0:00:06 > 0:00:07Queen Elizabeth I...
0:00:09 > 0:00:11..William Shakespeare...
0:00:13 > 0:00:14..Oliver Cromwell...
0:00:16 > 0:00:17..Isaac Newton...
0:00:20 > 0:00:21..Charles Darwin...
0:00:23 > 0:00:24..Charles Dickens...
0:00:26 > 0:00:27..Winston Churchill...
0:00:29 > 0:00:30..Princess Diana.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35These Great Britons have one thing in common -
0:00:35 > 0:00:36their images hang on the walls
0:00:36 > 0:00:40of the prestigious National Portrait Gallery in London.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Here, you can meet the men and women that have made
0:00:45 > 0:00:47and are making British history -
0:00:47 > 0:00:52their faces preserved in paint, their legacy preserved forever.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Now, for the first time, the British people have chosen
0:00:58 > 0:01:01who they want to be painted, as an icon of our times.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Hello, and welcome to your Friday One Show with Chris Evans...
0:01:07 > 0:01:11In September 2013, viewers of the BBC's One Show
0:01:11 > 0:01:12voted from a list
0:01:12 > 0:01:14of 12 candidates, including some
0:01:14 > 0:01:17of Britain's best loved and most respected people.
0:01:19 > 0:01:2312 inspirational Brits on a very special shortlist.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25I'm not some cuddly little old lady.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30The nation's choice was Simon Weston.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Congratulations, Simon Weston.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39During the Falklands War of 1982, Simon was on board the Sir Galahad
0:01:39 > 0:01:42when it was bombed by Argentine planes.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46He suffered horrific burns
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and the nation followed his fight for survival.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54His battle to overcome his injuries,
0:01:54 > 0:01:57make a success of his life and help others,
0:01:57 > 0:01:58has inspired many.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03People just look at the scars, they see sadness.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Ultimately, my life is a very happy life
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and I'm a very happy person.
0:02:10 > 0:02:11Thank you very much.
0:02:11 > 0:02:17Now, I'll follow Simon over three months as his portrait is painted,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21so he can take his place on the wall among our greatest Britons.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25I really don't want this to be a negative picture.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29It's got to be all about let's look forward, look what life can be
0:02:29 > 0:02:32because it was a battle and it's been won really.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34CHEERING
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Go on! Come on!
0:03:04 > 0:03:08I joined Simon on the way to the National Portrait Gallery
0:03:08 > 0:03:11for his first meeting with the artist who'll paint him.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16I was just privileged to be involved in the vote, really.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19But other than that, I didn't expect to win at all.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I mean, I probably would have voted for Michael Palin.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25And why do you think people did vote for you?
0:03:25 > 0:03:27I have no idea, um...
0:03:27 > 0:03:29perhaps half my family
0:03:29 > 0:03:32had me on speed dial or something, I don't know.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33Half the population of Wales!
0:03:37 > 0:03:40One might think that you might be a little bit trepidatious
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- about having your portrait painted. - No, not really.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46- I mean, people stare anyway, you know, so...- Do they still?
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Yeah, gosh, yeah, I mean, it is what it is, you know,
0:03:49 > 0:03:50I go on holiday, people stare.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53I've had people say and do some very irreverent things
0:03:53 > 0:03:59about the way I look, you know, the Sun newspaper of Canada, um...
0:03:59 > 0:04:02had an article saying I was the ugliest person in the world,
0:04:02 > 0:04:06so I suppose anything from there is an improvement.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08That must have hurt.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Um, not really. I mean, it's not nice and you don't enjoy it,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15but, um, hurt - I wouldn't let them hurt me.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Do you have a view how you want this portrait to be painted,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22what you'd like to be wearing or what you'd like in the background?
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Is it just your face? Is it all of you?
0:04:24 > 0:04:26- I suppose... - You must have thought about it.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28..a mankini or budgie smugglers are out of the question!
0:04:28 > 0:04:30I don't think that's going to work.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40The gallery is one of my favourite places
0:04:40 > 0:04:42because it tells the story of Britain,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44not through dry, historical fact,
0:04:44 > 0:04:48but through the faces and characters of those that shaped it.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52- So have you been to the National Portrait Gallery before?- Once.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Because you'll be in illustrious company here.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01- Yeah.- We have our Kings and Queens here, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Yeah, I know, and me, little old me from the valleys.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07SIMON LAUGHS
0:05:09 > 0:05:12The artist chosen to paint Simon is Nicky Philipps,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15one of Britain's leading portraitists.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18She was classically trained in Italy
0:05:18 > 0:05:21and is a firm favourite of the Royal Family.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22She's painted the Queen,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and her acclaimed portrait of the two princes, William and Harry,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I knew what I wanted to do with Harry.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36I very much wanted to do his profile.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38- OK.- He's got a fantastic nose
0:05:38 > 0:05:43and actually William was leaning against the pillar in my studio,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46waiting for me to tell him what to do
0:05:46 > 0:05:48and I just turned round and there was the picture.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52It was, you know, I was blown away by having them in there anyway,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55and it was such a privilege to see this little scene going on,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57and I thought, "Well, I'll share that with everyone."
0:05:57 > 0:06:00I just love the way the hand's on the sword
0:06:00 > 0:06:01and they're just so relaxed.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05I should think he felt like using it on me, you know,
0:06:05 > 0:06:06at the end of the day.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08I think you're being too harsh.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10It's really good fun painting uniform,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13all those lovely highlights on the medals and things.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Makes me wonder what the heck I'm going to wear now,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17cos I haven't got a uniform.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19I think what you're wearing today is rather nice.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21I think you might have conquered that one already.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Having your portrait painted for the gallery is a serious business.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30I don't know if Simon's been warned about this,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32but it might take a bit of time.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36It all starts with a formal meeting in the boardroom.
0:06:36 > 0:06:37Um...cut off.
0:06:37 > 0:06:38There is a...
