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Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh - Season 8 - Episode 10
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00:00:00The noble Frisian horse, what began as a regional war horse during medieval times has now been transformed into a
00:00:08show-stopping superstar, where once it trotted from battle to battle, now you'll find it capturing hearts with its majestic
00:00:17gait and beautiful black coat.
00:00:19Today, classic comedy, countryside capers and a couple of hedgehogs find their forever home. With these two beauties, it can
00:00:29only be. Love you weekend.
00:01:05Beautiful wax wings, common spawning frogs, mizzle thrushes singing from the tops of tall trees.
00:01:14Just some of the wildlife sounds and sights to enjoy as we emerge from those cold, dark months.
00:01:22Something to warm you up is today's show.
00:01:25Coming up from a geek in a duffel coat in Johnson Creek to TV's biggest taskmaster, Alan Davis, on returning
00:01:32to his comedy roots as he takes to the road for a brand new tour.
00:01:36And she exploded onto our screens in the late 80s with shows like The Really Wild Show and The Hitman
00:01:43and Her. Remember that?
00:01:45Michaela Strachan currently is celebrating 40 years on the box and she still only looks 23.
00:01:51And it's the Holby City for Hedgehogs.
00:01:53How one Buckinghamshire couple have spent the past five years setting up a hedgehog hospital in their back garden.
00:02:00And they're Poplar's favourite duo, Annabelle Atzian and Cliff Parisi, on what's next for Fred and Violet.
00:02:08And we're sampling some female-owned bevies, sure to get your spirits up on a March morning.
00:02:14Drinks expert Becky Paskin on the women breaking the glass ceiling in this week's Leicester British.
00:02:26Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. I feel a song coming on.
00:02:31Please welcome to the bar, Michaela Strachan and Alan Davis.
00:02:35Now, things guests have in common. You two, it's a big year this year.
00:02:3960. Alan, you've just turned 60. Michaela, yours is coming up in April.
00:02:43It's true.
00:02:44Am I allowed to say this?
00:02:45Month apart. Month apart. We're both 60.
00:02:47Yes.
00:02:48Do you know, I'm really excited about being 60, because I think once you get to 60, you can kind
00:02:52of say what you really want to say.
00:02:55I don't feel that the filter is there anymore.
00:02:58So, this could go anyway, this show, couldn't it?
00:03:00Look at what to this.
00:03:01You kind of know who you are, don't you?
00:03:03Yes, you do.
00:03:04Yeah.
00:03:05No, a bit more enthusiasm. Come on.
00:03:07No, I'm okay with it.
00:03:10I mean, I didn't have any qualms at 50. I quite liked it.
00:03:14But 60, and when I was a kid growing up, 60 was really ancient.
00:03:19Oh, yes.
00:03:2170 was really old and 80 was unthinkable, but things have changed, right? 60 is the new 40, that's what
00:03:27I'm told.
00:03:27You don't let age define you. That's the thing. That's my new motto. Don't let age define you.
00:03:32I think you get kind of sort of bullish about it, don't you? Okay. But what you hesitate, you suddenly
00:03:39realise, you say, I'm 76.
00:03:42And you don't want to turn into that little old lady who says, I'm 83.
00:03:45Yeah.
00:03:47And then you let a day go by without telling people how old you are. That's key as you get
00:03:51older.
00:03:51Yes.
00:03:52Of course so. Some older folk, they do the same as you do when you're a child, which is you
00:03:57say, well, how old you are next birthday?
00:03:59How old are you? I'm 83 next birthday.
00:04:02Did you celebrate?
00:04:04Yes, I did.
00:04:05In a huge way.
00:04:06I nearly didn't make it here, I mean.
00:04:09You know, partying for your 60th, I've rather stupidly decided to go on tour six days after my birthday.
00:04:16Oh, no.
00:04:16That's really silly, isn't it?
00:04:18So, don't you think you'll have a six-day hangover? That's going to be so hard.
00:04:21I'm postponing my celebration.
00:04:23You're going to do this filter-free tour now. It's going to be unmissable.
00:04:27Do you think so? Filter-free?
00:04:30Yeah, because I can say whatever I like, but now I'm 60.
00:04:32You might as well, they've come.
00:04:34Not just a wildlife, it really will be. Not just a wildlife.
00:04:37Not just a wildlife, because you'll begin your life in musical theatre.
00:04:40I mean, she's a girl of musicals, you know.
00:04:43From your point of view, have you ever been asked to do musical theatre?
00:04:45Yes, I was asked.
00:04:47Oh.
00:04:48And you didn't?
00:04:49I was asked to do Caractacus Pots in Chitty Chitty Bank.
00:04:53Oh, wow.
00:04:54My father said to me, the Dick Van Dyke part?
00:04:56And I said, yeah.
00:04:57And he said, but Dick Van Dyke was marvellous.
00:05:01That was encouraging.
00:05:02Don't need your kids then.
00:05:03Like father, like daughter.
00:05:04Yeah.
00:05:05So I went and I said, listen, I've never done this.
00:05:07I don't know about singing.
00:05:08I went along to meet the musical director.
00:05:12And he said, well, we'll sing this song.
00:05:14I started to sing it.
00:05:15And he said, hmm.
00:05:16And then he came round and he put his hand on my diaphragm, which I didn't know I had.
00:05:21And he said to me, you're not breathing at all.
00:05:25Which I didn't take as a positive.
00:05:27And also I thought was medically not possible.
00:05:31And I didn't do it in the end.
00:05:33You have to sing with your diaphragm.
00:05:34Yeah, that's what he said.
00:05:35Yes, you do.
00:05:36Yeah.
00:05:36But also I was working with Leslie Sharp at the time.
00:05:39Oh, gosh.
00:05:40My favourite ever.
00:05:40Yeah.
00:05:41My co-stars.
00:05:42And she said, I said I'd have been asked to do this.
00:05:44And she just said, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
00:05:51la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.
00:05:52And she said, in the next door dressing room every night for a year.
00:05:57Yes.
00:05:58So I had a little insight into what it might be like.
00:06:01What it might be like.
00:06:03So did they eventually say to you, thank you, but no.
00:06:06No, once I'd said, I don't think I can do this, never heard from them again.
00:06:09Oh, they believed you.
00:06:10It is ruthless.
00:06:12There's nothing more ruthless than musical theatre.
00:06:15It's all this out front.
00:06:16It's the jazz bands.
00:06:19I took the kids to see Anything Goes at the Barbican,
00:06:23which was not long after COVID restrictions had finally been lifted.
00:06:28So it's everybody packed in the theatre for the first time for a while.
00:06:31And it was euphoric.
00:06:33It was extraordinary.
00:06:35And there are two massive tap routines in that show.
00:06:38Yeah.
00:06:38Full company.
00:06:39And they got standing ovations in the middle of the show,
00:06:42which was hard on the dancers.
00:06:44Yeah.
00:06:45They were all holding some pose.
00:06:47In a lift.
00:06:49We were all...
00:06:50Oh, how funny.
00:06:52There's nothing quite like a really good musical.
00:06:55There's nothing quite like it.
00:06:56I tap danced on all-star musicals.
00:06:58I decided to do 42nd Street because I thought,
00:07:01no one's tap danced on it before.
00:07:02And I was thinking telly terms.
00:07:04I think, well, that would be a good variety, wouldn't it?
00:07:06So, yeah, I ended up doing 42nd Street.
00:07:09But I went to see Showstoppers recently.
00:07:11Have you seen that?
00:07:12Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:07:13Improvised.
00:07:13Now, that is phenomenal.
00:07:14So that is an improvised musical every night.
00:07:17And the audience says what they want the musical to be about.
00:07:20Oh, my goodness.
00:07:21Five people will give titles and then you'll vote for which title it was.
00:07:25So when I was there, it was a static caravan.
00:07:27And then they've got to make up a whole musical with songs
00:07:31and a plot about a static caravan.
00:07:34It was brilliant.
00:07:34This takes imprint to new heights, doesn't it?
00:07:36Don't ask Alan Davis to do it.
00:07:38No.
00:07:38Especially if there's a number from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
00:07:41I think we should do it right here, right now.
00:07:42We could do it on something like,
00:07:44let's make the musical about iced buns.
00:07:45This is what you people are like.
00:07:47Let's do one now.
00:07:48No.
00:07:48Go on.
00:07:49Make a musical.
00:07:49I've been worked at my show for months.
00:07:51It's perfect.
00:07:54Oh, let's do a song in it.
00:07:55No, you do yours.
00:07:57This is clearly.
00:07:58I'll do my tour.
00:07:58You do your tour.
00:07:59It's like being in the Hitman and her.
00:08:01I feel like being Waterman.
00:08:02You do that, Michaela.
00:08:04I'll stand in the corner and count the money.
00:08:06Do you know what I think would work really well, Alan?
00:08:08If we did mix our tours,
00:08:10you're going off in September.
00:08:12I'm going off for April.
00:08:13Sometime in the middle,
00:08:14we could put them together and see what happens.
00:08:16Special guest, Michaela Stracken.
00:08:19Wait, the audience.
00:08:20Oh, brilliant.
00:08:22She's going to tap.
00:08:23She's 60.
00:08:26I'm going to skate on, dance to an ice, do a song.
00:08:28Look at her go.
00:08:29Talk about wildlife, come on.
00:08:31Come out, a bit portly.
00:08:32Another story about my childhood.
00:08:34Oh, God.
00:08:38Are you going to come, Alan?
00:08:38Get me, Kayla.
00:08:40I don't know.
00:08:41I feel I've seen the show already.
00:08:43Mr. T.
00:08:44Mr. T comes on at the end of the valley.
00:08:47Yes, with a plant.
00:08:48I pity the fool.
00:08:49I think so.
00:08:50He says to all his plants.
00:08:52Round it off with a few gardening tips.
00:08:53I think it would be an absolute hit.
00:08:56Tell you my favourite plant, Alan.
00:08:58Fritillaria.
00:08:58Oh, very good.
00:08:59Yeah.
00:09:00Well, the Crown Imperial Snakes have.
00:09:01The tall one.
00:09:02The Crown Imperial.
00:09:03Yeah, yeah.
00:09:04I grew one by mistake.
00:09:05How can you grow a Fritillaria by mistake?
00:09:07I got some bulbs.
00:09:10Yes.
00:09:10I planted tulips and daffs and normal sort of bulbs.
00:09:13I say normal.
00:09:14They're the ones I know.
00:09:15Yeah, yeah.
00:09:15And in this package of bulbs I ordered, a massive bulb came and I didn't know what it was.
00:09:21And I put it in a pot on a windowsill and after a few months, things started to appear.
00:09:27Anyway, it grew to about this high.
00:09:29And I didn't know what it was.
00:09:31And until you told me what it was, Morgana Robinson, who's a brilliantly funny comic actress I was in Taskmaster
00:09:36with, she's a gardener.
00:09:38And then I kept taking pictures of her and she told me what it was.
00:09:41And it was beautiful.
00:09:43It sprung up and then these little bells came out.
00:09:46Yellow or orange?
00:09:47Orange.
00:09:47Yeah, that's the normal one.
00:09:49It's a lovely story attached.
00:09:50I don't take the mood down.
00:09:52But the story was that when it first grew, the crown imperial was white and its flowers were upturned.
00:09:59And it was the only flower in the garden of Gethsemane that didn't bow its head when Christ died.
00:10:05So an angel came down and admonished it.
00:10:08It blushed orange, turned its flowers down.
00:10:12And if you look inside each flower, you'll find a teardrop.
00:10:15This is flower mythology.
00:10:17But how amazing that he just brings it out of the bag, that story.
00:10:20That's all history being passed.
00:10:21Yes.
00:10:22Yeah.
00:10:22I mean, you and I were hanging on your every word there.
00:10:24It's unusual.
00:10:26Not many people do.
00:10:28Attempt.
00:10:30OK.
00:10:30Well, because I feel we're doing the entire show here, but alas, we have to move on.
00:10:36More barnside banter from these two.
00:10:39We can't have an hour later.
