Episode 7 Celebrity Driving Academy

Driving Academy is back with a bump

and this time with added celebrities.

So mean!

We've got stars who are disasters in cars

plus their kids

helping them to become better drivers

by joining them on a one week crash course behind the wheel.

Yesterday, impressionist Debra Stevenson and her son Max

took our incredible football challenge in their stride

by going straight to the top of our leaderboard.

It was a bit of an own goal

for singer and TV presenter Jamelia and daughter Teja

as they struggled to hit the back of the net

and ended up in last place.

But they avoided a gunging

as comedian Rowland Rivron and son Ned

were disqualified due to Rowland's risky driving

which meant he alone faced the wash of shame.

Can our celebrities overcome their bad driving habits?

And which can improve their driving enough

to become champions of Celebrity Driving Academy?

Hello, I'm Joe Swash

and welcome to Celebrity Driving Academy.

We're here to sort out our celebrities' terrible driving habits

and general bad behaviour on the roads

because at the end of the week,

we're going to be putting our teams through

the biggest driving test of their lives in

the Monster Superskills challenge!

He's left me. He's...

I'm going to have to walk.

-Hello, everybody.

-Hello!

-Hello!

Are you all excited about being on Driving Academy?

-Yes!

-Good stuff. May the best driver win.

Coming up on day two of Driving Academy...

The teams are put to the test on their emergency stops

in the Barrels Of Fun Superskills challenge.

The quicker and safer our teams can stop,

the more points they'll get.

But first they'll need to learn how it's done.

The emergency stop is a very important element of road safety

that can save lives on even the most familiar car journeys.

Have we had any accidents on the school run?

Not any accidents

-but we've had a lot of emergency stops.

-Well...

But it's going to be great for Driving Academy.

Don't you think?

And taking the lessons is elite driving instructor Vicky Lovell.

She's just the woman to teach our teams about road safety.

The key difference between teaching children and adults to drive

is adults only focus on passing the driving test

and children actually want to be good at driving.

Our teams will be driving on private roads

and Vicky has a set of dual controls at her feet,

just in case our rookies forget to brake.

But I don't think that's going to be a problem!

-Oh!

-Sorry!

See what I mean?!

For Teja to get to grips with the emergency stop,

she's going to have to concentrate, no matter what comes her way,

which is something mum Jamelia struggled with yesterday.

SHE SCREAMS THEN LAUGHS

Someone else focused on learning the art of braking at speed is Ned.

Stop.

Woo-oo-oo-ooh!

Oh, what happened there?

Ned's dad "Reckless" Rowland proved yesterday

that he's not the best when it comes to slowing down,

which is the understatement of the year.

I've fallen into bad habits

and they're habits that are so ingrained,

I don't know if they can be rinsed out.

But thankfully Ned doesn't seem to have picked up

any of his dad's bad habits.

Stop.

Very good. Very, very good.

What our teams need to realise

is that a higher speed needs a longer stopping distance.

That's the amount of time it takes to hit the brakes

and for the car to stop.

I would say speeding isn't a problem with me

and I'm really quite a cautious driver.

And yesterday, nervous driver Debra

showed us how cautious she really is.

LAUGHING: A bit more welly, love.

It's a good thing, then,

that Max seems to be gaining enough confidence

for both him and his mum.

Stop.

Yay! Well done, Max.

That's enough practising, time to do it for real!

Today's Superskills challenge is going to be A Barrel Of Fun.

Our teams must drive at the correct speed

of 30mph for the kids

and 50mph for the adults

before hitting the brakes

for a clean, fast emergency stop in the scoring zone.

The closer they get to the barrels without hitting them,

the more points they get.

Stop short and they'll lose points.

If they hit the barrel, they'll get nothing.

And today's losers will be taking the wash of shame.

Keeping an eye on our rookies' performances

is Driving Academy's examiner Sandra Dodson.

What she says is final.

You cannot be responsible for a car

if you don't know how to stop it.

Most people drive too close

and I think this challenge demonstrates

exactly what happens when you do that.

Before we start, let's have a look at the leaderboard.

