07/03/2016 The One Show

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

sailing on her Sport Relief challenge, it is welcome board to

Fearne Cotton! Lovely to see you. It has been a year, so it is about

time. Tonight, we will bring you the latest on the Hell on High Seas team

in a moment. They are setting sail from Belfast first thing this

morning am looking bright and cheerful. But are they now? Very

choppy seas. Now, one thing is for certain - they are going to be very

cold and wet, so they are wearing appropriate wet weather gear. Which

is something our guest tonight knows all about. After all, she's the

greatest mac detective since Columbo. Yes, the mac is back, and

it is worn by Vera's when the Blethyn! -- Brenda Blethyn! We have

it on good authority that while you are away filming for Vera, you have

come up with a brilliant way of keeping your partner at home

entertain, in the shape of Jack. Yes, Jack keeps Michael company.

Look at his little face! Isn't he adorable? A Cockapoo. How old is he?

Seven and a half months. We know your phone is full not only of

photos, but also footage of Jack, because you showed us this when you

were in make-up earlier and we had to share it. It is the cutest thing.

I am in love! Here's having his real moment on TV. -- he is having a real

moment. If we can't get in touch with Alex, we would go back to Jack.

Of course, Alex and the team, Doon, Ore, Hal, Suzi and Angellica, are

now 12 hours into their Hell on High Seas challenge. They are travelling

around the UK on a 65 foot yacht, taking on whatever the weather

throws at them. After a final two days learning the ropes in Belfast,

the training was over and it was time to wave goodbye to dry land.

Belfast, where this challenge begins. The boat is ready, but are

we? Lesson one. Boat familiarisation. First injury!

Simple tasks on board are nearly impossible. That is the toilet? All

dignity has gone out. Sleeping conditions are cramped. And most

things have to be done in the dark. It is so claustrophobic that I can

imagine if you are feeling a bit of colour it is the worst place to be.

For me, being quite OCD, I am worried that everyone will have

those little things that get them off colour a bit. It will be

interesting to see how we get on. To find out exactly what this is going

to be like, the following day, we go out for a practice sale.

And then suddenly, the boat went like that. We are all getting used

to walking and hanging on at that level. It is extraordinary, and you

feel tentative to start with. And then before you know it, you are

just wandering around, doing stuff. It is mentally tiring. The sales are

incredibly heavy, and you are having to keep going. It is about mind over

matter and just digging deep. Everybody is already apprehensive

about this risky challenge. And there are some very scary news. This

line is telling us that the waves will be around ten metres. So if

anything goes wrong, we will get caught in a bad situation. That is

why we have decided to rule out the north and go to the south. Following

a late briefing on Sunday, Gonzalo believes we could outrun the

approaching weather front. We want to pass that point just before the

storm comes. And we have a good safety margin. 7am. We leave Belfast

on a race to reach Land's End before the boat breaking weather. This is

it. My body is aching from the work we did on the boat yesterday, and it

is all becoming a reality now. I am incredibly nervous, and a bit

worried. If everybody gets behind this, we will raise a lot of money.

That is important, so cross your fingers for us. Time to go. The

sleeping conditions are horrific. That has haunted you. That and the

toilets. I can't deal with that. Let's give you an idea of where they

are so far. We have this map and we will just zoom in and tell you, for

all you GPS nerds, latitude is 53 degrees, 44.67 minutes more. Longer

to decide degrees, 12.90 minutes west. Currently travelling at seven

knots. That is the competitive bit. We are hoping that we will be able

to talk to Alex live on the yacht a bit later in the show. Just what she

needs. Brenda, Alex and the crew are doing all that this for Sport

Relief. How can people at home help? To support the Hell on High Seas

challenge, you can donate ?5. And here is one of the reasons why

we are asking for your donations. In Bangladesh, a huge number of

children are out on the streets with no roof over their heads and little

chance of a decent education. Your money can help change that, and a

few weeks ago, Alex went to see it in action.

Dhaka, Bangladesh, a riot of colour, chaos and car horns. It is

absolutely manic here. There are people everywhere, beeping their

horns. And there is no system. Everybody just goes for it. Nearly

16 million call back home. Among them, a staggering one Million St

children. They live and work anywhere they can. Many have fled

poverty or physical abuse, and have been orphaned or abandoned. Hello! I

am Alex. Shohag and Bilal have agreed to show me their world. Where

do you live here? Where do you sleep? TRANSLATION: I sleep

sometimes in the field, or the bazaar area next to the town hall.

