22/09/2014 The One Show

Hello and welcome to The One Show with Alex Jones. And Matt Baker.

Tonight, we are talking about name-changing. With Prince William

touring Malta, Gyles explains why his passport could have read William

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha instead of William Wales. Also, Alex Riley meets the

one who wants a referendum on devolution for Manchester. Mike

Dilger is doing this. Later, we find out why this concrete-lined urban

river in the heart of London is the new home to one of Britain's most

dazzling birds, the kingfisher. There is always a trolley in a

river! We will shed more light on that later. What an eclectic mix we

have on The One Show. Who better to make sense of it all than the man

behind the sitcom family in Outnumbered, it is Andy Hamilton.

Good to have you with us. Thank you. Welcome back. Thank you. Hello.

Where are the kids? We have sold some of them! Oh right. Not really!

As well as Outnumbered, you also wrote Drop The Dead Donkey. There's

been this picture of Ed Balls playing football and elbowing

somebody. We don't know whether it was on purpose or not. What would

the guys at GlobeLink News make of that? We would have had a wonderful

time with that on Drop The Dead Donkey. That is the full Vinnie

Jones. Not only is he elbowing him in the face, he's also kneeing him

in the posterior and that - I blame Tony Blair for this. I blame him for

most stuff! He started this thing of politicians looking like they are

athletes. Ed Balls does not look like a natural footballer. No. No.

The lad said - it was Ed that said that Rob ran on to his elbow! How

convenient! It was a mistimed tackle. Alright. It is an

assassination! We will talk about your new film later. As the fall-out

from last week's Scottish independence vote rumbles on

tonight, Alex Riley finds out that referendum fever could be spreading.

After the events of last week, Scotland will now stay in the UK.

But it is going to have much more control over its own affairs. So,

where does that leave the rest of us? There are two questions I want

answered. Would England be better off as a separate country? As our

neighbouring nations are trying to wrestle more power away from

Westminster, why don't England's regions do it, too?

Where better to explore that idea than the North of England. First

stop, Sheffield. What are the prospects of devolution here?

Very good according to Richard Carter. He leads a new party wanting

a devolved Parliament for Yorkshire and reckons it would improve life

for the people here. Take the train journey from Sheffield to

Huddersfield. This train journey is through some lovely countryside. Why

did you bring me on the train? It is an hour and 20 minutes to get 25

miles from Sheffield to Huddersfield. Lines such as this are

essential to connect our communities, but they suffer from

massive lack of investment. The people of Yorkshire, we think they

are better placed to decide how to spend the money. Isn't it going to

be a massive amount of extra cash, setting up separate institutions and

the money coming to the region will evaporate? You could get rid of up

to 1,000 councillors and pay more professionalised ones more. From our

point of view, you could get better decisions with more power, at a

lower cost. If Richard gets his way, Huddersfield could be quite

different. Seat of the new Parliament.

Maybe this could be the financial powerhouse, the Bank of Yorkshire?

The Ministry of Culture? It's not just Yorkshire.

In Manchester, this man wants to shift power from Westminster to a

Greater Manchester Assembly. What would Manchester do that it can't do

now? If an area wanted to give tax breaks to businesses, it should be

able so it can grow those industries so we can create jobs and

opportunities for people. We also believe that Manchester should have

powers for local income tax, so it could, for instance, offer a lower

income tax than London. Manchester is, of course, a thriving city. Alex

Salmond said if Scotland were independent, it would be the 20th

wealthiest in the world, so how would the rest of us do if we opted

to go it alone? What about England, if we decided to

become independent, could we survive? England would survive fine.

It would be London-dominated, but England is a wealthy nation. It

would survive absolutely fine. What about Wales? Wales could survive as

a nation. But no-one is pretending if Wales went it alone, it would be

better off. What about Northern Ireland? The Northern Irish economy

is too weak for Northern Ireland to survive without support from

elsewhere. Do you think the Scottish referendum has unleashed a passion

for devolution in the rest of the country? Devolution is a great idea,

but think about the practicalities. That is where the problems start.

The fact is that our major Northern urban cities don't raise that much

money locally. People in the North are poorer than in the South. So it

could increase inequality in England if you introduced devolution to the

regions or to the cities. Enough of the experts. To see if the people of

Manchester have caught a dose of referendum fever, we asked should

Manchester be handed more power by Westminster.