00:10:40Coming up, we'll try and fit the rest in if we can.
00:10:43And if you fancy a summer bounty of bargain bouquets, now's the time to be planning.
00:10:49And horticulturist Ashley Edwards on the cut flowers you can grow from seed rather than
00:10:53bulbs, including poppies and marigolds.
00:10:55You almost smell the summer and described as a modern-day black beauty.
00:10:59Oh, known to their majesty.
00:11:03Athleticism, impressive gait, temperament, and shiny black coat.
00:11:07You have to see these horses.
00:11:08They're out there.
00:11:08They're gorgeous.
00:11:09Frisian horses.
00:11:10They've been captivating equine enthusiasts for centuries.
00:11:14We'll be catching up with our noble steeds and much more right after this.
00:11:18Alan, can I tempt you to a cream horn?
00:11:20Yeah, you bet.
00:11:22Oh, I can't eat a strawberry.
00:11:24Oh, so, yeah.
00:11:25How did you know I'd go for the strawberry?
00:11:27I can just tell.
00:11:29I've lost my nerve with the cream horn, but I'm not disappointed.
00:11:50For nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own, and from morning to
00:11:55night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and
00:12:02easy that we can scarcely mark their progress.
00:12:05Lovely words from Hampshire-born Charles Dickens on the ever-changing face of nature in the
00:12:11British countryside, which we continue to celebrate here at Love Your Weekend.
00:12:16Coming up, you've seen her wide awake on Saturday mornings, cuddling orangutans, wrangling
00:12:22Chris Packham, and keeping Pete Waterman in check in The Hitman and Her.
00:12:26Michaela Strachan shares the anecdotes and the stories of an incredible career.
00:12:30Also coming up, the awards just keep on coming.
00:12:34Recently voted Best Continuing Drama, how Call the Midwife continues to reign supreme.
00:12:40Taking time out from their haberdashery, Cliff Parisi and Annabelle Apsian on Poplar's
00:12:46favourite handyman and queen of local government, Fred and Violet Buckle.
00:12:51But now, if you've ever enjoyed a story of the knights of old galloping on horseback to
00:12:57perform a daring deed, odds are you might have in mind a Frisian horse.
00:13:03They really do look as though they're trotted straight out of a fairy tale.
00:13:07Originally hailing from the Netherlands, the Frisian Stud Book, founded in 1879, describes the
00:13:14Frisian breeders fiery, strong, intelligent and looking just a bit superior, as if she
00:13:21knows of her centuries-old heritage, as if she knows of the place she has in so many
00:13:27hearts.
00:13:27Well, they certainly won over my heart last time they were here.
00:13:31It's a warm welcome back to Frisian breeders Ian Garbutt and Gaynor Morris.
00:13:35Having brought with you today, welcome.
00:13:37Who have you got here, Ian?
00:13:39Well, this is Vendor.
00:13:41Vendor.
00:13:42We saw Vendor here some time ago.
00:13:44Yeah.
00:13:44Her mother was here, which is Yaldau, she was the two times British Supreme Champion.
00:13:49Wow.
00:13:49And we brought her here today so we can show you how we're going to start training with
00:13:53her now she's three years old.
00:13:55And then we have Senna here, who's a five-year-old mare, who's in foal to the world champion stallion
00:14:01called Yepper.
00:14:02Wow.
00:14:02So we're very excited about that.
00:14:03So, I mean, there's a lot of breeding, Ian, I mean, how many horses in foal have you got
00:14:09at the moment?
00:14:10We have seven foals due this year.
00:14:12Wow.
00:14:12Four pure Frisians and three part-breds that we breed carefully with other horses to make
00:14:18more sporty, light-footed animals.
00:14:23It must be very exciting when you kind of don't know what you're going to get, do you?
00:14:27Especially when you've got a, you know, you're ready to be a champion.
00:14:29It's always, it's about improving all the time.
00:14:34No horse is perfect, same as no people aren't.
00:14:36But Senna has faults, she's a star mare, she's very good quality, she's got a superb temperament
00:14:42and she's so calm for a five-year-old.
00:14:44Ian can take her out happy hacking totally safely.
00:14:46She goes in the carriage.
00:14:48We only use her lightly because she's in foal, but it's really good to keep them fit.
00:14:52Well, for you, Ian, why Frisians?
00:14:54You could pick any breed of horse you wanted.
00:14:56I'm saying that looking and thinking, well, I know why.
00:14:59You look so wonderful.
00:15:00Yeah, well, I know why as well.
00:15:01I mean, they're so majestic, aren't they?
00:15:03But it's actually Gaynor's fault, believe it or not.
00:15:06Oh, I see.
00:15:06Because around 13 years ago, she bought me a book of Horses for the World and I just
00:15:11went, I want that one.
00:15:12I want that one.
00:15:12And that was it.
00:15:13So, you're training yourselves now, I think, isn't it?
00:15:15We're training ourselves.
00:15:16I think we've got to the stage that we've learnt enough now that we know what the judges in
00:15:21the KFPS are looking for and therefore we're going to start training ourselves.
00:15:26This young lady has started her training only just recently because she's only just three
00:15:31years old and she won't be grading until she's three and a half in September and therefore
00:15:37she's just learning, really.
00:15:39It's about manners at the moment.
00:15:40Yes.
00:15:41I think we should let them have a run, don't you?
00:15:44Do you want to just let one off, then we've got some control.
00:15:46If you go over that side and I'll go over here and she should run back towards centre.
00:15:49You can see the power, can't you, on these horses.
00:15:52I don't know about you, but watching a horse run like that, I can just stand for hours.
00:15:59Watch.
00:16:00Look at the way it lifts its hooves.
00:16:04It's just naturally elegant.
00:16:06Tell you what, I'll run, Gainer.
00:16:07Go on, pssh.
00:16:09Gainer.
00:16:10I'll run.
00:16:11They can get...
00:16:11Then you can...
00:16:12You can exercise yourself, don't you, William?
00:16:15Yeah.
00:16:16I don't know who's got any more, the horse or the owner.
00:16:18But look at that conformation, look at the way it lifts its feet.
00:16:24It seems to float.
00:16:30You're very fit, Ian.
00:16:31That's so impressive.
00:16:33Ian, that's a wonderful conformation.
00:16:35Goodness me, what a sight.
00:16:41Ian, you've only a cup of coffee.
00:16:43And that's all you got from me.
00:16:45That is all we would ask from you.
00:16:48I'd be skiing if I wanted to do that.
00:16:50I think you are, man.
00:16:52I think you are, man.
00:16:53That's wonderful.
00:16:55So, when's the foal due here?
00:16:58She's due at the end of May.
00:17:00Yeah.
00:17:01So, you can see she carries her first foal.
00:17:03Yes.
00:17:04And you can see she carries very tight, so you can hardly show she's in foal.
00:17:07No, you can't, no.
00:17:08It's amazing.
00:17:08But the big growth with the foal, it's probably about the size of a cat now.
00:17:12Right.
00:17:12It's amazing.
00:17:13The last three months is absolutely mad.
00:17:15That's where the size comes.
00:17:16Yeah.
00:17:16So, it's grown all its bits now.
00:17:18Yeah.
00:17:18It has ears and eyes and legs and everything.
00:17:20Gestation is how long?
00:17:2111 months and a week.
00:17:22It's just wonderful to see you both again.
00:17:25Yeah.
00:17:26And to see these two.
00:17:27Yeah.
00:17:27And meeting people who are passionate and knowledgeable about what they love.
00:17:32Yeah.
00:17:32Particularly in terms of livestock.
00:17:34It's always such a treat.
00:17:35It's quite mind-blowing.
00:17:36Yeah.
00:17:37Thank you, ladies.
00:17:38Very much indeed.
00:17:39Ian, you can have a lie down now.
00:17:42Yeah.
00:17:42I can't run to save my life.
00:17:44Brilliant.
00:17:44The Friesian Horses, the original black beauty, I think.
00:17:46Bless you.
00:17:47Coming up, the couple who've devoted their life and their savings to helping hedgehogs.
00:17:53Even setting up their very own hedgehog triage room in the back garden.
00:17:58Can you imagine?
00:17:58And the woman who shares my love for the great outdoors and everything that's great about
00:18:03our countryside.
00:18:04With her trademark leggings, hiking boots and light waterproof, Michaela Strachan boots up
00:18:10once more as she takes to the great outdoors.
00:18:13This time, here at Manor Farm.
00:18:15I'll see you with Michaela right after this.
00:18:31Welcome back to Manor Farm.
00:18:33Coming up, my favourite detective slash magician.
00:18:37And, of course, there are so many to choose from.
00:18:39The star of Jonathan Creek and long-serving QI panellist Alan Davies on his triumphant return
00:18:45to stand-up comedy.
00:18:47And he's a new memoir, too.
00:18:48And also coming up, the inspiring story of the couple who've set up their own hedgehog
00:18:53hospital in their back garden.
00:18:54But first, to quote the late, great Vincent van Gogh, as I so often do of a Sunday morning,
00:19:00if you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.
00:19:04Words that will no doubt resonate with my next guest, who spent the last 35 years celebrating
00:19:11the great outdoors and the animals that inhabit it.
00:19:15Well, Chulu may be a newcomer here at the orphanage, but already she knows the milk routine.
00:19:20And she's just as keen and eager as all the other orphans.
00:19:31It's very obvious which one is Chulu's bottle because it has this tea, thanks.
00:19:36It's hardly surprising she's so keen to get her bottle.
00:19:40It's thought that she was without her mum for about two weeks, and in that time she became
00:19:44very dehydrated.
00:19:46And the telltale signs of that are these sunken cheeks.
00:19:49You shouldn't be able to see the cheekbones on an elephant of this age.
00:19:54So, we need to pattern you up a little bit.
00:19:57Look at you, the elephant diaries.
00:20:00Amazing, brave, not just because there's quite a lot of weight behind a baby elephant,
00:20:04but you are allergic to elephants.
00:20:06I'm allergic, I know it's bad.
00:20:07You were a fool Michaela, what possessed you to go to?
00:20:09But you might be allergic to elephants.
00:20:11I've never got close enough to discover.
00:20:14I did ride on one in India and it seemed to pass without incident.
00:20:18Yeah, I mean, absolutely bonkers isn't it?
00:20:20I'm slightly allergic to long-haired cats as well, so maybe there's a link there.
00:20:23Did you not discover it then until you were there?
00:20:26Not really.
00:20:27I mean, I'd been sort of on safari and every time we got near elephants I'd start sneezing.
00:20:32So I thought that's interesting.
00:20:34But it wasn't until I'm with orphans in Nairobi Elephant Orphanage, you know, with trunks
00:20:39all over me and saliva all over me and really in amongst them that I realised that yes,
00:20:44I am definitely allergic, but I was also pregnant at the time.
00:20:48And your hormones when you're pregnant can heighten allergies.
00:20:51Yeah.
00:20:51So it was quite bad.
00:20:53I mean, there was a rash from like here to here and swollen eyes and yeah,
00:20:57I looked like I had flu.
00:20:58There's a little right picture on the box.
00:21:00No close-ups, please.
00:21:02Keep your distance.
00:21:03The fascination with animals, I mean, they're since childhood?
00:21:06Obviously, I've always loved animals, but my passion as a youngster was musical theatre.
00:21:11Yeah.
00:21:11I share that with you, Alan.
00:21:13You do.
00:21:13So I trained for the theatre and I was in musicals to begin with.
00:21:18I was in Seven Brides of Seven Brothers and then went into presenting children's television
00:21:22and then sort of fell into presenting wildlife.
00:21:26So that's how it happened.
00:21:28I mean, I was always incredibly empathetic towards animals, but my knowledge and my passion
00:21:33has grown over the years.
00:21:34But also an innate curiosity as well.
00:21:37Yes.
00:21:37An inquiring mind and wanting to know.
00:21:39Because it's evident when you're presenting that you are enthusiastic about your subjects
00:21:43and that, you know, you want to know more and this is one way.
00:21:47I think it was John Ruskin who said, if you ever want to know about anything, write a book about
00:21:51it.
