wouldn't do that with.

00:41:11You have to be a bit careful with hairy plants,

00:41:12because obviously they're much more susceptible

00:41:14to mould, mildew.

00:41:15If you are going to wipe them down,

00:41:17I personally would recommend just dusting.

00:41:19Yeah.

00:41:20But if you do need to wipe them down,

00:41:21if you are dealing with pests or something like that,

00:41:23I would just make sure you've got really good airflow

00:41:25to allow the leaves to kind of dry off

00:41:27so that they don't start to...

00:41:28Isn't that gorgeous?

00:41:30It's beautiful, isn't it?

00:41:31I mean, fresh and...

00:41:31You can...

00:41:32It's sort of...

00:41:32Oh, Claire, thank you so much.

00:41:34Listen carefully and you can hear it.

00:41:36Yeah, it's like a whole new plant.

00:41:37It is.

00:41:38It is.

00:41:38The other thing that I was going to mention,

00:41:40this is a very...

00:41:41You actually mentioned spider plants at the beginning.

00:41:43The spider plant is obviously a very common house plant

00:41:46and this one has been throwing out plantlets for months.

00:41:50This is great to start with this, isn't it?

00:41:52And start children off too,

00:41:53because each one of these make a separate plant.

00:41:55It's fantastic.

00:41:56I think the reason that this one is probably doing it

00:41:59is because the plant is actually stressed

00:42:01because this one hasn't had a repot in quite a while.

00:42:05And if I just...

00:42:06Oh, yes, there's a lot in there.

00:42:07There's a lot in there.

00:42:08Now, if you've got that plant looking that healthy

00:42:10in that size pot, you obviously feed it really well

00:42:12because it's still glowing with health.

00:42:14I mean, the amount of water this plant's requiring

00:42:16at the moment is ridiculous

00:42:18because just look at those roots.

00:42:21They are crazy.

00:42:24So before I pot it up,

00:42:26I'll show you the soil mix that I quite like to use.

00:42:29This is, for me, just kind of like a generic soil mix

00:42:32that I'll use for most of my house plants,

00:42:35terrestrial house plants that grow from the ground.

00:42:37Now, you can buy it in bags when you mix your own.

00:42:40To be honest, I do a bit of both,

00:42:42but I do quite...

00:42:43There's something quite therapeutic

00:42:44and I don't know,

00:42:45just quite nice about getting your hands in the soil

00:42:47and mixing everything up yourself.

00:42:49So what have you got for?

00:42:50So this is just a peat-free soil mix

00:42:53and I'm going to put all of that in the bowl

00:42:55and then I've got two different types of orchid bark.

00:42:58This is orchid bark with tree fern fibre,

00:43:00so it's really, really nice at adding aeration into the soil.

00:43:04So that's the orchid,

00:43:05but what about the bigger chips?

00:43:07Yeah, this is just much chunkier

00:43:09and typically if I'm working with an epiphytic plant,

00:43:12so a plant that naturally doesn't grow out of the ground

00:43:15and it grows...

00:43:16On a tree.

00:43:16Yeah.

00:43:17Not a parasite, but an epiphyde just clings on.

00:43:19Yeah.

00:43:19Exactly.

00:43:20So I would typically add a lot more kind of chunky things

00:43:23like sustainably sourced sphagnum moss

00:43:25and stuff like that as well

00:43:26to really kind of replicate its natural growing conditions.

00:43:29For this plant,

00:43:30I think I'm just going to stick with the fine stuff.

00:43:34And then this is perlite

00:43:35and when you're using perlite indoors,

00:43:38it's really important to make sure that you hydrate it first.

00:43:41Because it's very dry and fluffy.

00:43:42It almost blows away.

00:43:43It's almost like polystyrene granules.

00:43:44It feels different,

00:43:46but it's as light and fluffy, isn't it, really?

00:43:48Yeah, completely,

00:43:49but also the dust is really bad for you to breathe in.

00:43:52I mean, you can actually see

00:43:53just from how I've hydrated it already

00:43:55how it's kind of holding the moisture

00:43:57and this just means

00:43:58that I'm creating a really nice airy mix

00:44:01that also is very moisture-retaining.

00:44:03So I'm not hopefully going to need

00:44:05to have to be watering this plant quite so much.

00:44:07It's that seeming contradiction with compost.

00:44:10They need to be moisture-retentive but free-draining.

00:44:13Yes.

00:44:14And that means they're holding on to enough moisture

00:44:16but not too much to get soggy.

00:44:18I can tell from the way you added

00:44:19that has got a lovely feel to it now.

00:44:21That's gorgeous.

00:44:22It is lovely.

00:44:22It's really nice.

00:44:24It is.

00:44:24And I love the smell of it as well.

00:44:26I know that's weird, but...

00:44:27No, no, it's not.

00:44:28I'm trying to be a gardener.

00:44:29It's not weird at all.

00:44:30Well, I don't think it's weird.

00:44:31It's quite normal.

00:44:32I'm sure no one at home also thinks it's weird.

00:44:35But yes, I'm going to just...

00:44:37So I'm just going to kind of get my hands in there

00:44:39and just try and work

00:44:40as many of the plants out as I can.

00:44:44And it's surprising.

00:44:45I don't think there's a decent lump root on them.

00:44:47You'll be okay, won't you?

00:44:49Yeah.

00:44:49They're all so knotted together.

00:44:50That's your problem, isn't it, really?

00:44:51I'm afraid this is an incense clay where I would go in with a knife.

00:44:55Would you?

00:44:55As long as there's a big enough lump with each.

00:44:57Oh, we're almost there.

00:44:58You're almost there, yeah.

00:45:00The bits that do get cut off and broken off,

00:45:02it doesn't matter, there'll be enough remaining.

00:45:05It's like when you get,

00:45:06particularly between November and March,

00:45:08you get things like bare root roses,

00:45:10and they'll be dug up from the ground,

00:45:11and the nursery rose,

00:45:12and they'll come to you with the top growth like that,

00:45:14and roots going down here.

00:45:15And you can take half of them off,

00:45:17because they're all going to die the bottom ends anyway,

00:45:19and new roots are going to come from the top half.

00:45:22So if you're planting bare root stuff,

00:45:23don't be frightened of shortening by a good half

00:45:26the root that's on there.

00:45:28Would you put that back in the same pot?

00:45:29You know what, I probably would.

00:45:30I brought some other pots,

00:45:31but it is about the right size.

00:45:34Yeah, and I'll propagate that in a second, probably.

00:45:38So yeah, I'm just going to take a little bit of the soil mix,

00:45:42and pop that in the bottom.

00:45:46There's a lovely line in Wind in the Willows, right?

