05/11/2012 The One Show

Hello and welcome to The One Show, with Matt Baker. And Alex Jones.

And Don Bonfire Night we have a dynamite guest. Richard Hammond!

The idea was to have you coming out of a firework. Like a birthday cake.

Help yourself to a toffee apple. Mind your teeth. Maybe after.

Didn't you set your shed on fire a one-time? That came from nowhere!

Yes. Years ago as a kid in Birmingham and we had a thin garden.

I had asked my dad if I could use it for a wildlife club. I carved

the initials of wildlife club on the door, W C. That Bonfire Night

we had a big fire. It was the shared. That is how not to do it.

What happened to the wildlife club? We burn down the shed! If you're

having a bonfire party tonight, but don't burn down your shed. We would

like to put your sparklers to good use. Send us some sparky writing.

We had a go at this. It works better if you put your camera on a

slow shutter speed. Whatever you get, send us the results and we

will show this ugliest snaps later. Did you do that today? Yes. Your

days are weird! This is the Health and Safety bit. But some gloves on

and get an adult present. Or don't do it, it is up to Newquay. -- it

is up to you. I am not recommending it! My dog is here as well. This is

Annie, she is in make-up. With the help of Sarah Fisher, they will be

providing some advice for firework crazy canines. She is lovely.

left a pair of shoes in that room! Well, they are not safe.

remember, remember, 5th November, but the rear -- residents of one

tell and in Wales were worried they might have to forget fireworks

night this year. We sent Lucy to give their firework night a bit of

This is Llanelli in South Wales, where the seaside community

association, a small but dedicated group, spend a lot of time putting

on events for the community to enjoy. Sadly, 2012 was something of

a disaster. How would you describe the last year? Horrendous. The

carnival was a total disaster. We ended up with a marquee up a tree.

Her you had a striker couple of years ago. Nobody would blame you

if you stopped, why do you carry on? When you have come so close to

dying, you realise that life is about having fun. What can I do to

help you? Generate me some enthusiasm, make it a success. Make

it good. So it is the One Show to the rescue. The first port of call

has to be something we know Peter really needs. We have a marquee, a

really good marquee. That is so significant after what happened to

the last one, a brilliant. We are also missing a bonfire and if we're

going to have entertainment, we need some electricity. Do you know

how much power you want? And no. How about 30? Sounds amazing. We

need something to burn. A load of timber. You are one step ahead! Is

this my bonfire? Yes. We have got the essentials for the fireworks,

but I want to give this a real edge. I am going to track down some local

talent and get them to perform tomorrow night. That will give us

Thank you for stopping. What an amazing sound. Can anybody come

along tomorrow night? Yes. I could cuddle you! Thank you. With the

military band on the bill, I needed something else. Perhaps something

# Don't be afraid of the dark. was amazing. What I really, really

want is for you to come and sing the tomorrow night at. A show of

hands. That is pretty amazing. Thank you so much. If I was at a

fireworks tomorrow night and I lived in that community and thought

I could not be bothered to have a volunteer and keep this going, if I

had that, I would absolutely want to get involved. It is the morning

of the event and Peter's wife and some of the other organisers are in

the cafe preparing. I think my wife said I was attacking her last night

in my sleep. A bit of stress? a little bit. Peter is worried

about the rain and whether people will show up. But once the marquee

goes up and the sun goes down, Llanelli turned out in force. Is

this the most people you've had? The most ever. Really? Absolutely

amazing. I'm so relieved. You are? Yes. A few of our special guests

start to arrive. Plus a few others we had up our sleeve do try to make

this the most spectacular party What is it like to have the choir

here? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. A pretty good display?

Wonderful. We just can't believe what has gone on, we can only thank

for One Show. What has been your favourite bit? The choir. Family

reasons. Your dad used to be in it? Brilliant! Lovely. A big hello to

everybody in Llanelli, we hope you had a great night. Richard, you

investigated the gunpowder Plot ones. In 2005 because it was the

400th anniversary. It was quite an elaborate thing. It was an

experiment to set up to do. recreate the houses of Lords as

they were in 60 No 5 and we did it for a fully. We had its structure

the examined by architects and technicians. We put the correct

amount of gunpowder in the right place and blew it up. Wow. You need

your sparkly writing! Fizzes what What did you think? That was big!

