0:00:02 > 0:00:06- Hello from Cheshire in the North West of England. I'm Joe Crowley. - And I'm Carrie Grant.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Over the next half an hour, we're going to be bringing you
0:00:08 > 0:00:11the best of Britain, as seen on The One Show.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Do not adjust your set. It really is this posh.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29We've taken up residence at the stunning Tatton Park,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33near Manchester, for this special edition of The One Show.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36We'll be serving up a banquet of The One Show's finest films,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39those rich stories that were lovingly crafted
0:00:39 > 0:00:41- and thoroughly deserve to be seen again.- Absolutely.
0:00:41 > 0:00:47And how lovely to enjoy them here with this neo-classical mansion and 50 acres of landscape gardens.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50So, give your butler the night off cos here's what's coming up.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Top Of The Pops, or maybe not.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58# It's just like rock 'n' roll... #
0:00:58 > 0:01:01It's excellent! I love it!
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Carrie gets to the bottom of those mysterious 1970s records.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06They would do 12 tracks in a day.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09It had nothing at all to do with the television series,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12but amazingly, the BBC hadn't trademarked the name.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Would you let your doctor deliberately give you a heart attack?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Dr Sarah Jarvis watches it happen.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21Now, Peter, if it gets really bad, let us know
0:01:21 > 0:01:24and we can always give you some powerful painkillers.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26'Peter is having a heart attack.'
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Plus, there was a nun, a cricketer and St John the Baptist.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32No, it's not a joke.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35If God said, "No cricketing for you, Phil.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39"I want you to be a prophet." Then you would have wanted the desert.
0:01:39 > 0:01:44And street barber Michael Douglas takes the scenic route between Settle and Carlisle.
0:01:44 > 0:01:49The trolley looks a bit wobbly. I always think you'd spill a cup of tea on somebody.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53- Have you done that before?- No. - Yes, you have! You must have done! - No, I haven't!
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Now, this mansion was once home to Wilbraham Egerton.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04In 1887, he embarked on the groundbreaking scheme to link
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Manchester with the sea, 40 miles away.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12It was the Manchester Ship Canal and this is a picture of it being built.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15It cost the equivalent of £1.6 billion in today's money
0:02:15 > 0:02:20and it meant that ships from across the world could sail right into the heart of the city.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24And when they arrived there, they'd be greeted by dockers,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26talking in a very distinctive way.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Alistair McGowan gets his tongue round the local accents.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34I've always been fascinated by accents.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Listening to them, identifying them and copying them.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40But now, I want to know more.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Why does Matt Baker sound so different from Gyles Brandreth?
0:02:44 > 0:02:51Oh, yes! And why does Mike Dilger sound so similar to Neil Morrissey?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54'So, I'm teaming up with accent expert Patrick Honeybone
0:02:54 > 0:02:57'and we've picked a great city in which to start.'
0:02:57 > 0:03:01So here we are at the home of one of Britain's most identifiable,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04iconic and frankly very doable accents.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Down by the Mersey and this is where Liverpool English began.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11'Liverpool has been a port for centuries
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'and the original dock responsible for the development of the city
0:03:14 > 0:03:17'and its accent can still be found... underground.'
0:03:17 > 0:03:20This dock changed Liverpool's history.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22So it really was this wall, as we see it today,
0:03:22 > 0:03:25which gave rise to the way you speak today.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30- Yeah, definitely.- So John Bishop owes a lot to this particular wall!
0:03:30 > 0:03:33'From the 18th century, Liverpool's docks
0:03:33 > 0:03:38'brought in ships from all over the world, especially from Ireland.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42'These dockers know their heritage is key to the city's accent today.'
0:03:42 > 0:03:46My ancestors came from Ireland, they came over from Ireland,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49which, the vast majority of people in Liverpool have got some
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Irish connection with them.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53If you take someone like Dara O Briain,
0:03:53 > 0:03:58- someone like that, it doesn't sound to me very similar to Liverpool. - We're heavy on the "A".
