Entertainment Special Antiques Roadshow


Entertainment Special

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If I asked you,

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"What is Britain's answer to Hollywood?" - where would you think?

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Well, today the BBC Antiques Roadshow has come to Elstree,

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and Elstree Studios, just outside London,

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have produced some of the most

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memorable movies and TV programmes over the past years.

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These rather nondescript buildings have produced things like Star Wars,

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Indiana Jones, The Dam Busters,

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The Shining, and then on TV,

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The Muppet Show, The Avengers...

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Strictly is made here...

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..and Holby City.

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213, take five.

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Last year, we asked you to get in touch with your stories connected to

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the world of entertainment,

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and not just TV and movies, but also music and stage.

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So where would make the perfect backdrop for such a programme?

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Where are we?

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EASTENDERS THEME MUSIC PLAYS EastEnders, of course.

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We're privileged to have Albert Square as our backdrop

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for this entertainment special.

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Yes, we'll hear from stars of EastEnders

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over a tipple in the Queen Vic,

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meet unsung heroes behind famous movies like Star Wars,

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come face-to-face with Basil the rat, as well as meet fans of stage,

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screen and music legends.

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I think we can guarantee a nostalgic feast as we turn the spotlight onto

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showbiz on tonight's Antiques Roadshow.

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Well, I've got the privilege of introducing

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one of the earliest heroes of my life.

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So, without any further ado...

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PIANO PLAYS

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# We want Muffin, Muffin the Mule

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# Dear old Muffin, playing the fool

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# We want Muffin, everybody sing

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# We want Muffin the Mule. #

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Hello. So you're here at last.

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So, the star of the show, and you are?

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-Will McNally.

-And tell me, Will,

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what is your association with this fabulous mule?

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Well, it was my grandparents who owned and worked him,

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back in the '40s and '50s, and through into the '60s, I suppose.

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I mean, was he always called Muffin the Mule?

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Well, well no, he was actually made in 1933,

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so, as a puppet, he's 84 years old this year,

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and it was when my grandparents, who were Ann Hogarth and Jan Bussell,

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and they were well-renowned puppeteers of the Hogarth Puppets,

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and they were touring around the country in a caravan

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that converted to a puppet theatre,

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and they were doing their shows and they found that they

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were five, ten minutes short in their length,

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so they needed something else.

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So, one night my grandfather was there,

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and he decided on a kicking mule,

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and the kicking mule was to come on at the end of the puppet circus

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and sort of shoo and chivvy the clowns off the stage...

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-Oh!

-..chasing them around this way and that,

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-and it all went down very well and the audiences loved it...

-Yes.

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..but, after a while, my grandparents grew a little bit

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bored of it and they decided to cut that part of the act

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out of the show.

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And so my grandfather was working for the BBC as a producer and he

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met Annette Mills, and Annette Mills wanted to do a programme for

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children, singing songs at a piano, and she wanted something to go on

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the piano top, to help illustrate the songs,

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so she approached my grandfather and said,

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"Oh, Jan, would you make me a puppet?" and he sort of said,

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"Why don't you come round to my house and select one of my puppets?"

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Well, Annette fortunately thought that was a great idea, and so

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she went round to their house the very next day

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and selected the kicking mule, and named him Muffin the Mule.

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Wonderful, wonderful.

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And as for Annette Mills, who by the way was the sister of John Mills,

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-Sir John Mills...

-Correct, yes.

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..we've got a photograph of her, way back at the BBC, at her piano,

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with Muffin, in full flow, and you can see your grandparents up there.

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That's right. Well, Annette was the face that everyone knows, you know,

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because she was the one on TV,

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but it was my grandmother who worked Muffin.

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My grandfather worked the others, and he was the TV producer and

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director of the show back in those days.

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This is a programme that lasted until 1955, am I right to say?

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-That's right, yes.

-So tell me, where is he stabled these days?

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Oh, back home with me in Devon.

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But he's never out of retirement, is he?

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-No, we go around and we do a few presentations here and there...

-OK.

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..and I'm hoping I might be able to get him back on TV one day.

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Yeah. Well, you know, I've... I've got to value this fella.

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I mean, how do you value a TV icon?

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-Very difficult.

-It's really, really difficult.

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Now, I should point out for the benefit of the viewers that there

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are a lot of Muffin the Mules out there which are

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-made from a die-cast metal.

-That's right.

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I mean, I mean they produced thousands of them, and they do

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turn up with a certain amount of regularity on the Roadshow.

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-They certainly do, yeah.

-But what we're looking at here

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is much larger in scale and is the original.

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He is the original, he is the one and only that was made in 1933.

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I will give you a modest,

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a modest guestimate that he's worth at least £5,000...

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-Oh, yeah.

-..but I'm tempted to opening the bidding to all these

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-people here and see where we go, but thank you so much.

-LAUGHTER

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-Oh, it's a pleasure.

-And...this sounds a bit silly,

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but despite the years I... I still want to kiss this fella.

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-Do you mind if I...?

-Of course not.

-Come here, come here,

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-I've missed you too. Mwah!

-LAUGHTER

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You can call me bonkers, I don't care, I don't care.

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Ahh...

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Next, Roadshow viewer Geoff

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recounts his unusual brush with fame to expert Jon Baddeley.

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So, Diana Dors, sometimes known as the English Marilyn Monroe.

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Tell me the story of when you met her.

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1977, I was driving up the M1, one Sunday evening on my own,

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very little traffic. A large Lincoln Continental flew past me at

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great speed, and I was going very slowly in a wreck of a car, and

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a little further up the road, there it was, stuck by the side of the

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road, with clouds of steam coming out one end, and Diana Dors standing

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there with a T-shirt on, with her own name across her chest

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and a picture of Paul Newman on the back, thumbing a lift.

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So you were the knight in shining armour...

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-Apparently, yes.

-..come to her rescue.

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Yes, yes, and then she was quite happy

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to be taken to the Queen's Hotel in Leeds.

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She was absolutely lovely. She was very down to earth.

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She was one of the most, sort of, normal,

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if you like, people I could talk to,

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and the one thing I really remember her talking about

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with some amusement was, was her affair with Elvis.

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That kind of stuck very much in my mind.

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A year later or so, she was signing this book,

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the first one she produced, at Boots in Leeds.

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And when we got to the front of the queue,

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a book was handed to her and I said

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to her, "Hello, Di, how's the car?" And she... She looked at me,

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instant recognition. "Oh, hello, how are you?"

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and told the manager she was giving me the book.

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She signed it for me and then she said,

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"You're in the book. The story's in the book.

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"Can't remember which page it is, but there you are,"

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and all the people around were going, "Mavis, is he famous?

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-"Should we get his autograph, too?

-LAUGHTER

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And she dedicated the book?

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And she, yes, she said, you know, "To Geoff, thanks for the lift."

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"Thanks for the lift! Diana Dors." What a lovely memory.

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-It is, yeah.

-Cos one sort of thinks about Diana Dors as somebody

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who...all the scandal that went around her, she had...

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She was notorious, wasn't she? But she worked really hard.

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She was very active, not only as a film star

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but also as a cabaret singer,

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and I think she was a very popular guest on all the talk shows.

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And what's the book worth? Not a huge amount.

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To anybody else, it's worth, I don't know, £30 or £40.

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-To you, it's worth thousands.

-Yes, exactly.

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There's not another one like it anywhere.

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Next, it's all about outrageous outfits,

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flamboyant performances and sheer excess.

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Surrounded here by all this amazing stuff

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from the world famous Liberace -

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one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century.

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Mr Showmanship himself, yes.

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And unusually we've got two collectors here today.

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Yes, and we've not met, which is very exciting.

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-And you've not met?

-Not till now.

-So, how did your obsession start?

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You in the beautiful purple shirt first.

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Thank you, yes, in honour of Liberace himself.

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So I started about 20 years ago.

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I collected the first Christmas card and I thought,

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"Oh, this is interesting, maybe there's some others."

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And Liberace had over 200 fan clubs around the world.

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He received something like 10,000 letters a week.

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I mean, there's actually 34 cards that were sent

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from 1953 to the year just before he died in 1986.

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This is the 1953 card.

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What's interesting is that, actually, even in these early cards,

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he slightly dyed his hair.

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He was told he didn't look quite mature enough, so he actually dyed

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-his hair, and actually, in the later cards, he's got much darker hair.

-CHUCKLING

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I love this one, this is so camp. Look at that.

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Yeah, exactly, with the mobile, yeah.

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-I mean, just...

-I mean, they're very difficult to find now.