0:06:38 > 0:06:40a deadline for this portrait, which is
0:06:40 > 0:06:42the February Trustee's meeting
0:06:42 > 0:06:46and that's where our portraits are approved for the collection.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48So there's a chance it could NOT be approved?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50There is the possibility that it might be rejected.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- No pressure, then, eh? - Nicky's shuddering at the thought.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56I've got something to look forward to, then.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59Nicky, when looking at a portrait, it tells you about the character
0:06:59 > 0:07:03of the sitter, and so much of one's character comes through one's face
0:07:03 > 0:07:06and, of course, your face is not the face that you were born with.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Yours is the face as a result of what happened to you.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11So how is that going to affect how you go about it?
0:07:11 > 0:07:15I suppose it's not the first time he's put his image in the hands
0:07:15 > 0:07:18of somebody else, but, I mean, you know, there's a lot in those eyes
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and, you know, there's still plenty of expression in his face,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25despite the fact it not being... not necessarily being born with that,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29and I think the best I'll be able to do is glean what comes from it -
0:07:29 > 0:07:31the Simon Weston of today.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33What are your feelings about that, Simon?
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Are there any things that you... don't particularly like
0:07:35 > 0:07:38that you wouldn't want emphasised?
0:07:38 > 0:07:41No, er, this is a...
0:07:41 > 0:07:42this is a collage.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45I know it's been put together from different parts of my body
0:07:45 > 0:07:47and I'm missing bits of it.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50My mother said, how on earth are they going to paint me
0:07:50 > 0:07:52without any ears and how do you keep me from being lopsided
0:07:52 > 0:07:56and then she said to me about, you know, have you got that many shades of pink?
0:07:56 > 0:07:59So, you know, I can't be vain.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01But, no, I've got no ego on it.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04You know, when you look at that painting that was done
0:08:04 > 0:08:07of the two Princes, you know, that looks exactly like them to me,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11so...can't ask for any more than a true interpretation
0:08:11 > 0:08:13of the person that's there really.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Can I ask... Simon, I've noticed in the little time I've spent with you,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18- that you gesticulate quite a lot. - Yeah.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21And your hands, which were badly burnt as well,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23are very much part of your story.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26What do you think, Nicky, about them as part of the portrait?
0:08:26 > 0:08:30I think they should be part of it, I really do.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33You know, it's not just his face that was affected and, um...
0:08:33 > 0:08:35it's part of the story, quite an important part.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39That was you trying to rescue a colleague, wasn't it, on the Sir Galahad?
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I tried to pull him out, but he sadly died in my hands, yeah.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45That's war.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52INSTRUCTIONS ARE GIVEN
0:09:00 > 0:09:01No, no!
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Just one move, go.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Beautiful, keep going.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Keep going, that's lovely.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11- Ah!- Tuck your arms in, well done.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12Down...
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Simon's harrowing experience was captured in a documentary
0:09:15 > 0:09:17called Simon's War.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23It's incredible...
0:09:24 > 0:09:28..seeing these injuries and imagining somebody coming back from them.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31All right, would you like to try moving those fingers again?
0:09:32 > 0:09:36A lot of people tend to think I'm going to be quite sad or dour
0:09:36 > 0:09:40because of what's happened, and far from that.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44My life is a very happy life and I'm a very happy person.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47And you've said that what happened to you,
0:09:47 > 0:09:48being caught in that inferno,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51was the best thing that could have happened to you.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Look, I didn't want to be injured and I wish I'd never been injured,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57but there are 48 men on board the ship
0:09:57 > 0:10:00that would love to be in my position right now
0:10:00 > 0:10:03and I'm sure their families would think the same thing.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Just hang on, lad.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08It built me up to be who I am
0:10:08 > 0:10:11and it built me up then to give me the opportunities.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I don't know what my life would have been had I not been injured
0:10:14 > 0:10:16but as I did get injured in the way that I did
0:10:16 > 0:10:18and I was to come back alive,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21then I have to accept that it's the best thing that happened to me
0:10:21 > 0:10:23because it could have easily been 49 people.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28- Let me just see if that's ready to move. Is that sore?- No.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Oh, I don't think I can watch it.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33There's still some areas, I think,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35that might need some new skin put on.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37As long as you can sort my eyes and my hands out,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- I don't care what you do. - Those are first on the list.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44His face is everything, and his hands, you know, he says here,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47he wants his eyes... Oh, my God!
0:10:47 > 0:10:50He wants his eyes and his, er...
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and his hands to be OK.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56- My eyes and my hands.- That's right, you've got your priorities right.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02I need to capture what's in the eyes, really.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11If people just look at the scars, they see sadness
0:11:11 > 0:11:16and they see 85-plus operations, between 500 and 700 units of blood
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and blood products being given to me, um...
0:11:19 > 0:11:24the fact that my heart stopped twice and things, ultimately, you know,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28whatever happened has happened, but, you know, those are just things.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30They're quite big things.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33They are big things, but big things happen to lots of people
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and yet they survive, but they've never had the enjoyment of life
0:11:37 > 0:11:41that I've had, so, you know, I have to accept that, you know,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I've been damned lucky and I really do feel that.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47I'm the luckiest guy I know.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56He's spent the best part of 30 years being positive about his life.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59I want to concentrate on that.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04CHEERING
0:12:04 > 0:12:09If you've got to take something out of tragedy, take the positives,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12take the humanity, take the laughter,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14take every other bit of goodness and kindness
0:12:14 > 0:12:17that existed at that point in time.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20If we can encompass just a little bit of that in the portrait,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23then, you know, that would make me very happy,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25because it would show the real me.
0:12:25 > 0:12:31# Well, I'm a lucky man
0:12:31 > 0:12:35# With fire in my hand... #
0:12:47 > 0:12:49CHILDREN SHOUT
0:12:49 > 0:12:51It's the day of the first sitting
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and Simon is in West London on his way to Nicky's studio.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Right, can I just try this?
0:12:59 > 0:13:02- OK, I'm going back where you are. - Right, sorry.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Nicky's first job is to work out
0:13:04 > 0:13:08how Simon will pose for his historic picture.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- I wonder if it might... just try it and see.- Mm-hm.
0:13:11 > 0:13:12We might go back.
0:13:14 > 0:13:15Lean forward.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17I like the leaning forward.