0:03:58 > 0:04:03Your Ma, your Da. Your Pa. I remember being in London just speaking with a guy.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06He said to me, "What part of Ireland are you from?"
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I said, "I'm from Liverpool." He said, "That's good enough for me!"
0:04:09 > 0:04:11And I just laughed.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14'The Irish accent may have dominated, but Scouse is a complicated
0:04:14 > 0:04:18'linguistic recipe, with lots of other ingredients from around the world.'
0:04:18 > 0:04:22You had the biggest concentration of Scottish people living outside of Scotland,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26people coming from Wales, you had people coming from bits of Lancashire and everything.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28So what you had in Liverpool,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32especially in the 19th century, is just people from everywhere.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Scouse is incredibly distinctive.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39The remarkable thing about accents in Britain is that they all have borders.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43And just 16 miles down the road in St Helens, there's proof of this.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46You think this is where the Liverpudlian accent,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48- the Scouse accent, ends? - I'd say so, yeah.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52My sister lives in Rainhill, which is probably a mile away.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54She has got a Scouse accent now.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56- It's as tight as that, a mile?- Yeah.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Patrick, talking to Mark, I'm not hearing a trace of
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Scouse in your accent at all.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05It's surprising how little similarity there is between
0:05:05 > 0:05:08real Scouse and real Lancs, which is kind of what you're getting here.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11People in St Helens don't have Scouse accents
0:05:11 > 0:05:14because their traditional industries, coal and glassblowing,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17generally drew on a more local workforce.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21What amazes me is that the North West of England boasts yet another
0:05:21 > 0:05:23instantly recognisable accent.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Manchester was a giant of the industrial revolution
0:05:26 > 0:05:29and it was the people who came to work on the mills who
0:05:29 > 0:05:32created their own distinctive way of speaking.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36So what do you think are the specific sounds of a Manchester accent?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Two that stand out to me would be
0:05:38 > 0:05:41the final vowels in words such as "Manchester", for example,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and a word such as "happy", which sounds more like "happ-eh".
0:05:44 > 0:05:47So next time, I shouldn't say "The Happy Mondays", I should say
0:05:47 > 0:05:50- "The Happ-eh Mondays". - Something like that!
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Or just do the whole thing as Frank Gallagher from Shameless
0:05:53 > 0:05:57and then it just sort of falls into place. Know what I mean?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'Frank Gallagher sounds different from Steven Gerrard
0:06:00 > 0:06:03'because the cotton mills in Manchester didn't attract
0:06:03 > 0:06:08'quite the same international flavour of economic migrants as the docks in Liverpool.'
0:06:08 > 0:06:11In Liverpool, you've got more people from different areas,
0:06:11 > 0:06:14partly cos it was the docks and so people could get there easily.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17You certainly had people coming from all over to live in Manchester.
0:06:17 > 0:06:22You had people from Ireland and Scotland, but probably just less than went to Liverpool.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24So that's the secret.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27St Helens is close to the traditional native accent
0:06:27 > 0:06:30of the North West. Manchester piled lots of other accents on top,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34but mainly other British accents, while Liverpool went all
0:06:34 > 0:06:37the way with a good helping of international flair.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Industry has shaped our accents.
0:06:39 > 0:06:45As this fascinating corner of the world built itself, it also built its own unique sounds.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Or is that "sewnds"?
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Or "shawnds"?
0:06:49 > 0:06:50Better go and ar-sk.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Ask!
0:06:55 > 0:06:57The many voices of Alistair McGowan.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02- So what do you prefer, the Liverpudlian or the Mancunian accent?- Erm...no!
0:07:02 > 0:07:06- I'm definitely not falling for that one!- Was that Liverpool?
0:07:06 > 0:07:08No, they are equally dear to my ears.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11- They're beautiful accents. - So, Norwich it is for you!
0:07:11 > 0:07:13That's right, boy!
