13/01/2012 The One Show

Hello, friends, and thanks for tuning in to your first Friday One

Show of the year with Louise Minchin. And Chris Evans. Tonight

we're celebrating a TV phenomenon that ran for over 30 years. It was

the show that launched the careers of Les Dawson, Little and Large,

Pam Ayers, and Frank Carson, to name a few. We're talking about

Opportunity Knocks, folks, and tonight we'll be giving some of the

show's winners the chance to remind the nation why we fell in love with

them, all those years ago in what we're calling Opportunity Knocks

Again. Have they still got it? We shall find out presently. Oh, my

goodness made. It is Martin Freeman and Ray Winstone! How are you?

evening, gentlemen. You have Louise this evening, is that OK? A bit

more than OK! Big fan of Opportunity Knocks? I am old enough

to remember the old ones! It is scary. So can I and I am not that

old. You are that old. Did you ever those on the postcard? I was too

young. Do you remember Bernie Flint? I remember, I know his hit.

You are 40, and you? Never you mind, none of your business! You have the

same birthday as Louise. September? Louise has 43! Thanks,

Chris! Ray is 54! Our director is 63! I am 45. Are you?! You have

done such a lot. You have worked together before. Yes, briefly.

Breaking And Entering. Was it any good? I think it was really good.

Shall we have a look? Why not? I'm just saying, fabulous building,

I think it is brilliant. Thank you. Did you have these great with the

villains? I would not say it was a scrape. I was running late for the

first break in and was not prepared for the second. Did you play a

villain? BELL RINGS, I was a policeman. The

beards looked good! Was that a false beard? That was my own,

three-man's own. I did not think you were able to grow one. I was

able to from 32 onwards. These in the part all evening, we will be

getting or Shylock with Martin and talking to Ray about some fantastic

work he is doing with some men and women from the armed forces.

Talking of those brethren, a Second World War pilot has hit the

headlines after he tried and failed to sit in the cockpit of a Spitfire

for the first time in years after a mix-up at a museum. We couldn't

allow Eric Carter, who survived battles with the enemy of the

frozen skies of Russia, to fail in his latest mission. So we sent Wing

Commander John Sergeant and gave him the Order To Get Carter back in

Eric Carter was trained to fly these aircraft in Wales, and his

first major assignment was to the northern Russian port of Murmansk,

and that mission is still Why did you go to Russia? It was a

hard time for Russia. We were sent to keep Murmansk Open at all costs.

The port of Murmansk allowed a military supplies into Russia, so

protecting it from germ attack was vital. When you were flying the

Hurricane, were you frightened? I cannot say I was ever frightened,

you were so busy looking for Germans on your tail. He did not

have time to be frightened. And you were young, you thought you were

immortal. I was 20, I did not know what frightened was. I do not want

to show off, but these are my medals. Absolutely! What have we

got here? These are Russian metals. And their work has not been

forgotten in Russia. The heroic deeds of the British servicemen and

the help that was delivered to the Red Army during World War II will

always be remembered, and in our hearts and in our minds. Eric also

managed to fit in time to sort out his private life. When you're

training on these Hurricanes, you met your wife, didn't you? I did

indeed, a very beautiful girl. We were married for 62 years. I gather

your honeymoon was truncated. gave me 48 hours to get married. My

honeymoon was at Swindon. The railway shunting yards. I had 24

hours in a hotel there, that was my honeymoon. After the mission ended,

Eric was sent back to the UK and was trained to fly a different

fighter plane, the Spitfire. If you want to fight, I would prefer the

Spitfire. It is faster, more manoeuvrable. It was a grand

It is more than 60 years since Eric had to be ready to race across an

airfield and jump into the cockpit of one of these marvellous machines.

