0:00:04 > 0:00:09MUSIC: "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd
0:00:09 > 0:00:12In trying in less than half an hour
0:00:12 > 0:00:14to present something of London to you,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18we're not going to find it easy to do justice to the city.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Still, we must start somewhere, and it might as well be here.
0:00:33 > 0:00:38So, we're going to try, now, to show you something of the Londoner's London.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53If I arrive at the Coach And Horses at 12 and not 11,
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Tom Baker tells me that I'm "late for work."
0:00:56 > 0:01:02We have been known all our lives as a country of small shopkeepers.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05He said to me, "You call yourself Toshy The Tie King, boy, Tosh,
0:01:05 > 0:01:06"and you're made".
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Eight-and-a-half million. That's a lot of people.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17And if you ever try walking down Oxford Street
0:01:17 > 0:01:19while the shops are open,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22you'll find them all coming from the opposite direction.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27But, in the West End, the people themselves look normal enough.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29Drinks here might cost you a quid.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31The West Ender pays for the bright lights,
0:01:31 > 0:01:34the sophisticated surroundings, the exclusiveness.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37What's going on in London's West End at the present moment is vicious
0:01:37 > 0:01:41and pornographic, there's no doubt about that whatsoever.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51On page 1 of any London guidebook is Piccadilly Circus,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53heart of the West End.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56My first impressions of Piccadilly Circus were that
0:01:56 > 0:02:01it wasn't as big as I'd expected, but that it was much livelier.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Piccadilly Circus, the stone village green of London.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18To take your girl out to buy a handbag or an enormous limousine,
0:02:18 > 0:02:19you start from here.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Piccadilly is believed to have got its name from the fashionable collars or ruffs
0:02:25 > 0:02:28of the 17th-century, called picadils.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34A tailor, Robert Baker, who made his money out of picadils,
0:02:34 > 0:02:39built at the north end of the Haymarket a gaming house which later became known as Piccadilly Hall.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Since then, Piccadilly, that jaunty name with a ring to it,
0:02:43 > 0:02:45has spread round the world.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48And somehow, has come to mean something personal to everyone,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50whether they're British or not, who's ever been there.
0:02:50 > 0:02:55BELL CHIMES
0:02:56 > 0:02:59BELL CHIMES
0:03:03 > 0:03:07KNOCKING
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Morning, Charlie. Looking for someone, mate?
0:03:15 > 0:03:16Well, he ain't come this way.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Morning, Bert. How's it going, me old son?
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Not too dusty, I hope.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Cleaning out ventilator shafts, that's their job.
0:03:24 > 0:03:30Just look at all this dirt. A hundred tonnes of it every year.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33It's all you lot. 900,000 of you coming in every day,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37and not one of you taking the trouble to wipe your feet on the mat.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40And here we are, slaving all night to keep the place tidy.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44I don't know. Actually, they're very fussy about ventilation,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and the temperature's got to be kept constant, too.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Around 70 all the time.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Tall chimneys and lofty spires are the accepted provinces of these men.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56But another not-so-well-known one is flagpoles,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59of which there is a veritable forest in London alone.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03During the winter months, smog, smoke and general filth in the atmosphere
0:04:03 > 0:04:07adhere to the poles, and they have to be washed down. So, the steeplejacks are called in.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13The method used to manoeuvre up and down the pole is by bosun's chair and rope stirrups,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16which seems quite difficult enough on its own
0:04:16 > 0:04:19without having matters complicated by buckets and sponges.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25MUSIC: "Road" by Nick Drake
0:04:25 > 0:04:28# You can say the sun is shining if you really want to
0:04:28 > 0:04:31# I can see the moon and it seems so clear
0:04:31 > 0:04:34# You can take a road that takes you to the stars now
0:04:34 > 0:04:38# I can take a road that will see me through
0:04:38 > 0:04:42# I can take a road that will see me through... #
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Westminster Council looks after more than 200 miles of roads,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49and we pick up an average of 700 tonnes of rubbish every day.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50That's double the amount picked up
0:04:50 > 0:04:53by any other two London boroughs put together.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56This is Charlie Taylor's team here, in the Mayfair run.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58He don't hang about.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00And he's got a bit of an advantage, really.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01He's got Johnny Quaintance, there.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03He's a marathon runner in his spare time.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06And there's the acrobat, Paul.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10It's funny, most people look the other way and pretend we're not there.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14It's like they think we're part of the rubbish. That's daft.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18You get the odd impatient person who gets behind you, you know,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21if you're halfway through, let's say Gerard Street, and they can't get by,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and you get the hooters blowing, and the cars,
0:05:24 > 0:05:25and one thing or another.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28You just totally ignore them. It's always busy in Chinatown.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30There's cars parked either side of the road.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Times we have to move a car bodily.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36And if we do get in any trouble, the Chinamen come out and help us,
0:05:36 > 0:05:40and if the guy's car whose it is is in the restaurant,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43they'll get him to move it, or they'll help us move it.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46MUSIC: "Run Through The Jungle" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
0:05:46 > 0:05:51# Thought it was a nightmare Lord, it's all so true
0:05:51 > 0:05:55# They told me, don't go walking slow
0:05:55 > 0:05:58# The Devil's on the loose
0:05:58 > 0:06:01# Better run through the jungle... #
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Representing the city of Westminster,
0:06:03 > 0:06:08I inaugurate this new traffic system of signals for Trafalgar Square.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15This system of traffic control is operated by the vehicles themselves,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18which means that the right of way on the various roads
0:06:18 > 0:06:21is directly proportional to the traffic itself.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23No vehicle's being unduly held up.