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Sitting on the fence, rather healthily.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Well, over the years, The One Show's had some amazing medical films,
0:07:19 > 0:07:24but I don't think there is anything that can beat this. Dr Sarah Jarvis.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Peter Jones lives with a heart disease that means the simplest
0:07:28 > 0:07:31tasks put him at risk of cardiac arrest.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33He could simply drop down dead.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Peter suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40His heart has grown excess muscle that interferes
0:07:40 > 0:07:42with its pumping action.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46Extraordinarily, the best way to cure him is to give him
0:07:46 > 0:07:49a deliberate heart attack on the operating table.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54We're actually targeting a very specific area of muscle in the centre of the heart, in the septum,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57where this bulge is impinging on the path of blood
0:07:57 > 0:07:59flowing from the heart to the body
0:07:59 > 0:08:04and will create a small area of cell death, a heart attack, in this zone.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07They're going to trigger Peter's heart attack with a lethal
0:08:07 > 0:08:09shot of neat alcohol.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Alcohol is very soluble in cell membranes.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16The minute it hits biological tissue, it dissolves through the cell wall
0:08:16 > 0:08:20and immediately creates chemical mayhem just inside the cells.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22It's a very effective toxin.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Peter will stay awake throughout,
0:08:26 > 0:08:31so he can tell doctors how much pain he's feeling and where.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33- How are you doing?- Fine.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35I'm thinking about what I can do after the operation.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40First, the team thread imaging equipment up the main artery
0:08:40 > 0:08:44that runs through Peter's groin, straight into his heart.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46That's it.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49The precise target area will be pinpointed with an extremely
0:08:49 > 0:08:51fine guide wire.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56It's 14,000th of an inch thick and we'll steer it round the bends
0:08:56 > 0:09:00so that this wire lies exactly in the artery we seek.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Dr Stables will have to navigate his way through a complex
0:09:03 > 0:09:05web of minute arteries.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And now, we're in the exact place.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11And I now have a continuous hollow channel between my hand
0:09:11 > 0:09:14on the surface of the table and the depths of the heart.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19The team now has to use echo contrast dye to double check
0:09:19 > 0:09:23they're in the right place before the alcohol does its damage.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26But there's a problem.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Now, this is an example of how precise we have to be.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34The bulk of the material is arriving too far to the right
0:09:34 > 0:09:38and that means that we're actually distributing this not
0:09:38 > 0:09:41precisely into the perfect target zone.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45They've missed the right turning by fractions of a millimetre.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47They'll have to try again.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51We go back, we find another branch. We keep going till we find the right one.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55- It's going to be a bit of a battle. - This is really challenging stuff.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00Peter's heart is so expanded, the muscle is so dense, that the
0:10:00 > 0:10:04surgeon can't even move that incredibly delicate wire,
0:10:04 > 0:10:07except when the heart is relaxing between beats,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10so not only does he have a moving target,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13but he can only proceed for half a second in every second.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19These are anxious moments for Peter.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20- You're holding up?- Fine.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25The team continues their search.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29A little test there, are we taking the correct branch?
0:10:29 > 0:10:33No, we're not. So I need to come back, turn left here.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36It's a battle, but it's worth fighting for.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41Yes! Spot on! Spot on!
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Finally, after nearly an hour, they're on target.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Dr Stables is going to use just half a teaspoonful of neat alcohol.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Now, Peter, if it gets really bad, let us know
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and we can always give you some powerful painkillers.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57Here we go. Feel it?
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Peter is having a heart attack. Drop by drop,
0:11:01 > 0:11:06the alcohol is killing an area of his heart the size of a thumbnail.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10That is absolutely spot on.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Fantastic.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15He has a smile on his face.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16And now, so do you!
0:11:18 > 0:11:23'It's been very challenging, but Dr Stables is delighted with the result.'
0:11:23 > 0:11:25So on a scale of one to ten,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29how happy are you with what you found, where you pinpointed?
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Well, in terms of localisation, it's a nine or a ten.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36In terms of personal satisfaction about the degree of difficulty,
0:11:36 > 0:11:37it's an 11!