And sometimes industry. -- in the street. How long have you been

living near the town hall? TRANSLATION: Three years. Three

years? Bilal tells me that his parents tragically died in a road

accident, and Shohag that he fled here because his parents beat him.

With no one to look after them, they can only survive on the streets by

collecting rubbish to sell. TRANSLATION: We wake up early in the

morning to pick bottles and rubbish from the street, and then go to the

shops and sell it. Litter picking is dangerous work. Danger lurks in the

form of sharp objects and human waste. This is absolutely shocking.

It's like the dirtiest place in the world, all these flies. And these

poor children are having to make a living by climbing on top of all

this. It is just horrible. It is strange, because within ten minutes

of doing this, you find yourself trying to look for useful bits of

rubbish for them, like an empty packet of tablets or a bottle of

water, empty packet of crisps, polystyrene cartons. All of these

are gold to them. The rubbish, once collected, has to be weighed and

sold. But it's not for much. 30 taka? I am bartering with something

I don't understand, but they are saying 20? 30? 27 taka, the

equivalent of 27p. That is all he has to survive on until this time

tomorrow. Like many street children, Shohag and Bilal have aspirations

for a better life, which is why they attend this drop-in centre, funded

by Sport Relief. It provides a safe place for three Hundred St children

every day, where they can have a wash, get a meal and an education.

Let me give you a little tour of this lovely centre. In here, the

children have an opportunity to have some education, and it is packed.

They really want to learn. This is the washroom, so they can at least

clean themselves once a day. And then the counselling room, where

they can off-load and talk about their loneliness and feeling

vulnerable. It is here, though, that the children get what they probably

need the most, sleep in a safe, quiet place. I will remember this

site for a really long time. Absolutely shattered. They are only

ten. Can you imagine, if you're -- if your tenure of the sleeping here

like they are now and that is the only rest they have here all day --

your tenure. And if it wasn't for the shelter, they wouldn't have

anything. Sadly, in its current capacity, the centre has to close at

5pm, so Shohag and his friends have to go back out onto the streets.

Without the help of Sport Relief, centres like this struggle to remain

open at all. Just ?5 can buy much-needed textbooks to help with

the children's education. ?10 can provide a nutritional meal for up to

50 children. With your help, we can try to give these children a better

life. The hardest thing for us to do tonight will be leaving them. But I

am just going to sit here for a little bit longer.

You can absolutely understand why Alex is out there, doing what she is

doing and pushing herself to the limit. In comparison, goodness me.

And that ?10 bid is 50 children. Thank goodness for that centre, so

they can rest and have that bit of safety. If you can donate, please

do. It is a world away, but we are now going to talk about

Northumberland and your series, Vera, which has come to the end of

its sixth series. We start series seven in June. It is wonderful. And

it has sold to so many countries. 130 different countries, we were

reading. This week, I had a letter. One day, I had a letter from

Australia, Canada, from America, from Belgium and I think from

Sweden, all in one post. Goodness me! And we have a Swede in the house

tonight! You could have delivered that letter yourself! What do you

put that popularity down to? I just think she is kind of so ordinary.

She is down to earth. She is not a threat to anybody. She doesn't rely

on lipstick, and she doesn't look like she has just walked off the

catwalk. Although some might think she has. She is very on trend with

that mac. If you haven't seen Vera, here is a moment that sums her up to

a T. Can I ask you, where were you on Saturday? Afternoon? Here.

Evening, we had a fundraising benefit. Why? J! I am having none of

that. Get out of the way. I am not going anyway. Put down the knife.

Make you feel better, will it, after a long spell inside? That is where

you will be going if you so much as touch him with that nice. -- with

that night. You do not mess with Vera. What we didn't see in that

clip is the cinematic, beautiful scenery in every episode. And the

Northumberland tourist board love you, because interest goes up 44%

when Vera is on TV. That is terrific, isn't it? Do you get

tourists coming to watch you filming? Yes, and the local people

sometimes bring out the chairs and the wine. They say, join us! I say,

I can't, I have to drive that Land Rover! The generosity and the

welcome we get is wonderful. You spend a lot of your year there, five

months. Do you end up staying in the same place? Have you got a second

home up there? For the first three years, I was in a hotel. But then

all I wanted to do was boil an egg. So the last two years, I have had an

apartment. That works out better. So then you are going to go back and do

series seven? At the end of May, I go back. Take the dog this time.

