:00:18. > :00:25.Hello and welcome to the One Show with me, Alex Jones, and my
:00:26. > :00:30.co-pilot, the lovely Vernon Kay! I hope it is not a bumpy ride. I have
:00:31. > :00:36.heard you are good! It is a super-sized show, a giant of a
:00:37. > :00:41.co-presenter, how tall? Six foot four. Super rats invading our towns
:00:42. > :00:45.and cities. And a whopping great Easter party in South Shields
:00:46. > :00:51.involving shipping containers. And here on the sofa a colossus of
:00:52. > :00:59.everything historical, even though she is only five foot three, Lucy
:01:00. > :01:04.Worsley. Well,! Not many of our guests have a palace at their
:01:05. > :01:08.disposal, let alone five. Let's kick this off, what is this about you
:01:09. > :01:15.being stood up by Johnny Depp? I cannot believe how good your
:01:16. > :01:20.research is! I did it all myself! Well, he was doing some filming at
:01:21. > :01:24.Hampden for one of the feature films he has been in, and I was called in
:01:25. > :01:28.by his location manager who said, will you stay late tonight? Johnny
:01:29. > :01:35.Depp would like a tour of the palace with you. I called and said, what
:01:36. > :01:39.should I do? You might want to stay. I waited and waited, time went on,
:01:40. > :01:44.the phone didn't ring, and finally he called back and said, sorry,
:01:45. > :01:50.Johnny was tired. But who better to be stood up by? It does make quite a
:01:51. > :01:56.good story now. The weird thing is, Lucy, Vernon used to be a
:01:57. > :02:01.curator... Well, more of a caretaker. I used to work with a big
:02:02. > :02:05.bunch of keys, I used to be a mobile caretaker for several schools in the
:02:06. > :02:11.Bolton area. I know what it is like to look after important buildings!
:02:12. > :02:15.Is that on a par with palaces?! He used to fall asleep in a warm room
:02:16. > :02:21.with all the pipes. Do you have one of those? We have got one of those.
:02:22. > :02:29.I hope you do not mind me asking, how old are you, Vernon? Not showbiz
:02:30. > :02:36.age? I am 39. According to research, that is the age that men turn into
:02:37. > :02:39.their dad. Oh, really?! Yes! What are the signs? We have been to your
:02:40. > :02:54.birthplace, Bolton, to find out. I noticed I started turning into my
:02:55. > :02:58.dad when I started turning the thermostat down and I had my own
:02:59. > :03:03.place on the sofa. Men start getting like their dad when they are dancing
:03:04. > :03:09.or buying questionable shirts, the Hawaiian number, or getting their
:03:10. > :03:14.chest hair out. I do stuff around the house and then look and say, oh,
:03:15. > :03:19.God, I have turned into my dad. Driving in the first lane on the
:03:20. > :03:24.motorway. Genuinely DIY things around the house. I noticed when you
:03:25. > :03:29.decided that you would sit in your boxer shorts on the floor,
:03:30. > :03:35.scratching your head. We were at a wedding, he was doing his best dad
:03:36. > :03:42.dancing. Good dancing! It was dad dancing.
:03:43. > :03:48.My son is turning into me, because he started listening to my kind of
:03:49. > :03:53.music, which he would never do. And also, he has become very restless,
:03:54. > :03:59.like I used to be. He cannot just sit around, he has to be doing
:04:00. > :04:09.something. That is actually my dad! Is it?! Really?! Is it?! That is
:04:10. > :04:15.actually... Yeah, that is my dad. My mum does the cooking, my dad sits on
:04:16. > :04:20.the bench in the back garden. And you have started listening to his
:04:21. > :04:24.music. Oh, wow, that is unbelievable. We have conversations
:04:25. > :04:29.about fuel consumption in the cars, that is turning into your dad. And
:04:30. > :04:35.you have got a man draw, you were saying. It is happening! Let me
:04:36. > :04:40.introduce you, let's move on, away from my father! Let me introduce you
:04:41. > :04:45.to a personal hero of mine, this is Max, a Jack Russell from Tunbridge
:04:46. > :04:53.Wells, definitely not afraid of super rats. Look at that, good lad!