Now, finally, after all these years, he has got the chance to relive

that moment. Well, there she is. What do I think, seeing the

Spitfire? It is absolutely beautiful. Let me help. OK, now

then, one foot up here. Well done! You are there. Start it up, I will

be all right! It brings back good memories. It brings back sad

memories, yes, it does. I lost a good many of my very close friends,

but it also brings back happy memories when we got the chance to

do a bit of dog fighting between ourselves. Do you reckon you could

fly it if I started the engine? reckon it could, if a German was

And Eric is back in our seat! Well done, Mr Eric Carter. Thank you to

everyone who helped out with the film. Before we talk about your

friends here, you like old planes, don't you? I do, I have been lucky

enough to fly a Spitfire. I have got a great mate Bill is one of the

top aerial photographers in the world. He knows people who know

people, and that that is very close to where I live, so I got a chance

to fly in a Spitfire and a Mustangs. Not literally fly them on my own!

There You are in one. Triumphant on the wing! I just shot three then.

You are ready for action. pilot! You are working with wounded

and injured service personnel. have got involved with it, and from

an a la time, going to Camp Bastion and Selly Oak Hospital, it is the

mentality of the British hospital. You see these kids will have lost

their arms and legs through bombs. The doctors always ask, do not ask

how it happened. But it is the first thing that you want to know.

It keeps you interested when you meet the families, the bravery of

the families being confronted with this. Then you go down to where

they are rehabilitating, someone came up with the idea of putting on

a show. It is that mentality... There's not a lot of difference

between discipline in the army and the discipline in the theatre. It

is more or less the same thing. you have sort of Done It Ain't half

Hot mum for therapy, haven't you? turned up and saw the skies when we

were recruiting, to do a play. You can imagine, these hairy asked

soldiers coming into the theatre. I kind of went along and said, the

equivalent in a way, working-class boy... Device where? Sorry! We will

allow it, it is for a good cause. The fear in their eyes. If you have

been on patrol in Helmand province, I do not think anything else is

going to scare you as much as that. Ask them about it. You SED change

in and now, it is fantastic. -- you can see. You play the lead in the

play, what is it called? It is called The Two Worlds Of Charlie F.

It is about military service? about injuries, realising you have

been injured, and then carrying on from there. What happens to you?

was too close to something which went bang. It took this leg clear

off, and I have a couple of really good scars which women are

attracted to! I am impressed because you make it sound like it

is nothing, but to the rest of us it is a lot more than nothing.

were in the Royal Marines, of course. Where were you? I was

winded in Afghanistan as well, which was good fun. And you like to

chat. It comes from my surname... My mum... You have been through

enough! I went through enough with my name let alone getting blown up.

As working with Ray been therapeutic? Absolutely. Well,

everybody here is in the same boat. You know, you can talk to any of

them, and it doesn't matter. We have gone through, from the very

beginning, all the way through two things that we have not told anyone,

and this is with the writer, Owen Sheers, and we have gone through

everything, and it is good to get it out. It is good to get it out.

This is the first time the MoD has used it. Did they call you? Yes,

they got in touch with me along with the Royal British Legion. They

explained what their ideas were, and I was only too pleased to get

involved. But are they any good? can't tell you! Are they through to

the next round? If I can do it, anyone can! Beyond that, we were

talking about the therapy of it, the change that to see in these

boys, the confidence to walk into a room now. When you are hit with

something like that, I guess your confidence goes off, is that the

first thing that goes? Getting that back, if you can do that through

theatre or anything like it, it should be done more. It is going to

be on in the West End. Can you speak for everybody? Will you be

nervous? There are a couple of words I was taught not to use to

describe... On this show! I am scared. I would rather be storming

compounds! Getting on stage in front of a huge audience and like

that... Let's hope you storm the West End. A round of applause,

please. It is on the Haymarket Theatre stage, tickets are

available, please go along, support the boys, you will have a great

night, uplifting for all the right reasons. We are going to kick off

Opportunity Knocks Again. If have we still got it? It sounds like

they might have! Gyles will be telling us why the programme was

such a phenomenon. But first Carrie Grant conjures up memories of 1971

with an act which about the entire country. Neil Reid was only 12...