00:21:51Yes, that's so true.
00:21:52That was before television existed.
00:21:53But in a way, the same applies, doesn't it?
00:21:55If you want to know more, make a television series about it.
00:21:58Yeah, and on Springwatch, you know, every year we learn something new on all the watches.
00:22:03I mean, we delve into the little stuff, which is always fascinating.
00:22:08You know, once you get into the macro side of wildlife, then it's way more interesting
00:22:13than looking at lions and tigers and bears.
00:22:16You know, it's the detail.
00:22:19The devil's in the detail, isn't it?
00:22:21But also just by watching wildlife, as we do on Springwatch, when we've got the cameras
00:22:26in the little nest, each year we see something that we've never seen before.
00:22:31Let's have a look at you on Springwatch.
00:22:33This is a hugely successful series.
00:22:36I've got a question for you.
00:22:37Go on.
00:22:37Sometimes you like to name the animals that we feature.
00:22:40I do.
00:22:40OK.
00:22:40So if you were going to name this partridge, what would you call it?
00:22:43Think, hold on, think before you answer.
00:22:44OK.
00:22:45Think about where we are.
00:22:45OK.
00:22:46Um, Ken.
00:22:48Ken.
00:22:49Why Ken?
00:22:50Ken.
00:22:51No, not Ken.
00:22:52We're in Norfolk, aren't we?
00:22:53We're in Norfolk.
00:22:54A partridge in Norfolk.
00:22:55Aha.
00:22:57Knowing me, knowing you.
00:22:59Aha.
00:23:00What?
00:23:01Alan.
00:23:02Alan Partridge.
00:23:03Very obviously.
00:23:05My goodness.
00:23:07Chris Packham at his most off the wall.
00:23:10It keeps you fresh, doesn't it, really?
00:23:12I chose that clip specially for you.
00:23:15I really did.
00:23:16Because it was so funny, because I didn't get the joke, obviously.
00:23:18You could see the complete blank look on my face.
00:23:21But, you know, I often don't get what Chris is saying instantly.
00:23:24A lot of us don't, really.
00:23:26He does.
00:23:26He goes so off a tangent.
00:23:29But, you know, I'm going on tour and one of the things that I'm celebrating is our relationship.
00:23:35And, you know, I've worked with Chris Packham for 35 years on and off.
00:23:39And I think that's something to be celebrated.
00:23:41And we have such a lot together.
00:23:42It's something to be congratulated upon, really, isn't it?
00:23:45Not Just a Wildlife, you're calling this tour.
00:23:47So, are you covering the musical theatre years?
00:23:49Are you going to be doing any tap?
00:23:52I should, shouldn't I?
00:23:54You should do some tap.
00:23:54I should come on tap dancing.
00:23:55You should, yeah.
00:23:56Not Just a Wildlife is the tour I'm going on.
00:23:59And it's to celebrate 40 years in television.
00:24:02And it's called Not Just a Wildlife because, obviously, these days I'm very well known for
00:24:06doing wildlife and conservation environment programmes.
00:24:08But before that, it was Saturday morning, kid shows, Hitman and Her, singles.
00:24:15You know, I've had a really varied career.
00:24:17I mean, you are living proof of variety being the spice of life, really, aren't you?
00:24:21Thank you, Alan.
00:24:21Is there anything you wouldn't do?
00:24:23Anything you'd say no to?
00:24:25Do you know that in the show, in the tour, there is the one thing that I bottled out
00:24:29of.
00:24:30Because I've done Michaela's Wild Challenge.
00:24:32You know, I was challenged to do things.
00:24:33I get mixed up with Annika Rice.
00:24:35You know, I'm somebody that likes a challenge.
00:24:38And so, all of that is in the show.
00:24:40But the one thing I bottled out of, Alan, was, on The Really Wild Show, they were building
00:24:44a spider's web from Clifton Suspension Bridge.
00:24:47And I'd never been to Bristol before.
00:24:49I was 24.
00:24:49I didn't really know how high Clifton Suspension Bridge was.
00:24:53It's really high.
00:24:54I thought it was going to be like a bridge over the River Thames.
00:24:57And I thought, OK, I could probably manage that.
00:24:59It wasn't until I got there and I looked over at this drop that I just thought, oh my gosh,
00:25:05I've got a fear of heights.
00:25:06I'd kind of forgotten that I'd got a fear of heights.
00:25:09And I've got the footage, the rushes, and you can smell the fear.
00:25:15So you were on camera when you said no.
00:25:17You were actually there.
00:25:19I was there.
00:25:19I was there.
00:25:20And I bottled out.
00:25:21I didn't do it.
00:25:22I was supposed to be dangling in the middle of this incredibly impressive spider's web
00:25:27built out of ropes.
00:25:28And instead I stood at the top.
00:25:30So it worked as a piece.
00:25:32If God didn't intend you to do that, it'd have given you another four limbs.
00:25:35Exactly.
00:25:37The eight-limbed Michaela's.
00:25:40But it's been so interesting looking back at 40 years and trying to pick
00:25:45which bits I want in the show.
00:25:47I mean, I could have done a five-hour show.
00:25:49It's been a long career.
00:25:50You did really incredibly well on Dancing on Ice.
00:25:54And you danced in front of Torval and Dean to Bolero.
00:25:58Now this takes guts.
00:26:00Here we are.
00:26:41Look at that.
00:26:42You'd have been a shoo-in in the Winter Olympics.
00:26:45That was not remotely embarrassing, was it?
00:26:47I mean, that was good stuff.
00:26:49Original moves and the music.
00:26:51A bit scary in front of Torval and Dean though, wasn't it?
00:26:54Well, it was the final.
00:26:55So we'd done an awful lot of skating in front of Torval and Dean.
00:26:57I absolutely loved every moment of Dancing on Ice except for the fact that I did end up injured.
00:27:03In fact, that was the final.
00:27:05And without realising it, I had a torn hamstring and torn glutes doing that particular Bolero.
00:27:10You see, will you never learn?
00:27:11It's adrenaline, isn't it?
00:27:13I have to confess, I was asked to do Dancing on Ice.
00:27:16I was 68 at the time.
00:27:19I can't tell you the words I said to my agent because they're not broadcastable at this time in the
00:27:24morning.
00:27:25But I indicated to her how old I was and there was an expletive in there somewhere.
00:27:29Well, I was 58 when I did it.
00:27:32And I was the oldest celebrity to get to the final.
00:27:35And, you know, it's taken a long time for that injury to get better because I'm older.
00:27:40Yeah.
00:27:41Now, you live in South Africa.
00:27:43So this is an amazing commute you have to do to come here for Springwatch.
00:27:47How does your year pan out? What do you do?
00:27:49I tend to come over in big chunks.
00:27:51So I've just been here for a month and then I'm going home again.
00:27:56And then I'll have a bit of time at home and working from home.
00:27:59And then I'll come back and do Springwatch.
00:28:01Well, I'm coming back.
00:28:02The next time I come back will be to do the tour.
00:28:03It starts on April the 13th.
00:28:05So then I'll be here for a few weeks doing the tour.
00:28:08Going to all sorts of different theatres around the country.
00:28:10You can escape our weather, too.
00:28:13Do you know, my family keeps sending me pictures of these gorgeous sunsets.
00:28:17And I'm sending them pictures of, you know, another grey sky.
00:28:20I mean, it's rained a lot, hasn't it?
00:28:22It has rained a lot.
00:28:23It has rained an awful lot.
00:28:24And being a garden, people say to me, good for the garden.
00:28:27And I restrain myself from that, you know, from that.
00:28:31You have a son, Ollie.
00:28:32Yes.
00:28:33Interested in nature?
00:28:34Have you managed to let it rub off?
00:28:35Do you know, I mean, when we take him out, he does enjoy himself.
00:28:38But his passion is sport.
00:28:41So he's at Loughborough University and works for Oxford United Football Club
00:28:45with our academy team.
00:28:47And not playing, he does the social media for them.
00:28:49So sport is his passion.
00:28:52And I gather that once you took him on a tour
00:28:53and he wasn't terribly impressed with backstage.
00:28:56No.
00:28:57Is that right?
00:28:58Do you know, I have been impressed with some backstage.
00:29:00I did an arena tour once, Alan, with walking with dinosaurs.
00:29:04And I was the only human in the whole thing.
00:29:06The rest were huge animatronic dinosaurs.
00:29:08And I remember going to one of the back...
00:29:10I think it was Newcastle Arena.
00:29:12There wasn't even a mirror in the dressing room.
00:29:15And there was just, like, a seat.
00:29:16And that was it.
00:29:17And I thought I'd made it.
00:29:18I thought, I've made it.
00:29:18I'm in arenas.
00:29:19And there I was in this seat.
00:29:21But apparently the big stars bring in their dressing rooms.
00:29:24So they'll bring in a fridge and a sofa and a plant.
00:29:27And I was just sitting there on my seat.
00:29:29No, you need a 40-page rider saying what you demand.
00:29:33Whenever I've done it, they say, what's on your rider?
00:29:35And they say, a glass of wine in the interval and a towel.
00:29:38Yeah, that's all I need.
00:29:39That's all I need.
00:29:41Warm you up.
00:29:41Lovely to talk with you.
00:29:42Lovely to have you on the programme.
00:29:44It's always lovely to get another nature lover on, you know,
00:29:46and a programme which is actually predicated on the great outdoors.
00:29:49So lovely to have you with us.
00:29:50Oh, well, thanks very much.
00:29:51I mean, you know, nature heals you, doesn't it?
00:29:53The healing power of nature.
00:29:55It does.
00:29:55That's why you and I have big smiles on our faces.
00:29:57It is.
00:29:57It's why, you know, we feel connected to the earth.
00:30:00Sometimes a very wet earth.
00:30:02Now, in this fast-paced world where the emphasis is on immediacy,
00:30:08a still photograph stops time because in the same way that
00:30:11Michaela and I love nature, so do you.
00:30:14And this gives you a moment to think, to reflect and to feel.
00:30:19Yup, it's time for Walk on the Wild Side.
00:30:22So après, I would think whenever it was kind of an easy one,
00:36:15We're lucky to have a greenhouse.
00:36:17You could do them in an unheated greenhouse, or a conservatory even.
00:36:20Yeah.
00:36:21But yeah, this is just a few of the things that you could grow in your cut flower garden.
00:36:24Lovely things. I mean, sunflowers, classic for those competitions for primary schools.
00:36:29So what's your recipe for the tallest sunflower?
00:36:31I think you need to start with a good deep pot because they don't like root disturbance.
00:36:37So you start them off strong in a small pot and then plant them out when they're stocky and they've
00:36:41got plenty of leaves on them.
00:36:43Because slugs and snails do love them as well, so you need to protect them from slugs and snails.
00:36:46So get them out the way of slugs and snails.
00:36:47Exactly.
00:36:48And sun and really rich soil.
00:36:49Really, yeah, full sun, as much sun as possible and, yeah, like you say, rich soil.
00:36:54And you could feed them, liquid feed, that will give them boosts and hopefully they'll be 10 foot tall.
00:36:58And stocks you've got here, which are glorious scent.
00:37:01Yeah, they smell amazing.
00:37:03And they're actually biennials, so they will likely flower in the second year.
00:37:07But if you sow them now, then you'll get flowers earlier next year.
00:37:11So they're a good one to do.
00:37:12And another beautifully scented plant, sweet peas.
00:37:16A garden without sweet peas, like a kiss without a squeeze, isn't it?
00:37:20They are delicious.
00:37:21I just made a poem up there, didn't you?
00:37:22Yeah, but they're fragrant.
00:37:25Wonderful, sweet peas, gorgeous.
00:37:27And the colours are just, yeah, fantastic.
00:37:29And they'll just keep coming and coming and you have to keep cutting them to produce more and more.
00:37:32And then things like amni, they act as a great kind of filler plant for your vase because they are
00:37:37quite a neutral colour.
00:37:39And, yeah, I love them for their dainty carrot-like flowers.