0:13:17 > 0:13:18That's too low, up.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- Up off there. - I was just getting comfortable.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23I know, it's a nice chair, that one.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Sorry, this is very boring.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Think of what you're going to do tomorrow,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31cos I need to do some thinking.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34No, no, no, no. None of that. Sit forward.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Oh, sorry, I thought I was supposed to do some thinking
0:13:37 > 0:13:38while you were doing some thinking.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- Well, yes, but you can think and pose at the same time, with any luck.- OK.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48I think you need to be standing...actually.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Come round this way. That's it.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54And now look towards me, right.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57My mother's never going to forgive me for not having a tie.
0:13:59 > 0:14:00Actually, come forward a little.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08God, it's a complex business, this, isn't it?
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Yeah, it is. You've got to be really patient.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13You've got to be good, otherwise I'll go berserk
0:14:13 > 0:14:15and produce something hideous.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16That would be scary.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Just stand. I want your weight quite far forward on the chair
0:14:19 > 0:14:21- if you could.- OK.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Believe it or not, when I was injured and on board the ship,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27a shadow appeared at the end of my bed.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29- Mm-hm.- Put their hands at the end of my bed
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and just cocked one leg in front of the other and leaning like that
0:14:32 > 0:14:36and when I explained the day that it had happened, my grandmother said
0:14:36 > 0:14:40that my mother's real father, she had prayed to him all day.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- Oh.- And whether I... I don't know whether I believe it,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45whether I was hallucinating or whatever,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49but I can remember it as clear as a bell, ringing in my ears.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Do what you said that person did at the end of the bed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Oh, yeah, it's a really nice pose, that.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Inspired by his story of a ghostly vision,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Nicky begins by roughly sketching Simon in charcoal.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17I want to see if this is the way to go. It might change.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21She has lots of questions about that fateful day
0:15:21 > 0:15:24in the summer of 1982 in the Falklands.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Do you actually remember everything?
0:15:31 > 0:15:32Pretty much.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Was there a lot of warning?
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- No, none.- None at all?
0:15:37 > 0:15:40Two, three seconds, maybe four seconds.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- Oh, right. - Um, and it's as quick as that
0:15:43 > 0:15:47and it was quite, well, surreal is, er...
0:15:47 > 0:15:50is probably wrong because it was very real.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53- Did it knock you out to start with? - No, no, I was awake through it all.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55- You were awake the whole time?- Yeah.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58- What time of day was it? - About two o'clock in the afternoon.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00Oh, right.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04It was a brighter day than this, much brighter day than this.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16At what point did you realise how badly you'd been burnt?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19Oh, gosh, I had no idea.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21I had no idea for weeks.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26I just accepted that I was in a pretty bad situation
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and that my war was over.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56After the Falklands War,
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Simon returned to his home town,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Nelson, in the Welsh valleys,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03to rebuild his shattered life.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06I love Wales, this is home.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Everywhere else would just be somewhere I would live,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13but this is home, will always be home.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Without the people here, I wouldn't have grown up to be the person I am.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19And how important was their support
0:17:19 > 0:17:22when you came back from hospital when you'd been so badly injured?
0:17:22 > 0:17:23Oh, it was immense.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25CHEERING
0:17:28 > 0:17:30It was huge, you know,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33being in a community like this is just so important.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I don't know whether I would have survived as well
0:17:36 > 0:17:38had I been brought up in a city.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42The people supported my family as much as they supported me.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43CHEERING
0:17:48 > 0:17:51There was one person always at Simon's side
0:17:51 > 0:17:54during his recovery - his mother, Pauline.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59She's been an incredible person, an incredible confidante
0:17:59 > 0:18:00an incredible critic.
0:18:02 > 0:18:03She's been everything.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10'Simon's mum is clearly such a central figure in his life,
0:18:10 > 0:18:11'I'm very keen to meet her.'
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Thank you very much.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24- Well, hello.- Pauline, hi.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28- 'When you first saw Simon, you didn't know it was him?- No.'
0:18:28 > 0:18:30I've seen you so much on the news.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33When you first saw him and realised that was your son,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36what went through your mind?
0:18:36 > 0:18:39I couldn't believe it, um, I went to the floor...
0:18:39 > 0:18:41He came out of the ambulance.
0:18:43 > 0:18:49And I said to my mother, "Look at that poor boy," and he said,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53"Hello, Mam, I'm all right, I'm alive," he said.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55And my legs went from under me.
0:18:55 > 0:19:00I just couldn't believe that this fine, handsome,
0:19:00 > 0:19:06rugby-playing boy had gone away and this poor lad I had back.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Can you shift this pillow up a bit at the back of my neck, Mam?
0:19:09 > 0:19:14'And the smell got to you, the smell of burnt flesh.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16'It was beyond, it really was,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19'and trying to see through,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22'well, no eyes really, you know, they were all closed up and burnt.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25'It was...it was awful to see.'
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Look at my legs, they're like chicken's legs.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- Oh, God, son.- But they're a lot better, Simon, to what they were.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34'And I'm looking at this lad on a Saturday'
0:19:34 > 0:19:39and he should have been out enjoying himself, not lying in the bed
0:19:39 > 0:19:42the way he was, and it seemed to go on for ever.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Right, turn your hand. And work on
0:19:44 > 0:19:46getting your thumb over your hand.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Try and reach your thumb again.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49He must have had
0:19:49 > 0:19:52great strength to have gone through what he did.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55And so must you because the thing that struck me
0:19:55 > 0:19:59when you were sitting by Simon's bedside, and every now and again
0:19:59 > 0:20:04- the camera would turn from Simon's terrible injuries to your face.- Hmm.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07And I looked at it, thinking,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11what a Herculean effort you were making, to hold it together for him.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15- Yes.- That must have been incredibly hard.- It was very, very difficult.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19I must have kept that in for a good 18 months.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22It was terrible but I can remember,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I sat in the house one day, and I cried and cried,
0:20:25 > 0:20:30and they talk about lumps of tears coming up. They were lumps.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32I had such a sore throat afterwards.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37I mean, when he talks about you, it is so touching because he says
0:20:37 > 0:20:39he loves you desperately
0:20:39 > 0:20:43and that you are the absolute rock in his life.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Well, well, well. We don't discuss anything.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49We don't say anything at all.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51But you know all that, though, don't you?
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Er, perhaps I did, and I've forgotten.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56CHEERING
0:20:56 > 0:21:01This is what I wanted, I think, when he was injured - work,
0:21:01 > 0:21:05married and have a family. That was my ultimate for him.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07What more could you want out of life, isn't it?