0:11:37 > 0:11:41If the procedure has worked, Peter should be able to live
0:11:41 > 0:11:44a normal healthy life again, almost immediately.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48- What an incredible story. - Absolutely remarkable.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51And since that film, he's gone from strength to strength.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- And here he is now, Peter. How are you feeling?- Great.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57- Yeah, really good. - You look really healthy.- Thanks.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00It's made a massive difference.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03I can do things that I never dreamt of doing in the last 15 years.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07What sorts of activities can you now do that you couldn't do before?
0:12:07 > 0:12:12- Going and doing 10-15 mile bike rides.- Miles?- Yeah. Crazy, isn't it?
0:12:12 > 0:12:14That is absolutely incredible.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Playing golf without any pain. Everyday things that people take for granted.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Was there ever a point where you thought you may not get to this age?
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Yes, there was. There was gloom and doom for months and months.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28I've lived the last 15 years,
0:12:28 > 0:12:34feeling as if I could drop down dead any minute.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36It's an incredible film.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- You're a brave man, with a camera crew filming you!- Yeah!
0:12:40 > 0:12:41It was mad, really.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Very heroic surgery. Let's have a look at your scar.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46Is that it?
0:12:46 > 0:12:50- It's a party stopper, that is!- Wow! - I've got spots bigger than that!
0:12:50 > 0:12:52- That's incredible! - It's huge, isn't it?
0:12:52 > 0:12:56It's fair to say you're a pretty big fan of Dr Stables' work?
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Yeah, huge fan! Done a hell of a lot of good work. Fabulous.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02We congratulate you and we wish you well
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and we set you off on your way, don't let us hold you up!
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Take care, Peter.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Now, I think it's time for our flame-haired disco diva to set
0:13:10 > 0:13:14the record straight on a certain 1970s phenomenon.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20When I was growing up, Sunday was always
0:13:20 > 0:13:26the Chart Show on Radio One and Thursday was Top Of The Pops night.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Kids like me built their lives around those two events.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33They told us the latest music and also the kind of records
0:13:33 > 0:13:35we should be buying. And if you're a certain age,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38you'll remember you could go to your local Woolworths store and buy
0:13:38 > 0:13:43a whole Top Of The Pops album of hits for the same price as a single.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48Between 1968 and 1984, these albums cashed in on the success of
0:13:48 > 0:13:53the real Top Of The Pops by offering cover versions of the current hits.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56They became chart toppers in their own right.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57So who was behind these albums
0:13:57 > 0:14:00and how on earth did they get away with it?
0:14:00 > 0:14:06Record collector and music historian Keith Richards is fascinated by the albums.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10- Where did it all start?- It was the idea of a chap called Alan Crawford.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15He came up with the name Top Of The Pops, which, of course, was the name of the popular BBC pop show
0:14:15 > 0:14:18at the time, so that was a masterstroke, really,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21because most people, myself included,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25assumed that it was related to the TV programme.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27But of course, it wasn't Top Of The Pops.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30No, it had nothing at all to do with the TV series, but amazingly,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34the BBC hadn't trademarked the name, or weren't able to,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38so Alan Crawford was free to use the name for his series of LPs.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Two of the albums topped the album charts.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44The reason they were selling so well was because of their price.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48They were 75p, whereas a regular album at the time cost about £2.10.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53- # No New Year's Day... # - To keep the price that low, unknown session singers sang the songs.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56The voice you hear doesn't belong to Stevie Wonder,
0:14:56 > 0:15:00but Martin Jay - a chart topper you'll never have heard of.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Martin sang on over 200 Top Of The Pops cover versions.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08But now, almost 30 years since the release of the last album,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12I'm about to go and meet this secret pop star.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16How were you expected to learn the songs?
0:15:16 > 0:15:19You were expected to go out and buy the record and you'd
0:15:19 > 0:15:23hunt around for the record and then literally write the lyrics down.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- Yourself?- Yourself, yeah. If you wrote the lyrics down by hand,
0:15:27 > 0:15:32by the time you got to the end of it, you pretty much knew the song.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Was the recording process quite fast?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37They would do 12 tracks in a day.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40I want to see if you've still got your chops today!
