10/01/2017 The One Show

With Michelle Ackerley. And Matt Baker.

Topping the bill, a man who's almost guaranteed to make tonight's show

a hit because these days that's the only type of show he knows.

Lovely to see you, Cam. Some fans of yours into night. I am here because

of them! You've had huge hits

with Miss Saigon, Les Miserables But if we go back to the very early

days, Cam, to the start, things were a bit shaky. I was an overnight

success in 17 years, before cats. I learned my craft which was the most

important thing. A dreadful thing to say, but I did my very first show 50

years ago this June. It was called the Reluctant Debutant, which I was

not at the age of 20. I am amazed I am still going all these years later

and my shows are as fresh as ever and new audiences are going to see

it. Thrilled. We spent the weekend at Half A Sixpence, it was a magical

show. We will talk about that, but first this morning, Jeremy Corbyn

was on the radio and he mentioned the fact he would like to see a cap

on wages. You have been incredibly successful obviously, and I know you

did not hear what he said... I am hearing it now. Tell me what he

said. As an instant reaction, hearing the phrase, I would like to

see a cap on wages...? Like all things, it depends on circumstances.

If it's a public company with shareholders, maybe there is an

argument for that, I don't know. A private company, I feel if you are

running it, you do the best for all the people that you work with.

Luckily for me, most people who have worked for me have worked for me for

over 30 years. I have not been too Scrooge like. Varying opinions.

As always, we're keen to hear what you think,

so we sent Angellica to Eccles to ask the same question -

should we limit salaries to close the growing gap between the richest

We have all heard about the minimum wage. What about the maximum wage? A

cap on those who earn what some might consider extreme salaries. But

how much is too much? Would capping a salary achieve anything? Do you

think there should be a cap on how much we earn? Definitely not.

Because I think you have to inspire people to achieve, and I think if

you put a ceiling on that, it sends the wrong message. If people are

willing to give up their time to become professionals, then yes, they

do deserve more, don't they? A quarter of ?1 million a week? What a

joke. I wouldn't earn that in a lifetime. How much do you think is

enough? 50 grand a year, easy to live off. If you say to someone,

they cannot earn X amount, the spin off is less jobs, and one thing

Eccles needs is jobs. I don't think there should be a cap, but possibly

controls because people work hard for the income they get. I think the

top earners are going to hide. There is only a limit on what you can

spend, how many Ferraris do you want in the garage? What is enough to

survive on in a year? 500,000. So you would be fine micro for the

government to say that is your limit? -- fine for the government to

say that is your limit? You are seeing the zeros! Later, the Labour

leader seemed to back away from the idea of a cap, so it is getting

people talking. I don't know about half a million, let's talk about

Half A Sixpence. Very good! I lived on ?14 a week when I started, but I

save ?1 a week. I was a cleaner at Drury Lane and I was a stagehand

backstage on the original production of Camelot. And now down the road,

there is Half A Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre, which is where

Oliver started. A wonderful theatre. That is why I wanted to put Half A

Sixpence in there, an amazing theatre. A lot of people in the

audience when I was there were talking back to the good old days of

Tommy Steele, let's see him in action in the 60s film.

# What a picture. As you say, back on stage, but you

have changed it quite a bit. 75% a new show. The wonderful Julian

Fellowes, wonderful new songs. I hadn't seen the show since the

original onstage at the Cambridge Theatre, 1963. The reason it

happened, and it took me nine years to do it, I started nine years ago.

It suddenly popped into my head that HG Wells was a local to Chichester,

where he grew up. What nobody realises, and I didn't, it is

semiautobiographical. He was a draper's assistant and hated it so

much that he ran away. Became a supply teacher and was given the

keys to the library, and that's when he decided to become one of the

greatest English writers of all time. He loved winning a lot. A lot

more than we have as the two lovely leading ladies in Half A Sixpence.