00:45:48It says, one of the things about having holidays,

00:45:50it's not just that you've got time off yourself,

00:45:52it's watching the other fellas still working.

00:45:55You know, it's very nice when I lean here as a gardener,

00:45:58watching another gardener.

00:46:00And then feeding it around the edge.

00:46:03Yeah, that's right.

00:46:04I mean, you can always feel that plant being grateful,

00:46:07can't you?

00:46:07Well, I really, I hope now,

00:46:10I mean, obviously it's a lovely, healthy section we've got here,

00:46:12but I hope the roots will just kind of expand

00:46:14and fill that pot.

00:46:15And then the little plantlets here,

00:46:17there's a few different ways you can propagate them,

00:46:19but my favourite and the easiest way,

00:46:22we just chop the thing off that's attaching them.

00:46:25I just pop them in a little bit of water,

00:46:27and I've just got a little pot of water here.

00:46:30And I personally just really like watching the roots grow.

00:46:34Drop it in there.

00:46:35So you can literally pop it in like that.

00:46:37Can you put it on your windowsill?

00:46:38Yeah, exactly.

00:46:39Absolutely fab.

00:46:40Yeah, no, it's great.

00:46:41Thank you, Claire.

00:46:41Not at all.

00:46:42All you like, learn from you every time you come.

00:46:45And it's wonderful to see all these things

00:46:46which can go together to make the compost, you know.

00:46:48And making your own compost, great fun.

00:46:51It is.

00:46:52Thank you, Claire.

00:46:53Not at all.

00:46:59Now, Joseph's Amazing Camels is no ordinary farm.

00:47:04They're the leading specialists in humped animals,

00:47:08the kind you'd expect to see strutting across the sands of North Africa,

00:47:11rather than grazing politely in Warwickshire.

00:47:14But just when you thought a camel in the Midlands was peak eccentricity,

00:47:19things took an even wilder turn.

00:47:22Enter the stripes.

00:47:24Yes, the farmers welcomed three eye-catching new arrivals,

00:47:28Aled, Maasai and Chad.

00:47:30And let's just say they didn't get the memo about blending in.

00:47:35To tell us more, friend of the show and young farmer, Daisy Fawcett.

00:47:47Camels are a usual on my parents' camel farm here in Warwickshire.

00:47:52I've been involved with this business since I was little.

00:47:55My parents started the company in 2000, so I've grown up with camels.

00:47:59We have the largest herd of camels in the UK.

00:48:02So we have 13 camels on the farm at the moment

00:48:05for events like racing and Christmas parades and obviously film and TV.

00:48:10I've got Mr. Baxter with me today.

00:48:12He is one of our film star camels.

00:48:14You might recognise him from Aladdin, for example.

00:48:18We also have some very special guests staying with us.

00:48:21These are my stripy new friends.

00:48:24They are Chapman zebras.

00:48:25So we've got Aled, Maasai and Chad.

00:48:29Aled is a little bit aloof.

00:48:31He's not too keen on people.

00:48:33I think he thinks we're giant carrots.

00:48:36Maasai is a real sweetie.

00:48:39The coolest thing about Maasai is his beautiful teardrop

00:48:43just underneath his left eye.

00:48:47And then Chad is like a giant dog.

00:48:49I just love Chad.

00:48:50He's probably my favourite.

00:48:51Don't tell the others.

00:48:51He's a little bit aloof, a little bit standoffish.

00:48:54But if you've got a carrot, you're his best friend for life.

00:48:58With their previous owners, they were actually film stars.

00:49:01And they've been around people their entire lives.

00:49:04Doing animal experiences.

00:49:05They've been on the set of Bridgerton.

00:49:07They're very, very cool.

00:49:09They are now retired.

00:49:10So we are a temporary home for them before they go to live their absolute life of luxury

00:49:16in a retirement home.

00:49:38And they've got some really distinctive patterns that make them chaplains.

00:49:48Their stripes go all the way down to their feet, which some zebras don't.

00:49:54But the biggest one is that they have something called a shadow stripe.

00:49:57It's a brown stripe between their white stripe.

00:50:00And this is a really distinctive feature that only the Chapman zebras have.

00:50:05Zebra stripes are actually a self-defense mechanism, which is so interesting.

00:50:09A herd of zebras is called a dazzle.

00:50:11And it's supposedly because they dazzle predators.

00:50:15So a predator can't pick one individual zebra out of a group.

00:50:19Even though I've grown up around camels, zebras are a completely different ballgame.

00:50:25Our zebras are very tame.

00:50:27But they really are wild animals and they have that real prey instinct in them.

00:50:31Whereas camels are domesticated animals.

00:50:33So they're a lot easier to handle in a lot of ways.

00:50:37These guys can be far more unpredictable.

00:50:39They are not pets.

00:50:41Any training with animals, whether it be a zebra, a camel or a dog,

00:50:45it's always important to give them a positive reward.

00:50:50Alid, one of the three zebras, has been trained differently to Chad and Masai.

00:50:55Chad and Masai have been trained traditionally almost like you would a horse.

00:50:59Alid has been clicker trained.

00:51:02So when Alid touches the ball with his nose, like that, he knows he gets a treat.

00:51:09It's a way of positive reinforcement.

00:51:12He won't let you put the head collar on unless you give him the tennis ball first.

00:51:16Oh, good boy.

00:51:19There we go.

00:51:21When they're on a film set, this cone and tennis ball trick really helped the previous owners get them into

00:51:26position.

00:51:27Because he will stand wherever that tennis ball is.

00:51:30One of the most common questions I have had on social media about the zebras is, can you ride them?

00:51:36The answer, absolutely not.

00:51:38Their backs are not made for it because they're wild animals.

00:51:41They haven't been bred to be able to ride.

00:51:43Baxter, on the other hand, very comfortable.

00:51:46I would ride him all day long.

00:51:49It's going to be really emotional letting these zebras go.

00:51:53They've really become a part of our family, like any animal that comes here does.

00:52:01Thank you, Daisy.

00:52:02And good luck to Alid, Masai and Chad in their new home.

00:52:07Coming up, when life gives you lemons, make a gin and tonic.

00:52:11So the proverb says, well, I can't promise a G&T, but I can promise some rather refreshingly zesty libations.

00:52:19Cocktail twins, Hannah and Siobhan, make their Manor Farm debut with a round of fruity botanicals.

00:52:26And it's a loss about compost.

00:52:28So many people are.

00:52:30Wayne Perry is here with his guide to what's hot and what's not in the world of compost bins.

00:52:36It's all here, you know.

00:52:38I'll see you with the TV carpenter himself.

00:52:40That's after this.

00:52:55The sale of compost in the UK produces roughly 100 million plastic bags every year.