:04:54. > :04:57.If you do not like wild rats - who does? - you might be pleased to hear
:04:58. > :05:00.authorities are considering allowing stronger poison to be used to deal
:05:01. > :05:05.with them. Britain has a problem, rats, but it
:05:06. > :05:09.is not just about numbers. The rats in this country are getting harder
:05:10. > :05:15.and harder to deal with. Scientists say the number of rats which are
:05:16. > :05:18.resistant to poisons is increasing, and the problem is much more
:05:19. > :05:22.widespread than previously thought. Some of the highest levels of
:05:23. > :05:25.resistance in the world have been found in southern England, and
:05:26. > :05:33.what's more it's proving almost impossible to tackle. Rob is a pest
:05:34. > :05:37.controller, and his job is getting progressively harder. So, Rob, with
:05:38. > :05:42.the rat population on the entries, I suppose you are busier than ever. We
:05:43. > :05:48.are always busy. What is the job today? A farmer says he has seen
:05:49. > :05:52.more activity, running down the side of the barns, I will put some stuff
:05:53. > :05:57.down, we will monitor it and see what we have got going on. Rob is
:05:58. > :06:01.worried that the growing resistance is our fault because when ordinary
:06:02. > :06:04.people like you and me put down poisons, we don't put down enough,
:06:05. > :06:11.and that adds to the problem, rather than solving it. I believe a lot of
:06:12. > :06:16.it is down to bad baiting, they are putting it down in situations where
:06:17. > :06:20.they should be using more. If you have got a party and you do not know
:06:21. > :06:25.how many people are going to turn up, you have got a bottle of beer or
:06:26. > :06:29.a case. If you are only trying to feed a tiny little bit of rat bait
:06:30. > :06:33.amongst too many, they don't get enough of it, and if you continue to
:06:34. > :06:36.do it over time, they build resistance. The Government estimates
:06:37. > :06:42.they could be 10 million rats in Britain. With a gestation period of
:06:43. > :06:47.21 days, the female is capable of producing 14 pups in a letter.
:06:48. > :06:48.Numbers could be even higher. Scientists from Reading and
:06:49. > :06:53.Huddersfield universities are mapping the problem, and they say
:06:54. > :06:57.some of the highest levels of rat resistance are found in southern
:06:58. > :07:00.England, where more than 70% of animals tested could survive being
:07:01. > :07:06.poisoned. Doctor Colin Prescott and his in Reading have been collecting
:07:07. > :07:11.samples of rats tails and droppings from all over the country. By
:07:12. > :07:14.analysing the DNA, they can put the problem areas on a map. We are
:07:15. > :07:21.looking at a map of south-east England, this is mapping resistance
:07:22. > :07:24.of the rodent poisons. We started to find this kind of resistance was
:07:25. > :07:30.widespread. We thought initially it was restricted to a small area
:07:31. > :07:36.around Berkshire, but it is surprisingly, spreading right across
:07:37. > :07:40.to Bath, Oxford, Southampton. That is Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and
:07:41. > :07:46.even Kent. And the list of counties is still growing. So any animal that
:07:47. > :07:51.is resistant is presumably going to survive and pass on its genes to the
:07:52. > :07:55.next generation. Exactly, yes. Stronger poisons are already
:07:56. > :08:01.permitted, but the rules say they can only be used indoors to protect
:08:02. > :08:05.the environment. Dr Prescott thinks the rules need to change. If it were
:08:06. > :08:11.possible to allow outdoor use of these rodent decides, I would argue
:08:12. > :08:19.that we would be able to get control of most of these infestations in
:08:20. > :08:24.four to six weeks, then you remove the poisons and no longer have the
:08:25. > :08:28.problem. The Health and Safety Executive is now giving this serious
:08:29. > :08:32.consideration, and the rules could change later this year. But the risk
:08:33. > :08:38.is that it could kill more than just rats. So, Colin, what are the
:08:39. > :08:43.implications of using stronger poisons normally used indoors, out
:08:44. > :08:46.of doors on wildlife? There is a great risk of contamination with
:08:47. > :08:53.birds of prey, particularly the red kite, barn owl, buzzard. They feed
:08:54. > :08:56.in the situation, accumulate the poisons within the rodents. What
:08:57. > :09:03.safeguards would you like to see put in place? We do need greater
:09:04. > :09:06.controls, and one of those controls should be annual monitoring. The
:09:07. > :09:11.fact of the matter is these poisons do indeed pose a threat to the
:09:12. > :09:15.environment, the well-being of a huge range of animals. And not many
:09:16. > :09:22.people want to see the rat population get any bigger than it is
:09:23. > :09:27.already. So it is a dilemma. If we deal with this, it means endangering
:09:28. > :09:31.these. That is what the authorities will be weighing up over the summer.