00:37:42And, yeah, marigolds.
00:37:43African marigolds.
00:37:44People are so sniffy about marigolds.
00:37:46I know.
00:37:46I think they, in the 80s, they used to plant, like, loads of them en masse.
00:37:49I remember, like, around my estate, they would have, like, big beds of them.
00:37:53And I don't know, for some reason they lost favour, but they're great.
00:37:56But they're cheerful.
00:37:57Yeah, they're so cheerful.
00:37:58People are sniffy about marigolds.
00:37:59And they're a great companion plant.
00:38:00So, if you're growing things like tomatoes, they'll attract nematodes that can be beneficial for the soil.
00:38:07I actually saw a project where they're using them to get rid of rose sickness for replant syndrome.
00:38:12So, it's not only great for the vase, but they're really good for your garden as well.
00:38:15Beneficial.
00:38:17So, there's lots of ways you can sow these seeds.
00:38:19We've just got a few things here.
00:38:21You can upcycle things from your home.
00:38:22You've got cardboard rolls.
00:38:24So, you chop these up into bits.
00:38:26Yep.
00:38:26So, they would be great for the sweet peas, which need to go quite deep.
00:38:29So, these would be really good, almost like a root trainer.
00:38:31And then you've got reusable, this is actually rubber, natural rubber.
00:38:35And these, you can use them year after year.
00:38:38And then you've got biodegradable pots, which are great because the roots will actually start to come through this.
00:38:43And you can plant the whole thing in the ground without disturbing the roots.
00:38:45Provided it's wet.
00:38:47Yeah, it does need to be wet.
00:38:48The important thing is not to let it dry out, isn't it?
00:38:49Exactly.
00:38:49Because that becomes a bit less permeable to the root.
00:38:51Yeah, I usually put them in a tray and let them absorb that water.
00:38:56So, I'm going to show you a few seeds that we've got to sow.
00:38:58And I'm going to start with the sweet peas.
00:39:00Yep.
00:39:00They're a big seed.
00:39:01So, that means they need to go deep and they like the darkness to germinate.
00:39:06So, that's always a good indication looking at the seed size.
00:39:09And they are quite big.
00:39:10So, these need to go a few centimeters deep.
00:39:13So, there's a lot of guides with sweet peas that say you should nick the coat.
00:39:16Because they have a very hard coat and you should nick them with a knife.
00:39:19And I've done that before.
00:39:20And cut your finger.
00:39:21Yeah.
00:39:22It feels really dangerous.
00:39:23Yeah.
00:39:23And it's really fiddly.
00:39:24So, what do you do, Alan?
00:39:26I don't bother.
00:39:27No?
00:39:27But what I do sometimes do is soak them overnight.
00:39:30Okay.
00:39:30In a little, you know, a lid from a jar, which is about half an inch deep.
00:39:35Just fill that full of water.
00:39:36Drop these in and soak them overnight.
00:39:38But generally speaking, I don't bother with that.
00:39:41I just sew them straight into compost.
00:39:43Water them in.
00:39:44And they come up.
00:39:45It's a miracle of nature.
00:39:46That's good to know.
00:39:47So, so many of these fiddly things.
00:39:49I will fill up a pot.
00:39:51Yeah.
00:39:51So, we can demo this one.
00:39:53I'm going to fill this up to the top with some seed compost.
00:39:55And sweet peas need quite a deep root run.
00:39:58They don't like their roots disturbed.
00:39:59You could probably get away with sewing two in here.
00:40:01What do you think?
00:40:01Oh, I thought I'd sew three in there.
00:40:02Three?
00:40:02Yeah.
00:40:03Yeah, I'm greedy.
00:40:04And then all you want to do, you can use your finger or you can use a dibber if you
00:40:08fancy.
00:40:08So, yeah, we're going to bury these about two centimetres deep.
00:40:11Put them in.
00:40:12And then, like you said, you want to keep them wet.
00:40:14Now, we've got smaller seeds.
00:40:16I've got poppies here, which are almost like dust.
00:40:18Yeah.
00:40:18So, these are a lot.
00:40:19Don't sneeze.
00:40:19Yeah.
00:40:20Don't breathe almost.
00:40:21So, this is one that you can do in cells.
00:40:23So, I would just fill this whole thing up with compost.
00:40:27You can smooth it out.
00:40:28There you are.
00:40:29Look how tiny they are.
00:40:30With these, they need to be closer to the surface of the soil
00:40:33to get light, and that's how they'll germinate.
00:40:35So, that's why poppies grow in wastelands, really,
00:40:38because the soil is constantly disturbed.
00:40:41They get brought to the surface and they germinate.
00:40:43You take a little pinch and you can literally sprinkle.
00:40:46You can barely see them in each cell.
00:40:50And with poppies, you don't really need to cover those
00:40:52because you can either water it from below,
00:40:55or if you water that with a can, it would actually, with a fine rose,
00:41:00it would actually settle the seeds into the surface.
00:41:02These will germinate after a week or two weeks
00:41:05and then, yeah, keep them in a light, bright place that's cool
00:41:09so you don't want them near a radiator.
00:41:10If you are putting them on a windowsill,
00:41:11make sure they're not near a radiator or turn the radiator off.
00:41:14And then, once they've started germinating,
00:41:17you can prick them out using a dibber and pop them on.
00:41:20With poppies, you could probably just take that whole thing
00:41:22and put it into a new pot.
00:41:24Yeah, because they don't like root disturbance.
00:41:26They don't like being disturbed.
00:41:27That's the great thing about growing them in those cells.
00:41:29As you say, you pop those out without actually having to dig up the seeding.
00:41:33A lot of things like African marigolds,
00:41:35they don't mind a jot being dug up with a few little roots and transplanted,
00:41:39but things like poppies and a lot of hardy annuals don't like that root disturbance.
00:41:44Yeah, and these are easy to push out, so that's really good.
00:41:47I like the rubber idea.
00:41:48Once they've grown to a decent size,
00:41:50so here we have a popp marigold as an example,
00:41:53and I just want to show you the seeds because I think they're so beautiful.
00:41:56And popp marigold is one of the first plants I ever germinated as a child
00:42:01because my neighbour, she used to make me pick up all the dead heads.
00:42:04They're curly-whirlies, aren't they?
00:42:05They're great for kids, I think.
00:42:07And I know at the Eden Project,
00:42:09they have a building actually modelled in the shape of one of these,
00:42:12which is quite cool.
00:42:13That's class, isn't it, really?
00:42:15I'm going to make my greenhouse in the shape of a popp marigold seed.
00:42:20So this is your popp marigold once it's grown on,
00:42:24and you want to pinch out the tops to produce more flower buds
00:42:28and a bushier plant,
00:42:29and it always feels really cruel to do this.
00:42:32I hate doing it,
00:42:33but all you have to do is take off the top few leaves,
00:42:37pinch it down to a strong set of leaves like that,
00:42:41and then it feels really evil, doesn't it?
00:42:45Yeah, but as you say, you'll then get more flowers.
00:42:47But in the long run, you're benefiting the plant.
00:42:50It's going to grow bushier,
00:42:51you'll have loads of flowers on it,
00:42:53and it's going to be a nice, strong plant.
00:42:55Now, you want to harden off your plants if you've grown them indoors.
00:42:58That's really important.
00:43:00Putting them straight outside can send them into shock,
00:43:02so you've got the air movement, less humidity outside,
00:43:05and also cooler temperatures.
00:43:08So ideally, what you want to do is put this outside in the daytime
00:43:12and then bring it indoors at nighttime for about two weeks,
00:43:15and it should be hardy enough to then plant out permanently.
00:43:20And you need to protect them from any frosts,
00:43:23because you can get caught out by late frosts.
00:43:25I mean, you can have frost in May,
00:43:26so you have to be really careful.
00:43:27Yeah, generally, you always just say the end of May.
00:43:29Actually, it's generally felt itself about middle of May almost, isn't it?
00:43:32Yeah.
00:43:33I think in London, where you've got microclimate, where I'm growing...
00:43:36Say it from about middle of February almost.
00:43:37Yeah.
00:43:37No.
00:43:39You probably could get away with it in some places.
00:43:42And, yeah, this can then go out into the ground,
00:43:45keep them well-watered.
00:43:46You can mulch them with a really good farmhouse manure
00:43:48or garden compost, if you have your own.
00:43:51And with taller plants like Snapdragons, for example,
00:43:54you might want to put netting, like string, around them
00:43:56just to keep them upright.
00:43:58There we are.
00:43:59Thanks, Alan.
00:43:59Thanks, Alan.
00:44:05Since 2000, the number of hedgehogs has declined
00:44:10by up to 30% in rural areas and 75% in urban areas.
00:44:16They're now listed as vulnerable on the red list for British mammals.
00:44:20So, thank goodness for couples like Joe and Terry,
00:44:24who took a rather unusual step five years ago.
00:44:28They spent £60,000 of their own money
00:44:31and set up a hedgehog triage room in their back garden.
00:44:46So, when my husband and I, Terry, moved into this house 26 years ago,
00:44:50the couple that we bought the house from asked us
00:44:52if we would continue to feed the hedgehogs
00:44:54that were visiting their garden.
00:44:56We said, of course we would.
00:44:57We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw a mum and babies
00:45:00walking across the lawn.
00:45:01And then from that day on, I said to Terry,
00:45:03I want a feeding station and I want some cameras.
00:45:07So, when my wife came up with the idea of a hospital,
00:45:09you know, a hedgehog rescue,
00:45:11I immediately thought, oh, that's going to take over our life.
00:45:14And it has.
00:45:14And that's what we did.
00:45:16So, we had a couple of years' training.
00:45:17We then decided it was time to set up Frickle Lodge.
00:45:20We'd given over our life and our house to hedgehogs
00:45:22and we love it.
00:45:24Hedgehogs are endangered.
00:45:26They're near threatened,
00:45:27which means that they could be vulnerable to extinction.
00:45:29And sadly, one of the main reasons is their loss of habitat
00:45:33and also loss of natural food.
00:45:35So, since we first started five years ago,
00:45:38we've admitted over 500 patients.
00:45:42Last year was our record intake of just over 200.
00:45:45And I'm delighted to say that we managed to rehabilitate,
00:45:49treat and release over 80%.
00:45:53Looking after a rescue is pretty much full on.
00:45:55It is 365 days a year.
00:45:58Hedgehogs, of course, are nocturnal animals.
00:46:01You know, at night when we're all asleep,
00:46:03that's when they're foraging for food.
00:46:05If you see a hedgehog during the day,
00:46:06normally it's in trouble and needs help from a rescue.
00:46:10This is where all the activity happens.
00:46:13This is our mission control.
00:46:15So, we've got 22 cameras in total.
00:46:18If we see that a hedgehog is particularly stressed,
00:46:22if they're climbing,
00:46:23if they're really unsettled,
00:46:25then it could be that there's something else going on internally
00:46:28that we're not aware of.
00:46:30So, that's when we would go back and sample their poo
00:46:32just to see if there's something else that we're not aware of
00:46:35that needs to be treated.
00:46:36You know, I often get sort of elbow in the ribs at night.
00:46:40There's a hedgehog in need.
00:46:42We need to go down now and get it.
00:46:44The most common internal parasites
00:46:46that I see on a day-to-day basis is lungworm.
00:46:50Despite common belief,
00:46:51hedgehogs don't like to eat slugs and snails.
00:46:54The slugs contaminate the food that hedgehogs eat.
00:46:58A hedgehog's natural food in the wild
00:46:59would be caterpillars, beetles or grubs.
00:47:03But sadly, there just isn't enough natural food.
00:47:06Michael was incredibly lucky
00:47:08because his finders have wildlife cameras in their garden
00:47:12and around the feeding station.
00:47:14And they heard Michael coughing on the camera
00:47:16and they knew that that was a sign of poor health.
00:47:22This is Ariana.
00:47:24And Ariana's being treated for lungworm
00:47:26and also ringworm.
00:47:29Ringworm is a fungal infection
00:47:30and it creates intense itchiness for the hedgehog
00:47:35and also spine loss.
