19/11/2015 The One Show

Hello, and welcome to the One Show with Matt Baker.

Isn't life more interesting when there's a few facts involved?

Like wearing white in Wimbledon began as a way of hiding

Or a gram of soil contains a million different species.

It is going to be a great night tonight! On believable!

Well, if you like a fact, you're in luck tonight because watching

the show live from the depths of the BBC are the researchers from

They are obsessed with facts, and will spend the next half hour

adding their own weird and wonderful trivia to tonight's show.

And you'll be able to listen to their running commentary as

a podcast via The One Show website, at the end of the programme.

James, can we have a 1 Show fact? Yes, you can. The total number of

hours people have spent watching The One Show this year is the total

number of years since people left Africa. The guests look confused!

Well, we've got a few facts about tonight's guest:

And he fell asleep rowing The Channel.

That was a fact! Nice starting fact. But I think they are wrong. Those

beavers. I have been to Africa and there are still people there! He

said it was the total number of hours since people have left Africa,

they have not all left, that all modes living there! Yes,

confirmation. Do you have a fact you throw out at dinner parties? You are

sitting around, saying, have you got a fact? Liverpool have got more

listed buildings than any English city apart from London. Is that

right? Impressive. Somebody is going to write in before the end of the

show and say it is not, but it will do for now.

Later, we'll meet the dad and daughter team who collect

One of Peter's vans even has a bar in it.

We're looking for a van - of any make - that has something

That is tough. Stand by now but geological facts. With another sink

hole opening up at this time near Newcastle. Helen has been further

South to meet the community who is six weeks later still reeling the

effects of what appeared on their doorsteps.

Nothing much happened in St Albans until last month when the sudden

appearance of a huge sink hole catapulted it into the headlines. 12

metres wide and seven metres debt, it swallowed up two front gardens

and left more than 50 local homes without power.

A month later, five and we still have not been able to move back home

and geologists fear there could be a second sink hole lurking -- and

families have not. Rosemary and Derek had to move from their home

into a hotel. They have been there ever since.

What was the first you knew something had happened? I heard an

almighty sound. Derek went to the toilet and I thought he had fallen

down the stairs. I said, what have you done? He said, I have not done

anything, he goes back to bed. Ten minutes later, the road was full of

police. You read about it happening all over

the world but you never think it will happen in your back garden,

your front garden! Some of your neighbours have returned, why can

you not move back #. We have no gas and no heating. We

have an electricity cable through the letterbox. We have no water but

back can be put on when the other things get sorted out so we hope to

get back in. You cannot say, I want a shirt, no, I haven't. It goes on.

So you are in limbo. It took 48 lorry loads of foaming concrete to

fill up the whole. Is this simply papering up more serious cracks? The

ongoing geological survey has experts worried a potential second

collapse could lead to a second hole up to three times as big as the

first. Geology engineer Iwan Thomas led the

survey. How common sink holes of this size and magnitude?

Not very common, I am glad to say. We could find a natural cavity

beneath us that has caused the roads to collapse. There could be

unrecorded mine workings in the chalk or they could have been a

significant walker leakage -- water leakage which has disrupted

particles under the road. We have carried out a survey in this

area. The measurements at each point to tell us how much gravity we have

and that is important because where we have gravity missing, we have

missing mass. Where you have missing mass, is underneath where you think

the potential second sink hole is? That is right. Map shows the areas

in red and yellow with normal gravity. The blue means gravity is

lower than it should be. And that blue area is next to the collapse?

Yes, that leads us to believe this made me a feature related to this.

That could be part of a bigger collapse that has not fallen yet?

That is right, we think that is a plausible explanation. We will drill

into those areas and we can then make an assessment of the risk. A 2

-year-old Frank is blind. He lives on the street close by. The damage

means cars cannot get to homes -- 80. He has to rely on daughter Maria

to get safely in and out. It caused a lot of problems for the

families in the road. We have been told X probably six months or more.

But nothing much is happening. You feel like a prisoner. It much -- it

must be more difficult for you without your site and the sink hole

situation has made it worse, you cannot get out as much. You cannot

say, another six months and you can drive. What if you need an ambulance

or a fire engine? What happens then? Hertfordshire County Council say

they are working as quickly as possible. Residents and their safety

must remain a priority. So here, knowing its future lies

literally beneath my feet, it is quite an unsettling feeling.