The Orange Team are in the lead with three,

but the Blues are just behind them on two.

And the Greens are trailing behind on one.

So it's all still to play for.

And it's the Blues who are first to face today's challenge.

Yeah, what advice are you going to give me, Ned?

You'll think you have to do it really early...

-Yeah.

-..but then just trust yourself a bit.

-OK.

Speed demon Rowland will need

to judge exactly when to slam on the brakes

if he wants to get this right.

TYRES SCREECH

Getting his speed up has never been a problem for Rowland.

It's slowing down that he struggles with.

CHEERING

30 points to Rowland!

-That's very good.

-Give him a round of applause.

I can put my hand on my heart

and say this challenge was one of the top ten scariest things

I've ever done in my life.

That was a very confident start from Rowland,

who secures an early 30 points for the Blues.

Ned is behind the wheel now

and he just needs to reach the required 30mph.

Remember if they brake anywhere short of the scoring zone

-it's minus ten points.

-Yeah.

If they hit the barrels, it's no points.

They're working as a team, this is looking good.

CHEERING

He did it! Ned judged that precisely

and stopped the car bang on target!

When I was going down,

my dad was just giving me tips on, like, timing and stuff.

I couldn't really believe that I got 100 first time!

Well, you'd better believe it

because that perfect finish earns the Blues 100 points,

giving them a total of 130.

Come here!

After watching that impressive start,

can the Greens do even better?

The rain's going to make the stopping a little bit harder.

The car could slip further on the wet.

Jamelia might need to brake earlier.

Oh, this is going to be wicked!

She's coming in fast.

-SANDRA:

-We've got a wet road

so this is going to make a difference on the braking,

the speed and decision making.

No!

Didn't quite make that.

I think we can safely say she was a bit too late on the brakes.

Stop laughing! What was that, Jamelia?!

-You've broken the car!

-Oh, no, I've broken the car!

So Jamelia has failed to get any points at all there.

I really thought, "I've got this, I know what I'm doing."

And yeah, it really threw me that I did spectacularly awfully.

You're not kidding, Jamelia! That was bad.

After her mum's disastrous start,

can Teja do any better?

My advice would just be don't follow your mummy.

I couldn't agree more!

-Will the rain cause any problems?

-It absolutely will.

Let's see how she handles these conditions.

Mum's keeping quiet in the back, which is probably a good thing.

Brake, brake, brake, brake, brake!

Oh, you know, that's pretty good.

That was a little too soon.

In fact, it was a lot too soon.

But at least Teja didn't follow her mum through the barrels.

I'm not listening to you any more.

So unfortunately Teja has got minus ten points.

I feel...

a bit disappointed.

But you win some,

you lose some.

You do.

And in this case, you lose ten points for braking too early.

And since Jamelia got zero points for braking too late

the Greens have a total of minus ten points altogether.

Finally, it's the turn of the Orange team.

It's Debra up first and she seems a little bit nervous.

This is really hard for me

because I am a really careful driver.

This is going to be difficult for Debra.

Right, here comes Debra and Max.

-MAX:

-Almost at 50! We're at 50.

Debra's hit the required 50mph mark.

She needs to hold on to her nerve and not brake too soon!

Don't!

That's got to be at least minus 150!

I couldn't be any further away.

Debra's nowhere near the scoring zone!

I was over cautious.

I've realised I am quite a cautious person,

I'm a cautious driver.

Playing it safe means

Debra's picked up minus ten points for the Orange team.

It's time for Max to give it a go.

Can he make up for Debra's minus points?

Here he comes!

He's at the target speed of 30mph.

Don't wait for me to tell you.

Good idea. But will he brake at the right time?

-Oh, he's going to be angry with himself!

-He's still short.

Too slow!

It wasn't so much the speed,

just that Max hit the brakes too early.

Ned and Rowland said it was very slippery on the red and white

so I thought, "Try and brake onto the tarmac."

And I braked too soon.

Don't worry, Max, it's only the first round.

But with minus ten points for Max

and minus ten points for Debra,

the Oranges are in last place on minus 20,

then it's the Greens on minus ten.