00:53:02In a world where we're all trying to have less of an impact on the environment,

00:53:06one way of scaling back your plastic consumption is by producing your own compost at home.

00:53:12Here to show us how to turn pallets into compost bins, TV carpenter Wayne Perry.

00:53:18We're talking here about compost to enrich garden soil rather than potting compost,

00:53:22which you're still going to have to buy unless you've got a way of making your own.

00:53:25But I don't think anyone should buy it.

00:53:27We can all make our own.

00:53:29The stuff to enrich the soil outside.

00:53:31Absolutely.

00:53:31So we've just got a few things here that you need to make perfect compost.

00:53:35I love the orange theme here.

00:53:36Your jumper, my jumper, and the carrots.

00:53:38It's like we planned it, Alan.

00:53:39It is really.

00:53:40Characterly.

00:53:41So what goes in?

00:53:42So you've got the brown and green.

00:53:44So brown is obviously your twigs.

00:53:46It's your hard barks.

00:53:48It's things that are going to take a little bit more time to break down.

00:53:50One of the best things I ever bought was a shredder.

00:53:52To shred those.

00:53:53And it all then goes in.

00:53:54It all goes in.

00:53:55It mixes up.

00:53:55But also your cardboards, your egg boxes.

00:53:58We did have, I've got a shredder at the front of my door for my paper and letters that I

00:54:03don't want.

00:54:04They get shredded.

00:54:05We were going to put them here.

00:54:06It's a bit windy.

00:54:06Blowing away.

00:54:07We didn't want it.

00:54:07So it's a good idea to get used some of that stuff as well.

00:54:09But then you've got the green stuff, which is obviously your vegetable peelings, your old flowers.

00:54:14And once they're all mixing together and turned in, you know, and keep layering them like lasagna.

00:54:19And mixing.

00:54:20Mixing is the big thing.

00:54:21Not to put in thick perennial weed roots or any food like potato, you know, processed food.

00:54:28Yeah, any processed food.

00:54:29Cooked food.

00:54:29Chickens or anything like that.

00:54:30Nothing, yeah.

00:54:30And also just bear in mind, if you have any diseased plants, you don't want to put those in there

00:54:33either.

00:54:34You know, you want to, it's got to be gorgeous stuff for your plants.

00:54:37So mix it and keep it moist and firm.

00:54:38And once you've collated all of those and you've got them together, we then need to put them into a

00:54:43compost bin.

00:54:44So this is your entry-level compost bin.

00:54:47It's, you can get from B&Q, 32 pounds.

00:54:50Standard, it's recycled plastic.

00:54:52The lid comes off.

00:54:53The lid comes off.

00:54:54Throw your rubbish inside.

00:54:56Little flap at the bottom there that you can lift up if you want to access it so you can

00:55:00see how it's going.

00:55:01But what's great about it is on the ground, the worms and microorganisms are coming through.

00:55:07They're working their way up.

00:55:08So that's 32 pounds from most of your DIY stores.

00:55:11I love this one.

00:55:13Beehive.

00:55:13The beehive.

00:55:14So the idea of this is if your, if your compost bin needs to be on display, it could be

00:55:20in a border.

00:55:20It could look pretty.

00:55:21You could paint it.

00:55:22This is from Bloom.

00:55:23So we, they, they're a small independent company who make them bespoke.

00:55:28They started off doing bins and storage bins for your front of your house to look pretty.

00:55:32But this one, it's a stained wood.

00:55:34It's pressure treated wood.

00:55:37195 pounds.

00:55:38But you could put a liner inside of that so the wood didn't rot.

00:55:41So it didn't rot, it can keep, but what we've seen done with these before is because they look so

00:55:45pretty, sometimes once all your compost is in there, you can plant that up and just leave it and use

00:55:49it as a planter as well.

00:55:51Yeah.

00:55:51So it's a nice way of creating something, you know, compared to that one, which is, you know, black, but

00:55:56this one painted looks lovely.

00:55:58It's like a WBC hive.

00:55:59Yeah, within your cottage garden.

00:56:01Now this one is all singing, all dancing.

00:56:03This is your hot bin.

00:56:04So the hot bin is insulated.

00:56:07So it gets hot inside there.

00:56:09It's a bit pricey.

00:56:11It's £215.

00:56:13This is the smallest.

00:56:14They can go, this is 100 litre.

00:56:15It can go up to 700 litres.

00:56:17So you can go big with it.

00:56:18But the beauty of this one is these take about a year to turn.

00:56:23Once you've turned them every two months, a year to get some good compost.

00:56:26This one can take between 60 to 90 days for you to get some compost and you don't need to

00:56:31turn it.

00:56:31So that's two or three months.

00:56:32Two or three months.

00:56:33It's fairly hot.

00:56:34There's a little thermostat.

00:56:35There's one on the top.

00:56:36It's like your meat thermometer.

00:56:38It's a joint done here.

00:56:40I don't know where the compost is.

00:56:41But when you say meat thermometer, what's great is once it gets to the temperature that you see there between

00:56:4540 and 60.

00:56:46When it's green.

00:56:47When it's green, it means you can throw in your meat waste.

00:56:50Whereas before you can't throw in your chicken bones.

00:56:52Once they're cut down, you can throw in anything in there and it'll heat it down and it'll work its

00:56:57way through.

00:56:58Again, you don't need to turn it.

00:56:59It's worth putting the layers in as you're adding stuff, having all the different layers.

00:57:02I have to say, if life's too short to stuff a mushroom, I don't turn compost.

00:57:06If it's mixed and kept moist and firmed, a bit of old carpet oil on the top,

00:57:11I mean, enough to do with that, turning it every two months.

00:57:13I mean, some people do.

00:57:14It's just a matter of opinion.

00:57:15You don't have to turn it.

00:57:16It's more important to turn it in tiny bins, I think, than in bigger ones.

00:57:19Mine's about two metres more than two metres.

00:57:21And also, you can access this.

00:57:22There's normally, like, a strap that goes around.

00:57:23You'll take the strap off.

00:57:24You can access it.

00:57:25And the little blue tap at the bottom collects all those juices.

00:57:28Liquid manure.

00:57:29Liquid manure, liquid fertiliser.

00:57:31So, you know, it's a great product because it means it can turn it quickly.

00:57:36Fast.

00:57:37But, of course, knowing you, you don't necessarily want to buy one that somebody else has made.

00:57:42You want to make one yourself.

00:57:43But free.

00:57:44Okay.

00:57:45Let's have a look.

00:57:46The ubiquitous pallet.

00:57:48The pallet.

00:57:49The pallet.

00:57:50Our world is held together by pallets.

00:57:52You either love them or hate them.

00:57:53And I've got a varied relationship with them.

00:57:56But pallets are free.

00:57:57They're amazing.