It touches on every area of his life. What is fascinating about you,

Cameron, your attention to detail. You have shows going worldwide, but

you have reports on every single one of them, which is just really

drilling down into what exactly is going on with the show. You think

that's the secret to your success, why things are going well, because

you are so invested? I did drive them all potty, but hopefully... For

instance, I work with Julian Fellowes, the writers of the new

songs and those who rearranged the originals. I worked with them from

the outset. As it was with Mary Poppins, it's my idea to turn it,

and I work on the structure. Luckily for us, Julian Fellowes immediately

read the book and several years ago said, I know how to do it. That we

had to wait all these years to get the rights to redo it. Between us,

the whole team, every element of the show I pull together, and I work

with the designer, the costume designer, the sound design, the

orchestrator, on every single element. For me, all of that is just

as important as building the fabric of the actors. Mary Poppins is on in

Cardiff... It finishes an incredibly successful tour, it is about to go

to Zurich and Dubai, the new Opera house. And hopefully before the end

of the year it will be back in London. You can tell you are so

passionate about it. We will get a taste of Half A Sixpence later on,

the cast will be here performing the brilliant Flash Bang Wallop. A

brilliant company. You are going to love it. Flash Bang Wallop sounds

something like the one:would say. He is tireless in his mission to save

people money and he has some more advice. -- something like Dom would

say. To save money, you have to spend faster.

Buying presents for your nearest and dearest can be a nightmare, and

getting it wrong can prove an expensive mistake. So it is no

surprise more of us are going for the easy option, gift cards. In

fact, last year, purchases of gift cards and vouchers went up 4% to hit

more than ?5 million. -- ?5 billion. But ?300 million of that will never

be redeemed, and that is because most expiry dates start from the

date of purchase, so you will probably have no idea when the money

is going to run out. See if you can spot an expiry date on that card

anywhere. Did you know they have an expiry date? Yeah, I did, a year, is

dead? They are all different. -- isn't it? It is no wonder shoppers

are getting confused. Different companies have completely different

rules. Like many retailers, Marks and Spencer...

INAUDIBLE. A number of companies have a limit,

such as online ticket specialist Ticketmaster. If you get your mum a

fancy afternoon voucher from Harvey nicks, she will have to use it in

six months. Harvey Nichols said they are phasing out their six-month

voucher in favour of a two-year gift card. Ticketmaster 's point out that

customers need to bend a gift card within 12 months of purchase, but it

doesn't have to be on an event that year. -- to spend.

There are alternatives, like the one for all gift card that can be used

with a range of retailers. But you had better spend the cash before the

18 month deadline or they will start charging you a 90p per month fee.

Cheeky! They say they don't receive any income for gift cards until they

are spent at a retailer, said the 90p deduction from the cards helps

cover their costs. So, another card, another policy. Confused? James from

Fair Finance says there is a simple solution, get rid of expiry dates

altogether. A lot of people will not realise the clock is ticking on

their gift card and they could expire any moment. These are gifts,

not a cash cow for the companies who already have the money in their

coffers. If they care about their customers, there is no good reason

for an expiry date. The have been calls for the government to put a

minimum two-year expiry period on all gift cards, but for now the UK

gift card and voucher associations say that although its best practice

to offer a two-year expiry date, the decision is that the retailer's this

question. So any confusion over gift card rules is set to continue for a

while longer. I think it's time for some retail therapy. Meet consumer

champion Helen complaining cow readily. She wants to make sure we

don't lose out. If you are giving a gift card, give it with the receipt,

which tends to have the expiry date, the transaction details. If you have

a gift card and you don't know how long is left, whenever you go in the

store, get them to swipe it. A lot of the big ones will restart the

year, 24 months, from the date that they swipe The Card. Even without

spending money? Absolutely. If all else fails, what can you do if you

miss the date? Legally, not a lot. But you can try it on. Go to the

store, write to customer services, tell them what you think. If more

people complain, they will get rid of them. In the meantime, these

should come with warnings, because if you don't use them, you risk

losing them. So the advice is spend them!

We heard from the complaining cow, that is her name! Try it on. You

have tried it on but it didn't work for you. Dom got done! At the Ritz,

they say a memory will last for ever... Until it expires! I said,

would you extended, they said, sling your hook! We have had more luck.

The team found around and spoke to a dozen different stores about these

cards. Ted Baker and Nando's said, not a problem, they would extend

them. Others said maybe, some said no, so ask and see how you get on. A

man after your own heart, Cameron, you hate a rip-off and you have been

key combating ticket touts in theatres. Ticket touting has been

with us since the ice age, but particularly since technology has

speeded up the ways that people can be ripped off, it has become an

epidemic. The producers of Harry Potter have done a terrific job in

already combating a lot, people trying to get tickets for that. In a

couple of days, I'm about to announce what we are going to do for

this upcoming musical called Hamilton. Which is a wonderful show.

But of course, in America, huge amounts of those tickets have been

passing hands for enormous amounts of money. It doesn't go to the

production, it doesn't go to anyone... The public are ripped off

and we need to stop it. You have a plan to combat it? No one can ever

have a foolproof plan with the touts, but a revolution I think in

tickets selling for London. Hopefully we will unveil it this

week and it will allow as many people as possible to buy tickets

for the show. Across the price range. Dom, what other government

doing? They have a three pronged attack. A lot of people don't

realise, when you are online and trying to buy tickets, you are

competing against bot technology, a computer programme harvesting the

tickets and the touts selling them. So it is you against a computer? It

can be. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport are trying to get

this stopped in Parliament. It has not gone through yet, it could go to

the House of Lords. The competition and marketing authority have

launched an investigation as to whether some of the companies

selling the tickets are abiding by current consumer law. And HMRC are

going to investigate to kick outs and the income they might be

getting, putting it through other companies, so they are coming at it

quite strong. Dom, thank you. Christine is well and truly out of

her comfort zone tonight. As a gardener, I enjoy walking in

the fresh air, listening to nature and the birds. I think mother nature

has done a particularly good job, but in Cardiff, a group of artists

and designers have come together to prove that by using modern

technology, we can see nature in a totally different way. In the heart

of the Welsh capital lies the stunning Bute Park, an unlikely

setting for a virtual reality revolution. It has been started by

Robbie McNicholas, who wants to turn us into animals. We have looked at

the different animals that live in the UK Forest and adapted virtual

reality using Sound and vibration is, and created an experience that

puts you in the bodies of those creatures. Each one of these bizarre

helmets contains a pair of virtual reality goggles which transport the

wearer to an imaginary computer-generated forests that can

be explored simply by moving your head, while sounds and vibrations

add to the realism. The idea is to experience the world through the

eyes of a mosquito, a dragonfly, a frog, and an owl. It's all very

clever, but I want to know, how can we possibly know how these animals

see the world? There is a generous wrinkling of artistic licence in

what we have done, but we started with science, or so we code -- we

consulted the Forestry Commission. The dragonfly, for instance, sees a

much broader spectrum of light than our eyes can cope with. To find out

what Robin is on about, I am going to dive into this virtual world. It

looks like pink splodges. Apparently, these splodges are

particles of carbon dioxide which mosquitoes can sense. It's gold on

the bottom, and I can see some things sticking up. I am told they

are meant to be trees. That was very weird. I couldn't really work out

what anything was, but I think that might have been my eyesight. It's

not just my eyesight that's bothering me about this. Modern

technology dominates our lives today, but shouldn't the outdoors be

somewhere we can escape it? PHONE RINGS

Excuse me. Not everyone would agree with me. Some people rely on

technology more than others. Charles Gibbs has a rare muscle wasting

condition which makes visiting forests very tricky. One of the

biggest Rob is about getting out into the countryside is access. With

a wheelchair, you cannot go over a stile or through a gate. Leaving

virtual reality could help? Absolutely. It will bring the

countryside to people. It is a brilliant concept and I look forward

to doing it again. Time for Charles to magically transform into a

dragonfly. This is the most extraordinary experience I have ever

had, just as if I were flying. It may be virtual, but this technology

allows Charles to experience a world that normally would be inaccessible,

and brings nature just a little bit closer. How did you find that? My

goodness! That was absolutely tremendous, especially for me as a

disabled person, that was such an out of body experience, the freedom

of movement that I have not experienced for some time. So, that

was absolutely superb. I have got to get me one of those, as they say! I

am grateful to look through the world -- look at the world through

the eyes of another animal, but I don't think I will miss these.

Lovely to hit what Charles was saying, how liberating it was. We

saw Christine there, she experienced musky division, but Cameron, we were

wondering what it was like to see through your eyes, so we have come

up with state-of-the-art technology, the Cam camera glasses. When we put

these on, we get to see what the world looks like through Cameron

Mackintosh's eyes. Let's have a look. Wow! It's a whole new world.

