15/06/2011 The One Show

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

Tonight's guest started his career on the cobbles of Weatherfield and

went on to work with Clint Eastwood. It is, of course, Warren Clarke.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING. Enough! Aren't they lovely. Be honest, what

did you prefer working with Clint or Corrie? Corrie. Yeah. Definitely.

You played so many different characters. There's one of them. I

was in it three times with three characters. Ridiculous really. I

was a boyfriend of Lucie in one show. I was a student in Manchester

Rag Week or whatever it was, who kidnapped Annie Walker. And then I

ended up as Elsie's nephew. Would you go back if they asked? No.

have a picture of you with Clint as Good lad. Was he all right?

Fantastic. Nice man. Did he direct you as well? Yeah. In fact, I

directed that scene, that shot there. We were rehearsing it and he

said, I don't know about this, it's not working for me, is it working

for you? He doesn't raise his voice much more. I said, you what? I said

no, it's going to be OK. I looked around and said look, the sun's

just going down over there behind those mountains. Yeah. I said why

don't we go the other side. And move the camera and the sun will be

in the middle of the shot doing the scene. He went, yeah. OK. Let's set

it up the way the limey wants to do it. Then he said you should direct,

I went thank you, I will. We are going to be talking about this new

sitcom you are in. I didn't direct that. We will find out in a minute.

The experiences of often young British soldiers in Afghanistan

have been vividly brought to life in the BBC series Our War, we

featured last week here. Tonight in a second of her films on difficult

choices people have faced Wendy Robins talks to a soldier who just

wanted out. My name's Joe Glenton and I am the

soldier who refused to return to Afghanistan. As a soldier speaking

out against the war in Afghanistan it's the hardest decision I have

ever made. Joe had been in the Army for nearly

two years before he was sent to Afghanistan with the Royal

logistics corps, his time in 2006 there had a profound effect on him.

What were your worst experiences out there, what do you remember

most? The worst moments for me in Afghanistan were probably the

mortar coming in and injuring the civilians, it's a strong image for

me. Them lying there in the dust. As a soldier, you must have known

that's what happens in wars, civilians die? Of course, yeah,

that's what war does, it destroys things and kills people. Why did

you start to feel that you shouldn't be out there? I think it

probably started with looking at the attitudes of the various

nations out there. Obviously it was multinational and seeing how the

lead nation, being the Americans kind of treated the locals and

stuff like that, the amount of mistreatment and stuff really

started to affect me and hearing about bombings of civilians and

stuff like that was a concern and I started to think well, why are we

here? Back home, Joe says he told his bosses he was having nightmares

and not coping well. Yet they insisted he had to go back to

Afghanistan for a second tour of duty. Take me through the moment

you were supposed to report to the barracks to go back to Afghanistan.

I still felt a big obligation to the Army but I tried to pursue it

through their channels and being ignored and felt I had no choice, I

felt my hand was forced. I wasn't sleeping, and in a bad way

psychiatrically and made that choice, booked a flight and had to

find some space. Joe bought a one- way ticket to Australia, where he

met Clare, now his wife. Obviously, being AWOL is serious but I didn't

how serious at the time. I was scared as much for the consequences

as for my own mental state. journey back from Australia back to

Manchester was very tense for both of us. We really knew we were

coming back to an open can of worms and what was going to happen, we

didn't know. Joe was a wanted man. He was arrested by the Army soon

after arriving back in the UK, but continued to protest against the

war. Why do you think it was important to hear a soldier speak

out? It's a fairly rare event because the Army has that culture

of obedience and quietness and keeping it in house, I didn't think

it should be the case. I think people should hear what soldiers

have to say. I can't say I represent every soldier out there

but I don't think we should be there, it's the bottom line. Lives

are being wasted. Joe was sentenced to nine months in a military

correctional centre for being absent without leave. When Joe was

in jail he received thousands of letters of support and he has kept

them all. The only serving soldier who so far has had the courage to

stand up for what you and so many in the Army know to be the truth.

Thank you for having the courage to speak out. Joe is now studying for

a degree and and settling into civilian life in York, but I

wondered how local people feel about what he did. You joined up,

you took the money and you should have finished your contract really

and done what you should have done and done it properly. And not just

absconded like you did, that's not the way to go about things, I feel.