It goes without saying... younger brother co-hosted it with

any! What did you learn from that? It would have been catastrophic.

was for a fall in terms of the amount of gunpowder, 36 barrels of

it. We could place it in the right place. If only half the gunpowder

had gone off, everybody would have been killed because of the

containment effect of the walls. You would have heard it miles away,

it was devastating. It was quite a moment because that was the first

time it was actually seen in a real analogues sense. Incredible to

witness. It wasn't fun(!). questions continue, have a look at

the screen. What do Carol Vorderman, Lord Sugar, Prince Charles and Mary

Portas have in common? For they are all one that big TV over there.

They are. But they are also expert government advisers known as tsars.

Andrew Neill has gone tsar gazing! The tsar, autocratic boss of the

old Russian empire and now part of the government of 21st century

Britain. There are tsars everywhere in the coalition and for the first

time, an attempt has been made to count them. The results are pretty

startling. For newspapers gave the name tsar to cover a range of

experts and advisers appointed by ministers to represent particular

interests or find solutions in difficult areas of policy. The tsar

trend started under the last Labour government and included the

appointment of famous faces such as Carol Vorderman, Alan Sugar and

even Prince Charles. But the current coalition has appointed

nearly double the number of annual appointments compared with Labour.

There's no central record of who has been made of tsar, when it or

even why, until researchers here at King's College London did some

rooting around and they made a head count. The result? We've had over

260 tsars on British soil. More than the Russians ever had! So why

has appointing a well-known often unpaid adviser become so popular?

Very often ministers are looking for external and authoritative

endorsement of something they favour. It might be a way of trying

to find some consensus in a very contentious area. One do they

choose famous folk? I think sometimes to raise the profile of

the issue and possibly to provide rather more publicity to whatever

it is they want to do. Usually the famous person has some expertise in

the field. I've come into the streets of London and to find out

if people know what a government tsar is an to find out if they know

whether any of these stars have also been tsars. Do you know who

that is? Prince Charles. Was he a government tsar? I don't think so.

He was. Which one was a government tsar? Are Jeremy Clarkson. Carol

Vorderman. Jeremy Clarkson. Wrong answer. Do you know what she was?

Son thing to do with maths. Correct, she was for maths tsar. By a

meeting tsar who spent six months writing an influential report on

education. Who appointed do and why? Michael Gove. There was to

look at what was happening to vocational education because it was

in a mess and he did not know why. There have been quite a few who

have had results and a lot of the time these are pretty murky subject.

My hunch would be that the less visible for tsar, the more results

they get. Sounds like you think tsars are here to stay and they

should be. It is really important to have some quick, relatively

informal mechanism which allows a minister to get advice on

particular topics when she or he needs it, fast. Her during his time

in government, John Denham appointed three tsars. None was

famous bar all -- but all were experts in their field, including a

doctor to help him to decide what to do with GP out-of-hours service.

You have to bring in somebody from outside who can give it their full

attention. Somebody who is respected in their field, he can do

a job. You can't do it as a minister. Had your civil servants

are not professionals. Somebody from outside can give real

leadership. Is there a danger that the minister calls and a mate? It

is a way of getting their way, someone they know. If it was a

cynical as that, people would spot that at the beginning and people

would say they've added nothing to the process. I think in each case

for free people I brought in did things I could not have done myself.

Her this work? It worked very well indeed. It changed things for the

public as well. So they're here to stay. Ministers like them, they are

quick, cheap and effective. But sometimes you wonder if politicians

don't like just to be sprinkled with a little bit of celebrity

Stardust and the danger in that is you end up with government by

Thank you very much, Andrew Neill. Fancy being a car tsar, Richard?

wouldn't know what one did, but I don't want to be in charge. It is

not my thing. There is a lot of tsars. I could be the tsar-tsar.