:09:32. > :09:36.It is nearly an impossible decision, isn't it? A tricky one, wildlife or
:09:37. > :09:41.rat, but what is in the poison that would harm the other animals? In
:09:42. > :09:49.essence, the poison they want to use is currently only allowed indoors.
:09:50. > :09:54.It is much more toxic. The one they are using indoors is a
:09:55. > :09:59.second-generation poison, like the one used in the film, where we are
:10:00. > :10:02.seen resistance. The first generation are warfarin drugs. There
:10:03. > :10:09.is widespread resistance to those, people use that against blood
:10:10. > :10:13.clotting. But the new one is much more poisonous, it is a single bait
:10:14. > :10:17.poison. You put it outside, the rat has one meal, and three or four days
:10:18. > :10:21.later it dies of internal haemorrhaging. Whereas with the
:10:22. > :10:25.other poison which is currently being used, they have to eat several
:10:26. > :10:29.times. If you are using a more toxic bait, the issue is that anything
:10:30. > :10:33.that eats the rats that might have died, or rats that are looking
:10:34. > :10:38.poorly, scavengers like red kites or barn owls of foxes, they are
:10:39. > :10:40.ingesting a whole lot more poison. Unleashing this kind of chemical
:10:41. > :10:44.into the countryside has to be carefully thought out and should be
:10:45. > :10:48.used by professionals who know exactly what they are doing. Is it
:10:49. > :10:54.true the rats are getting bigger? Or is that just a tabloid scare?
:10:55. > :10:58.Monster rats! They are definitely getting bigger, Vernon. We go out on
:10:59. > :11:03.Saturday night, we are terribly wasteful as a society, Peters,
:11:04. > :11:11.kebabs chips, we'll either them there... Let me stop you there, I
:11:12. > :11:16.have never wasted pizza, kebabs or chips after a night out! Who does
:11:17. > :11:21.that?! Some people do, believe it or not, and they are getting more
:11:22. > :11:30.obese. A doctor from the University of Leicester has an evolutionary
:11:31. > :11:35.theory that we are clearing out a niche for animals to get bigger.
:11:36. > :11:40.Being big is successful, and the largest current rat in the world is
:11:41. > :11:45.a capybara, in South America, 80 kilograms. That is probably the same
:11:46. > :11:49.weight as you. No, there are people out there was scared of rats
:11:50. > :11:55.already! We have just made the problem worse! Think of my sister!
:11:56. > :12:00.They could be getting bigger! Let's move on, that is quite a scary
:12:01. > :12:04.prospect! Lucy, apart from being on television and writing books, you
:12:05. > :12:09.have an amazing job where you are the curator of five historic Royal
:12:10. > :12:14.palaces. What does that entail? Well, basically, we opened them up
:12:15. > :12:17.and welcome visitors in. We try to give them a good time and show them
:12:18. > :12:22.really interesting objects, we acquire things for the collections.
