0:00:02 > 0:00:04This is BBC Cymru Wales.
0:00:04 > 0:00:08Now a treat for viewers across the nation as we join comedian
0:00:08 > 0:00:12and broadcaster Chris Corcoran for a look back at 50 years of BBC Wales.
0:00:13 > 0:00:1650 years ago, someone thought it was a good idea
0:00:16 > 0:00:18to give Wales its own TV channel.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20So I've dug out the funniest bits,
0:00:20 > 0:00:26intentional or not, from that time in order to entertain you.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29I'll show you clips from BBC Wales shows that are
0:00:29 > 0:00:31old and West Walian...
0:00:31 > 0:00:36All I wanted was a few grapes to make a pie.
0:00:36 > 0:00:37..funny...
0:00:37 > 0:00:40You're not leaving your little butterfly?
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- I've got to, bach, I've got a stand ticket.- Thank you.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Thank you.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47..dangerous...
0:00:49 > 0:00:50..dramatic,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52legends laughing at themselves...
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Oh, grief!
0:00:55 > 0:00:58If I have grandchildren, they shouldn't be shown this.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00..and groovy?
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Just made it up on the spot.
0:01:02 > 0:01:03Plus this...
0:01:03 > 0:01:05and this.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09I don't remember anything about that era at all!
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Welcome, Welsh people!
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Back in 1964, BBC Wales were building themselves a new home.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23So, as the builders were busy brewing up,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27BBC Wales was getting ready to launch its own television channel.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29MALE VOICE CHOIR SING
0:01:31 > 0:01:33You know, in February,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38the BBC starts a new television service, BBC Wales.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42The new transmitters at Wenvoe and Haverfordwest will link up with
0:01:42 > 0:01:47the transmitters already covering Mid Wales, the west and North Wales -
0:01:47 > 0:01:49an all-Wales network.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53So, with free rein to broadcast literally anything on our own
0:01:53 > 0:01:56bilingual channel, what did we show on the opening night?
0:01:57 > 0:02:02A news item on the closure of a divinity college in Bala.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25Buoyed by this success,
0:02:25 > 0:02:29BBC Wales went in search of our most lovable eccentrics.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34I've got a collection of hats here. I'll show some to you now.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40This old hat has kept me very well this cold winter, you know.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44Protects my head in severe weather.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47And it has been cold this winter.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50And it has been cold this winter and I wrap myself up like this.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Oh, it has been useful to me.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Now, when going out...when going out milking
0:02:57 > 0:02:59I put this on.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Yes, in the year of The Beatles, civil rights,
0:03:04 > 0:03:05free love, flower power
0:03:05 > 0:03:09and Vietnam, we decided that what viewers wanted to see was
0:03:09 > 0:03:12a farmer in a variety of hats!
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Honestly, this was a real man!
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Next, Welsh TV producers saw an opportunity to promote Welsh
0:03:31 > 0:03:34products...made by eccentrics, obviously.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Wales Today discovered that in West Wales,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42one man was pioneering a sophisticated continental crop
0:03:42 > 0:03:46and at the same time they revealed the future economic policy
0:03:46 > 0:03:49that would serve our nation so well.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51If in doubt, trust the English.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54Mr Jones, at 65, has just completed the harvest
0:03:54 > 0:03:59of his three-quarter acre vineyard at Pembrey in Carmarthenshire.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Indeed, it's the first Welsh wine harvest for 100 years.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Well, I wasn't sure on the price.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10So I sent away to London to get an idea.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15They recommended me that 12 shillings would be all right,
0:04:15 > 0:04:21plus three shillings duty, which means 15 shillings a bottle.
0:04:21 > 0:04:27All I wanted was a few grapes to make a pie and all I've
0:04:27 > 0:04:32used my rolling pin, so far, is to crush the grapes to make this wine.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35With stuff like local fine wines on offer, someone at the BBC
0:04:35 > 0:04:39realised that TV could be used to sell Wales to the world.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41So, they made a film following a Londoner on holiday
0:04:41 > 0:04:43in Carmarthenshire.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Just roll it from there, Bryn.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53- Hello.- Hello.- Where's the bus for Caio?- There are no buses to Caio.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57- Well, how do you get there?- Walk.- Walk?- Yes.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00CHURCH BELL RINGS
0:05:00 > 0:05:03What a godforsaken place!
0:05:03 > 0:05:06The miniskirt has not arrived in Caio yet.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10The women...they're big women.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15Not the petite bird from my walk of life.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Statuesque, more the Amazon type.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Some strange people around here.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24There was that girl from Swansea University,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27studying zoology because...
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I hate most human beings.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Another interesting person.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45But the charming old Wales was changing!
0:05:47 > 0:05:51As citizens in Cardiff got to grips with new technology,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55BBC Wales was there using telly to promote road safety.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Inspector Dix, the panda crossing looks a bit complicated to me,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01what's the city police done to teach the public how to use it?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Well, 15,000 pamphlets have been distributed at schools
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and at homes in the area and for the past week,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10this crossing has been supervised by the police.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Initially the police pressed the button for the public
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and, of course, later the public are doing it under police supervision.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23As 50-year-old teenagers roamed the streets of Wales, crossing
0:06:23 > 0:06:28roads without police supervision and threateningly combing their hair.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30BBC Wales took its media role
0:06:30 > 0:06:34of exaggerated scaremongering very seriously, as this clip
0:06:34 > 0:06:38of Peter Purves' dad talking into a Slush Puppie shows.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Teenage terrorists invade this little village
0:06:41 > 0:06:43and turn it into battle ground.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46They fight amongst themselves, cause damage
0:06:46 > 0:06:48and leave a trail of broken beer bottles
0:06:48 > 0:06:54and broken pint glasses and the trail leads to this Beat dance hall.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57In other words, it's outside people that cause the damage?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Yes, it isn't the Bangor people that come down here any more.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Yeah, it's probably the English.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11BBC Wales needed to engage with a disaffected youth...and fast!
0:07:11 > 0:07:14So, they came up with...The Singing Barn!
0:07:16 > 0:07:19THEY SING
0:07:22 > 0:07:26The audience were an amalgamation
0:07:26 > 0:07:30of two brilliant Cardiff based choirs.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34So when the chorus came, the entire audience sprang to life
0:07:34 > 0:07:39and sang in perfect harmony whatever song the groups were singing.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44# And she invited me to hoodiddie in the kitchen
0:07:44 > 0:07:46# With a too-diddle-doo-diddle-ay
0:07:46 > 0:07:48# And a too-diddle-day-diddle-alley
0:07:48 > 0:07:50# With a too-diddle-doo-diddle-ay
0:07:50 > 0:07:52# And a toodle-loodle-alley... #
0:07:52 > 0:07:55If it was a Scottish song, we sang it in a Scottish accent.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00If it was an Irish song, we sang it in an Irish accent.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02# Lots of fun at Finnegan's... #
0:08:02 > 0:08:06If it was a Welsh song, we sang it in a Cardiff accent,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08which ruined it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14# Shut your mouth says Paddy Magee! #
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Whilst Welsh viewers watched The Singing Barn, British audiences were
0:08:18 > 0:08:21tuning into the like of The Beatles and the Stones on Top Of The Pops.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25So, BBC Wales figured it was time to get hip with its own
0:08:25 > 0:08:26Welsh language pop show.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Cue the titles, mate.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42Disc A Dawn featured Welsh acts and vomit-inducing 1960s camera work.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45# Troi pob un yn feddw. #
0:08:45 > 0:08:46I have in front of me
0:08:46 > 0:08:49an original director's script for the cameraman of the show.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51And it reads...
