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The One Show - Season 2026 Episode 79
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00:12Hello and welcome to the start of your week on The One Show live on BBC One and I play
00:16it with Roman Kent.
00:17And Alex Jones. Now Sebastian Sarway might have made the headlines with his record-breaking sub two-hour run at
00:24the London Marathon yesterday.
00:25What a ridiculous time.
00:26Unbelievable.
00:27But we also wanted to say a big well done to everyone who took part, including Sophie Raworth, who was
00:32here last week talking about it.
00:33And of course, our very own Clara. Well done, Clara.
00:35Oh, my heroine. Well done, Clara.
00:37And one of our guests tonight shows no sign of slowing down.
00:40Dame Maureen Lipman will be here as she prepares to celebrate her 80th birthday and hit the road on tour
00:46all in the same week.
00:47Yeah, she's starring in a brand new, all-singing, all-dancing play about a woman who's so full of joy,
00:53she bursts into song everywhere she goes, just like Alex Jones.
00:56It's packed full of famous songs, including the Hollywood classic singing in the rain.
01:00We sing.
01:01And speaking of movie magic, Grammy and Tony-nominated singer Josh Groban will be sharing his favourite film soundtracks for
01:09his new album, featuring everything from The Lion King to The Godfather.
01:12And completing our line-up is the Don of Radio 2. Jeremy Vine, he'll be keeping us all on the
01:18edge of our seats with his latest murder mystery novel.
01:22And he'll be revealing which Hollywood star he's already got his eye on as his dream leading man.
01:26Also coming up, ahead of next week's anniversary of VE Day, former Royal Marine Commando JJ Chalmers is put through
01:33his paces in the Scottish Highlands
01:35to find out how one house became not only the birthplace of the commandos, but also the inspiration behind special
01:41forces all around the world.
01:43Yeah, lots in the show tonight. But first, water pollution is something that's once again in the news today,
01:49as the High Court has been hearing the UK's biggest ever environmental pollution claim involving three rivers along the Welsh
01:56-English border.
01:57The state of our waterways is something that Joe Crowley knows all too well after numerous investigations over the years.
02:02And recently he's been finding out how some new technology could make a real difference.
02:09From testing the Thames to rewilding helping to filter rivers, the One Show has tracked water pollution,
02:16a concern recently reflected in the drama Dirty Business.
02:20Some things are changing. There's better monitoring of wastewater releases into rivers and more investment going into sewage works.
02:27But with only a third of the UK's rivers in good ecological health, according to the Rivers Trust, there's still
02:33a long way to go.
02:35In the last two decades, we've looked at everything from pollution to protection.
02:40Since 2019, Lancashire's River Ribble has improved through community action and habitat restoration.
02:46Work on Sheffield's River Don has turned one of Europe's most polluted waterways into a salmon breeding site for the
02:53first time in 200 years.
02:55And in 2024, we joined Olympic rowers, testing the water for sewage on the River Thames, uncovering high phosphate and
03:03nitrate levels.
03:04This prompted new safety guidance and national action to protect our rivers.
03:09But across the UK, the situation remains fragile.
03:13All in all, we're seeing really poor health in our rivers.
03:19You know, in England, only about 15% of them are in good health.
03:24In Scotland, still only two thirds of the rivers are actually healthy.
03:28In Northern Ireland, it's only about a third.
03:31And Wales, only about 44%.
03:34So we really need concerted effort to fix our rivers for all of our benefit.
03:41Simon became worried there was a serious problem with the stream near his Suffolk home.
03:47We suddenly noticed there was a total absence of wildlife here.
03:51The fish had gone, the plants in the stream had gone.
03:57Did you have any idea of where it had come from or what might have happened?
04:00Yeah. As a medical student, I'd done a toxicology course.
04:03So I sort of had a feeling there was a toxic effect that had been at play here in the
04:10stream.
04:11But, you know, this was a theory rather than a fact.
04:14But one company is hoping to help in situations like this by using high-tech, unique sensors to detect pollution.