But full steam ahead are the Blues

on 130.

Right, more Superskills challenges in a minute.

But first, has anybody seen Sandra?

Have you seen Sandra?

No?

I'm going to have to put a bell on her!

Sandra's taking a break in her office

and she's wearing her favourite pair of slippers

under the ever-watchful eye of James May.

Oh, look at that! Beautifully done.

Left foot coming up, now, beautifully into the left lane.

-My...!

-Who's that at the door?

Wait!

It's Mr C, the crash test dummy.

He has accidents so you don't have to.

Proceed!

Ah, Mr Crash!

Oh, Crash by name and crash by nature.

Where did it all go wrong this time?

Mr C's going for a nice walk.

But there's no traffic lights or zebra crossings

so he's got to try and work out the best place to cross the road.

He's decided to go between two parked cars.

But he won't be able to see what's coming!

Mr C, watch out!

Oh, Mr C, crossing the road between parked cars

is very dangerous!

I mean, really,

what would James May say?

I'm sure James May would have had some great advice.

Tell him, James.

Always cross the road

at a place you can see clearly in all directions.

Because?

Because if you can't see the traffic then the traffic can't see you.

Good advice, as always.

Now get out. Go on, out. Out!

It's time for round two in our Barrels Of Fun challenge.

Remember our teams must try to make a clean emergency stop

before hitting the barrels.

The closer they get, the higher their score.

But the stakes have been well and truly raised

as we've moved the barrels forward

and stacked hundreds of ping pong balls on top of them.

First to go on round two is the Blues,

currently on top of our leaderboard.

Rowland was quietly confident last time,

bagging 30 points in the scoring zone.

But can he do any better?

The barrels have been slightly pushed forward

so they're going to have to adjust their braking speed.

That's going to be hard.

THEY SHOUT

THE CELEBRITIES GROAN

Oh, no, what a mess!

Rowland was far too late to hit the brakes.

-Rowland!

-Yeah?

-You get zero points!

-Did I?

Yeah. I think you might have hit the barrels.

-Really?

-Yeah.

How did that happen?!

Because you didn't brake in time!

Hitting those barrels

is a barrel of fun.

The idea is not to hit them!

And it means you've picked up zero points for the team.

Can Ned do any better?

Right, so this is Ned's attempt.

Last time we saw Ned doing this he got maximum points.

-Let's see how he goes.

-Let's see how he goes.

All right...

..and stop!

CHEERING

You beauty! Well done.

Another perfect finish for Ned.

He judged the braking distance right

and stopped in the middle of the scoring zone.

-Well done, Ned!

-Well done, Ned!

Luck or no luck,

Ned has collected another 50 points for his team,

giving them a total of 180 points.

They may be on minus ten points

but the Greens are determined to catch up.

We've got this! I'm going to do it, Teja.

You watch.

We're all watching, Jamelia. Just remember to brake!

-You're at 50.

-OK.

When you're ready!

There's going to be chaos!

No!

I stopped ages ago!

It's like deja vu with you, isn't it?

Yet again Jamelia has massively failed

to judge when to brake.

That means zero points for the Greens.

But Teja is up next.

JAMELIA: The advice is not to take your mummy's advice.

Yeah, that sounds like good advice to me.

A nice steady speed.

Do it when you're ready, Tej.

CHEERING

Well done, Teja.

Good girl, well done.

Teja did it!

She judged the stopping distance correctly

and brought the car to a halt on target!

When I was going at 30 to 40, it felt really fast

and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stop but I did.

And it means the Greens get their first points of the game.

SHE SHRIEKS

20 points to Teja!

So the Greens are currently in second place with ten points.

The Orange team, however, are lagging behind on minus 20.

Last time, Debra hit the brakes too soon.

Will she be more confident this time?

Go, go, go, go, go!

It's all about waiting until the last possible moment before braking.

-Now!

-Much more confident. She's OK.

Oh!

CHEERING

-Come on!

-She did it!

Debra finally seems to have conquered her nerves

and judged it brilliantly.