:12:23. > :12:30.We have exhibitions, we have live interpreters, you can meet Henry
:12:31. > :12:34.VIII, he comes out every morning and terrifies the kids! You look after
:12:35. > :12:41.Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, but where are you based? My
:12:42. > :12:46.main office is up a spiral staircase in Hampton Court Palace, and it is
:12:47. > :12:51.the world's best of this. It is a beautiful building. You tempted to
:12:52. > :12:57.have a late-night party there? I am not sure I can answer this question!
:12:58. > :13:06.Your latest project sees you getting to grips with the Georgians, let's
:13:07. > :13:10.see you in action. In 1743, King George II became the
:13:11. > :13:16.last British king ever to lead his troops in person on the battlefield.
:13:17. > :13:25.Now, boys, he said, fire and be brave, and the French will soon run!
:13:26. > :13:30.Very good, yes! You looked like you were enjoying yourself with that
:13:31. > :13:35.musket. But who were the Georgians? The problem that most people have is
:13:36. > :13:38.that they think they are German, grumpy, indistinguishable from each
:13:39. > :13:46.other. If people know anything, they know the Horrible Histories express
:13:47. > :13:50.and, a bad one, a sad one, the mad one, George III, and George IV,
:13:51. > :13:57.whose waist was 54 inches, the fat one. Where did they come... I know
:13:58. > :14:03.they came from Germany, but why did they pick them? In 1714, 300 years
:14:04. > :14:07.ago, that is why everyone is Georgian mad at the moment, Queen
:14:08. > :14:12.Anne died and had no surviving children, and this is despite the
:14:13. > :14:15.fact that she had had 17 pregnancies, poor woman, a desperate
:14:16. > :14:20.attempt to reproduce. Now the Protestant aristocracy decided that
:14:21. > :14:24.they have still have a Protestant king, so they passed over 50
:14:25. > :14:27.relatives of Queen Anne's, and they finally found this obscure branch of
:14:28. > :14:32.the German Royal Family, Protestants, who are invited over.
:14:33. > :14:35.It is funny to think that the British monarchy was made in
:14:36. > :14:39.Germany. That is what we were saying, why were they all called
:14:40. > :14:43.George, then? It is a good brand, isn't it, you give your name to an
:14:44. > :14:49.era, we will probably live in another Georgian era. Good point! To
:14:50. > :14:53.what do we owe the Georgians, then? Well, the things that happened in
:14:54. > :14:56.the 18th century that catch our imagination is the sort of the
:14:57. > :15:01.development of this middle group of people with cash to burn. They have
:15:02. > :15:03.got leisure time, and they invent a good brand, isn't it, you give your
:15:04. > :15:06.name to an era, we will probably live in another Georgian era. Good
:15:07. > :15:08.point! To what do we owe the Georgians, then? Well, the things
:15:09. > :15:11.that happened in the 18th century that catch our imagination is the
:15:12. > :15:13.sort of the development of this middle group of people with cash to
:15:14. > :15:15.burn. They have got leisure time, and they invent wonderful, and the
:15:16. > :15:17.pleasure gardens, wonderful dresses, architecture and gin. Quite
:15:18. > :15:21.extravagant, then. They sounds like great fun! They used to think, as
:15:22. > :15:27.beer comes by the pint, so should this new drink, and there were
:15:28. > :15:32.terrifying consequences of this. You can see the programme on the 1st of
:15:33. > :15:37.May at nine o'clock on BBC Four. Time to find out what our resident
:15:38. > :15:43.extreme sport enthusiasts, or nutter, has been up to. He fancied
:15:44. > :15:52.some whitewater kayaking, so we found the biggest bat the good and
:15:53. > :15:57.got them to pull the plug out. North Wales, and this is one of 486
:15:58. > :16:02.reservoirs in the UK that supply households and industry with water.