04:22So, Matt, what is this? Talk me through it.
04:25It's a very small self-contained unit that can be deployed very easily in the rivers.
04:28The cost of river monitoring varies widely, from hundreds of thousands for large-scale fixed sensors to between £2,000
04:36to £3,000 for ones like Matt's.
04:39The system will automatically take a sample of the water.
04:43And from that sample, we can look at something called eDNA, which is environmental DNA, which can tell us what
04:50bacteria is present.
04:51But it can also tell us from a forensic point of view what the main source of that pollution was,
04:56whether it was agricultural or human or natural.
05:00Matt's colleague Kat tells me the system has already had success, identifying pollution from a nearby farm.
05:06We've had ammonia levels trigger the sensors, and then we've analysed the eDNA.
05:13The analysis identified the source as being from pigs.
05:17The next step was to narrow down the exact location of the spill.
05:21Because we have 14 sensors over the catchment, we could pinpoint those hot spots.
05:27So, we then found a movable pig unit and was just going straight into the river.
05:33Wow! You've sensed the pollution, you've got the evidence, you know it's coming from pig farming,
05:38and you can go and have a web with that farmer and solve the problem?
05:40Exactly that.
05:42Fortunately for Simon, some of Matt's sensors were put into his local stream,
05:46and they were able to give an idea of what was causing the issues.
05:50We found that there are fluctuating high levels of ammonia which are toxic to wildlife,
05:57but there are other sources of pollution.
06:01We have a sewage plant up the valley, but we also have a number of things going on in the
06:07local agricultural community.
06:09So, for the first time you're getting a true picture of what's going on?
06:11Yes.
06:12And true pictures are complicated, it's not a simple villain, which is what you suspected it might be.
06:16That's right.
06:17Our rivers are precious, but incredibly vulnerable.
06:20And the more we can all work together and use new technology to monitor what's really going on,
06:25the more likely it is we can achieve clean rivers for us all to enjoy and protect for many years
06:31to come.
06:35Thank you, Joe. And the Big River Watch survey is taking place this week,
06:38so if you'd like to get involved, more details can be found on our website, bbc.co.uk slash theoneshow.
06:44Time now to say hello to tonight's guest. It's Radio 2's Jeremy Vine, singer Josh Groban,
06:49and all-round National Treasure Day, Maureen Litmer.
06:56Welcome all three. Well, the thing is, love is in the air. We have to say congratulations, Maureen, since we
07:01saw you last.
07:02You've got married.
07:03I did.
07:03And Josh has got engaged.
07:05Yes, I did.
07:06There we are.
07:08I recommend it.
07:09You did a smart thing. Absolutely.
07:10I've got a thing for you.
07:13Come on, Jeremy. Where's your news?
07:17I've got to have a think about that.
07:18He's pregnant.
07:19OK, yes, that's it.
07:20Oh, my goodness.
07:24We'll be chatting to Josh and Jeremy very soon, but we have started with Maureen,
07:28who's heading out on tour all over the UK with a brand new play called Allegra.
07:33Now, it's a comedy about a woman so joyful that she bursts into song at every possible opportunity.
07:39Maureen, tell us more about Allegra then and playing her, because she sounds like a lot of fun.
07:43It will be one day.
07:46Yes, it will be probably in Aberdeen.
07:48It will be incredible fun.
07:51She's relentlessly happy and it drives everyone mad.
07:54And they really want to sort of bring her down and make her more like everybody else.
08:00And she thinks nothing of going into the Indian restaurant and doing a rendition of Everything's Coming at Roses.
08:06So that's what I'm living with.
08:09I have to sing.
08:10I have to dance.
08:12And I have to speak all at the same time.
08:16But you're a triple threat.
08:17This is fine.
08:18I am.
08:18I am a quadruple threat, actually, because I can't really do any of them.
08:22But I'm having a good go.
08:24And it's lovely because, you know, we're living in a world of vitriol and nastiness.
