25/02/2013 The One Show

Hello and welcome to the One Show with Matt. And Alex. Now tonight's

guest is a British female singer who has taken the US by storm.

She's sung at the Oscars, she's had American number one records and

she's triumphed at the Grammy's. And she was doing it 40 years

before Adele - it's Petula Clark! Petula, welcome back to The One

Show. We mentioned Adele but you sang at the Academy Awards in 1971?

I did. Some time ago! It was great. An

amazing evening. Back stage is the most amazing place. There are stars

everywhere. You are part of it. I remember Quincy Jones was directing

the Orchestra. He is lovely. He has been with us

here. He is such a nice man. It was great. For Adele it must have been

fantastic. Have you seen the performance? We

have it here. She is so good. But when you walk out in front of a

crowd, it must be so overwhelming? Yes, of course. Autumn of the stars

in the audience too, but you are concentrating on your own thing,

fortunately! And with the music behind you, it makes it itser.

did you wear? I wore my own dress but there was a lovely lady, the

wardrobe person who had a look at it to see if it was OK.

It is pretty tight, the whole thing. We have to say, welcome back to the

BBC. We know you have had a long standing relationship with the

Corporation. We have a lovely picture of you from 1942. Here it

Oh, my goodness. Can you tell us the story behind

that picture? Is that a really big microphone? A bit of both. I had to

stand on a box. I don't know how old I was.

I think about nine. No, that was earlier. The first radio show I did,

I was about eight, but, I was a very little girl. It was for a show

called It's All Yours. It was a show efor the Forces. Children

could send a message to their Dad or uncle. In this case it was my

uncle that was serving abroad. The BBC took over the Criterion in

Piccadilly. It is still there. It was full of sandbags, so like an

air raid shelter. In the middle of the rehearsal, there was a huge air

raid. The place was shaking. A lot of kids were scared. So the

producer asked if somebody would like to sing a song. To say a piece

of poetry to calm things down. So nobody else volunteered. So I said

I would sing a song. What did you sing? Mighty Like A

Rose it was sweet. Well, later on, Petula, we are

going back to where it started for you as a singer, the Welsh valleys.

Great. First, these days more and more people are going online to get

car insurance. But be aware of a group of people known as the ghost

brokers. Getting your car on the road can be a costly business.

There is road tax, petrol, parking, maintenance, of course, there is

also insurance. So if a friendly broker offers to save you a few

pounds, you may leap at the chance it works like this: You tell them

you are struggling to afford car insurance. They offer you a cheap

policy with a High Street firm. Now, happy days you may thing but... To

get the price of the policy down, they tell the insurance company a

few porky -- porkies about your background. Some provide fake

policy documents it is ghost broking. In is -- it is illegal.

They advertise with genuine companies along classified websites.

They will all have one thing in common, they will promise to get

your insurance cheaper than anywhere else.

I have made up a fake professional for myself with a string of

speeding convictions and a couple of big claims. The lowest genuine

quote is through price comparison websites at �4,300. So a gave a few

of the less official looking brokers a call to see if they

called take some of the money off my premium.

I have seen the add for cheap car insurance. I could maybe get a

quote? I have convictions is that going to work? Have you got more

than six points. I have six points. I can get you a cheap quote. That

is not a problem. This would be music to my ears if I

were struggling to get insurance. It is not long before he give as

quote. It comes to � 1970.

That is with quick fit. That is �2,000 less than the cheapest quote.

I decided not to go with the policy, and took my call to the industry

Schneider, Ben Fletcher to see what he made of it.

What is your overall impression of this guy? This is not how a genuine

broker would carry on doing business. They did not give you the

regulated information that you expect them to give you. They gave

the quote based on little information and did not give

options as to how the policy would be structured or what the benefits

were. Then there were concerns about how you would pay for it.

That looks like a highly suspect individual. I would not buy my

policy for him. The ghost brokers often disappear

after you have handed over the cash. Here at the First Central Fraud

team. They have in contact with victims.

The money you gave this to may not have been authorised as an

insurance broke are. It is known that these men know

what they are getting into. I have seized on the word bargain.

