01/11/2013 The One Show

Hello, welcome to the Friday one show with Alex Jones. And Chris

Evans. Tonight's guest was in Star Trek and was also in The Last Of The

Mohicans, The Commitments, Die Hard 2 and Con Air. Impressive, as is his

latest role playing a father to James Corden's Paul Potts, One

Chance. It's Colm Meaney. You have been busy. You have had two big

films this year, Alpha Papa with Steve Coogan, and then One Chance.

We hear you are heading to sunnier climes? I am going to Rio De Janeiro

to start filming a film about Pele, but also the 1950 World Cup and the

emergence of the Brazilian team. Who do you play's I play an English

character called George Raynor, the manager of the Swedish team in

1950. He managed the team over a 12 year period. He got them to the

World Cup final in 1958. He was originally from Barnsley, so I have

to do an accent. An accent! You can hide behind it. You will have to put

plenty of sun cream on. How do you get away with the sun? I do not

spend a lot of time in it and I wear a hat. We will talk more to Colm as

the show goes on. Whilst Europe was being battered by St Jude the storm,

one man from Devon was hoping for when the weather. We have been

following extreme surfer Andrew Cotton in his obsessive quest to

seek out and conquered the world's biggest wave. St Jude might have

delivered the answer. Andrew Cotton is a British surfer

with big ambitions. For most sufferers, waves of three or four

feet are ideal, but Andrew's preferred waves are ten times this

size. I started surfing when I was about nine. This is just pumped up

surfing. It is my passion and my dream. Andrew lives in Devon with

his wife and their two young children. I guess he is an

adrenaline junkie. He is a pain in the bomb if he does not do it. He is

an extreme guy, but in a nice way. Surfers are renowned for being

selfish. I definitely put surfing in front of a lot of things but

luckily, cute understands it. -- luckily, my wife understands it.

Sometimes he will play down something amazing he has done. He

will say he has had a good wave, then it will be on the front page of

the newspaper. I do not perceive it as dangerous. Everything is positive

once you are in there. There is a risk, but exactly did risk. It is

petrifying, so I just pretend that he has gone plumbing, because he

does a bit of plumbing. At least four people have died in one of the

worst storms to hit the UK for years. It cut a trail across large

parts of England with dozens of floodlights. What was ominous news

for Britain was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Andrew. He was

already awaiting the storm's arrival on the coast of Portugal. The

current world record for the biggest wave ever surfed is 78 feet achieved

in this same spot in 2011. What happened on Monday it was the result

of that huge storm, St Jude. We have been tracking it for about a week.

It has become apparent that the surf was like nothing any of us had ever

seen before. This is the monster wave he had been waiting for.

Everyone got gigantic waves that day. I got one estimated at

approximately 80 feet. It was the fastest I have ever been on a

surfboard. I was focusing on not falling off, making the wave, but

also trying to get to the bottom and then served as best as I could. --

and then surf as best as I could. It was almost in slow motion, I felt

every bump. I was trying to be in the moment. The big question is, has

Andrew broken the world record? That is in the hands of the judges. I am

really proud to have been part of that momentous occasion. I want my

kids to grow up knowing that dreams are possible and pushing your

personal ambitions is a good example.

What a film! Cotty will have to wait until the Billabong Global Big Wave

Awards in May to find out if the world record has been broken. He is

still hoping to catch a 100 foot wave in Portugal this weekend. I

would like to know how they measure it. Do they take a picture and

guess? It is very technical. You know? I believe the base of the wave

is the lowest point the surfer reaches, or the lowest point of the

braking Whitewater. It is measured from that. It is true! And the

peak? Well, the top is the top. The base is where to measure from.

Hopefully you will know more about the plot of One Chance. River views

so far. Can you summarise it for those who have not seen so far? --

rave reviews. It is about a guy who overcomes incredible difficulties to

live history. James Corden plays Paul Potts. I thought it was about

the Cambodian dictator, which is a joke in the film! That is a joke in

the film. When it was explained to me who Paul Potts was, I thought, do

we want to do a film about a talent show? But the script was wonderful

and the cast is terrific. What is wonderful about it, it is not about

a talent show. Britain's Got Talent does not come in until the end of

the film. It is about this guy's life and his struggle to fulfil his

ambition, which was to be an opera singer. He was born into a working

class family import Hulbert -- in Port Talbot, so it is a difficult

ambition. Here is some action around the dinner table.

Paul could get a job at the steelworks and a flat of his own. I

would sooner sleep under a bridge. Paul is going to be a singer. Oh,

God! I thought you only met this morning. How could I be his

girlfriend if we only just met? It turns out when we thought he was

looking at pornography he was e-mailing her. Look at him!