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It's taken me, sort of, 20 years.

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Of the 34 cards, I'm just missing six, so I've still got a little way

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to go, but I'll get there, I'll get there.

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-And how did your obsession start?

-Well, my grandfather Joe

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and my father John Bat both worked in MGM Studios...

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-Oh, really?

-..which was just up the road from here

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-in the '50s and '60s.

-Yeah.

-So I've always

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been a little bit starstruck, and of course, when Liberace passed

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away, they sold all his items from his houses,

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and I just had to have something, and obviously chandeliers and

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pianos would have cost far too much, so I bought what I like,

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which is fishes, and I got 12 fishes from his Malibu beach house.

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Did you go over there to buy?

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No, I rang up America and put a bid in of 500.

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-Oh, wow, yeah!

-And I got...

-For everything?

-Yeah.

-Wow!

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-That was a bargain.

-Yeah, it was.

-Yeah, for those who never quite

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understood the thrill and the excitement of Liberace, tell us what

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-it is about him that appeals to you.

-It's interesting. In 1956, Liberace

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came here and did a tour round England, and then he

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toured Ireland as well, and there's a great review, actually.

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Liberace was wearing all his fantastic costumes.

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He was a very, very, very accomplished pianist -

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there was nothing he couldn't play -

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and by the end of the concert, the reviewer said,

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"I wasn't a fan of Liberace. I am now."

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-And he influenced a lot of other performers.

-Oh, absolutely, yes!

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He... I think, you know, James Brown was like a black version of him,

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with the cape and the showmanship and...and Prince.

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But let's get down to value.

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Um, how many Christmas cards do you have?

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About 75, probably just over. I'm not 100% sure, but it's around 75.

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They've got to be worth...that's 75, I would say times 100,

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-and then you've got all the...

-Yeah, the signed photographs...

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-..signed photographs.

-..are worth quite a lot, yes.

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How much, how many of those have you got?

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At least, probably, five to ten. Again I'm not 100% sure.

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-So, say you've got ten of those...

-Yeah.

-..at about £300 each?

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-Probably, yes.

-I would say your whole collection altogether

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-has got to be £20,000.

-Wow! Well, he's worth every penny.

-LAUGHTER

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-You know, with all the things you've told me you've got...

-Yeah.

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-And your glass things that actually belonged to him...

-Yeah.

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-..I think have to be worth £2,000 today.

-Wow, wonderful!

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-Cos one still has the price tag on the bottom.

-Oh, yes, look at that!

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-12.

-One of the things I love about Liberace

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is when he decorated his house,

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he actually bought some fantastic and priceless antiques,

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but next to it something from a junk shop,

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and he valued both of them equally. It was really beautiful.

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Well, if it was shiny, he liked it.

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-Exactly. If it was shiny, he liked it, yeah.

-Exactly, that's Liberace.

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That's Liberace. That's right.

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From one sequined showman to another...

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In the late 1970s, Big Daddy was a wrestling legend

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and a regular fixture of Saturday afternoon TV.

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Plonking themselves down in front of a telly on a Saturday afternoon,

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no child of the late 1970s or 1980s could have missed

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the monumental man-mountain that was Big Daddy,

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and his colleagues, or nemeses I suppose,

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Giant Haystacks and Gorgeous George and Kendo Nagasaki.

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You must have been a big fan.

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Yeah, he was my hero.

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I used to watch every Saturday afternoon,

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but sadly I wasn't lucky enough ever to meet him,

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so I sort of went down the road of life

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of trying to collect his memorabilia.

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What does he mean to you? Why is he your hero?

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He just was. He was everyone's hero, wasn't he,

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back in the late '70s and '80s?

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Mums and dads, nans, grandads.

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The music of We Shall Not Be Moved when he came out.

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-"Easy! Easy! Easy!"

-Well, there's the teddy bear.

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-His teddy bear that he used to come out with.

-Yes.

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Yeah, the whole package with him, really.

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You know, he met all kids, disabled kids, elderly people.

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-He treated everyone with total respect.

-Absolutely.

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I mean, growing up Shirley Crabtree,

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I think his father was a professional wrester as well.

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Shirley Crabtree Junior, who became Big Daddy,

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started in 1952, professional wrestling,

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but it was really when he sort of hit World Of Sport that his,

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his sort of... He began to get bigger and bigger and bigger

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and more famous in Britain.

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Definitely, yeah. He wasn't a big star till later on in his career,

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till they changed the name to him. He used to be called The Guardsman,

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and then he went on to be called Big Daddy,

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and that's when it went through the roof, his celebrity status.

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But you're, sort of, quite obsessive.

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I mean, what we got here? We haven't just got the costumes.

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I mean, we all recognise these oversized costumes,

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but you've got his watch, you've got his driving licence.

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-I mean...slightly obsessed?

-Uh... Yes and no, really.

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It's just artefacts that have appeared over the last

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20 years or so.

0:14:180:14:19

His career, in 1987, hit a sort of hurdle,

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with a fight with King Kong Kirk.

0:14:220:14:24

King Kong Kirk died shortly after and it was unconnected to the fight.

0:14:240:14:28

He had a heart condition. But his career

0:14:280:14:30

-never really recovered from that.

-No, it didn't. He was meant to

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be on a television programme called The Saturday Show, and he was going

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to present that, but it sort of...

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He done some more wrestling after that, but he...

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He sort of faded away into insignificance, really, which was

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so sad, cos a man of that magnitude at that time, he'd be a...

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You know, an absolute superstar nowadays.

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Well, I suppose, in many ways, he is sort of the forerunner, I suppose,

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of many of, sort of, the wrestling stars of today.

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He had that big personality, that big frame,

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and that sort of big colour. really.

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Oh, absolutely. I mean, you know, in this day and age, there's not many

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stars that everybody likes, you know? No-one had a bad word for him.

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-Yeah, he was a legend, wasn't he?

-He was indeed. Absolutely,

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and I don't think there's anybody out there who wouldn't recognise

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these pieces and feel similar love - maybe not such deep love as you do

0:15:100:15:13

for Big Daddy, but in terms of financial value, I suppose,

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what are we looking at?

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The singlet might be worth maybe £80 to £100 each. Full costume,

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maybe £200 or so, depending on what you're looking at.

0:15:220:15:25

These pieces, slightly harder to value, because it's going to take,

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sort of quite a die-hard collector like you to, sort of,

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want Big Daddy's driving licence,

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but there we go, at least it's found a home.

0:15:330:15:35

You couldn't pay me a million pounds for it, it wouldn't matter.

0:15:350:15:38

-Well, I don't think anybody would necessarily...

-LAUGHTER

0:15:380:15:41

..but we could be looking at, sort of collectively,

0:15:410:15:43

-around £1,000 or so.

-Yeah, it means more to me than money, so...

0:15:430:15:47

-A big heart for Big Daddy.

-Absolutely.

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-Thank you very much.

-No problem.

0:15:490:15:51

Well, if there was ever an icon of the entertainment industry,

0:15:520:15:56

it has to be Mickey Mouse.

0:15:560:15:58

In 2018, he's going to be 90. He doesn't look it.

0:15:580:16:01

But here we've got a wonderful, scribbled, quick cartoon of Mickey,

0:16:010:16:07

-and it says here, "Hi, Mike." Now, am I looking at Mike?

-Yes, you are.

0:16:070:16:11

So, put the two together for me. How did, how did it work?

0:16:110:16:15

Well, in the 1970s, I was working for my newspaper,

0:16:150:16:20

a national newspaper, and I was in Anaheim, the home of Disney,

0:16:200:16:25

in California, working with an actress called Daryl Hannah,

0:16:250:16:29

she of the famous Splash film.

0:16:290:16:32

And after photographing Daryl, I was taken by the execs up to

0:16:320:16:37

Club 300, which is one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.

0:16:370:16:41

I didn't know it at the time.

0:16:410:16:43

While we were having lunch, I'm sat opposite the Head of Studio

0:16:430:16:48

-and the PR, and suddenly they both went...

-PROLONGED GASP

0:16:480:16:53

..and I thought, "Somebody's walked, a film star has walked in,"

0:16:530:16:56

so I looked around. All I could see were four old men,

0:16:560:17:00

sat at a table, and when I turned round to see my hosts again,

0:17:000:17:06

-they were still going...

-PROLONGED GASP

0:17:060:17:08

And who were they? Who were they?!

0:17:080:17:09

Well, they were the original animators from the early days of

0:17:090:17:13

Walt Disney Studios.

0:17:130:17:15

So they were four of the remaining nine old men...