08:30And here comes this woman and she's just, you know, I find joy every day.
08:36And she's batty.
08:39I mean, you would call her probably neurodivergent if you had the vocabulary.
08:45And everybody's just, you know, there's a policeman, there's a brother, there's a carer.
08:50And they're just trying to sort of keep her level.
08:53But she can't.
08:54And so she's got an orchestra in her head.
08:58And so this is what we're taking around the country to cheer everybody out.
09:02She sounds brilliant.
09:03Yeah, it sounds so much fun.
09:04Are you a little bit like Allegra at home?
09:06Are you singing around the house all the time?
09:08Well, my late husband used to say, if she's not singing, get out the house.
09:14Because I do.
09:15I sing.
09:17And I don't even know I'm doing it in the back of Texas and things.
09:20And people are always saying, you know, you're very happy today.
09:23And I say, why?
09:23Why?
09:24Why do you think I'm happy?
09:25I'm as miserable as sin.
09:28Yeah.
09:29No, I do.
09:30And I sing and I growl.
09:32Oh, yeah.
09:33Okay.
09:33Yes, I don't know I'm doing it.
09:34Well, that's veering into different territory now, isn't it?
09:38Yeah, we'll get to the marriage later.
09:41Yes.
09:42And Josh, with a voice like yours, though, you must do a lot of singing in the house.
09:46Well, in fact, we know that you sing in the shower.
09:48I do sing in the shower.
09:49Thank you for having me sing in the shower.
09:50That's a pleasure.
09:51During the pandemic.
09:52That was a great acoustics for me.
09:54Yeah, I sing.
09:55I sing to our dogs.
09:56I sing.
09:56Sometimes I'll just be singing around just in a room by myself.
09:59And my fiance will just be like, are you okay in there?
10:02This is just the brain.
10:03There's just songs going on in my head all the time.
10:05And also, it goes through your head all night.
10:07Yes.
10:07You have a song.
10:08You know, we have a dream a little dream.
10:11And it's three o'clock in the morning and in my head, I'm just singing.
10:17And I sometimes do a little shimmy as well.
10:21Unfortunately, David is born the same year as I am.
10:24And so we've got the same song, but we have been known to be singing at four o'clock in
10:28the morning.
10:29Yeah.
10:30Are you far away from the neighbours?
10:31I mean, the neighbours are fine with that?
10:33We don't bother with neighbours.
10:34Fine.
10:34Good.
10:35That's exactly it.
10:36On TikTok, Maureen.
10:38People love to see that.
10:39Oh, absolutely.
10:39Yeah.
10:40Maureen, one of the songs obviously is, of course, singing in the rain.
10:44I mean, yeah.
10:45I mean, look, we've got some rehearsal footage here, though.
10:47It looks fantastic.
10:48I mean, how are you finding, you know, I guess at this stage rehearsing all the big numbers?
10:54I'm just looking at myself and thinking, you idiot.
10:58No, I love it.
11:00It's a workout, but it is, you know, I'm not, the last time I did this sort of thing was
11:0620 years ago.
11:07Wow.
11:07And so I'm finding it quite tough.
11:11But I have people around me, I have a very good director, choreographer, Stephen Mears, and I'm forever hopeful.
11:18I think people will really, it's unusual.
11:22Yeah.
11:23Well, it sounds brilliant.
11:24To have an optimistic play.
11:25It sounds like medicine.
11:25It sounds wonderful.
11:26For the soul, Maureen.
11:27Yeah.
11:28You want to come?
11:29You want to come?
11:29I want to be there.
11:30Yeah, yeah, I want to be there.
11:31I want to hear the growling.
11:33What we've got is, in every town, we're asking a local choir to come in and sort of sing with
11:39us at the end.
11:40Oh.
11:40It's a kind of pick-me-up feeling.
11:42Congrats on the singing role.
11:43Yeah, that's me.
11:43Yeah, there you go.
11:45That's it.
11:46And we had Hugh Jackman on the show this time last week.
11:50That would be that Australian boy who I once worked with.
11:52That's the Australian boy.
11:53And you were in Oklahoma, weren't you, with him in the 90s.
11:56Are you still in touch with Hugh?
11:57Oh, yes.
11:58Yes, he's a very loyal chap.
12:01And, in fact, he invited me when I was doing Corrie in Manchester.
12:04He invited me to come to his one-man show, which was phenomenal.
12:07I mean, he is a most exceptional performer.
12:11And I took six people from Coronation Street.
12:13I went shopping in the day.
12:15I went into his prayer circle.
12:17He invited me to come and sort of join in everybody while they had this kind of,
12:21it's going to be a great show.
12:23Yeah.
12:23And then I sat in the auditorium and suddenly he stood, we've got in tonight,
12:28and he made me stand up and turn around.
12:30And it was only at the end of the show when Colson, who played the policeman in Corrie, said to
12:36me,
12:36did you mean to have that in your ear?
12:39So I said, what?
12:40He said, that roller, did you mean to have it in your ear?
12:44And a big yellow Velcro roller in my hair all day.
12:48And I was, thank you, thank you.
12:50What a day.
12:51Keeping it real.
12:52Yeah, exactly.
12:53Well, the Allegra tour starts in Brighton on the 12th of May.
12:57Best of luck with it.
12:58Yeah, best of luck.
12:59Right, we're continuing the musical theme because Josh is here to talk about one of the great loves of his
13:05life.
13:06Apart from his brand new fiancee Natalie, of course, film soundtracks.
13:10He's recorded all his favourite songs from the big screen for his new album.
13:14So let's take a look at some of the classics that have made the cut.
13:17Can you feel the love tonight?
13:25It is where we are.
13:30You must remember this.
13:34A kiss is just a kiss.
13:39Let the sky fall.
13:42When it crumbles.
13:46We will stand tall.
13:48We'll face it all together.
13:52Let sky fall.
13:55Wow.
13:56Wow.
13:57Wow.
13:59Wow.
13:59Greg.
13:59No, Josh.
14:00Nice job.
14:01But you made it with a guy called Greg.
14:04Yes, I did.
14:05Who's behind Wicked.
14:07Aw.
14:08I respond to you.
14:10But he did Wicked, The Greatest Showman.
14:12That's right, yes.
14:12How did you choose them?
14:13Because there's so many tracks that you could have chosen for this.
14:16The long list when you're trying to think of songs for something like this is very long.
14:19Everybody has a favourite.
14:21We certainly had our favourites.
14:22And honestly, we just sang a lot at the piano.
14:24We would just kind of allow ourselves hours to just say, what about this?
14:28Or let's look up this lyric.
14:29And we would sing stuff and, you know, the goosebumps don't lie.
14:32When something feels right and your voice connects with it,
14:34or if it's a song that even outside of the movie really connects with your soul
14:39and it's a story you want to tell or feels right for right now,
14:42it actually came together quicker than we were expecting.
14:44And then the arrangements would come in and we would say, absolutely.
14:47They were just phenomenal.
14:48I mean, we've got the track list that we can actually have a look at.
14:51Oh, yeah.
14:52There's some fantastic ones in there.
14:54We've got some good ones.
14:55A bit of Ghost Unchained Melody as well.
14:56Yeah.
14:57Oh, yeah.
14:57Unchained Melody with my friend Jennifer Hudson.
15:00Wow.
15:00And there are some amazing collaborations.
15:01My dad is on the album.
15:03It's a really, really fun...
15:05I was going to say, your dad's on the album.
15:08Because your dad plays trumpet, right?
15:09He does, yeah.
15:10Yeah.
15:10So, my dad was an incredible jazz trumpet player in the 60s.
15:14And then, you know, his parents said to him, you know, look,
15:17if you want stability in your life, maybe you should put that away.
15:19Make that a hobby.
15:20So, he went into other things.
15:21But I brought him out 40 years later to perform with me on stage.
15:26We never captured it or recorded it.
15:27And I knew I was doing Moon River.
15:29And there was a spot in the arrangement for a trumpet solo.
15:31And I said, hey, if you really worked on this, do you think you could play?
15:34He's turning 80 this year, this summer.
15:35Oh.
15:35And he rehearsed for three weeks and he absolutely nailed it.
15:39Yeah.
15:39How brilliant.
15:40What a moment to have.
15:40It's now my favourite track that I've ever recorded is that one with him.
15:43I totally can imagine that.
15:45But there was one song that you wanted to put on this album that didn't quite make it in the
15:49end, right?
15:50Well, these are all very serious songs.
15:52Yeah.
15:52I've got kind of a dramatic voice.
15:54So, obviously, like the arrangements kind of drifted towards the dramatic songs.
15:56I wish, and maybe on a cinematic too, some more of the comedy songs could be represented.
16:02I really wanted to do, like, I'm a Lumberjack.
16:04Right.
16:04I wanted to sing a Christopher, like a Waiting for Guffman song.
16:07Yeah.
16:07Penny for Your Thoughts would be amazing as a duet.
16:09Yeah.
16:10Yeah, I think something from Spinal Tap, perhaps.
16:12Yeah.
16:12There are some really awesome comedy songs that would be fun to do.
16:16And I think that'll be the next one.
16:18Stonehenge on the next one.
16:19We look forward to that.
16:19That's it.
16:19That's it, yeah.
16:20Jeremy, obviously, we know you love music.
16:23So, if you were picking something, what would you choose?
16:27I'm worried I'm going to give you a tricky one, because I turned 60 last year.
16:30Happy birthday.
16:31And I thought I would have my neighbours round to the local cinema to watch a film made in
16:36the year I was born, 1965.
16:39And there are two really big films, Sound of Music or Fistful of Dollars.
16:43Oh.
16:44You've got to go Fistful of Dollars.
16:45Oh, yes.
16:46And the trouble is that one is something...
16:49Well, it's...
16:50It's a whistle, isn't it?
16:51It is, but honestly, and some of those, was that Morricone?
16:54Yes, exactly, yeah.
16:55It's amazing.
16:55So, I've actually put lyrics to a Morricone song before.
16:59That melody, I mean, we could just, you know, we'll write some lyrics together.
17:02It's that little stock that clock he has on it.
17:03You're great with the words.
17:04Yeah, yeah.
17:04Okay, all right, all right.
17:05We'll turn that whistle into gold.
17:07That's nice.
17:08It's full of dollars, you might say.
17:09So, that would be mine, I must say.
17:11Hey, what a thought.
17:12Absolutely.
17:12I'll talk to you after the show.
17:13You could do Cinema Paradiso.
17:15I have recorded it already.
17:16Have you?
17:16Yeah.
17:16There were so many great ones we wanted to put on, but some of them I've done already.
17:19So, yeah.
17:20That one is also available for streaming.
17:24You have sung on a film soundtrack, though, because you self-believed.
17:28I did, yeah.
17:29And then you performed it at the Oscars.
17:32Yes.
17:33With Beyoncé.
17:33That's right.
17:34What was that like?
17:36Oh, my God.
17:36It was so fun.
17:37First of all, she was so sweet.
17:38I couldn't even grow a beard when I did that with her.
17:42I had so much fog.
17:43I love the fact that I've got a Christmas song that has become one of those take-off-the-shelf
17:48-every-year songs.
17:49I loved the book, Polar Express.
17:50Yeah.
17:50And when Zemeckis and his team asked me to sing that song, I was so thrilled to be a part
17:54of that history.
17:55And hopefully when I have a kid one day, that'll be something they can play to.
17:58That'll be a moment, won't it?
17:59If that's not just a part of history, you are fully immortalized within Hollywood.
18:04Exciting news.
18:04You've got a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
18:06It's coming next week.
18:07That's next week, right?
18:07Yeah.