0:06:23 > 0:06:28For years, the planners have been talking of shifting Covent Garden market, but it's still there,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31a stone's throw from Leicester Square in the heart of London,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35sprawling over streets which have become some of the most congested in Britain.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40Flowers, and 40% of all fresh vegetables and fruit sold in the country, go through this market.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45No wonder the ordinary motorist finds it difficult to get through it.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56At 6:30 in the morning, there are about 1500 heavy vehicles in the area,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59not to mention all the hand barrows.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Four hours later, half that number will still be there,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06unable to move and get on with the business of distribution.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08If you complain about the blockage, market people will tell you
0:07:08 > 0:07:13that they were in the area long before other businesses, and you try to get through at your own risk.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19One of our cameramen went behind the scenes
0:07:19 > 0:07:22to see what the Metropolitan Police have up their sleeve.
0:07:22 > 0:07:27This fine body of 50-year-olds, that the average age, are the first of the new traffic wardens,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30in training to keep the traffic flowing.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Mostly former servicemen, they've soon finished their basic training.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38How can we prevent the ever-increasing traffic halting into one big jam?
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Parking meters in the City of Westminster have done something,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43but there are still scores of streets and squares
0:07:43 > 0:07:46being turned into unofficial car parks.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48So, from now on, the traffic wardens
0:07:48 > 0:07:50will see that parking meter rules are observed,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52as well as informing motorists where they can park,
0:07:52 > 0:07:56and coming down on those who do so in forbidden spots.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58And it's all going to be done courteously.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00No slanging matches, just say,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03"What awful weather we're having, sir", and fine him two pounds.
0:08:07 > 0:08:11# I've been in the police force a long time
0:08:11 > 0:08:15# More years than I care to think of now
0:08:15 > 0:08:18# Sergeants come and go
0:08:18 > 0:08:20# And inspectors come and go
0:08:20 > 0:08:23# But I'll be here until they kick me out... #
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Now, I'm standing in the middle of Soho
0:08:26 > 0:08:30where I would like to have a talk with two members of the force.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32The first one here is Sergeant Sparks.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Now, there's one thing which interests us very much in America,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37and that is the fact that you are...
0:08:37 > 0:08:41- You don't carry a weapon. - No, sir. No.- What do you do if you're attacked?
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Well, we have a truncheon, but that's...
0:08:45 > 0:08:47You have a truncheon, but I don't see it.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Well, we carry it concealed about us, sir.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52But we don't use it. Very, very seldom.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Unless, of course, we are attacked and we need it to defend ourselves.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57- I see. Could I see it?- No, sir.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59I prefer not to show it to you, because if we do,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02we have to report the occurrence of drawing the truncheon.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- Even to show it to me you would have to report it? - Oh, yes, sir, yes.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09That's very interesting. Thank you very much, Sergeant.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Now, Constable Wood, here, has actually been shot at,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14and I'm going to find out from him
0:09:14 > 0:09:16whether we can get a few facts about this incident.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19You're just going to see the demonstration of an invention
0:09:19 > 0:09:22which, it is hoped, will end the smash-and-grab menace.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Here comes the bandits' car, now watch.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40ALARM SOUNDS
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Mothproof, dustproof and waterproof, one shilling each, only.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47- How long have you been in Oxford Street?- Approximately ten years.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51- Do you have a lot of trouble with the police?- No, not on the whole.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55On the whole, I find the police a very nice body of men.