Do you think Manchester should get the same kind of powers devolved to

it that Scotland are going to get? Definitely. Really? OK. Yes. Either

Manchester or the Midlands, somewhere in the middle. Rather than

all down South. A lot of people up North feel separated from London.

England should. Not sure an individual city necessarily. I am

pleased they will do something for the English. Time for the results

from The One Show Ballot Box. For the noes - three. For the yeses -

16. So a vast majority. This was a bit of fun. It does seem the

Scottish referendum has got people interested in what powers should be

delivered from Westminster and which powers could be devolved to their

local areas. Well, it's got everybody thinking.

Do you think regional devolution is a good idea? Not, I am sceptical

about Regional Assemblies. How many layers of incompetences do we want?

There seems to be this notion that local politicians, everyone says we

are fed up with Westminster, but historically, local politicians have

proved to be as every bit as corrupt and useless as Westminster

politicians, so I am sceptical. Would you ever go into politics? I

would be very bad. I'm basically a kind of - my inner dictator would

come out. You don't want me in politics! There is a temptation

there, I'm sensing? I would have to get somebody to vote for me! I don't

think it is going to happen. OK. I'm open to offers! Stick to the

directing! We will talk about the film in a minute. Time to find out

exactly what Mike was doing on that shopping trolley. Oh yes.

The kingfisher is one of Britain's most beautiful and spectacular

birds. But they can only thrive on clean, healthy rivers with a good

supply of fish to feed on. So you might be is surprised to find that

recently they have been spotted on an urban waterway in the heart of

South London. Over the last few months, this man

has been watching and photographing these shy birds in the most unusual

of spots. Is that a shopping trolley? Yes, the

kingfisher has sussed out there was a huge shoal of stickleback and it

perched on one of the wheels and it had the perfect view to catch a

fish. These photographs have taken a lot of work. Yes. I grew up locally.

I have been watching kingfishers on these urban rivers for years. And it

took about six months of my time. This one is amazing. I have seen

kingfishers in the countryside and they dig their own holes. Here, it's

found a drainage pipe, in a concrete bridge? Yes, they have adapted to

the man-made environment. All they need is a bit of concrete, a hole,

and they can bring up a whole family. At first light, we head

upstream to give ourselves the best chance of seeing them.

In the 1980s, this river was essentially a drainage pipe,

polluted by human waste and industrial run-off. Now, although on

the surface it hardly looks pristine, the water quality and

habitats have improved enormously, enough to bring back a healthy

supply of fish and, in turn, a kingfisher.

We cover ourselves in camo gear and get comfy. A kingfisher's territory

can be three-miles-long. It may be a while before it visits this section

of the river. After half an hour, it becomes

apparent how rich and varied the birdlife is in this concrete river

bed. The river's in fantastic condition.

Yeah. Still, no sign of a kingfisher. That

is until a flash of blue shoots straight past us.

It was an enticing glimpse but the kingfisher wasn't hanging around. It

was another three hours before our next visit.

It's so exciting. A kingfisher on the branch, just

over my left shoulder. Here it comes. Wow, look at that!

The kingfisher is searching the water for fish. Nothing this time.

But, as we sit there watching, this stunning bird works its way from

perch to perch. Whether it's an iron pole, or a

concrete wall, each location is a vantage point the kingfisher uses to

spot fish. It is just gauging whether it can

catch the fish or not, working out depths, angles. They can easily see

movement through the water's glare. There he comes. It is diving for a

fish. Got it! Yeah, yeah. Back up. It's got a fish. Yes. It's using the

bar to stun it, so it can swallow it. And straight down the gullet.

What a little jewel. Kingfishers have also been spotted on urban

rivers in Leeds, Coventry and Manchester. This is crazy. That

kingfisher is perching there metres away from people walking past to and

from work, on their mobile phones, and they have no idea it is there.

We do. What a wildlife team we have got on

this show. Extreme camouflage! It all helps. Thomas dedicated six

months of his life to get that photo. Mike gets it in an afternoon!

Just remarkable. Andy, you have been spending a lot of time on location

for your new film, in Scotland. You had a watery wildlife moment? On the

last day, it was a very windy day, and one of our team - there's an

area on the beach, and there was a baby seal huddling out of the wind.