That is one of those simple scenes that defines everybody's role. You

can see the cast with Julie Walters and Alexander Roach -- Alexander

Roach. Was a bright that James Corden was surprisingly serious

onset? -- was it right? The director was quite serious and that sort of

thing tends to come from the top. I really felt that everybody was

committed to it. There was a lot at stake and for James, it is a very

dramatic role. It is not a straight comedy role. He is superb in it and

he really shows his acting ability and his range of talent. You are

very good at playing darts. In The Commitments, you were a dad. In this

film you play a young dad when you are older. Let's have a snapshot of

The Commitments, a similar scene. I am putting a band together. Do you

need a singer? # Wise men say only fools rush in #

But I can't help falling in Love with you...

#. It is embarrassing. The credits run

and the credits for the music are there, and they have Fools Rush In

and they put, originally performed by Elvis Presley, performed by Colm

Meaney. There is no need to worry about that! What are you like as a

dad in real life? You have one daughter who is 29 and one who is

eight, that is a bit of an age gap. It takes me a long time to recover,

you know? I hope I have been a better dad the second time round. I

think I am more patient. I genuinely want to spend more time with her.

When you are younger, you say, yes, but you are busy doing other stuff.

You are there but you are not there. This time, I am glad to come home

and spend time with her. You can see Colm Meaney in One Chance around the

country right now. Lots of us will be cracking open the

sparklers and chomping on a toffee apple at bonfire parties. On Sunday,

there will be fireworks to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of light. We

have a very impressive display! It is not finished yet, but it looks

good. Either that is the team finishing off or someone is stealing

them. As with lots of festivals, there is food involved.

Every week, two and a half million of us go to one of the UK's Indian

restaurants to enjoy a curry and very little for after is. The

trouble is, by the end of the main course I am so full of Indian food I

can barely manage a couple entry meant. -- complementary mint. Most

of us would not dream of a desert after a curry. Too many of your

customers order Indian sweets? It is very rare. Most of them are

reluctant to order a desert after a curry because they are stuffed. The

full Monty of Indian dining out is not complete without an Indian sweet

or desert. -- pudding. So I talked to find out what -- I talk to

Ravinder to find out about Indian sweets. No one knows anything about

them. Ravinder is making an Indian classic cult jalebi. It is plain

flour, and it is cornflour, saffron, sour cream and yoghurt to

mix it together. So, into the hot oil. You can tell it is so bad for

you, look at that! And even naughtier after being put into sugar

syrup. Are you ready to get naughty? And eight sweet enough? Really

sweet. You would not eat loads. It is a treat. Indian sweets are not

eaten after every meal. These are for special occasions like Diwali.

Every year, Hindus and Sikhs celebrate Diwali with fireworks,

family gatherings and party food, especially sweets like this. I

didn't have a sweet enough to fall the jalebi, but a spiced doughnut

looks more to my taste. Nice. Doughnut, Orrin G. Not too sweet.

They are the best so far. But can we persuade British curry lovers to

ditch after-dinner mints for genuine Indian sweets on Manchester's curry

mile? We put together a delicious selection. I like that more than I

thought I would. It's quite creamy. That's nice, I like crispy things.

Very nice. It just never occurred to me to have a sweet, you are usually

full after the curry. Great for his waistline!

It's more like a doughnut. It's pretty good. If you go for another

Indian meal, you wouldn't be averse to trying some Indian sweets,

perhaps? I wouldn't. Now that my mind has been opened. Overall, the

Indian sweets have been a success on the streets of Manchester. Thank you

Alex and Ravinder is joining us now. Can you explain to us why Diwali is

so important? It is important to both Sikhs and Hindus. Hindus

celebrated because it is the Festival of lights. It is the

triumph of good over evil. That is what it signifies. And there is a

legend behind the whole festival. There is. Really epic, romantic

story about lard Rama, and how his evil stepmother... Sita, being his

loyal wife, she went with him. She was duped and tricked by this shape

shifting gear and captured by a ten headed Demon. Then Rama went into

battle to save his beloved. You've bought some sweet and savoury treats

in here. Tuck in. These are little doughnuts. What are they? They are

like a flaky, spongy doughnut. You were saying that every family has

their own special at -- that shall to that they could during Diwali.

Definitely, it is very regional. What Punjabis would eat at Diwali is

very different to what south Indians would eat. Every family has their

own dish. We have lots of Indian mothers in the audience, they

brought in delicious dishes. So many ladies here, I don't know who to

talk to. What have you brought? Is this your family's speciality? What

is this? Diwali is not only about fun, family, fireworks and food, it

is about decoration as well. This would be at the front of the house,

welcoming friends, family and the gods and goddesses. It's about

Sunday and Monday. Absolutely. A lot of wealth and prosperity into the

house and for the family. What have you got here? All the sweets here,

and some pakora. This is Bombay mix as well. This is a double effort.