0:09:55 > 0:09:56- Do you pay any income tax?- No.
0:09:58 > 0:09:59No, I don't pay no income.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I think I pay my income tax in summonses.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Some of the lads, when they see the policeman come, they can run away.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09But I've passed the age of 21, and I can't very well do that.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Well, there it is. It seems, like every other job, it has its disadvantages,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16you get chased by the police, diddled by the public, they say,
0:10:16 > 0:10:22but, of course, every penny you make in this mark is tax-free.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Get your polythene bags here. You all know me. Only a bob each.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Mothproof, waterproof, dustproof.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- Right, I'm arresting you. - HE GROANS
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Hit me, I'm a golf ball!
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Many of the great Soho characters are all dead, and who can blame them?
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Their replacements are monstrous.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Massive injections of advertising executives with pocket bleepers
0:10:57 > 0:10:59and a taste for cheap wine have finally killed off
0:10:59 > 0:11:04what was just about the best part of London for anyone who never saw virtue in work for its own sake.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10By and large, I've met a better class of person in the gutter than I have in the drawing room.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13You find this perfume, you buy this,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16you put little bit at the back of the tart's ear tonight,
0:11:16 > 0:11:18I bet you'll finish up having twins.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21- How good salesmen are you? - Me? I'm the greatest.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Don't you ever think you'll ever live...or SEE a man like me.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28I'm the greatest. Don't care who you ask.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Ask anybody... What about you, guv'nor?
0:11:30 > 0:11:34Now, you've seen me so many years. How many years have you known me?
0:11:34 > 0:11:39- Oh, blimey, Lord knows.- Now, tell the gentleman, be fair. - About... Let's see...
0:11:39 > 0:11:42- How many years? 20, 30 years, isn't it?- No, not quite right.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45- How many years?- About 28.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49MUSIC: "The Truth Is In The Dirt" by Karen Elson
0:11:52 > 0:11:55# The truth is in the dirt on the ground
0:11:55 > 0:11:58# The truth is in the dirt on the ground
0:11:58 > 0:12:01# Not in your gilded cage with your rusted spoon
0:12:01 > 0:12:05# When the ground splits open it will swallow you... #
0:12:05 > 0:12:08The whole world passes by, you've got everything.
0:12:08 > 0:12:14You've got beggars, you've got rich gits in big, flash cars
0:12:14 > 0:12:20and, you know...disgorging fabulous, beautiful girls.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22There's nowhere else I'd rather be.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32You cannot live without protein, but if you have too much,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34it will make your passion very high.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39Not so much protein for not so much passion.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44He sort of saw bad things happening all around him, on the BBC, on the radio.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47He had a particular dislike of The Archers,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52which he thought was a very, sort of, wicked programme for spreading wicked sorts of behaviour.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57Read my booklets, I have them here. They're only nine pence.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02He was a kind of emblem of London, of the, sort of, street life,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04of the eccentricity, of the free speech of London.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08Some shopkeepers are particular about who their customers are,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10but with Jacob Mendelssohn, it would seem,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13the business runs best without any customers at all.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- But why can't I look in now? - Because I don't want to. That's all.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21It's my property, and I know what I have to do, what I cannot do.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32In these streets, you can buy treasures that will last a lifetime,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35or delicacies that will be gone tomorrow.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39Among the big, modern stores, the small, specialist places,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43changing little because no-one wants them to change.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Least of all, the customers, local, or visiting.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52These little, traditional shops are wonderful places to buy presents.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Being traditional, they are more concerned with maintaining a reputation for quality
0:13:56 > 0:13:58than they are with catching the eye.
0:13:58 > 0:14:04And being specialist, they have what you want in a wide range of prices.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Oxford Street, and light is dawning on a chill, midwinter morning.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Who are these, who need a cup of sweet and strong to wake them up?
0:14:15 > 0:14:18From Welwyn, Wapping, Wembley, Wales they've come to do the winter sales.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Some pass the time in useful knitting,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23while others just get tired of sitting.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27But from the moment when the door is opened, brother, this is war!