:16:03. > :16:06.It stories 70,000 million litres of rainwater and the people who run it
:16:07. > :16:14.manage it carefully. Getting water to where it needs to be. Titles like
:16:15. > :16:19.these are the key. Much of the time, the outflow from the reservoir
:16:20. > :16:24.is a trickle. It makes the river downstream tame and shallow. But at
:16:25. > :16:33.the click of a mouse, valves open and the flow increases. Today, from
:16:34. > :16:36.4000 litres per second to 16,000 litres per second. It turns the
:16:37. > :16:40.river into a different beast, wild, dangerous and perfect for thrill
:16:41. > :16:46.seekers in search of Whitewater. When the release happens, river
:16:47. > :16:49.becomes a torrent. It makes the rapids some of the fastest and most
:16:50. > :16:55.exhilarating Whitewater anywhere in the country. Rafters benefit from
:16:56. > :17:01.the lease of water but it is not the primary purpose. Why else do you use
:17:02. > :17:05.the water? To produce hydropower, generating up to four megawatts. And
:17:06. > :17:10.also, during pollution events, we release water to flush the river.
:17:11. > :17:15.There is no danger that you are going to flood people? At all times,
:17:16. > :17:20.consideration is given to the conditions downstream. This water is
:17:21. > :17:27.on its way to 3 million people, who will get their supply mainly from
:17:28. > :17:29.the reservoir. But with the river in motion, cannot resist the
:17:30. > :17:34.opportunity. Why have my dry suit on and underneath that, and under suit.
:17:35. > :17:39.And my helmet. It is just as well, because that water is just freezing.
:17:40. > :17:46.Although the water is fast, it remains shallow. I have done plenty
:17:47. > :17:54.of kayaking but hardly any Whitewater rafting. Duncan is
:17:55. > :17:58.teaching me the techniques. We're going to float on our backs, feet
:17:59. > :18:03.first. We have to float on the surface of the water. So that we
:18:04. > :18:08.avoid the rocks. With the valves from the dam open, almost 1 million
:18:09. > :18:14.litres of water a minute is flowing downriver. Tom from the British
:18:15. > :18:28.Whitewater rafting team leads me into the first rapids. Good line.
:18:29. > :18:33.The trick is to paddle faster than the flow of the water. For the
:18:34. > :18:40.Heinz, and you are just a passenger, at the mercy of the
:18:41. > :18:49.river. This water will get to Chester, 40 miles by road, but
:18:50. > :18:53.longer by the river system. We do not have a national grid for water
:18:54. > :18:56.distribution of electricity, but rivers are used like giant natural
:18:57. > :19:03.pipelines to meet the demand for water from urban areas. The next
:19:04. > :19:07.obstacle is a standing wave. A wave that remains stationary, caused by
:19:08. > :19:13.the shape of the riverbed and the flow of the water. For rafters, they
:19:14. > :19:15.are a hazard, with a suction effect that holds the boat in a position
:19:16. > :19:28.that is tricky to escape from. First-time, I get through the waves
:19:29. > :19:35.and out the other side. I'm feeling confident now. My fancy a race. -- I
:19:36. > :19:39.fancy. Water is released 200 days a year from the dam. It makes this
:19:40. > :19:45.river the ideal training ground for the British rafting team. Tom's
:19:46. > :19:50.experience shows. Despite an early lead, after a bit of argy-bargy, he
:19:51. > :19:56.beats me easily. More practice needed. I'm going to
:19:57. > :20:00.get back out there. It looks like fun.
:20:01. > :20:05.Now it's time to catch up with our Joe in South Shields where they are
:20:06. > :20:17.What has been happening? It has been sounding absolutely
:20:18. > :20:22.fantastic. As soon as you come here, it has gone quiet. What they are
:20:23. > :20:27.rehearsing for is the Great North Passion, being broadcast live on BBC
:20:28. > :20:30.One tomorrow at midday. It is a reinterpretation of the passion,
:20:31. > :20:36.which is essentially the story of the end of the life of Jesus Christ.
:20:37. > :20:38.It has been narrated by Fern Britton and Alexandra Burke is singing.
:20:39. > :20:43.There are so many people taking part. Choirs, break dancers,
:20:44. > :20:48.sculptors, all different kinds of artists. What is really intriguing
:20:49. > :20:54.is that if you were behind me, there are shipping containers. 64 of them,
:20:55. > :21:00.laid out in the shape of a cross. Essentially, it is a pop-up
:21:01. > :21:03.cathedral. And the shipping containers represent the North East.
