12/12/2011 The One Show

Welcome to the One Show with Matt Baker. And Alex Jones. Tonight we

are joined by three TV veterans who between them have pretty much

written the book on broadcasting. Now they've proven there's no

substitute for experience with Rip Off Britain. It's Gloria Hunniford,

Julia Somerville and Angela Rippon. Did we all ring ourselves and wear

black. But a hint of sparkle. cannot go on without saying a huge

congratulations to Alex for Strictly!

APPLAUSE Not just for the weekend, but the

whole thing. It's been an incredible experience. Thank you at

home for everybody who lifted the phone and voted and supported James

and I throughout the whole thing. It was incredible we were there for

the semi-finals. Are you feeling all right? Yeah, we are

disappointed obviously. But it was because we wanted to complete the

experience. We were never going to lift the glitterball. You were

brilliant. Let's face it, look at the state of that. We were never

going to win! You went for it. That's all that matters. Yeah, we

had a great time. Thank you all at home. On that note, you're very

good at the small print girls. Any chance to get her into the final?

Definitely. A bit of sabotage I think. I'd better go now! I tell

you what, it is an experience you never forget. You were brilliant.

Well done. I did it, year two, when if you put one foot past the other

you were on. It was simple. You were brilliant from the beginning.

In admiration. You're in good company here. No-one's won it.

Angela's done a bit. She did the splits. I saw her! When the UK's

first cash machine was installed in 1967, it made getting your hands on

your money easier than ever. now almost 45 years later more than

one third of cash machines charge us for the benefit of taking our

money out. Gloria and the Rip Off Britain team report that in some

parts of Liverpool, finding an afr TM that doesn't charge -- ATM that

doesn't charge involves a bit of walking.

When you need cash in a hurry, the easiest option is, this a hole in

the wall. Or at least it is when it's free. But there are more than

21,000 UK cash machines that charge you for the privilege of

withdrawing your own money. Whilst it's compulsory for all fee

charging machines to display a warning to customers, in some

poorer areas of Britain, like Anfield, free to use bank cash

machines are thin on the ground. The locals say they have little

choice but to use one that's charge. City centres you get free ones.

More deprived the area, the more they hike it up. I had to walk a

good 20 mintoits get to the nearest cash machine, not to pay, it's

frustrating. At times I had to pay. If you have to use it more than

once in a week, it's quite a lot of money, whu think about it. We sent

one of our Rip Off Britain researchers to get some cash out in

Anfield, starting from the stadium itself. The closest two machines

both charged. The first one was �1.70. A minute down the road �175

for the second. Now the third machine she reached also charged

but it was out of order. And although there were ATMs and shops

and bars along the route, not one of them was free. Hang about, she's

spotted one. More than 20 minutes high speed walking later, she's

reached a junction with two free cash machines. Finally, she got her

hands on some dosh. It's a tax on poverty. If you look at areas of

deprivation where people are on low incomes and they're having to pay

to get their own money out, all that's happening is that the

problems are being made worse that they face. We've talked to the

banks. We've talked to Government ministers to get some recognition

that this is a problem that the banks need to solve. The Royal Bank

of Scotland and Lloyds TSB don't allow customers with their basic

bank accounts to use the cashpoints of some other banks at all. They

say they make a loss from allowing them to do so. Lloyds say that over

95% of their customers are able to access free cash within a mile of

their homes. RBS say more than 90% of their basic account holders can

get free cash, but watchdog Consumer Focus are not happy.

we're concerned about is that basic bank account customers will have to

pay more money to access their money. They won't be able to go to

their local branch. These consumers have basic bank accounts because

they've got the least money. Why are the poorest consumers paying

more? What steps are being taken by the company who run the cash

machine network to ensure that people in our poorest communities

have free access to their cash? have a scheme which Link runs on

behalf of the industry to make sure we look at the most deprived areas,

is there a free to use cash machine there? If there's not, the ind

triputs in the subsidy to get one there. There should not be any

deprived areas in the UK without a free ATM. If there are, we're

working with consumer organisations to identify those. Account

individual write and say, look, it's ridiculous. I represent this

community and there's no free machine, what will you do about it?