Record always need a bit of luck to become hits, but the story of this

song involved a very fortunate combination of time, television and

talent. This is your Opportunity Knocks winners show! Long before

the X-Factor came along, one of the first talent shows in the UK to use

the power of the audience vote was Opportunity Knocks. You voted for

him, from Bonnie Scotland, Neil Reid! Aged 12, Neil Reid was only a

Vettel star, singing in northern clubs, when opportunity knocked was

every act's ambition. I wrote away and waited for two and a half years

before I got an answer. I did the audition, and on the audition they

said, you on the show, this is the date. Neil won the vote to return

on a show week after week. He was a phenomenon, but his biggest

opportunity came out of the blue thanks to Bill Parkinson, the

guitarist for Tom Jones. He sang a song, do you know it? Afterwards,

it struck me that if I wrote a song about my mother, maybe Tom Woods in

that. It said everything I want to do about my mother. Mother of mine,

you gave to me all of my life to do as I please. I'll everything to you.

Fantastic song. I cannot mean fantastic for me, but fantastic for

me to be able to say that to mother. His mother love the song and she

was not alone. It also reached the ears of Neil Reid's manager,

perfect for the little boy on I sang it in week four and the

single was released that week. shot up the charts, selling 2.5

million copies worldwide. Describe life after Opportunity Knocks.

could not go out in public because people knew, instantly, who I was.

And after the hit single came an album which made him the youngest

artist ever to top the UK album charts. What I hated was people

trying to keep me 12. That is what I hated. When I was 20 it did not

work. I remember at one point I was doing the summer season and I

thought, this is nuts. I don't want to do this. I am going to get out

before it throws me out. He is now a business consultant. Mother of

mind composer, Bill, is still writing and composing music. And

this is the first time that two of them have met since the song was a

hit. # Mother of mind, you gave to make

# Wall of my life # To do as I pleased

It took me under one hour to write it. It took me four minutes to sing

it, OK. Because we did it in one take. That first one was what went

out. Absolutely great. That is why it has that genuine, authentic feel,

because it is sung from the heart. Looking back, it was just perfect

for the moment. It was just right, the voice, the song, it was a

Christmas and thumb. I also think it was something to last. Even the

hardest of hard men loved their Let's hear it for Neil Reid.

Welcome to Opportunity Knocks again. Have they still got it? Bringing

back the stars who found fame on the show to prove to Martin and Ray

Winstone that they still have what it takes to be a star. Louise is

backstage getting them ready, but first, Gyles Brandreth. Why was

this show is so huge? This was Britain's got talent, 1956 style.

20 million people a week tuned in, hosted for 22 years on ITV by

Hughie Green. He was Canadian and he came to this country and

conquered the entertainment industry and he had this show. It

then moved to the BBC in the late 1980s when it was first hosted by

Bob Monkhouse and then finally by Les Dawson, who had been one of the

great Opportunity Knocks discoveries. What happened was this

- he went along and you had a sponsor. I sponsored somebody in

1972. She is not appearing here tonight. You sponsored somebody and

then the Act came on. If the audience liked it, they clapped.

There was a clapometer. No judges. Just real people clapping and a man

in the background fiddling with the knob. You mean it was not real?

was like the Wizard of Oz behind a curtain. But what was for real,

because Hughie Green always said the clapometer is just for fun,

what was for real was that they had to send in a postcard in their own

handwriting. You could not get anybody else to do it. You sent in

a postcard and the person who got the most votes came back the next

week. Some of these people became huge stars. Sit down and be another

bad guests of honour, Gyles Brandreth. OK, it is time to meet

our first contender, an impressionist from Manchester,

Maxton Beesley, now 66. Let's look at him in 1971. The other day I

opened the door to the Northman and out popped Richard Burton. -- to

the milkman. Two pipes, or not two pints, that is the question.

Fantastic hair back then. It was great. I got to tour the world all

over the place, including Australia. I used to be very big Down Under!

Also America, I did Vegas. Not on stage, at Pizza Hut! It was

exciting and I am just back from LA. We are going to ask you to perform,

but you look a lot like Max Beesley. Do you know him? I do know him and

I am working with him in Cape Town. He is your actual son. He is my son.

We are ready. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, Opportunity Knocks Again

for Maxton G Beesley, but does he still have it? Thank you very much.