And good news, Rosemary and Derek got in touch and they were allowed

Yes, the water is on, the gas is running and they've just eaten their

Roast chicken with broccoli, sweetcorn,

Yes! The biggest cheer of the night! Not told in the whole! -- hole. That

is good. I am here all week. On the jokes seem.

A new DVD. That is the title, well done. I have had four or five but I

think this is the best. As a tour, I felt most comfortable. Over the last

five years, my life has changed so much and I have been trying to keep

up. Now I feel comfortable in my own skin. Maybe Constable onstage but

not at home. Let's look at you with a word on a loved one.

When you live with somebody, you start fighting and there is a day

stuff changes. To be honest, I think it is the day when you hear them

breathing. Do you know what I mean? You are on the couch watching the

television and you just hear... You think, what? And you look at them at

the end of the couch curled up watching the television. Eating

biscuits, going... I don't know why I'm fat!

John! Seriously... After that, is your wife Melanie

still talking to you? Melanie knows that is a joke because

she is not fat. She is gorgeous. I am very lucky to have her. We have

been married 23 years on and off... But during that time, all of this

has had and evolved so she knows it is coming from love. You are going

to get married soon and you will get fined -- you will find there is a

day in a relationship, you look at them and go, I did not marry that!

It just happens. Then you get over it. You move on to the second phase

of your life. It is based on love. When you do come up with these

thoughts and joke is, do you have a discussion with your family and say,

I am going to be saying this? No. I don't even have a discussion with

myself. I do write it. If I try to write a story, it never looks funny.

On a tour, I do warm up gigs and I hold onto the story and let it

develop. If I censor myself, it would not work. My children are

older, 21, 19, 17. You have to give them credit, they are all lads and

big and they can all hit me! That is the only censorship I need.

It looks gorgeous, it is the Royal Albert Hall. You normally do an

arena. Was it different? It was something I chose to do. I did it

all last year, October to December. I wanted to do the DVD in the Albert

Hall because it is so iconic, it is beautiful. On a personal level, to

be there is exciting. And it looks fantastic. The atmosphere is

amazing. It was one of those things, we wanted the venue to feel

part of the DVDs so watching that, you are excited. The arena is

fantastic but as a viewer, it is just a lot of people. It is

beautiful. If you would like to see it for yourself, his stand-up DVD

Supersonic is out now. As we mentioned earlier,

the QI research team - aka, the QI Elves - are listening

in to tonight's programme. They are using The One Show

as inspiration for an online radio show, which you will be able to

download later via our website. They're part of our show

and we're part of theirs. Elves, has John Bishop

given you any inspiration? Yes, he has. You were saying that

his new DVD is called Supersonic. Did you know every time you pop a

party balloon, you are going supersonic, you break the speed of

sound? The speed at which the latex retracts this bustard than the speed

of sound so the noise you hear is a sonic boom. -- retracts basta. That

is why I called it that! They are good.

Well, that supersonic fact was fact number...

with a bird that is the exact opposite of 'supersonic'.

Elves, get your kestrel facts at the ready.

At the end of the Mendip Hills range...

In Somerset, sits a spectacular National Trust reserve. The 600 foot

tall croc peak. It is not just walkers and that dogs that enjoy the

fresh -- enjoy the fresh air, it is also home to one of the most

beatable aerial acrobats, a kestrel. It is one of the best places to see

the kestrels and you can sometimes get right on the same level as these

incredibly agile predators. Why is it such a good spot? I am eating a

member of the local glider club, Peter Evans, who can help to explain

why. How long have you been coming here?

I have been flying gliders here for 18 years since we moved to Bristol.

The unique thing about Crook Peak is it is a hill which has slopes facing

different directions. We rely on Rich left? That means the wind is

blowing against this case and it is quite steep so the wind is. The hill

so there is not a draft. Do you ever see kestrels? Guess, we have seen

several today and we are always amazed how incredibly they can buy

on a windy day and we struggle with aeroplanes. You see a kestrel and it

looks to be pinned to the sky. Do you ever get jealous of its ability

to remain motionless? I do not think we will ever get that

good, they are amazing birds. Kestrels take advantage of ridge

lift in the same way as these gliders but they can do something

else, they are masters of hovering. Offering enables kestrels to look

for their prey in open country and many it into a perfect position for

a strike. Not many other birds hover, let alone with the skill of a

kestrel. hover, let alone with the skill of a

wind so they are moving through the hover, let alone with the skill of a

air but they stay stationary with respect to the ground. The technique

is called wind hovering. What is the secret of the kestrel?