0:14:28 > 0:14:31To the heart of London's West End, the self-condemned criminal
0:14:31 > 0:14:35sends his pupils to wreck and burn department stores and shops.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Indiscriminate bombing is the hallmark of the Hun.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Grim humour in the wax models and scattered contents
0:14:41 > 0:14:45of a one-time proud building litter glass-strewn Oxford Street.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48The smouldering ruins of part of London's shopping centre
0:14:48 > 0:14:50bear witness to the work of Germany's hooligans.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55CAR HORNS AND SHOUTING
0:14:55 > 0:14:59CROWD CLAP AND SHOUT: England!
0:14:59 > 0:15:02This is central London, this is the West End,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04and we know every time there's a football match,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07even smaller football matches at Wembley, erm,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10we know that we're going to get the backlash.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17# Oh, no There's got to be a better way... #
0:15:17 > 0:15:19That's pathetic.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21# Say it again... #
0:15:21 > 0:15:23I just can't understand it.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25# There's got to be a better way... #
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Singing "Rule, Britannia!", I've Got the Queen's letters there,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31and then they're shouting at me as if I'm against it.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34# What is it good for? War! #
0:15:34 > 0:15:39It started as an anti-Vietnam War demonstration in Trafalgar Square.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42About 10,000 gathered. Most of them were young.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Most of them were sincere, they wanted peace.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Vanessa Redgrave, as usual,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49was in the vanguard of the would-be peacemakers.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54But also there were trouble makers, a hard core with intentions
0:15:54 > 0:15:59to drag the majority of well-intentioned demonstrators down to their sickening level.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02This was how they turned a demonstration for peace
0:16:02 > 0:16:06into a bloody riot such as Britain has never before witnessed.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11According to the police, none of this had anything to do with the Poll Tax.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16They blame a minority of anarchists and extremists, who they say
0:16:16 > 0:16:19regularly hijack demonstrations purely to whip up trouble.
0:16:21 > 0:16:26Scotland Yard put the number of demonstrators at 40,000,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29with a total of 2,700 police on duty.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31They came under immense pressure on many occasions,
0:16:31 > 0:16:37but the man in charge of policing Central London denies they lost control.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- # War!- Huh!- Good God!
0:16:40 > 0:16:43# What is it good for?
0:16:43 > 0:16:45# Absolutely nothing Say it again... #
0:16:49 > 0:16:53117 policemen were injured while defending themselves
0:16:53 > 0:16:54and doing their duty.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57The police have earned the highest possible praise
0:16:57 > 0:17:01for their incredible self-control against overwhelming brute force
0:17:01 > 0:17:04on a day when a demonstration for peace ended as a war
0:17:04 > 0:17:06in the heart of London.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Staged by the real-life Mrs Mops
0:17:13 > 0:17:16who clean out the offices of government departments in Whitehall,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20the demonstration, led by pipers, seeks public support for a new wage increase.
0:17:20 > 0:17:26We, the charwoman of London, and also there's some here from the provinces, I believe,
0:17:26 > 0:17:31we consider Stafford Cripps's farthing a damn insult to us,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35and we're going to... We think we have the right to ask
0:17:35 > 0:17:39for that thruppence, three farthings, to make our money up to two shillings an hour.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41That's about all.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43MUSIC: "Femme Fatale" by The Velvet Underground
0:17:43 > 0:17:46# Here she comes
0:17:46 > 0:17:48# You better watch your step
0:17:52 > 0:17:57# She's going to break your heart in two
0:17:57 > 0:17:59# It's true... #
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Lights blaze and dance. A city with her make-up on.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06And in the side streets that criss-cross their devious ways
0:18:06 > 0:18:10behind the arteries of light, and in the alleys where the lamps are low,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13the clubs and the easy money joins the fashionable nightspots,
0:18:13 > 0:18:17as proud of their respectability as a girl of her first mink.
0:18:17 > 0:18:22The all-night cafes and the nude shows. Soho.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26Life after dark with an enamel glass and the cracks showing.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31Garish, gay, avaricious, and a little sleazy at the edges.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35The highlight of the show at most of these clubs is the striptease.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Don't copy this technique, girls,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46unless you've got central heating in your bedroom.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Myself and my boyfriend, we came back from Morocco,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54and we got ourselves a flat, and we found it was rather expensive,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58and neither of us had jobs, so we wanted to get some money quickly,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00just to get us on our feet again.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02And we happened to be walking past The Dolls House,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05and Richard said, "Come on, let's go in here."