Max, you have 45 seconds to do your impressions. First, in six words,

Tony Curtis. Marilyn and I, we love this show. In five words, Jimmy

Stewart. Now just hold on, Mr Potter. Four words, Burt Lancaster.

I swear to you. Thank you. We have to keep moving. His best friend,

Kirk Douglas, in three words. I'm Spartacus. In two words, Charles

Bronson. Hey, you. And the last one, Richard Burton in one word.

Elizabeth. And you can't go away without doing this one. Maxton

Beesley. Does he still have it? he still has it. He still has it,

Lady Zenden Common. Time for our second contender, an opera singer,

Rozi Morris from Monmouth, now 64. Here she is back in 1989.

# Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the You were on twice. Yes, I think I

was the only person who was on twice. 1972 was the first time and

then in 1990 with Bob Monkhouse. The best thing? The flowers.

have to give you a note. Good luck. This is on, excellent. Tonight,

Opportunity Knocks Again for Rozi # And I will hear you soft tread

above me # For you will bend and tell me

that you love me # And I will sleep in peace until

Gentlemen, does she still have it? She has got it in bundles. More

later. But now, Louise is back on the sofa with a story. This is a

story that Dr Watson might find interesting. A real life crime that

could have come out of Sherlock Holmes's' casebook. Ruth Goodman

has been delving into the dastardly deeds of an infamous Victorian

poison a. Victorian Britain had an unhealthy

obsession with murder. In the mid- 1800s the newspapers were full of

tales about women murdering their husbands. But ironically, the

impetus for this murderous killing spree was a financial service. Life

insurance policies were becoming widespread and for the first time,

death could mean a big payout. They were designed to keep middle class

families secured if the wage earner died. This historian has studied

the effects the new policies had. Life insurance is considered to be

one of the crowning achievements of Victorian civilisation. There is an

aggressive expansion of the market. As far as life insurance is

concerned, the typical payout would be thousands, even tens of

thousands. The financial incentive for a husband's death proved too

tempting to women who became known as Black Widows. Committing the

perfect murder in Victorian Britain was not that difficult. Deadly

poisons like arsenic were easily available. It was in the curtains,

the candles in the home, the toys that children played with. There

was an estimation that there were 100 million square miles of arsenic

green wallpaper covering the nation's walls. It was everywhere

and very easy to buy it. Also, its symptoms mimic some of the classic

filth disease's symptoms which were commonplace, gastric conditions,

diarrhoea and the like. Victorian graveyards began to fill with

victims of the black widows and arsenic earned the nickname -

inheritance powder. One woman in County Durham was the poster child

for this lethal cocktail of money and murder. Her name was Mary Ann

Cotton. For over 100 years she has been the Tories as the ultimate

black widow life-insurance killer. She claimed payouts on the deaths

of hunt -- husbands and children. This church was where her murderous

trail finally came unstuck. In early 1872, her stepson, Charles,

was exhumed from this graveyard. Five days before his death he had

been turned away from the workhouse, seemingly fit and healthy. And in

frustration, Mary-Ann Cotton had said to the overseer, he won't be

troubling me long, he will go the way of all the others. Charles was

the 12th of her children to die, as well as three husbands, a lover and

her mother. Before even making burial arrangements, her first port

of call was the insurance office. Like at least 11 of her dead

relatives, Charles' death was insured. Dr Price is from Durham

University and knows the story. How did she get caught? One of the

doctors thought it was gastric fever but saved some of the

internal organs to test. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that

Charles had been poisoned by arsenic. This prompted the

exhumation of some of the other bodies and they found evidence of

arsenic poisoning. Mary Ann Cotton was put on trial, found guilty and

hanged at Durham jail in 1873. After her death, parishioners

raised the money for his stained glass window to recognise the

doctor whose diligence ended her murderous career. How did she get

away with it for so long? Infant mortality rates were high. It also

helped that she moved around so there was no history of suspicion.

She also did a lot of nursing and who would suspect a nurse? Life

insurance was designed to protect bereaved families. In many cases,

however, and spectacularly in this one, it achieved the opposite.

Instead of protecting families, they were destroyed.

We were all gripped by that. Ray Winstone particularly. You are

aware of that lady. I saw that on the Discovery Channel, there was a

story about it. Nasty woman! If you think she's nasty, she must be.

am a saint. Martin, Sherlock, brilliant, back on the BBC. How

would you describe their relationship? Their relationship,

as has been said a lot, it is kind of a love story. It is two men who

love each other and need each other and don't even necessarily want to

need each other. They drive each other up a wall sometimes but they

are absolutely two halves. Sunday, it took him a while, but he

declared you were his only friend. He is a -- he is a lonely man. John

Watson is back from Afghanistan, as in the original books. He comes

back and finds himself with nothing and nobody. And Sherlock is a loner.

They find each other in the middle of this city and they complement

each other very well. They each bring something to the relationship.

How do you get on with Benedict Cumberbatch? What is that

relationship like? It is not great! No, it is good, thank God. Very

good. It was clear from the moment we met and started reading together.

It was good, easy. It is good luck. It is luck whether you have a

chemistry with someone. You can work at it, but it will never be

the way that it is if you have chemistry. Last week was the Hound

Of the Baskervilles. This week? Reichenbach Fall. Moriarty comes

back into the story. Their peers. - - there he is. He is even more

brilliant in this episode than he has been so far. We are going to

show a clip. Is this the bit where they have an argument? OK. You give

This is not a deerstalker, this is a Sherlock Holmes hat. You are is

far from famous! The press will turn, they always turn. They will

turn on you. It really bothers you, what people say about me. Why was

that upset you? Just try to keep a low profile, find yourself a little

case this week. Stay out of the Will there be a third series? They

have only been three. There was three last time and three this time.

At the moment, I don't know. We will have to wait and see what

happens. The hope for me was that there would be, but as you will see,

it is not so clear cut. Would you like somebody to tell you as soon

as they know? Yes. They should be. It is a class these. How would you

play Watson? I couldn't! Not like that. To me, that was fantastic. It

has actually come alive, this show. When it started, it took me a while

to get into it. But I am really into it now. Double acts are great

fun. Two great actors. You are about to be in the Sweeney. I

finished that just before Christmas. So you are the Sherlock in a way.

think it might be the other way around! He is class, is good.

play Jack Regan, don't you? It is difficult, because it is such an

iconic show. I had my reservations about doing it in the first place,

and it has taken a few years to get it together. We just have to start

again and make it our own. Hats off for Great Expectations, absolutely

fantastic. A class bit of work, the BBC does that better than anyone.

This man is already in the biggest film of Christmas 2012, the Hobbit.

Yes, I am! I am the hobbit. With Benedict again. Did you pull a few

strings? How did I get it?! How did he get it? Did he get you into the

hobbit? The idea that he got me in the Hobbit makes me want to kill

everybody in this room! I got me in the Hobbit, and he got himself in

the Hobbit because he is brilliant. You are Bilbo Baggins, we are all

going to go and see it. Happy Christmas, everyone! Is that the

little geezer? I am talking here! Shellac is back on Sunday, the last

one for a while, don't miss it. -- Sherlock. Many names spring to mind

from the 60s, the beetles, JFK, Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King,

Edward Craven Walker. Who? He will have heard of the genie of the

lamp? He is the genie are the... Sorry! What is he? He is the genius

In the late 1940s, after serving as a pilot in the war, Edward Craven

Walker went on to have a colourful career, not because he was a

pioneering nudist, but because he invented an object which would

capture the imagination of millions. It came to symbolise one of

Britain's most colourful decades. So what was this object? The lava

lamp. This was the culmination of a 12 year obsession that first began

in 1948 following a chance visit to the Queen's Head in Poole in Dorset.