The tsar of all zars? Yes, probably the most pointless job.

Now, Richard, we have to talk about Richard Hammond's Miracles of

Nature. From tonight. It is incredible? I have never been so

excited about getting something on air that I have been working on.

This has been two years in the making.

It comes from the natural world? is how we take inspiration from

nature and how sometimes we don't even know how we have done it. We

have been looking to a solution, then identified that our solution

is what evolution provided. Sometimes looking directly at

nature and copying it. Sometimes what an animal does, and applied it.

It works. There are so many brilliant

examples, but a giraffe inspires a fighter pilot? Yes, the GIRA F suit.

It is very slimming, Richard? it? Elegant.

What it is, specifically. Giraffes have twice our blood pressure.

Simply enough they have to pump the blood a long way up to their head.

Not a problem that I suffer with, obviously! That is fine when the

blood is pumped to the head, but when it bends to drink, the head

goes blow the level of the heart, technically the head should splod,

but it doesn't. That is because it has a very clever neck of muscles

and thick artery walls. So the suit, you saw me modelling

it, you don't have to see it again, saw it, done! It works in very much

the same sort of way it works. You go up paragliding it with cape

vultures? That was horrible. The reason is that cape vultures have a

set of problems. They have to take off, land in confined places, they

really only live in one place, which is where I jumped off. That

has been coppied, the way that their wings work has inspired a new

type of mini submarine. It has short stuby wings to manoeuvre in

tight circles. The vulture has the same issue, it needs to use the

thermals. You may have to fly for days to

find food, so they conserve their energy.

Let's see you taking the skies -- taking to the skies.

Look at the drop! I don't want to be a vulture. Are you OK?

scared. On an Olympic scale! Look to the left... Wow! There are

millions! Look at them now. They have come to join us! We are

circling with them. It is astonishing. We are in the same

thermal that they are. This is incredible.

APPLAUSE Does that scare you to look at it?

Yes, I am used to doing scary things, but the fear goes away.

Like live TV, it goes away, but when you do something new, then

bang it goes, but I thought I would be scared, then I would be fine,

but I jumped in the air and the fear never left, ever! That is on

tonight atpm on BBC One. On Friday our natural miracles, Lauren,

Darren, Jack, James, Jamilla, and Ciaran are setting out on Llandudno

on the 144 -- 411 mile journey to London on the Team Rickshaw.

They have benefited from your donations in the past. They are

eager to raise more for us. That is where you come out. Details how to

donate are coming up. Yes, so it is time to get to

another member of the team, this is Ciaran.

My name is Ciaran Fitzgerald. I am 17. I am from Port Talbot in South

Wales. It is a lovely place to live, Port Talbot.

There are good places to go for walks. Beaches on the doorstep.

Good places to go cycling. I live with my mum, my dadened my younger

brother, Danny. Because of Ciaran's traumatic birth he lacked oxygen.

So he has cerebral palsy. Ciaran's disabilities are the fiscal

disabilities. It affects his balance, his fine motorskills and

the speech is slurred. You have to give him time to understand him

when he is speaking, but he tries to conquer his disabilities with

sky skiing, cycling and football. I play tennis once a week. I also

enjoy cycling. I've been doing it more now because

of the challenge. He's a very ambitious boy! I hope to go to

university after I finish my A- levels. I would like to study

journalism. I am interested in writing and the media in general.

The turning point in Ciaran's life was Mess up the Mess, a drama group.

Since then he is far more confident. I made a lot of new friends.

Funding has helped. My drama company has put on several

productions. It gives me the opportunity to act, but also to

write my own place. He is the life and the soul of the party for

defendant. He is great. I am excited about the rickshaw

challenge. It is over 400 miles. It is only going to take a lot of

energy. It is going to be physically and psychological ally

draining. I think if anyone can do it, Ciaran can. I am excited for

him, doing this, I know it means the world to him to raise money for

Children In Need. Just because I have cerebral palsy does not mean

that I'm not able to push myself as hard as someone who is able-bodied.

It will give me the feeling of achievement. It will be great to

know I have done something really good and given back to Children In

Need for how they have helped me in the past.

APPLAUSE What a guy! He really will push

himself. We will be there to look after him. Richard, will you do the

honours in your best fundraising I few all of that. That was in my

head. I happened to know it. Thank you, Richard.

You can also donate any amount you like by sending a cheque to:

We want lots of you to cheer us on the journey next week. So go to the

website, have a look at the route that we are taking.

Yes, come out and see us. What is the time, Matt? Well, it is

nearly 7.20pm. Bonfires all over the country are starting. We asked

one of our help to take a photo of a bonfire. It was a simple task,

but he had to do one better. Bonfire Night is a great chance to

take dramatic pictures, but today I'm getting closer to the flames

than ever before in the attempt to photograph the nature of fire. It's

going to be big, it's going to be hot and it is definitely going to

be dangerous. This training centre at West Yorkshire Fire Service,

teaches 800 firefighters a year to understand the science of fire. To

identify the key danger signals and to stop small household fires

getting out of control. Dave, what turns a burning piece of

toast into a roaring house fire? Everything is made out of chemicals.

When you apply heat to that, it breaks down into the chemicals. The

chemicals given off in a form of gas that burns.

In this designed multi-storey burn chamber, the chemicals are studied

to a point as to when they catch fire. It is known as florbover when

a fire in a room because overcome with fire. The men put pallets on

the floors, walls and the ceiling to mimic the flammable elements of

a fire. They can practise then how to tackle the fire. All they set

alight to is this small pile of sticks.

How do I know when it is going to go up? The back and side wall looks

like burning toast. It gives off white gas. We will let you know

when it is likely to happen. When it happen it is ignites and runs up

the wall. As well as a lot of firefighters,

I'll be joined by the specialist photographer, Brian Saville. His

pictures are vital, showing how fires progress and pinpointing

where it gets out of control. It is different every time.

Sometimes it dives around the walls and comes over. It is dramatic.

Have you lost cameras? Not many. The flasher that we put on is the

same level of protection that we put on the head.

I have only one chance to get that flash over moment. So I have Brian

best advice in mind, to keep shooting. To start off it is like

sitting around a bonfire. In a house a smoke alarm would be going

off. After ten minutes there is the

tell-tale flashover signs, the smoke in the air and white smoke

coming from the walls. It will be a few seconds now. Here

we go. Suddenly there is a huge wall of

flame. One minute white smoke, the next it is 200 degrees where we are.

This is the moment firefighters here are taught to recognise and to

control, left to burn the fire spreads fast.

Now, there is a river of flame above my head. It is called

rollover. It is caused as the hot gases spread across the ceiling.

It is like the air is on fire. It is incredible. Moving through a

normal building, firing find more fuel and get hotter.

It is 350 degrees in the middle of the chamber now. This is as close

as we can get. Wow! That is amazing. It is much,

much hotter. This is the terrifying nature of

fire. I am thoroughly cooked, but I think

I have amazing photos of fire. And Brian's approval.

That will do for me. You got good shots? Yes.

Bonfire Night is not for everyone. We are talking dogs. Sarah Fisher

is a dog behaviour expert. I have my dog in. This is Annie. She is 15

months old. This is her first time. She may have some ang diet.

Obviously there are no fireworks going off, but -- anxiety.

Obviously there are no fireworks going off for the moment, but for

people with animals, and it being Bonfire Night, what should the

owners do? Annie is amazing in a new environment. To keep the stress

levels low and the dog is happy for you to handle them, stroking the

ears slowly from the base out to the tip of the nose.

So lots of soothing strokes. Now, you keep doing that. You have

sent us lots of sparklers. Lara in Canada has made this for

her cousin Megane. There is a lovely heart there.

Louise who is ten has done this. Thaep for that.