0:19:05 > 0:19:08And before I knew where I was, I was sitting up here with Rhoda,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and next morning I was downstairs on the stage,
0:19:11 > 0:19:15before I'd even had a chance to think about what I was doing or why I was doing it.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19Now, you're going on to take the... To undo the buttons in the front.
0:19:21 > 0:19:22That's it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25If I walked up to someone in the street and said, "I'm a stripper",
0:19:25 > 0:19:28they'd probably be disgusted and walk away.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31And yet, for me, it's just the same as standing on stage
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and singing a Schubert lieder like I used to when I was in the convent!
0:19:34 > 0:19:39- # Cos everybody knows - She's a femme fatale
0:19:39 > 0:19:43- # The things she does to please - She's a femme fatale
0:19:43 > 0:19:48- # She's just a little tease - She's a femme fatale
0:19:48 > 0:19:51# See the way she walks
0:19:53 > 0:19:55# Hear the way she talks... #
0:19:55 > 0:20:00Not allowed to talk, so, you just sort of smile sweetly back
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and hope for the best.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05You're not allowed to move, either.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07So if you're in an uncomfortable position,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11you just have to wait until somebody pulls the curtains.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15What about the boyfriend now? In the first place, he was keen for you to come earn the money.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Now he hates it.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21He keeps on saying to me, "Oh, I don't want you to do this work!"
0:20:21 > 0:20:23But perhaps because I'm very stubborn, it was his idea,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25I didn't want to do it in the first place, I think,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27"Right, I'll get my own back on you now."
0:20:27 > 0:20:33But I thought, "Well, it was his idea for me to just work for a week or so, get 80 quid."
0:20:33 > 0:20:36But I thought, "Well, I've sold my soul for a while,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38"why not sell my soul for a bit longer,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40"and get some money that I can enjoy?"
0:20:40 > 0:20:41I mean, go through all the hard work first
0:20:41 > 0:20:43and don't reap any of the benefits.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45You see, so it's affecting me already.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47I'm thinking, you know, "money" now.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50PHONE RINGS
0:20:50 > 0:20:51Hi!
0:20:51 > 0:20:56Yes, darling. We have a couple of speciality rooms here.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00Loads of clothes and toys, videos, bath, shower.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04So the combination of your personal treatments is entirely up to you.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07English, 25 years old, about 5'6"...
0:21:07 > 0:21:10- "25!"- ..shoulder length dark hair.
0:21:10 > 0:21:1436, 24, 37, but lovely and firm. She's an aerobics instructor.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18£40, and you can do whatever you please.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23This is the cross. And guys like to be tied up on that, and sometimes I tickle them, or whatever.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Do different things to them. This is the stocks.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Some of the guys like real, really heavy-duty pain,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34- but most of them like the idea of it more than the actual pain.- Yeah.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38I don't mind. It doesn't bother me at all.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41If they need a good beating, I'll give it 'em.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43That was the dark side of the picture,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45the good-time girl who drifts into sordid ways of life,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48into the lower depths of the big city.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52But for every girl who gets into trouble, there are thousands
0:21:52 > 0:21:56of normal, healthy youngsters living and working happily in London.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59They are forming new friendships, sharing new experiences,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02and enjoying all the excitement that London offers.
0:22:02 > 0:22:09MUSIC: "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Shaftesbury Avenue, street of theatres and cinemas.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24A world of make-believe for those who would escape reality, if only for a few hours.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33The West End on a Saturday night is always milling with people.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36And, perhaps because of the crowds,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39it can be a lonely place for strangers like Harold and his wife.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46No, Mr Harold Martin, you're too young.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51By now it's too late for the theatres, but not for the cinemas.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54At home, they only have to pay 1/9.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58I'm afraid here, he found himself rushed for 4/6.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02But they didn't mind. One day in the year, and it was their day out.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Monday evening, and tucked away amongst the tawdry glitter
0:23:05 > 0:23:08of Soho's all-night strip shows and Chinese takeaways,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11is London's latest place to be and be seen in - The Gargoyle Club.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14HIP-HOP MUSIC
0:23:14 > 0:23:18HE RAPS
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Cyberman, why do you do it?
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Because, it's the best thing, I'm good at doing it,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and there's not many people that do it.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31- How much time does it take you to get it together?- Well, not much time.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33As long as the ending word rhymes, then it's all right.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37But what's the attraction of rapping? Nick Jones and Simon Oakes.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It's the beginning and the end of everything.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45It's speaking in rhymes, it's talking in rhyme talk,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48it's jiving, it's dancing, it's rapping.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51It's, erm, it's whatever you want to do
0:23:51 > 0:23:53when you don't have anything else to do.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57HE RAPS
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Every kid that does it feels like a star.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05I mean, I can make up my lyrics and I can sing my particular tune,
0:24:05 > 0:24:10but, you know, it doesn't mean that that kid has any great...