After he had been propped up the bar for a few minutes, he noticed a

curious contraption. It looked something like this, a clear flask

filled with two very different liquids. After he had been looking

at it for a while, the landlord walked past and 10 daylight on

underneath. As he drank his pint, he became mesmerised by the

swirling drops of liquid. The landlord explained that he got it

from an inventor called Alfred done it. It was supposed to be some kind

of egg-timer, but the landlord was just using it as a curiosity. All

it consisted of was two liquids, oil and water, and no matter how

much you stir them together, they do not mix, but you do get these

amazing blobs and swirls forming. This was still the 1940s, and

novelty lamps were all but unheard of, but Craven Walker realised that

a lamp did not need to simply be a source of light. It could also be a

source of art in its own right, something to stare at and be

admired. And that was his eureka His next problem was to make the

two liquids interact by themselves, and this would be the beginning of

a 12 year obsession. He immediately went home and began experimenting

with all sorts of liquids and bottles and oils and waxes to try

to work out what the perfect combination was. He died in the

year 2000, but I am meeting up with his wife Susan to try to find out

how he came to create such an iconic object. Was he a very

meticulous man? Most of his life he spent trying to perfect it, testing

it and re-testing it. It drove me nuts! And was it an immediate

success? It went straight to the top, straight to the West End. The

lady came in and said, take that beastly thing away, get it out of

here! Every step of the way, he was known to arcane against a brick

wall, but he kept going. -- he was snubbed or came up against a brick

wall. But he was years ahead of his time, and his invention was soon to

strike a chord with the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s. For him,

what was the perfect Al-Alam like? The perfect lava lamp was won with

a serpentine shape. Anyone can make that man, but the perfect shape was

Serpentine. -- glammed. 50 years on, its popularity still endures. They

are pattern Tidd and are still produced here in the UK at this

factory run by Cressida Granger. -- patented. As it rises, there is

less volume of liquid, so it cools more quickly. What is inside?

it is secret. Secret! You can tell me, there is no one watching.

mainly wax, water and other secret things. Every lava lamp produced

here in Britain is still made by Craven Walker's invention helped to

define one of Britain's most colourful decades, and today the

lava lamp is still as intriguing as ever.

Yes! Let's hear it for the lava lamp! Vote now for the lava lamp!

Here we are at Opportunity Knocks Again. Before we meet our next

contender, Sally Carr from Glasgow, aged 66, and Ken Andrew from

Edinburgh, 69, let's have a look at them back in 1971 with a song that

Oh, that is fantastic, you sold millions of those records, didn't

you? Millions and millions. that is not what you won

Opportunity Knocks with. It did not change our lives, but it changed

our name, as you can see, we went into pop-music, so we were nervous

about whether we could do this again. We are going to drive.

be nervous, I think they are ready for you! Tonight Opportunity Knocks

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

Again for Sally Carr and Ken Andrew, Gentlemen of the jury, have they

still got it? They have still got it! Have they got it in bundles?

Bundles! Officially, it is another bundle! Time for our 4th contender,

comedian Frankie Allen from Liverpool. Here he is back in 1987.

Imagine having a bevvy with the incredible hulk and he knocked his

pint over. All right, keep your Looking fantastic, are you still

performing? Yeah, I am working all over the time, all over Europe, a

lot for the forces. Did it give you lots of opportunities?

Monkhouse gave me some great advice, it was fantastic, events in my life,

and I have not stopped, I have been working everywhere, busy, met some

marvellous people all over the world, great. You are here to work

tonight, I hear that they are ready for you. Yes, we are ready, tonight

Opportunity Knocks Again for I was driving through Liverpool. I

saw a house with balloons outside. Birthday cards on the door. He said

Happy birthday, Becky, 18 today. Underneath, it said the world's

Boughton advent calendar been Liverpool. All the windows were

boarded up. Thank you very much! Has he still got it? Still got it,

baby! He has still got it. So a fellow drinking... He was drinking

brake fluid. It will kill you. He said, Frank, I can start anytime I

want! Thank you very much, Frank! An encore, brilliant! It is time to

meet another contender, one-man- band Bruce Thompson from Newcastle.

This is him back in 1971. Fantastic! Look at that hair as

well. Thank you. I have still got it. How many instruments? At the

minute, five. And a voice! You have to practise this last night.

song that I did in 1971, I have not signed it since, and you will see

why in a minute. I had to download it last night and learned again.