00:47:37So the ringworm treatment is a really soothing,
00:47:40medicated bath
00:47:41and it will kill the ringworm.
00:47:43So Ariana will need four baths over 12 days
00:47:47and this is her second bath.
00:47:49So there are lots of things that people can do
00:47:51to help hedgehogs.
00:47:53The first thing is to provide access into your garden.
00:47:56This will stop them from going into the roads
00:47:59and it will help them forage for food.
00:48:01It will also help them to look for a mate.
00:48:04The other thing you can do
00:48:06is to provide food and water.
00:48:07Any meat-based kitten biscuits
00:48:09are ideal for hedgehogs.
00:48:12I think one of our biggest success stories
00:48:14is Izzy and Ryder.
00:48:16Izzy and Ryder were orphaned hoglets
00:48:18and they were brought into us
00:48:19when they were about 11 days old.
00:48:21They couldn't see, they couldn't hear
00:48:23and they couldn't walk properly.
00:48:24They required syringe feeding
00:48:26every two to three hours
00:48:27and their wounds needed managing
00:48:29to ensure that they were kept clean.
00:48:31And I'm delighted to say
00:48:32that they're both now in the garden.
00:48:35So we've got Izzy in here.
00:48:37So she's hibernating,
00:48:39conserving valuable energy through the winter,
00:48:42ready for the spring.
00:48:44Got Ryder in here
00:48:45but he's off walkabout at the moment.
00:48:48Very delighted to say
00:48:49that he's thriving in the wild.
00:48:53The Hedgehog Rescue is emotionally challenging,
00:48:56it's physically challenging
00:48:57and it's financially challenging.
00:48:59You're required to do things
00:49:00at all hours when you're very tired
00:49:02but what we do takes over.
00:49:04We love it.
00:49:06Oh, well done, Joe and Terry.
00:49:08What a wonderful thing to do,
00:49:10don't you think?
00:49:11Still ahead?
00:49:12Poplar comes to Manor Farm.
00:49:14Call the midwives Cliff Parisi
00:49:16and Annabel Apsian.
00:49:18Take a nostalgic look back
00:49:19at the iconic drama
00:49:21that continues to capture all our hearts.
00:49:24I'll see you with Mr and Mrs Buckle
00:49:26and more right after this.
00:49:43Welcome back to Love Your Weekend.
00:49:45Coming up from detective magician Jonathan Creek
00:49:48to mainstay on the QI panel,
00:49:50Alan Davis lifts the lid
00:49:52on an incredible career
00:49:53both on and off the comedy circuit.
00:49:56But first, known for their charming,
00:49:59often humorous and bossy
00:50:01on-screen relationship,
00:50:03Violet and Fred Buckle
00:50:04have become something,
00:50:05I can't say it any other way,
00:50:07something of a popular favourite,
00:50:08reminding viewers that love, loyalty
00:50:11and shared laughter
00:50:12are often the strongest medicine of all.
00:50:15There could never be
00:50:20a portrait of my love.
00:50:26After the quiet ceremony Violet wanted,
00:50:29the wedding party went not to her home
00:50:32or to Fred's,
00:50:33but to a place where everyone was cherished
00:50:36and all doors and hearts were open.
00:50:39You will never see
00:50:44a portrait of my love
00:50:50for miracles I'll never see.
00:51:06Like the face of a devoted parent,
00:51:09Nannata's house was etched
00:51:10with a little more time each year,
00:51:13with each small shadow,
00:51:15every fading grace.
00:51:17It grew more beautiful
00:51:19and was loved more than words can say.
00:51:22Cliff Parisi and Annabelle Apsin.
00:51:24It's such a tearjerker.
00:51:26I mean, the music there,
00:51:28but also Vanessa Redgrave's voice
00:51:30finishes me off every time.
00:51:34Moving to be in,
00:51:35as well as to watch for you, is it?
00:51:38I felt very emotional watching that
00:51:41and seeing everybody so young,
00:51:44including us, my dear,
00:51:45because that was probably 11 years ago,
00:51:48but it was very moving
00:51:50and seeing all of that.
00:51:51Yes, I was quite surprised.
00:51:53Most of the cast have now
00:51:55sat where you're sitting,
00:51:56which has been a delight for me
00:51:57as a firm fan favourite, really.
00:52:00There's clearly a great family feeling, Cliff,
00:52:02in all the cast, I think, really.
00:52:04Oh, yeah.
00:52:05I mean, we've been working together
00:52:06for donkeys years now, haven't we?
00:52:08So 15 years.
00:52:11And everybody that's come into the show
00:52:13has slipped straight into the family
00:52:15and they've become part of the, you know.
00:52:19And it's such a wonderful show.
00:52:21I mean, it makes you weep for joy
00:52:24and it makes you weep for sorrow
00:52:26and not many shows on TV can do that.
00:52:29It takes you through the human condition
00:52:31from birth to death
00:52:33and relationships and community
00:52:36and family
00:52:38and all of those things are explored
00:52:40in real detail
00:52:40and some horror as well
00:52:43because people can be bad
00:52:47and sickness can be cruel.
00:52:51And so we explore all of that.
00:52:53But what the backbone of it is
00:52:56is that actually the nuns, the nurses,
00:52:58the community that come together
00:53:02always to support whatever storylines going on
00:53:06to try and drive it through to, you know,
00:53:10a conclusion
00:53:10and often that can be joyful.
00:53:14It redresses the balance
00:53:15of the regular sort of tragedy and misery
00:53:19we get via the news
00:53:20of showing the triumph of goodness
00:53:21and the fact that goodness and kindness
00:53:24exists in far greater quantities in the world
00:53:26than the opposites
00:53:28which we're treated to every day, really.
00:53:31It just reminds us
00:53:32what human beings are capable of being
00:53:34with one another
00:53:35on the positive side, really, doesn't it?
00:53:38And now, of course, it's worrying for me
00:53:40because it's now coming up to the 70s, you know,
00:53:43hang on a minute, that's modern, isn't it?
00:53:46Fun parts to play for both of you, I think, really
00:53:48and the chemistry between the two of you
00:53:50is clearly enjoyable.
00:53:53We always try and...
00:53:55We don't really like each other, do we?
00:53:57We're wonderful actors, no?
00:54:00And, of course, you're not the only people
00:54:01in that household, there is another person
00:54:03in the Buckle household, Reggie.
00:54:10Come early, Fred.
00:54:13There's a Battenberg cake by the kettle
00:54:14that wants a home.
00:54:16Smashing.
00:54:24Just a moment.
00:54:30Oh, hello, Reggie, love.
00:54:31Hello, Mum.
00:54:41Don't you look lovely there?
00:54:44Oh, she cried.
00:54:45Yeah, it was lovely.
00:54:46It was a lovely storyline to do
00:54:48with Reggie coming into the family
00:54:51and Violet was saying,
00:54:52you know, he shouldn't be here
00:54:54and Danny does the part so brilliantly.
00:54:58He's so lovely to work with.
00:55:00So, yeah, it's very special.
00:55:02So, you know...
00:55:03Sorry.
00:55:04Well, I'm glad it works.
00:55:07I'm a cup of tea, love.
00:55:09I'm a cup of tea.
00:55:09We're feeling like that.
00:55:11You know, it's good to know
00:55:12that you do as well.
00:55:13So, from your point of view, though,
00:55:16as an actress, it's a part.
00:55:18You've played quite different parts,
00:55:20quite different to Mrs Beach
00:55:21in Goodnight, Mr Tom,
00:55:22who was a bit of a piece of work.
00:55:25Tell us a bit about her.
00:55:26Well, she sends her son off during the war,
00:55:31you know, when they would get the children
00:55:33out of London to the countryside
00:55:34and he bedwets,
00:55:38I don't know if you remember the story.
00:55:39This is with John Thorpe.
00:55:41With John Thorpe, who's Mr Tom.
00:55:43And he's a grumpy old man
00:55:45but he starts to realise
00:55:47that the little boy
00:55:48has had a very unhappy childhood.
00:55:52And, anyway, the mother wants him back
00:55:54so he's sent back to London
00:55:56and then you realise
00:55:58that she's very mentally unwell, actually.
00:56:02So, it was a very challenging role to do
00:56:04because I had to think myself
00:56:06into that part
00:56:08and think, how could somebody do that?
00:56:11So, I had to do lots and lots of thinking
00:56:14what's happened, what's gone on.
00:56:17Making your own backstory, in effect, then.
00:56:20Yes, yes.
00:56:20You were brilliant in that.
00:56:22Thank you, darling.
00:56:23And really scary.
00:56:24Let's have a look.
00:56:25Let's be scared.
00:56:26You know.
00:56:30Willie?
00:56:35You look different.
00:56:37Put weight on.
00:56:40See, I'll take that for you.
00:56:42I'll say what to take and not to take.
00:56:49So, how are you feeling now?
00:56:52Fine.
00:56:53I'm fine.
00:56:54I mean, they said you was ill.
00:56:56Did they?
00:56:59So, what have you got in the bag, then?
00:57:00Just me things and a present for you from Mr. Tom.
00:57:04Mr. Tom?
00:57:05Mr. Oakley, the man I stays with down there.
00:57:08Well, I don't need charity, thank you.
00:57:10It's just some bedsocks.
00:57:11And Mrs. Little, that's the doctor's wife,
00:57:13just gave you a bottle of tonic wine.
00:57:15Wine?
00:57:16Haven't I told you about the evils of drink?
00:57:19It ain't a real drink, Mum, like you get in a pub.
00:57:22It's got iron in it to help you get your strength back.
00:57:25And what would you know about what you get in a pub?
00:57:31He must have been really hard to be so nasty
00:57:33to such a lovely lad.
00:57:34That lad was amazing, wasn't he?
00:57:36He was.
00:57:37He was.
00:57:37And I'm going to meet up with him.
00:57:39Hi.
00:57:40His partner contacted me and said,
00:57:42would I meet up with him?
00:57:44I used to do funny things in between the takes
00:57:47because I was worried about him being upset by it,
00:57:50so I can't wait to meet him.
00:57:53I think, yeah, playing against type,
00:57:56you're actors, that's the challenge, isn't it?
00:57:58That's what we do.
00:57:59But again, you're in EastEnders, I mean, as Minty.
00:58:03Still got a pair of overalls on, innit?
00:58:06I've got my own overalls now,
00:58:07take them with me everywhere.
00:58:09Yeah, I mean, I tend to play characters
00:58:13that are working class,
00:58:14they've got a spanner in their head.
00:58:16Do you yearn to play an aristocrat?
00:58:18Yes, sir, I would rather do that, of course.
00:58:21It's actually very good as Marlon Brando, aren't you?
00:58:25You're always doing The Godfather.
00:58:27Well, we generally, we would do the scene,
00:58:28and I would do the first rehearsal as Marlon Brando.
00:58:32So, yeah, Fred Brando.
00:58:34You do do quite a bit of location filming
00:58:37on Call the Midwife,
00:58:38and I gather there was a beach scene
00:58:40when Storm Agnes is coming through,
00:58:42which is meant to be jolly and funny and sunny and all that.
00:58:45A bit tough, isn't it?
00:58:46Ice creams were sanding.
00:58:48Yeah.
00:58:48And shells.
00:58:50Yeah.
00:58:50It was sideways.
00:58:52I mean, literally sideways.
00:58:53It was impossible for continuity
00:58:56because it was obviously supposed to be sunny,
00:58:58and our wigs were, like, totally flat,
00:59:02but there was no continuity,
00:59:04and they just gave up.
00:59:05So, you know, normally they would dry your hair and reset it.
00:59:08They couldn't.
00:59:10We had, like, hair like that, hair like that.
00:59:12But it was fun.
00:59:14It was really fun.
00:59:15We just had to go with it, didn't we?
00:59:17Yeah, we did.
00:59:18Yeah.
00:59:19Thank you both for coming.
00:59:20Pleasure.
00:59:20Lovely to be with you.