Well, I got him for Michael, although he might begin to see the

back of him. Although this has been sold in 130

countries, it is not watch your most recognise for? I made a television

series, it must be 30 years ago, called Chance In A Million, with

Simon Callow. Look at that sultry look! The cheekbones. I am

recognised all over the place. I was in a cave in Australia, and someone

said, weren't you in Chance In 1 Million? And also in the jungle in

Borneo? Chance In A Million! Since you were last on The One Show you

have had a birthday. Yes I turned 70. What did you do? I went to

aspire and took myself away from everyone. -- I went to a spa. So,

what is next for you? It seems like you have done so much. Everything.

Series seven starts at the end of May, as I say. Before that, I'm

doing an excerpt for a film with a director friend of mine. And a

celebration of Ed now Brian's work in Dublin next month, in the theatre

there for one night. I am looking forward to it. -- Edna O'Brien. I am

looking forward to revisiting it. So a lot of workers going into one

night. Yes, I'm looking forward to it. You have worked with so many

amazing people, is there anyone still on your list that you would

just love to work with? There's lots of people. Lots of people I work

with become friends. I was with Kevin Whately today at an event for

the Princes trust. It was so nice to see him. Timothy Spall, I like

working with. I've never had much ambition, to tell you the truth.

I've been quite fortunate. When you set out on this road, if you don't

have that path planned, it almost goes better for you. We're going to

take you way back to what you think, tellers of we're right, is your

first TV appearance. You said we would stick together. Would you like

to be a special operator, to? You must be joking. Picture me being

special. It is as much as I can do to keep ordinary. It was my first

drama, yes. I think it was The Imitation Game, by Ian McEwan. We

were saying, you haven't changed a bit. We're going to chat to your

little bit later on, Brenda. Series six of Vera is out on DVD and

download now. The Six Nations returns this

weekend, but it's not the only big Doctors are urging the Government

to make it a non-contact sport So, is a ban on tackling

really necessary? Well, not according to a school

in Somerset, who think they've come Rugby has never been for the

faint-hearted. With such a physical game, injuries are inevitable. Right

now, within the sport, there is one particular injury that is causing

everybody a major headache - concussion. More than 70 doctors and

academics are calling for a ban on tackling in schools across the UK

because they are seeing too many injuries, and not just broken bones.

Concussion occurs when the head is jolted so hard that the brain

strikes the inside of the skull. Short term after effects can include

blurred vision and loss of memory. But there is evidence that repeated

episodes of concussion could cause long-term problems, possibly even

triggering dementia. Tackling concussion is now a priority for the

rugby authorities. Just take a look across the pond. In American

football, the NFL is set to pay out one million dollars in pay-outs to

players who have suffered concussion. Will Smith has just made

a film about it. Repetitive head trauma chokes the brain and turns

you into someone else. Back here, and in schoolboy rugby, one teacher

has decided to tackle concussion head-on. Former first-class

cricketer Evan Jones thinks he is seeing too many head injuries. There

were 20 injuries in our school this year. That sounds a lot. Our nurses

brought it to our attention, and I thought, enough is enough, let's do

something. Stephan has imported a radical approach from New Zealand.

He thinks he can reduce injuries by devoting kids into teams by weight

rather than by age. If you have a big fellow bashing into a smaller

fellow, it is like a car crash if the headers in the wrong place.

Stephan says that kicking into touch has meant that proposing a ban has

met with resistance. We have gone to a school in Wales to see if it will

work. Can he persuade them to buy into the ban? Instead of being

sorted by age group, the boys are being sorted by weight. This is them

in their usual groups, but it is all change when sorted by weight. And

evenly matched bunch of players are now ready to play. Let's make it our

three nations event. These players have experienced numerous

concussions. The longer I play, the more dinks and knocks you get. It

was very much a case of sucking it up and getting on with it, the match

side of the game where you had to get back into it not to let your

team-mates down. John's concussions have had a lasting effect. My

cognitive abilities, communicating, there have been aspects of

depression there, issues with headaches a loss of memory. Among

those teaming up to investigate the effects of concussion are lead

leaders Saracens and medical charity -- and a medical charity.

