10/04/2014 The One Show

Hello and welcome to the One Show with Alex Jones. And Matt Baker.

Everyone is very excited about tonight's guest being on the show.

Earlier just outside the entrance to our studio these were the scenes.

SCREAMING. Those girls were here for The Vamps on Radio 1 earlier.

So we sent him round the back way. Please welcome Alan Titchmarsh! It's

nice to be here. Even if that wasn't my welcome. This is boring for you,

these days. It's tedious. You are now celebrating 50 years since you

started as a trainee gardener. Yes, 50 years this year since becoming an

apprentice gardener. What are you planting to mark the occasion? I've

not thought about that. An oak tree, it may last longer than me. We've

all been enjoying scenes of Prince George on the television today. He's

so adorable. I can't get over how like his father he is. Now you have

two grandchildren, Daphne and Zachary. Three now. They keep on

coming. This is a familiar theme for you. The Duchess of Cambridge does

not hold mine. The most marvellous cheeks he has got. Anyway, in about

an hour, the Irish president Michael D Higgins will be at the Albert Hall

to enjoy a concert celebrating Irish music, culture and dance. But how do

Irish performers feel about taking part in Tonight Show? And how

significant for them is their presidents visit? Anita Rani's been

to find out. They come three is after the Queen laid a wreath and

two years after she shook hands with Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness.

In just a few hours, a full-blown concert will take place here. It

will mark the end of the President's visit. In true One Show

style, we've got backstage access. This is Philip, the organiser.

Within the last five minutes, he is name-dropped Seamus Heaney, Johnny

Marr, Guy Garvey. Tell me how this has come together. The president is

steeped in culture. We sat down together and he wondered wooden

event which shared our culture be the thing to do? Dashwood and

event? We thought, yes, that would be fantastic. The fact of the Queen

came to Dublin, that was a great step in the right direction. Very

brave of her. It's a great thrill Michael D Higgins is on a state

visit and have stayed concert I'm thrilled. # I cannot control these

ever-changing ways. What was the atmosphere like at the state dinner?

An amazing long table and beautiful lights. Then they brought the lights

down and 12 papers walked around this giant table. In that moment, I

felt Ireland became one country. Such a privilege to be in this room

listening to these fantastic musicians rehearsing. What is it

about this Irish music that makes you feel, I can't even explain it,

something quite wonderful? What it does, to quote Seamus Heaney, it

captures the heart of a person and blows it open. That's pretty cool.

What you think about the Irish flag in Windsor? I never ever thought I'd

see the day. The horse guards and the tricolour, it's hard to believe.

My parents would've loved to have seen this. Do you feel quite

emotional about it? Oh, yeah. How does it feel to be part of this

event? It's historic full sum everybody knows it's a big deal, how

much it means to everybody. I'm married to an English manner. My

daughter is half Irish, half English, so it's nice for our

families as well. Well it all kicks off at 8:30pm tonight, the president

will be sitting in one of these beautiful boxes alongside

dignitaries and royalty. This is an event people never thought they

would see in their lifetime. The honour of being here is enormous. It

should have happened years ago, of course, but it's happening now and

it's fantastic it's happening now because it's holding a bridge into

existence which will be recognised by the two countries. I think it's a

wonderful thing. The past has been better and bloody between the two

countries but this is a real moment in history and, having spent time

with the musicians, their passion and pride of contagious. And

tonight, there won't be a dry eye in the house. Well, probably right.

Very much so. You've had a passion for music all your life. I did four

years of the Proms for the BBC. It's a wonderful atmosphere in there.

They will play live, and we know it's been there since the year dot.

You still do your classic FM show every Saturday. I used to buy LPs

when I was a kid and I used by the classical ones. My mates have a

Rolling Stones and the Beatles and I would have brown plastic bags they

can see my classical music records so it was a treat to be allowed to

do it. OK, on we go. By law everybody in this country has the

right to defend their land, home and family using reasonable force. But

what is reasonable force and how far would you go if you discovered

somebody on your property? Lucy Siegle's been to meet a father of

five who was forced to answer that question. Imagine coming across

thieves on your property. In the dead of night. Would you take them

on? It's frightening even to think about it, isn't it? Coming

face-to-face with danger when things can get out of hand very quickly.

The police don't advise you confront a burglar or a thief, but still, but

hasn't stopped some people from taking action to defend themselves

and their property. Andrew Woodhouse knows what it's like to be targeted

by thieves. His yard is in broken into many times and lasted, they

struck again. I was lying in bed, my wife was asleep, my phone went off,

and alerted me that there was somebody in the yard. He jumped in

his van and drove there to find out what was going on. I pulled up my

van by here. I came to the gates. I heard noises towards the back of the

yard. I thought I had disturbed them. They were making off over the

fields. So they were somewhere over here? In the, somewhere, yes. And

what did you do? I chased them up the field. Over the fence. As I came

through the whole, I could see them loading the back of the car. I was

angry, frustrated. I was scared. A lot of emotions going through my

mind that night. When he caught up in the two thieves, one of them

attacked him with a large bit of wood. I felt a blow to my hand, my

shoulder, we had a bit of a scuffle. Luckily, I managed to get the wood

off one of them and once I got it, I was just lashing out. When police

arrived, they found Kevin Green line on the ground badly injured. Two

broken legs and a broken arm. I was gutted. For myself onto him, because

I wouldn't wish on any man. And yet, you inflicted that on him? But come

at the time, I didn't realise what I'd done. Things happen so quickly

that night. It was over in seconds. I just didn't want to be the victim,

lying on the floor. And be left for dead by them. The two thieves were

arrested that night but they weren't the only ones. The police also

arrested Andrew. He was later charged with GBH with intent, Julie

would decide his guilt or innocence. If found guilty, he was

facing prison. The trial started in January this year and after three

days, the Julie were sent out to deliberate. But the jury took just

20 minutes to clear Andrew, which has left some asking just how the

case even got to court in the first place. Anyone looking at this case

held that cold date would say he should not been prosecuted and the

state should not have spent thousands of pounds and a great deal

of man hours trying to secure a conviction a very serious case next

down from attempted murder in terms of severity. That's how serious

allegation was he faced. Nevertheless, the inflicted serious

injury full is why shouldn't he be prosecuted? They came to him with a

weapon, a piece of wood. He was able to disarm men and then used it to

defend himself. The CPS has defended its decision to prosecute, saying

Andrew's actions went beyond what the law allows in terms of self

defence. 14 years ago, Tony Martin went to prison for shooting dead a

burglar. Businessman Mr Hussein attacked and intruder with a cricket

bat but was released on appeal. The fact of the jury took so little time

to return a not guilty verdict has led some commentators to believe

attitudes to crimes like these are changing. The CPS thought they had

to bring this case as they saw it, Andrew Woodhouse didn't use

reasonable force but went way over the top. The Julie's verdict sends a

signal to the CPS that people don't care much about burglars but if this

goes to lead to vigilantes, people taking the law into their own hands,

if it gets to that stage, Parliament will have to intervene bashed Julie.

The thieves both received a ?75 fine for the theft of diesel. Andrew says

the months leading up to the trial were held for him, his wife and his

five children. You can't sleep at night because you're always thinking

about that night. You think about, what could happen. Poor man. It's

hard to know. What would you do if you're faced with it? As part of

your 50th year, as a gardener, the RHS have asked you to design a

garden and exhibit it at Chelsea. What do come up with? Celebrating 50

years in gardening for living, also 50 years of Britain in Bloom, I

didn't know we were born at the same time. We started at the same time.

Have you tied it all in? Yes, 1960s, up to 2014, but 1960s was all lawns

and those beds. I did it from the Yorkshire moors where I started. We

can see a little sketch here. It spills its way with head and pines

and purchase through dry stone walls, were seen at the front, a

sort of seaside garden with a beach hut and lapping waves because I

garden on the Isle of Wight now by the sea. It's my journey. Yes.

Britain in Bloom, it's also by the sea. Wouldn't you just love to sit

there and read a good book. Funny you should say that. You have

written a stack of books but you got a brand-new one. It's called Bring

Me Home. I'd only read the first two chapters so far but you leave

everybody in suspense from the off. The first one, the main character,

he's obviously got a secret. Give us a flavour of it. His name is Charlie

commonly inherited a castle in Scotland and he it. It's set in the

Highlands. The Scottish Highlands. He throws a wine glass against the

wall of the castle. We don't know why. I like mysteries. Romantic

mysteries. I didn't realise I like them until the first one. I write

these mysteries about relationships and people. I didn't know when I

wrote it. Remarkably, they are a mystery for you. It is weird. Some

authors must have it completely plotted but I have the place, my

characters, I put them in a situation. I have a vague idea that

something has to go wrong but I don't know why they've done that but

then I go back to a childhood and followed through his life, as

romances, his stepmother, that sort of thing. It's a weird thing to do.

You) to leave. How old do you do all of this because you present a TV,

and author, Gardner, so where do you find time to put all of this into a

weekly schedule? The art of cloning. There are six of me. Dolly the sheep

and I have a lot of common. When the chat show was on I can't do it. I am

fulltilt, but in between times, you can't do one day a week. You have

got to do for five days of writing and working your way through it so I

do it in downtime from TV, really. I love it. It's an escape and I like

to write the kind of books I like to read. I'm a storyteller and I'm

chasing Jeffrey archer. He's number one and I number four. James

Patterson and Danielle steel arbitrariness.

Talking of television, this will be the 15th series. Why have you

decided... It was eight years, I would rather give up before I am

asked to leave. Three o'clock in the afternoon, over a million folk

watching. I love doing it. There are other things to do, I feel I need to

move on. You have been a master of quitting at the right time. You will

never see me again. Many of us have relatives who fought

during World War I, but not many have seen actual footage of family

members in action on the front line. We bought some viewers together for

a very special screening. For one day only the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton

is showcasing one of the most successful films of all time. When

it was first released 20 million people went to see this film during

a six-week run. It held the British cinema audience record for over 60

years and even then was only beaten by Star Wars, and I can remember

what a global phenomenon that was. I bet you have never even heard of

this film. Shot amongst the dirt, danger and despair of the real-life

front line, the film captures on celluloid were the most infamous

battles of the First World War The Battle of Somme. In July 1916 the

Allies launched one of the largest attacks of the war in France. The

cameras rolled as British firms pummelled German lines to break the

stalemate on the Western front. The War office commissioned this

documentary to capture footage of what they believed would be a great

victory. Plans Corporal Walter Little more features as one of the

600,000 British men who marched into battle. His son David and his three

great grandson 's are about to get a flavour of the cinematic experience

from 1916. He was in the Royal Artillery. You must be excited to be

seeing him here on the big screen. Yes. Embedded with the troops during

the march to the front line in the bombardment of the Germans and the

fighting itself with two official cameramen. For Geoffrey Malins and

JB McDowell it was unchallenged as the Imperial War Museum North crop

was research associate explained. The cameramen must have been working

under the most diabolical conditions. Absolutely, imagine

sharing all the hardships the soldiers were exposed to, the same

risks, and not firing back. All I have got to shoot back with is a

camera. It is extraordinary they produced results like that with this

equipment. The footage they shot was edited

into a propaganda coup, far from the great victory expected the first day

of the battle turned into the darkest day of British military

history with nearly 60,000 British Army casualties. This depressing

truth rarely features in the film, there are masses of German corpses

but images of British casualties are brief, fleeting moments. Yet for all

the propaganda spread the film is a fascinating insight into the reality

of the war. And for Captain Douglas Kate's great nephew this means a new

perspective on somebody he has seen footage of today. He was always just

a name in history, but to see the face makes it much more real, you

identify a member of the family and you feel that awful sense of irony

that here he is, strong, young and brave and within a year he will be

dead. He survived the battle but not the full wall.

Walter did survive, he features as a stretcher bearer. My dad saw that

shot in the cinema like this at Southend-on-Sea and he shouted out,

that is me. Everybody looked round. I must read this, most are wrote me

this note to mention over 40 years after 1918, he still has bad

nightmares when he thought he was being buried in a collapsing trench

and shouting for help. Thank you. Otherwise I wouldn't be here, he did

survive. What they did, what they sacrificed, didn't and right there,

people carried the wounds and the psychological damage. For years on

after the war. The film vividly captures thousands more men like

Douglas and Walter who took part in the battle. This summer the

centenary of the outbreak of the great War gives all of us an

opportunity to honour their sacrifice.

To bring all those people together and to have experienced that in one

afternoon. It was an extraordinary thing to sit there with the people

whose family was therefore stop you find yourself looking at them

wondering how they will respond. Three generations of one family.

Quite something. As you said in the film, most of the film was filmed

during the actual battle, but they did recreate one scene from the

battle. When there were going over the top, it was too dangerous, the

mode, equipment was very heavy, it was too dangerous. Not after the

thing of the cameramen, but goodness me.