0:17:150:17:18

The nine old men, the famous nine old men.

0:17:180:17:21

You had Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas,

0:17:210:17:24

Wolfgang Reitherman, and, of course, Ward Kimball.

0:17:240:17:28

And I wanted to meet them, so they took me over and introduced me,

0:17:280:17:31

and I had the most amazing couple of hours with them.

0:17:310:17:34

-But Ward and I got on famously.

-Well, let's just talk about Ward for

0:17:340:17:38

a moment, because, yes, he joined Disney as a proper animator in 1937,

0:17:380:17:42

and he was tasked with doing all kinds of things,

0:17:420:17:46

including a kind of makeover on Mickey.

0:17:460:17:48

If we look back to Mickey's birth in 1928

0:17:480:17:52

he was a very different kind of creature.

0:17:520:17:54

He premiered in his first film Steamboat Willie,

0:17:540:17:58

and he was quite lanky,

0:17:580:18:01

not very cuddly, a bit, I have to say, rat-like.

0:18:010:18:03

-Yes, absolutely, yes.

-Just between ourselves.

0:18:030:18:06

But Ward then cosied him up.

0:18:060:18:10

he gave him fatter cheeks, he made him a little bit plumper,

0:18:100:18:14

he made his eyes slightly more endearing and...

0:18:140:18:17

And I think the whole Mickey that we know so well today, one has to,

0:18:170:18:22

to a large extent, plump that at Ward Kimball's makeover.

0:18:220:18:26

Absolutely. What was fascinating, I said to Ward...

0:18:260:18:30

"I loved Mickey Mouse as a child. How did it evolve?"

0:18:310:18:36

And he said, "Get me a piece of paper," and he started drawing.

0:18:360:18:40

Oh, this is, this is the whole thing happening!

0:18:400:18:43

And this is Ward starting, and suddenly Mickey is coming alive

0:18:430:18:49

on the paper, and when he'd finished it,

0:18:490:18:53

he wrote, "Hi, Mike, from Mickey and ol' Ward Kimball."

0:18:530:18:57

-Brilliant.

-And the head of the studio said he'd never known him

0:18:570:19:01

-to do that for anybody, ever.

-It's a fabulous object.

0:19:010:19:06

We then have to deal with the tricky issue of valuation.

0:19:060:19:11

The thing is that it's not from one of the films,

0:19:110:19:15

so, you know, is that a bad thing? But it is from Ward Kimball,

0:19:150:19:18

so that's a good thing.

0:19:180:19:19

It is to you. Is that a bad thing or is it a good thing?

0:19:190:19:22

So, at auction on the open market, I'd say between

0:19:220:19:25

about £500 and £800, but it's almost priceless to you

0:19:250:19:30

because it's your very own Mickey Mouse.

0:19:300:19:33

-Thank you very much for bringing it in.

-Thank you very much.

0:19:330:19:36

Well, it's not all about the value.

0:19:370:19:39

A few kind words and a thoughtful gift

0:19:390:19:41

from the creator of your childhood hero can mean the world,

0:19:410:19:45

as Judith Miller's about to discover.

0:19:450:19:48

So, Harry Potter - a magical name

0:19:480:19:50

to millions of people all over the world.

0:19:500:19:52

But, Amy, you have a special link to JK Rowling.

0:19:520:19:56

Tell me about it.

0:19:560:19:57

Yes. My story started 20 years ago,

0:19:570:20:00

when I unfortunately lost my mum to cervical cancer.

0:20:000:20:03

She found out that she was 14 weeks pregnant with my little sister,

0:20:030:20:07

and she decided to go ahead with the pregnancy,

0:20:070:20:10

realising that she was probably going to sacrifice her life.

0:20:100:20:12

-And then she lost her life.

-She did lose her life, yes,

0:20:120:20:15

-unfortunately, in 1997.

-And this is your mum?

0:20:150:20:19

Yes, this is my mum here, and this is myself,

0:20:190:20:21

my little sister Hannah, and this is my stepdad David.

0:20:210:20:25

In 2003, my stepdad was approached

0:20:250:20:29

by the researcher of Make A Wish Foundation.

0:20:290:20:31

I don't know if you remember, they used to do Christmas

0:20:310:20:35

television specials and I was invited to go on the special.

0:20:350:20:39

I declined, because it had been quite a time since my mum had died.

0:20:390:20:43

It had been in the past and I didn't really want to rake it all up again.

0:20:430:20:46

-No.

-They did say, "We'd still like to give you something."

0:20:460:20:50

Unbeknown to me, a big package arrived one day, and in that package

0:20:500:20:54

was what you see here today. So, the books here and also the photos

0:20:540:21:00

-from JK Rowling.

-So how did JK Rowling know about your story, Amy?

0:21:000:21:03

Well, from all of the newspaper articles,

0:21:030:21:06

my love of Harry Potter kind of shone through there,

0:21:060:21:08

and I think she kind of got an inkling

0:21:080:21:11

and wanted to get in contact.

0:21:110:21:12

-So you got a personal letter from JK Rowling.

-I did, yes.

0:21:120:21:16

-What's in it, Amy?

-There's a few funny little quips

0:21:160:21:19

about how she doesn't normally write to people.

0:21:190:21:23

Little things about Gilderoy Lockhart,

0:21:230:21:25

one of the characters from Harry Potter.

0:21:250:21:27

Just... Just her admiration for my story and my courage.

0:21:270:21:31

-It obviously really touched her, this story.

-Yes, absolutely.

0:21:310:21:34

That's lovely and what a lovely gift.

0:21:340:21:37

-And what about the poster?

-So, the poster...

0:21:370:21:39

I was invited as a guest of hers to go to the studios where

0:21:390:21:43

The Goblet Of Fire was being filmed

0:21:430:21:45

and I actually got to meet some of the cast.

0:21:450:21:48

Surreal experience, sitting on Daniel Radcliffe's bed,

0:21:480:21:50

-playing PlayStation with him, believe it or not.

-LAUGHTER

0:21:500:21:53

I was then taken into the make-up department, and Maggie Smith

0:21:530:21:56

was sat there, having her make-up done.

0:21:560:21:58

In walks Emma Watson. Big hello, handshake, "Nice to meet you."

0:21:580:22:03

Absolutely surreal experience for such a Harry Potter fan

0:22:030:22:05

that I am and still am.

0:22:050:22:06

-Well, it's just amazing...

-Yeah, absolutely.

-..that all this

0:22:060:22:10

came about because JK Rowling was really moved by your story.

0:22:100:22:13

Yes, yeah, yeah, and it's something that I won't...

0:22:130:22:15

The experience and the items themselves

0:22:150:22:17

will be something that I will treasure forever.

0:22:170:22:19

I have a little girl, so they will be passed down to her.

0:22:190:22:22

-Which is wonderful.

-Yeah, absolutely.

0:22:220:22:24

But obviously they have a value.

0:22:240:22:25

-Yes.

-Particularly, you know, with all the collectors round the world

0:22:250:22:28

and, I mean, all these Harry Potters, you know...

0:22:280:22:31

a first edition. The others are not first edition,

0:22:310:22:34

but this one is a first edition...

0:22:340:22:36

-Yeah, it is, yes.

-..is going to be £3,000, £4,000.

0:22:360:22:40

-The rest, maybe another £1,500...

-Amazing.

-..but probably

0:22:400:22:44

about £5,000 to £8,000.

0:22:440:22:47

I mean, for you, that's not the important thing, I'm sure.

0:22:470:22:50

It's isn't, no, it's the... It's the memory behind it, absolutely.

0:22:500:22:54

-Marvellous.

-Thank you.

0:22:540:22:55

Now, even the briefest of encounters

0:22:590:23:01

can leave the longest of impressions.

0:23:010:23:03

Roadshow viewer Cheryl will never forget her brush with fame.

0:23:030:23:06

In 1963, I won a competition to have tea with The Beatles.

0:23:060:23:11

The tea never actually materialised, but I did meet them,

0:23:110:23:16

and Paul McCartney walked across the studio floor,

0:23:160:23:20

put his arm round my shoulder, and I died and went to heaven.

0:23:200:23:24

Later on, he signed the back of my hand, there,

0:23:250:23:31

and I was allowed to keep this signature for about three weeks

0:23:310:23:36

until it turned into a filthy little black spot

0:23:360:23:39

and my mother made me wash it.

0:23:390:23:41

The great thing for me, really, was I'd suddenly gone from a fairly

0:23:420:23:47

quiet, insignificant little schoolgirl,

0:23:470:23:50

and suddenly everybody wanted to know me,

0:23:500:23:53

take me to the cinema, dance with me.