Of course, they want to put on to motorinsurance database but

sometimes that short-sighted view is painful and then they have an

accident. What people are behind the scams? It ranges from amateur,

clunky, brazen attempts at fraud to more sophistication with a number

of people involved. So what about the ghost broker who said he would

give me a 43% discount with two High Street names? I decided to

call him back to see what he said. I'm a reporter from the BBC One

Show. I have spoken to Swintons's and skhp quick Fit, both companies

say they will not offer insurance discounts at the price you say you

will do. They have also never heard of you. How can you over quotes

from an insurance company that do not work with you? I'm just asking

for the opportunity to get some answers? You will find someone else

there. There are a lot of number there is.

No. No. I would love to hear it from you. You offered a fantastic

quote. He is less inclined to speak now

than he was before. I wonder why? So, is it ever worth parting with

your cash to try to beat the system to get cheap insurance? It t there

are serious ramifications, ranging from difficulty in ten to the cover,

to the premium costing more money and then the long-term

ramifications are not worth the savings.

If you have queries or concerns about the car insurance, visit the

website. There are links there to help you out.

Now, Petula, you have had a career that spanned over seven decades,

selling over 70 million albums. Were you tempted to get into the

studio for the new album or were you dying to get in there? I was

tempted a by, I suppose. Only a bit? John Williams, not the

American, the English John Williams. I worked with him. I liked him very

much. He asked me to go into p the studio and it was really like that.

He did not say, "Let's do an album." He has a studio at the

bottom of his garden here in West London it is like a little Wendy

House. We have a little picture. Have you?

No, you haven't! It has you singing. It is not a moving picture with

sound! Well you walk into the Wendy House and you are in a state-of-

the-art studio it is small, perfectly formed. We had the most

wonderful time. The first thing we did was a song called Cut Copy Me.

I loved it. So we said let's go on with this.

That starts the album. I absolutely love it. Let's have a listen.

# Cut, cutting me # I'm yours

# You're the shoreline, the sea # When I'm off course. #

# Does that make me crazy. # # I hope some day

# You will join us # And the world will be as one. #

APPLAUSE There are new tracks on it. Covers

on it. They are carefully selected, no doubt, but lots of critics have

said it sounds a little like contemporary artist like Lana Del

Ray. Do you like being come paired to new artists? I think that is

great. Or do you think that they should be compared to you? Well,

whatever. The thing is not to try to copy anybody. The great thing

about Adele, she does not sound like anyone else. You have to be

yourself. I was not trying to be like anyone but me, but it is

contemporary as the songs are, most of them and the covers that we have

done. We have don Downtown again. How did that feel? Were you

hesitant? Totally, I said "no"! Then I came back from Paris. I was

doing things there. I came back into the studio and John said to

have a listen to this... He pressed a button, I said, that is nice,

what is it? He said it was Downtown. Singing it was an adventure for me

it is really like singing a new song. I absolutely love it.

It is a great song. Well, we did ask Anita to go

Downtown to a place close to your family's heart. Here we go.

Petula Clark has had a long and illustrious career, but as a little

girl, to escape the Blitz, she moved here, the village in the

Welsh valleys. At the tender airb of seven she gave her first public

performance in that pub, the Collier's Arms. From the Welsh

valleys, she want on to appear in more than 30 films and sold more

than 68 million records worldwide. How do you celebrate the career of

one of the most successful British exports? You get together as many

locals as you can to sing one of her most popular songs, Where the

journey began. All I need now are Welsh people who can sing! Hello?

Don't be scared. I just want you to sing! I have heard you have a good

voice? I used to be the church choir.

Will you join us? Yes. Do you fancy coming to join us? You

should get him to come. She is fabulous! Come and join us.

Can you sing? No! I bet you can. Anybody? Petula would often come to

visit her aunt and uncle who ran the greengrocer's here and lived

upstairs. This is the school that Petula attended during her stay in

Wales. My name is Anita. I would like to

know if any of you have heard of Petula Clark? You all have? I want

to test your voices! Give me a me, me, me, me! Me, me, me, me. That is

good. I will see you all later on. Goodbye! Goodbye! I think I have

enough people now, but what about the venue? Petula Clark, performing

here at the age of seven, her first public performance. She ea is a

real local hero, isn't she? Well if you think of someone glamorous,

adding a touch of glamour to the pub, she does go on.

Well we need to give you something permanent for your wall... That

will go with the Welsh Rugby Union Grand Slam picture.