The Link website is there asking for that information with our

address on. We would welcome that and look at. It That's the

situation in Anfield. What about the rest of the country. People all

over the country feel hot under the collar about this idea of having to

pay to get your own money back. The problem has been around for a

couple of years. I have facts and figures. It was discovered in 2007

that there were 1700 deprived areas across the UK that did not have

easy and free access to their own money, to cash. The industry

promised to address the problem. Since then, there have been 815

cash machines installed. But the problem has not gone away, despite

those machines. Link pretty well control most of the machines. They

admit that 300 communities still struggle to get access to the money

without having to do that awful walking and travelling just to get

their own money. Some of the areas, there are many I could cite:

Whiterock- West Belfast, Caer Dydd - Cardiff, Warsop Vale - Mansfield,

Coldham - Peterborough, North East Woking, Carnunnock - Glasgow. It's

a big problem. People feel rightly, why should I have to pay to get my

money back. What was brilliant about that. After you did the

interview Link looked at those areas where they might put in free

cash machines. It's indicative of the fact that the programme we do

gets results. It pin points a problem. We go after it. As Gloria

did there, interview the people responsible for making change and

we actually do manage to get things changed. We were going to ask you,

what do you think is the biggest success story you've had so far?

Difficult to say what's the biggest because we've had so many really

good successes. PPI is a good example. Brilliant. We did

wonderful, in the last series we were looking at those people

selling their gold by sending it away in those envelopes and sending

it to companies and discovered that so many of them were not paying the

right kind of money. We put a lot of people out of business because

we highlighted that. Probably the biggest success of all, overall is

that as a programme, we let people know of the pit falls that there

are. All of us get stopped in the street when we're shopping, when

we're at events, people say, we love your programme, because we've

learned so much. That's down to the courage, very often, and honestly,

those people that have been affected were prepared to share

those problems with us. It's real people, real situations, real

results, real television. That's how I feel about it. We take the

individual problem. We base the programme on people's problems. But

we get the results. The three of us kick the doors down. One of the

rather upsetting things is that we end up with a report by saying

"When Rip Off Britain got in touch, the company concerned decided that

the person that had been complaining did have a case after

all." But it was only after we got in touch. It leaves you with the

question, why didn't they do that in the first place, why does it

have to be the little person has to get somebody like the BBC involved,

in pursuing a case that is perfectly legitimate. I tell you

one funny thing. Energy prices are one of the biggest problems. With

energy prices because the bill is so difficult to read, we put it to

a Mastermind champion, a former brain of Britain and professor of

science, and out of all the questions he only got one right. He

said "If I can't do it, what chance do you have?" I asked Chris Huhne

"Do you understand your bill?" He paused quite a long time and said I

did get someone to look at it for me. Which is not surprising,

because there are 300 separate tariffs. Even the energy minister

admitted he didn't quite get it right. You even changed your own

company. I did last year. Rip Off Britain is on BBC One weekdays at

9.15am. Now something that will interest

you ladies. Tomorrow after a seven- month investigation, Mary Portas,

Queen of shops, delivers her findings on the state of the High

Street to the Prime Minister. thought she'll call for less

regulation for High Street traders, taxes on parking at out of town

shopping centres and a national market day to breathe life into

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 217 seconds

It's panto! Its pantomime time again. Women are playing men, men

are playing women, villains are being booed and nicknames are

selling seats. But the recognition that celebrities get from audiences

is nothing new, going back as far as the Victorian age. In 1879, a

man arrived on the scene who would scandalise London society and

revolutionise the pantomime forever. His name was Augustus Harris and he

came here to the Theatre Royal in London's Drury Lane.

Augustus had show business in his blood and was determined to make a

fortune from it. At just 27, he convinced his friends to lend him

the money to getting started. When he took the reins, Drury Lane was

losing money fast. Determined to make the theatre a success and to

bring in the crowds, he knew exactly what had to be done. Big

theatres needed big shows. And his shows would be bigger, better and

more spectacular than anything that When he arrived pant miems were

lengthy. The pantomime was sandwiched between a play, musical

interludes. He came along and revolutionised pantomime. He put a

template on it that we have today. He made it the Solent tainment,

something spectacular. Big wasn't enough. Augustus needed the X

Factor. He needed celebrity. For the first time in history, stars of

music hall and vaudeville came to panto. Augustus enticed big names

like Marie Lloyd, the dwarf comic Little Tich and the world champion

clog dancer, Dan Leno. His first production, Blue Beard was

described as the most spectacular pantomime the city had ever seen.

The best was yet to come. In 1887, Augustus staged the 40 thieves, it

cost �3.5 million in today's money, involved 500 actors and lasted five

hours. Augustus had hit the jackpot. But

Harris had one more trick up his sleeve. It wasn't just spectacle

and celebrity that drew in the crowds, but sex and scandal.

Enter one Belle Billton, a music hall performer who became the talk

of London hall for all the very wrong reasons. When they got

married in a registry office, the Earl cut him off completely. Eight

days after the wedding, the Lord was sent off to Australia and was

supposed to never see his wife again. Belle was accused of having

an affair and so a divorce case began. It was huge. It was

scandalous. It was all over the papers. In the middle of the

divorce proceedings, her husband turned up and went, no my wife is

innocent, I wish to stay with her. This forced his father to admit

that he'd sent Lord Dunlow away to ruin Belle. This made her a heroin

-- heroine amongst the people. Augustus was preparing to stage

Dick Whittington. On hearing about the trial he changed his mind. He

decided to put on Beauty and the Beast with Belle in the starring

role, knowing the public would flock to see her.

Augustus Harris was the ultimate Victorian showman. He died aged

just 44, 17 years after he first arrived here at Drury Lane. But his

commitment to sex, celebrity and extravaganza means he's left a

permanent mark on the face of British pantomime. Oh, yes he has!

Gyles is here to talk about panto. I'm very excited. I have not got my

book of the rules of pantomime. I can't find it. It's behind you!

Come on, we did all that before the film! Oh, no it is. Actually.

are basic rules to pantomime. It's one great British tradition. It

doesn't happen anywhere else in the world except in this country. It's

a fairy story that begin was a crisis which is then resolved. Then

there's another crisis and there's a wedding. Then you go home. That

is the essence of it. There are more basic rules as well. There has

to be topical elements. There has to be audience participation. All

pantomimes have to have a happy ending, you also have demons and

fairies, and they usually speak in verse. They come on from different

sides of the stage. The good fairies, these are very important,

this for superstitions. The good fairies come on from the right. The

demon comes on from the left, the sinister side. This comes back to

the Victorian theatres where they had a star trap on the left side,

where the demon could pop up and imaginically appear. That's the

essential thing. Other superstitions, you mustn't say the

final cuplet of the pantomime before the first night, not even at

the dress rehearsal. Just at the end, the young lovers. As we know,

there must be no whistling in the wings, in the dressingroom. No

chapping of hands -- clapping of hands either. No-one wants to be in

sin bad the sailor. Nobody is, it became so unhappy, the last person

to do it was Ken Dodd, you just before the Inland Revenue called.

True story. It hasn't been on since. The essence of pantomime though,

it's the Lord of misrule. Everything's upside down. Humans

appear as animals, men appear as women. Women appear as men. In the

19th century it was made popular by a lady called Madam Vespris. In

Victorian times you could never see beautiful legs. We were excited by

seeing Angela's legs. In Victorian times it was not possible. People

wore long dresses. Pantomime, dress up as a lad, as you could we're

breeches. They were played by girls dressed as boys to show off shapely

legs. Men began to appear as women, because the women didn't want to be

ludicrous old women. Musical stars introduced into the Victorian

theatre as pantomime stars. Herbert Campbell, the fellow on the left.

He began playing the dame part. It's grown from there. That's how

it all began. You rounded all that up very nicely. Don't you think

we've got three people who could be stars. You would be so good as Dand

ini. Lots of times and I've always said no. I know Gloria has done

panto, haven't you? I did it twice. I did it for the tax man if I'm

being really honest. All Americans come here now for the bank rl. It's

fun, but they get a lot of money. did it too, Cinderella. Did you

play Cinderella? No. Moving on to big cats now. Do you want me to

tell you the secret? I've done Countryfile for a while. Do you

want the secret of spotting a big cat wild in the British

countryside? Go on. The pig pause... Armed police are trying to trap a

puma-like creature? The discovery of a skull on Bodmin Moor. Tales of

big cats roaming the countryside have captured people's imaginations

for decades. His face was covered in blood. Fresh reports throw the

issue back into the headlines. the corner of field he found the

body of one of his sheep, torn to shreds. Police receive reports of

almost 2,000 sightings of various large cats in the UK every year.