0:23:530:23:56

So, um, yes, it was very good for the...for the ego.

0:23:560:24:00

Very good for a young, nervous 16-year-old.

0:24:000:24:03

Time to pull up a bar stool and meet two of our EastEnders hosts.

0:24:060:24:12

Well, I'm delighted to say, here we are in the Queen Vic

0:24:120:24:14

with two of EastEnders' longest-serving cast members.

0:24:140:24:17

Letitia Dean, June Brown - delighted to meet you here.

0:24:170:24:21

And you're... You're fans of the show, I gather,

0:24:210:24:23

of Antiques Roadshow.

0:24:230:24:24

Yes, I love old things, including myself.

0:24:240:24:27

LAUGHTER

0:24:270:24:30

Yes, we need to get you valued, June, don't you think?

0:24:300:24:34

You've both been on the series for decades.

0:24:340:24:37

I remember watching you when I was more or less your age, when you

0:24:370:24:40

-came here as a child star.

-Yeah, about 16.

0:24:400:24:43

And this, the Queen Vic, has been the scene of so, so many dramatic

0:24:430:24:47

moments in EastEnders. I mean, what about you, Letitia?

0:24:470:24:50

I mean, big standout moments.

0:24:500:24:52

I think, when I was quite young, when I was about 17, 18,

0:24:520:24:55

I remember when a character called Lofty was in the show,

0:24:550:24:58

and I had to crawl, I couldn't get up there now,

0:24:580:25:01

but I had to crawl along the bar, literally trying to, sort of, go,

0:25:010:25:06

"Do you fancy me, Lofty? Do you want a kiss?"

0:25:060:25:09

I mean, I know I'm probably not your type, but which bit of me

0:25:090:25:12

really turns you on, eh?

0:25:120:25:14

-Have I got the right legs for a mini?

-Yeah, yeah, of course.

0:25:160:25:20

Do you like tights?

0:25:200:25:21

-It was so embarrassing for me to do, you know, it was really awkward.

-JUNE CHUCKLES

0:25:210:25:25

-You know, it is at that age, isn't it?

-Sure. And what about you, June?

0:25:250:25:28

I mean, so many moments to pick from.

0:25:280:25:30

Well, I enjoyed practically every scene with my son Nick.

0:25:300:25:34

-Yes.

-You know, I did love that.

0:25:340:25:37

Great one for you was your two-hander with Ethel.

0:25:370:25:40

I was just about to say, and I had one with Gretchen Franklin,

0:25:400:25:42

-who was Ethel.

-She was wonderful.

-Which was absolutely lovely,

0:25:420:25:46

and the only extra person we had in was a baby in the pram, Vicky,

0:25:460:25:51

Michelle's baby, wasn't it? And we were looking after her.

0:25:510:25:55

Oh, that was lovely.

0:25:550:25:56

Sometimes I'm inclined to ramble on a bit, take no notice.

0:25:560:26:01

-I never do.

-No, I don't mean I always ramble,

0:26:010:26:03

-I mean, it's only sometimes.

-Here, look at this.

0:26:030:26:07

-Who's that?

-Michelle as a baby.

0:26:070:26:09

-Oh, I say, isn't she like Pauline?

-Yes.

0:26:090:26:13

She's not like her mother, is she?

0:26:130:26:16

-Oh, I can see it.

-Oh.

0:26:160:26:18

-What's the time?

-Oh, not time yet.

0:26:200:26:23

Well, thank you very much for joining us on

0:26:260:26:28

our Antiques Roadshow 40th anniversary year,

0:26:280:26:30

and here in the Queen Vic of all places. It's been a real thrill,

0:26:300:26:33

-thank you.

-Oh, we are so honoured that you've come here for your 40th.

0:26:330:26:36

-Yes, it's lovely.

-We really are.

0:26:360:26:37

Cos we're quite proud of this place, aren't we, June?

0:26:370:26:40

Before we hear from our next visitor to EastEnders, I want to let you

0:26:400:26:43

know about a special programme we're planning for 2018.

0:26:430:26:46

It will highlight the role of pioneering women as we approach

0:26:460:26:50

the centenary of women getting the vote in Britain.

0:26:500:26:53

If you've got an item and story that relates to a woman who's been

0:26:530:26:56

a pioneer, in any walk of life, we'd like to hear from you at...

0:26:560:26:59

Next up let's hear from Roadshow viewer Lionel,

0:27:060:27:08

who has a poignant memory of meeting Jimi Hendrix.

0:27:080:27:11

Back in the 1960s, as a young teenager,

0:27:110:27:14

I helped my parents out in their cafe in the King's Road,

0:27:140:27:18

and I often had my autograph book there, because

0:27:180:27:21

they would be getting The Stones and The Beatles and people like

0:27:210:27:24

that into the cafe, and one day Jimi came in,

0:27:240:27:27

and my father had his camera on him,

0:27:270:27:30

took a photo of us altogether, the family with Jimi,

0:27:300:27:34

and I was thrilled to get his autograph,

0:27:340:27:38

which he kindly signed, "stay sweet always",

0:27:380:27:41

rather than just his name in the book.

0:27:410:27:43

Jumping forward a few years, I was selling platform boots in

0:27:430:27:48

Kensington Market, made to measure, and my mother sent Jimi over

0:27:480:27:52

to get a pair of purple crocodile boots made,

0:27:520:27:56

which I measured him and took his deposit,

0:27:560:27:58

and they were going to take a week to make, and then the next morning

0:27:580:28:02

I got the news that he'd died that morning in his hotel,

0:28:020:28:06

and we took the deposit and bought some flowers,

0:28:060:28:08

which went to the funeral.

0:28:080:28:10

Another Roadshow viewer, Terri, got in touch with us

0:28:140:28:17

to tell us about the time she met the New York artist

0:28:170:28:19

who once said that, one day, we'll each be famous for 15 minutes.

0:28:190:28:24

Andy Warhol, probably the most iconic artist, or one of them,

0:28:240:28:27

of the 20th century. Amazing. Signed camisole. What's the story?

0:28:270:28:32

Well, I was very fortunate.

0:28:320:28:34

I was invited to join Andy Warhol's entourage for a day

0:28:340:28:38

at the university in Colorado.

0:28:380:28:41

I happened to be living there at the time, and I knew Kimiko through...

0:28:410:28:45

-The subject of that poster?

-..the subject of this poster,

0:28:450:28:47

-because I lived in the same house as her stepson.

-Ah, right.

0:28:470:28:51

John Powers and his father...

0:28:510:28:53

-John Powers.

-..John Powers Senior had one of the largest private art

0:28:530:28:58

-collections in the US at the time.

-Yeah.

0:28:580:29:00

So it was a wonderful connection, and a wonderful day I got to spend

0:29:000:29:04

-with him.

-And that's a picture of you, I take it?

-That is, yeah.

0:29:040:29:07

-Looking...

-Much younger.

-..just as beautiful then as you are now.

0:29:070:29:11

-Thank you.

-And he had in his studio, The Factory,

0:29:110:29:15

he was always inviting beautiful people and celebrities.

0:29:150:29:19

-He created celebrity.

-Yeah, he did.

0:29:190:29:21

He really did, and he signed your camisole...

0:29:210:29:25

-Yeah, he did.

-..on that day.

0:29:250:29:27

He'd like to have signed other things as well.

0:29:270:29:29

What do you...? What? What do you mean?

0:29:290:29:30

Well, he offered to sign everything, but we went for my jeans,

0:29:300:29:34

my silk jacket I had on, which you see in the picture,

0:29:340:29:38

-and my camisole, and I settled for the camisole.

-Ah, I see,

0:29:380:29:42

and another iconic magazine, Interview, he signed that.

0:29:420:29:45

Yes, he gave that to me later in the day.

0:29:450:29:47

And in this picture he had one of his silver wigs on.

0:29:470:29:50

Yes, he did, and I remember walking around with him, thinking,

0:29:500:29:53

"Is that real or is that a wig?" because it was quite a...

0:29:530:29:57

At the time, it was quite an unusual way to wear your hair.

0:29:570:30:01

Yeah, he was an interesting character.

0:30:010:30:04

Well, interesting story, amazing memory for you.

0:30:040:30:07

-Yeah, it was fabulous.

-An amazing day, yeah, really.

0:30:070:30:10

Down to value.

0:30:100:30:12

Well, we've got this poster which is fairly iconic, typical Andy Warhol.

0:30:120:30:16

He did these things in silk screen prints as an original

0:30:160:30:20

but this is the poster and the unsigned poster is just

0:30:200:30:23

a poster for an exhibition, £200 or £300.