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- Are you sure?- I'm going to send you into the studio and see
0:15:43 > 0:15:47if you can still sing some of those old Top Of The Pops tracks.
0:15:47 > 0:15:53First up, we've got a little bit of T Rex, with their 1973 hit single 20th Century Boy.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59# Friends say it's fine, friends say it's good
0:15:59 > 0:16:03# Everybody says it's just like rock 'n' roll... #
0:16:03 > 0:16:05That's excellent! I love it!
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The next one I'm going to give him is by this fella, Dave Edmunds.
0:16:10 > 0:16:16- Good to see you. Back in 1970, you were at number one for a whole six weeks.- That's right.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- Christmas.- And the song was called? - I Hear You Knocking.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23This is Dave's original version of the track.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26# You went away and left me long time ago... #
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Here's Martin's version.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31# Now you're knocking on my door
0:16:31 > 0:16:34# I hear you knocking
0:16:34 > 0:16:37# But you can't come in... #
0:16:37 > 0:16:41- First thoughts? - I always thought this was a record that couldn't be covered.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45- I think I'm right. - I don't think the record companies were very happy about these.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48No. The publishers wouldn't mind cos they have to get paid,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52but the artists, of course, would not get paid because they're not on the record.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Shall we go and see Martin? Let him out of his misery!
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Come on, let's go!
0:16:57 > 0:17:00'Martin has never met any of the singers he has covered before
0:17:00 > 0:17:03'and has no idea that Dave is here.'
0:17:03 > 0:17:06# I hear you knocking... #
0:17:09 > 0:17:13We've heard Martin. How about the two of you together?
0:17:13 > 0:17:16'Is this a first? A chart topping musician singing alongside an unknown
0:17:16 > 0:17:19'Top Of The Pops cover singer?'
0:17:19 > 0:17:24# You went away and left me long time ago
0:17:24 > 0:17:28# And now you're knocking on my door
0:17:28 > 0:17:30# I hear you knocking
0:17:32 > 0:17:34# But you can't come in. #
0:17:36 > 0:17:40The final Top Of The Pops album hit the shops in 1984.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44By then, a whole new era of compilation albums had arrived.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46And these hits were the real deal.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50Looking back, I'm surprised they got away with it for so long.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Did it say anywhere on the sleeves that they weren't the original
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- artists?- No. You didn't know till you got it home.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00- You only did that once!- Yes! - Talking of original versions,
0:18:00 > 0:18:05not only do we have THE Carrie Grant, but next up, we have THE Michael Douglas.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09- I'm not talking about Hollywood imitations.- Authentic!
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- I'm talking about the real deal. - Yes!
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- THE Michael Douglas.- Cool! - The One Show street barber.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19I've been told to come here to the station bright
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and early to catch a very special train.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26A train that's going to take me on a magical trip that I'll never forget.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30And with all that, it can only mean one thing - I'm going to Hogwarts!
0:18:31 > 0:18:34CRASH
0:18:34 > 0:18:38OK, so it's not the Hogwarts Express, but a trip on the famous
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Settle to Carlisle line is still a memorable journey.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46The Settle to Carlisle line was constructed in the 1870s to
0:18:46 > 0:18:49open up a new rail route into Scotland.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52It runs from the market town of Settle in north Yorkshire,
0:18:52 > 0:18:57right up through the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines to Carlisle in Cumbria,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01and the views from the carriage are said to be the prettiest in Britain.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05- I think if anybody needs their hair doing, it's perhaps you. - Oh, thank you(!)
0:19:07 > 0:19:10So, this is the lovely Linda and she works here on this train line.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- That's right, isn't it?- I do. I work on the trolleys.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17And what is so special about this particular journey?
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Obviously, the scenery plays a big part. The history, the people.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25A lot of tourists, a lot of day-trippers.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28I think one thing I noticed more than anything is how
0:19:28 > 0:19:32- chatty it is on this train. - Because of the rural environment
0:19:32 > 0:19:36- and there's no pressures of a day-to-day life of commuting.- Yeah.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41The whole trolley thing looks a bit wobbly though. I always think you'd spill a cup of tea on someone.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- Have you done that before?- No. - Yes, you have!- No, I haven't! - You must have done!- No, I have not!