What have we got? Loads of savoury and sweet. And we have candles,

which is tradition. What do you have here? Sweets and savouries. What do

you have, Parthenia? All of this food for the crew for later. They

are not going to be brushing off tonight like they normally do! This

is famous for Diwali. All the ladies enjoy making all Diwali items. What

do you have here? All of our festivals have a lot of religious

significance. We prayed to God, Lord the nation, the elephant god. We ask

him for lots of wealth, prosperity and blessings. Ten seconds each for

you. I've got sweets here, different kinds of sweets that we make. They

should have the great Indian bake off, it would be amazing! I've got

sweets and savouries and very traditional sweets, something that

the family would enjoy an Diwali days, not any other time. It smells

amazing in here. That's not the end of Diwali. Stay tuned because there

will be more later. The Paralympics highlight the fact

that losing a limb is no barrier to achieving great things in life. At

100 years ago it was a very different story. Here is Joe

Crowley. On New Year's Eve 2010, Corporal Josh Bodgey was serving in

Afghanistan when he had an horrific accident. We were out on a normal

search patrol. I stood on an IED. I remember the wind being taken out of

me. I tried to get up and it wasn't until I had a tourniquet on my leg

that I realised I'd been injured. He had lost both his legs and an arm.

Since 2006, 275 soldiers have needed replacement limbs after fighting in

the war. Their road to recovery starts here. This is the defence

medical rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court in Surrey. Caring for

up to 200 injured soldiers at a time, it's the largest military

treatment centre in Britain. New legs like this state of the art.

They have a microprocessor in each knee, which, amongst other things,

wirelessly feedback information so experts can make sure the limb is

perfectly set up for the patient. It's part of a technical revolution

began a century ago, when two enterprising brothers were inspired

by their love of flying to overcome an injury from a horrific accident.

Over Easter 1913, four years after the first flight across the English

Channel, Marcel De Soutar was one of the fearless young British pilots

showing off their skills at Hendon aerodrome. He was just 19. During an

exhibition flight disaster struck and the aeroplane nosedived. Marcel

survived but his leg was shattered and had to be amputated above his

knee. Marcel was fitted with a simple wooden leg, but it was heavy

and not flexible enough to operate the controls of an aircraft. His

flying career seemed to be over, but then his brother, Charles, came up

with a solution. Aged 17, Charles was obsessed with making model

aeroplanes, and he was about to reveal an unique flair for precision

engineering. Charles' son, Roger, has joined me to tell me more.

Marcel came along with that ghastly wooden leg and father thought, we

can do better than that. He had a model aeroplane which had a fusilade

which was made out of this new, miracle, light metal. He said, I can

make another tube like that, which could be the top of your leg. It

also had a hemispherical knee. The leg he created for Marcel was a

revelation. Only half the weight of wooden legs and much more flexible.

With it, Marcel could drive and even fly again. He was very thrilled. He

went skiing in Switzerland. That's just showing off! Charles' spark of

engineering genius transformed his brother's life, and within a year

there would be an business opportunity here to help improve the

lives of thousands. After the heavy artillery bombardment of the First

World War, thousands of soldiers needed new limbs. So Charles and

Marcel opened a factory to manufacture them. The business

boomed. In 1921, the Government and the Minister of pensions decided to

make it the standard limb for amputees. By 1925, they'd made

18,000 limbs. Building on Charles and Marcel's pioneering invention, a

century long wave of artificial limb innovation means hundreds of

soldiers have fought their way back to fitness. Like Josh. I love hand

cycling, I cycled from Paris to London in June. That was 420 miles.

I decided I really enjoyed doing it. Being around the other guys who were

in the GB Paralympic team already, it makes me realise that is

something I want to do. You are setting your sights high. Yeah, who

wouldn't want to sit on a beach after competing for their country in

the Paralympics in Rio? Good luck to all you with your recovery. Thank

you for coming into night. We are talking about your latest project.

Let's go back to your first appearance on TV. Have you seen your

Z Cars episode from 1978 recently? I don't think I've seen it since 1978!

? because we are going to play a little bit of it.

God give us and he take it away. You have the ultimate theological

argument. A knife. He's given us something and he's taken it away

from you. This ?360 here. We'll take it as a down payment. Was that Pete

Postlethwaite? It wasn't him. You look exactly the same. Has anybody

aged better than column? Red thank you for being here. The film is out

now. Are you going to do it? OK, to

finish, from Walk The Plank's "Spellbound" , this is the story of

how Prince Rama had to rescue his beautiful wife, Sita, after she was

kidnapped by the Demon King Gravano. -- Gravano.