Even though I raised objections at the time. You joined up. I used to

work for the armed forces, I used to meet people who didn't want to

do things. You said said before you are not a pacifist. I am not. I do

think there is a legitimate use for conflict, violence even, so defend

yourself or someone else, life or liberty. If everyone acted like you

did there would be no such thing as an Army, it's not an a la carte

menu that you can pick and choose. You sign up also to doing what the

politicians tell you to do, to defend your country. There is that

argument, I think it was in the transcripts from the neuroemburg

trial, no sealedier can hide behind the mythical obedience. You have a

choice, you are still a human being. Some people, included military

personnel, may well be angered by Joe's choice, what are your

thoughts on that? It's a difficult subject. I just think why did he

join? We don't have call-up any more, don't have national service.

Why did he join the Army? The lady there spoke frankly and said if you

do sign up then you can't choose which tours of duty you take part

in. I don't agree with the Afghanistan thing anyway, why our

boys and girls are out there, I find ridiculous. But I am not a

politician, I am not running the country or the world. When they

talk about defending our country, you go, hang on, they're not here,

they're in Afghanistan. What are we kefding -- defending our country

over there for? We have been there over hundreds of years about three

times and never won anything. Surely we could have learned by

that. But back to the lad, I mean, he joined up. You join the club,

that's what you do. I am not sure... That series of Our War, you see the

bravery of the youngsters out there. They are incredibly brave, of

course they are, and it's understandable when people go I

can't stand it. Dodgy. Moving on to something different now. Peak

holiday season is around the corner and the numbers of us travelling

abroad is on the up, a staggering 13.5 million of us travelled

overseas in the last three months. With family finances being

stretched Anita wants to make sure we are all getting the most of our

money. A rare foreign assignment for The

One Show, I am off to France, no not on a booze cruise, there's a

very good reason, I will be showing you how to make your holiday money

go further by avoiding those annoying hidden charges.

We do get het up about them. It's ridiculous really to be honest. You

know, you are using it same as back at home in a machine. We expect to

be charged, we take a lot of cash with us. Why do you expect to be

charged? That's the service we have from our bank. I have come up with

my five rules that will get you and your bank balance through your

holiday without it costing the OK, before you even leave the UK

you need to be careful not to get caught out. When buying foreign

currency on home soil avoid using plastic.

Because you will be charged extra for using a credit card and

sometimes even a debit card. You are betting off using cash and

buying currency direct from a bureau decharge, no charges and if

you shop around no commission either.

When you arrive abroad plastic does come in handy, you don't want to

carry huge amounts of cash so you will need more money at some point

but using the wrong card can land you with a whole load of extra

charges. So you have run out of cash. Which

bit of plastic do you stick in the ATM? Definitely not the credit card.

It's by far the priciest way to withdraw cash. The debit card is a

better deal but nearly all banks will charge you for using this as

well with at least two sometimes three extra fees.

There's the cash withdrawal fee, and the currency conversion fee.

Then the local bank will often whack on their own fee, too. For

taking �500 out, you could be paying as much as �23 extra.

If you are anything like me, you will waste no time in hitting the

shops and the restaurants and for those big ticket items you will be

reaching for the plastic again. Now, the ATM I used my debit card.

Here, I will be better off using my credit card as long as I pay it off

before the interest kicks in. Debit cards can be bad news because banks

will often charge a transaction fee and a currency conversion fee and

that's enough to put you off your lunch. Wow!

Remember, which ever card you use if they they offer to let you pay

in pounds just say no. It means the retailer does the

conversion as a so-called dynamic currency exchange. Usually to its

own advantage. But alas it's time for me to leave

Calais. It's been a whirlwind of a day but there's one rule left that

should help you sail through your trip, always tell your bank you are

going abroad or else they could block your cards and then you would

have no cards to choose from. Well, that's all my tips, so, Bonn

chance with putting them to use. Bonjour, welcome home. She's skint

after that film. How much did you spend? I won't tell you. Lunch was

lovely. Whose money was it? My own! You said call the banks and you did.

We got an experiment, we got people from the office including myself to

phone banks to see if we could get a straight answer as to how much it

would cost to spend on debit and credit cards, and we couldn't. But

it varies, there are many variables. Cast your mind back everybody, do

you remember the days of travellers cheques? What happened to them?

They still exist, we are used to using plastic now an we don't

bother with travellers cheques. They were there to save us having

to take cash on holiday with us, but if you do take them you still

have to go and find somewhere that will change them. They will still

charge for changing them and also they were there for security but

it's easier to use plastic now. are wary of using your plastic card

abroad? Yeah, plastic is so convenient, as you said, but I did

get caught last year. Twice actually, when the card is cloned.