00:59:21You're with us every Sunday evening,
00:59:23or for a good part of the year anyway,
00:59:25so lovely to see the both of you together on our sofa.
00:59:28Bless you.
00:59:35We're talking butterflies now,
00:59:37not the 70s sitcom featuring Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Palmer,
00:59:41but the living jewels of the garden
00:59:43with their vibrant colour and magical elegance.
00:59:47Here's Leslie Joseph and everything you need to know
00:59:50about that most delicate of insects, the butterfly.
00:59:55Good morning, Alan.
00:59:56There's a definite feeling of anticipation in the air,
00:59:59and we're all cautiously optimistic about putting the winter coat away, right?
01:00:03And then, quite suddenly, a flicker of colour flutters past.
01:00:09Oh, hello, you gorgeous thing.
01:00:13Nothing, says spring, has truly sprung quite like a butterfly.
01:00:17Emerging from those colder months,
01:00:19the butterfly can now be found basking in the sunshine,
01:00:23angling their wings towards the sun,
01:00:25so they can heat their flight muscles, ready for take-off.
01:00:29The first butterflies we tend to see are the clever ones,
01:00:32spending the colder months tucked away in sheds, hollow trees, dense ivy,
01:00:36sometimes even the garage.
01:00:38They wait for the temperature to creep above about 10 degrees Celsius
01:00:43before making their grand reappearance.
01:00:46Oh, gosh, I wish I woke up looking that refreshed.
01:00:50Butterflies are cold-blooded.
01:00:51They need warmth to fly.
01:00:53Well, rather like me before my morning tea.
01:00:57Did you know when it comes to colour,
01:00:58it's often the males who turn up the volume,
01:01:01brighter and bolder,
01:01:02because females frequently choose their mate
01:01:05based on that dazzling display.
01:01:08The females, meanwhile, tend to be more subtly dressed.
01:01:11Carrying eggs means keeping a lower profile,
01:01:14less eye-catching to predators.
01:01:16Sensible, understated, but oh so chic.
01:01:20Perhaps surprisingly, in many British butterfly species,
01:01:24females are slightly larger than males
01:01:26in order to carry those precious eggs.
01:01:29Each butterfly starts as a tiny egg,
01:01:32hatches into a ravenous caterpillar
01:01:34whose main hobby is eating.
01:01:36These hungry caterpillars moult and grow
01:01:38before forming a chrysalis,
01:01:40and out emerges a butterfly.
01:01:45Oh, who could resist such charm?
01:01:47And from one charmer to another.
01:01:51Back to you, Alan.
01:01:54Thanks, Leslie.
01:01:55Did you know butterflies can taste with their feet?
01:01:58It's true.
01:01:58They have sensors known as chemoreceptors
01:02:01on the bottom of their legs,
01:02:02which they use to sense nutritious sugars
01:02:04and viable food sources.
01:02:07Butterflies often drum with their feet
01:02:09against the surface of a leaf
01:02:10to bring out the plant juices.
01:02:12I just lob it in, you know.
01:02:14Coming up, showcasing the women tearing up the rulebook
01:02:17and making their mark in this section of spirit land,
01:02:21drinks expert Becky Paskin serves up
01:02:23some of her favourite female producers and distillers,
01:02:27including a spicy margarita
01:02:29and a strawberry rhubarb smash.
01:02:32Oh, yummy.
01:02:34And it was the role, he says,
01:02:35changed his life forever.
01:02:36The curly-haired divisor of magic tricks
01:02:39who often found himself solving murders,
01:02:43as you do.
01:02:44Alan Davis celebrating nearly 30 years
01:02:46of the iconic duffel-coat-wearing puzzle solver,
01:02:50Jonathan Creek.
01:02:51I'll see you with Alan right after this.
01:03:09Welcome back.
01:03:10Coming up, whether it's the drinkers,
01:03:12the makers or the shakers,
01:03:15the world of alcohol has historically been
01:03:17heavily dominated by men.
01:03:19Till now, drinks expert Becky Paskin
01:03:22will be showcasing a handful of women
01:03:24tearing up the rulebook
01:03:26and making their mark with their gins,
01:03:28whiskeys and pre-made cocktails.
01:03:30But first, improbable crimes
01:03:32solved with wit and flair.
01:03:35I'm talking the 1990s murder mystery,
01:03:38following the adventures of duffel-coat-wearing,
01:03:41curly-haired, magical mystery solver,
01:03:44Jonathan Creek.
01:03:46Well, any way you slice it,
01:03:48it couldn't have been the same woman both times.
01:03:50That'd be some trick.
01:03:51And you wouldn't say she was
01:03:52the cleverest person in the world.
01:03:54No.
01:03:56But maybe she didn't need to be.
01:03:59Say again?
01:04:01If I was to just suddenly disappear,
01:04:04now, right here in this garden,
01:04:06would you call that a clever trick?
01:04:09Come on.
01:04:11Okay.
01:04:12Close your eyes and count to three.
01:04:14Very quickly.
01:04:16One, two, three.
01:04:19Oh, hey.
01:04:30This is just...
01:04:42You see?
01:04:43It's just like that, wasn't it, really?
01:04:46Very clever.
01:04:47Yeah.
01:04:4720 years, Jonathan Creek.
01:04:49Yeah, that was 1999, I think.
01:04:51Yeah.
01:04:52That's Tom Goodman Hill.
01:04:53Yeah.
01:04:53Who's a wonderful comic actor,
01:04:56and he was part of a Jonathan Creek Appreciation Society,
01:04:59so that's why he's got the duffel coat and the wig.
01:05:01Oh, right, yeah.
01:05:02And they had a meeting, part of the script,
01:05:04and all these actors and supporting artists
01:05:07turned up with wigs and duffel coats on.
01:05:09I think it was very creepy.
01:05:12Do you mind...
01:05:12It's interesting, whenever you get with me,
01:05:14I suppose it's ground force,
01:05:15and I really don't mind.
01:05:17Glad to be remembered for anything.
01:05:18But is it a bit,
01:05:19yes, I've done a lot since then,
01:05:20or do you mind Jonathan Creek?
01:05:22It was so quirky.
01:05:24I don't mind it,
01:05:26and not least because people still watch it, you know.
01:05:30Yeah.
01:05:30In fact, they've put it all up on iPlayer,
01:05:34and people still finding it,
01:05:36and younger audiences.
01:05:38It's timeless, you know.
01:05:40Yeah.
01:05:40It didn't rely on anything quirky or gimmicky at the time.
01:05:44David Renwick, who wrote it,
01:05:46he understood television, the mysteries,
01:05:49and the whole...
01:05:49And so it's something that survived the test of time
01:05:52because it's so well crafted.
01:05:54You weren't the first choice for the part.
01:05:56No, I was the 38th person to audition.
01:06:01They wanted Nicholas Lindhurst.
01:06:03Right.
01:06:04And he had just finished,
01:06:06well, I say finished Fools and Horses
01:06:07because, of course,
01:06:08they revived Fools and Horses brilliantly afterwards,
01:06:10but he didn't fancy it,
01:06:12and then it was going to be Hugh Laurie,
01:06:14and then, anyway,
01:06:16it ended up being me,
01:06:17and no one knew I was in TV land,
01:06:19and so Alan Yentob,
01:06:21who was in charge of BBC One at the time,
01:06:23took some persuading,
01:06:25but he let me do it.
01:06:27Excellent.
01:06:27Well, the rest, as they say,
01:06:29is Jonathan Creek.
01:06:31You popped in last time
01:06:32to talk about your first...
01:06:34well, the volume of autobiography,
01:06:36dealing with your early years,
01:06:38called Just Ignore Him,
01:06:40with the most heart-rending title, really.
01:06:42Your second one is out now,
01:06:44I'm about to go out in paper,
01:06:45but White Male Stand-Up.
01:06:46So we're moving on now
01:06:48to slightly happier years,
01:06:50and, I mean,
01:06:51that's...
01:06:52it is a sort of really basic title,
01:06:54White Male Stand-Up.
01:06:55Going back to that,
01:06:56it's what you are.
01:06:58But...
01:06:58so this is the Stand-Up years, is it?
01:07:00Well, it goes really way up to the present day,
01:07:03really,
01:07:04but that's...
01:07:05that was the descriptive term
01:07:06for what I was.
01:07:09And they were very happy at times
01:07:11on the comedy circuit,
01:07:12and there are lots of little anecdotes in there
01:07:14from contemporaries of mine,
01:07:17like Harry Hill and Lee Evans
01:07:19and Steve Coogan and Joe Brand
01:07:21and all these people that I met at that time,
01:07:23did lots of gigs with.
01:07:25And then it goes into Jonathan Creek
01:07:27and QI
01:07:29and all the things that I've done since,
01:07:31where I've been very lucky
01:07:32to have these long-running shows.
01:07:33But, of course, in the background all the time,
01:07:35there's this lugging along this childhood trauma,
01:07:39which I sort of thought,
01:07:41oh, well, the future's ahead of me,
01:07:42the past is behind me,
01:07:43it's all going to be fine.
01:07:44And then you get to the future
01:07:45and the past just turns up with you,
01:07:48like it's in the car.
01:07:49Yeah.
01:07:49And so you have to try and find a way
01:07:52to manage all that,
01:07:52so that's all in there as well.
01:07:55Didn't you do one at the Commons Club in 1999,
01:07:57I think you were talking about doing one,
01:07:59you did one there,
01:08:00and it really put you off doing Stand-Up.
01:08:02Well, I went down to the comedy store,
01:08:04which I love,
01:08:05and this is a wonderful,
01:08:07brilliant comedy room
01:08:08that all comedians love.
01:08:10And I went down,
01:08:11I thought, I'll just drop in,
01:08:12do ten minutes, you know.
01:08:13I always felt comfortable and happy there.
01:08:15And I went on stage
01:08:16and people started chatting out things
01:08:18about Jonathan Creek
01:08:19or the Abbey National commercials
01:08:21I was doing back in the time
01:08:22and did I have a perm
01:08:24and was I having an affair
01:08:26with my co-star
01:08:27and lots and lots of shouting
01:08:29and people that had a drink.
01:08:32And I couldn't really,
01:08:34all the time I was thinking,
01:08:36oh no,
01:08:37this is my favourite thing,
01:08:39the Stand-Up
01:08:40with the microphone.
01:08:41You talk about,
01:08:42is it better to be well known?
01:08:43The anonymity to go on
01:08:45and they don't know you
01:08:46and they're amazed
01:08:47that you're funny
01:08:48is actually really nice
01:08:49and I really loved all the,
01:08:51and it had gone
01:08:51and I didn't go back there
01:08:53for ten years.
01:08:54Gosh.
01:08:54I should have gone away
01:08:55to little comedy clubs
01:08:56and worked up an act
01:08:57instead of just thinking
01:08:58I could wander on
01:08:59and wing it.
01:09:00So I did,
01:09:01I did,
01:09:01I did lose Stand-Up
01:09:02for a while
01:09:03and I don't think
01:09:04it was good for my
01:09:05mental health.
01:09:06I don't think
01:09:07having,
01:09:07not having that outlet
01:09:09I thought was a disaster
01:09:10for me really.
01:09:11You got it back
01:09:12and you're doing a tour
01:09:13in New Zealand
01:09:14and you're touring here as well
01:09:15later on in the year.
01:09:17Yes,
01:09:18in September, October
01:09:19so the ticket's going on sale
01:09:21imminently
01:09:22and so yeah,
01:09:23I toured last year
01:09:24and it was,
01:09:24I loved it
01:09:25and the show went really well
01:09:26and the show,
01:09:27a lot of the show
01:09:28comes out of that book
01:09:29which I was kind of doing
01:09:30the two at the same time
01:09:32and I love being back on stage
01:09:34and so we're just going around again
01:09:37it's another 20 dates
01:09:38and I'm looking forward to it.
01:09:40Well,
01:09:41Jonathan Creek might have stopped
01:09:42in 2016
01:09:43but QI keeps on going,
01:09:46you were in the very first episode
01:09:47of QI.