0:30:230:30:26

-Right.

-With the Andy Warhol signature, and I presume...

0:30:260:30:29

-This is Kimiko.

-..the Kimiko Powers signature in Japanese.

-That's right.

0:30:290:30:33

Phwoar!

0:30:330:30:35

£3,000 to £4,000.

0:30:350:30:37

Really?

0:30:370:30:38

Wow.

0:30:380:30:40

The Interview magazine, signed by Andy Warhol,

0:30:410:30:45

I'd say £1,000.

0:30:450:30:48

This photograph I'm sure is by Lee Black Childers.

0:30:490:30:52

He was a fascinating guy, I think from Kansas originally,

0:30:520:30:55

-worked in a brothel.

-Great.

-On the reception.

-It fits.

0:30:550:30:59

-It fits perfectly.

-Crazy guy, I met him and I'm...

0:30:590:31:02

And I'm sure I went to an exhibition of his photographs recently

0:31:020:31:05

and a photograph like that, Andy Warhol in a wig,

0:31:050:31:09

beautiful woman standing behind him, I still think that's £500...

0:31:090:31:13

-Wow. Wow.

-..to £1,000.

0:31:130:31:16

This fits in with his idea of what art was,

0:31:160:31:20

that art could be anything, even if it was commercial, the soup tins,

0:31:200:31:23

the dollar bills, whatever,

0:31:230:31:26

so I think this is really iconic Andy Warhol,

0:31:260:31:29

and I would value this, with your story,

0:31:290:31:33

and him wanting to sign everything you were wearing,

0:31:330:31:36

I'd put this at...

0:31:360:31:38

-£5,000.

-Oh, my God.

0:31:380:31:40

I'm going to cry.

0:31:420:31:44

Collective value, all told, £10,000.

0:31:460:31:49

Oh, God.

0:31:490:31:51

Oh, my God.

0:31:510:31:52

That's amazing.

0:31:520:31:53

Amazing. Thank you.

0:31:550:31:57

Time for a classic comedy moment,

0:32:000:32:02

as we meet an unlikely and somewhat furry star.

0:32:020:32:05

Quite simply the most famous rodent

0:32:070:32:10

-on British television.

-That's right.

0:32:100:32:13

-Shall we see him in action?

-That'd be good.

0:32:130:32:15

Uh, Polly, would you get the biscuits please?

0:32:150:32:18

Here they are, Fawlty.

0:32:180:32:19

-Ah!

-Uh, Cheddar, Danish blue, Edam?

0:32:190:32:22

-A little Danish blue please.

-Certainly.

0:32:220:32:24

-Edam?

-No, thank you.

0:32:300:32:32

Biscuits?

0:32:320:32:33

Thank you.

0:32:340:32:35

LAUGHTER

0:32:350:32:38

What...? Would you, would you care for a rat or...?

0:32:460:32:49

Just, just the biscuits then, please, Polly.

0:32:510:32:54

Well, this little fellow did rather well that day.

0:32:570:33:00

How have you got him?

0:33:000:33:02

My husband made puppets for various children's TV programmes

0:33:020:33:06

and then end... Somehow ended up with the Visual Effects Department.

0:33:060:33:10

And so he made fabulous little Basil,

0:33:100:33:15

and of course he thought it was a hamster...

0:33:150:33:17

That's right, a Siberian hamster, yeah.

0:33:170:33:19

-Siberian hamster! And so Manuel called him Basil.

-That's it.

0:33:190:33:24

-And this little chap was sitting in the biscuit box.

-Yeah.

0:33:240:33:27

And this little chap was actually pulled across the floor.

0:33:270:33:31

At great speed across the floor, yes.

0:33:310:33:33

With fantastic ingenuity of drawing pins in the bottom

0:33:330:33:37

-to make him speed a little bit faster.

-That, that's right, yes.

0:33:370:33:40

I mean we're talking about in the mid '70s but people remember Basil.

0:33:400:33:44

Yeah, yeah, they do.

0:33:440:33:46

-So your husband's work, and had he always made puppets?

-Yes,

0:33:460:33:49

when he was about five years old I think he started making puppets.

0:33:490:33:53

-Really?

-Yes, so we've got a houseful of puppets.

0:33:530:33:57

But was Basil the rat his most famous?

0:33:570:34:01

Uh, I think so, yes. Probably, yeah.

0:34:010:34:03

So, we now have the two rats.

0:34:030:34:07

Now, John Cleese got one, didn't he?

0:34:070:34:09

He asked if he could keep one, but unfortunately

0:34:090:34:12

he's recently spoken about losing it somewhere so...

0:34:120:34:17

-So the other Basil has gone?

-Mmm, mm.

-Oh, no!

0:34:170:34:20

Well, actually what that does is make your Basils more desirable.

0:34:200:34:26

-Mm-hmm.

-So because everybody

0:34:260:34:29

of a certain age in particular knows about Basil.

0:34:290:34:33

-Yeah.

-And because that programme will go on and on,

0:34:330:34:36

I think these have...have value.

0:34:360:34:38

-Right.

-This little chap here

0:34:380:34:41

with his little moving head and his charming little arms,

0:34:410:34:45

going up and down, I mean, how cute is that?!

0:34:450:34:47

I think...each one of them

0:34:490:34:53

is 2,000.

0:34:530:34:55

Really? Oh, my goodness.

0:34:550:34:57

Possibly even 3,000.

0:34:570:34:59

I mean... And, oh, my goodness.

0:34:590:35:02

They are just so important in the history of comedy.

0:35:020:35:05

Oh, wow. He'll be absolutely thrilled to hear that.

0:35:050:35:09

Thank you.

0:35:090:35:10

MUSIC: James Bond Theme

0:35:100:35:13

Wow. From memorable comedy to a famous movie franchise.

0:35:150:35:19

When we put out our call for stories we were delighted when we heard

0:35:190:35:23

from the daughter of the man who wrote this famous theme.

0:35:230:35:26

Monty, you are responsible for what I think is the most iconic

0:35:260:35:30

theme tune of them all, which is the James Bond theme tune.

0:35:300:35:34

-Thank you.

-And you wrote it for a musical originally

0:35:340:35:38

-that never got made.

-Yes.

0:35:380:35:40

So how did you come to use this piece of music for the Bond movies?

0:35:400:35:44

Because I'd worked several times with Cubby Broccoli.

0:35:440:35:47

-The producer of the Bond movies.

-The producer.

0:35:470:35:50

And he'd just acquired the rights of the James Bond novels

0:35:500:35:54

from Ian Fleming. The first one he was going to do would be Dr No

0:35:540:35:59

and he wanted me to write the music.

0:35:590:36:01

And what was it about the theme tune that you already had

0:36:010:36:05

that you thought you could adapt to the Bond movies?

0:36:050:36:08

Well, what I did was I dug it out

0:36:080:36:10

and I played it and sang it to myself, and it went...

0:36:100:36:15

# I was born with this unlucky sneeze

0:36:150:36:18

# And what is worse I came into... #

0:36:180:36:22

And so on. Nothing like it!

0:36:220:36:25

And I suddenly realised that the way to do this is to split the notes,

0:36:250:36:31

so instead of... # Da-ee-a-da. #

0:36:310:36:34

..it became... # Dum-diddy-dum-dum

0:36:340:36:36

# Dum dum dum Dum-diddy-dum-dum... #

0:36:360:36:38

Well, the moment I heard that, I knew I was on to it.

0:36:380:36:41

It had everything I wanted for James Bond -

0:36:410:36:44

it had the ruthlessness, the sexiness and everything else.

0:36:440:36:48

So looking at your manuscript here, looking at the notes, this...

0:36:480:36:54

I know all the James Bond movies, I know your theme tune so well,

0:36:540:36:58

so you've got the opening notes...

0:36:580:36:59

# Da-nah-nah... # ..with a sharp note.

0:36:590:37:02

-And then it goes on.

-That's right.

-Then you've got...

0:37:020:37:04

# Da dah-dah dah dah Da da da

0:37:040:37:06

-# Da dah-dah dah... #

-Exactly. This is full...

0:37:060:37:09

I've brought... I must have written that, scribbled that down in 1961.

0:37:090:37:14

And why do you think your theme tune has lasted

0:37:140:37:18

through all the different changes in music style, music fashion?

0:37:180:37:23

Well, I can't even answer that but the, the point is

0:37:230:37:27

that with any major theme, it's the first four bars that matter,

0:37:270:37:32

and with that one...