Did -- can you say how much you got done for? Somewhere up towards

�20,000. Ouch! The bank called me about a certain situation that was

going on, that situation, and they said were you in Africa recently? I

said I was there about a month ago. I was there for a week and I went

to the Caribbean and they went yes, we can see you were in the

Caribbean. What's the problem, so they said we notice that you were

in Cheshire last week and then on the Friday, and on the Saturday you

were in Johannesburg, on the Sunday you were in Manchester. I went yeah,

right, how did I do that! Such a jet-setter. They said we have a few

issues, and eventually I got this list of these transactions that

were taking place all around South Africa and I had only used the card

once in Johan he is Johan -- Johannesburg airport to buy some

gifts and somebody cloned the card. You have got to be so careful.

I have some money-saving tips. Number one, apparently �800 million

worth of foreign currency comes back into the UK by British

tourists, and only 50% take it back on holiday. If you have dollars,

Euros, rupees, yen, whatever it might be, next time you go to those

countries, take the cash you have lying at home with you.

This one, mobile phone charges, I had an absolutely shopping bill,

more than 500, less than �1,000. I almost cried. Phone your network

provider, some have bundles where you will get free texts, calls and

discounted calls. I buy a phone when I am out there and I get a

local Sim card. If you are not going abroad this

summer there is a home-grown tourist attraction in Liverpool

that is blooming well worth visiting. We have weeded out Joe

Crowley to find out why an unsightly back alley has come up

smelling of roses. This may look like any other Ali

around here, but it is an oasis of green. Blooming marvellous! In 2007,

Irene Humphreys and Audrey Roberts started turning back alley way into

a stunning garden. This is incredible, where did it begin?

said, look what I have in the back. I said, it is a bath, what is that

for? She said, I'm going to plant flowers. I said, you can't have one

without me! And before you knew it you have walled gardens. These are

tomatoes, last year our core shirts were about two feet long. That bath

tub is one big bouquet. Isn't that fantastic. I completely missed the

sister and just above that! What would be alleyway have looked like

before? It was a disgrace. A dumping ground. Instead of putting

your rubbish out for the bin men, it went in the back alley, so we

decided to get rid of it all and start this a races. This is our

garden, we don't have gardens here. The children can come here, it is

safe for them, they come on their little scooters and bikes. One man

who understands how special displays his is the firemen -- the

chairman of North West in bloom. They won the best alley way

competition for two in three years. They have won the Royal

Horticultural Society certificate for five years. They have won as so

many trophies in Liverpool, I have lost track. It is really good, it

makes it nice and clean. I like the Rosas. I like the purple ones.

all the neighbours are behind the project, that is why the garden

stops at this point. The gardens used to come up further, but then

people got fed up. It was the hint that people did not care and they

were the only ones who care. they don't want to get involved we

can't do anything, we just have to go with the flow, as they say.

Keeping a garden like this going is not cheap, costing over �1,000 this

year. Now the funding might dry up. The council has finished funding us.

We are not getting funded at all. You can't do it on fresh-air, you

need funding. I could not imagine it not being here. I don't even

want to think about it. I might have to go out and get myself a

fella to keep me company! For the good of him, I hope the garden

stays! Very funny! We had you in mind!

Joe Crowley has pulled! He got out of there alive! It seemed those

ladies were in charge of the tool shed, who is in charge of the

garden in at your place? My wife, it is hers. She does it all. She

won't let me in the kitchen apart from when I am eating, and I can go

in the garden to look but I have to get out. She says, look what I have

done. It is fantastic, it is great what those ladies have done. Let's

go want your sitcom, In With the Flynns. You play the grandfather,

it is based around a working-class family in Manchester. Let's see you

in action playing with your grandson. Are you ready? Here it

comes! Are you OK? I'm rubbish. got something on it. My face.

you worry, let me tell you a story. Not about birds! He played in goal

for Manchester City in the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck.

you think I have a broken neck?! Tier out of two! -- two out of two!

Good shot. It is all done by cameras, nothing to do with my feet.

It seems family-based sitcoms are all the rage. Yes. Something you

were attracted to? I was sent the scripts and ideas for the story

line and I thought I liked it, I liked the idea, the fun. OK, there

are many, many other family show was. We got together as a unit,

none of us... I had met Craig Parkinson once before and I knew

Will Mellor but we did not really know each other, and the kids, we

got together and got on like a family. It was really quite

extraordinary, we really enjoyed it. We had the odd word against each

other and... Shut it! Getting your box! But it worked and we really

enjoyed ourselves. Pickets were fabulous and it was fun. The second

episode is on tonight, but then after that you are going back to

the stage for the first time in 30 years, starring as Churchill. What

made you go back? It is the first time I was offered something I

really, really liked, with the space and time to do it. 30 years

ago television and films sort of took over and I was into that, I

just carried on doing it. I had been offered theatre work, but

nothing that really grabbed my attention apart from a couple of

plays two or three years ago. But somehow they did not get a theatre

so we did not happen, but this time we got some theatres and we will

see what happens. Away from the stage we know you are a bit of a

twitcher, you like bird-watching. Yes, OK?! We will talk about it

during the film. Mike Dilger is flying like a bird.