01:09:48Yes,
01:09:48all the shows
01:09:49I've been there,
01:09:50we're doing the alphabet
01:09:52every year
01:09:53it's the letter of the alphabet,
01:09:55we're doing X
01:09:58as we speak.
01:09:59Short show.
01:10:01They say they've got a lot of X questions
01:10:03and then Y and then Z
01:10:05and I can hardly believe it really
01:10:08that it's gone so long.
01:10:09It doesn't seem like
01:10:11a quarter of a century.
01:10:12It never does.
01:10:13No.
01:10:14Let's have a look at QI.
01:10:16Spider-Pie of Bats,
01:10:17is he regarded as a bit of a looker?
01:10:18Yeah.
01:10:19If Yoda had accepted the dark side
01:10:25that's how he would have looked.
01:10:26Yeah.
01:10:26but
01:10:28that's a very suave looking man.
01:10:30Hello.
01:10:32Would you mind all me
01:10:33if I nipped you on the toe?
01:10:37Well,
01:10:37having a few friends over,
01:10:39would you like a liqueur?
01:10:42What do they do?
01:10:46How do they ingest their blood?
01:10:48I mean,
01:10:48what do they do?
01:10:49It bite and sniff it up,
01:10:52swallow it,
01:10:52lick it,
01:10:53slurp it,
01:10:53hide it.
01:10:55Draw it up.
01:10:55Who do you think you are?
01:10:57To cant it.
01:10:58To cant it.
01:10:59I don't know.
01:11:00I've played John for a couple of years.
01:11:02To cant it.
01:11:04Stephen Fry,
01:11:05that is really,
01:11:05and you can just see
01:11:06how you enjoy riffing off one another.
01:11:08I mean,
01:11:08that's the capacity you need there,
01:11:10isn't it,
01:11:10is to be completely
01:11:12just relaxed into it
01:11:13and let it go.
01:11:14That's a lovely clip,
01:11:15actually,
01:11:17and Bill and Jimmy Carr
01:11:19were in the first series
01:11:21in the two of the,
01:11:23really,
01:11:24you can say this now
01:11:25with all the years gone by,
01:11:26two of the greats
01:11:26of British comedy,
01:11:27you know,
01:11:28and you don't really realise
01:11:29at the time
01:11:30what's happening,
01:11:31but Stephen Fry's
01:11:32a living legend of our lives,
01:11:34who I revere
01:11:36and love dearly
01:11:37and see Bill and Jimmy
01:11:38there like that.
01:11:39Very,
01:11:40very happy memories.
01:11:41It makes you feel fortunate.
01:11:42It also sharpens your game,
01:11:44doesn't it?
01:11:45You know,
01:11:45it's like if you play tennis
01:11:46with a really good player,
01:11:47they say it lifts your own game.
01:11:49Those two especially,
01:11:50if they're going to start talking,
01:11:52it's going to be funny.
01:11:52Yeah.
01:11:53And then Sandy took over
01:11:54from Stephen,
01:11:55you know,
01:11:55thinking,
01:11:56gosh,
01:11:56who could possibly,
01:11:57and in her own way,
01:11:59the same ability
01:12:00to be sharp.
01:12:01Well,
01:12:01I think the thing
01:12:01that people perhaps
01:12:03don't really realise
01:12:04is all the work
01:12:05behind the scenes,
01:12:06you know,
01:12:07there's a research team
01:12:08who work for months
01:12:09and they create these scripts
01:12:11and all the stuff
01:12:12that's on the cover,
01:12:12cards for the host
01:12:14and that's what keeps
01:12:16the show going really
01:12:17and it's all that kind of,
01:12:19they're the kind of
01:12:20feet beneath the swan
01:12:22while we're on,
01:12:23our job as the comedians
01:12:24is to go on
01:12:25and slightly spoil it.
01:12:28Not to do it quite right.
01:12:30Yeah,
01:12:31a near effort.
01:12:32I love the fact
01:12:34that you were talking about,
01:12:35because you've got three children
01:12:36and we've got,
01:12:36are they teenagers now?
01:12:3716,
01:12:3814 and 10.
01:12:39Well done,
01:12:40Dad.
01:12:42They'll be impressed
01:12:43with that.
01:12:43And a daughter
01:12:44who is obsessed
01:12:45with Agatha Christie,
01:12:46which I think was really good.
01:12:46Oh,
01:12:46she loves Agatha Christie.
01:12:48Yeah,
01:12:48absolutely loves it.
01:12:50I mean,
01:12:50reads them all
01:12:51and has got the audio books
01:12:53and,
01:12:53I mean,
01:12:53I like that,
01:12:55that about them,
01:12:56you know,
01:12:57reading for pleasure
01:12:58and having books in the house.
01:13:00It's something that Katie
01:13:01and I really value.
01:13:03You know,
01:13:03Katie and I write
01:13:04children's books
01:13:05and I've got my memoirs
01:13:06and so we just,
01:13:08we just love books
01:13:10and,
01:13:10and,
01:13:10and I hope that they continue
01:13:12to do that.
01:13:12It's hard once they get,
01:13:13once they get that,
01:13:15the touching stone in their hands
01:13:16and they're doing this all the time.
01:13:18It's quite hard for them.
01:13:19These,
01:13:19some of these websites
01:13:20are so addictive.
01:13:21I know,
01:13:21I say to them,
01:13:22it's not your fault.
01:13:23They're designed
01:13:24to keep you on there
01:13:25but please put it down.
01:13:26Yeah.
01:13:27But you've done a Marple.
01:13:28She must have been impressed
01:13:29by that.
01:13:30Well,
01:13:30the funny thing about the Marple
01:13:31I did,
01:13:32which I love doing
01:13:32with Geraldine McEwan,
01:13:34it was,
01:13:34it was a story called
01:13:36Towards Zero
01:13:36that Agatha Christie wrote
01:13:38and Marple's not in that
01:13:40so they inserted
01:13:41Miss Marple into it
01:13:43and created a Marple episode
01:13:46and it was fantastic fun.
01:13:48I was an inspector
01:13:50and I had a couple
01:13:51of sidekick coppers
01:13:52two young actors
01:13:53who were really funny
01:13:54and we really,
01:13:55really enjoyed it.
01:13:56We shot it all down in Devon.
01:13:57I think it's one of those shows
01:13:59that people like,
01:14:00if you get the call,
01:14:01would you like to be a Marple?
01:14:02Yes.
01:14:03Well,
01:14:04I've got a little clip
01:14:05to show now
01:14:05of McDonald and Dodds
01:14:07because you've now joined
01:14:08the Love Your Weekend
01:14:10alumni of regulars
01:14:12that we enjoy having
01:14:13and Jason Watkins
01:14:15is a regular
01:14:16on the programme
01:14:17and a few weeks ago
01:14:18we had Sean Phillips.
01:14:19Oh, yeah.
01:14:20So I thought we'd
01:14:20haul out McDonald and Dodds
01:14:22and see all three of you together.
01:14:24Here we are.
01:14:25You, Sergeant Dodds,
01:14:27are most definitely
01:14:28a North Somerset man.
01:14:31Preponderance of centralised
01:14:33nuclei diphthongs
01:14:34would place you
01:14:34in North West Bath
01:14:36but that post-vocalic
01:14:37roticity,
01:14:38those elongated vowels,
01:14:40leads me to the conclusion
01:14:42that you were born,
01:14:43bred,
01:14:44and still reside in
01:14:45South Twerton.
01:14:48Oh, my goodness, sir.
01:14:49That is remarkable.
01:14:52Die, young.
01:14:53Golden year strikes again.
01:14:55Um, as I was saying, sir,
01:14:56I wondered if I might
01:14:58pick your professional
01:15:00linguist's brain
01:15:01just a little.
01:15:02Well, I would love
01:15:04to help you, Sergeant,
01:15:05but I'm due to give
01:15:06another one of my talks.
01:15:07Oh, come on, Spud.
01:15:09Nobody cares about
01:15:10your George of the Jungle
01:15:11adventures.
01:15:12Help the man.
01:15:14I've always brought you up
01:15:15to be a law-abiding
01:15:17citizen
01:15:18within reason.
01:15:23I remember that episode.
01:15:24We loved McDonald's
01:15:25and they're not
01:15:26recommissioning it,
01:15:26which is tragic.
01:15:28It's a real shame.
01:15:29I love doing it,
01:15:30although I don't know
01:15:30why I wore that scarf.
01:15:33It looked like
01:15:34she got into the wrong
01:15:35part of the costume
01:15:36department.
01:15:37But, yeah,
01:15:38Sian Phillips was amazing
01:15:39and I loved being with her
01:15:41and hearing her
01:15:42and hearing her anecdotes
01:15:44about Peter O'Toole
01:15:45and any number of people.
01:15:47And she always calls him
01:15:48O'Toole.
01:15:49Yeah.
01:15:50Never calls him Peter
01:15:50or Peter.
01:15:51It's always O'Toole.
01:15:52I would love to have
01:15:53a Sian Phillips gene
01:15:54because it's a sharp attack,
01:15:56great sense of humour.
01:15:58Yeah.
01:15:58What about your comedy heroes?
01:16:00Um, well,
01:16:02I had a big hero of mine
01:16:03was Dave Allen.
01:16:04Oh, gosh, yes.
01:16:06But I suppose,
01:16:07I've been thinking
01:16:07about Jonathan Creek,
01:16:09one of the thrills for me
01:16:10was having all,
01:16:12well, three of the main cast
01:16:14of The Young Ones
01:16:16turning up.
01:16:17Yeah.
01:16:17Nigel Planer,
01:16:18Adrian Edmerson
01:16:19and Rick Mayer
01:16:21all appeared
01:16:22in Jonathan Creek
01:16:23and Rick in particular
01:16:24was such a comic hero.
01:16:26For my age,
01:16:28I was 16
01:16:29when the young ones
01:16:29came on TV
01:16:30and all of us
01:16:32at school
01:16:33came in the next day
01:16:34saying the lines
01:16:36and also it coincided
01:16:37with getting a VCR
01:16:38for the first time.
01:16:40So then you could
01:16:40watch these episodes
01:16:41over and over again.
01:16:42And just for the younger,
01:16:43that's a videocassette recorder.
01:16:45Yeah.
01:16:46It predates...
01:16:47A tape.
01:16:48Vinyl.
01:16:48And if you rented one,
01:16:50you had to rewind it
01:16:52which took about 10 minutes.
01:16:53Yes.
01:16:53Oh, gosh,
01:16:54I'd forgotten that.
01:16:55Then take it back
01:16:56to Blockbuster
01:16:56the following day.
01:16:58Exactly, yeah.
01:16:58Yeah?
01:16:59Oh, goodness.
01:17:00Always a delight
01:17:01to talk to her.
01:17:01Look, good luck
01:17:02with the talk.
01:17:02Good luck
01:17:03with the book
01:17:03White Male Stand-Up.
01:17:04Says what it is
01:17:05on the cover.
01:17:06Yes.
01:17:07Lovely to be with you.
01:17:09Now, it's not always possible
01:17:10to get out and about
01:17:12in nature
01:17:13and the British countryside
01:17:14often because of the weather.
01:17:16But never fear
01:17:17because we like to bring
01:17:18a slice of the countryside
01:17:19to you at home
01:17:20each week
01:17:21for a moment of calm.
01:17:24Yep.
01:17:24It's time
01:17:24for today's
01:17:26Ode to Joy.
01:17:36Good luck.
01:17:38Good luck.
01:17:47Good luck.
01:18:04Usually, if you change
01:18:05Ode to Joy
01:18:11THE END
01:18:41THE END
01:19:04A special part of the United Kingdom about the Seven Sisters in East Sussex,
01:19:09courtesy of Chris Short, and set to the Symphony No. 3 by Franz Schubert.
01:19:14Coming up, the trailblazing women in distilling.
01:19:17Never thought I'd say that.
01:19:18If you're looking for a beverage to celebrate International Women's Day, look no further.
01:19:24Becky Paskins here with the female-owned drinks companies,
01:19:27sure to shake up your weekend soirees.