Perfect. # You can always go downtown

# The lights are brighter there # You can forget your troubles

# Forget your cares # So go downtown

# No finer place to go # Downtown

# Everything's waiting for you... # APPLAUSE

Lovely! And Petula even joined in with the singing there. Lovely.

When was the last time you went back to Merthyr? I went back to do

that show, but it is hard going back. Everything changes. You know

my grandparent's house, which we loved, my senior and I, it was torn

down as a slum, would you believe. It just is not there anymore it is

hard going back, but that was a wonderful time. Well done, kids!

And Petula, the places you have been, the things you have seen. We

were talking about the Hollywood career you had with Finnian's

Rainbow. We have this wonderful moment with you and Fred Astaire.

Let's have a look at your dance. Here we go.

That was incredibly significant, wasn't it? That was Fred Astaire's

last on screen dance? I was his last big screen partner. I was not

exactly Ginger Rogers, but it was a great, peerns making that film.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. We had a great time making the film.

That film was nominated for a Golden Globe, wasn't it? I think it

was. It was a difficult film to make. There were two different

subjects. The racial side of it and the fairytale. It was weird.

Speaking of films, weren't you at some point due to make a film with

Elvis? Yes! What happened? Why didn't it come off? Apparently he

wanted me to anybody a film it was turned down for me.

By who? Who do you think? Oh, the husband?! Yes, me husband! Did you

enjoy acting more or singing more at that time in your life? I have

always liked all of it. When I first started I wanted to be an

actress. I wanted to be Ingrid Bergman.

But I sang too. I had parallel careers. Singing, variety, making

films. I made about 20 films as a child, as an actress. So they were

separated, but I kind of liked all of it, really.

It is incredible. We could chat to you all night.

Well, Petula's album, Lost In Me is out today. She is playing ten live

dates all around the country, starting in Manchester on October

the 2nd. That's right. Can't wait.

You knew that bit. You are going to like this next bit.

There can be few women more French than Coco Chanel.

Back in the 1920s, she became part of the British, hunting, shooting

and fishing set. Thanks to a love affair with a British arristow

accurate. Love, the most powerful force on

Earth. The Taj Mahal. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon. All created in

the name of love, but what about that? Could one of the most

intriguing romances of the 20th century have left its mark on this

unassuming London lamppost? And the era for this romance? The roaring

'20s. The Great War had ended, the world was ready to party. Emboiled

-- embodying the spirit was the French designer, Coco Chanel.

With her interlocking CCs renowned. On our side of the Channel, the

second Duke of Westminster was doing his bit to celebrate this new

age of thrill-seeking. He lived like a king in an extraordinary

portfolio of properties. His life was about the pursuit of happiness.

He normally always got what he wanted, but in 1923, he discovered

that there are some things that money cannot buy. That came in the

shape of the indom knittable, Coco Chanel. What did the Duke first

meet Coco Chanel? Certainly on the enormous yacht called the Flying

Cloud. Anchored off the coast of Monaco.

I met someone who knows more than most what kind of impression Coco

Chanel had on the Duke. He was fascinated by her

intelligence, wit, ununusual charm and fem anyone sensuality.

This is BBC News 24don Street where the Duke lived. He pulled out all

of the romancing stocks, with emeralds hid no-one boxes of veg.

Scottish salmon, flown in boxs to Paris. A very traditional box of

flowers but the delivery boy was no other than the Duke himself. By the

spring, they were an item. Some say that Coco Chanel's independence,

that attracted the Duke was also instrumental in the relationship's

demise. They never married but went their separate ways but the romance

left its lipstick on the collar of the world.

With the Duke, who gave her a property not far from here. Which

was her shop in Britain, she perfected the idea of using British

materials in clothes that were traditionally thought of as the

clothes you wore for hunting, shooting and fishing. For the first

time ever she made the materials, the tweeds, the wools and the cut

of the clothes into clothes that were emulated all around the

Western world as high fashion. she have a lasting effect on the

Duke? I think she did when they were to separate, as he said, "How

will I live without you?" He did marry again but I think there is no

question that she kept a place in his heart.

That brings us rather neatly back to the lampposts. Coco Chanel and

the Duke remained friends until his death in 1953. Two years before he

died and 20 years after they were row monthically linked. These

lampposts began to appear in Mayfair. Here on Davis Street,

where Coco Chanel once had her shop and right by Bourdon House. Legend

has it that these are a symbol of the Duke's love for Coco Chanel.