0:19:45 > 0:19:51- How's that?- Oh, that's absolutely lovely. Thank you. I'm very happy, thank you.- Thank goodness!
0:19:52 > 0:19:56That there is Yorkshire's answer to Table Mountain.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Otherwise known as Pen-y-gent, of course.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04There are nine stations between Settle and Carlisle.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07The whole line was once seriously threatened with
0:20:07 > 0:20:12closure by British Rail and only a nationwide campaign saved it.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16This is David, and you have worked on the train lines for a long time,
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- have you?- 45 years in railways, yeah.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21I'm right in thinking in the '80s that the line nearly
0:20:21 > 0:20:24- closed down altogether.- It did.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27BR saw it as surplus for their requirements and that's
0:20:27 > 0:20:29when the big fight started.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32It became quite a national thing and people travelled from all
0:20:32 > 0:20:35over the country and all over the world to travel on this line.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39There's something kind of brilliant about this particular train track.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41It feels like you've gone back in time.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43It's hardly changed from the 1950s.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46It's still got the original signalling.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50- Did you have to have a man in a box, pulling levers?- That's right.- Really?
0:20:50 > 0:20:55- And they have them on this?- Just opposite you. In that box over there.- Oh, right. Wow, yeah!
0:20:55 > 0:20:57OK, take a look.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02It's all right. Very good. Thank you.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04I don't know if he's happy.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14This 72-mile line was certainly a feat of engineering worth saving.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19It took 6,000 men more than six years to construct it.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23So this is Drew and he is the manager of this wonderful train line.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27It's fantastic and it does get under your skin. You really start to believe in it.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- Especially when you know the history of the line.- Tell us some interesting historical facts.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Probably one of the things that you have to realise about the line
0:21:34 > 0:21:37is the cost in human life to build it.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- Really?- Yeah. Reports vary. It's in the hundreds.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Hundreds of...mainly Irish navvies died building this railway,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46so today it's a bit of a living memorial to those people.
0:21:46 > 0:21:51- What about the weather?- Yeah, we get the minus 15s, we get the floods.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- You're still going through minus 15? - Yeah.- Wow!
0:21:54 > 0:21:58The diesel fluid starts to coagulate a bit, but they still keep going.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01- Take a look. What do you think?- That's amazing!
0:22:01 > 0:22:04The frame's lovely, but the picture's still lousy.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07You don't look that bad!
0:22:07 > 0:22:10This spectacular rail journey lasts less than two hours
0:22:10 > 0:22:13and before I know it, we arrive into Carlisle.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16The Settle to Carlisle line has managed to transform
0:22:16 > 0:22:19itself into something quite magical.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22A busy line that's as much a tourist attraction as it is a vital
0:22:22 > 0:22:26service to its commuters. And I am going right back again.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38I tell you what, we could do with a hairdressing service on the London Underground.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41- I'd love that!- Now, here we are in the drawing room at Tatton Park
0:22:41 > 0:22:44and there are some spectacular works of art.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46This one over here particularly catches the eye.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50It's The Stoning Of St Stephen, by Van Dyck.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55- Quite a powerful, scary, violent image?- Yeah, horrible. it's going to hurt, isn't it?
0:22:55 > 0:22:57I'm not sure I'd want it in my front room.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00I'm not sure it would fit in my front room, quite frankly!
0:23:00 > 0:23:03But two people who have a soft spot for gory religious art
0:23:03 > 0:23:06are Sister Wendy Beckett and Phil Tufnell.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10St John the Baptist is one of the most distinctive
0:23:10 > 0:23:14characters in the New Testament. He had an unusual flair for fashion.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17He wore wild looking clothes made from camel hair
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and a leather belt around his waist.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23He lived in a desert wilderness. He ate locusts and wild honey.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27And preached about the coming of the Messiah.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30He was called John the Baptist because he baptised people
0:23:30 > 0:23:34with water as a sign that they had repented their sins.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36He even baptised Jesus himself.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39'Sister Wendy has picked out two paintings from the fabulous
0:23:39 > 0:23:43'collection at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, here in Birmingham,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46'which will tell us more about this extraordinary figure.'