Researchers are also looking for markers in the blood that might in

ticket -- indicate a brain injury. It is early days, but a clinical

researcher hopes that in time they can develop a quick and easy test

for concussion. We need more information about the subject and

additional clinical tools that we can use to diagnose a concussion in

a much more robust manner than we do at the moment. The veterans may be

all for it, but back at the school, the ban has still got our way to go

to get converts. If you are playing in your age group, I think it is

more of a challenge. Sometimes, it can be more fun, because you do have

the bigger boys to tackle. I want to play it as we normally play, because

it develop skill as well. You can play against boys bigger than you.

This is something that has got a lot of people talking. We contacted the

Department of Education. They said: Team sports are important to help

children develop positive traits such as leadership and how to bounce

back from defeat. We are aware of the risk and we want to provide a

safe environment for pupils. There is expert advice available for

schools to make sure that sporting activities are safe and to reduce

the risk of injuries and accidents. So it sounds like they are going to

carry on as it is. It seems that way.

And if you are a parent or player looking for advice on how to spot

the symptoms of concussion - or advice on how to treat it -

Brenda, is this something that concerns you? I don't have any

children who play rough sports. I have got a couple of nephews, great

nephews, who play football. I think there is too much concerned with

health and safety, really. I had a window cleaner at the other day who

wouldn't do the upstairs. A window cleaner that wouldn't go up a

ladder? Its health and safety! I don't know the statistics. -- it is

health and safety. But perhaps protective clothing would be right.

At ladder this window cleaner! Nearly time to catch up

with Alex on the yacht. Before we do, here's just a reminder

of how you can donate to Sport Relief and support

the Hell On High Seas challenge. To donate ?5, text

the word HELP to 70005. To donate ?10 text

the word HELP to 70010. It is so much better with a female

voice. With Brenda's boys. -- voice. For full terms and conditions -

or to donate whatever you want - Now, let's see how the team

are coping after the first day. We managed to grab a few words with

Alex, obviously in very rough conditions.

I love your hair, Brenda. The boat is at a 45 degrees angle, so moving

around is very difficult and very dangerous. At the minute, that is

why I am at this angle now. As you can see, the weather really turned,

and three hours ago, the wind really picked up, and now the boat is on

its keel, at a 45 degrees angle. Here is our skipper, our boss for

the week, Ian. You predicted the weather front was coming in, so tell

us a bit about what is going on. We have 20 knots of wind. The air

temperature is about six Celsius, so it will be a chilly night. It has

just gone dark, so we're prepared for a bit more wind. The wind will

head to the west, we think. You said tomorrow was going to be the day

when we would need to be really careful. Tomorrow, it will gradually

build through the day, but it should be champion sailing. It should be

fast downwind. Cheers, Ian. There you are. It is absolutely rough here

at the minute, absolute chaos, but I will hopefully see you again

tomorrow, when things are a bit calmer, fingers crossed!

APPLAUSE Keep your fingers in those clubs,

because it is going to be absolutely freezing tonight. I just had a

reminder. There she is on the map, just south of the Isle of Man. It is

four hours on an four hours for every crewmember. They have to sleep

on the boat, go to the toilet on the boat, and they are on it till

Friday. Believable. You can follow Alex's progress live on a website.

Just follow the link on there and you'll get

all the latest news, photos and more.

Talking of awful weather conditions, I am sure you have filmed in awful

conditions filming Vera. You can have every season in one day in

Northumberland. Do you have to cancel filming if it gets so bad? If

it's really bad, yes, we do. We have to go to the pub or somewhere! We're

talking about physical challenges. You have done, is it three

marathons? Yes, three London Marathons for children with

leukaemia. I hated the training, and I would pretend I wasn't in when the

trainer turned up. But he would call through the letterbox, I know you're

in their! Brenda, thank you for being on the shore. Vera is on DVD

now. Thank you to you as well, Fearne.

Tomorrow Konnie Huq will be here with Rebecca Front.