:21:04. > :21:07.These are things that people see every day here going in and out of
:21:08. > :21:12.the ports. The red ones, there are 12, representing the 12 stations of
:21:13. > :21:17.the cross. They have been given to local artists to work on, to come up
:21:18. > :21:21.with installation pieces. And here we have Kate Fox, the stand-up poet.
:21:22. > :21:25.He will been working on one of these and the theme was kindness. We
:21:26. > :21:30.decided to make a performance poem, so I've got the kids to think about
:21:31. > :21:34.what kindness means to them in their lives. What is it like? They were
:21:35. > :21:37.saying it was like ice cream because there are many different flavours,
:21:38. > :21:41.like the number eight because it is a handshake, and like Ocean Road
:21:42. > :21:50.behind us on the seafront. What is unkind? He said seagulls and other
:21:51. > :21:54.things, my thoughts. We have a poem and we are performing it tomorrow.
:21:55. > :21:58.Also, we will be performing random Acts of kindness to see -- random
:21:59. > :22:05.acts of kindness to strangers. I love it. And look who else I have
:22:06. > :22:07.got me. She is disguised, but I'm sure you will recognise her.
:22:08. > :22:16.Alexandra Burke. How are you? I am really good. What is your
:22:17. > :22:20.involvement? I am singing tomorrow, singing three songs. One in
:22:21. > :22:25.particular is taken from the new album and it is called we do hearts
:22:26. > :22:29.goal. I'm donating the proceeds to charity, to Prince Harry's charity
:22:30. > :22:35.for which I am in ambassador. It is great to be here. Different to songs
:22:36. > :22:41.of praise. Very different! But you know what, the setting is beautiful
:22:42. > :22:46.and everyone has been so amazing. I am in eager to get started, because
:22:47. > :22:52.tomorrow is going to be a spiritual, magical performance. Fantastic.
:22:53. > :22:55.Hopefully, they will keep the sunshine for tomorrow. 3000 tickets
:22:56. > :23:01.for tomorrow have all gone. You have to watch it on the BBC. But if you
:23:02. > :23:08.want to come down and check out the performances in the containers, you
:23:09. > :23:12.can do that between 12pm and 4pm. What a bundle of fun Kate was. So
:23:13. > :23:15.enthusiastic! Now one of the bits of the One Show
:23:16. > :23:19.you rarely get to see is our production gallery,
:23:20. > :23:21.probably a good thing looking at them, which incidentally is two
:23:22. > :23:23.floors underground and Fingers crossed everything is going
:23:24. > :23:35.to be fine behind the scenes tonight but imagine the panic on the night
:23:36. > :23:47.the BBC was about to launch a new In the early 1960s, there were only
:23:48. > :23:52.two television stations broadcasting in the UK. BBC One and ITV. A
:23:53. > :23:57.government committee wanted to offer the audience something different. A
:23:58. > :24:00.third station. The BBC was set to launch a channel of cultural
:24:01. > :24:06.distinction, focusing on drama, comedy, science and the arts. The
:24:07. > :24:10.channel was to be called BBC Two and was set to be launched from here at
:24:11. > :24:14.television centre on the 20th of April, 1964, with a night that
:24:15. > :24:21.promised music, laughter and celebratory fire is. But the launch
:24:22. > :24:25.was an unprecedented disaster. Broadcaster Dennis Tuohy was the man
:24:26. > :24:30.chosen to be the face of BBC Two and watch it live on here. This was
:24:31. > :24:35.history. And so when we had rehearsed it so many times, the
:24:36. > :24:39.editor said, let's go and have a drink in the BBC club. But all the
:24:40. > :24:44.rehearsing would be in vain. I'll left the bar and went back to the
:24:45. > :24:48.studio area. And I was the only one there. And went into the gallery and
:24:49. > :24:55.eye sat there. And they looked at the monitor screens. And suddenly,
:24:56. > :24:58.they all went dark. Half an hour before the launch, a massive fire at
:24:59. > :25:04.Battersea Power Station caused and delicacy blackout, plunging this is
:25:05. > :25:07.very -- plunging the city into darkness. The countdown to launch
:25:08. > :25:12.was about to turn into a countdown to disaster. The BBC studios across
:25:13. > :25:19.London were thrown into chaos. At lime Grove, the power had also
:25:20. > :25:22.failed. BBC Two had its own mascot come up hullabaloo the kangaroo. To
:25:23. > :25:26.mark the launch, the BBC had borrowed a real kangaroo. When the
:25:27. > :25:33.lights went out, he got jumpy and had to be shut in the scenery left.