You have, they are ready, good luck. All right, tonight Opportunity

Knocks Again for Bruce Thompson. All right, come on, let's hear it

for Bruce! Has he still got it? has got it, this is TV gold! Bruce

has still got it, thank you so much. Our next guest is a bit of a

special one. He is a beginner, it is Jay Rayner! Ladies and gentlemen,

tonight I give you a Lancashire Beautiful Lancashire, the perfect

place to come to celebrate the renaissance of a great traditional

British dish. When it is usually cold and damp outside, you need a

meal that is going to warn you to the tips of your toes, and that is

where Lancashire hot pot comes in, hot, steaming loveliness, layers of

lamb, potato, I could really do with something like that now!

Traditionally, it was a dish of necessity made it the cheapest and

most readily available ingredients. A few hundred years ago, workers

would leave the hot part in the baker's bread oven during the day,

and by the time they came home, the mutton would be beautifully tender.

The first time the hotpot got a literary mention is in the novel

north and south. Victorian writer Elizabeth Gaskell described how the

mill owner dined on hotpot with his workers, saying, I have never made

a better dinner in my life. Two Art Part, coming up! Nigel is

Lancashire born and bred. He says it deserves its place and the menu

You'll love Lancashire hotpot. is my favourite dish. We always had

it as a family. It is a very simple dish, slow-cooked, beautiful,

something a family can enjoy and celebrate together. Are there are

regional differences? There have been rumours of black pudding going

into a hot pot, and kidneys. For me, carrots, kidneys, black pudding,

that is a no-no. Time to start cooking and I am being allowed to

help. I feel an immense responsibility. It all depends on

me. Nigel is using traditional cheap cuts of lamb but sneaking in

some expensive ones. And there is a surprise ingredient. Oysters in a

hot pot? They are a natural thing in hot pot. In Lancashire, they

were a cheap commodity 100 years ago and used as protein. When meat

was out of season or expensive, they would use oysters. What does

it give to the dish? An extra bit of luxury and richness, and it is

just interesting and different. It is a form of surf and turf. Onions

next, with lamb chops adding drama to the dish. With the bone pointing

out? Yes, push them right down like that. Beautiful. OK, I have got the

potatoes. That is looking good. for the potatoey lid. No, we have

not forgotten the stock. Nigel's of court does not have any. You have

plenty of liquid in the potatoes and onions and the lamb releases

juices. You have the oysters as well. We are trying to get a hot

pot that is a hot pot, not a broth. It all comes together as one.

Poppet in the oven for three hours and you should have a beautiful,

It smells fantastic, but how does it taste? The bit of oyster. I have

had Lancashire hot pot before, but this has an added dimension. There

is a richness to the oyster. It is not fishy. It is sweet and dense.

It is lovely and it is all mine. But not for long. I have come to

see how modern-day Lancastrians feel about the oysters that their

forefathers loved. That is very good. I would not opt for that.

am going down to the seaside to get the oysters. Looking at the remains,

it is clear that this has been a hit. No real surprise, it is a

classic. But throw in some oysters and it is even better than that.

My favourite dish in the world, literally, in the world. I am not

sure my mum would approve of the oysters. Cornish pasty is have to

come from Cornwall. What about a hotpot and Lancashire. You cannot

put a product of designated origin on a recipe. Only products. We had

won their, cheese from Lancashire. We have loads of products from

Lancashire, because it is good stuff. You have to drive this. This

is called the Lancashire bomb. -- It is really powerful. Wow! It is a

sheep's cheese, made by the same family for four generations. Cy M

that is all right. I would have Then we have better pies. They came

about because the Catholics did not want to eat meat on Fridays. --

butter. Potato, Leek, butter, basically carbohydrates squared.

Very good for your festive figure. Can you feel your arteries

hardening? Yes, but I don't care because it is so nice. We have

Chorley cake, which is like Eccles cake but less sweet. There is lots

of very good stuff. How good is this? That is very good, I like

that. Shall I have some of that? The show is over! We are on the

hunt for the One Show spaghetti bolognese. We want special twists

and ingredients that make yours the best. Ray Winstone thinks the law

is the clue. -- he thinks you need Grated plain chocolate.

