18/10/2011 The One Show

Hello and welcome to The One Show. As we all know, the Defence

Secretary, Liam Fox, is now out of his job. Who could have seen that

one coming? I don't know what time this goes out, he may not be in a

job any more, because the Prime Minister said he had his full

support. It's Ian Hislop! That must have been quite a gift for you at

the beginning of a new series. it was fabulous. It gave you plenty

of material. Yes, it was very obvious he was going to go. And he

did. It is incredible, you have done every episode. Yes, that's

just fear. Ian is of course also the editor of Private Eye, which is

celebrating its 50th anniversary. More on that later on, including

what the Prime Minister thinks of it. And also tonight, we have got

the star of the internationally acclaimed War Horse, which is about

to become a film. Robots used to be the stuff of science fiction, but

nowadays, they do everything. But surely there are some things we

cannot trust machines to do, like complex surgical procedures? Don't

be so sure. Scissors, please. Surgery requires years of training,

nerves of steel, and above all, precision. Just as well I chose a

career in TV. In fact, even the most experienced and best trained

surgeons can make mistakes. If you have an operation over the coming

months, it could be that the surgeon never actually lays his or

her hands on you. This is a surgical robot, one of several

being used in Britain. Supporters of robotic surgery claim that

machines like this represent the newest frontier in minimally

invasive surgery. Here in Liverpool, this consultant is using it to

treat prostate cancer. The prostate is hidden away deep inside the

pelvis. One problem with open surgery was bleeding and blood loss.

Also, there was a longer term complication, of incontinence.

robot is manipulated by a surgeon. The high-definition camera

magnifies or of the movements, meaning the surgeon has heightened

vision, and can be more precise than ever. What advantages does it

give? This is minimal invasive surgery, it allows us to perform

complex surgery on patients without making large incisions. It has the

effect of reducing the recovery time. Most patients will go home

within a day. There is less bleeding and less pain afterwards,

and also quicker recovery. They will get back to work and back to

going to the gym quicker. Earlier this year, 57-year-old Alan became

the first of his patients to undergo such surgery. When did they

first mention the possibility of having a robot do it? They said

they were getting a new piece of kit and they said that I might be a

suitable candidate. I said, go on, I will be your guinea pig.

hesitation? No, there was no hesitation. If I had hesitated, I

could have lost the opportunity of getting treated earlier. I was told,

if I had left it 6-12 months, I would have had major, major

problems. Since the operation, everything going well? Everything

going well, touch wood. To use the system, not only do you have to be

a surgeon, but it takes another 12 months of additional training. But

they have very kindly agreed to let me have a go, not on a live patient,

of course. Let's see if I can work out how to use this. First, make

sure you're comfortable, you could be here for several hours. Rest

your forehead in here and look through. With a price tag of �1.6

million, the robot is not cheap, but it is effective. Hold on, that

is so much easier than I thought it was going to be. After just a few

minutes of expert tuition, I'm able to perform some simple procedures.

This is the delicate bit, bringing it up slowly. New technologies like

this may look fantastic, but with limited funds available to spend on

cancer care, not everyone agrees they are the best use of the money.

There is an ongoing debate within the medical community about where

money should be spent to see the greatest gains for patients. Cancer

survival rates are worse in this country for a number of reasons.

Perhaps the most important reason we found was that patients in this

country are diagnosed later. In the future we need to focus much more

on the early diagnosis of cancer. Is it money well spent? People

might say, maybe that �1.6 million could be better spent on screening

and awareness campaigns. I Farrelly believe that we should invest more

in screening, particularly for prostate cancer, which we do not

currently do in this country. But if you have not got the equipment

to offer the choice of treatment, then screening and finding patients,

and then saying, well, we have not got the technology to treat you

would be counter-intuitive. While not everyone agrees that robotic

surgery is the future, for patients like Alan, it has made a real

difference. It has probably saved It is an interesting time, Ian, you

have got surgeons using knives and robots doing similar jobs - what

are your thoughts on this? I am perfectly happy, providing it is

assessed by the other robots! what other ways are robots being

used in hospitals, Dr Sarah Jarvis? It is remarkable, it is being used

in pharmacies, lots of drugs are dispensed every minute of every day.

There's a hospital in Scotland which reckons it has saved �700,000

from its drugs bill by using an automated system to dispense drugs.