0:37:320:37:34

# Dum da-da dum dum... # ..is all you need really,

0:37:340:37:37

because, from that, I wrote the whole thing organically.

0:37:370:37:42

And you went to Jamaica to be on the set of Dr No

0:37:430:37:45

with Sean Connery and Ursula Andress.

0:37:450:37:47

We've got you here. Here you are. And this chap is the, the director.

0:37:470:37:51

-That's Terence Young, yes.

-And it must have been quite a thing.

0:37:510:37:54

I mean did anyone have any sense, either the director or Sean Connery,

0:37:540:37:58

Ursula Andress, that they were at the start of something that

0:37:580:38:02

would last so long and become so huge in the movie industry?

0:38:020:38:04

None whatsoever. It's not possible.

0:38:040:38:06

So when you go to the cinema now, and you watch a James Bond movie,

0:38:060:38:10

and you hear your music all these decades on,

0:38:100:38:13

what do you think, are you proud?

0:38:130:38:15

I'm very proud.

0:38:150:38:17

Nobody could have been sure that it was going to last this long,

0:38:170:38:22

and I certainly wasn't,

0:38:220:38:24

and I didn't even think I'd be here to find out!

0:38:240:38:27

Well, you're being very modest. It's a great piece of music,

0:38:270:38:31

-and it's been lovely to talk to you.

-Thank you.

0:38:310:38:35

Now, I understand that you're a sort of amateur archivist for the

0:38:400:38:43

-Elstree Studios.

-Well, yes, I act as a historian for Elstree Studios.

0:38:430:38:48

I first went there in 1960 as a lad.

0:38:480:38:50

My late father worked in the industry

0:38:500:38:53

and I've been involved really for the studios for 57 years now.

0:38:530:38:57

Wow, fantastic. And you've brought along two of these story reports

0:38:570:39:01

of I think a collection of up to 20.

0:39:010:39:04

Yes, there's about 20 volumes. I saved them from going into the skip

0:39:040:39:08

when part of Elstree Studios was sold off and we were dumping

0:39:080:39:11

material and I said I'd rather keep these because

0:39:110:39:14

they're a unique legacy. They were compiled by

0:39:140:39:17

the Reader's Department at Elstree Studios.

0:39:170:39:21

In those days, studios had readers who would look at scripts submitted,

0:39:210:39:24

new novels published, stage plays,

0:39:240:39:28

anything that could give them an idea for a film,

0:39:280:39:30

and they would have to compile a report, a synopsis of the story,

0:39:300:39:33

and their comments as to whether the film was

0:39:330:39:37

a possibility or not and submit it to management.

0:39:370:39:39

And there is the challenge. They've turned down films like

0:39:390:39:41

The Great Escape, Dr No, Passage To India,

0:39:410:39:45

all sorts of films over the years because

0:39:450:39:48

people trying to second guess what the market was for that,

0:39:480:39:51

and these, in a sense, reflect a moment in time.

0:39:510:39:55

So quite, quite an important historical document in many ways.

0:39:550:39:58

I think so because I don't believe any other studios kept them.

0:39:580:40:02

Let's delve into this one here and if I can just open this.

0:40:020:40:05

It's really heavy. Open it up...

0:40:050:40:07

..and this is, well, "Title Of Subject: Thunderball."

0:40:090:40:13

-Yes.

-"Author: Ian Fleming.

0:40:130:40:15

"Type Of Material: Thriller."

0:40:150:40:17

And this is 25th of the 11th, 1960.

0:40:170:40:20

-This is before Dr No was shot, so this is...

-Before Dr No.

0:40:200:40:23

We just go on a few pages and we go to the report,

0:40:230:40:27

and it says, "Reader's Comment:

0:40:270:40:29

"Pretty much the mixture as before, plus a few modern props.

0:40:290:40:32

"This time a typical James Bond adventure gets off to a good start,

0:40:340:40:38

"but fails to build up tension."

0:40:380:40:40

-So pretty damning really.

-Very damning actually, yes,

0:40:400:40:43

cos it goes on to say that, "All through the main story

0:40:430:40:45

"this excessive use of modern gadgetry..."

0:40:450:40:48

Which is the Bond staple, wasn't it?

0:40:480:40:50

-Yes!

-"..proves to be a substitute for character and intervention.

0:40:500:40:54

"These defects would be certain

0:40:540:40:56

"to show up more disastrously on the screen.

0:40:560:40:58

"I feel the story would not promote a successful film."

0:40:580:41:01

-"No..."

-LAUGHTER

0:41:010:41:04

-"No recommendation."

-No recommendation.

0:41:040:41:06

-So a big mistake.

-Big mistake, yes.

-Let's move on to the one nearer you.

0:41:060:41:10

Well, this one goes back to 1951,

0:41:100:41:13

and this was for an idea of a film called The Dam Busters.

0:41:130:41:17

Now, did the public want a film about the dam busters,

0:41:180:41:22

because it was only seven or eight years earlier?

0:41:220:41:25

And here we see the reader's report.

0:41:250:41:28

"There is everything here for a truly memorial war film.

0:41:280:41:31

"The almost unbearable excitement,

0:41:310:41:34

"the humour behind the scenes and even a love interest.

0:41:340:41:37

"The whole thing would inevitably raise our prestige

0:41:370:41:41

"and the film could be launched in a splash of publicity

0:41:410:41:44

"as well as raising the morale of the nation at a time when

0:41:440:41:47

"the lion's roar is more like a bleat from a Pekinese pup."

0:41:470:41:50

LAUGHTER

0:41:500:41:52

And the film was green lighted for production at Elstree,

0:41:520:41:55

but it took two years preparing it, so it wasn't released

0:41:550:41:59

-for, you know, a few years after that.

-Um...

0:41:590:42:02

It's very difficult to value an archive like... Without doubt,

0:42:020:42:05

it's an important document in the history of British film-making

0:42:050:42:09

and you've got 20 of those so, you know,

0:42:090:42:12

even if you put it as little as £500 on each,

0:42:120:42:14

that's 10,000 to 15,000, maybe more, for insurance,

0:42:140:42:17

so, you know, it is an important archive.

0:42:170:42:20

You saved it and I think we all owe you a great,

0:42:200:42:23

well, appreciation, because without you, these would be long gone.

0:42:230:42:27

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:42:270:42:29

The role of studio workers, such as story reviewers, was invaluable,

0:42:330:42:37

as was the humble tea lady.

0:42:370:42:39

Thanks to a viewer getting in touch, we heard about Ruby,

0:42:400:42:43

who met a galaxy of stars while working at MGM Studios in Elstree.

0:42:430:42:47

-I've been told that you and I have got something in common.

-We have?

0:42:480:42:52

Yeah, I used to be a hairdresser to the stars,

0:42:520:42:55

and I was told that you were a tea lady to the stars.

0:42:550:42:57

Yes, I was, up at MGM in 1949.

0:42:570:43:01

-'49?

-Yep.

-Wow, before I was born.

0:43:010:43:05

-Oh, stop bragging!

-LAUGHTER

0:43:050:43:08

So who are these two guys?

0:43:080:43:10

He is here because I used to serve him on the trolley.

0:43:100:43:14

-Stewart Grainger?

-Stewart Grainger, and he used to come in specially

0:43:140:43:17

-cos I used to do him bread and dripping.

-Oh, really?

0:43:170:43:20

He loved bread and dripping,

0:43:200:43:22

and I used to do that specially for him,

0:43:220:43:24

and I'll tell you a little thing about it, we used to bet.

0:43:240:43:29

He used to throw a coin,

0:43:290:43:31

and if I won, he paid for his bread and dripping,

0:43:310:43:35

but if he won I paid for his bread and dripping.

0:43:350:43:39

-Really?

-Yeah.

-How amazing!

0:43:390:43:42

Yeah, but every time I won he used to say to me, "See my man."

0:43:420:43:47

I said, "Who the heck is your man?" I said, "You owe me money!"

0:43:470:43:51

That was, was when he was working on Beau Brummel.

0:43:510:43:54

-Oh, right.

-Victor Mature and he was my heart-throb by the way.

0:43:540:43:58

-Oh, really?

-I was asked to go to the cabin, with a tray,

0:43:580:44:03

and when I went in, Victor Mature was there.

0:44:030:44:06

I nearly fainted, I was so pleased to see him.

0:44:060:44:10

I got the shock of my life cos when I took in the tray

0:44:100:44:13

and put it down in front of him I turned round and asked him,

0:44:130:44:17

did he want me to pour his tea for him,

0:44:170:44:19

and he said, "Oh, no, thank you,"

0:44:190:44:21

and when he turned around he had a head full of pipe cleaners.