Many have asked Westminster council if this is true but they are less

romantic. That the W stands for Westminster and the interlocking Cs,

standing for the Council. But maybe this is a message from a

hopeless romantic, telling someone, somewhere, that she was always the

woman for him. I know what I believe... Gyles!

Tell us it is true? I want to believe it

It must be. You know what the woman for me eis?

Who? It could be you. Look what I have for you. Original Chanel

jackets. These are vint agenda. You can choose... They must be worth a

fortune? They are. They are worth up to about �1,000 each. I got them

at Oxfam for �40 a pair. My wife may not be happy that I brought

them out. Let's put them away. It is not just

fashion she designed? No, she designed interiors as well. They

had, the Duke of Westminster had a house called Rosehall House. She

went there, she did not like the decor, she redecorated it beige and

browns and even introduced the bidet to Scotland. Giving it a

French feel. The house has fall noon to disrepair, but in its

heyday, when the Duke was there with Coco Chanel, others were there,

Winston Churchill. He came. That is him with his son, Randolf, but

Winston Churchill found her a feisty woman. He said she could run

a man or an empire. Churchill was summiten, but he was summit within

you, too, don't you know? I don't know.

You know! I never got to meet Coco Chanel. I met lots of people, Edith

Piaf but not her. I loved the designs. They were these wonderful

suits, with the braid, the rest of it but a flower here and there.

They are timelessment Karl Lagerfeld has kept it going. That

is wonderful. Sorry I cannot give you the other

one. Well, while Petula was singing for

the forces, another creature was doing their bit for the war effort

on the Channel Islands. Alderney. 17.5 miles wide and 3.5

miles long. It is home to nearly 2,500 people. It has lots of

wildlife in a variety of habitats. But more than 70 years ago, the

people and animals were faced with the ult mate threat.

-- ultimate. The Isle of Wight is about 60 miles

in that direction, but the coast of France is eight miles there. So

when war came, Alderney and its residents were in the firing line.

Beta Thompson pr was 12 when the people of Alderney were given 24

hours to leave the island. We did not know what was happening.

We were taken to the jety. I remember that. Then we boarded a

boat. I remember being on the boat. As she set sail, my uncle stood on

the top. Singing as we left. On June 23rd, 1940, the residents

of Alderney were evacuated. Nine day it is before the Germans landed

on the island. They turned it into a vast concrete fortress with

hundreds of bunkers, 31,000 mines and miles and miles of barbed wire.

Trevor Davenport is a military historian.

N-the peak, there were probably 3,500 Germans here. Adding on to

that, anything between 4,000 slaves here.

And the food that was needed to support that, where did it come

from? From Cherbourg. The Germans, up until the Normandy invasion,

were OK, but then from June and on wards, they were starving.

It is thought that having eaten the livestock, starvation left the

occupying forces to look elsewhere for food. When the islanders

returned in December, 1945, not only were buildings destroyed but

much of the island's countryside had been devastated.

Much of Alderney's wildlife had gone. The island's bird life had

disappeared. Piles of shells were found around the houses it was seen

that the Germans had to find food where it could, but one mammal

escaped the cooking pot, the white toothed shrew. It has a defence

mechanism to prevent it from being eaten.

They eis a grand that secretes an chemical that is unpalatable.

So the Germans would not have gone for the white toothed shrew?

But the white toothed shrew was not the only wildlife that thrived. The

soil disturbance helped to expand the island's Heathlands, supporting

a wide range of bees and butterflies. Offshore, well out of

harm's way, some gannets had moved in looking for sanctuary. The

gannetry here is stunning. Has it always been here? The first birds

were recorded coming in the same year that the islands were

evacuated. So after the war they went from a few pairs to 3 to up to

400 pairs. Now we have 2% of the world's population.

With Alderney's troubled history and the destruction to the island

it is a real testament to the power of nature and the resilience of its

people in how the island has recovered. The wildlife here today

is truly flourishing. I could watch gannets diving all

day long. Any way, Petula, we know what animals you were looking at

during the war, we found lots of footage of it. Here is more. I

think you were in a zoo here with your sister. Do you remember that?

Of course I do. I went out horse riding. A friend of mine went back

to my dad and said that they had seen me horse riding. He said, "No

elephant riding."! Thank you so much for being here.