Birds can be considered Major's ultimate flying machine. In fact, a

recent study found that relevant to its size, a humming birds flies

faster than a jet fighter. -- a Hummingbird flies faster. I have

this bad-boy today, and aerobatic biplane. I have come to

Gloucestershire to find out why birds are so brilliant at flight

and see what it takes to emulate them. First stop is my

ornithological wing man. Birds are so incredibly well adapted for

flying. This buzzard wing shows you the perfect format you would see in

an aeroplane wing. As I move it horizontally, the wing wants to

take off and lift. But it is not just the wing shape that allows

such efficient flight. It only has 11 bones in its wing, compared with

29 in our arms, and they are hollow. You have a very nice, strong but

polite wing. When I think of Master of the air, it has to be the swift.

This would have left its nest and not landed for two whole years.

swift will feed, sleep and mate on the wing until that time when they

nest. Birds all have one characteristic that will trump any

aeroplane. It has a number of different wings on the plane, the

tail and the flaps, a bird has all of these things combined. And like

us they have nerves, they can respond very quickly with their

eyes and their senses to make changes very, very quickly.

experience exactly what these aerobatic exertions do to a bird's

body, I will not just be sitting in any old plane. I will be strapped

to the wing of a souped-up 1930s Boeing, which has been specially

adapted for the only formation wing walking display team in the world.

Showing me the ropes is Danielle Hughes, who has been a wing walker

for the past four years. I will warn you that Basij rocks slightly,

that is completely normal, so don't panic. -- the SITA rocks slightly.

Wave as much as you like, have a good time. If I am really worried

idea that? The yes, both arms out, thumbs down. Promise to wave at us.

I am feeling confident as we take off. Flying in formation with the

camera plane alongside, navigating in unison, much like a beautiful

pair of swans. But the serenity is short-lived as my plane peels away.

I am beginning my mam verses bird tests. The fastest bird on the

planet, the peregrine falcon, can ensure G-force of 90, nine times

its body weight, so we are going to pull a loop. As we accelerate out

of the bottom we reach 4G, less than half of the peregrine falcon's,

but it is enough to paralyse me to my seat. There is no time to pause

as we are on the up to experience what the peregrine falcon does in

hunting. It can reach speeds of up to 200 mph, which it achieves by

typing its wings in. We only get to 160 mph with our fixed wings and it

takes all my strength just to hold takes all my strength just to hold

my arms out. Wave, Mike! Some species like ravens Paul of roles.

Ravens can roll quickly, but it takes an agonising six seconds for

us to level out. It is about displaying and showing off and I

feel ready to pull some moves of my feel ready to pull some moves of my

own. I even finish with a flourish. I have a wobbly as the legs, I have

a new-found respect for the unbelievable ability of birds to

fly -- my legs are so wobbly. They are the masters. What I do best is

putting one foot in front of the other, albeit slightly unsteadily!

We are going to try to strap him to a jet to next week!

LAUGHTER. None of us would have an issue with recognising a flying

Mike Dilger, but our Inbox is crammed full of wildlife that you

at home have had trouble at home have had trouble

recognising. Miranda is here to give us an idea.

We have had great photos from One Show viewers. We had this picture

from Angela and also Lesley, and this was an unidentified ladybird.

This is one of the horrible Harlequin ladybirds, alien invasive

species which are doing quite well. We have an unusual insect next,

this was sent in from Chris and his family in Hemel Hempstead, it was

in their hallway. This is a female ichneumon wasp. It looks quite

nicely. She uses that to lay eggs in a caterpillars, they are used

for natural control of agricultural pests.

Next up we have a white bird, this is a partially albino house sparrow,

it was sent in by Pam from North Devon. Albino is where there is a

genetic mutation and the animal can't produce any colour in its

body, it is very visible to predators. You are very lucky to

spot these, they are very rare. We have got a beauty, this is a

male mandarin duck. Sanjay from Camden spot of this on the towpath

of Regent's Canal. Beautiful creatures, they were imported from

creatures, they were imported from China. They have escaped from

private collections. Thank you ever so much, Miranda.