0:21:09 > 0:21:14His former life is gone now and he lives for his children,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17his beautiful wife, and his grandson,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19and goes forward.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28I'm on my way to Simon's second sitting, to learn more
0:21:28 > 0:21:32about how Nicky works and how she plans to capture Simon in paint.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Well, I keep my paint in the freezer
0:21:39 > 0:21:41because it stops it forming a skin.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Is this the standard colours that someone would select
0:21:44 > 0:21:46or do you have particular ones?
0:21:46 > 0:21:48No, well, I have standard flesh colours.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50That's white which is...
0:21:50 > 0:21:52That is actually titanium white.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Then there's yellow ochre.
0:21:54 > 0:21:59That's vermilion. That's a very, very expensive Chinese vermilion
0:21:59 > 0:22:01- which is £52 a tube.- Oh.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04For a little tube like that. That's alizarin crimson.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07I had to go to the British Museum to find these out.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11- And you describe yourself as classically trained.- Yes.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13What does that actually mean?
0:22:13 > 0:22:15It's basically the grammar of painting.
0:22:17 > 0:22:18You need some sort of structure,
0:22:18 > 0:22:21and I don't mean to completely dismiss all the art schools,
0:22:21 > 0:22:24but an awful lot of it was lost through the 20th century, I think.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Are you talking about the Young British Artists - Damien Hirst,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Tracey Emin, that kind of thing?
0:22:29 > 0:22:31That is almost a different thing. I wouldn't really say
0:22:31 > 0:22:34they were "artists" in the sense that I know it.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37I mean, they're crafts people, their ideas are zany
0:22:37 > 0:22:40and, you know, in some cases, fabulous,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42- in some cases I think a waste of time.- Like what?
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- Oh.- Tracey Emin's tent?
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Fiona, that's so mean. They'll come after me.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Does that float your boat?
0:22:48 > 0:22:52No, I just think, you know, those are sort of designed
0:22:52 > 0:22:57to raise eyebrows and to horrify people, er...
0:22:57 > 0:22:59- I don't know why really. - Is it art?- I don't think so.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02You may produce all sorts of fun things
0:23:02 > 0:23:04but it's never going to be real quality.
0:23:08 > 0:23:09- Right.- Ta-da!
0:23:09 > 0:23:13The paint has defrosted and it's time to get Simon down on canvas.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Nicky prefers a traditional method of painting,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20passed down the centuries.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Basically I am painting this sight-size. It is a method that was
0:23:25 > 0:23:31originated with Leonardo da Vinci and it was used... It's been used
0:23:31 > 0:23:35by most of the great portraitists through the years, actually.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Titian, Reynolds, Gainsborough.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43So I'm actually not looking at him when I'm putting the paint on.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46- I look at him from here. I have my given spot.- Oh, yes,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50- you've marked it out.- And I just return to this point all the time,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52OK? This is sort of where I'm supposed to be.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57And then I just walk up, so I'm basically reproducing
0:23:57 > 0:23:59on the canvas, what I'm looking at.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02- And what's the benefit of doing it back there?- Because you can see.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05Because you can see the two images right next door to each other.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07- I mean, literally.- Hmm.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10He's standing there, you put the canvas alongside him.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12In this case, he doesn't want to see it,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15- so I've put it very slightly in front of him.- That was your choice, Simon?
0:24:15 > 0:24:17I just want to see it when it's finished.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19It's like unwrapping a Christmas present.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21You know it's under the tree but you've got to wait
0:24:21 > 0:24:23two or three weeks before you can unwrap it.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25I hope it's going to be a nice Christmas!
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Will you look at it at the end of each session?
0:24:28 > 0:24:29No, he's not looking at it at all.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31So you're not going to see it until...?
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Not until it's unveiled, no.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36- Right.- He's very disciplined about it, too.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Er, and then it just sort of happens. And he chats away
0:24:40 > 0:24:43- and, my God, does he chat.- Simon? - Yeah.- Really? You surprise me.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45Yeah, extraordinary thing.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48And you just sort of get... you arrive at it.
0:24:48 > 0:24:49I'll tell you what,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52my lousy, rotten character is being assassinated here.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54THEY LAUGH
0:24:54 > 0:24:57But, you know, something sort of emerges and, really,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01what I'm always trying to do with all my pictures because I love it
0:25:01 > 0:25:03when a painter gets it right
0:25:03 > 0:25:08and somebody like van Dyck, or Velazquez, or Manet,
0:25:08 > 0:25:09they just got it right.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13And they got it right by doing one brush stroke
0:25:13 > 0:25:18with just the right amount of paint, in exactly the right position, one.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20And it just has all the character in the world.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25And that's what, ultimately, I think makes a really wonderful painting.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30And it's quite high pressure, but, my God, it's fun when it works.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33And you're not after any kind of hyper-realism here are you,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- judging by this?- No. If anybody wants to know,
0:25:36 > 0:25:41wants to see the minutiae of what the surgeon has done to him,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43I'm quite sure he's a big enough guy for them to be able to go up
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and inspect his face in close quarters with a magnifying glass
0:25:46 > 0:25:48but they're not going to get it from my portrait.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52I want to show what scars I can see from here.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56And how does that all sound to you, Simon? We're talking about you as if you're not here.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59My life is an open book so it's fine by me.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01And you said, when I talked to you at the beginning
0:26:01 > 0:26:04about what you'd like to come out of this portrait, you wanted people
0:26:04 > 0:26:08to look at it and think, "Here's a man who's happy,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- "who's looking forward, who..." - Yeah.- "..who's positive."