The answer is the feathers. The tail feathers spread, supplementing the

air catching effect of the wings, and the feathers on the wings

flutter up in response to the turbulent airflow, increasing

stability and allowing the bird to retain control and stay airborne at

such low speeds. Feathers are so effective at improving stability,

that engineers are looking at adding structures which are like this to

their mechanisms, we have come here to find out how it works. We will

start with this section of model glider wing, it is just like the

wings and Peter's model gliders, we will see what happens. Let's go.

Straightaway, we can see that the wing is all over the place, and that

is because as much as it needs air to create uplift, it also needs

forward momentum to self stabilise, otherwise it is completely unstable,

we can try this again with a slightly modified wing. This wings

action date macro section -- this wing section has assimilated

feathers, and this is much more stable, because of the feathers

underneath becoming much more active, something is going on, to

make the wing much more stable. As the air flow goes over the wing, the

feathers create little for disease which adds lift and provide

stability. -- create little vortexes. Kestrels can do flight

manoeuvres which are the envy of any pilot, and they are a true master of

the air which it is great to marvel at. STUDIO: All they did was add

feathers to wings? I don't know. Are you ready for the next fact. In

2019, in Turkey, a kestrel was arrested for spying we have been

told by our QI Elves. I have no more details. Is he in jail? Is he doing

bird? LAUGHTER John, we're going to talk about your

animals, you have a menagerie of animals. Yes. When I go away, Mandy

get something and I found out -- Melanie get something and I find out

what it is, they are all rescue animals, we have got four horses,

three pigs, four alpacas, plenty of guinea fowl, they are very funny. A

couple of dogs. Do you enjoy spending time with them? Is it her

thing? I do enjoy it, even though she does it most of all, and I think

she enjoys it when I don't come. That is the deal. Have you ever

tried riding on the horses? There is one horse which you can ride them at

you get on it, Melanie seems to get on it and it decided it wants to go

anywhere because it is an old horse, but the horse I love the most, I

have a relationship with. You cannot ride it, it does not know it has got

means, it looks beta full, but it runs like this -- it doesn't know it

has got knees, it looks beautiful. We can have a look. You are stepping

into Attenborough's shoes, you have been to Rwanda to see gorillas?

Added come about? I was asked if I would be interested, it is a show

going with the... They are called big arena doctors, who treat the

mountain gorillas, in the rainforest, the only place where

they live on the planet -- they are called the gorilla doctors. To be

that those must be amazing? It is amazing. -- that close. They tell

you to stay seven metres away so you do not pass any diseases on, and I

thought, if I could see a mountain gorilla seven metres from myself in

its natural habitat, I thought that would be amazing. They just start

walking towards you, one of the most moving experiences I have ever had,

to be close to something so natural and strong, it was beautiful. And a

slightly different note, thanks for the van pictures. Yes, that is a

different note. We are on The One Show now! Yes, let's turn the page.

Thanks for the photographs, we are going to take a look in a moment.

But first, Christine celebrates a van which has found a special place

in Britain's history. Whether it is a white van man or the emergence of

services, British drivers seem to have a strangely loyal bond to their

vans, but where would this love affair begin? 1965, the British

maker Ford are about to read lease a -- release a new model onto the

scene. They released the transit, it was soon to take a life of its own.