00:57:58If you find four pallets that are the same, joyful.

00:58:02You can make one of these.

00:58:03One thing to look out for, you'll see a little stamp here.

00:58:05There's two letters, HT, there.

00:58:08That means heat treated.

00:58:09So they've been heat treated so they won't rot.

00:58:11But they used to be covered in loads of chemicals and different things.

00:58:15So check that it's heat treated because you don't want anything that's covered in chemicals.

00:58:18It's just going to leach into your gorgeous compost.

00:58:20So we've got three equally sized pallets here.

00:58:24And we've literally just screwed them, spiked them through into place.

00:58:28We hold them into place.

00:58:29The next thing you need to do is get yourself some chicken wire.

00:58:32And what I love about chicken wire, you can literally just cut it with some strong scissors.

00:58:36You don't need any pliers or anything like that.

00:58:38And the reason we have chicken wire is we're going to line the inside edge with it.

00:58:42So by...

00:58:43I'm going to hold it in place.

00:58:44Yeah, just by lining the inside edge.

00:58:47Do you want to stop with my fingers, Wayne?

00:58:48I haven't got your fingers.

00:58:50There's a deer.

00:58:51And this will go all the way around.

00:58:53And what this does, it allows the air circulation to go through.

00:58:58But it stops the soil or any debris falling out.

00:59:01Falling out.

00:59:02Are you doing another layer of that then?

00:59:03Or you would do another layer of that?

00:59:04I would do another layer higher.

00:59:06Yeah.

00:59:06Across that way.

00:59:07So the idea then is anything's collecting there.

00:59:10Again, it's on the floor.

00:59:11We want those worms to come through.

00:59:13We want all of that nutrients to come through the floor.

00:59:16And the next one, you could put a full pallet here.

00:59:18But I like to cut mine down.

00:59:20So I pre-cut this one down.

00:59:22And we offer this one into place.

00:59:26You can put hinges on there.

00:59:28You can put latches so it opens like a barn door.

00:59:31But I think if you can just, if you can use a drill, you can unscrew something.

00:59:37That's within my capabilities.

00:59:39Yeah.

00:59:39So I'm literally just going to hold this one in place for now.

00:59:41So a diagonal bit of a nail down there.

00:59:46And the idea that we've cut it down lower is if you're coming along with your wheelbarrow,

00:59:50you can hook it up and throw it over.

00:59:52But having this one...

00:59:56Having this one in place so that you can unscrew it means that when you get in there, you can

01:00:00turn it.

01:00:01And then once that's done, put on...

01:00:04I've just got an old throw here.

01:00:07If you've got a piece of carpet or something, lay that on top and then put some plastic on top

01:00:12just to stop too much moisture going in.

01:00:14You don't want it to get too sodden.

01:00:15You want the air going through?

01:00:17You know more than me.

01:00:18But you want...

01:00:18Well, it's the three M's, isn't it, really?

01:00:20Mix it, moisten it and mash it.

01:00:23Keep it, seem to be kind of firm.

01:00:25And with those three M's, mix everything rather than having a concentration of grass clippings in one place just because

01:00:29it's brown and slimy.

01:00:31Mix that with everything else.

01:00:32And grass is great because it heats it.

01:00:34So with all the things mixed up with your browns, as you say, and your greens, if you hire a

01:00:39shredder, it's really useful.

01:00:40It speeds up the moving of it.

01:00:42And then if you make sure there's three M's there, the mixing, the moistening and the mashing, you'll find it

01:00:47rots down.

01:00:48I always give it a year anyway.

01:00:49It's safe.

01:00:49And how many of these bins would you normally have?

01:00:51I've got...

01:00:52Well, as many as you...

01:00:53Depends on the size of your garden.

01:00:55But I always have a couple at least because then one is full and rotting and the other's being filled.

01:01:00And you've got this system there.

01:01:02And about a year on, you're using that one.

01:01:04And the following year, you'll be using that one while this one's filling up.

01:01:06I love the idea, though, of using the compost that you've created for your garden.

01:01:12And knowing it hasn't cost you anything to get rid of it, you've just re-put it back and purposed

01:01:15it.

01:01:15And it's the natural cycle.

01:01:17When trees lose their leaves, they fall on the ground, they rot, the worms take them in.

01:01:20And that's nature.

01:01:22And you've been a nice part of nature.

01:01:24Yeah.

01:01:24And look for the HT.

01:01:26Heat treated.

01:01:27Heat treated, Wayne Perry.

01:01:29Thanks, Wayne.

01:01:35Now, many legendary thinkers and creators kept famous diaries.

01:01:40Leonardo da Vinci, whose notebooks contain sketches of inventions and anatomical studies.

01:01:47Charles Darwin, who documented his geological and biological observations.

01:01:51Alexander Graham Bell, who detailed his telephone experiments.

01:01:55Albert Einstein, who filled his diary with calculations.

01:02:00And Leslie Joseph is no different, as she takes a leaf out of all their books, with the first of

01:02:06her nature diaries.

01:02:08Chapter 1, The March Hare.

01:02:13Hampshire, Sunday, the 22nd of March, 2026.

01:02:18Dear diary, it's been a week since my last diary entry, but I am feeling quite rejuvenated.

01:02:25The weather is most agreeable, as spring grabs hold of us and winter seems so very far away.

01:02:31Enter master hare, dashing and deliciously naughty, with his large, long, powerful hind legs.

01:02:41Oh, dear diary, I itch in anticipation.

01:02:45I have been meaning to see the apothecarist about that, actually.

01:02:48Sorry.

01:02:49Back to my diary.

01:02:51As I perch by the open window, absorbing the gentle spring breeze, the brown hare parades itself around, with a

01:03:01bouncy ease, along the heath and hidden in the grasses, running across fields and hiding in the marshes, the brown

01:03:08hare plays and strays, whilst having the occasional vegetational graze, glistening in the warm sun, embracing the hazy days.

01:03:19With long, black-tipped ears worthy of a sonnet, no doubt having to poke two holes through a celebratory bonnet,

01:03:27with a super-speedy and slick, fast pace, the brown hare can certainly take on a race.

01:03:34I have a ball this evening, and word is spreading that Lord Biggins will be in attendance.

01:03:40Oh, I do hope he selects me to be part of his waltz.

01:03:44I hear he is quite the maverick on the dance floor.

01:03:48Now I must dash enough hair-related do-gooding.

01:03:51If I don't put down the quill, who will make today's plum pudding?

01:03:55Oh, fare thee well, brown hare.

01:03:58It's been a treat.

01:04:00Thank you for continually making my heart beat.

01:04:04Yours affectionately, as ever, Leslie.

01:04:09Thank you, Leslie.

01:04:10Well up to Einstein's standards.