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Yeah, you know, if it's possible,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15it's to tell there is a sense of humour there.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- You know, I really don't want this to be a negative picture.- Mmm.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21It's got to be all about let's look forward,
0:26:21 > 0:26:26look what life can be because it was a battle and it's been won, really.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOUT
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Simon is launching his fourth and latest children's book
0:26:34 > 0:26:38about a Welsh milkman and his horse called Nelson.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43He's become used to his photo being taken,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46but being painted by Nicky is a very different matter.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49We laugh a lot
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and she's told me what not to wear, what to wear.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55She's told me what's going to be in there.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57I'm not going to be smiling.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59She's not going to have any teeth in it.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02So she's given me my instructions, erm,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06cos she's quite authoritative, so... But I'm used to that,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10coming from a matriarchal family, where the women are scary.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Stay like that, except tilt slightly towards your left shoulder.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Your right shoulder, all right.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17I knew I'd get there.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Sorry, I'm really not concentrating.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24I love that. It's very dramatic,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28the way you lunge towards the painting with your arm outstretched.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32When you get into position of nervousness about a picture,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34it starts to get more and more frantic.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Sometimes it's a bit like...
0:27:37 > 0:27:40trying to rein in a wild horse, you know, suddenly you're losing
0:27:40 > 0:27:43a bit of control and, oh, my God, it all gets rather nerve-racking.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Capturing the eyes can be the hardest part of a portrait,
0:27:53 > 0:27:57particularly when they've been rebuilt as Simon's have.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01When you first had your eyelids put on -
0:28:01 > 0:28:03that's a really bizarre question, isn't it? -
0:28:03 > 0:28:06when you blinked, did you feel you were going to tear them?
0:28:06 > 0:28:08No, I didn't think about it.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13They put skin in which just made it easier for my eyelids to connect.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17- For your eyelids to connect?- Yeah, they stopped me from going blind.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Used to put a lot of cream in my eyes to stop me going blind,
0:28:20 > 0:28:21keep them moist.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24They had to cut it eventually and split it.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26- That's where the red dot comes from. - Right.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Because I couldn't see to the left
0:28:28 > 0:28:30so I'd miss all of that that was out there.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35But when they put the eyelids on, they stitched them on
0:28:35 > 0:28:38with big orange, I suppose it was like antiseptic or whatever it was,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40to stop them becoming infected.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43And your eyes never did get infected, then?
0:28:43 > 0:28:45No, no, I mean, the surgeon saved my eyesight
0:28:45 > 0:28:47and, forever, I'll be grateful.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Simon's portrait is different to anything Nicky's done before.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58And portraits past offer little in the way of inspiration.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03But at the Royal College of Surgeons in London,
0:29:03 > 0:29:08there's a rare collection of unusual and moving portraits.
0:29:17 > 0:29:22These are some paintings of quite exceptional quality,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25were done by a man called Henry Tonks,
0:29:25 > 0:29:28and they are of men
0:29:28 > 0:29:30who were injured in the trenches
0:29:30 > 0:29:32in the First World War.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34They're extraordinary, aren't they?
0:29:34 > 0:29:36I mean, some of these are
0:29:36 > 0:29:38before the surgery and after.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41And the surgery is completely pioneering,
0:29:41 > 0:29:45filling holes in men's faces,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48trying to reconstruct wounds, burns,
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Do you know, what strikes me about looking at these
0:29:51 > 0:29:53is that they're undoubtedly shocking,
0:29:53 > 0:29:54some of these,
0:29:54 > 0:29:55but they're also beautiful,
0:29:55 > 0:29:57- aren't they?- Oh, they're beautiful,
0:29:57 > 0:29:59and they capture
0:29:59 > 0:30:01the humanity of these men,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03even in their extreme states.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05You get some sense
0:30:05 > 0:30:06of what they're feeling,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08what they've been through,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10their emotions and how
0:30:10 > 0:30:12- they're dealing with it.- Absolutely.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17I was just doing a little bit of work, just to think about
0:30:17 > 0:30:20portraits in the past of people's disfigurements
0:30:20 > 0:30:23- because it's not something you associate with portraits.- Not many.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26I mean, this is a very well-known painting by Quentin Matsys,
0:30:26 > 0:30:28what is it, early 1500s?
0:30:28 > 0:30:29HE SIGHS
0:30:29 > 0:30:31You know, what is going on there?
0:30:31 > 0:30:34I mean, the belief was this was a piece of satire,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38a very old ugly woman trying to look young and rather curvaceous.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40- It's a condition.- Paget's disease. - Correct.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42Paget's disease which is a bone deformity, isn't it?
0:30:42 > 0:30:45What I love about it is that,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47although she's not looking at us,
0:30:47 > 0:30:50you get the sense of quite a proud,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52defiant person, don't you?
0:30:52 > 0:30:55You do. I'll tell you one that I've grown up with,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57- this Ghirlandaio.- Oh, yes.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Cos my grandpa had this on his wall and, as a child, I was always...
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Well, I didn't really understand...
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Why did my grandfather have this
0:31:04 > 0:31:05chap with all the warts on his nose?
0:31:05 > 0:31:07And I never really liked it.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08It was only when I grew older
0:31:08 > 0:31:09and had children of my own
0:31:09 > 0:31:10that I began to see
0:31:10 > 0:31:11what it's all about,
0:31:11 > 0:31:12which, of course,
0:31:12 > 0:31:14it's this unquestioning devotion
0:31:14 > 0:31:15of the child
0:31:15 > 0:31:17seeing past the warts on the nose,
0:31:17 > 0:31:19not caring about any of that.
0:31:19 > 0:31:25Absolutely, and the wonderful depth in the old man's face
0:31:25 > 0:31:28of wonderful appreciation
0:31:28 > 0:31:30of this admiring,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32this unconditional positive regard.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34It's beautiful.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59Simon's recovery from his physical injuries was just the beginning.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02The psychological scars went much deeper.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08Your examination by the board has now been completed.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13The board find that you are unfit for further military service.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18That's the first time I can remember feeling really low,
0:32:18 > 0:32:23at the point where, "My goodness, what have I got?"
0:32:26 > 0:32:29And my physical side of my life, as far as taking part in sport,
0:32:29 > 0:32:33being a very physical person, which I'd always been, was gone.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35So I was going to have to use my brain
0:32:35 > 0:32:38which scared the living heck out of me.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43I never thought that I would ever have to make my living
0:32:43 > 0:32:48using my brain. I was far happier just using the brawn.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53They can't keep me in, simple as that.
0:32:57 > 0:32:58I just want a job.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01There's three million people want a job too, Simon.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Well, that'll be three million and one, then, won't it?
0:33:05 > 0:33:08I didn't know where we were going to turn.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10I didn't know.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12Where do you go from that?