0:44:210:44:26

-What, for curling his hair?

-Curling his hair,

0:44:260:44:28

and I thought that was natural, cos that's what I fell in love with.

0:44:280:44:32

-Oh, my God.

-He had a mass of curly hair.

0:44:320:44:36

What was your impression

0:44:360:44:37

of the studios and the people that passed through it?

0:44:370:44:41

Oh, I mean, you just imagine!

0:44:410:44:43

I mean, I'm a pitman's daughter

0:44:430:44:45

and coming into this great MGM with lights and...

0:44:450:44:49

There's studios all around, you know, it was... It was just awesome.

0:44:490:44:54

I mean, it was the most wonderful experience of my life.

0:44:540:44:57

-So happy.

-Yeah.

-Well, it's been incredible to meet you.

0:44:570:45:00

-And you.

-Wonderful to hear some of your stories.

-Yes.

0:45:000:45:02

I mean, I'm going on to 92 so my memories are still good.

0:45:020:45:06

-That is, that's incredible.

-Yeah.

-You look amazing.

0:45:060:45:09

-Thank you.

-I really mean it.

0:45:090:45:11

-Coming from you, thank you. Mwah.

-Thank you so much.

0:45:110:45:13

I regard myself as being a bit of musician so I know a little bit

0:45:180:45:21

about guitars, and although I'm a bass player, I know exactly what

0:45:210:45:24

that is. That's a Telecaster, that's a Fender Telecaster.

0:45:240:45:27

But what's the history behind it?

0:45:270:45:29

Well, this was the guitar that Mike Oldfield used to record

0:45:290:45:32

the electric guitar parts on Tubular Bells.

0:45:320:45:35

Right, so hence our copy of Tubular Bells here.

0:45:350:45:38

I was nine years old when Tubular Bells came out.

0:45:380:45:43

It was one of those albums that kind of, in a way, changed my life

0:45:430:45:46

as a boy, I just thought it was just incredible.

0:45:460:45:49

-So, what's that? 1973 the album came out.

-Yeah,

0:45:490:45:52

Oldfield was 19 years old when he did that album as well.

0:45:520:45:55

It's staggering, isn't it?

0:45:550:45:56

-I hate him!

-LAUGHTER

0:45:560:45:58

Oldfield was a non-reader, wasn't he? He couldn't read music.

0:45:580:46:01

That's right, he made up coloured charts

0:46:010:46:03

to annotate when different instruments were coming in.

0:46:030:46:05

Well, listen, you know,

0:46:050:46:06

I'm going to have to ask you, how did you acquire it?

0:46:060:46:09

Well, Mike put it up for auction for charity in 2009...

0:46:090:46:12

-Right.

-..and it failed to sell.

-Right.

0:46:120:46:14

But what I did was I got an old copy of the catalogue

0:46:140:46:18

-and then contacted the charity direct.

-Right, OK.

0:46:180:46:20

And made them an offer

0:46:200:46:21

and they thought about it for a few days and accepted it.

0:46:210:46:24

The other interesting thing was that Mike got it from Marc Bolan.

0:46:240:46:28

-Ah, one of my heroes.

-Yeah.

0:46:280:46:29

So it's had two very famous players own it.

0:46:290:46:33

I'd love to have a go on this guitar but I think it's more appropriate

0:46:330:46:36

if you could strum a tune for us. Would you mind doing that?

0:46:360:46:39

-OK, I can do that, for a small fee.

-Lovely, OK, go ahead.

0:46:390:46:41

I think that's incredible also about this guitar is that, you know,

0:46:410:46:44

as you've just described, it was Marc Bolan's before.

0:46:440:46:47

I mean that, that's a sort of a double whammy on a guitar like this

0:46:470:46:50

really, isn't it? It's got history.

0:46:500:46:52

Why did he pass it on?

0:46:520:46:54

They were both signed to the NEMS agency -

0:46:540:46:57

-you know, run by Brian Epstein...

-Right.

-And they were both involved

0:46:570:47:02

with a chap called Roy Guest, and Marc didn't get on with the guitar,

0:47:020:47:06

so when Roy heard that Mike was looking for one

0:47:060:47:08

to record Tubular Bells, he got the guitar from Marc for him.

0:47:080:47:12

Are you ready?

0:47:120:47:14

Brilliant.

0:47:260:47:27

I don't think I'm going to embarrass myself

0:47:290:47:32

and try and keep up with that.

0:47:320:47:33

It's very good. I mean, it is, you know,

0:47:330:47:36

it's a good enough guitar in its own right to be worth a lot of money

0:47:360:47:39

anyway, as an original '60s Fender Telecaster,

0:47:390:47:43

so if we're starting to kind of work it up and talk about its history

0:47:430:47:46

and think about what it's really, really worth,

0:47:460:47:48

you know it was Marc Bolan's to start off with.

0:47:480:47:51

-Yeah.

-Absolutely incredible.

0:47:510:47:53

It then went on to be Mike Oldfield's, perhaps one of

0:47:530:47:56

the biggest selling artists of all time,

0:47:560:47:59

and here he is, picture of him in his studio,

0:47:590:48:01

with that Fender propped up next to him in the studio,

0:48:010:48:04

you know, 100% certain of that,

0:48:040:48:06

and how do we put a price on it? It's really, really difficult.

0:48:060:48:09

Do you mind me asking what you paid for it?

0:48:090:48:11

-Uh, under 10,000.

-Under 10,000.

-Yeah.

0:48:110:48:14

-Well, you know, it was a lot of money, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

0:48:140:48:16

But I still think it's worth a lot more than that,

0:48:160:48:18

and, quite frankly, I think if it were to come up for auction,

0:48:180:48:21

I would put £20,000 to £30,000 on that guitar.

0:48:210:48:24

It's a guitar with great history and I hope you enjoy playing it.

0:48:240:48:28

-Thank you.

-My pleasure.

0:48:280:48:29

DOCTOR WHO THEME TUNE

0:48:290:48:32

From music royalty to television history,

0:48:320:48:35

so let's travel back in time for a unique memento

0:48:350:48:38

of TV's favourite Time Lord.

0:48:380:48:40

When I stepped onto Albert Square this morning,

0:48:410:48:45

the first thing that struck me was the amount

0:48:450:48:47

of television history that's here. We've got the square itself,

0:48:470:48:50

of course the Queen Vic behind me,

0:48:500:48:52

and from one iconic TV series, I suppose straight to another,

0:48:520:48:55

and the days of black and white television,

0:48:550:48:59

Doctor Who and The Tribe Of Gum,

0:48:590:49:01

a television script,

0:49:010:49:03

quite a rare thing, how did you get it?

0:49:030:49:05

Well, it was given to me by my grandfather.

0:49:050:49:08

I suppose I was about eight,

0:49:080:49:09

went down to see him in the summer, as we always did.

0:49:090:49:12

Grandad worked for a building company.

0:49:120:49:15

William Hartnell had just moved out of his cottage in Mayfield

0:49:150:49:18

in East Sussex, I think to somewhere in Kent,

0:49:180:49:21

and this was in the detritus that was being thrown out

0:49:210:49:24

during the refurbishment of the cottage,

0:49:240:49:27

and Grandad gave it to me cos I was an avid, and still am,

0:49:270:49:31

-Doctor Who viewer.

-Wow.

-So did you...

0:49:310:49:33

Did you understand what it was, that it was a script for Doctor Who?

0:49:330:49:36

Well, I suppose at that age, yeah, I knew it was a script for Doctor Who,

0:49:360:49:39

I read it, yeah, cos there's technical stuff in there

0:49:390:49:41

and I thought, um, don't really understand some of it, at that age,

0:49:410:49:44

and it sort of just stayed with me when I moved round the country

0:49:440:49:47

and grew up, and it's something

0:49:470:49:48

I've always sort of wanted to know a little bit more about.

0:49:480:49:51

Well, fantastic. So the script has actually got this blue pencil

0:49:510:49:54

which shows the lines that the Doctor speaks,

0:49:540:49:57

and it makes you just wonder when William Hartnell,

0:49:570:50:00

the first Doctor Who, was going through this with his pencil,

0:50:000:50:03

probably sitting at home with his wife and working on his script,

0:50:030:50:06

what he was thinking, it's a new programme, it's...

0:50:060:50:08

No-one's seen this sort of thing before,

0:50:080:50:10

no-one's really done science fiction on the BBC before,

0:50:100:50:13

let alone at tea time on a Saturday,

0:50:130:50:15

but it's just lovely to see it and, for me, a real privilege,

0:50:150:50:18

it really, really is.