I was quite aware that I'd been a bit of a let-down to Max

and I thought, you know,

I'm just going to have to get myself by the bootstraps and pull myself up

and just...just have some fun.

You certainly did that, all right,

and putting the Oranges firmly back in the game, picking up 100 points.

Max is up next, and he looks determined

to get some more points on the board.

Fingers crossed, Jamelia.

He's at the right speed.

The road's wet. Will he judge it right?

Now, let's hope Max doesn't overdo it now and isn't too confident.

He did it.

He hit the brakes at the right time and stopped in the scoring zone.

CHEERING

You scored 20 points! Well done.

What I felt in round two was very determined,

thinking that I was going to come back in the game

and get some more points for me and my mum.

The Orange Team were on minus 20 points at the start,

but now have 100 points, putting them in middle of our leaderboard.

Jamelia and Teja are still languishing at the bottom

with just ten points,

but still in pole position, for now,

are Rowland and Ned, with 180 points.

Now, this little book tells you everything you need to know

about thinking smartly and driving safely on the roads.

Now, our teams have been furiously swatting up.

Every time they get a question right, they win a pie.

Every time they get the question wrong they also win a pie...

in the face.

Let's play the Pie-Way Code.

This game is called the Pie-Way Code,

and it's all about the Highway Code.

Get it wrong and, you guessed it, you get a pie in the face.

Oh! Feels quite nice.

Today, our celebrities have to draw a common road sign from memory.

Are you ready? The sign you have to draw today is...

-Eh?

-Yup, so get cracking!

Kind of looks like a horse.

Some woman's going to be sat on there.

Da-dah! That's the worst picture I've ever seen!

What do you think Davina McCall would say about that, Debra?

AS DAVINA: It is amazing. It is a dog being ridden by a child.

But how does it compare to the real sign?

Is that good? Have I got it?

Well, it's good enough, Jamelia. What about Debra's?

It's exactly the same!

Er, I wouldn't go that far,

but you've done enough to avoid getting pied.

I'm afraid, though, Rowland, it's a fail for you.

And that means...

Well done, Debra and Jamelia.

Rowland, you'd better get swatting up for the next Pie-Way Code.

Now it's time for the third and final round

of the Superskills Barrels Of Fun challenge.

But this time, we've moved the barrels further forward

so there's an even smaller scoring zone.

And there's something else!

There's a gorilla on the loose

and he likes to sit in the back of cars!

Today, he's in a mighty bad mood.

First to deal with him, Rowland and Ned for the Blue Team.

Before they take him for a spin,

let's have a look at the leaderboard.

Still at the bottom are the Greens, with just ten points.

The Oranges are in the middle, with 100 points.

But at the top are the Blues, with 180 points.

But that could all change as they're the first to face the gorilla.

-Don't let him in!

-Yeah, we've got a gorilla in the car!

GORILLA HOOTS

Not a problem!

Rowland's trying to play it cool,

but his primate passenger is putting him under pressure.

The Blue Team are sitting pretty at the top.

Well, he's going to get a little bit overconfident.

That could happen. Here they come.

He's got some speed up there, hasn't he?

-DEBRA:

-He's going to do it.

Despite the chaos in the back-seat,

Rowland's stopped just in the scoring zone.

I'm putting the brakes on as hard as I can

and, fortunately, I got in with a 50.

-That was 50 points in the bag!

-Well done.

So, it's all down to Ned.

How will he deal with our furry friend?

Just concentrate, Ned. Right in the middle.

GORILLA HOOTS

Shut up!

He's at 30.

Going to be interesting to see if he gives it one last blast,

so to speak, or if he keeps control, keeps calm.

I think it's more about pride, this one.

Now!

Yeah... Oooh!

That looked like a perfect stop from Ned.

However, the car must not be touching the barrels,

and that looks really close.

It looks like it's too close. The vehicle has made contact.

You were so close! So close to getting the perfect score twice.

Did we not get the points? We didn't knock them over.

-No, you can't get the points.

-Why not?

-You touched the barrels!