18:08Oh, man.
18:09Growing up in Los Angeles, especially, and walking that street my whole life, it's such an honor to have that,
18:15honestly.
18:15It's going to be a really special day.
18:17A lot of my friends and family are going to be there.
18:19And yeah, I mean, it's just, it's been very, the universe has been serendipitous with the songs that I'm recording
18:24right now
18:25and all the kind of things that have happened around Hollywood right now.
18:27And so, just so happy to be among so many of my heroes.
18:30Just very quickly, if I can.
18:32Sure.
18:32Do you ever get to select where you go?
18:34No.
18:35It's just random.
18:36I have no choice.
18:37It's not exactly random.
18:38I think that, like, you know, my record label's gotten involved and kind of said, hey, it'd be cool to
18:42be here.
18:42Yeah.
18:43But I don't know if I'm allowed to say where it's going to be.
18:45You are.
18:45Nobody's welcome.
18:46Who's in this team?
18:47I will say, I will say it's in front of one of my favourite record stores in the whole city.
18:51Brilliant.
18:52So, it's going to be great.
18:53Very good.
18:53Right, we can find out.
18:55We can find out.
18:57Josh's album Cinematic is out on Friday the 8th of May.
19:00Still to come, Jeremy will be telling us about why he's turned a sleepy Devon town into a hotbed of
19:06crime.
19:07Just for his new novel, of course.
19:09Yeah.
19:09But first, ahead of the anniversary of VE Day, next week, JJ Chalmers has been on a deeply personal journey
19:16to a place that shaped Britain's armed forces during World War II and beyond.
19:24Hidden away in the Highlands of Scotland is a once secret location that helped change the course of World War
19:31II, the birthplace of the Special Forces.
19:36This part of the world is very special to me.
19:40I remember when I was 17 years old, I visited a memorial just down the road that was to the
19:46commandos of the Second World War.
19:48And it was there that I decided I wanted to try and become a commando myself.
19:54It was a dream I realised in 2006.
19:58I've now been given special permission to film at Inverilet House, where the first commandos trained.
20:07In 1940, German forces were sweeping across Europe and British forces were no match for them.
20:14Almost every time the British Army had stood and fought, it had been beaten by this extraordinary German war machine.
20:23Monty Holtz is also a former commando, and he's written a book about Inverilet House and the clandestine work that
20:30went on here to beat the Germans.
20:33The way the British Army had operated was based on very rigid hierarchy.
20:38And what happened at Inverilet is they all got together and said, right, we can't operate like that anymore.
20:43So Churchill, amongst others, had this idea of creating a special training centre to try and create a new type
20:49of soldier.
20:50So were they trying to create an elite?
20:54Yes, they had to create something that was a bit tougher and a bit more ruthless.
20:59These small groups of highly mobile, very effective men who essentially were raiders.
21:06And they drove Hitler crazy.
21:09Training was tough here.
21:11Everything you needed for 24 to 36 hours weighed about 22 pounds.
21:16Right.
21:16And that all started here.
21:18This weight takes me straight back to training.
21:21Wearing our own 22-pound packs, Monty and I want to run in the footsteps of those first recruits.
21:28Right, let's do it.
21:29And see if we've still got what it takes.
21:32The harshness of the terrain, how primal, how raw it was, and what it did to people was really important.
21:38This is a man breaking terrain.
21:41You're not exactly selling the idea of running up this hill to me.
21:45No.
21:46Recruits were trained in unarmed combat, explosives and radio communications.
21:52And they had to be fit.
21:55These boys, it's got a lot worse than I thought it was going to be.
22:00But, we made it.
22:03This was the perfect area to transform men into soldiers, and then soldiers into commandos.
22:10But also, women as well, trained up here.
22:13And they were taught survival up here, and how to move through countryside with that big scene.
22:17How to operate in remote areas, live off the land, all that stuff.
22:20Key skills.
22:21Feet at the bottom, let's go.