There needs to be back ups, because nobody else can read the barcodes.

That's understandable, in dispensing, but what about actual

treatment? There is a really exciting one, called the Cyberknife,

which has pinpoint accuracy, and you can get to tumours with X-ray

beams which you could never tried before. Actually, you probably

could not even have operated before. And then there is a bizarre one,

the doctor, and you can see his face, but it is a robot. This is

ROBODOC. Yes, you do feel somebody is going to jump out and say, April

fool. But actually it is more than just a high-tech video camera. They

have got stethoscopes, and the doctor 100 miles away can listen to

you. What is his bedside manner like? It has been assessed by

another robot. This is being used in very rural areas. Is this just

expensive technology for its own sake? Some of it has paid for

itself already, like the dispenser. But things which we take for

granted today, like a telescopic surgery, meaning people get out of

hospital quicker, 20 years ago, that was fringe medicine. We were

young then. But for some people, that's a long time ago.

everybody is going to be replaced by a robot, we thought we had

better design one for you. This is the Ian Hisbot 2000. It has got a

scandal handle. There is also a sarcasm unit, or affect cash

dispenser, for lawyers. It is more effective than me! Redundant again!

As we mentioned earlier, Private Eye is celebrating its 50th

birthday. Gyles Brandreth now looks back at half-a-century of satire,

scandal and solicitors' fees. the beginning of the 1960s, some

people were saying we had never had it so good. Other people were

saying... The post-war government seemed to have run out of steam.

British politicians were being treated with less respect and more

scepticism. So, in the decade that would bring Americans their summer

of love, we Brits got there first with a summer of satire.

Spearheading this very British revolution was Private Eye. It

began life as a school magazine at Shrewsbury School, and was the

brainchild of four men. Two of the went on to study at Oxford, and it

was while they were here that the magazine first went into print. 300

copies were distributed to coffee houses around Soho. Now, it costs

�1.50, and sells around 200,000 copies every fortnight. The single

image on the cover became its trademark. Inside, readers found a

mixture of current affairs, cultural reviews, satirical

cartoons and now famous but previously unreported scandals.

Times have changed since the magazine's first publication, but

its offices in Soho have not. offices are in this very CD corner

of Soho. But I think that's a healthy thing. Everyone should be

reminded of the squalor of the world as they come through the door.

Today's editor was reported to be the most sued man in Britain. In

the beginning, what was it? In the beginning, I think it was the jokes

about institutions which people traditionally have been different

about. After that, it was the stories which got people going.

then came satire. What did satire mean in those days? It meant a new

attitude of questioning, a new attitude of disrespect to a society

which at the end of the 1950s in Britain had been pretty deferential.

Can you go too far, can you be too inflammatory? You can, I try hard

not to become a because then you lose people. You need to be able to

justify the joke. Not only has it poked fun at the nation's elite, it

was also pioneer in investigative journalism, and soon gained a

reputation for running stories that were too controversial for

mainstream papers. When you look back, people will point out the

Profumo case, the Robert Maxwell saga, they will probably look at

the Bristol heart scandal, some of the stuff which looks dull but

makes a huge impact on your life, we have been there, banging away.

As a consequence of its intrepid reporting, Private Eye has been the

recipient of many a libel writ. It was involved on one of the largest

libel payouts in British legal history. Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of

the Yorkshire Ripper, was awarded �600,000 after the Eye accused her

of cashing in on her husband's notoriety. When the Appeal pointed

out that this was more than twice the families of the victims had

received, the fine was slashed to �60,000. It's part a reform in

libel law. Private Eye has been prepared to say things which other

people are not prepared to say, funny, but with a serious side as

well, exposing the great and good. At times it has been very strong,

at other times, you have felt it has been less relevant. The fact

that it is funny and satirical has sometimes detracted from which

journalism, because you do not know what is actual fact and what is a

bit of a joke. Private Eye has now been around for half-a-century,

telling the stories which other publications either couldn't or

would not. I know from my time in politics that the media can be a

cruel mistress. But if satire is indeed telling the truth with a

smile your face, then I am all in favour of it. Good grief, what

You must have got some real dote on him. He has done it himself!

have plenty of scandal. For just a small fee.

Twenty-five years the UWE, 50 years for the magazine, but your

appointment was not welcomed by all the journalists -- 25 years for you.