01:04:12Did you know the expression mad as a march hare stems from their frantic mating behaviour, including high-speed chases,

01:04:19leaping and boxing, that peak in early spring?

01:04:23Fancy.

01:04:24It's an amazing sight when you watch boxing airs.

01:04:26Coming up, Sarah Parrish, back on stage in the bittersweet family drama Eclipse.

01:04:32I'll see you with Sarah right after this.

01:04:47Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.

01:04:49Now, coming up, drinks duo Hannah and Siobhan.

01:04:52See us out in style with zesty botanicals, including a burnt lemon spritz and a chilled martini with an orange

01:04:59twist.

01:05:01Can't wait.

01:05:01But first, saucy storylines and devious divas, scandalous, sexy and seductive.

01:05:08It was the hit series, following the lives and loves of a group of 30-something girlfriends and featuring my

01:05:14next guest.

01:05:16Yes, lovers may come and go, but friends last forever.

01:05:20Or do they?

01:05:21Katie, multiple choice.

01:05:23Sex, love or kids?

01:05:24What, can I only have one?

01:05:27Erm...

01:05:30Love.

01:05:34I think someone asked me out today.

01:05:37Really?

01:05:37Oh, yeah?

01:05:38Hello.

01:05:39Well, he's a new dad at school and I think he just got divorced.

01:05:43And we got chatting at the supermarket and he said that we should go for a coffee and I went,

01:05:49erm, erm, erm, erm...

01:05:50Hang on a minute, he asked you out for a coffee in Sainsbury's?

01:05:53No, in Tesco's, actually, and...

01:05:56Well, I'm not really sure he was asking me out.

01:05:59Well, what's he say?

01:06:00Erm...

01:06:01Exact words.

01:06:03Do you fancy going for a coffee?

01:06:04He said fancy.

01:06:05I think so.

01:06:06If he said that, he was asking you out.

01:06:07Oh, no, maybe he said want.

01:06:09Well, that's...

01:06:10No, that's different.

01:06:11That's more tricky to interpret.

01:06:12You see, this is exactly why I switched from English to modern languages.

01:06:17Mistresses.

01:06:18Mistresses, the deep bond and connection between the four of your characters with your shared sarcasm and ease with each

01:06:24other.

01:06:25Was it like that on set?

01:06:26You did seem...

01:06:26There seemed to be some kind of chemistry going on there.

01:06:28Well, we had such a good time on that show.

01:06:30We were out in Bristol, the four of us, and we all shared a big house, which was great.

01:06:35So we were together the whole time.

01:06:38Yeah, and we really bonded on that show.

01:06:41It was a terrific show.

01:06:42And, you know, I get asked often.

01:06:43It's the one show that I get asked about all the time.

01:06:47I get stopped in the street with women saying, oh, when are you going to bring back Mistresses?

01:06:50We'd love to see something like that again.

01:06:52Why do you think?

01:06:53I think it's a bit like Sex and the City, isn't it?

01:06:57I think women want to see themselves on television.

01:07:00So something like Mistresses obviously was very successful.

01:07:03And now they want to see where those women are at the age that they would be, which is in

01:07:08their 50s.

01:07:09But shot through with humour too.

01:07:11You've got to have humour.

01:07:12Yeah.

01:07:13You've got to have humour.

01:07:14But you're splitting, as ever, screen work, both, you know, large and small, with theatre work.

01:07:20Because you're now going into a play at Chichester Festival Theatre, Eclipse, which is written by the guy who wrote

01:07:27W1A, to which my wife and I were glued.

01:07:30And hilarious.

01:07:31Thinking, how on earth could the BBC do this about themselves?

01:07:34I know.

01:07:34Because it's so accurate.

01:07:35You know, good for them.

01:07:37But so tell us about it, Eclipse.

01:07:39Well, yes, John Morton has written a play.

01:07:41It's the only play he's ever written.

01:07:43And he wrote it 20 years ago.

01:07:45So he's been sat on this play now for 20 years.

01:07:49And he wrote me a letter, actually, and said, look, I've written this play and I'd really love you to

01:07:53be in it.

01:07:54And I immediately thought, oh, it's going to be hilarious.

01:07:56You know, it'll be really fast and funny and probably set in an office.

01:08:00You know.

01:08:00Anyway, this play came through and it's it's I mean, it just shows what a brilliant, versatile writer he is.

01:08:07It's a very minimalistic play that happens over 24 hours, the last 24 hours of somebody's life.

01:08:15And it's about the brother and sister, the son and the daughter of this guy who's dying in the kitchen

01:08:21and just their relationship over this 24 hours, how they are with each other while their father is dying.

01:08:28So nothing happens and everything happens.

01:08:30It's one of those plays.

01:08:32And of course, it's beautifully written.

01:08:34He's got such a wonderful way of writing.

01:08:37It's so naturalistic.

01:08:40It reads brilliantly.

01:08:41I'm surprised he's only ever written one play, really.

01:08:43So, yes, we're doing it at the Minerva in Chichester.

01:08:46So the smaller theatre.

01:08:48Rupert Penner Jones is playing.

01:08:50Well, my wife will be there.

01:08:52I know.

01:08:53He's not ugly, is he?

01:08:54It's Rupert Penner Jones.

01:08:54He's in it.

01:08:56Sarah.

01:08:57So, yeah, the two of us are brother and sister.

01:09:00So it'll be it will be a really lovely experience.

01:09:03You've got, you know, other TV things.

01:09:06Yeah.

01:09:07There's all sorts going on.

01:09:08And what was on Piglets has been on again this year, which was a series that I do with Mark

01:09:14Heap about a police academy, which is quite funny.

01:09:18It's not my most attractive part.

01:09:21No.

01:09:21Now, tell me about this make-up for Piglets.

01:09:24We're going to have a look at it in a second.

01:09:26It's very funny.

01:09:27Well, when we were sort of trying to work out what Julie Spry would look like, they brought out a

01:09:32bag of wigs.

01:09:32And I was sort of trying on these wigs.

01:09:34And literally, it was like Cinderella's slipper.

01:09:37One wig came.

01:09:38I put it on.

01:09:38I went, there she is.

01:09:39That's it.

01:09:40And the make-up lady said, I think we could probably push her a bit further and maybe have some

01:09:44teeth as well.

01:09:45So we went for these comedy teeth.

01:09:48And then Julie Spry was born.

01:09:50Yeah.

01:09:50I love playing her.

01:09:52She's so much fun.

01:09:53Here is Julie Spry in Piglets.

01:09:56Let's start with the traditional good cop, bad cop scenario.

01:10:00Which one do you want me to be?

01:10:13I can do bad.

01:10:23Oh, fuck it.

01:10:25I don't know how you did that.

01:10:28I don't know.