0:08:51 > 0:08:53HE CLEARS HIS THROAT
0:08:53 > 0:08:56.."Out, in, out, in, out, in, out,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00"in, out, in, out, in, out, in."
0:09:00 > 0:09:01Nice.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Disc A Dawn was hugely popular
0:09:05 > 0:09:07but the Welsh public wanted more.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10So Welsh groups were writing material as fast as they could
0:09:10 > 0:09:14but the producers still struggled to fill the show.
0:09:14 > 0:09:19Such and such a song has been on Top Of The Pops on Saturday,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23it's number one, we want it on Disc A Dawn by next Saturday.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27So we'd translate these songs, then, during the week.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30# Gan bwyll, paid rhuthro 'mlaen
0:09:30 > 0:09:34# Mae bore cyfan o dy flaen
0:09:34 > 0:09:38# Hei, cicia cerrig lan a lawr
0:09:38 > 0:09:41# Chwilio am sbort a theimlo'n heini. #
0:09:41 > 0:09:45I do remember me prancing around being terribly youthful,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49singing a Welsh version of Feeling Groovy,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51which was Teimlo'n Heini.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56# A oes gen ti ddim i'w ddweud
0:09:56 > 0:09:59# Di-dm-di-dy, teimlo'n heini! #
0:10:03 > 0:10:07And how were the children of Wales served in the 1960s?
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Great! Telewele made home-made fireworks.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17It's all right, boys, it's only gunpowder!
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Just scrape it onto the floor.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30As a new decade dawned, BBC Wales embraced a whole new world...
0:10:34 > 0:10:36..of colour!
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Come on, mate, it's been your move for 40 years.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48It was boom time for Wales' TV salesmen.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54Colour television sets were really scarce and I was on the phone
0:10:54 > 0:10:57nearly every day, "When am I having telly, when am I having telly?"
0:10:57 > 0:10:59"How many do you want?"
0:10:59 > 0:11:00"How many can you give me?"
0:11:00 > 0:11:03"Will you take 100?" He said...
0:11:03 > 0:11:07and he sent me a lorry, 100 tellies.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13And that was ten days before Christmas and we got them all out.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18But not everyone was lucky enough to be part of the colour revolution.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22In Corris, you can only have colour TV
0:11:22 > 0:11:25if you live in a private dwelling house.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28If you live in a council house like one of these here, you've just
0:11:28 > 0:11:32got to know your place and make do with black and white.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35It's all to do with the fact that Corris is in a valley and they
0:11:35 > 0:11:39can't get direct television pictures here, so they get pipe television.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42But there are two companies, one supplying colour pictures to
0:11:42 > 0:11:47private houses and one supplying black and white to council tenants.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55What would be the main advantage for you of colour?
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Well, to see the dresses and the dancing programmes.
0:11:58 > 0:12:04We don't even have BBC Two, let alone have anything in colour.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07So whilst viewers in Corris were missing out on...pretty much
0:12:07 > 0:12:11everything, those not living in Middle Earth were able to
0:12:11 > 0:12:14enjoy one of BBC Wales' most loved comedy acts.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Here they are in a sketch about a Welsh attempt to industrialise
0:12:22 > 0:12:24dairy puddings production.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Now, the milk and the rice goes down here, you understand?
0:12:28 > 0:12:32And it travels through here, now, as far as the gurgle valve.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- Right? Are you reasoning my thinking now?- Yes, indeed.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40Then, later on, then, the rice and the sugar join the milk,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43come together, you understand, down here.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44If you want to step back a little bit now,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46we're still in the experimental stage.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48- Oh, I see.- No risks.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50- Back you go, then.- Fine.- Bit more.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52That's it, you keep going till I tell you. You go back a bit.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54I think you're about right there now.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Here we go, then.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59One...two...three!
0:13:02 > 0:13:04LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Another big hit of the '70s was Poems And Pints,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13a show featuring songs and poems and, well, pints.
0:13:13 > 0:13:18My abiding memory of one particular Poems And Pints was
0:13:18 > 0:13:21when Hywel Williams, who was directing it, said,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24"Right, we're going to do this on the Irish ferry."
0:13:24 > 0:13:26# In action he had lost an eye
0:13:26 > 0:13:29# But that caused him no trouble
0:13:29 > 0:13:35# Said, "Sam, I have no cause to sigh...I'm always seeing double." #
0:13:35 > 0:13:38We realised that the ship is beginning to
0:13:38 > 0:13:39move around an awful lot.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41A gale had blown up.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43A force nine gale!
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And suddenly we couldn't stand straight.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49# Who ne'er could, ne'er could keep his legs... #
0:13:49 > 0:13:51And he wasn't the only one!
0:13:51 > 0:13:55There were 200 people in the lounge of the Saint Columba
0:13:55 > 0:13:57when we started recording that programme.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02The were five left in the Columba by the time we'd got to the end.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07# Oh, Tom, Dick and Harry were three fine men...#
0:14:07 > 0:14:11It went out a couple of weeks later and I thought, surely,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14the continuity announcer on BBC Two is going to say,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17"And now we come to this week's edition of Poems And Pints -
0:14:17 > 0:14:22"a programme recorded in a force nine gale, in the Irish Channel".
0:14:23 > 0:14:25But they didn't, they didn't say a word.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29So, we just looked as if we were too drunk to stand!
0:14:29 > 0:14:30# Did you ever see
0:14:31 > 0:14:32Did you ever see
0:14:34 > 0:14:36# Did you ever see
0:14:36 > 0:14:41# Such a funny thing before?! #
0:14:42 > 0:14:45APPLAUSE
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Poems And Pints also launched a singer/songwriter who would go on to
0:14:48 > 0:14:52become one of the biggest names in the UK and a living legend in Wales!
0:14:52 > 0:14:55So I think this calls for a longer chat.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I know you hate watching yourself back.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04I know you do...but this is one of your slightly less well known
0:15:04 > 0:15:06songs but, I think, for me,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08it's got one of the greatest punch lines
0:15:08 > 0:15:11in Welsh comedy history, in my opinion.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Do you remember this?
0:15:13 > 0:15:17# She said she came from Crymlin
0:15:17 > 0:15:22# And that her name was Anne
0:15:22 > 0:15:26# She told me "You can walk me home"
0:15:26 > 0:15:29# I said "I got a van"
0:15:31 > 0:15:35# We turned into a lay-by
0:15:35 > 0:15:40# Where she told me she loved me
0:15:40 > 0:15:44# So I gave her my debenture
0:15:44 > 0:15:48# Block A, row three. #
0:15:48 > 0:15:50- I've never listened to that.- Have you not?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- Never, ever sung that song since.- No way?
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Not once in my life ever sung that song
0:15:56 > 0:15:58because it's got such a long ending
0:15:58 > 0:16:00- to the actually punch line...- Yeah.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03..people would sing the line before I could get to it.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Cos there was a three bar break.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08So, I never used to sing it for fear someone would throw
0:16:08 > 0:16:10the...I've never, ever seen that and I've never sung it since.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14So, what was the hardest bit about going from live to telly,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16then, for you?
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Well, I've always loved communication
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and I've always been at my best when I've got people around me.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25I found it very difficult, the falseness and the rehearsals.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27"Quiet in the studio, please!"