Let's have a look on the table, you have brought in some pieces that

were brought back from the front line. This is a bugle used in the

first battle of the Somme and was recovered from romance land in

September 19 16 -- no man's land. It has been loaned to us by the Western

front Association. You regard these things as musical instruments,

strategically they were important because they signalled, time to get

up, advance, retreat. You think what it has been to. When you think that

gave direction. And some viewers have sent in other artefacts.

Identification tags here from Chris Hart, these belong to his dad, but,

-- Bert Hart, interesting the day-to-day entries. Chris believes

his father was moved up to the Somme in July, 1916. All the entries start

to sort of disappear, they don't really... Could they say where they

work? Were they allowed to say where they work? It says it is the soldier

's own diary so I am sure they will all issued with something like this.

Received news of wedding from home, enemy exploded big nine at 730 PM,

60 killed. That was in April, 1916. Amazing.

We are getting so many things sent in from our viewers. Thank you to

everybody that is sending them in and sharing your treasures. Is it

fair to say Percy Thrower was a bit of a hero of yours? I eventually

became his editor when he wrote books. Later on in life I became his

editor and got to know him. Tonight his home-grown seedlings, his three

daughters, share their experience of growing up with a great man.

Good evening and welcome to gardeners world. Our dad was Percy

Thrower, the presenter of gardeners world. The first gardener to become

a TV star. The wisteria is a problem plant. His full-time position was

Park Superintendent in this park. This is right in the centre of the

park. After the war he restored it to the formal planting it is now. It

must have been such a mess when he came to take it over. He was the

youngest park superintendent at that time in the country. One of the

producers of the archers also did a country calendar on the radio, saw

how beautiful it was, and invited him to do a segment in the studio

and gardening. He did gardening club for a number of years and it became

gardeners world. A lot of people go wrong with a pruning. I don't think

he had any conception about the power of television. At the end of

one of his programmes he said we are having the garden open for the local

church on Sunday. 9000, 10,000 people descended that Sunday on to

what was less than an acre of garden. He couldn't believe people

would want to come and see the garden. . Quarry Lodge was our home

and where he worked. This was the dining room. I remembered mum and

dad having lots of parties. It was always busiest on Tuesday. The

farmers market. The wives would be shopping, they would come up for a

cup of tea and the men would want something a little bit stronger. And

then the parties would go on until the early hours of the morning. The

cards usually came out. I can remember sitting here watching the

shrews brief lull in show, that's highlight of the year -- Shrewsbury

flower show. Waving like royalty. At an early age he started us off

flower arranging wild flowers and he used to carry the arrangements down

to the marquee to put them into their positions and we would have to

get them down the hole so we haven't lost anything. I was no good at it.

Need and say any more. He used to say this is my daughter Susan and

she doesn't know her daffodil from a dandelion. He was very protective of

us girls. We had times to come on, if we went out in the evening, I

remember one night I went out to dance, I home just past midnight,

and he was sitting in his favourite chair in the kitchen, cleaning his

gun. Which freaked out the gentleman I was with. I don't think that

actually realised what he was doing. I don't know, knowing dad! He was

contacted to ask if he would like to do gardening on Blue Peter, and I

can remember him coming back and shaking his head and saying, you

really cannot plant seeds in a garden with an unruly dog.

But that a foot apart. In the early part of 1988 his health declined, he

was taken into hospital. Britain's best-known Gardner has died at the

age of 75. He became a national celebrity. When dad died the sense

of loss, how great it is for anybody, seemed greater, because of

the media and the attention that he was given. It is a nice tribute to

have his bust looking at the area he was so passionate about. Gardening

is around you anyway, he is there all the time.

We have this lovely picture of the pair of you, 1981 this was taken.

Look about her. -- look at that hair. He had the most amazing

charisma. That voice still does it for me, measured delivery. He knew

what was doing. And you have it as well. You know what you are doing as

well. Lots of people will be going out into the garden this weekend,

what should we be doing? A bit of feed, such a wet winter, Deadhead

your daffodils, things like that. Get something nice planted.

Thank you for advice, that is all we have got time for. Alan's book Bring

Me Home, is out now. Tomorrow we will be joined by Paddy McGuiness.

Good luck getting past this lot.