There were some muttering. I was 26. Looking back I think, good grief,

why did they give him the job? Luckily, I survived. And to

celebrate the anniversary, you have brought out a couple of books and

an exhibition at the V&A in London. You have picked out 50 covers for

the exhibition. What is your personal favourite? I am very keen

on the "got Hugh" cover. -- Gotcha. It was the Murdoch press at its

worst. I thought in my head, for 20 years, one day I would put that

word over the cover, over a picture of Murdoch, and all these years

later, I thought, I have got you! I am particularly keen on that one.

That is on the annual as well. is all over the place! There is a

very good history by one of our journalists. For at least 45 years,

Private Eye has been looking at Murdoch so that is what you get

with us. Repetition and a refusal to get up. But you did get in

trouble in 1997 with the Diana cover. Do you regret that? No. I am

actually rather proud of that. I did feel that the country had

slipped into a grief hysteria. I felt it was important. It is never

terribly successful as saying to the general public, I think you are

wrong, but from the reaction afterwards and when the hysteria

died down, I think what we managed to do is inject a certain note of

sanity. It was literally people saying, how upset are you? Not

very? String him up! I thought it was non-British. But if you are

seen as too soft, you are seen as part of the Establishment. I used

to read it as a teenager and BT's a thorn in the side of politicians.

It makes people in power ridiculous. It keeps everything in perspective.

There are front covers I have seen and thought, oh my God. The main

thing is, it is funny and if you can't laugh at yourself, you

probably should not do this job. will continue to go from strength

to strength. Matt Little looks on Ed Miliband at the end is quite

interesting. -- that little look by Ed Miliband. If this was a front

cover, what would you put in a speech bubble? If it is Ed Miliband

saying, we will go from strength to strength, we have had it! They are

so rude, politicians. Cameron saying he thinks it is funny. It

makes you want to give up! Nick Clegg likes it, but when he changed

his mind? How much worried do you have about stories being truthful?

There is no point having stories if people do not think they are true.

Everything I print, I believe is true. We have got lots of other

papers for that! Fair enough. Ian Hislop has Scholl a light into the

lives of famous people for the last 25 years. -- champs Allied. Now,

people are doing it in Salford. If you find yourself out in Salford

one night this week, you may be in for more than you bargained for. It

was Shakespeare who said that all the world is a stage and this week,

two artists from Glasgow are out to prove just that. Explain what is

going on behind us. We are installing Limelight. It is two

Theatre spotlight on existing streetlights and it will create a

pool of light. The idea is that it creates impromptu behaviour from

passing people. It is about how we think about public space and

suggesting a different way of behaving. It has been two different

cities and watching how their behaviour is different. A into

wanted, people started doing the human pyramids and they did not

even know each other -- in the Toronto. For half-an-hour, people

play it paper scissors stones. Whoever lost, had to get out of the

light. In Botswana, they had a real flair for dance.

What is the most outrageous thing anyone has done? Eight I asked his

girlfriend to marry him? I hope she said no. -- a man asked his

girlfriend to marry him. She said yes and I think he then regretted

it. It is not long before the locals are having a go. But with

the rain lashing down, the participants are thin on the ground

so I tried to get things going. # I met a one-man band...

Luckily for us, I have invited some other people along with a bit more

Is this art or a pool of light for shorts? I will let you decide. --

for show-offs. I think we know the answer for that

one! Limelight is that the media City UK in Salford until Wednesday.

A few quick questions, the spotlight is on you now. Here is a

school photo. Can you point yourself out? Yes! I am there!

Correct! I appear to be wearing a lampshade. Speaking of that

Lampshade, would you rather have kept that hairstyle or own your own

steam train? I would rather have kept the hairstyle. I am very keen

on trains. Why? Someone said this man is in love with yesterday. It

is a reasonable description. I love steam trains. They have a romance

of travel that might commute in a train where there are not enough

seats does not really have. Moving on. Kiss and make-up. Robert

Maxwell or Piers Morgan? Right. You are trying to make it easy for me.

Multimedia magnate who sell off his yacht, or CNN presenter? Maxwell!

If you did have one Desert Island book, or would it be about cricket

or one of your wife's? It would be one of my wife's brilliant novels.

Probably her latest one, which is out next week. You know which side

your bread is buttered! The story of a cavalry horse in World War I

has fast become one of the theatrical sensations of the decade.