We didn't get it on camera. It went! There was a lot of wildlife -

gannets - it was a very wild place. Well, you have legged it from the

premiere, which is nice of you to come and sit with us. We are very

honoured. We are. There's Billy, Rosamund Pike and David Tennant.

Yes. Without giving away too much of what goes on in the film, give us an

idea of the premise? It is a story of a family, a family that's

experiencing real problems, the mum and dad, their marriage is very,

very rocky. And there's a crisis, the grandfather in the family is

very ill. They - it doesn't sound like a comedy, but it is! They have

to go north to Scotland for a family gathering. Then various

extraordinary things happen, which I can't tell you otherwise I would

have to kill you! They end up being a global news story for reasons I

won't go into. It is a social comedy. It is seen from the

perspective of the three children, who, like many children in this

country, are watching the beginnings of a divorce and are grappling with

that. Let's have a little look at the family that you speak so highly

of in action. As long as we're all agreed, when we

get there, none of us mention it. I wasn't going to mention it anyway.

It is boring! It is lying! It is not lying... It is not something. What

if somebody says, are your mum and dad getting a divorce? You are not

on The Jeremy Kyle Show! What is it about family interaction

that you love so much? Well, you know, I write all this stuff with

Guy Jenkin. We are a team. And I suppose we both feel... There is no

big theme you cannot visit in the cockpit of the family. Everything

happens in the family. And families are important. If we didn't have

those, we would have to fight with strangers! That's true! They are...

You know, that is pretty much... We will come from families so it is

just the perfect arena for comic and dramatic exploration. And when you

came on with the Outnumbered children, or the young adults now,

you were saying you often let them ad-libbed and do a lot of that and

just have a loose idea of the script. Is that how this worked as

well? Well, it is with hard to describe when it is ad-libbing. We

feed them stuff and tell them what the scene is about, what the

sequence of lines is, and kids have great memories. We get what we ask

for but they will say the lines in their own idiosyncratic versions.

Sometimes we given situations and just give them a starting point and

let them run and see what happens. You know, and then you get some

fantastic, natural moments. We saw you had David Tennant on set and

Billy Connolly. Who stole the show for you? I do not answer that! I am

going back to the party! They were all fantastic. I mean, we were

thrilled with everybody. A fantastic cast. We look forward to seeing it.

So what we did on -- so, What We Did On Our Holiday is out on Friday. We

went to the Edward Wilson School to find out if the children there

wanted to confess to anything. Our contributors have been very brave

for taking part in this, so, parents, who are no doubt watching

right now, please go easy on them. I did. I ate at night once a big jar

of jam! All of it! They were like, where is the jam? I was like... Oh,

I don't know! Festival, when I went to my cousin and auntie's house with

a newborn baby, I didn't ask her to pick the baby up but I picked him up

and ran with him! I was in the deep blue sea and I killed a crab! Once,

me and my cousin thought there was a cat and we thought it was dead and

we shot a rock at it. My dad, you was sleeping. Then I coloured his

legs with colouring pens. My little brother dead to -- dared me to draw

on the cupboard. I went to the shops and bought some crisps. We were in

this river and we had to swim in it and I just went to the deep end

without asking my dad. APPLAUSE

They are not in too much trouble! Anything you would like to confess

to, Andy? As a child? No, I was a very pure child(!) I never did

anything wrong! You did react strongly to one confession. Well,

the lad who got into the swing pool without mentioning it to his dad. My

son thought he had learned to swim and we were on holiday. I was

sitting in the bar knocking back a cocktail and is very disapproving

Frenchwoman produced my son dropping from head to foot, and I said, oh,

my good. -- my God. She said she found him in the deep end. And my

son said, the water wouldn't let me up! Aah! Now, have you ever, ever

thought about changing your name? That is what we are talking about

now. Gyles will be explaining the legal process if you wish to do so.

But first he has been looking at the story of this country's first ever

name change. I was born in Germany. I've always

had a soft spot for the German way of life. But 100 years ago during

the First World War, if you had a German background, you did

everything you could to conceal it. In fact, one very famous family was

so anxious to hide its German ancestry, it even changed its name.