0:23:46 > 0:23:47It's a fascinating picture
0:23:47 > 0:23:52because not many artists have shown that, John starting his career.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56They usually show John baptising when Jesus came to him.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58But there's John at the beginning.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02He has no idea what life's going to hold out for him.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06- He went to live in the desert. - Why the desert?
0:24:06 > 0:24:10He wanted to prepare himself,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13in solitude and austerity
0:24:13 > 0:24:19for this great vocation of preparing the world to listen to Jesus.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21Now, I don't believe for one minute that he
0:24:21 > 0:24:23went as a kind of gangling adolescent.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26That's a very young John.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30I'm sure he was grown up, so it's an interesting picture.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33But I don't think Neri's got the drama of it.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37I mean, John looks rather miserable to me!
0:24:37 > 0:24:41I would be though, going off to the desert just to eat locusts and honey.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45No, you wouldn't, not if you had a vocation.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48If God said, "No cricketing for you, Phil.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50- "I want you to be a prophet."- Yes.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52- Then you would have wanted the desert.- I would have done.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55But you can see his parents who have agreed to it -
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and they've both got halos, they're saints -
0:24:59 > 0:25:03are miserable because he's their only child.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07I wish he'd turn and wave to them. That thought wouldn't occur to Neri,
0:25:07 > 0:25:11who was a very down-to-earth, straightforward kind of painter.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17Although, Neri isn't a great artist, it tells the story so clearly.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21'Sister Wendy's second choice shows us
0:25:21 > 0:25:24'St John the Baptist about to meet a tragic fate.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27'John had got into big trouble by condemning the marriage of
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'King Herod to his former sister-in-law, Herodias.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35'Herodias got her revenge after her daughter, Salome, impressed Herod so
0:25:35 > 0:25:39'much with her dancing that he offered her anything she wanted in return.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44'Salome famously asked for John's head on a plate.'
0:25:44 > 0:25:49Now, this is how a 19th century artist sees it.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53The Impressionists who were his contemporaries were very
0:25:53 > 0:25:57impressed by him because nobody was doing this kind of thing.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59They weren't doing religious paintings.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03There's John perfectly poised in the middle.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Absolutely equidistant on either side.
0:26:05 > 0:26:11He's a sacrifice and the light glowing behind him shows that.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13And the worldlings who want to destroy him,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18silly little Salome and a man who kills for hire.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20They just don't matter.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25All that matters for John is that he's giving himself at last to God.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Do you think it's a good representation of the story?
0:26:30 > 0:26:33- Well, it tells us the story.- Yes.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37And it tells us the story in a very striking way.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41But I can't believe in John.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44When I look at it, I'm much more impressed by the style,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46the elegance, the grace,
0:26:46 > 0:26:52far more than I am by any spiritual feeling.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57- It's almost as if he's not really there.- That's what I feel, you see!
0:26:57 > 0:27:01- Yes. His spirit's already gone.- Yes! - And that is just his body.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05There's a body there, going through all the right motions.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09But what is John feeling?
0:27:09 > 0:27:13What is his heart saying, as he faces...within a few seconds
0:27:13 > 0:27:15he's actually going to be looking at God?
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I don't get any feel of that.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23Now, I said all that because I can't get this out of my mind.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Well, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about the paintings.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33- It's been a delight. - We enjoyed it, didn't we?
0:27:33 > 0:27:37- You shared your thoughts too.- I did. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41And a huge thank you to Sister Wendy for all the films she's
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- made for The One Show over the years.- I love her.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46I'm afraid we've come to the end of the show,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49- but one hopes you've enjoyed it as much as one has.- One certainly does.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53- We're off to take some tea now. Goodbye.- Cheerio.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd