:00:19. > :00:26.Hello and welcome to The One Show with Matt Baker. And Alex Jones.
:00:27. > :00:31.Tonight's guest is one of EastEnders' best loved characters.
:00:32. > :00:34.But long, long, long before she was Dot Cotton, we were amazed to
:00:35. > :00:47.discover that she starred in a certain rival soap.
:00:48. > :01:01.You have no idea where Mrs Sharples might be. There is not much time.
:01:02. > :01:06.Tony owes a lot to her. Tony has a surprise for her. We have left it
:01:07. > :01:18.rather late. If we do not get hold of her, everything will be ruined.
:01:19. > :01:25.It's June Brown of course! It is so great to have you here. Tony Warren
:01:26. > :01:35.was a big fan of yours when he was a little boy. I was just an actress at
:01:36. > :01:43.the Manchester Theatre Royal. It was our first matinee. There was a
:01:44. > :01:51.little boy and a little girl, both about ten, at the stage door. He
:01:52. > :01:58.asked for my autograph. I said, you do not want mine. He said, you might
:01:59. > :02:03.be one day. We thought that was so enchanting we took him out to tea.
:02:04. > :02:07.On the way we saw Sir Alec Guinness. Nobody recognised him
:02:08. > :02:14.because he played so many different parts. I said, run across the road
:02:15. > :02:20.and ask him for his autograph. He got his autograph taken as well. And
:02:21. > :02:30.that was Tony Warren. I could go even longer with that story. I
:02:31. > :02:36.nearly brought my stopwatch. We will get through a fuel of these stories.
:02:37. > :02:40.We're looking forward to hearing about June's long life and career as
:02:41. > :02:43.a Shakespearean actress among other things which she's chronicled in her
:02:44. > :02:57.new autobiography. Our studio is full of Dots. They are all in. We
:02:58. > :03:05.want to join the dots tonight. Maybe you can add to these. Send us your
:03:06. > :03:14.pictures of you in your best outfits. Shops are seasonably
:03:15. > :03:18.crowded at the moment. Not that retailers are complaining of course.
:03:19. > :03:26.But there is one type of customer they don't want. Now or at any time
:03:27. > :03:33.of the year. Christmas shopping. The windows, the lights, the excitement,
:03:34. > :03:36.the crowds. It is also the perfect environment for pickpockets. When
:03:37. > :04:20.you are out on a busy street, you may be surprised how vulnerable you
:04:21. > :04:25.are too light fingered thieves. any pickpocketing opportunities. We have
:04:26. > :04:35.pickpockets around here. I would not like to see you lose your wallets.
:04:36. > :04:41.What other pickpockets doing? The more switched on tactics we use, it
:04:42. > :04:48.is a game of cat and mouse. Uniformed officers provide a
:04:49. > :04:53.presence on the streets. The best way to catch a pickpocket red-handed
:04:54. > :04:58.is to go undercover. These policemen are plainclothes police officers, on
:04:59. > :05:04.the hunt for pickpockets in the busy west end. You are about to go out on
:05:05. > :05:09.the street. What will you be doing? We will focus on places where we see
:05:10. > :05:14.an increase in this type of crime. At the moment we will focus on some
:05:15. > :05:19.of the shoe shops in and around Oxford Street. Free mouse will leave
:05:20. > :05:24.their backs down around their sides and the bags will be left
:05:25. > :05:29.unattended. Be filmed the officers using hidden cameras. The officers
:05:30. > :05:35.pay a visit to this shoe shop, which has had a recent spate of bag
:05:36. > :05:40.thefts. While they are there, this man comes in. He is not here to buy
:05:41. > :05:45.footwear. He is a repeat offender they have been trying to catch for
:05:46. > :05:54.more than a month. The police are on to him. Then, right in front of the
:05:55. > :06:02.undercover officers, the thief snatches an unsuspecting customer 's
:06:03. > :06:10.bank. Police. The officers break cover and arrest him. You are under
:06:11. > :06:15.arrest for at least five, possibly six, accounts of bag thefts in this
:06:16. > :06:21.area, this shop and others. He had been caught in the act. This was not
:06:22. > :06:32.the first time in the had targeted a shoe shop. This gentleman has been
:06:33. > :06:37.wanted by us for a while. He is one of our most prolific targets that we
:06:38. > :06:42.have been after for a while. Later, the thief pleaded guilty to six
:06:43. > :07:23.theft offences, all at shoe shops. He is being held on
:07:24. > :07:30.I have seen people go for a coffee and leave their phone on the table.