0:33:12 > 0:33:14And the Army had been his life and, I mean,
0:33:14 > 0:33:18he'd not only lost his friends. He was a great rugby player,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21prop forward, and to nothing.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Absolutely. And to a village.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30I didn't see any future.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33I struggled and it's not like me. And I just didn't see that
0:33:33 > 0:33:37I'd have a relationship again. Mine had broken up and gone.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40I couldn't ever imagine anybody wanting to be with me,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42the way I looked at that point in time,
0:33:42 > 0:33:46and, you know, and I still had sores and it couldn't have smelt great
0:33:46 > 0:33:49as well, you know, so it was...it was very hard to see the positives.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56It probably helped me and made it easier for me to drink a lot.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01He'd go down the club, which was a bone of contention with me.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04I didn't like him going down there.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08And I was appalled by it, absolutely appalled.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10It was pretty awful.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18What happened was when the operations stopped,
0:34:18 > 0:34:23he had time to think, and then he thought about all his friends
0:34:23 > 0:34:26that had died and he felt that he should have died with them,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29that he shouldn't have lived.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32And, you know, he'd come into me at two o'clock in the morning,
0:34:32 > 0:34:36and he'd be crying and say, "Mam, you know, I shouldn't be here."
0:34:36 > 0:34:39And you'd be fast asleep and you'd wake up and think,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43"What is going on?" You know. It was a difficult time,
0:34:43 > 0:34:45a very difficult time -
0:34:45 > 0:34:48one I would never want to go back and visit again.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52It was very hard to see the positives, erm...
0:34:52 > 0:34:56I mean, what was your lowest moment, would you say?
0:34:56 > 0:34:58Well, I almost took my life, I suppose.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02I'm sensing you don't want me to say what you actually did.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05Oh, I don't mind. I mean, I tried to cock a crossbow.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09- So you basically tried to shoot yourself?- Yeah.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12- In the head with the crossbow? - Yeah, with the crossbow, yeah.
0:35:12 > 0:35:13And what stopped you?
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Er, my tips weren't strong enough to pull it.
0:35:16 > 0:35:17And when it ripped it out
0:35:17 > 0:35:20it left blood pouring out of the tips of my fingers.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23It was the pain that snapped me back into reality,
0:35:23 > 0:35:27and I thought, "What an insult to all those incredible people
0:35:27 > 0:35:29"that still do an incredible job."
0:35:29 > 0:35:33- The people that kept you alive? - Yeah, yeah, all of those people.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44Simon turned a corner and began to rebuild his life
0:35:44 > 0:35:47through sheer force of will but it wasn't easy.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52I'm meeting psychologist Nichola Rumsey who specialises
0:35:52 > 0:35:56in facial disfigurement to find out more about the battles he faced.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02How difficult is it for someone who's had facial disfigurement,
0:36:02 > 0:36:05who has facial scaring, in terms of recovering from that?
0:36:05 > 0:36:08- Hmm.- And relating to the outside world?
0:36:09 > 0:36:14Well, the face is the prime way we communicate with others.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16Now, I want you to go, "Ee-ee."
0:36:18 > 0:36:20"Oo-oo."
0:36:20 > 0:36:22If you have a change to your face,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25you've got to deal with the reactions of other people to you
0:36:25 > 0:36:26when you look different from the norm.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29And then the other side of it is that the face is also
0:36:29 > 0:36:30a very strong part of our identity,
0:36:30 > 0:36:32so, you know, we get up in the morning,
0:36:32 > 0:36:33we look at ourselves in the mirror,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36we decide whether or not we're having a good or a bad day.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39And if you look different, it doesn't feel like you and it takes quite
0:36:39 > 0:36:42a long time to kind of incorporate that new look into your identity.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47The thing that always strikes me about people that deal well
0:36:47 > 0:36:49with a disfigurement is the amount of energy
0:36:49 > 0:36:51they have to put into that coping process.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53So, you've got to manage yourself and you've got to manage
0:36:53 > 0:36:57the discomfort or the embarrassment that other people are going through.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00So, you know, there have to come moments when you just want downtime
0:37:00 > 0:37:02and you just want, you know,
0:37:02 > 0:37:04to kind of drift into a nice, anonymous place.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16If he does have moments, they're in the night.
0:37:16 > 0:37:17They're in the dark.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Because sometimes he'll say he doesn't sleep,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22and he'll go down and sleep on the settee.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26I never question what it's about because I think I got
0:37:26 > 0:37:31a pretty good idea that... Yes, I think that he...
0:37:31 > 0:37:35he loses it sometimes, you know, he's not as positive.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38I don't sleep terribly well any more.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40- Why's that?- I don't know. I do think too much.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44I don't think back to the... the ship. That's stopped.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- Do you have nightmares about that? - I used to. I used to.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49I had PTSD for about 24 years.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53- Post-traumatic stress?- Disorder, yeah. I had that for about 24 years.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55Gosh, that is a long time.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00I didn't realise how disruptive it was until I was out of it.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06It was like somebody cut a big elastic band off my chest.
0:38:06 > 0:38:07I could breathe deeply.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11I could suck in air and it felt good.
0:38:11 > 0:38:12CHEERING
0:38:17 > 0:38:21Oh, this referee is an absolute joke!
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Though his injuries forced him to watch, rather than play, rugby,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27Simon has never lost his love of the game...
0:38:28 > 0:38:31..particularly his beloved Llanelli Scarlets.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36He seems to just want to enjoy what he's got now
0:38:36 > 0:38:37and the person he is now.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40Oh, learn about the game, referee, for God's sake!
0:38:40 > 0:38:43It makes him really good company. He's good fun.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45CROWD BOOS
0:38:45 > 0:38:46SIMON LAUGHS
0:38:46 > 0:38:47Boo!
0:38:47 > 0:38:51It's like that's going to make a huge amount of difference to him.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53'I feel we're friends.'
0:38:53 > 0:38:55I'd like to think that if he wrote a book about the experience,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58he might feel that he could say that we were friends now.
0:38:58 > 0:38:59CHEERING
0:39:01 > 0:39:05'Whether that'll make it easier or more difficult, I don't know,'
0:39:05 > 0:39:10but I think being able to call him a friend
0:39:10 > 0:39:15just might add a little spark, a little twinkle,
0:39:15 > 0:39:16or something, I hope.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33There is something that is...it's sort of...