You'll put me out of a job! Wow! That's quite something. Stars are

born. Oh my God! Steady on! I feel a bit too young for that. You may

laugh, but wait until you see the camera transform our normally drab

and drizzly piazza. The cast of Half A Sixpence will perform live in just

a moment and it will be brilliant. No Cam glasses needed. That is after

Dan tells us about a mystery that is almost 100 years old.

Captain Edward Brittain was just 22 in June 1918, when he decided to

charge towards the enemy inwards in northern Italy. -- in woods. His

decision cost him his life. But was there more to this act then simply

bravery or recklessness? Edward Brittain enlisted with the British

Army at the age of 18, so young that his application had to be signed by

his parents. His military service record makes for impressive reading.

Edward fought at the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916 and

received the military Cross. The citation showed that -- said that he

showed conspicuous gallantry and leadership. Although he was severely

wounded, he continued to lead his men with calmness and bravery until

he was disabled by a second wound. But by 1918, this fine officer was

in danger of having his reputation ruined. There is evidence that he

was about to be exposed as a homosexual. Sexual relations between

men were not decriminalised in Britain until the 1960s will stop

Julian has studied attitudes to homosexuality during the First World

War. Once the war had started, there is the idea that homosexual acts

were somehow subversive and aided the enemy, and that this advice was

threatening the war effort. There is a rising tide of homophobia during

the First World War? Yeah, it becomes hysteria. Approximately how

many men from the Army were put on trial? Maybe 300. If you are run

ordinary soldier, you get sentenced to a spell in prison and you get

drummed out of the Army. If you are run officer, it is that much worse,

in a way. You were humiliated, and you would find employment extremely

difficult to obtain, if it had attracted publicity in the

newspapers. Edward could have been cast aside. Certainly, many others

were. His sister Vera went on to become a renowned writer. She

immortalised her brother in her memoir, Testament Of Youth, a

coming-of-age story about her experience during the war. Mark

Bostwick has written a book about the and her brother, and he believes

that Edward's tragic death may have been related to his being outed as a

homosexual. Edward's commanding officer was content -- contacted by

the military police, who told him they had intercepted correspondence

making it unmistakably plain that these officers had been involved in

homosexuality with men in their company. The day before them

battle... INAUDIBLE

He said to Edward, I did not realise that letters were censored at pace.

He was trying to give Edward a coded warning.

Edward goes into battle the next day and is killed. Do you think he

wanted to die? All we can say, which Vera Brittain herself wrote, is that

Edward's last days and hours must have been awful and dreadful. To

have been such a distinguished officer and to have gone through the

entire war, to have lost his closest friends and then to have this awful

threat of being court-martialed for homosexuality is difficult to

imagine. Edward died just months before the war ended and stop his

sister never stop the grieving for him. The red Brittain never publicly

commented on the circumstances surrounding her brother's there, but

in her writing there was a hint as to how she must have felt. In one of

her novels, one of the characters, an officer, tragically chooses death

rather than face the shame of revelations about his sexuality.

Thanks to Dan Snow for that story. Now, Cameron, who is here with our

amazing Half A Sixpence cast, has a very special announcement. To

encourage lots of Flash Bang Wallop tonight, I want to tell you we are

extending through the summer into September. You are also brilliant.

Thank you for being an amazing cast. Cameron, thank you so much.

at the Noel Coward Theatre in London.

Tomorrow the stars the Pointless and Call

Now, performing the classic song Flash Bang Wallop,

# All trying hard not to laugh up in a morning suit

# 'Old it, flash, bang, wallop, what a picture

# What a picture, what a photograph # Poor old soul, blimey, what a joke

# Hat blown off in a cloud of smoke # Clap 'ands, stamp yer feet

# Decided to get wed in their birthday suit

# The man with the cam'ra said to taste the fruit

# 'Old it, flash, bang, wallop, what a picture

# Poor old Eve, there with nothing on

# Face all red and 'er fig leaf gone # Clap 'ands, stamp yer feet

# What a picture, what a picture bass drum, W-e-e-a-ay!

# All the way from Waterloo from the battle scene

# She said to 'im, in French of course

# As he took of his big cocked 'at

# 'Old it, flash, bang, wallop, what a picture

# What a picture, what a photograph # There she was, with a big Hussar

# All caught up in 'er oh-la-la

# Clap 'ands, stamp yer feet, Ye-e-a-y!