:07:31. > :07:35.We have got to microfilms to show you, have a quick look at this, this
:07:36. > :07:43.was at King's Cross railway station. They guy is waiting to get off the
:07:44. > :07:47.train, but the suitcase is not his. He is looking back in the carriage
:07:48. > :07:52.to see if anyone has spotted it. Some people would keep an eye on it,
:07:53. > :07:57.but others don't. Nobody has gone towards it, he has had another quick
:07:58. > :08:05.look, he stepped off in case anybody goes for it. And he has gone. That
:08:06. > :08:09.is the end of your suitcase. Have a look at this, this is Leeds, have a
:08:10. > :08:17.look at the woman in pink, look. See that? She is taking another woman's
:08:18. > :08:21.handbag out. Along comes an accomplice, and there they go, that
:08:22. > :08:25.is someone who has lost their handbag, a pregnant lady making that
:08:26. > :08:32.move, someone perhaps above suspicion, but keep your eyes
:08:33. > :08:34.everywhere. Those suspects have not been found, British Transport Police
:08:35. > :08:45.as saying, if you have seen anything on the railways, this is the number.
:08:46. > :08:48.June and I were just saying, we would be the type who would not
:08:49. > :08:53.watch our luggage on trains and that would happen. Well, I do now,
:08:54. > :08:59.actually, because I had a handbag taken in a restaurant, they had
:09:00. > :09:05.taken away the chair beside me, I had been joined by some friends, and
:09:06. > :09:09.I put my bag down here, and my friend was Rosemarie, the singer.
:09:10. > :09:13.She has got long legs, she kept kicking my shins. Every time she
:09:14. > :09:17.said sorry, and then one time there was a kick on my shin and nobody
:09:18. > :09:22.said sorry. I didn't think anything of it, but somebody had taken my
:09:23. > :09:27.bag. Now I put my foot through the strap, you see? They would take me
:09:28. > :09:31.as well! They would have a right shock! Before you go, we have
:09:32. > :09:35.developments on what we were talking about last night with the price of
:09:36. > :09:39.food. Yes, we were discussing speculation that the cost of
:09:40. > :09:42.groceries in Scotland could increase as the result of Scottish
:09:43. > :09:46.independence. The Scottish Government have had their say, they
:09:47. > :09:50.say, look, the was old of independence, they propose that they
:09:51. > :09:54.would lower corporation tax, introduce a fuel duty regulator to
:09:55. > :09:58.cut costs, and they say already their business rate regime is the
:09:59. > :10:02.most competitive in the UK. So they argue that costs would go down. I
:10:03. > :10:06.think it is bad to say at this stage, there are two sides to every
:10:07. > :10:11.argument, there are many agendas in this argument, and all we can say
:10:12. > :10:26.with any certainty is that it is all hypothetical until the referendum
:10:27. > :10:31.takes place. Now the launderette has been the scene of many dramas over
:10:32. > :10:38.the years. Countless life changing confessions. Mr Poppa Doppler 's
:10:39. > :10:49.have no idea what is going on. Tell Athis is the first scene in the
:10:50. > :10:55.launderette in 1985. I know I said I would come in 20 minutes early but I
:10:56. > :11:06.got held up. I did not realise they would keep me so long. Does it feel
:11:07. > :11:19.like yesterday? Do you notice what a high voice I had? I used to have a
:11:20. > :11:23.much higher voice. Launderettes outside the world of television are
:11:24. > :11:35.places where people go to wash their clothes, or are they?
:11:36. > :11:45.Excuse me. Can I have somehow? Am I doing this right? You do not want to
:11:46. > :11:49.put that in. You should put whites and colours separate in case they
:11:50. > :11:58.run. How long have you been working here? About ten, 11 years. I can
:11:59. > :12:03.tell you a story, we had a man in here who came in to do his washing
:12:04. > :12:08.and he took his clothes off. He took his trousers off and his top and he
:12:09. > :12:16.was down two boxes. The old ladies were loving it. I said, that is as
:12:17. > :12:20.far as you can go. I have a gentleman coming in for a service. I
:12:21. > :12:29.cannot chat all day. I will get the sack. It is a bit difficult. You
:12:30. > :12:35.need a degree in maths to work this out. How long have you been here? We
:12:36. > :12:44.have had the business about 25 years. This bloke came in and wanted
:12:45. > :12:52.a service wash. A new girl did the wash and she came back to pick it up
:12:53. > :12:59.but she had no money. He went and came back with a trifle. I said I
:13:00. > :13:03.could not give it to you. He did get his washing back because he lived on
:13:04. > :13:06.the street and I felt sorry for him. A lot of people do not buy washing
:13:07. > :13:13.machines because they love to come in here and chat with other people.
:13:14. > :13:30.They meet loads of people. I you all right? Lovely. Hallow, it is still,
:13:31. > :13:33.isn't it? What you like about working in a launderette? I like
:13:34. > :13:43.working with these young boys. You are a bit too old for me. What kind
:13:44. > :13:51.of people come in? Neighbours. We get a lot of students. They do not
:13:52. > :13:57.know what whole to put it in but we help them. You must know all that
:13:58. > :14:12.goes on, all the gossip. Everybody's family, the grandkids. I know what
:14:13. > :14:21.everyone gets up to, I know it. They are all over the moon with that. I
:14:22. > :14:29.have been photographed in a washing machine. How did you get in there?
:14:30. > :14:42.Wow! A nice photographer. I was more agile. We have seen you on your
:14:43. > :14:46.first appearance in EastEnders. This issue as Lady Macbeth opposite
:14:47. > :14:56.Albert Finney. Isn't that a gorgeous photographs! There you are again.
:14:57. > :15:08.All of this, do you recognise that? I will have to get up and have a
:15:09. > :15:15.look. Yes, yes it is me. Classic. You didn't mind me getting up, did
:15:16. > :15:21.you? All of this may not have happened had it not been for your
:15:22. > :15:28.sister. We did not take the times. She saw the advertisement for a
:15:29. > :15:34.school which was opening up in the January and she brought it home.
:15:35. > :15:41.That is why I applied. How old were you then? I was 19. I've had been in
:15:42. > :15:50.the wrens and did not know what I was going to do. How was acting
:15:51. > :15:55.then? Very different. It is called a business now back then it was a
:15:56. > :15:59.profession. People would do things on stage to make people laugh and
:16:00. > :16:03.they do not do that now. We were very serious about it. I just do not
:16:04. > :16:09.know. There was hardly any television. Just the radio. We only
:16:10. > :16:16.thought we would be stage actors or, maybe if we were lucky film actors.
:16:17. > :16:21.It is just lovely. We laughed so much. I do not know why people do
:16:22. > :16:26.not laugh so much. The world seemed easier. I do not know what it was.
:16:27. > :16:33.People think the 50s were awful but they were not. It was lovely. The
:16:34. > :16:36.book finishes. It says, to be continued. It was basically your
:16:37. > :16:42.life before EastEnders. How did it come about?
:16:43. > :16:51.It was incredibly popular in a very short time, and I put it on one day,
:16:52. > :16:56.and I saw Lou Beale and Pauline, they were having a row, and I
:16:57. > :16:58.thought, I can't watch this! So I didn't bother, then I got offered
:16:59. > :17:03.this job, I thought, I had better have a look, otherwise I will not
:17:04. > :17:14.know who the actors are! Imagine going up to Dirty Den and saying,
:17:15. > :17:17.who do you play? It was through him I got it. You have become one of the
:17:18. > :17:23.best loved characters in the soap, and you were BAFTA nominated for
:17:24. > :17:27.that monologue, which was just you on your own, it was fantastic, we
:17:28. > :17:36.can see a little bit of on the screen. Where would you'll I Dot to
:17:37. > :17:38.go as a character? -- you like. People do different things during
:17:39. > :17:42.different parts of their lives, so as long as you have got writers with
:17:43. > :17:47.imagination, there is every possibility they can find a new
:17:48. > :17:53.storyline for you. I have got a new storyline coming up when I go back.
:17:54. > :17:57.Is that Christmas? No, I am not much in it at Christmas, I think I get
:17:58. > :18:03.thrown out of the pub, I can't remember. Did you film that quite a
:18:04. > :18:07.while ago? Yes, I was so busy writing this book, I have lost a
:18:08. > :18:14.stone and ?6, I know, I cannot afford to lose that. You have lost
:18:15. > :18:19.weight. That was the rickshaw, what it? We will put it back on over
:18:20. > :18:27.Christmas, won't we? Are you writing the second book now? You have said,
:18:28. > :18:31.to be continued. I am thinking about the paperback. It is an awful thing,
:18:32. > :18:39.you cannot get rid of it. It is finished, there she was on the floor
:18:40. > :18:43.like a fly with their legs and arms wiggling, Sophie like a circus
:18:44. > :18:47.horse, because we had had all these deadlines, as far as the Sahara
:18:48. > :18:51.desert they stretched, and we finally got it done two minutes
:18:52. > :18:58.before the final deadline. I had not gone up to bed until 4:30, and I got
:18:59. > :19:03.up at 6:30 and it was finished. Well, I thought it was finished, but
:19:04. > :19:07.fiddling around, going around, doing this, that and the other, I am
:19:08. > :19:14.exhausted! But you have got time for the second half, haven't you? I
:19:15. > :19:17.don't know, it is going to be more difficult, because the next book
:19:18. > :19:21.would involve the children. Offspring, mine or not children
:19:22. > :19:28.anymore, you know how much they hate you saying anything about them. They
:19:29. > :19:34.are over there, yes, we are going to be sitting with them shortly.
:19:35. > :19:42.Terrified! Well, the book, Before The Year Dot, is out in shops now.
:19:43. > :19:47.While many family businesses have fallen by the wayside, one firm has
:19:48. > :19:54.flourished because it has not been afraid to get its hands dirty. Year
:19:55. > :19:59.is June's pal Larry Lamb. There's nothing quite like an open
:20:00. > :20:03.fire, and it will not be long before something like smoke is disappearing
:20:04. > :20:07.up the nation's chimneys. Posting a letter up the chimney, or trying to,
:20:08. > :20:11.is the old-fashioned way to send your wishes to Santa, and of course
:20:12. > :20:17.someone might soon be trying to squeeze down the chimney himself.
:20:18. > :20:21.Christmas is the busiest time of year for the PS family. They have
:20:22. > :20:29.been sweeping chimneys for over 400 years. -- Pearce. According to
:20:30. > :20:34.family legend, and there is plenty of it, they helped revolutionise the
:20:35. > :20:38.chimney sweeping trade. Before the 1820s, boys were climbing up with a
:20:39. > :20:44.hand brush, and they would shimmy up and brush it with their hand brush.
:20:45. > :20:53.We were the first to use rods and brushes. And we bought a job lot so
:20:54. > :21:02.that other sweeps could use them. We had the monopoly environs and
:21:03. > :21:08.brushes! -- on the rods. It is kit that has hardly changed in 200
:21:09. > :21:14.years. On one job, a big house in Clapham, I found a big box, and when
:21:15. > :21:19.I opened it up, it was full of diamonds. We once found a live fish
:21:20. > :21:24.that had been dropped down the chimney, we threw it in a pond and
:21:25. > :21:29.it survived. Yes, frogs, bones, anything you can think of, we have
:21:30. > :21:34.pulled out of chimneys. The family tree is over three feet long, and it
:21:35. > :21:43.stretches back as far as the 18th century. My father did say that I
:21:44. > :21:47.was the fifth generation. Yeah. So the thing is, that would make my son
:21:48. > :21:53.the sixth and my grandson the seventh. I have got an idea my
:21:54. > :21:58.grandfather was there as well. Dennis started in the family firm at
:21:59. > :22:06.14 and worked for more than half a century. I myself am really proud,
:22:07. > :22:14.you know. Stephen goes to customers now that I was going to 40 or 50
:22:15. > :22:22.years ago. By the early 1900s, there were over 100 Pearces working as
:22:23. > :22:27.sweeps around London and Essex. This is the memoirs of my grandfather of
:22:28. > :22:34.being a chimney sweep from the age of, I think, 13 years old. And it
:22:35. > :22:38.was all handwritten, as you can see. As late as the 1930s, Percy was
:22:39. > :22:44.still climbing inside chimneys as well as sweeping them. My
:22:45. > :22:49.grandfather used to climb a big chimney at Denmark Hill, the
:22:50. > :22:54.Salvation Army, he had a 150 foot chimney. That has to be cleaned by
:22:55. > :23:02.climbing, the only chimney and boiler Klima who would tackle it.
:23:03. > :23:09.They would not pay him until he could prove he had been to the top.
:23:10. > :23:14.According to legend, shaking a sweep's hand is supposed to bring
:23:15. > :23:22.you luck, so five in one room, that is a lot of luck, right? How did
:23:23. > :23:27.this thing of chimney sweeps and luck start off? According to my
:23:28. > :23:31.grandfather Percy, years ago, the 18th century, I think it was, on a
:23:32. > :23:36.procession through London, the King of England was on his horse, and it
:23:37. > :23:40.bolded and reared. Out from the crowd, a chimney sweep came out and
:23:41. > :23:46.stopped the horse throwing the King off. He said, who are you, young
:23:47. > :23:50.man, and what do you do? He said, I am a Pearce and a chimney sweep, and
:23:51. > :23:56.that got turned around to sweeps being lucky. He was not slow to cash
:23:57. > :24:00.in. He said, let's make the most of it, and he started kissing brides at
:24:01. > :24:03.weddings to make some money, and he thoroughly enjoyed that. And
:24:04. > :24:07.finally, a toast to the next generation. To here is to be chimney
:24:08. > :24:25.sweep's luck and the Pearce! We were chatting on there! Sorry,
:24:26. > :24:29.Larry! Thanks, Larry. We are joined by June's daughters, lovely to have
:24:30. > :24:33.you with us. You say that your book is a saga of a working mum, because
:24:34. > :24:37.you work through all your pregnancies, but for you girls, how
:24:38. > :24:45.hard was it to have a mum who was such a busy actress and just kept
:24:46. > :24:49.going? How long have you got?! It was hard when she was away, she
:24:50. > :24:54.would go away onto a sometimes, but on the other hand it was quite
:24:55. > :24:58.exciting, because it was quite an conventional, and we used to go with
:24:59. > :25:05.mum sometimes and hang out backstage in theatres and on film sets. So I
:25:06. > :25:10.saw it as a plus side, actually. When she was away, we had to watch
:25:11. > :25:16.our own socks! Is that when you realised your life was quite
:25:17. > :25:19.different to your friends? Yes! Yes, it was very different, we had
:25:20. > :25:24.conventional lives at school, because everyone else, their parents
:25:25. > :25:30.did normal jobs, but I certainly felt like a bit of a misfit several
:25:31. > :25:35.times. June, I am sure lots of mothers out there would be amazed to
:25:36. > :25:42.hear, you had six children, how did you keep that... How did you keep
:25:43. > :25:48.that turnaround of babies and work going? Well, yesterday I said, I
:25:49. > :25:53.don't know how I did it, I just did. We helped. We changed the
:25:54. > :26:03.nappies. Up at five, she could change nappies. Very good, really.
:26:04. > :26:07.Yes, that was it, you used to look after Chloe, Naomi was more
:26:08. > :26:12.difficult because she would choose our own clothes. I had my own
:26:13. > :26:17.style! Sophie, you helped your mum to write the book, but was there
:26:18. > :26:22.anything that surprised you? Were their stories you didn't know about?
:26:23. > :26:30.Well, I had heard it all before, really! I thought we had got to
:26:31. > :26:35.write it. What about you? There is one bit at the end that I didn't
:26:36. > :26:39.know the details of mum's first husband's suicide, so that was a bit
:26:40. > :26:43.upsetting, to read that. I do not think there were any other
:26:44. > :26:49.surprises. Mum talks quite a lot about the past. You have a great
:26:50. > :26:54.relationship, you worked together as a family to get through difficult
:26:55. > :26:58.times and what have you, but it is a sisterly kind of relationship that
:26:59. > :27:05.you have got, you have fun together. It is, really, considering the age
:27:06. > :27:13.gap! But you get on, you have got your recent new friends, Lady Gaga!
:27:14. > :27:18.She invited me to a private performance in a nightclub, I had
:27:19. > :27:22.never been there before, but I was doing another programme on Saturday,
:27:23. > :27:25.and this was Friday, and I thought, I can't be late, I would have to
:27:26. > :27:29.look rather smart or peculiar, whichever you would like to think of
:27:30. > :27:34.it as, so I said, please ask me next time you are here. What was your
:27:35. > :27:47.reaction to your mum in there with Lady Gaga? Gaga and Gaga! Have you
:27:48. > :27:53.been thinking that one up?! We asked earlier for your pictures of you in
:27:54. > :27:58.disguise as Dot, and we have had loads of them in. This is Verity
:27:59. > :28:02.Hammond, thank you for that. Do you want some? This is Jeeraan the dog,
:28:03. > :28:17.look at this! Just show that two camera four. This
:28:18. > :28:23.is Michael Heinen, Rhianna as Dot Cotton. This is all the Dot Cottons
:28:24. > :28:28.in the making. Did you have any idea that you would be creating this
:28:29. > :28:32.incredible character? No, I just got the script and it was a list of
:28:33. > :28:36.illnesses! I thought, well, I cannot play a list of illnesses, she must
:28:37. > :28:42.be a hypochondriac, why is she a hypochondriac? Nobody loves her, her
:28:43. > :28:47.son is very unkind, although she says he is a tower of strength,
:28:48. > :28:50.after he had threatened her with a knife, Charlie is living with their
:28:51. > :28:54.hard sister up in the north somewhere, so she can only think
:28:55. > :28:59.about herself. I like to when she was selfish like that. She got less
:29:00. > :29:04.selfish when she got married to Jim, because Jim cared about her. Maybe
:29:05. > :29:11.she ought to get a bit like that again! We will see Dot in the
:29:12. > :29:15.squares for years to come, hopefully. Before The Year Dot is
:29:16. > :29:19.out now. Thank you all for coming in. Tomorrow we will be joined by
:29:20. > :29:23.Cilla Black and Micky Flanagan.