0:50:180:50:20

One thing that maybe you hadn't realised

0:50:200:50:23

this it isn't any old Doctor Who story.

0:50:230:50:26

-This is a script for the very first Doctor Who story, 1963.

-No.

0:50:260:50:32

He was in 30 stories, he could have left 30 scripts in that house,

0:50:340:50:37

it just so happens that he left the script for the very first story,

0:50:370:50:42

and that's what we've got. This is the DNA of Doctor Who,

0:50:420:50:45

it's the Genesis of the programme.

0:50:450:50:47

So a very, very important thing.

0:50:480:50:51

Doctor Who, as we all know,

0:50:510:50:52

has an enormous fan following, it really does, and there are

0:50:520:50:56

fans who would give their eye teeth for something like that.

0:50:560:51:00

I don't see any reason for anyone wanting to fake this, it looks...

0:51:010:51:05

You've given a cast iron provenance and it's showing signs of age.

0:51:050:51:09

I think in terms of value we need to be looking at

0:51:090:51:13

between £5,000 and £7,000.

0:51:130:51:16

What?!

0:51:160:51:17

Oh, my!

0:51:190:51:20

Oh, dear!

0:51:200:51:22

It's not going back and sitting in a file.

0:51:230:51:26

You will never see another one.

0:51:260:51:29

Oh, wow. Thanks, Grandad!

0:51:290:51:31

Thanks.

0:51:330:51:34

When we put out the notice that we were doing a Roadshow special

0:51:420:51:46

on entertainment we hoped beyond hope that we would get

0:51:460:51:49

some wonderful film props,

0:51:490:51:51

and you have delivered because you've got three props here

0:51:510:51:54

for some of the greatest films ever made here in these studios,

0:51:540:51:58

but what's important about film props is the history

0:51:580:52:01

and the provenance. So what was your job here in the studio?

0:52:010:52:04

My job in the studio was scenic painter.

0:52:040:52:07

I painted anything that needed painting - a scene,

0:52:070:52:12

a set on the stage,

0:52:120:52:14

a prop - it was, "Ron, paint this."

0:52:140:52:18

Sometimes I didn't know what it was.

0:52:180:52:20

I wouldn't know what colour to paint it but I would paint it

0:52:200:52:25

and I then I would get an OK from an art director,

0:52:250:52:28

"Oh, yes, that's what we wanted."

0:52:280:52:30

So here we have the iconic mask, Darth Vader's mask.

0:52:300:52:34

Which series was this one from?

0:52:340:52:35

This was the first Star Wars in '76.

0:52:350:52:39

I started in January and this came to me

0:52:390:52:43

a fortnight after I started work,

0:52:430:52:46

and they said, "Spray this one."

0:52:460:52:48

They showed me a drawing and I painted it.

0:52:480:52:51

So we move from Star Wars on to Raiders Of The Lost Ark,

0:52:510:52:54

and here, again, a really important prop

0:52:540:52:57

because it was the one on the Staff Of Ra. I think it is, isn't it?

0:52:570:53:01

-Yeah, the Staff Of Ra.

-And it's how they discovered the right location.

0:53:010:53:04

This was brought to me.

0:53:040:53:07

I did five of them for different scenes throughout the film

0:53:070:53:11

and they would come to me, collect one at a time,

0:53:110:53:14

because they were quite fragile.

0:53:140:53:16

I painted the actual Ark itself, the big gold Ark.

0:53:160:53:21

-The actual Ark itself?

-So that's the same, same process

0:53:210:53:24

that I used for the Ark.

0:53:240:53:26

And the Ark I think is now in a private collection.

0:53:260:53:29

-It's in George Lucas's shed in the garden.

-I think it is.

0:53:290:53:33

But again, film-used.

0:53:350:53:37

Yeah, film-used, yes.

0:53:370:53:39

-And finally the axe.

-Yeah, the axe. This came to me...

0:53:390:53:42

I did 14 months on The Shining

0:53:420:53:46

and this came to me towards the end of the film.

0:53:460:53:49

So this was the axe actually used to batter down,

0:53:490:53:52

Jack Nicholson battered down the door.

0:53:520:53:54

It went right through the door and got caught on the other side

0:53:540:53:58

and when they pulled it out, it damaged the edge there,

0:53:580:54:03

it cracked and it became loose, so it couldn't be used again.

0:54:030:54:07

I was going to make a fibreglass one to copy

0:54:070:54:11

so they could use it safely.

0:54:110:54:13

So basically this is the original one that battered down the door.

0:54:130:54:16

-That is the...

-..and the fibreglass one that they could carry around.

0:54:160:54:19

Yeah, they could carry around.

0:54:190:54:21

So how did you come to keep such iconic pieces?

0:54:210:54:23

Well, this came back to me to be refurbished,

0:54:230:54:26

but I was waiting for the helmet, which is missing,

0:54:260:54:30

so I just put this to one side and the film eventually wound up,

0:54:300:54:37

cleared up, and everything was being thrown in the skip.

0:54:370:54:40

-AUDIENCE:

-Oooh!

0:54:400:54:42

-In the skip.

-So you saved it?

0:54:420:54:44

So I said, I'll save that.

0:54:440:54:47

The same with that.

0:54:470:54:48

It came back to me after the film,

0:54:480:54:51

and they said, "Here Ron, look after that," so I looked after it.

0:54:510:54:55

LAUGHTER

0:54:550:54:58

The same with this.

0:54:580:55:00

This is no good any more, cos it's broken.

0:55:000:55:03

We're not going to use it,

0:55:030:55:05

so it stayed in my workshop for...

0:55:050:55:08

..nearly five years, and then when I was clearing out,

0:55:080:55:12

-I cleared this out with it.

-So you saved these for the nation.

0:55:120:55:15

-I saved them.

-And it could all have gone in a skip.

0:55:150:55:17

-It could have all gone in a skip.

-Fantastic.

0:55:170:55:20

So we have to talk about values, and prop prices have gone up

0:55:200:55:23

radically in the last few years, so there are many, many collectors out

0:55:230:55:28

there internationally, and these are truly international films,

0:55:280:55:31

and these are iconic pieces.

0:55:310:55:33

-So what I'm trying to say, it ticks all these boxes.

-All the boxes.

0:55:330:55:36

Now, let's think about it if it went to auction.

0:55:360:55:39

The axe, if it went to sale, I certainly would see that making...

0:55:390:55:42

What shall I say? ..sort of £40,000 to £60,000.

0:55:420:55:45

CROWD GASP

0:55:450:55:47

The medallion, I would certainly think between

0:55:470:55:50

£60,000 and £100,000.

0:55:500:55:53

And, well, the most evilest iconic evil monster ever, ever produced -

0:55:530:56:00

arguably - Darth Vader,

0:56:000:56:02

known worldwide, so what's that worth?

0:56:020:56:06

If it should come to auction,

0:56:060:56:08

£150,000 to £200,000.

0:56:080:56:11

-LAUGHTER

-Quite nice.

0:56:140:56:16

Quite nice.

0:56:160:56:18

So what does that make? Quarter of a million, is that?

0:56:180:56:21

Low estimate. 350, top end.

0:56:210:56:24

-Yeah.

-The best props I have ever seen.

0:56:240:56:27

-Yeah.

-And where do they go next?

0:56:270:56:29

-To my son, grandson.

-To your grandson.

0:56:290:56:32

What a wonderful thing.

0:56:320:56:33

What a stellar collection!

0:56:420:56:44

Our thanks to Ron and to all those who've joined us to share their

0:56:440:56:47

stories and reveal their mementoes from the world of entertainment.

0:56:470:56:51

Well, that is an incredible bequest from your grandfather.

0:56:540:56:58

-Yes, yes.

-Did you know he was suddenly going to hand it

0:56:580:57:01

-over to you?

-Not, not to me. I assumed

0:57:010:57:03

they would stay in the family, but not, say directly to myself.

0:57:030:57:06

-So what do you think?

-That's great.

0:57:060:57:08

I mean I'm into my films and I do a bit of work

0:57:080:57:12

in that sort of industry myself.

0:57:120:57:14

It's not everyday you come across these sort of items though,

0:57:140:57:17

-so it's a nice surprise.

-I'll say! Well, congratulations.

0:57:170:57:21

Thank you very much.

0:57:210:57:23

From the EastEnders set and the Antiques Roadshow team,

0:57:230:57:26

and of course Darth Vader, bye-bye.

0:57:260:57:29

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