01:10:29I'm doing it now.

01:10:31Do you know what?

01:10:32It's Mark Heave.

01:10:33It's so easy to work with an actor like that.

01:10:36He is a born clown.

01:10:37Some people have just got funny bones, haven't they?

01:10:40And he can't do anything without being funny.

01:10:44I mean, literally, I can't sit opposite him.

01:10:45I remember him being the postman in Lark Rice to Candleford.

01:10:47It was brilliant.

01:10:48And you just look at his face there.

01:10:49He's just funny.

01:10:51He was funny in Friday night, you know, Jim in Friday night dinner.

01:10:54He was boring.

01:10:54He's just a funny person.

01:10:56And it's such a fun show to do because we do get quite a lot of freedom.

01:11:01And lots of, you know, that was all sort of, not all improvised, but a lot of it was improvised.

01:11:06And we've got time to sort of muck about and try things out.

01:11:10And it's lovely.

01:11:11Looking at those four younger people.

01:11:13And looking at you, how they kept a straight face.

01:11:17Well, that must have been hard.

01:11:19It was, it was.

01:11:20There's a lot of corpsing in that show.

01:11:22It's good fun.

01:11:24You did.

01:11:24We heard you sing earlier on.

01:11:25I want to show a bit of you singing now because you sang in Blackpool.

01:11:29Yes, I did.

01:11:30In Blackpool, it was called, in Blackpool.

01:11:33With David Tennant.

01:11:35Yes.

01:11:35Great cast.

01:11:36Gosh, that was a lovely show, you know.

01:11:39It's not often that you get a musical on TV.

01:11:43And I remember the read-through.

01:11:45I remember it was me and David Morrissey and David Tennant.

01:11:47And we all met outside before the read-through.

01:11:50So I said, do you think they're actually going to make us sing the songs in the read-through?

01:11:53And I was like, no, of course they won't.

01:11:55They wouldn't do that.

01:11:56They did.

01:11:58They had a tape recorder and we all had to sing the actual songs at the read-through.

01:12:02We didn't know each other.

01:12:03We'd never met each other.

01:12:04You know, it was hard work.

01:12:05But it was brilliant.

01:12:07It was so much fun.

01:12:08Peter Bowker wrote it.

01:12:09He's a fabulous writer.

01:12:12We were up in Blackpool for about five or six months.

01:12:15It was just a lot of fun.

01:12:17It was a lot of fun.

01:12:18Being able to...

01:12:18Getting up every day, going to work and dancing and singing.

01:12:21It doesn't get any better than that.

01:12:23It doesn't get any better than this, does it?

01:12:24It doesn't get any better than that.

01:12:53Staring into each other's eyes.

01:12:55There's something quite...

01:12:55It's quite difficult doing that, actually.

01:12:59It's, you know, and you've got to do take after take after take.

01:13:02So it was a tough job, but it was really enjoyable.

01:13:05When you're not cavorting on the stage, just or anywhere, or doing your TV,

01:13:10your original Murray Parish charity, in memory of your daughter, Ella Jane,

01:13:17has gone from strength to strength.

01:13:19I mean, Ella died tragically young in 2009.

01:13:23The charity's gone.

01:13:24You've changed the name of it now to widen it,

01:13:26because it's very much based in Southampton.

01:13:28It was, yes.

01:13:29It's now going to...

01:13:29So tell us about it now.

01:13:30So we...

01:13:31Last year, it was our 10-year anniversary as the Murray Parish Trust,

01:13:35and we figured that we'd kind of done as much as we could down in the South.

01:13:40We'd predominantly worked at Southampton Children's Hospital.

01:13:43And we kept noticing there was a real lack of help for the mental health of seriously ill children.

01:13:50So we kind of thought, maybe now is the time, with all our experience,

01:13:53to expand and go national and maybe have a rebrand and change our name

01:13:58so it's not just about Jim and I, it's something a little bit bigger,

01:14:02and just purely concentrate on the mental health of seriously ill children

01:14:07and their families as well, because you often find that, you know,

01:14:10the child gets looked after, but the fallback and the fallout for the family is terrible.

01:14:16Talking of working, it seems to me the roles you choose

01:14:20have always got some kind of central spark to them.

01:14:24They're either completely bonkers, as in the character in W1A,

01:14:28you know, where you're just going...

01:14:30I mean, I can see you...

01:14:32You don't seem to want to play what you might call ordinary people.

01:14:35No, I don't get ordinary people.

01:14:37I mean, whatever ordinary people, I don't know what...

01:14:39But no, I mean, also, as an actor, you pick what you want to do, don't you?

01:14:44And there are certain parts that I'm drawn to.

01:14:46I did go through a phase of playing quite a lot of psychopaths,

01:14:50which I bizarrely enjoyed a bit too much.

01:14:54I'm hoping to go into a nicer sort of, you know, time of my life

01:14:57and maybe more gentle characters now, who knows?

01:14:59There are so many outlets as well now, not just BBC, ITV, but Netflix.

01:15:04I mean, Geek Girl is on Netflix now.

01:15:07And that gives you, in a way, a longer life.

01:15:09Yeah, Geek Girl was great.

01:15:10I mean, Geek Girl looks fantastic and the kids in it were wonderful

01:15:14and it was a very funny...

01:15:15Jude was a great part to play.

01:15:16I couldn't turn Jude down.

01:15:17So tell us about Jude.

01:15:18Jude is the head of a model agency.

01:15:21She's a bit of a monster, but...

01:15:24Hang on, there's a sort of theme coming here.

01:15:28She's great fun.

01:15:29She had all the...

01:15:30You know, she had a lot of great lines.

01:15:32She's just a funny character.

01:15:34And, yeah, I read it and went, oh, I'd love to be part of this.

01:15:36And it was also...

01:15:37The first series came out just when my daughter, Nell,

01:15:40was at the perfect age for it.

01:15:42You know, she was 14.

01:15:43I said, you're going to love this.

01:15:45And she did.

01:15:45She was absolutely glued to it.

01:15:47So it's a lovely series for that age range, you know,

01:15:50and older as well.

01:15:51I've had a lot of older people that have loved watching it.

01:15:53I should be looking it up now.

01:15:54Geek-go.

01:15:56Go.

01:15:58Let me do that one more time at this angle, just in case.

01:16:03Okay, right, right, right.

01:16:04Just hold it there.

01:16:05Just hold it there, you.

01:16:06Have you ever worn glasses?

01:16:08No, I don't.

01:16:08I don't need glasses.

01:16:09I have 20-20 vision.

01:16:13It's an action.

01:16:19Ah, okay.

01:16:20Yeah, hold that.

01:16:22And me, chin down an inch.

01:16:26Actually, get rid of the feathers.

01:16:27Get rid of the feathers.

01:16:31Right, just hold it there, Ray.

01:16:32Just hold it one minute.

01:16:33Just hold it.

01:16:48In here.

01:16:53I can see what you mean by no expense spared, you know,

01:16:56quite a lot, but you like being cruel, don't you?

01:16:59I do.

01:17:00I'm good at cruel, aren't I?

01:17:01I'm good at cruel.

01:17:03Yeah, she's a really good, fun character.

01:17:04I've always wanted to play somebody in the fashion industry

01:17:06in those lovely clothes as well.

01:17:08It was a real treat.

01:17:09Look, always lovely to talk to you.

01:17:11And you.

01:17:11Thank you so much for coming.

01:17:12Good luck with the charity, which is now called Imagine This.

01:17:15Imagine This.

01:17:15I've got to get that in my head now, rather than worry about it.

01:17:17Love it to see you.

01:17:18Love it to have Jim on last week.

01:17:19We'll take you in rotation.

01:17:20Yes, do.

01:17:21His turn next.

01:17:22Great.

01:17:22Love it to see you.

01:17:24Time to pause, reflect, and take a moment to enjoy some wonderful footage

01:17:29set to some equally wonderful music.

01:17:30It's today's Ode to Joy.

01:17:32Ode to Joy.

01:18:02Ode to Joy.

01:18:04Ode to Joy.

01:18:26Ode to Joy.

01:18:57La Biblia

01:19:27La Biblia

01:19:29Absolutely stunning pictures there of the Cairngorms, courtesy of Sam Hales and set to the Symphony No. 4 by Felix

01:19:37Mendelsohn.

01:19:38Coming up, it's a juicy end to the show with this week's Best of British.

01:19:41Drinks experts Hannah and Siobhan prove that citrus tipples are the way to go.

01:19:47If you're having a springtime shindig, who am I to disagree?

01:19:51Zesty Botanicals, coming up right after this.

01:20:10Best of British time now.

01:20:12The days are longer, the soil's warmer, said the gardener.

01:20:15And the equinox has been and gone, which can only mean one thing, the unequivocal arrival of spring.

01:20:22And what better way to toast the new season than with an array of fresh and citrusy tipples sure to

01:20:27get you perked up and possibly even a little puckered.

01:20:30Behind the bar today, the double trouble, as we welcome for the first time, not one, but two master cocktail

01:20:37connoisseurs.

01:20:38Hannah Sharmancox and Siobhan Payne, founders of the London Cocktail Week.

01:20:44Why would you not found that?

01:20:46And here they are with their rounds of zesty botanicals.

01:20:50What have we got today, then?

01:20:52Well, you gave us a brief of zesty botanicals, so we've stuck to theme.

01:20:56We're going to start with this, which is the burnt lemon spritz in your wine glass.

01:21:03Ooh, nice.

01:21:04And this is celebrating the lemon, so it's very, very lemony.

01:21:08Yep.

01:21:08We're starting with, at the base of it, is a Cornish vermouth.

01:21:13It's made down on the south coast, near St. Austell.

01:21:17It's called Nitor.

01:21:19I just love the bottle of this one, actually.

01:21:21It's so gorgeous, isn't it?

01:21:21It looks like a sort of Liebfraun.

01:21:23Yes, it does.

01:21:24I was going to say that.

01:21:25It was probably blue, none in the formula.

01:21:27It's a working winery.

01:21:29You can actually get married there as well.

01:21:30They make all sorts of English wines.

01:21:33Their Blanc de Blanc English sparkling is very highly awarded.

01:21:36But this vermouth is really delicious.

01:21:38It's really, really grown up.

01:21:42It's really interesting.

01:21:43It's really, yeah, it's great.

01:21:45But we've paired it with...

01:21:46Yes, so this is Rapscallion Burnt Lemon.

01:21:50So it's designed to be a grown-up soft drink, and it's made in Glasgow.

01:21:55And they've called it Juicy Wheatart, which I think is quite funny.

01:22:00But actually, it's designed...

01:22:02You can drink it by itself, and it feels grown up.

01:22:04You usually think of vermouth as a mixer.

01:22:07You do, don't you?

01:22:08In the origin, you know, the martini.

01:22:09So to have that as a base...

01:22:10Yeah, and it's a lovely summery drink, isn't it?

01:22:13You have that on a summer's day.

01:22:15And the good thing about vermouth as the base

01:22:17is that it means that the cocktail is lower ABV,

01:22:21so less alcoholics.

01:22:22It's quite a good lunchtime cocktail, if you want to...

01:22:25You can drink more.

01:22:26You can drink more.

01:22:27Peter, you're sitting for a class.

01:22:27That is one way of looking at it, Sarah.

01:22:30Do you taste this, or...?

01:22:31Oh, it's lovely.

01:22:32This is delicious and fresh.

01:22:35Really lovely.

01:22:36Really lovely.

01:22:37Also, we thought we'd start with it

01:22:38because it opens your palate for what is to come.

01:22:41Oh, yes.

01:22:41This is a non-alcoholic cocktail,

01:22:44and it is a twist on the Paloma.

01:22:46So classically, a Paloma is tequila with grapefruit

01:22:49and a bit of sugar.

01:22:50Oh, this is...

01:22:51But what we've done for this cocktail,

01:22:53because we wanted to do something not boozy,

01:22:56perhaps for breakfast,

01:22:58is mixed it with Bativo.

01:23:00Oh, that's...

01:23:00So Bativo is made in Hertfordshire.

01:23:03That is lovely.

01:23:04And what it is is apple cider vinegar,

01:23:06steeped in various herbs and spices

01:23:08and then sweetened with honey.

01:23:09So it's actually really good for you.

01:23:10This is a good for your drink, yeah?

01:23:12It's unpasteurised ACV.

01:23:14Really nice.

01:23:14And then mixed with grapefruit.

01:23:17Wonderful.

01:23:18It really is a beautiful soft drink, isn't it?

01:23:22Two out of two, yeah.

01:23:23Oh, good.

01:23:24Oh.

01:23:26All right, a more unusual citrus fruit for you.

01:23:28We're going to yuzu.

01:23:30Some people call it a Japanese lemon,

01:23:33but it's more of a hybrid, actually.

01:23:34It's kind of closer to a Mandarin, probably.

01:23:37So we've gone all out.

01:23:39Yeah, we wanted to really celebrate the yuzu,

01:23:41so we've gone double yuzu today.

01:23:42We have.

01:23:43So the base of the product,

01:23:45like similar to how we did with the spritz,

01:23:47the base is a sake.

01:23:48So it's a rice wine.

01:23:50Oh.

01:23:51So kampai, which means cheers in Japanese.

01:23:55Kampai, to you.

01:23:55They are, cheers.

01:23:56They are based down in the arches near London Bridge.

01:23:59Oh, all right.

01:24:00Yeah, it's lovely.

01:24:02That's nice too.

01:24:02Yeah, it's really, yeah.

01:24:03We've paired it with a yuzu mixer

01:24:06and this brand of mixers called Kazimo,

01:24:10it's made by a bartender.

01:24:12So you know it's going to be good.

01:24:14They use yuzus from Japan

01:24:16and they don't use any artificial colouring.

01:24:18So it's really, really good brand of mixers.

01:24:21It reminded me,

01:24:21because it just reminded me that I know a bit of Japanese.

01:24:24Oh, go into it.

01:24:25Come on then.

01:24:29That means mind the gap when you're getting on the train.

01:24:34But the beautiful thing is that you can have that mixer just by itself

01:24:37and it still gives you that real yuzu flavour.

01:24:39Very nice.

01:24:39Yeah, very nice.

01:24:40Good for you, Sarah.

01:24:41That is really nice.

01:24:42Now we're moving on to celebration of Bergamot.

01:24:45Oh.

01:24:46And this is a non-alcoholic cocktail as well.

01:24:49And we're using Everleaf Marine.

01:24:52So Everleaf is such a nice brand

01:24:54and this is also created by a bartender,

01:24:57but he's also a conservationist.

01:24:59Oh, is that very nice?

01:25:00And actually, when I said we were coming on,

01:25:03we know Paul very well, who's the founder.

01:25:06He said that his dad might have met you, Alan,

01:25:09because he's the famous botanist Brian Matthew.

01:25:13Brian Matthew?

01:25:14Yeah.

01:25:15This is Brian Matthew.

01:25:16Brian and I used to work together at Kew Gardens.

01:25:18He's a famous botanist, Brian Matthew.

01:25:19Yes, he is.

01:25:19Very accomplished.

01:25:20So he's head of botany for Everleaf.

01:25:22He taught his son well.

01:25:24Bruns.

01:25:25Well done, Brian.

01:25:27Yeah, it's a really nice product.

01:25:29They've also got forest and mountain.

01:25:31This is marine.

01:25:32So this is lots of Italian bergamot,

01:25:34but mixed with things like kelp

01:25:36to give it that sort of marine feeling.

01:25:38I can taste that.

01:25:39There's a seaside.

01:25:39Yeah, I can taste that, yeah.

01:25:41And what we've done to give it the sort of mouthfeel,

01:25:44because obviously, because it's non-alcoholic,

01:25:45sometimes non-alcoholic cocktails feel a bit thin,

01:25:48so we've put some coconut water and some lime

01:25:51and that gives it a little bit more body.

01:25:54Yeah, it's super...

01:25:55So clever.

01:25:56No, but I mean, obviously,

01:25:58I stopped drinking ten years ago

01:26:00and to be able, never, ten years ago,

01:26:03would you go and ask for a non-alcoholic drink

01:26:05and it would never taste nice.

01:26:07Yes.

01:26:07You'd be like, well, what's the point?

01:26:09Yeah.

01:26:09I mean, these are beautiful.

01:26:11Like, really beautiful.

01:26:13These two are my absolute...

01:26:16Yeah, those two are my favourite.

01:26:17But this one's so...

01:26:19It's such an unusual taste, isn't it?

01:26:20They're all quite distinct.

01:26:22Yeah.

01:26:22So, from not boozy to the most boozy...

01:26:25Oh.

01:26:26Here we go.

01:26:27It would be very rude for us...

01:26:28You've done it in the right order, haven't you?

01:26:30Exactly.

01:26:30It would be very rude for us not to bring our favourite drink,

01:26:32which is a martini.

01:26:34Oh.

01:26:34So, we have gone with...

01:26:36This is such a lovely producer.

01:26:39It's called Vault.

01:26:39Look at that.

01:26:41He's actually, much like everything else,

01:26:43he used to be a restaurateur and then he got into production.

01:26:45Cool.

01:26:46So, it's a gin martini.

01:26:48It is...

01:26:49It's on the wet side, so it's not too strong.

01:26:52Blimey.

01:26:53And when she says wet, she means vermouth heavy.

01:26:56Vermouth heavy.

01:26:58That is, yeah.

01:26:59Very good.

01:27:01The gin has got citrus leaves and orange blossom within it

01:27:05and then the vermouth is a vermouth they call meadow,

01:27:09which is sweetened with Northumberland honey.

01:27:11Right.

01:27:12They also make...

01:27:13They make a coastal and a vodka, which is very chalky,

01:27:16so if you're into a vodka martini,

01:27:18like, that would be the combination of their products.

01:27:20But...

01:27:21Too much.

01:27:21No.

01:27:23Just about enough.

01:27:25But, yeah, this is...

01:27:26It's so rich and round,

01:27:28despite it looking like a very clear drink, like...

01:27:31But I can taste the honey in that as well.

01:27:34Yeah, can't you?

01:27:34There's a nice, sweet twist to that, which is...

01:27:37It is the perfect martini.

01:27:39Your eyes are watering.

01:27:40Well, there were just two of you when we started.

01:27:42I can see about four of them.

01:27:46It's delicious.

01:27:48It's really good.

01:27:50I don't think I can take two of those,

01:27:52but I'm very happy to take one.

01:27:55Well, it depends on the time of day,

01:27:57because I think if you were having one in the afternoon,

01:27:59maybe one's enough.

01:28:00But of an evening, after dinner, maybe.

01:28:03I mean, I tried this again.

01:28:04This is now becoming one of my favourites.

01:28:06It's really good, isn't it, that one?

01:28:08I really like that one, yeah.

01:28:09Thank you very much indeed.

01:28:10That's it for today.

01:28:11Thanks to all my guests,

01:28:13especially to the girls, to Hannah and Siobhan,

01:28:15and to Sarah and to Peter.

01:28:17We're not necessarily in that order after martini.

01:28:21Joining me next week, Phil Daniels, Adam Garcia,

01:28:24and Raquel herself, Tessa Peake-Jones.

01:28:27Fletcher's Family Farm is up next.

01:28:28Till then, I leave you with these words

01:28:30from American inventor Thomas A. Edison.

01:28:33Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.

01:28:36The most certain way to succeed

01:28:38is always to try just one more time.

01:28:43So I think I'll try another sip of this,

01:28:45whatever you sip.

01:28:46Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

01:28:48Cheers, all.

01:28:48Cheers.

01:28:50Cheers.

01:28:51Cheers.

01:28:52Cheers.

01:28:54Cheers.

01:28:56Cheers.

01:29:07Cheers.

01:29:10Gracias por ver el video.

Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh - Season 8 - Episode 12

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