We will be meeting the star of the show shortly, but first, Clare

Balding finds out about the battle- hardy warhorses.

It is no great secret that I love horses. Not only are the big and

beautiful and a warm, there is an intrinsic honesty to them.

Something that is incredibly comforting. They are also

unbelievably brave. No where it was that bravery more evident than in

the Great War. Between 1914 and 1918, a total of 8 million horses

died on both sides. Michael Morpurgo's book, War Horse, has

been turned into a West End play, making the Great Wall real for a

new generation, and Steven Spielberg's Bill will bring the

moving story of a boy's relationship with a warhorse to win

even bigger audience when it opens next year. Richard Van Emden and I

are walking in an authentic We creation of a World War I trench

system. -- recreation. I asked him about the role of the real war

horses in what is generally remembered as the first mechanised

war. What was the roar of horses and the

First World War? It could not have happened without forces. The horses

pulled the wagons, which brought up all of the suppliers and all have

the ammunition to the front line. Just over 1 million served on the

Western Front. 25% of the horses were killed and the other 75% died

of exhaustion and disease. They had a torrid time. They also died of

hunger. Like soldiers, horses march on their stomachs. What was there

to feed them? There was more food taken over in tonnage and shells

but the problem was getting it to where the horses were. There would

be horse is nibbling at the ropes and the tunics of the men who came

to see them. They were starving. Even in the most horrific

conditions, the bonds between the men and the horses was not broken.

There were so many cases of men hanging on to their dying horses,

stroking them, trying to save those final words, and someone told me

that when his horse died, he spent an hour of trying to get the German

sniper who killed his source and he spent the rest of the day trying to

bury him. What really hooks a sin as readers about War Horse is the

drama of the central character -- -- a man I knew all my life's

grandfather took his horse to be Great War and they both survived.

Warrior and his grandfather a ride on the Western Front in 1914. The

story of their survival is as amazing as any fiction. Horses are

bald. Imagine a horse carrying you with shells landing and standing

still and coping -- horses are bald. Warrior survived everything you

could imagine. One guy was standing, smoking, with two horses on his

lead, and a shell cut the other horse in half. He was at the Battle

of the Somme, at passion Dell, and he got pulled out. Lot of horses

got killed at passion Dale. horse came through it all, as

detailed in my horse would we have. The men got to love him more and

Do you think your horse became a significant not just for your

grandfather but for the men around him? He got the nickname, the horse

the Germans cannot killed. He was at the warhorse. He lived until

1941. There is a lovely picture of my grandfather and him riding along

the road. Their combined age was 100 twofold. The story shows that

even in the case of the greatest in humanity, man could still maintain

dignity and a relationship. Still be kind and show humanity. Perhaps

that is the greatest gift that the horse is given a -- has given us.

He teaches us that we can be better people.

Warrior: The most appropriate name for that horse.

You have seen War Horse a couple of times. The puppetry is brilliant.

Instead of talking about human suffering, the British do it about

an animal... Here is the horse on the National Theatre production of

War Horse. It is unbelievable puppetry! Finn Caldwell is in

charge of directing all of the puppeteers and the puppets. Where

do you start? We start by giving them eight weeks' training so they

have all of that period to get used to the moves and then they end up

in the show. We have three people operating the puppet. The buyer by

the head is in charge of keeping their heads in the air -- the

manner by the head. Breathtaking! It must be incredible work for the

men inside the course but in the show, somebody rides the horse!

The cavalry charge! It is quite extraordinary!

LAUGHTER. The man in front is in charge of the lakes and the weight

of the horse but he also has the breath, so by bending his knees,

you can see it looks like the horse is taking in air. Yes. The guy at

the back of the difficult task of making sure that the walk of the

horse is all right. So when it moves from walking to trotting to

galloping, he is making sure it is right and they spent a long time

studying horses. We worked with the King's troop. Howard Ward, the

original Sergeant Thunder, how are you? It has been incredibly popular.

The a million and a half people have now seen it at the National

Theatre and on Broadway. But there is a new exhibition. What can we

see? We went this morning. It was fantastic. It is absolutely free.

Lots of it is from War Horse. Bits from the film. Also, you can

decorate your own of warhorse. that is at the National Army Museum.

Yes, free, and it starts on Saturday. Thank you, Sergeant

Thunder. That is it. Thank you to everybody, and a caustic Ian Hislop.