0:16:27 > 0:16:30And all that, it used to kill all atmosphere and I rejoiced
0:16:30 > 0:16:33in that atmosphere, which you obviously don't get in television.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36You also toured leisure centres to do your TV shows from.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37Quick pop quiz, right.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I'm going to read you out a list of leisure centres
0:16:39 > 0:16:42and I want you to tell me if you did a TV show from them.
0:16:42 > 0:16:43OK? So, just yes or no.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45- Pontypool leisure centre?- Yes.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47- Deeside leisure centre?- Yes.
0:16:47 > 0:16:48- Ebbw Vale leisure centre?- Yes.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50- Rhydycar leisure centre, Merthyr Tydfil?- Yes.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55- Llantwit Vardre leisure centre? - No.- No, that's my leisure centre.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- Well, you never asked, you never asked.- No, very disappointed.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Let me show you a little clip from one of your other TV performances.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06Some stand out, like Sydney Opera House.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12# And we were singing hymns and arias
0:17:12 > 0:17:17# Land of my fathers
0:17:19 > 0:17:23# Ar Hyd y Nos. #
0:17:23 > 0:17:25Good night, Sydney!
0:17:25 > 0:17:27APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:17:27 > 0:17:29That's the only time in my life,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32apart from maybe the Royal Albert Hall, in London,
0:17:32 > 0:17:38where I've been overwhelmed by a building...standing outside.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Once I was in, I was fine. I was where I'm at.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44But to stand outside the Sydney Opera House, thinking,
0:17:44 > 0:17:45"What am I doing here?"
0:17:45 > 0:17:51When I went on, it was phenomenal! After 30 seconds, I was away.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Now, Max, I'm never going to have an opportunity
0:17:54 > 0:17:55to play the Sydney Opera House
0:17:55 > 0:17:58and sing songs like you've sang there like Hymns And Arias.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00But this is my only chance,
0:18:00 > 0:18:04so I've written you a new verse that I would be very privileged
0:18:04 > 0:18:07if you would play along with me and allow me to sing for you.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09I'd be privileged to, Chris.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12- And you've got to score it out of ten at the end, right?- All right.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15OK. So, I'll take my lead from you, right.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Ladies and gentlemen, live at Glyn-Neath rugby club,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20the legend that is Chris Corcoran.
0:18:20 > 0:18:21Thank you.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26# Wales are winning grand-slams now
0:18:26 > 0:18:28# Nearly every year
0:18:28 > 0:18:31# Because they're drinking protein shakes
0:18:31 > 0:18:33# Instead of loads of beer
0:18:33 > 0:18:36# George North is our new star player
0:18:36 > 0:18:38# One step and he is gone
0:18:38 > 0:18:40# He's like a speedy Scott Quinnell
0:18:40 > 0:18:43# Or a massive Barry John. #
0:18:43 > 0:18:48# We were singing
0:18:48 > 0:18:52# Hymns and arias
0:18:52 > 0:18:56# Land of my fathers
0:18:57 > 0:19:03# Ar Hyd y Nos! #
0:19:03 > 0:19:04Good night, Sydney!
0:19:04 > 0:19:06- Filling up. - HE LAUGHS
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- You can have that. - That was brilliant.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12- You can have that, I'll copy it out for you and you can take it away. - Please, promise I'll sign it.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- Score out of ten?- Ten.- Yes!
0:19:16 > 0:19:19In the '70s, BBC Wales looked to its past successes
0:19:19 > 0:19:22and decided to revamp The Singing Barn.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29The Singing Barn became The Singing Train.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30The Singing Train
0:19:30 > 0:19:33became The Singing Barge.
0:19:33 > 0:19:34The Singing Barge
0:19:34 > 0:19:36became The Singing Straits
0:19:36 > 0:19:38and The Singing Straits
0:19:38 > 0:19:39became The Singing Trail...
0:19:42 > 0:19:45..which really should have been called The Singing Horse
0:19:45 > 0:19:48but everyone realised that that suggested the show actually
0:19:48 > 0:19:50featured an actual singing horse,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53which no matter how often they pretended to stand in a river...
0:19:53 > 0:19:57# I want to stand in a stream with you...#
0:19:57 > 0:20:01..it would have been an anti-climax. Nice song, mind.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05# I'd like to lie in a field with you
0:20:06 > 0:20:09# Would you like to do it too? #
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Aw! Pretend lovers.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17So what were the challenges of filming a transport-based light-ent show?
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Being on a train, you couldn't play live.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24You just couldn't get over the noise of the wheels of the train
0:20:24 > 0:20:25and all the clanging.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30So there was a mechanism whereby a big reel-to-reel tape
0:20:30 > 0:20:34would play a recording of the song and we would all mime to it.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38# Little railway, little railway Clack, clickety, clack
0:20:38 > 0:20:42# Singing along to the end of the track
0:20:42 > 0:20:46# Over streams and up mountains through woods and through vales... #
0:20:46 > 0:20:49If somebody made a mistake, you had to go all the way
0:20:49 > 0:20:51back down the bottom of the track and start all over again.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53You couldn't just start it again,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56because the vision through the window would be all wrong.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59# No-one can ride it but the pure and holy
0:20:59 > 0:21:03# Lord, Lord, this train... #
0:21:03 > 0:21:07We went up and down Snowdon about 18 times on this train.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08Hywel Williams, the producer, said,
0:21:08 > 0:21:10"John, we're doing Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13"but I want a bit of choreography." I said, "What, now?" He said, "Yes."
0:21:13 > 0:21:15So I made it up on the spot.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26And then at one point, I jumped off the dock, right onto a boat!
0:21:26 > 0:21:29How I did it, I don't know, and keep singing.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32# Sitting here resting my bones
0:21:32 > 0:21:35# And this loneliness won't leave me alone
0:21:35 > 0:21:38# 2,000 miles I roamed
0:21:38 > 0:21:41# Just to make this... #
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45or as it became known in BBC Wales circles,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Leaping Around A Tiny Harbour In A Pair Of Flares.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52In the end, the commissioners realised that
0:21:52 > 0:21:55there was nothing wrong with the format in the first place,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57and so they put everyone back in a barn.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01# Don't you cry when you see I'm gone... #
0:22:02 > 0:22:06Right, what else is on in the '70s? Oh, this looks all right.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09It's about some Welsh rugby boys going on tour.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Right, you two, bed.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19In 1978, BBC Wales made a film that was so brilliant,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23so way ahead of its time and so encapsulated Welsh rugby humour,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27there was only one word to describe it -
0:22:27 > 0:22:28genius.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33Written by Gwenlyn Parry and directed by John Hefin,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Grand Slam starred Windsor Davies...
0:22:35 > 0:22:39Come on, you silly f... Mr Lloyd-Evans!
0:22:39 > 0:22:43..Sion Probert, and Hollywood actor Hugh Griffith
0:22:43 > 0:22:46as father to young buck rugby fan Dewi Pws.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Hugh Griffith! Burton never had an Oscar.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Hugh Griffith had an Oscar for Ben Hur,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54and I was dead scared of him.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Double beds!
0:23:00 > 0:23:06- Right. Here's mine.- And I'm here.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Glyn can sleep with me. I'm used to his smells.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12We were in the Bristol Hotel, very posh hotel,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14John Hefin, Gwenlyn Parry,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17the actors, and he was there...
0:23:17 > 0:23:19- HE MUMBLES - "I want a drink."
0:23:19 > 0:23:22You had to listen very carefully. What was he saying?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24"I want a drink." So he got a round in.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27And this went on for about an hour, and he was getting all the rounds.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30And I said, "Mr Griffith, can I pay?" "No, you can't!" And so on.
0:23:30 > 0:23:36After an hour, he said, "We're going. I'll settle it."
0:23:36 > 0:23:37He ran up to reception and out.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41I said, "How much did it cost, Mr Griffith?" "Nothing!"
0:23:41 > 0:23:43"What do you mean, nothing? What did you say, then?"
0:23:43 > 0:23:46"Room 208!" And off he went.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51Some poor dab in room 208 ended up with a £150 quid bill!
0:23:51 > 0:23:54It was classic boys on tour.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57- Excuse moi.- Oui, monsieur?
0:23:59 > 0:24:05Ah, voulez-vous voir see ma chambre sex?
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Pardon?
0:24:08 > 0:24:13Um...allumez-vous feu dans mes draps?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Sale Gallois!
0:24:18 > 0:24:20What did I say?
0:24:20 > 0:24:23THEY LAUGH
0:24:23 > 0:24:28First time nude scenes with Sharon. I knew Sharon, great friends.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35And John said, "OK, we'll just have a little break now, cup of tea,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38"everybody down, and relax."
0:24:38 > 0:24:43So, leaving Sharon and I in the bed, just sitting like that,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47I suddenly a little voice came, "Don't start anything!
0:24:47 > 0:24:51"I'm still under the bed." It was the sound man, Harry North!
0:24:51 > 0:24:53You're not leaving your little butterfly.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55I've got to, bach, I got a stand ticket.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00But you can see it here with me.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Knock-on. Right, be good.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08They keep showing repeats! Don't... Hang on a minute.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15The one person that wasn't pleased was my mother, a Methodist capel.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20She watched it and she was devastated,
0:25:20 > 0:25:23and she didn't go to chapel for two weeks,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and the minister now,
0:25:25 > 0:25:27she said, "I'm not going there, Dewi has let the family down."
0:25:27 > 0:25:29She was telling everybody in the road,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33"I can't hold my head up." She was in shock for two weeks.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36And anyway, the minister was worried now, so he called round.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Knocked on the door. "Oh! Oh.
0:25:38 > 0:25:45"Come in, come in. Ray, Rachel, Ray. Our Dewi. He's let us down.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47"That's why I haven't come to chapel."
0:25:47 > 0:25:50"Why?" "That film, that film!"
0:25:50 > 0:25:53"Oh, it was great! Wasn't it a fantastic film?"
0:25:53 > 0:25:55"What?" "Yes!"
0:25:55 > 0:26:01Next Sunday, there was Mam up in chapel, "Did you see our Dewi in Grand Slam? Wasn't he good?"
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Whilst we've been good at making comedy films, there is one thing
0:26:07 > 0:26:11in Wales that we are not really known for, and that's glamour.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20But in the '70s, BBC Wales tried to change this,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22with predictable results.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25Thank you and good evening.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Welcome to the very beautiful Swansea Leisure Centre.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Still, at least the places
0:26:30 > 0:26:32the contestants came from were glamorous.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Miss Ystradgynlais. Miss Rhyl West.
0:26:34 > 0:26:35Miss St Asaph South.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Miss Flint.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Miss Trethomas. Miss Newport East.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41Miss Pyle. Miss Merthyr Tydfil.
0:26:41 > 0:26:42She comes from Cardiff,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45although she's representing Merthyr Tydfil tonight.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47The dancers proving they were made for dancing.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50These days, anyone can get on TV.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53But back in 1979, it was still a novelty.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58"Eh, Trev, I bet you can't get into shot." "All right, how much?"
0:26:58 > 0:27:01- "50p."- ..competing for the title of Miss Wales 1979.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04We'll also have a chance to meet some of the previous title holders...
0:27:04 > 0:27:07"Right, double or quits. I bet you can't stay there longer."
0:27:07 > 0:27:08"All right!"
0:27:08 > 0:27:15"Stay there. Stay there. Got to stay there for a pound, Trev. Stay."
0:27:15 > 0:27:18"Stay! Oh, he's clapping you, Trev."
0:27:18 > 0:27:21St Asaph North!
0:27:21 > 0:27:25And Maria Bell is Miss Wales 1979.
0:27:25 > 0:27:26And what was the music
0:27:26 > 0:27:28used to celebrate the winner of this
0:27:28 > 0:27:30pageant of aesthetic femininity?
0:27:30 > 0:27:34- # She may be the face... #- No.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39- # Once, twice... #- No.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42BRASS BAND PLAYS "Men Of Harlech"
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Yes, Men Of Harlech. It's obvious.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00And had health and safety in children's TV improved since the '60s?
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Not in the slightest.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Plenty of examples of dangerous behaviour to be getting on with.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Plus, in Teliffant,
0:28:12 > 0:28:16the weirdest show ever to have disturbed the minds of the young.
0:28:19 > 0:28:27Helo pawb a howdy-dw. Sgena'i Syr Wynff ddim amser is wastraffu.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31Because there was no subtitles, to the eight-year-old non-Welsh speaking me,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Teliffant was just a weirdo in a mac
0:28:33 > 0:28:35screaming at a man baby in braces.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39Gwylia'r paent ddudais i y twmffat twp!
0:28:39 > 0:28:42HE SCREAMS
0:28:44 > 0:28:49And, yes, that is a man pouring petrol on another man.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53But it's OK! Because it's children's telly!
0:28:53 > 0:28:56HE SCREAMS
0:28:56 > 0:28:59In the decade to come, Welsh language programmes like Teliffant
0:28:59 > 0:29:03and the BBC's longest-running TV soap Pobol Y Cwm,
0:29:03 > 0:29:07would find a new home on another new channel for Wales, S4C.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16So on our journey through 50 years of BBC Wales TV gold,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19we have arrived at the '80s. Run VT!
0:29:25 > 0:29:26The '80s -
0:29:26 > 0:29:30a decade of crippling unemployment, industrial decline
0:29:30 > 0:29:31and subtle fashion statements.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35Yes, the '80s were a grim time in Wales,
0:29:35 > 0:29:37so as a cathartic release,
0:29:37 > 0:29:40we decided to torture our own population.
0:29:42 > 0:29:43Uh!
0:29:43 > 0:29:44Dear me.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46I don't think I want to suffer alone.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Try it out on somebody else, I think.
0:29:50 > 0:29:54- Excuse me, would you like to try some snuff?- Some what? Snuff? Ooh!
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Give me the back of your hand. All right, put it there, then.
0:29:57 > 0:30:02- Just a small little bit. There you are. Now then, OK?- Yeah.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04- Up to the nostrils.- Yeah.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07With precision and try not to grimace. All the way up.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11- Come on, you're not trying. - The other one?
0:30:11 > 0:30:14- You're not trying.- I am!
0:30:14 > 0:30:15Don't you do it like this?
0:30:15 > 0:30:19You have a go that way, then. It doesn't say in the instructions.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Ooh, it's gone up the nose there.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26THEY LAUGH
0:30:26 > 0:30:27- What flavour is it?- Strong.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31Oh, that's a good one.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36- Excuse me, sir, would you like to try some snuff?- Snuff?!
0:30:36 > 0:30:39I've just had my bloody teeth out!
0:30:39 > 0:30:42And one thing BBC Wales were still excellent at
0:30:42 > 0:30:45was finding lovable eccentrics.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48Vince Williams spent 50 years of his life in the mines,
0:30:48 > 0:30:53and he's now completed plans for his final journey underground.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Like his father and grandfather before him,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58he's a part-time gravedigger at the local cemetery.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00Steeped in tradition,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04Vince Williams believes in a good funeral, and that includes his own.
0:31:04 > 0:31:10So the one-time miner decided to literally dig his own grave, now his pride and joy.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12What's your opinion of your own grave?
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Well, my wife said it's lovely now.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19She had the shivers before.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22No matter. Good God!
0:31:22 > 0:31:28- You don't think it's a bit morbid? - Not a bit. Not a bit.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33We've done it for years. I've picked my bearers and all.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36It's going to be a big funeral, is it?
0:31:36 > 0:31:40I expect not quite so big as Cardiff Arms Park.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44It won't be as big as that. Max Boyce is coming.
0:31:44 > 0:31:45So you're all ready?
0:31:45 > 0:31:49I'm all ready now. Only waiting to go now.
0:31:50 > 0:31:54It was the age of one-name celebrity entertainment shows -
0:31:54 > 0:31:57Wogan, Parkinson,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01and Wales's very own Margaret.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Margaret featured Margaret Williams,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08some other people,
0:32:08 > 0:32:12interpretive dance of life in a 1980s call centre...
0:32:14 > 0:32:17..and what boys from Aberdare did after dialling the speaking clock.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21"Come on, boys, are we going down the rugby club?"
0:32:21 > 0:32:24"Hang on two minutes now! We'll go after I've done this back bend."
0:32:25 > 0:32:27And if Margaret was the queen of the '80s dance floor,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30the king of the comfy sofa was Chris Stuart.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34SMOOTH JAZZ MUSIC
0:32:38 > 0:32:43Nice nod. Come on, Chris, let's get this show going. Jazz it up, baby.
0:32:45 > 0:32:46Yeah.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52Yeah, tinkle them. Tinkle them ivories. Oh, it's a beauty.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56- So how was the start of the show for you, Chris?- Terrific.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00The Chris Stuart Cha Cha Chat Show
0:33:00 > 0:33:05was probably Wales's first foray into chat.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Chat was... I guess it had been around for a while,
0:33:08 > 0:33:13but that sort of light entertainment chat was still fairly new.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20We did a special with Dorothy Squires, the Welsh chanteuse.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23The play-on music was a song with which she'd had some success,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25and it was I Am What I Am.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28And in rehearsal,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31she kind of clambered back to the top of these steps
0:33:31 > 0:33:33on very high heel shoes,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35and the band struck up
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and she got down two steps, recognised the music
0:33:38 > 0:33:44and just stopped and she said, "I'm not coming on to that ... tune."
0:33:44 > 0:33:47And walked back and clambered back down again.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51So we had to change all that, which meant that we hadn't rehearsed it.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55LIGHT MUSIC AND APPLAUSE
0:33:55 > 0:33:58Ah, well. At least when she arrived, all was forgiven and the hatchet was buried.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Or perhaps not.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Right, well, the thing to do here, Chris, is to get here on side.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07You are a bit of an outsider, aren't you?
0:34:07 > 0:34:11You do see yourself as at war with the showbiz establishment.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13No, no, no, you're quite wrong, Chris, quite wrong.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15There's some great memories from those days,
0:34:15 > 0:34:17but it was all a bit hand-to-mouth.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24In the 1980s, because of yuppies, who no-one really liked,
0:34:24 > 0:34:28everyone got into the stock market, which no-one really understood.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31So BBC Wales invented Computer Challenge,
0:34:31 > 0:34:34which was a game show that no-one really understood,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37presented by a man in someone else's clothes.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Well, this is it, then.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44Finals time is at last here.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49- Right, what have you got to do? - How much now? No cost or the 40,000?
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Save 12,000 a month but risk a shopfloor... What?!
0:34:56 > 0:35:0020 then. OK.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- No, don't risk 20! - Will that get us to 12, will it?
0:35:03 > 0:35:06She just said 20.
0:35:06 > 0:35:07I don't know what a 20 one does.
0:35:07 > 0:35:11Don't click it if you don't know what it is. Oh, my God!
0:35:11 > 0:35:13You just lost 20 grand!
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Brain J Ford! Help!
0:35:16 > 0:35:19Do you wish to spend 10,000 on industrial espionage?
0:35:19 > 0:35:23- Yes.- What?! No. That's illegal!
0:35:23 > 0:35:26I feel like I'm really out of my depth.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30There's half a chance I'm going to get investigated by the taxman.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33One of us is going to end up in prison and I don't want it to be me.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41In 1985, BBC Wales commissioned a show that was genuinely cool.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46It had an innovative title sequence that featured face worms,
0:35:46 > 0:35:50sand dunes, dislocated hips, the S&M X Factor,
0:35:50 > 0:35:54a woman with no sense of size, and people who can't hold their drink.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00The series was actually a training ground for new directors.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03- So, what you think, then?- I think Midge Ure is gorgeous.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06We shot it on a Saturday, so that the building was empty,
0:36:06 > 0:36:10so the new directors had to come up with a different location
0:36:10 > 0:36:12every week, so we were virtually crawling through
0:36:12 > 0:36:14the drains of the BBC at different stages.
0:36:14 > 0:36:18For everything that's new in 1986, remember, it's got to be Juice.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24One of the show's other presenters was Magenta Devine,
0:36:24 > 0:36:26who was supercool.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29She was cool on a table,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32in Debenhams, next to a river,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35inside on garden furniture,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38outside on a walkie-talkie on CCTV in a car park,
0:36:38 > 0:36:40down a mine, or in a scrum.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46And what was also cool was, as well as featuring big bands,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49the programme featured Welsh bands too.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52That's cool as in they were given the opportunity to be on the telly,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55not necessarily as in what they were doing.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57# I'm in love, Diana
0:36:59 > 0:37:02# But look, mate, don't tell Phil! #
0:37:07 > 0:37:09At the start of the '90s, BBC Wales decided
0:37:09 > 0:37:14that what a partially hung over audience needed on a Sunday morning
0:37:14 > 0:37:17was a sofa-based magazine programme that featured ghosts,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Sunday shopping, Sir Michael Hordern,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Christmas cake, ties, Labi Siffre and salmonella,
0:37:22 > 0:37:24and that was an actual show.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Only one man could handle that sort of portfolio.
0:37:31 > 0:37:36One of the main programmes I think people associate you with is obviously See You Sunday.
0:37:36 > 0:37:40- Oh, yes. Why's it off? - This is your chance!
0:37:42 > 0:37:47- Cos this, for me, is you at your best.- Right.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50And giving it some real gusto.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55- I have to say, this made me belly-laugh.- Oh!
0:37:55 > 0:37:59Oh! With the...tappy ladies.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01Oh, look at it.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07- What are you wearing?!- Is pink your colour? I don't think so. My word.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11They obviously thought to themselves, "We can't put him in a dress,"
0:38:11 > 0:38:14but we they put you in a pink waistcoat and a pair of shorts.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17I'd forgotten about that! They didn't have counselling in those days.
0:38:17 > 0:38:18But it was something similar.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23It just goes from bad to worse!
0:38:24 > 0:38:26You're doing literally everything wrong.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29- And then your battery pack fell out. - Yes.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33Dear, oh, dear, oh, dear!
0:38:38 > 0:38:40Oh!
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Well, you've made my day, now. I'd forgotten I'd done that.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46I'd just pushed it from my mind, and now it's rushed back in. Extraordinary.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49The next little clip I want to show you,
0:38:49 > 0:38:53because this is a real testament to your professionalism
0:38:53 > 0:38:56of keeping an interview going under pressure.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Arabella Melville, you've just written a book about food and sex.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05- Yes, it's the Good Sex Diet. - The Good Sex Diet.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Can I introduce Colin as well?
0:39:07 > 0:39:12- It takes two, as they say, to tango. - Are we talking about tango here?
0:39:12 > 0:39:15What kind of food are we talking about here?
0:39:15 > 0:39:19- We're talking, actually, about some of the classical aphrodisiacs.- Yes.
0:39:19 > 0:39:20Oysters, for instance,
0:39:20 > 0:39:23are the most concentrated source of zinc you can get.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26I'd rather suck corrugated iron than eat oysters, to be honest.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28I'm with you! I get up in the night with oysters.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Dear, oh, dear. I can't take seafood like that.
0:39:31 > 0:39:32In the Good Sex Diet,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36I'm actually trying to create a whole atmosphere for the readers,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39get your juices flowing just from reading the book.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42- Gastronomic juices.- I see. - Not just gastronomic juices.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45Oh! Look at you.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48What about other things which have health benefits as well?
0:39:48 > 0:39:49I was thinking of carrots.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57Desperate. Carrots! So they can help you to see where you're going.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Were they in your ear going, "Go to vegetables! Go to something safe!"
0:40:01 > 0:40:04That it hilarious. Your reaction was brilliant.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08# There's no business like show business... #
0:40:08 > 0:40:11And See You Sunday also featured someone else you might recognise.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17No. No. Yes.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21It's 7.30 on a cold damp night here in Usk.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24We're at Cliff Richard's second home, Savvas Nightclub,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27where tonight it's the final of the Karaoke Championships.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32Already inside the club they're limbering up, flexing those vocal chords.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Let's go inside and get a piece of the action.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39- HE SINGS VERY BADLY: - # Please release me
0:40:39 > 0:40:43# Can't you see? #
0:40:43 > 0:40:46When this next young lady walked in the joint,
0:40:46 > 0:40:48we knew she was a gal of distinction.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52# Spend a little time with me. #
0:40:52 > 0:40:55CHEERING
0:40:55 > 0:40:57We've got a scout here from EMI Records,
0:40:57 > 0:41:01and they're going to take the tapes back to the A&R department in London,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04and they might get a recording contract out of one of them.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07We may find tonight the new Rick Astley or Samantha Fox.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08What a frightening thought!
0:41:14 > 0:41:17With bags of undiscovered singing talent around,
0:41:17 > 0:41:19Wales was the perfect hunting ground
0:41:19 > 0:41:22for one man in search of the stars of tomorrow...
0:41:22 > 0:41:24and yesterday.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27# Sisters, sisters
0:41:27 > 0:41:30# There were never such devoted sisters. #
0:41:30 > 0:41:33# Luck be a lady tonight
0:41:33 > 0:41:36# Luck be a lady tonight. #
0:41:36 > 0:41:38- # Go on, now, go!- I'm off!
0:41:38 > 0:41:40- # Walk out the door - There's no door. #
0:41:40 > 0:41:43First time we did auditions,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46Titanic was number one in the charts,
0:41:46 > 0:41:50and this first girl singer came in and there were six of us in a line,
0:41:50 > 0:41:52Geraint Evans, myself, Alan Wakeman,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54one of the co-writers, sitting there saying,
0:41:54 > 0:41:55"What are you going to sing?"
0:41:55 > 0:41:57"I'm going to sing the theme from Titanic."
0:41:57 > 0:42:00"Oh, that's a lovely song. Great." This was nine o'clock in the morning.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04"She was quite nice. We'll give her eight out of ten."
0:42:04 > 0:42:07About two in again. "What you doing?" "Theme from Titanic."
0:42:07 > 0:42:08"Oh, there we are."
0:42:08 > 0:42:12By the time three o'clock came, we had about 75 Titanics,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15so in the end, I was just drawing ships across the line.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17I keep drawing them, and if went down like that,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21they were no good, but if they got to the end of the page, they were in.
0:42:21 > 0:42:28# My heart will go on and on. #
0:42:28 > 0:42:30Glug, glug, glug!
0:42:30 > 0:42:33You look at X Factor these days, and they stole a lot of our ideas,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36I must be honest with you, like filming the auditions,
0:42:36 > 0:42:40going on the streets, going to the houses, surprising people.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42Hello, Simon Cowell, please.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Hello, Simon Cowell.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47I'm phoning on behalf of Owen Money.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51You do know who he is! You stole all his ideas.
0:42:52 > 0:42:53Just up your street.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56Hello? Hello?
0:43:00 > 0:43:01In the noughties,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05BBC Wales decided to take serious current affairs presenters
0:43:05 > 0:43:08out of the field that they were good at and put them in the field.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Often literally.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13It was a format that was well received,
0:43:13 > 0:43:17- except for amongst corn farmers, where...- It was massively unpopular.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24They were newscasters. They went outside. He had a tie.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28She had six buttons. They had cars.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30And eyes. There are his.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Gearstick.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35They were out of their field.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39And when they got together, they did lots of TV serieses.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42GALLERY MUSIC FROM "Vision On"
0:43:58 > 0:44:00Et cetera.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03And then there was Derek.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09There was one occasion that I was filming in Holyhead
0:44:09 > 0:44:15and for some reason, I kept on coming out with the word "Hollywood".
0:44:15 > 0:44:17So I was trying to deliver these lines,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20and I kept on saying "Hollywood" instead of "Holyhead",
0:44:20 > 0:44:25and it was fun for a few times that I made this mistake,
0:44:25 > 0:44:29but after about 10 or 20 times, I kept on saying "Hollywood",
0:44:29 > 0:44:34the producer and the team were getting a bit cheesed off.
0:44:34 > 0:44:35That hasn't stopped BBC Wales
0:44:35 > 0:44:38coming up with other series ideas for Derek.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41Here are a few clips from Derek's shows in development.
0:44:41 > 0:44:42Weatherman Standing.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44Weatherman Squatting.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46And Weatherman Falling Over.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50And I know someone who was taken even further out
0:44:50 > 0:44:52of their comfort zone by BBC Wales.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Listen, tell me in your own words, someone who hasn't seen
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Work Experience, describe what the format is.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05Everyone is fascinated by stand-up comedy.
0:45:05 > 0:45:06They say to you, always,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10"I could never do that, it must be the hardest thing in the world."
0:45:10 > 0:45:12For me, I would find it much harder
0:45:12 > 0:45:15to be a binman, a teacher, a policeman.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17The one which is probably my favourite, which is drag queen,
0:45:17 > 0:45:21which clearly, I think, is you properly out of your depth.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24I immediately knew that I would be so horrifically out of my depth
0:45:24 > 0:45:28that I almost didn't want to do it. Ceri Dupree, my mentor.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31Can you say, "Thank you, sweethearts?"
0:45:33 > 0:45:34HE GARBLES
0:45:36 > 0:45:38Thank you!
0:45:38 > 0:45:41- Are you being Shirley Bassey? - Yeah, I'm channelling Bassey there.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43That was like Prince Charles.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47I think I might have to think Prince Charles, do I? Thank you!
0:45:47 > 0:45:49- I love you.- I love you.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52- I love you all. - I love you all even more.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55- Prince Charles.- Yes.
0:45:57 > 0:45:58That's great fun.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00- Yeah, great fun.- That's really funny.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03But what's great is that I can tell you're trying.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06- You're really trying. - I have three days.
0:46:06 > 0:46:11One day training to be a teacher, or two days training to be a teacher.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15So all of these things, I'm just getting my excuses in,
0:46:15 > 0:46:17I'm not going to be very good at any of them.
0:46:17 > 0:46:22This is so bad, it's an absolute joy.
0:46:23 > 0:46:24Should have started by now.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26# The minute you walked in the joint
0:46:26 > 0:46:29# I could see you were a man... #
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Look at Ceri's face!
0:46:32 > 0:46:36# Good-looking, so refined... #
0:46:38 > 0:46:40He liked it, that guy on the end.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42It wasn't that good.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46Every time I see that, that is just hilarious. That's really funny.
0:46:46 > 0:46:50Are you...? What is your feeling, going into that?
0:46:50 > 0:46:55For that, a mixture of just not knowing where you're at.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Being all at sea, going... As a comedian, you want it to be amusing,
0:46:58 > 0:47:02but you're trying to do it properly, but also you're feeling too shy
0:47:02 > 0:47:07and self-conscious to do it properly. Just a whole mix of emotions
0:47:07 > 0:47:11that ends up all going into a big pot and coming out as that.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15I've never felt as uncomfortable and as not knowing how to be.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18I was trying to hide it by going into the crowd and messing about.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20# The minute you walked in the joint
0:47:20 > 0:47:23# I could tell you were a man of distinction
0:47:23 > 0:47:26# A real big spender
0:47:26 > 0:47:29# Good-looking, so refined
0:47:29 > 0:47:33# Wouldn't you like to know what's going on in my mind?
0:47:33 > 0:47:36# So now we get right to the point
0:47:36 > 0:47:40# I don't pop my cork for every boy I see... #
0:47:40 > 0:47:42This is the performer coming out now.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Well, this is somebody trying to, a performer trying to cope with...
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Being out of your depth.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54Yeah, but a little bit of you enjoying it, a little part of you...
0:47:54 > 0:47:55Look at these characters!
0:48:03 > 0:48:08- Like a hairy Tina Turner. - Genuinely enjoying it.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11If drag queen was you really exposed and out on a limb
0:48:11 > 0:48:14and not knowing what you're doing, teaching was maybe the most
0:48:14 > 0:48:19worthy one, or the one that you got most from.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22Teaching is so different from when I was in primary school,
0:48:22 > 0:48:25which is the 1970s. At the start, I was genuinely thrown.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29This is genuine facilitated learning. Remember this one?
0:48:29 > 0:48:31- Now then, that's your boat, is it? - Yes.
0:48:31 > 0:48:36Can you think of any reason why that wouldn't float as well as a boat?
0:48:36 > 0:48:41- Because it's made out of Play-Doh. - Because it's made out of Play-Doh?
0:48:41 > 0:48:42Yeah.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46Have you sealed all holes? Are they absolutely 100% water resistant?
0:48:46 > 0:48:51Are they? OK, now then, let's see if this floats in the pond.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Oh! High-five!
0:48:54 > 0:48:55Cute.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57You made it float in the pond. Didn't you?
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Then she pulls a trick on me.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01Now, then.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03This is the kid, though. This is the one I like.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05Can you see any reason why this might not float?
0:49:05 > 0:49:07See, that's great teaching!
0:49:07 > 0:49:08Because it's made out of Play-Doh.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11Because it's got a massive lump of Play-Doh at the bottom of it.
0:49:14 > 0:49:15CHILDREN LAUGH
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Ah! Sweet!
0:49:21 > 0:49:26What's not to like? Working with kids, they're just absolutely wonderful.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28A joy, an absolute joy.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32Has it changed your perspective on life and jobs, having done it?
0:49:32 > 0:49:37Don't be daft! It's only a TV series.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42Despite us Welsh being a naturally modest people, BBC Wales
0:49:42 > 0:49:46has got very good at promoting itself, especially in sport.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53This bouncing ball trail for Wales's 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign
0:49:53 > 0:49:58changed the way drunk people sang along to Andy Williams for ever.
0:50:07 > 0:50:12- And remember Henry's heroes? - It's the Stereophonics!
0:50:12 > 0:50:17- How's it going, boys?- Any spare tickets?- Who are these guys?
0:50:17 > 0:50:20- Are they Welsh?- Aye, full on, man. - Give us a go on your banjo.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26- I think it's a bit out of tune. - Can you play?- Aye.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28# Standing at the bus stop. #
0:50:28 > 0:50:29No, can you play on the wing?
0:50:29 > 0:50:35# We don't want to be your enemy. #
0:50:35 > 0:50:38But the promo that took on a life of its own was Scrum 4,
0:50:38 > 0:50:41a bunch of on-screen rugby fan mates,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44Iestyn and Keith, and lovebirds Daf and Megan.
0:50:46 > 0:50:51We were just these four friends who just wanted to get on TV.
0:50:53 > 0:50:57And to get on TV, they pulled out their secret weapon.
0:50:57 > 0:51:02Extendable leek. Gosh, what a nuisance that was.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05We couldn't, we took it somewhere and they wouldn't let us in with it.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07I think it might have been in Italy.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Into position, right in front of the Grandstand box.
0:51:11 > 0:51:12All ready, prepared.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Preparation. Key.
0:51:18 > 0:51:20We need to go that way. That way. That way. Keep going.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23Lift it higher. Higher. The leek is on.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25..and the yellow card.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28We're on! That's it. Definite.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30That away, away for two...
0:51:30 > 0:51:33They've switched. Different camera shot. Come this way.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36For Scotland to deliver something like that...
0:51:36 > 0:51:37It would be massive.
0:51:37 > 0:51:42Well, Grandstand had gone off the air, but we didn't stop there.
0:51:42 > 0:51:43We went back for a bonus channel.
0:51:45 > 0:51:46We're on S4C as well.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48Yeah, we got S4C.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Oddi wrtha ni gyd, hwyl fawr.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52Yes, big success.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57And, of course, the big plot line was...
0:51:57 > 0:52:04Megan got pregnant and so we did a big episode with me heavily pregnant.
0:52:04 > 0:52:11I knew that I had one shot at going into labour in front of
0:52:11 > 0:52:16however many 70,000 people in the stadium,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19which was really nerve-racking.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23People were genuinely worried about me.
0:52:23 > 0:52:28I wanted to say, "I'm absolutely fine, and it's not real!"
0:52:28 > 0:52:31I was in Marks & Spencer's, buying some food,
0:52:31 > 0:52:35and this little old man, who must have been in his 80s,
0:52:35 > 0:52:40came up to me and held my hand and said, "You're Megan. You're Megan!
0:52:40 > 0:52:44"We love watching you! How's Daf? How's the baby?"
0:52:44 > 0:52:46And you just think, "This is awful."
0:52:46 > 0:52:50And I couldn't bear to tell him that it wasn't real, so I said,
0:52:50 > 0:52:52"Yes, they're fine, they're lovely."