:25:34. > :25:38.With five minutes to go, there was still no power. A phone call was
:25:39. > :25:40.made to the BBC news headquarters here at Alexandra Palace in North
:25:41. > :25:45.London. Unaffected by the power failure, the News team was going to
:25:46. > :25:51.have to step into the breach to launch the brand-new channel.
:25:52. > :25:55.And then, there was silence. Things were about to get even worse. No
:25:56. > :25:59.recording of that fateful night was made at television centre equals of
:26:00. > :26:06.the power cut, and the events became part of industry folklore. Until a
:26:07. > :26:13.mysterious tape was discovered. This man was working at the BBC archives
:26:14. > :26:18.in Kingswood in Surrey in 2003. Good to see you. You are the man who laid
:26:19. > :26:24.your hands on a piece of history. How did it happen? A colleague came
:26:25. > :26:29.to me to show me what tapes looked like in the 60s. He showed me this
:26:30. > :26:33.very tape. Immediately realise the significance of the random tape. A
:26:34. > :26:39.production report said simply, the opening of BBC Two. Who would have
:26:40. > :26:44.recorded it? This tape, there was an engineer at Kingswood who actually
:26:45. > :26:48.stayed up to record it. One of the few video recorders in the country
:26:49. > :26:52.at the time. And how did it feel to be holding and rediscovering a piece
:26:53. > :26:58.of lost television history? Absolutely amazing. This was the
:26:59. > :27:01.launch of the new channel. Gerald Priestland, for the first three
:27:02. > :27:08.minutes of its broadcasting live, mute. When the viewers finally heard
:27:09. > :27:17.him, the problems did not stop. Excuse me. Hello. Unlike Channel
:27:18. > :27:20.one, there is nobody there. The plans line-up was replaced with an
:27:21. > :27:28.evening of instrumental music and apologetic announcements.
:27:29. > :27:34.Anything else? That is all we have are for the moment. But we will be
:27:35. > :27:38.keeping in touch. However, BBC Two's failure to launch turned into
:27:39. > :27:41.a publicity triumph. It hit the headlines in the morning with a big
:27:42. > :27:47.announcement that the channel would relaunch that very night.
:27:48. > :27:52.The BBC could not ignore the previous night's blackout. Our team
:27:53. > :27:54.met to decide what we would do that evening. Something to do with
:27:55. > :28:01.candles. But probably a single candle. Good evening. This is BBC
:28:02. > :28:05.Two. The birth of BBC Two was a landmark
:28:06. > :28:09.in British broadcasting. On that opening night, the channel that
:28:10. > :28:22.promised excellence in comedy certainly managed to deliver.
:28:23. > :28:26.Anybody there? Bless the young lad in the Argyle
:28:27. > :28:35.sweater desperately seeking help from his colleagues. Hello? I'm
:28:36. > :28:41.live, help me! I'm live on TV! And a telephone on the desk? Who is going
:28:42. > :28:45.to call him live on television tonight and it is all over. That is
:28:46. > :28:47.it for this evening. Thank you to Lucy Worsley.
:28:48. > :28:50.The First Georgians is on 1st May on BBC Four.
:28:51. > :28:54.Vernon and I will be back tomorrow night with Chris Addison and