Whilst many of those turn out to be hoaxes. Most of them end up proving

inconclusive. Now data released under the Freedom of Information

Act has revealed, for the first time, even Government officials

have reported sightings. It fuelled the argument that big cats do run

wild here. The forest commission has confirmed their wardens, so

certain they've spotted these animals, have documented numerous

sightings. Using thermal imaging equipment in the Forest of Dean in

March 2005, they found themselves within spitting distance of

something that looked very strange indeed. It turned sideways onto me

and started moving away. It looked like a cat. It's definitely a cat.

A very big cat. Then I heard the clunk of the door as the other guys

got inside and wound the windows up. How can you be sure it was a cat

then? As it turned to the side, it had a very obvious cat profile. It

had a long, sleek shape, the shoulder blades stuck up quite a

bit. It had a sloping, well hung back. Then this tail, drooped right

down to the floor and up again in a J curve. It couldn't have been

anything else at all. This is compelling evidence, that at some

point there have been individual large cats loose in our countryside.

But are they here now? So concerned about the potential threat of what

it called non-native species, another Government body, Natural

England, produces Anandual report on sightings. Yet it still

maintains there is no verifyable evidence that big cats are present

in this country. Nevertheless, the Sir Couple Stan shall evidence is -

- the circumstantial evidence is compelling. You used to be able to

buy lions and big cats openly. Three years later that bm very

expensive. But due to a loophole in the law, you could release them

into the wild. Six years later this practice was ban. Can the spike in

reported sightings during this period be a coincidence?

majority of sightings fit a large black panther, jet black, muscular,

very fit. Those are consistent descriptions from independent

witnesses across the country. We assume it's a leopard. Some may not

be, particularly when sometimes a more puma-type noise is heard.

They're more Brownie, grey colour, similar size it a leopard but

lighter. The other main one is a lynx, short tail, pointy ears and

often slightly spotted. With an average life expectancy of 15 years,

big cat escapees from the 1970s should be long dead. It seems that

maybe people have still released them subsequently because we're

still seeing them. It seems there's breeding and further releases going

on perhaps. Gloucestershire has had on average ten sightings a year for

the past three years. Will professional camera traps placed

here provide the conclusionive evidence? If these species are out

there and breeding, that's -- that poses a problem for the Government?

The Government and the police are damned if they make statements,

damned if they don't. It's a challenge in areas where there are

many sightings. When we return two days later to collect the footage

from our camera traps, there was no evidence of big cats. But along

with deer, there were other more unexpected creatures. Wild boar

became extinct in Britain in the 13th century, but as this footage

proves, escapees from farms have formed viable populations across

the country. If boar are thriving here under the noses of wildlife

experts, why can't big cats? The evidence seems to suggest there's

more than one large cat roaming the British countryside. Are they still

out there? Are they breeding? As a naturalist and to be honest, a

sceptic, I have to say, I'm just still not sure.

If you thought that looked cold, earlier today we read about a 16-

year-old girl who was the youngest person ever to ski to the South

Pole. She arrived back in the country this afternoon. We were

amazed when she accepted our invitation to come straight to the

show. Please give a round of applause for Amelia Hempleton Adams

and her explorer father David. APPLAUSE

Welcome back! Goodness me. You were out there, temperatures down to

nearly minus 50, when you got off the plane here, due think, wow this

is hot. Not really. It's colder here. It feels it. Dad, you did

lots of polar expeditions, first of all, how was it spending 17 days

straight with your dad? It wasn't too bad, apart from the snoring.

I've hardly slept for three weeks. How was she to have along with the

team? Fantastic, bearing in mind she's just a young teen idgeer. She

was the youngest by at least 30 years. To cope with those

conditions and with all the people as well, she did very, very well.

The pace of it as well. We were looking at pictures here, what's

happening here? You're dragging your belongings behind. That's at

Union glacier camp, training. That's when I actually reached the

South Pole. How would you describe your experience? It must be hard

for anybody to imagine what you saw and felt out there. It was really

tiring, but definitely worth it. Highlights for you? Definitely

reaching the pole. Yeah, I bet! had a little memento with you.

from Shackleton's granddaughter, it was a coin, and a photo which dad

made us salute every morning and night. He blessed us with the good

weather. Is it right that you set off from where his was cancelled?

He on his expedition he got the furthest south within 97 miles. We

set off 98 miles from the pole and skied there. We were blessed. It

was a -- he was a great Irishman. Each morning and night I made the

team salute him. He gave us wonderful weather. Massive