0:39:33 > 0:39:34Oh, it's just maddening.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36It's just one of those little tiny things.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39I think it's got to do with your top lip.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41My explosion of a moustache?
0:39:41 > 0:39:43I wonder if you'd have had one if none of this had happened.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Well, at that time, everybody in the Welsh Guards had a moustache,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49even the women...you know, so...
0:39:49 > 0:39:50SHE LAUGHS
0:39:52 > 0:39:56What do you actually want to achieve now?
0:39:56 > 0:39:58Er, I... I suppose I want to do more.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00- Of what?- Everything.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04I have no desire to slow down or stop.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08As Del Boy said, you know, "Sleeping is for wimps."
0:40:08 > 0:40:14Would you say you're a very restless person?
0:40:14 > 0:40:17I'm restless about doing things, about achievement.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21I'm very ambitious and I see nothing wrong with that ambition.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23And where does your ambition take you?
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Er, I'll tell you when I'm 85, that's fine.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29I wonder, observing you, what drives you. You travel so much.
0:40:29 > 0:40:31I mean, how many businesses have you got going at the moment?
0:40:31 > 0:40:35- I'm not sure.- It's ten or twelve. - Something like that, yeah.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37I'm involved in a lot of things.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39APPLAUSE
0:40:39 > 0:40:42The speaking is probably the most productive at the moment.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48When you're going out to talk to a group of people,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51to a group of schoolchildren, you appear very confident
0:40:51 > 0:40:53and you seem to have them in the small of your hand.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56You are the guys that are going to make the difference tomorrow.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58But do you have to work yourself up to that?
0:40:58 > 0:41:01I have to think about what I'm doing, yeah.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04I think the reason is for me... It's because it matters.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08When I got injured, the future looked very bleak...
0:41:08 > 0:41:12'I don't like speaking to people and being trite.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16'I don't like speaking to people without having relevance
0:41:16 > 0:41:19'and meaning to what I'm saying and...to them.'
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Don't let anybody dictate to you. Don't let anybody smash your dreams.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Don't let anybody turn round and say to you, "You're not worthy."
0:41:36 > 0:41:37WHISTLING
0:41:38 > 0:41:40That was very inspired. SHE SOBS
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Thank you.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46But everything is possible, you know that, don't you?
0:41:52 > 0:41:56Over the years, Simon has raised millions for different charities.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Please accept this with our very grateful thanks
0:42:01 > 0:42:03for all the support...
0:42:03 > 0:42:06He's still a champion for causes close to his heart,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08like the Falklands Veterans Foundation.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16Simon, for me, is the epitome of triumph against tragedy
0:42:16 > 0:42:20and somebody that's kind of almost risen from the ashes,
0:42:20 > 0:42:25reinvented himself and is now making a huge difference to a lot of people.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33I just can't settle for not trying something new.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35I can't settle for second best.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40I can't settle for not achieving. I like achieving.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43I like feeling, "Wow, look what we've done."
0:42:48 > 0:42:51The painting is taking shape,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54but Nicky still wants to add something
0:42:54 > 0:42:57that offers a clue to Simon's story.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03So tell me what there is left of your army kit?
0:43:03 > 0:43:08I mean, I've got my medals, but apart from that,
0:43:08 > 0:43:10I don't really have anything.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13The thing is, I was thinking it might be nice
0:43:13 > 0:43:14to have some sort of reference
0:43:14 > 0:43:17to your days in the... in the Welsh Guards.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20After all, this all started because of it.
0:43:20 > 0:43:21Oh, yeah.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25I don't know if there is anything we could get hold of?
0:43:25 > 0:43:28There's always a cap badge. You can get hold of a cap badge,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30that's fairly easy.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33I don't want anything in an enormous amount of detail,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36but just a reference.
0:43:36 > 0:43:40That's all. It's going to be fairly simple.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43Well, I suppose it matches the name, then, doesn't it?
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Simple Simon.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54Nicky decides to feature Simon's military medals
0:43:54 > 0:43:56and his OBE in the portrait.
0:43:56 > 0:44:01I'd just like you to hold them. What's easiest, like that?
0:44:01 > 0:44:03Is that the easiest way of holding them?
0:44:03 > 0:44:06- That's the easiest way, yeah. - That's the most natural. Perfect.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08I don't want you to be going, "Look at these."
0:44:08 > 0:44:09I just want them to be there.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13I want that flash of red.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15The one from the OBE?
0:44:15 > 0:44:17Yeah. When did you get that?
0:44:19 > 0:44:21When she gave it to me.
0:44:22 > 0:44:23Yeah, when was it?
0:44:23 > 0:44:26- Er, '90-something or other. - And it was her, was it?
0:44:26 > 0:44:28- Yeah.- Not Prince Charles? Did she say anything?
0:44:28 > 0:44:32"Here you go. Don't nick anything on the way out."
0:44:39 > 0:44:41MUSIC OVER SPEECH
0:44:46 > 0:44:48So how long did she stand for you?
0:44:48 > 0:44:50I had three hours, and then in the middle
0:44:50 > 0:44:53she gave me an extra 20 minutes because she was only going to lunch.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55I never thought I'd get to paint her, to be honest,
0:44:55 > 0:45:00and I wasn't 100% certain whether it would be a good idea, you know.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04Everybody wants her to look 25, the way she did, and she doesn't.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08She looks pretty damn good for her age, I have to say.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10But she's great, though.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12No, she's lovely. She's got the most wonderful giggle.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16- Has she?- Mmm. And actually, that helped,
0:45:16 > 0:45:21that really helps with trying to, um, sort of relax.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Did you have a good conversation with her?
0:45:23 > 0:45:26Yes, I did, but it's just so frustrating painting
0:45:26 > 0:45:29because I just wanted to put my brushes down and say,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31"Look, can we just have a chat?"