We know them as the windss. But a century ago, our Royal Family was

known by a different name. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. This was the

dynastic name of Queen Victoria's German husband Albert. The name was

passed on to their children and grandchildren. So, when in 1914 a

war was declared on Germany, George V of the United Kingdom and British

dominions had the somewhat unfortunate surname of

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Historian Miranda has been looking into the Royals and

their German links. What was it like for Germans living at the time?

Immediately after the war started, a great many Germans were put into

camps, separated from their loved ones. It was really pleasant. And

there was also a great upsurge. It is almost hysterical. An upsurge of

anti-German feeling. But worse was to come. In May 1915, the British

ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat and around 1200

civilians died. When news of the tragedy reached Britain, there was a

violent reaction. So in the aftermath of the sinking of the

boat, what happened? Well, there was a day of rioting. Particularly in

London. There were a lot of German bakeries and they were looted and

their windows were broken. So it was very violent and very scary to be

German at the time in England. And having a vaguely German name meant

that you were somehow the enemy? Absolutely. Even if you had a Dax

and, you were regarded as an patriotic or pro-German! --

fashioned. It wasn't long before the British public even began to

question the loyalty of their King, George V. It was a PR disaster. But

then, real disaster struck. In May 1917, a new terror appeared in the

skies over Britain. A freight of German bombers. Hundreds were

killed. And the name of the aircraft? The same as the Royals'

surname, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. But now was linked to the deaths of hundreds

of Britons. The king decided something must be done. The Royal

family and their advisors came up with a plan to save their

reputation. OK, so this is the official announcement of what

George's people decided to do. They decided to change his name. It is an

impressive announcement. By the King, a proclamation. And not only

do the announce that the family name is being changed to Windsor, but

they also make it clear that all of the descendants of Queen Victoria

will willing crush and discontinue the use of all German titles and

dignities. -- will relinquish. They cannot with a total bunch of no

hopers as names. They all sounded terribly German. George's private

secretary came up with winds are purely because that was where the

family had this very famous castle. -- Windsor. Overnight, the German

links to the Royals disappeared. The British public embrace the change as

a great act of loyalty to the nation by the monarch. The very British

house of Windsor was born and nearly 100 years later, it is still going

strong. The essence of grand Britain, in fact. God save the

Windsors! Very interesting film, that, Gyles.

Thank you very much! I did not mean it like that! The thing is, this

will have inspired a lot of people who are eating their tea to think,

firstly, I could do with a new name. Because -- so is it easy? It is as

easy as pie and you could even be called "as easy as pie" tomorrow

morning! Or you need to do is go to the deed poll. You have to make out

a form saying I am changing my name from this to that, get it witnessed,

and that is how you change your name, so long as you are not doing

it for the forest purposes or trying to deceive somebody. You can go to

the ministry of justice to their website and they will give you forms

to do it. But you can actually make out a simple form, a deed poll, like

this, a simple document, which you have to get witnessed... Do you have

my name on there?! Yes! I thought I might change your name, if you don't

mind! We have a new name for you. All you need to do is sign that, get

it witnessed and you have a new name! John Craven junior! I haven't

signed this! But you can sign it if you want. I have done one for you,

Alex. There you are. All you need to do... You could be called this! And

people do change their names. About 100,000 people yet change their

names. Last year, 200 people enjoyed changing their name to Danger. They

put that word into their name. All of these people have changed their

names. These guys are called Andrew Drum And Bass Johnson, the second is

called None Of The Above. Let's work out who is called what. The first

one? With the real Andrew step forward? Yes! My name was Andrew

Williams Johnson. It is now Andrew Drum And Bass Johnson, and it is

because I am a DJ. Next we are going to have None Of The Above. The other

one was going to be Pop Man. A or C? A. A. Step forward, please, the real

None Of The Above. Oh! What a game this is! Why did you change a name?

My name was Adam Osan and now the name adds a message to it. You,

clever guy. So now he is Pop. I am a student radio presenter and it was

an on-air challenge before I graduated to play every single

number one UK hits since records began. So you were called Pop Man

and now it is changed back? That is the point, you can change name and

then back again. I did it to get on The One Show! I love mine, thank

you. Thank you, Gyles. Thank you so much for coming in. There we are.

That is it for tonight. Thank you so much to all of you. What We Did On

Our Holiday is released in cinemas from Friday. Tomorrow we are joined

by hot-headed chef Gordon Ramsay and we will be making him cook with a

massive onion! So there will be tears! Good night!