Peter Lee would not swap his collection of 12 transits for a

fleet of Ferraris. The transit van has changed my life, when I was a

young man it gave me transport and it has put food in my mouth, given

my family holidays, it is perfect in every way for my style of life. How

did the transit change things? It was revolutionary, it had a sharper

turning circle compared with commercial vehicles previous, it was

faster and more like a car, even then, in 1965, freedom and wheels, I

call it. These were the first man is not to need special licences, so

youngsters like Peter were free to drive them anywhere. I worked with

Ford at Langley, on the line, putting gearboxes into transits, and

that is when it started. I bought the transit and I went to Spain and

I lived in the back of it for 13 months as a hippie. I lived on a

strawberry farm. Young bands were freed up, as well, piling into

transits to take their early songs to a wider audience and rough and

ready tolls. By the 1970s, the transit had become trendy and handy,

and while some were much more fashion conscious than others. Peter

and his daughter Natasha are part of the street than seeing, and motoring

subculture whose aim is to have the flashiest custom van at huge

gatherings. The thing that stuck in my mind as a child was the artwork.

Such amazing artwork on the vans. It started in California where so many

call things started in the 60s. -- cooler. The youngsters saw it. What

makes me happy as a father is to see my daughter keeping that history

alive. We are a firm edible team, he finds them and I make them pretty.

-- formidable. Is there an element of showing off? Do we show up? Yeah.

What it is about, and loads of people, getting together, and having

a really good time. And most of all, no trouble. But trouble is exactly

what attracted crooks to transits, British traits were the setting of

huge games of cops and robbers from the 60s onwards, played out in

transits. Former Met police officer in Clarke was one of the good guys.

-- Ian Clark. They were easy to steal and there were thousands on

the roads and they did not stand out. You could get half a dozen guys

in here and no one would know. After the robbery, shut the doors, blend

in with the other transits. At one stage in the early 80s you could

guarantee that the getaway vehicle would be a Ford transit, and

although it was popular with the bad guys, it was popular with us, as

well, for the same reason, you could drive to the streets of London

safely, they were multipurpose, observation, surveillance, it could

be used for everything. Despite fond memories of this British classic at

the last UK built transit rolled out of the Southampton plant in 2013,

and production moved to Turkey, so is this British love affair over? Is

the transit like any other commercial van? I love them, the

only reason the other commercial van manufacturers are on the road is

because of the transit, which is the godfather of vans, it has always

looked after me. I have got a fact about vans, Matt Baker in here has

always had a van, since you passed your driving test and you learned in

a van? Yes, I did. In a big box van, which we got from the town of

Peterlee, funnily enough. Incredible. Peter, we are going to

have a look in your house, now we have had a look at your van, you

have this built specially? Yes, we built the house, we had four

daughters and we needed to move, we bought the house and the whole top

floor needed to be my van room where I keep my models and stuff. You have

so much stuff. Such a big collection. We saw the picture of

your van earlier on and we asked our viewers to send pictures of their

vans and what they have done with them. This is Phil and this is his

van full of plants. I like that. That is just a delivery van. We did

ask for things in vans. What about this, Roy's coffee shop? That is

good. This is Jim from Chislehurst, his lovely camper bar. This is

great. Ruth has turned this into a dog grooming van. Like it? It looks

a bit like an operating theatre. I thought that, until I read the back.

It looks a bit rough to me, that. LAUGHTER

Who is your favourite singer, Van Morrison? LAUGHTER

We have always had vans, my dad should be credited with creating the

people carrier, we have the Ford Escort van, and he put glass in and

a bench in the back, and all the kids used to get in the back, before

the days of health and safety. Simple days. But if you fell out, it

was your own file. Very true. -- your own fault. Today is

international mainstay with the intention to celebrate man's

achievements and focus on men's health and well-being -- today is

International Men's Day. The real question is, do we need

International Men's Day? Today is international mainstay, isn't that

great? Yes, for my husband. -- international mainstay. It is nice

there is some pride about being a man and it is not just about women's

issues. It is their world, really, isn't it? We cook for them and look

after them. We want to make this day different. What about everywhere,

throughout the world, how could they make it special? Men's issues,

things like that, cancer. As a man, mental problems, things like that,

you don't really talk about them because it is all about

masculinity. When they get a mate, their mate uplifts them, and that

would be something nice to do for your mate. Good for you. It is

International Men's Day. Get them presents. Free pints. Maybe a

special treat in his lunchbox. Anything in particular? LAUGHTER

You have made my day. Thanks. There we are. John, thanks to your

company. John's stand-up DVD Supersonic is out now. And thanks to

the QI Elves. There are over thousand more facts in the latest QI

book. We will see you tomorrow with Andy Hamilton. That night.