Controversial, but interesting. Beautiful. He is vegetarian. Lie-

detector tests have been in the news this week and Hertfordshire

police have been carrying out a trial to determine whether they are

a useful way of bringing about securing convictions. But is there

any truth in lie-detectors? Joe Crowley has been to find out.

The added dimension of the polygraph focuses attention during

tense scenes in cop drama interrogations. But do we really

need the polygraph machine, the lie detector? I do not lie, but

sometimes not telling the truth is good. Would you consider yourself

an honest person? Yes. Do you ever lied to people? Yes. If you had to

go on a lie-detector test, a polygraph, do you think you would

pass? No. So how reliable is a polygraph at finding the truth?

This is my better half. Bruce is here so I cannot tell you her name.

I am going to try to conceal it from him and he is going to try to

find it out using a polygraph. would like you to write down eight

names and I will go through them and say, is this your girl from's

name for? I want you to sate No each time. -- your girlfriend. A

normal test would be to find out if you had committed a certain deed

but in this instance we are just going to get some information from

you. Is your girlfriend's name Emma? No. Hanna?

I am not sure how good I was at concealing the truth, but we will

find out later. The polygraph is not admissible in British courts,

but it is slightly different in the States. Sadly, the BBC budget does

not take me to America, but through the wonders of modern technology I

can speak to Professor Ronald Sullivan at Harvard Law School. So,

Professor, can you hear me? Thank you for joining me. How do

polygraphs work in American courts? Some states permit the use of

polygraph evidence. New Mexico is one interesting example. New Mexico

basically treats jurors as grown- ups and says, we are going to

present you with evidence and some of this evidence may be polygraph

evidence. You will hear both sides. You will hear the proponent of the

evidence says it is reliable. You will hear the opponent of the

evidence say it is unreliable. And you make the decision whether you

use it. But Professor Sullivan admits that large sections of the

US scientific community regarded as a pseudo-science. Back with Bruce,

the Test is over, he has analysed the data and it is time for the

results. The most likely name of your girlfriend would be heaven. Is

it? Yes. -- Helen. You can see this peak here. These are the other

names and he reacted to some of them, but when it came to Helen,

you get a nice reaction and it died away afterwards. I am still

sceptical about it but you can reassure my lovely other half that

she has nothing to fear from any of those other seven names. I don't

think she has anything to fear from the other seven names. Because you

reacted so strongly, it is probably something important with her.

Possibly you are going to dump her, or possibly you are very much in

love and looking forward to going home. I cannot tell that. And that

was all true, Ladies and Gentlemen. Time for another star from

Opportunity Knocks Again. Have they still got it? Accordion player

Steve originally appeared on Opportunity Knocks in 1978. Here he

Fantastic, Steve. I am loving the outfit. Can we have a look?

Gorgeous legs! I have had them for a long time. Did Opportunity Knocks

change your life? It did. I get lots of work on my website and

contracts everywhere. Your wife was in the audience then and she is

here tonight as well. She has always travelled with me. All the

time. They are ready for you. I gather you have to put on your

instrument. Yes. Good luck. So far, all that acts have got what it

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds

takes, but has Steve? He is ready? Standing ovation, look at that! The

first standing ovation of the night. Now, our last performance, ladies

and gentlemen. Make the most of it. Chris Morris from Bodmin, now 54.

That was the Royal Variety Performance. We had a song which

was number one after doing that programme, and then we did the

Royal Variety performance as well. It was fantastic. You are still

working. Yes, I have a recording studio and I record new artists.

And I also work with a 70s band. don't want to make you nervous, but

they are ready. Good luck. He has to still have it. Opportunity

# Bells ring, birds sing # Sunday Shining

# No more pining # Just be true

# Shining through Chris is still a hero. Come on,

welcome back all have our guests. Did they still have it? Come on,

say goodbye to the viewers. Sherlock is back on the TV at 9