0:24:10 > 0:24:12I mean, doesn't get any exposure.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27The Beare family has been in violins and cellos in Soho since 1892.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Some of the world's greatest musicians buy here,
0:24:31 > 0:24:35and bring their precious instruments to the repair room upstairs.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40The hallmarks of a Beare's craftsmen are delicate fingers, and nerves of steel.
0:24:41 > 0:24:49It's certainly one of Stradivarius's...nicer instruments.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Made in 1721.
0:24:52 > 0:24:58- Do you know what it's worth? - Erm, certainly over £100,000.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01WOOD CREAKS
0:25:01 > 0:25:06- Did you heart beat any faster when you did that?- Perhaps a little bit.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08What goes into the making of a stage fight,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12full of flashing swords and the clash of steel on steel?
0:25:12 > 0:25:15West End actor, Patrick Crane,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18believes that to give the audience value for its money,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20every stroke must be planned in detail beforehand.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24His partner in the fight, and in the school of fencing they run together,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27is Rex Rickman, competition fencer with the Grenadier Guards,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31who fought in the Brigade Of Guards during the war.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Patrick Crane and Rex Rickman aim to make stage fights technically perfect,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38and at the same time give them the greatest dramatic effect.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41The result of all that planning is going to make the audience
0:25:41 > 0:25:43sit up during the duel scene in Hamlet.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48Most of what's left of the British film industry is run from Soho.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53Today, sound effects are being dubbed onto Dance With A Stranger.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57WATER BOTTLE SQUIRTS
0:25:57 > 0:26:00POURING FROM BOTTLE
0:26:01 > 0:26:07The grande dame of sound effects is Beryl Mortimer, 25 years at the game.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Dogs and their habits are a cinch.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14Today's real challenge is synchronising the unzipping of a banana.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25HARMONICA MUSIC
0:26:28 > 0:26:32I don't think anyone ever really believes it'll happen to them,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35and if you talk to these people, and everyone round here does talk to them,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39and gets to know some of them, quite regularly over a period of years,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43you will find that they never really believed it would happen to them, at all.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47- You know, the margin, the line, is awfully narrow.- You mean, just a hair's breadth...
0:26:47 > 0:26:50And people can topple over and go down into it.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54When the glamour wears off, here at least, in Centrepoint, there's shelter.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Incredible though it may seem,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01there is still this Dick Whittington idea about London.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05And those kids come in from Scotland, Ireland, the north of England,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08still with this idea that everything is going to be fine,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12they're going to be able to get a job. London's paved with gold, and so on.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16And, of course, they immediately hit the disillusionment.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29God, I hate this place, I really, really hate it here.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33John! John! It's Jane.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37Just getting you back for all the times you've been annoying. Hello!
0:27:37 > 0:27:39SHE LAUGHS
0:27:39 > 0:27:44A lot of the young homeless will get offered
0:27:44 > 0:27:49money for sexual...favours.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53And some... Some of the offers are extremely tempting.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57So, I'll take the condoms, lube and that,
0:27:57 > 0:28:02while Jane deals with the injecting equipment.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07But, like, Piccadilly, for example, has got a really long history.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Oscar Wilde, in his trial,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13there's cases cited in that
0:28:13 > 0:28:16of him picking up rent boys in Piccadilly.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I earn more money than half of these people working in an office.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24They look at it as a dirty, perverted thing, right?
0:28:24 > 0:28:26I look at it as a job.
0:28:26 > 0:28:32That is it. And I'm not scared to say, "Oh, yes, I'm a rent boy."
0:28:32 > 0:28:33But I'm not. I'm a male prostitute.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37You can get immunised against Hep B, which is a big issue for gay men,
0:28:37 > 0:28:41- especially, you know, you can pick that up...- Kissing?- Not really from kissing,
0:28:41 > 0:28:46but it's more like little cuts and things, and from...sex.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Cos, right, I've got a marble ceiling,
0:28:49 > 0:28:53studio flat, with views.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Central location.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59Central location, two telephones. People say I'm homeless?
0:28:59 > 0:29:01THEY LAUGH
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd