Episode 3 Gareth Thomas: Alfie's Angels

Welsh rugby legend Gareth Alfie Thomas

has taken on his biggest challenge yet.

It's a race! It's a race!

He's training 100 novice runners

to compete in the Cardiff Half Marathon.

Wait a minute!

Alfie's Angels have been formed into 20 teams.

And three of those teams are being followed up close and personal

for this TV series.

THEY CHEER

They've got just 16 weeks to get from couch potato to 21K.

I'm dying!

Halfway through the training programme,

it's been far from plain sailing.

We've had sprains,

strains, tempers...

You've got to want to give up, like.

..and tears.

And now, with just eight weeks left to fan the flames...

# She'll be coming round the mountain! #

..will a weekend away see Alfie finally stamping his authority

on this unruly rabble?

THEY SING LOUDLY

Or will he just end up with mud on his face?

Previously on Alfie's Angels,

Alfie's three TV teams,

the Ty Gwyn Mums,

the Royal Glam Nurses

and the Flying Filers

had all trained up to go from couch potatoes to 5K in just 28 days.

For the Ty Gwyn Mums, it had taken time management...

Yeah, it is hard, trying to fit everything in.

Ah, thank you.

..and time out.

This is what I've got to do to get a bum like hers!

The Royal Glam Nurses had gone at it like gym bunnies.

My God!

Whilst the Flying Filers had taken a more esoteric approach

to their training regime.

Last night I went for my Botox.

When we do the 5K run, I'll have a nice plastic fantastic forehead!

But on 5K day, Botox couldn't save Kat from heartache.

I'm going to pull Kathryn out.

Your ankle is too sore, right?

Stop, Mich. Walk back to the start line.

And Alfie made nurse Michelle and her pulled calf pull out.

But all the other Angels,

including nurse Jo and her horribly swollen ankle,

managed to finish their first big challenge.

I am so proud of you all.

Not that Alfie was totally happy...

I have a lot of concerns. Concerns with the injuries.

It's not who's the fastest,

and it's not who can run the furthest.

It's about who can finish.

Now, a week after the 5K,

Alfie's set the teams their next big challenge.

In one month's time,

they will be running a 10km half-half marathon

from Cardiff Castle.

In the meantime, his worst fears are beginning to be realised,

as the roll call of injured Angels reads like a card game

on a hospital ward.

Kat - Achilles. Nicola - ankle. Rachel - spine. Lisa - hip.

Cass - feet. Liz - knees. Sally - knees. Snap!

And talking of hospitals,

the Royal Glam Nurses have got it real bad.

Zoe's the last nurse standing.

All the others are having a buswoman's holiday

on the treatment table.

Michelle's calf is still giving her grief.

Now Sarah has got a problem with her knee.

If I turn your knee the other way...

Yeah.

You've given this cartilage a little bit of a fright here.

Just going to push it back about a bit.

And the muscles in Leigh's back...

-How's that?

-That's hurting.

..well, they're tighter than Gordon Ramsay's forehead.

-What about there?

-Yeah.

But it's Jo's ankle that's the greatest concern.

If you go there, now try and push your foot into my hand.

That hurts. Ow!

OK. I think you need to get this X-rayed,

-so that we know it's not a bony thing.

-Yeah.

-OK?

So Jo hobbles off to get an X-ray.

Only to discover that it's indeed "a bony thing".

The stress fracture is in this bone here,

which is the fibula bone on the outside of the ankle.

And the fracture is straight through the bone here.

And, usually, that's due to increased pressure -

usually from increased exercise.

But there is some rounding off,

and there is some cotton-woolly fluffiness around here

which shows that the fracture is actually making an effort to heal,

which is great news.

-Let's be on the safe side.

-OK.

Boot for two weeks, carry on with the biking stuff,

pool stuff absolutely fine.

In fact, if you want to go on a cross trainer, that would be OK.

Just avoid any sort of repetitive pounding exercises, basically.

Jo leaves with her leg in an orthopaedic boot.

But as she limps off into the sunset,

is this the end of her half marathon dreams?

Say it ain't so, Jo.

Well, not if Alfie can help it, no.

He's on a morale boosting mission - Operation Cheer Up Nurses.

Starting with an appointment with a broken-legged bride-to-be.

Jo's motivation for doing the Cardiff Half

has always been to get into shape for her big day.

Oh, my God!

We haven't known each other that long!

Hey, ho! I say yes!

Oh, my God, you look stunning!

Have a look.

I'm assuming that footwear doesn't come with the dress?

Oh, my word!

Well, you must be exercising, because you look fantastic.

This is why I've done it, because I wanted to lose weight.

This is why I wanted to do Alfie's Angels.

To prepare me to look amazing in my wedding dress.

So actually today is...

The first time I've felt confident enough, yes.

-Really?

-Yes, I've lost ten pounds since starting doing this,

so I'm on the right track.

-Come here, you look amazing.

-Thank you.

I feel like a father of the bride!

Oh, I could cry!

Aw, you look lush. Oh, my God!

# I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night... #

Put it back, Alfie. You're supposed to be sorting out the nurses.

Remember?

Keep up, Hopalong.

And, boy, do they need sorting.

You don't look too bad. I'll do the same as you.

He's got wind that injuries are not the only issues afflicting the nurses.

So Alfie has arranged to meet them all at the appropriately named Angel Hotel.

He's ordered a slap-up afternoon tea for six,

with lashings of cream.

Wowzers!

But only three of them are here,

and therein lies the problem.

It's really hard to rest.

A lot of the time we're on different shifts.

So we don't get to keep each other's morale up

by training every day with each other.

The girls who are not here today,

the two girls who are not here, they've been really down.

I think it's because we don't know how everybody else is doing

and how far along we are.

Maybe we should consciously try to make some kind of an effort

of getting everyone together of this group on a more regular basis?

I think that would help.

We've been trying to do other things,

but it doesn't seem to be getting anywhere, does it, girls?

So, a team in need of bonding, and cakes in need of eating.

Get in, girls. Come on. Don't be shy, I'm not.

But before eight weeks of training dissolves in one afternoon of overindulgence,

in the name of team unity and burning off all the confection,

Alfie agrees to a fitness activity of the nurses' own choosing.

Talk about a bad move.

Oh, God!

-You're going to love it.

-Oh, right.

OK. Let's go, girls.

Let's just say it involves music and a pole.

The object, that is, not an Eastern European national.

Got it? Yeah.

It's pole dancing.

Oh, my days!

And this is Leah Rose -

international pole dancer and pole fitness instructor.

Wow!

And she's going to show them the ropes.

Erm - the poles.

Come on, Leigh!

If they can get up!

Close! Close!

Start with the basics.

The twirl.

Leigh's got it.

So has Zoe.

Is Alfie ready for the cabaret circuit?

THEY LAUGH

Maybe not quite.

Oh, God!

And definitely not until he masters the head flick.

Go on, Alfie!

THEY LAUGH

Give that man a wig!

It is hard though, isn't it?

It is hard. I'm glad you can appreciate it.

It's really hard.

It's good cardio, it's good muscle tone.

It's good endurance from us doing the moves lots of times.

And it's also dead sexy, innit?

It's dead sexy, especially when you do it.

-Is that it?

-Yeah!

My aspirations.

THEY GROAN

Brilliant. It's excellent for team bonding.

It's really enjoyable.

And Alfie knows all about that.

I've always believed in the power of team.

You can celebrate together, which is amazing.

But also, when things don't go right, you have someone to,

you know, be a shoulder to cry on.

Looks like they've found a perfect team-building activity.

Now all they need is the rest of the team.

I want to get this team of girls back together supporting each other,

because that way they'll find it a lot easier

than at the point they're at now,

where they're finding it very difficult.

Why don't we do a group hug around a pole?

Come on!

THEY CHEER

Having bandaged the nurses back together,

it's time Alfie did the same for the other Angels.

So he's hired a bus and set off to pick them up for a weekend's R&R.

At a boot camp.

I can't wait.

Boot camp is my absolute most favourite time of the year.

Will the ladies feel the same?

Well, they're at a distinct disadvantage.

Unlike Alfie, they have no idea where they are going.

But at least they're prepared for the worst.

What's the war paint for?

Oh, well, that's it - we're ready for it, we are.

Are you? Is that what it is?

War paint's one thing...

Hang on, now!

..but what's with the Molotov cocktails?

I didn't see this on the health food list.

Come on then, let's get on the bus.

Actually, it's less a war they've prepared for...

Come on!

..and more of a siege against sobriety.

What's that tinkling? What's that tinkling?!

Is this the party bus?

And they seem a bit confused about the nature of the exercise...

What are you expecting, girls?

A dirty weekend with Alfie.

We're thinking Med, but maybe those Med manicures?

Bye!

..and where it's happening.

We're not going to Benidorm for the weekend.

Or even what it's called.

Do you know the two words, boot camp?

Booze camp!

Ah, booze camp. Right!

So, the boot camp booze cruise leaves town,

pausing only to pick up the nail bar girls...

..who've been held up by traffic.

Or was it the weight of their cosmetics?

Or even just the weight of their nails?

Oh, my God. Has anybody else got nails like these?

If I break a nail, I am going to be raving.

Yeah, good luck with that one, Lisa.

Oh, my word!

Where you're going to, no-one will hear your nails scream.

Look, the lanes are getting narrower.

It's like Transylvania, on the way to Transylvania, isn't it?

-Is anyone nervous?

-ALL: Yes!

-Is anyone scared?

-ALL: Yes!

And rightly so!

Because this place makes Transylvania looked like Toytown.

-SHOUTING:

-Get off the bus! Off the bus!

Let's go, go, go! Make your way over, quick as you can.

Let's go. Jogging over, girls.

You don't walk anywhere! You jog.

Jog. Let's go. Quick as you can, let's go, jog!

Why are we walking?

HE SHOUTS AGGRESSIVELY

In fact, this team-building weekend will be less Hammer Horror,

more Carry On Crawling,

in a field that's been specially picked for its sheep sh... Stuff.

I'm covered in sheep sh...

And instructors fresh from the Donald Trump School Of Charm.

Come on, let's go. All the way.

Get your arse down. Use your knees.

Come on!

Let's go, move, move, move.

Oh, mind your nails, Charlotte!

Let's go.

You've got ten minutes to put your lovely accommodation up for the night.

Let's get them tents up now!

It's luxury lodgings with panoramic views.

So why is it there's always one?

I absolutely hate it with a passion.

I'm in a bad mood.

It could be worse, Betsan.

Where does it go?

Some of the girls have got Alfie helping them.

Why has this come undone now?

You had it all arse-backwards and upside down!

He is to outdoor adventure

what Ray Mears is to rugby.

What does this do?

But at least he knows a nail when he sees one.

A talon has been lost.

It's like something off a lizard.

Who you calling a lizard?

Look what you've made me do.

I thought you were giving me the bird.

Look!

-Look!

-One's gone.

Put it away, Lisa.

It's time for boot camp proper to begin.

The Angels are going to be split into two competing teams.

One led by Alfie...

-You look like a little Action Barbie.

-Thanks.

..and the other by his right-hand man, training guru James Thie.

We're going to score you against the other team.

Their mission, which they have no choice but to accept,

is to complete a full-on military-style assault course

whilst safeguarding a precious cargo.

The lucky egg!

There's one raw egg per team member,

and the simple objective is for them to come back intact.

Easy - except of course, there's a catch.

The box must stay off the floor unless we say.

And it must be held by two people at all times.

OK.

Let the fun begin!

Alfie's team's off.

Swiftly followed by James' lot.

We're going downhill.

You might want to get...

Exactly!

And whilst there is a competitive element to today's proceedings,

the ultimate objectives are team-building, team spirit,

team communication.

I can climb over with the box.

No, it's better two people go in first.

Pass it to them and then you go.

Wait for us to go in.

All the same way all the way round, then, yeah?

Who are the two going first?

Whoever.

Er, got that?

Under. Under.

Alfie wants the nurses,

the nail bar girls and the Ty Gwyn Mums to realise

that they're not rivals -

either as teams or as individuals.

They are Angels.

And when it comes to their ultimate objective,

completing the Cardiff Half Marathon, they're in it together.

Let's speed it up.

Group hug!

And now, they're feeling the love,

the next objective is to push them, both physically and mentally,

out of their comfort zone,

to get them to recognise that they're capable of far more things

than they ever realised.

I tell you what, I'm going to split my difference in a minute

if I have to do that again!

The whole torment is like a mobile Room 101.

Some people's greatest fear is mud.

Oh, my shoe!

Others' is getting stuck in the mud.

Argh!

Come on, let's go!

She lost a shoe.

Oh, thanks, pet.

Reach with that right hand.

Some shy types...

..don't like to make a big splash,

or be seen as wet drips.

But some fears are terrifyingly real.

Is my make-up still on? Yeah?

-What are you worried about? Which bits?

-The whole face.

I don't mind all of this, but it's my face, innit?

-Beautiful.

-It's still in place? Yeah?

And which one of us hasn't woken up in a cold sweat at the thought

of losing our hairpiece in a compromising position?

Get your grip on, there you go, you've done that.

THEY SHRIEK WITH LAUGHTER

What's that?

It's a hamster!

Just remember, Cherie, you took it for the team!

High time Alfie did the same.

Oh, my God!

Argh!

I have had a blast today.

I think why I enjoyed today

is because everybody else enjoyed today.

I heard a splash!

I'm sure I heard a smash.

We all bought into it, we all bought into what it was all about.

I'm freezing now!

Everybody's tried, everybody's worked really hard.

Everybody's probably unknowingly got something out of it,

as you can see!

Oh, my God, you are looking pretty clean.

And now, after a quick clean up down the local leisure centre,

it's the moment of truth.

How many, if any of those eggs are left intact?

Alfie, unbroken.

Cherie, unbroken.

Zoe, unbroken.

Thank you for not killing my egg.

That's all right, love. I tried my best.

Sarah, dented.

Betsan, scrambled.

Sorry, Bet!

And as the roll call of broken and unbroken eggs concludes,

the final tally is...

Let's see your eggs, how many have we got?

Four.

Team A, how many eggs have we got?

Let's see them.

Full house!

An eggs-traordinary effort from Alfie and his team.

This calls for a clucking celebration.

And as luck would have it, the girls have a drink - or ten - to hand -

or should that be foot?

Look what I found in my welly.

Oh, you never just found that in your welly!

I found that in my welly!

Three bottles of Prosecco, two cardboard boxes and a pack of glasses.

Some wellies!

Apparently, they've got health drinks, too.

Vodka and cranberry.

It got real cranberries in it, five-a-day, that's healthy.

Three...

Two...

One... Down the hatch!

# She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes

# She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes... #

And so they go on, into the night,

drinking the contents of their wellies,

getting way in excess of their five-a-day.

Oblivious to everything.

Especially the consequences for the next day.

Oh, Lordy.

At 5:30am the next morning, when some of them have just about got to bed,

a figure emerges from the gloom.

Right, it's time for me to get a little revenge for their antics last night.

I'll give them some antics this morning.

Morning, ladies! Morning, campers!

-Come on!

-Oh, my God.

Morning, girls!

There they are!

Look! Breakfast served in ten minutes!

-Morning, girls!

-Go away!

Yes!

I hate you!

Hello!

Come on, it's a beautiful day for it.

A beautiful day for what, exactly?

Please tell me you're taking us to a spa now.

That would be amazing, wouldn't it?

A nice hot bath, a massage and a nice full breakfast.

That would be lovely.

As if!

Oh, my God.

You know it's going to involve pain.

Isn't anything called off because of the weather?

Er, no.

BLEEP!

Au contraire.

It's an absolutely perfect day for travelling two hours down the motorway

on no sleep and the mother of all hangovers,

and then indulge in a morning of extreme, well, who knows what?

-Do you know what we're doing?

-I have not got a clue.

-No, I don't.

I'm expecting it to hurt again, unfortunately.

For those with sharp eyes, there are clues.

Oh, no!

Oh, no way!

I've just seen the signpost

and I think we're going to go to Tough Mudder.

Well, I think this is where we're going.

Tough Mudder, the last word in extreme team recreation.

What's it like? Put it this way,

that make-up's a waste of time.

Well, I'm telling you now, if it's 10K,

I am not beep-de-beep-de-beep doing it.

Right.

We're not having any teams today, right?

So, we're all doing it together as one big team.

Right? So, some people are going to find it easier than others.

So, it's all about everybody motivating each other to get over

things and distances that they think they can't do,

but I know that they can.

So, less of the frowns.

Turn your frowns...

ALL: Upside-down!

For those about to mud, we salute you.

Here we go!

For anyone not in the know,

Alfie has parachuted his delicate and wan Angels

slap bang into a Tough Mudder,

described, with some justification,

as probably the toughest event on the planet.

Today, thousands of arguably unhinged people have descended on Cirencester,

to put their bodies and their minds through miles of mud

and hellish obstacles.

And the Angels are here to join in the fun.

In fairness, Alfie is going relatively easy on them.

They're only doing a Half Mudder,

but that is still a 10km run,

with 11 awesome obstacles to overcome.

Rescued!

No podiums, no winners, no crocs, this is pure teamwork.

At its toughest.

And it's such an enticing prospect that nurse Jo has cast aside her

orthopaedic boot and come along for the ride.

Quite literally.

Come on, Alfie!

Oh, and did we mention the mud?

The course has half a million litres of the stuff.

Argh!

Love it!

Loving life.

For Alfie, Boot Camp weekend has gone like a dream.

I wanted them to work as a team.

I kind of wanted them to test their boundaries.

But I didn't know what their boundaries were.

I think over the last couple of days, we've found that they've all had boundaries

and they've all been willing to cross them.

Yes! Yes! Come on!

Collectively, what we now have is a really good, cohesive unit.

-Oh, don't start!

-I know, Tiny Tears is off!

It's been amazing!

We know now from this weekend that there is nothing that we cannot do.

I just achieved what I didn't think I was going to.

Give us an obstacle and as a group of people, we will do it.

We will conquer it.

Remember, there is nothing that we can't do together.

Right? Cheers!

THEY CHEER

And relax...

But what of the other 82 Angels,

who signed up for Alfie's 100 Angel Challenge?

Who sent in their hilarious and heartfelt videos?

I really could do with your help.

I need to get up, I need to do something just to impress my children and my family.

And whose names were drawn out of a hat by Alfie.

The Hywel Dda Hobblers!

Well, eight weeks ago, in the middle of June,

Alfie got all 100 Angels together for the very first time

and asked the 64,000 question.

Put your hands up if you can complete a half marathon.

Does anybody in here think you can motivate the person next to you

or in front of you to complete the half marathon?

There's your answer.

Come on!

Alfie then sent his doubting Thomases for a mile long jog

round the park.

Come on, girls! Yeah!

At this point, they had no idea what they were letting themselves in for.

Hello!

But Alfie did.

What I want to be a part of it is a part of ordinary people,

who inspire thousands of people, who are just sitting down and thinking,

"I wish I could. I wish I could."

I want to be part of a process of people who show them that they can.

It's the furthest I've ever run!

Is it really? Brilliant!

It'll be awesome! It'll be absolutely awesome, trust me.

Since that day, with help from Run for Wales and Angels trainer,

James Thie, but largely off their own backs,

and through their own hard work and commitment,

each of the 17 Angels teams has been training hard.

From Bridgend to Ferndale,

Carmarthen to Newport,

Pontypridd to Pembroke,

over hill and down dale,

through treatments and traumas,

they've continued to push their way through the weekly targets

set for them by James.

And they've supported one another

through good days and innumerable bad,

on a closed Facebook site, where they've posted daily photos,

videos and messages of support.

Two months on, they've all gathered together at Cardiff Castle.

Hello, ladies and four...

Four gentlemen?

It's Sunday, 4th September, 2016.

Exactly four weeks before the Cardiff Half Marathon.

Now, all of a sudden, we are in a big group.

Today, Alfie has set the 100 their biggest challenge yet -

a half half marathon.

I know it may seem like a long distance.

We're doing 10K, which is six miles. OK?

But before they start, Alfie's brought along some inspiring guests.

Last year's Angels.

The 16 ladies from Deri,

have come along to support and run with this year's Angels.

What I want you to do is enjoy it.

I can guarantee you all, when you cross the finish line,

you'll be smiling. All right?

And you'll think about it as a positive. Trust me! Trust me!

Don't listen to him!

Come here, stand up.

You will!

-Avril.

-Come on, Avril!

Avril, who's an inspiration to everyone,

finished the Cardiff Half Marathon.

And 16 weeks prior to that, how far could you run?

16 weeks prior to that?

-To that window.

-There you are.

And if I can do it, believe you me, anybody can do it.

And you will finish it.

CHEERING

97 women and three men.

Eight weeks ago, to each and every one of them,

trot was a four-letter word.

Now, they're attempting to cover 10km.

Some of them, like nurse Zoe, nail bar Charlotte and nurse Sarah,

are absolutely smashing it.

It's hard but it's good. Good company.

Yeah, it's good.

Some of them, like Lisa, Angela, Hayley and Leigh

are doing a half-and-half half half.

We're running and walking, but we're doing it quite strategically.

We're putting markers, running to a marker,

then we'll walk from that marker to the next.

And were going to run-walk all the way.

Whilst others are power walking it.

Physical exercise is tiring.

It makes you happy, it makes you sad.

It makes you demotivated, it makes you motivated.

There's a bit of everything.

But everybody's doing it, nobody's giving up.

It's not really about the half marathon,

it's about achieving something you never thought you'd even take part in.

It's definitely done that. It's definitely got my arse off the sofa.

And the most remarkable thing about this 10K get-together

is that every single Angel completed the challenge.

It's a stunning achievement to get this far.

Oh, my God, that's the best feeling ever!

I've never run six miles in my life!

But in exactly four weeks, the real crunch comes.

The real reason for all of this effort...

Argh!

..emotion...

Ah...

..and pain...

Oh, God!

..when they will be attempting to cover over twice this distance...

Come on, you can do it.

..at the Cardiff Half Marathon.

Next time on Alfie's Angels...

After 16 weeks of hard slog and sacrifice,

we will all finally find out how many, if any, of Alfie's 100 Angels,

make it across the finish line at the Cardiff Half Marathon.