So, no points for Ned,

but with Rowland's 50, the Blues are sitting pretty on 230 points.

Next to take the gorilla for a ride is the Greens.

JAMELIA LAUGHS

I don't like this! I'm going to get out!

What's wrong?

Have you never had a gorilla in the back of your car before?

So, here comes the Green Team.

THEY SCREECH

It looks like something might be going on in the car, Sandra.

So, the distraction in there, what can that be(?)

Let's hope it makes speed demon Jamelia

brake sooner rather than later.

Yes? Yes?

It's a big fat yes.

For the first time,

Jamelia has judged the braking distance correctly,

and that was a perfect stop.

She's rightly chuffed about that.

Being able to get 50

whilst having the gorilla for distraction in the car,

I was very surprised, but very happy.

With a total of 60 points in the bag, can Teja do as well as her mum?

OK, so here comes the Green Team. This is Teja.

This is their final chance to get further up the leaderboard

and avoid the Wash Of Shame.

There you go - we're at 30 now.

Here she comes. Here comes Teja.

Oh, no! Teja's been very overcautious again

and hit the brakes far too early.

But at least she wasn't too bothered about the gorilla in the back.

I just kind of laughed it off and I just didn't let it distract me.

The Greens lose ten points, bringing their total to 50.

Tell us. Tell us about it. What went wrong?

-I stopped too early.

-You stopped too early.

Well, unfortunately, you didn't reach the scoring zone,

so it's minus ten points.

But there's everything to play for

so, fingers crossed, you won't be getting gunged.

And that depends on how well the Orange Team get on.

They need a massive 140 points to take the lead.

I think we've got a distracting monkey in the car.

-Want a banana?

-A-ha! Getting the gorilla onside

might calm him down during the challenge.

I like your thinking, Max.

Now, Debra needs to score points here

to give herself any chance of winning.

Here we go. She's looking fast.

GORILLA HOOTS

She did it!

That was a very confident emergency stop in the scoring zone.

I just thought, you know what? Just focus and just go for it!

-50 points!

-Well done!

That's plenty to smile about, as Debra picks up 50 points.

But the pressure's now on Max. He needs maximum points to win.

GORILLA HOOTS

Hey, little gorilla!

How are you today?

He seems cool, calm and collected with the gorilla in the back.

He's going to have to go for it, you know, isn't he, for himself?

He's going to have to go for it. Is he brave enough? Will he do it?

He needs the maximum points.

He did it!

A perfect finish from Max, stopping just in front of the barrels

and collecting 100 points.

-Max points!

-Max points! Well done, congratulations.

-Go on! Go and join the teams.

-Fantastic!

-Well done.

That was a barrel of laughs.

Let's go and find out what the results are.

SIREN BLARES

I think that gorilla's caused enough trouble for one day.

But it seems there's one car he doesn't want to get into.

There's no use in running! It's a fair cop, guv!

So, teams, we had a good day today.

I thought you all done brilliantly, but I'm not the boss.

-Sandra is. So, over to you, Sandra.

-I've got the results here.

In first place, with 250 points,

Debra and Max.

Take your positions, guys. Well done.

You developed through the day.

-Well done, the pair of you.

-Well done.

In second place...

Rowland and Ned, with 230 points.

Well done. You got very close to winning today, unfortunately.

Rowland, I can see improvement. Well done, the Blue Team.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

In third place, with just 50 points,

it's Jamelia and Teja.

Aww! We'll give you a round of applause anyway.

As you know, you were saved just by the skin of your teeth,

-weren't you, yesterday?

-Yes, yes.

But, unfortunately, today you're not.

-You have to take the Wash Of Shame.

-You thought you'd got away with it!

Before they get gunged, let's have a look at our leaderboard.

Coming up next on Celebrity Driving Academy,

our teams take on the Superskills Trifle Challenge.

The aim is to stay in complete control

if you want to come out on top.

Sweet!

There's another custard pie waiting for someone in the Pie-Way Code,

and Mr C's in a very good mood!

Jamelia and Teja are about to take the Wash Of Shame,

but who will be next to get their just deserts?

CHEERING