01:19:29I'll see you with Becky, Michaela and Alan, right after this.
01:19:48Now, from craft distilleries to boutique breweries,
01:19:53female entrepreneurs are carving a space in an industry that's historically been dominated by men.
01:19:59Over the past few years, female ownership and leadership within the alcohol industry
01:20:03has been steadily increasing as more women create and lead beverage brands.
01:20:09And now, a significant share of new alcohol ventures are founded by women.
01:20:15Here to highlight the female spirit and give us rather a delicious selection of beverages while she's at it,
01:20:22welcome drinks expert Becky Paskin.
01:20:24Hi, Alan.
01:20:25I bet you had fun finding these, didn't you?
01:20:28Do you know what?
01:20:28It makes my life so easy when there are some amazing drinks that we can share with you guys.
01:20:33And the fact that they're female-owned as well is just phenomenal
01:20:36because it's very difficult for women in the UK and the world to raise capital to create their own brand.
01:20:41I think only 2% of venture capital investment actually goes to female-founded businesses.
01:20:46Deborah Meaden's not working hard enough, for sure.
01:20:49Well, there's a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes, but also in front of them too.
01:20:54So, we've got some amazing drinks for you.
01:20:57We're going to kick off with Mother Root.
01:20:59So, speaking of a dragon, this one is actually had investment from a dragon, Stephen Bartlett,
01:21:05but it was founded by Bethan Higson.
01:21:07So, this is Mother Root.
01:21:08So, this is your first drink here with the pineapple on it.
01:21:11Mother Root is a shrub, essentially.
01:21:14So, it's based on apple cider vinegar with ginger root in there, some blossom honey.
01:21:18And I've lengthened it with pineapple juice and some soda water
01:21:21just to make it a really nice, refreshing, lifting drink.
01:21:25But there's a bit of chilli in the ginger, which gives it the kick,
01:21:29which makes you think that maybe there's alcohol in there, but there's really not.
01:21:31But you've not put too much in it.
01:21:34That's very pineapple-y.
01:21:35It's very refreshing.
01:21:37It's very refreshing.
01:21:38That sounds like a sort of...
01:21:40It looks medicinal with the bottle, but it's not.
01:21:42I feel I should have played tennis before I had this.
01:21:45It's that sort of drink, isn't it?
01:21:46Yeah, summery.
01:21:47It feels summery.
01:21:48You feel like you should have got rid of some energy before you down this one.
01:21:52But it's lovely.
01:21:52Very nice.
01:21:53I like it.
01:21:53Great.
01:21:54Yeah.
01:21:54So, does that get the sums up from both of you?
01:21:55Yeah, I love ginger.
01:21:57Yeah.
01:21:57Very nice.
01:21:58We like that.
01:21:58Next, we're coming on to a ready-made drink.
01:22:01So, I haven't really had to do anything here at all.
01:22:03But this is Pimente, which is a ready-to-drink margarita brand.
01:22:07And this is founded by two ladies, Alice Parmita and Winter Caro.
01:22:12And this is inspired by some of the drinks they had in Mexico,
01:22:16brought them back to the UK, created their own brand.
01:22:18This is the spicy margarita version.
01:22:21Got quite a nose on it.
01:22:22Literally, you could just pour it into your glass straight from the freezer.
01:22:25That might need some lengthening.
01:22:27Yes.
01:22:28What have you put on the side of the glass?
01:22:30So, on the side here, this is just a sprinkling of tajin,
01:22:34which is a chilli and lime salt brim.
01:22:37So, you can drink from it or not drink from it.
01:22:39It's optional.
01:22:39It's totally optional.
01:22:41I do recommend you try it first thing, Alan.
01:22:45Gosh.
01:22:46The thing that surprises you, you don't expect it to be a margarita
01:22:48because it's not coloured like a margarita.
01:22:50It's very light.
01:22:51It's very light, very fresh.
01:22:52It does taste very strong, that.
01:22:54Actually, I think maybe we'll only have a couple of those, Alan.
01:22:56How's the spice level for you in there?
01:22:59But the stuff on the side of the glass is pretty cool.
01:23:02If you take it from the side, yeah.
01:23:02Yeah.
01:23:03And spice it up.
01:23:04No, it's weird.
01:23:05I don't think it's good, but actually, it's quite easy to drink.
01:23:08It's very easy to drink.
01:23:09I'm keeping away from that.
01:23:13It's actually nice.
01:23:14It's like, you know when you normally have the salt,
01:23:15it kind of takes the place of the salt, doesn't it?
01:23:18Yeah.
01:23:18I like it.
01:23:19Absolutely.
01:23:19It's something a little bit different.
01:23:20So every time you have a sip, you can sit from the side without
01:23:22or the side with, and it just changes up your experience.
01:23:25What's your alcohol percentage in there, Becky?
01:23:2614.5%.
01:23:29So about average for a margarita.
01:23:31Alan, you look like you're falling off the stool already.
01:23:34Already?
01:23:35I'm an ear too, sweet.
01:23:37It's always refreshing when you find your glass is fuller
01:23:40than your guest glass.
01:23:41You think you've been a good host, you know?
01:23:43Okay.
01:23:44Right.
01:23:44Well, we're moving swiftly on.
01:23:46Yeah, warm us up, that one.
01:23:47We're actually going to a brand which is close to my heart,
01:23:49being a Brighton girl myself.
01:23:50This is Brighton Gin.
01:23:52This is founded by Cathy Caton,
01:23:54who's a bit of a legend in the spirits industry.
01:23:57Brighton Gin is very much, embodies the spirit of Brighton,
01:24:00so we're very free-thinking and fun-loving down in Brighton,
01:24:03obviously.
01:24:04And this...
01:24:06If I do say so myself.
01:24:07This is made with...
01:24:09The glass from the bottle is actually 100%
01:24:12recycled glass from using Brighton recycled bottles,
01:24:15which is fantastic.
01:24:16Do you know you can taste that?
01:24:18You can taste the glass in the drink.
01:24:21But there's some beautiful orange notes
01:24:23and there's a very coastal style of gin.
01:24:25What I've done with this is I've paired it with a soda
01:24:28from Double Dutch.
01:24:29This is a pink grapefruit soda, also female-owned,
01:24:32so Joyce and Raisa de Haas.
01:24:33They founded this incredible range of mixers.
01:24:36These are beautiful.
01:24:37And I've created a kind of coastal seaside paloma
01:24:39made with gin.
01:24:41Just a touch of salt in there to bring out some salinity,
01:24:44but essentially lovely, orangey, grapefruit-y.
01:24:47It is very grapefruit-y.
01:24:49Yes.
01:24:50Very grapefruit-y.
01:24:50I mean, it doesn't taste like it's got a lot of alcohol in it,
01:24:53and that's always a bit dangerous, isn't it?
01:24:55Yes.
01:24:56So in this serve, I actually put 50 ml of gin,
01:24:58so there is a double serve of gin in this drink.
01:25:00So if you can't taste it, then it maybe is quite dangerous.
01:25:02So don't drink one of these before the tennis, Michaela.
01:25:06Yes.
01:25:07Moving on to our fourth drink,
01:25:09and this is where we move into whiskey territory,
01:25:11which is very close to my heart.
01:25:13And this is a newish brand that is called the Heart Cut.
01:25:16This is from a wife and husband duo,
01:25:18so Georgie Bell and Fabrizio Leone.
01:25:21They actually founded this at the same time as having twins,
01:25:24which is very brave.
01:25:25They probably needed it.
01:25:25So they have three children at the same time.
01:25:27No doubt.
01:25:29Great wisdom, as it's all.
01:25:30So normally they focus on independent bottlings.
01:25:33So whiskeys, they've sourced them all around the world,
01:25:35and they do small runs of them.
01:25:37But this particular whiskey is their first core whiskey.
01:25:40This is called barley,
01:25:41and it is a blend of English single malt.
01:25:44So five different distilleries have gone in here.
01:25:46Lots of flavours of strawberry and cream,
01:25:49vanilla, marshmallows.
01:25:51So I've created a strawberry and rhubarb old-fashioned,
01:25:56and just garnished it with a toasted marshmallow on the top.
01:26:00That's, yeah, that's quite strong.
01:26:02That's delight.
01:26:03Isn't it?
01:26:05It's quite strong there.
01:26:06Yeah, no lightening here.
01:26:07It's quite strong there.
01:26:08I like that one.
01:26:09This is delicious.
01:26:10Mm.
01:26:11Yeah, I'm a bit worried about the marshmallow going in Alan's eye.
01:26:14That's my only worry.
01:26:15Take mine off.
01:26:19Tell me if I've got a marshmallow stuck in my eye, won't you?
01:26:24Well, Michaela, if you thought that one was strong,
01:26:26then we are moving into neat whiskey now.
01:26:29So this is our fifth.
01:26:31And actually, this is one of my favourite whiskeys at the moment.
01:26:34This is called Nick Neon.
01:26:36This is up on the west coast of Scotland,
01:26:38and it's founded by a lady called Annabelle Thomas.
01:26:41So she left her job working in the city in London
01:26:43to start a distillery on her family's farm
01:26:46and created this beautiful organic single malt.
01:26:50They have sustainability at their heart.
01:26:52This is also made from 100% recycled bottles,
01:26:55lots of flavours of peach stone, apricots, just maltiness.
01:27:00I just find it so fruity, so delicious,
01:27:03such a heartwarming, beautiful dram.
01:27:05That is your last swig before you hit the pillow, isn't it?
01:27:08Wow.
01:27:10That's a late-night snifter, that.
01:27:12It's gorgeous.
01:27:14Oh, yes.
01:27:14It's very nice.
01:27:15Yeah.
01:27:15Alan, you're leaning more and more on the bar.
01:27:17Look at that.
01:27:18You know, some of those Scotch whiskeys,
01:27:20they taste a bit weird in a good way.
01:27:22They taste a little bit antiseptic, some of them.
01:27:24It's one of those.
01:27:25That's probably the peat.
01:27:27So actually only about 10% of Scotch whisky is peated,
01:27:30so it's only a small amount.
01:27:31This one doesn't have any peat in it,
01:27:34so it's unpeated single malt whisky.
01:27:36What I would say is if you're not too sure
01:27:39about the strength of whisky in sipping this neat,
01:27:41I think this is 46% ABV.
01:27:43So if you wanted to, you could add some water
01:27:45or add a cube of ice.
01:27:47I think this one.
01:27:48You like the grapefruit one?
01:27:49Yes, I like the grapefruit one.
01:27:51Yeah.
01:27:51Alan, do you have a favourite?
01:27:52I like the margarita.
01:27:54It's really nice.
01:27:55That's it.
01:27:55Thanks to all my guests today,
01:27:57to Michaela, Alan, Annabelle and Cliff,
01:27:59and of course to Becky,
01:28:01to rounding off a very verbose programme,
01:28:04which I suspect in the next hour or so
01:28:06is going to get even more verbose.
01:28:07Join me...
01:28:08If I could say the word, it'd be good, wouldn't it?
01:28:10Join me next week for Mothering Sunday.
01:28:12Queen of Crime, Linda Laplante,
01:28:14and Wild Cherry star, James Murray.
01:28:17Fletcher's Family Farms next,
01:28:18but I'll leave you with some meaningful words
01:28:20from Marlon Brando, no less.
01:28:22Regret is useless in life.
01:28:25It's because I've got a cold that I can do Marlon Brando.
01:28:27It's in the past.
01:28:29All we have is now.
01:28:31How terribly profound.
01:28:33You have a few glasses of this
01:28:34to come up with something like that.
01:28:35Now, though, I'm feeling very content.
01:28:37Happy 60th.
01:28:38Cheers.
01:28:39Cheers.
01:28:39Happy birthday.
01:28:41Happy birthday.
01:28:41Happy birthday.
01:28:44Happy birthday.
01:28:45Happy birthday.
01:28:58Happy birthday.
01:29:00Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
01:29:01Happy birthday.
01:29:04Happy birthday.
01:29:06Happy birthday.
01:29:06You
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