0:52:52 > 0:52:54Then he went off and got his wife and said,
0:52:54 > 0:52:55"My wife is in the next aisle."
0:52:55 > 0:52:57He went off and got his wife
0:52:57 > 0:53:01and there was this little elderly couple chatting away to me
0:53:01 > 0:53:03and I hope they're not watching this.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10Snowdonia 1890 was a series that took modern families
0:53:10 > 0:53:14used to central heating, kettles, cars, tin-openers,
0:53:14 > 0:53:17sitting down all day in front of a computer, supermarkets,
0:53:17 > 0:53:21mobile phones and washing machines, and put them up a mountain.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23So the audience could...
0:53:23 > 0:53:28Now experience how they coped with the tough realities of Snowdonia 1890.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31And on the whole, they found it...
0:53:31 > 0:53:35It is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39You know what would be an awesome follow-up series?
0:53:39 > 0:53:43Taking a family from the 1890s and making THEM live in the present.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48If only there was a way of travelling through time on the TV!
0:53:53 > 0:53:57For the last nine years, Dr Who has been made by BBC Wales,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59and in Wales, so half the fun,
0:53:59 > 0:54:03apart from following the genius Doctors, the foxy sidekicks
0:54:03 > 0:54:08and the terrifying aliens, has been to play Welsh location I Spy.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12Um...Castell Coch!
0:54:12 > 0:54:14- DING - Yes!
0:54:14 > 0:54:17Market Square, Pontypridd.
0:54:17 > 0:54:18- DING - Yes!
0:54:20 > 0:54:24No way! That's the Monkey Tump in Tonteg.
0:54:24 > 0:54:25That's where I grew up! Is it?
0:54:25 > 0:54:26Everything is fine!
0:54:26 > 0:54:27- DING - Yes!
0:54:27 > 0:54:30Nothing's wrong. It's all fine.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32- And that's the Millennium Stadium. - HONK
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Oh, no! Millennium Centre. I meant Centre.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39One of the advantages of filming in Wales on a Friday night,
0:54:39 > 0:54:41of course, is that you don't have to pay extras.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45But sometimes it can impact on the residents, especially
0:54:45 > 0:54:48when the call of nature gets in the way of filming.
0:54:48 > 0:54:55Humans will leave their homes. The males, the females...
0:54:55 > 0:54:56A lot of the filming for Doctor Who
0:54:56 > 0:54:58had taken place in the middle of Cardiff,
0:54:58 > 0:55:00so it wasn't unusual to see the film crew there and now
0:55:00 > 0:55:03and then we'd see a little Dalek trundle into the street.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06It was the night before the 2008 Wales Grand Slam,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09and I had arranged for all the cast and crew to use a local pub.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13This particular pub was very busy with French rugby fans.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16It was pandemonium. And during the night, I visited a friend,
0:55:16 > 0:55:18John Lloyd, who lives just round the corner.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20I knocked the door, it was late,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22it was maybe two o'clock in the morning,
0:55:22 > 0:55:26and John answered and he was there in a rugby jersey,
0:55:26 > 0:55:29nice big loose-fitting rugby jersey, pair of shorts.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31I said, "What's the matter? I'd do anything for you."
0:55:31 > 0:55:33He said, "I need to use your toilet."
0:55:33 > 0:55:36I said, "You don't have to ask. Just come in." "It's not for me."
0:55:36 > 0:55:39Billie Piper, one of our main stars, needs to use the toilet.
0:55:39 > 0:55:44You'd imagine the location manager would have organised toilets, but there'd been a bit of a lapse.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47He thought I was joking. I said, "I'm serious. Back in five minutes."
0:55:47 > 0:55:50My wife went into overdrive then, upstairs cleaning and polishing,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53we had to give a good ten-minute spruce-up just to make sure
0:55:53 > 0:55:56the facilities were to a suitable celebrity standard.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59And he opened the door like Stars In Their Eyes.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02He was there, the rugby jersey had gone.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05He had a black suit on, he had a white shirt with open collar.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07I was absolutely gobsmacked.
0:56:07 > 0:56:11Nice small girl, ordinary everyday person. She was lovely.
0:56:11 > 0:56:16You're Donna Noble's family, right? I'm Rose Tyler. And I need you.
0:56:16 > 0:56:21Ever since Max Boyce, BBC Wales has been trying to develop the Holy Grail of TV formats,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24one that blends entertainment and rugby.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26Who knows? Maybe one day they'll find it.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29But in the meantime, they asked me to do this.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32Come on! I had to crowbar this in somehow.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36Mark Titley. And that is a try for Eddie Butler,
0:56:36 > 0:56:39the slowest number eight ever to play for Wales.
0:56:39 > 0:56:40What was he doing there?!
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Straight on.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Was the modern line-out as scary as I had imagined?
0:56:47 > 0:56:48HE YELPS
0:56:48 > 0:56:51I'd made an involuntary noise. Yes, it was.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Out of all the interviews I've done,
0:56:53 > 0:56:56the one that people ask me about the most is the one with...
0:56:56 > 0:56:59- the good sport and rugby legend that is Will Carling.- Correct.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02The legend and the... Yeah. Chris, your time on the rugby legend
0:57:02 > 0:57:05and good sport that is Will Carling starts now.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08Who was the Rugby Union centre who became the youngest ever
0:57:08 > 0:57:11- England captain at the age of 22? - Will Carling.- Correct.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13Who, during his time in the army,
0:57:13 > 0:57:16rose to the rank of second lieutenant of the Royal Regiment of Wales?
0:57:16 > 0:57:18- Will Carling.- Correct.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20Whose team was criticised for
0:57:20 > 0:57:23relying on their forwards and not passing the ball out to the backs?
0:57:23 > 0:57:25- Will Carling.- Correct.
0:57:25 > 0:57:26Who, despite playing that way,
0:57:26 > 0:57:30- led England to three Grand Slams in the '90s?- Will Carling.- Correct.
0:57:30 > 0:57:35Who has a social networking page about him called Will Carling Fanclub
0:57:35 > 0:57:38that has on it only three comments and was last updated in 2002?
0:57:38 > 0:57:40Will Carling. Correct.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42Who is the greatest...? BEEP
0:57:42 > 0:57:44Sorry, I've started, so I'll finish.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48- Who is the greatest England centre of all time?- Jeremy Guscott.- Correct.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52And at the end of that round, Chris, you've scored six points,
0:57:52 > 0:57:56and just like the four teams I used to captain in the '90s, no passes.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58I think it's sad when someone laughs
0:57:58 > 0:58:01at their own little pre-prepared jokes!
0:58:02 > 0:58:06So that's it. We've reached the end of our stroll through some funny,
0:58:06 > 0:58:08eclectic, and in the case of Korkey's Six Nations,
0:58:08 > 0:58:11brilliant clips from the last 50 years of BBC Wales TV.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13I hope you enjoyed it.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16So, with the time approaching generic o'clock
0:58:16 > 0:58:18in case this programme gets repeated,
0:58:18 > 0:58:20it's good night from me, Chris Corcoran,
0:58:20 > 0:58:21and from all of us here
0:58:21 > 0:58:23at BBC Cymru Wales.
0:58:23 > 0:58:24Nos da.
0:58:24 > 0:58:25I'll leave you
0:58:25 > 0:58:26with a national anthem.
0:58:34 > 0:58:38# I saw the light on the night that I passed by her window... #