22:23The Special Operations Executive sent agents behind enemy lines to spy and disrupt the enemy through diversion and sabotage.
22:33The men and women who trained at Inver Islet had an outsized impact on the war.
22:39One of their original instructors was Duncan Chisholm.
22:41He was in France during 1940 as a sniper.
22:47Then he escaped Dunkirk, and within a matter of weeks, he was instructing field craft at Inver Islet.
22:54So that, I guess, the arts of camouflage, navigation and survival in the wilds.
23:02So he was a gamekeeper, and I guess all of these skills came very naturally to him.
23:09So he had skills that predated the war, you know, from growing up in a world like this.
23:16Yeah.
23:17How proud are you of his service?
23:20Incredibly proud, yeah.
23:22The whole family are incredibly proud of everything that he achieved in his life.
23:28I hadn't truly realized how important Inver Islet House was to the outcome of the war.
23:33And it's been a privilege to honor the memory of those who fought seemingly impossible odds and won.
23:42Ah, it's such a fascinating story.
23:44In Monty Hall's book, Churchill's Killing House, the origins of World War II's legendary commando fighting force will be out
23:50on May 7th.
23:52And big thanks as well to JJ.
23:53Absolutely.
23:54Right.
23:54Talking of Goodreads, Jeremy's been delving into the world of murder mysteries once again.
23:59And after the success of his last book, his leading character, Edward, a radio DJ, of course, turned amateur detective,
24:05is back.
24:06So what mystery is Edward solving this time then?
24:09This is called Turn the Dial for Death.
24:11A man is found, a doctor is found dead in a forest in a linen suit, lying on his back
24:18with a kind of wound in his chest from a crossbow bolt.
24:21And his wife is the obvious suspect because she bought the crossbow.
24:25But she has the perfect alibi.
24:27She's in the cinema watching a Marvel film.
24:29The trouble is, she doesn't like Marvel films.
24:32And she goes to Edward and says, you've got to clear my name because everyone thinks I'm guilty.
24:37And that's it.
24:38That's the start of it.
24:39There you go.
24:39I know you've said this before.
24:41I think last time you came in, you were saying that obviously you get really inspired by Agatha Christie, of
24:46course.
24:46But there are certain rules of hers in her writing that you want to follow as well.
24:50Yeah.
24:50I mean, Agatha was the greatest.
24:51I think we think she might have sold four billion, three or four billion.
24:55Crazy.
24:55It's almost as many as the Bible.
24:57And her rules have recently been put together by somebody very clever who said, play fair was the main rule.
25:02You can't have the murderer suddenly appear just on page 209 for three paragraphs and then reappear at the very
25:08end.
25:09But that said, she did the best genre twisting thing ever, which is when she created the unreliable narrator.
25:16And I won't say which book it was, but the guy who tells you the whole story through his own
25:20eyes, but he's lying.
25:21So she created a lot of the framework for this.
25:24She was truly amazing.
25:25You died when I was 11.
25:27You know, 1976.
25:30Extraordinary woman.
25:31And still, still the greatest.
25:33Yeah.
25:34Well, it worked for her, the rules.
25:35Yeah.
25:36The rules worked.
25:3666 books.
25:37I read them as a teenager.
25:39My first was when I was 11.
25:40Hercule Parra's Christmas.
25:42And then I was just hooked through my teenage years.
25:43And now she's got this incredible revival going on.
25:46It's incredible.
25:46And you've been counting down to the release on TikTok with some brilliant videos.
25:51But the one we liked most is you smelling the new books.
25:56Oh, yes.
25:56This is embarrassing.
25:57Well, it's true.
25:58If you ever...
26:00Oh, God.
26:00I haven't seen this day.
26:01But when they send you the books and you sort of sniff them, it's a moment.
26:06I can tell you.
26:07The smell of books is incredible.
26:09If I ever found unconscious, you can just say, look, I mean, he OD'd on one of his own books.
26:13No doubt.
26:13It's roses.
26:14It's carnations.
26:15It's geraniums.
26:16It's every flower.
26:17It's incredible.
26:18Fantastic.
26:19The smell of your own book.
26:20I mean...
26:21Am I getting this to you?
26:22Yeah, absolutely.
26:24You suddenly went blank.
26:25I can see how much you're enjoying it.
26:26That's it.
26:27But the thing I'm most excited about is that obviously your first book, such a huge hit.
26:32Talks of a TV adaptation.
26:34Exciting.
26:34And not just on top of that, the cast is so key.
26:38But there's a certain actor I know that you've really got in mind.
26:40Well, your brilliant producer was saying to me, who would play?
26:42I almost said you.
26:43But of course, Edward, the presenter, is not based on me.
26:46He's slightly paranoid, insecure, and always worried that a younger person is going to replace
26:50him.
26:50So that's definitely not me.
26:51Not you.
26:52But I think Jason Isaacs is so good.
26:55White Lotus.
26:56Yeah.
26:57Are there any crabby old women in it?
26:59Yeah.
27:00Well, I've got a...
27:01Yes, I have got a role.
27:02Have you got...
27:03Not crabby, but she's a very, very lovable, genteel, intelligent, yes, Maureen.
27:10Her name is Barbara Sinker.
27:12You're just casting each other in everything.
27:14Yeah.
27:14She is a brilliant singer as well, actually.
27:17Who regularly appears at the Clock Tower Cafe.
27:20Aha.
27:20Basically.
27:20Or does he?
27:22Yeah.
27:23It's perfect.
27:24And dispenses clues.
27:25Yeah.
27:26But you were in Father Brown, Maureen.
27:28Do you like a murder mystery and trying to solve it, or did you skip right to the end
27:32of the script just to see who done it?
27:33I just read my bit, and I had looked at the clothes.
27:37They were nice.
27:38I'm not someone, with respect, who cares who done it.
27:42Really?
27:42I did have a period where I read Agatha Christie constantly, right through.
27:46And then I realised there was no character in it, unlike your book.
27:50Oh, interesting.
27:50Well, it's funny you say that.
27:51I mean, yeah, Death on the Nile was 55,000 words, I think, which is the realist
27:55achievement, because most people who wrote that now would write it twice as long.
27:59But, yeah, I think that it's like a crossword.
28:02That's the joy of it.
28:03It's like sitting down with a crossword and you're trying to solve it.
28:06Do you write backwards?
28:07No, although I did meet someone the other day who starts, who writes the whole
28:10book without, with only the crime, and then decides in the last chapter who the
28:14killer is, and then writes backwards.
28:16But I think I start with the crime, and you've got to start by giving somebody a question
28:21and a puzzle to solve.
28:22Yeah, and to drop the clues and the hints, you need to know the pattern, surely.
28:26You need to know where it's going.
28:30I think so.
28:31The job I had was on the Coventry Evening Telegraph, and I had to, I thought I'm going
28:34to be investigating all these crimes as a young reporter.
28:36And I basically ended up just reporting on the theft of my own car.
28:40It was stolen every few days.
28:42I think that's how I...
28:43Got a picture?
28:44Well, there we are.
28:44Someone said, you've got this picture.
28:46So, basically, in those days you could buy...
28:48My car radio was always being stolen.
28:50So I bought a detachable radio, which I walked around with the whole time.
28:53And then the car was stolen, so I only had the radio.
28:57Wow.
28:57So that was my start of a life in crime.
28:59No, this is your proper career in crime.
29:03Yeah, exactly.
29:03Jeremy's new book, Turn the Dial for Death, is out now.
29:06And that's all we've got time for tonight.
29:08Thank you very much to our lovely guests.
29:09Yes, we'll be back tomorrow with Sir Lenny Henry for his first stand-up tour in 16 years.
29:14Luther's star Warren Brown and Michelle Ogunderhin from Interior Design Masters.
29:19We'll see you there.
29:19Bye-bye.
29:20Bye-bye.
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