0:45:43 > 0:45:45It's the day of Simon's last sitting,
0:45:45 > 0:45:49and I can't wait to see how The People's Portrait has come on.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57The thing I notice that has changed -
0:45:57 > 0:45:59and it does feel strange, Simon, talking to you,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03you're standing right next to your portrait, but you can't see it -
0:46:03 > 0:46:05is that Simon's expression has changed a lot.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07You know, I don't really have any idea
0:46:07 > 0:46:10how these things are going to be, any more than the sitter does.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13It's just something that emerges.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16I'm going to just profess complete ignorance about it
0:46:16 > 0:46:18because I've taken him as I find him
0:46:18 > 0:46:21and, you know, at times he's interesting,
0:46:21 > 0:46:24at times he's very funny and at times he's a complete idiot.
0:46:27 > 0:46:28Don't mind us.
0:46:28 > 0:46:29Charming, isn't it?
0:46:29 > 0:46:31And it's really fun, the whole thing.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35I never know what it's going to be like. I never know what sort of mood he's going to be in.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38- I've always come in in a bad mood, haven't I?- Yes, we noticed that.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41- Always.- Yeah. Do you think you're going to feel slightly nervous
0:46:41 > 0:46:43when this is unveiled, Simon?
0:46:43 > 0:46:47Yeah, you mean it's... I suppose being the centre of attention,
0:46:47 > 0:46:49but for ever.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05With the deadline to deliver the portrait to the gallery
0:47:05 > 0:47:09fast approaching, Nicky applies the finishing touches.
0:47:09 > 0:47:13Military people are very particular.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17Um, if something isn't quite right, they're going to let you know.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34Putting his cap in just as a symbol
0:47:34 > 0:47:39of what he was which brought him to the point of being, um,
0:47:39 > 0:47:43a national treasure. I don't want it to feature very strongly.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46I just want it to be there. That's part of the story.
0:47:48 > 0:47:49It's a soldier's beret.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55It seems to have been through quite a few stages.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57He looked more jovial at one stage,
0:47:57 > 0:48:01and then somehow that's gone.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04I think he looks a little more thoughtful now,
0:48:04 > 0:48:08but, then again, he has had a very turbulent life
0:48:08 > 0:48:11and he is a thoughtful chap underneath,
0:48:11 > 0:48:14so I'm not unhappy about it.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35Watch it, turn it around, straight down.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39The time has come for Simon's portrait to be packed up
0:48:39 > 0:48:42and moved to its new home at the National Portrait Gallery.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46It's unnerving, actually,
0:48:46 > 0:48:51because I start to have doubts about whether I've completely finished it.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54It's out of Nicky's hands now, whether she likes it or not.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59That's a lesson in how to pack a painting, isn't it?
0:49:00 > 0:49:03The portrait will now be judged not once, but twice,
0:49:03 > 0:49:05to see if it's worthy of a place
0:49:05 > 0:49:08among the gallery's many masterpieces.
0:49:11 > 0:49:16Simon Weston was chosen from 12 nominees.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19The first people to judge are the curators.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22She's given it some formality with the chair
0:49:22 > 0:49:25and the sort of scale and positioning.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27Led by director Sandy Nairne,
0:49:27 > 0:49:29they're the experts who run the gallery.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34- In terms of colour, it's all very subdued...- It is.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37..even a little bit sombre, but then the eye's drawn to the medals
0:49:37 > 0:49:40which adds this colour accent and, of course,
0:49:40 > 0:49:43those colours symbolise not only the patriotism
0:49:43 > 0:49:47- but, in this case, heroism.- Yes. - Being attached to the medals.
0:49:47 > 0:49:48It's really interesting,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51the way that she's put the upturned beret on the chair.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54It seems to suggest all the men that didn't return.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57I think it's a really important and moving addition
0:49:57 > 0:50:01to the collection, actually, one we should be really proud of.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04In which case, is everybody happy to recommend this to the trustees,
0:50:04 > 0:50:06that this would go forward for their consideration?
0:50:06 > 0:50:09The trustees will have the final say,
0:50:09 > 0:50:11to approve or reject the portrait.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Great, fantastic, thank you.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19As his portrait is being judged, Simon is in hospital.
0:50:19 > 0:50:2132 years since he was injured,
0:50:21 > 0:50:26and after more than 80 operations, he needs yet more surgery,
0:50:26 > 0:50:27this time on his eyes,
0:50:27 > 0:50:30which have become sore and painful.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34We took stem cells from his abdomen
0:50:34 > 0:50:35and processed them
0:50:35 > 0:50:39and transferred them into the lower eyelid and around the nose
0:50:39 > 0:50:43to actually...to loosen up the scar tissue,
0:50:43 > 0:50:44to reverse the fibrosis,
0:50:44 > 0:50:48to allow the eyelid to move upwards so it can close properly.
0:50:49 > 0:50:50MONITOR BEEPS
0:50:57 > 0:50:59PHONE RINGS
0:50:59 > 0:51:02Good afternoon, National Portrait Gallery.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05The gallery's trustees are discussing the portrait
0:51:05 > 0:51:06behind closed doors.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13They're all in there, gathered around Nicky's painting.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19I can't hear what they're saying.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24Well, Sandy is getting very animated about it all.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26They're all standing there with their arms folded,
0:51:26 > 0:51:28peering intently at Simon...
0:51:30 > 0:51:32..and if they don't like it,
0:51:32 > 0:51:35it's not going up on the wall.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46OK, that's good.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52There's a bit of head nodding. A few people are smiling.
0:51:52 > 0:51:53That looks good.
0:52:11 > 0:52:16Well, they're clearly not going to say anything to me until their deliberations are finished.
0:52:21 > 0:52:26It'll take about between six weeks to about six months
0:52:26 > 0:52:29for us to see an effect, but it does work.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42Well, they're all talking very earnestly upstairs.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45A few people are smiling, which looks good.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48- Do you reckon?- Well...
0:52:49 > 0:52:51I mean, Sandy is standing in front of it
0:52:51 > 0:52:53and declaiming to the assembled trustees,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56no doubt about the merits of your portrait.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02I thought my last exam was going to be my driving test.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04- Is that what it feels like? - That was a very long time ago.
0:53:06 > 0:53:07'The meeting is finally over,
0:53:07 > 0:53:10'and Sandy Nairne has the trustees' verdict.'
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Sandy, hello.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15- Good to see you.- How are you?
0:53:15 > 0:53:17I'm fine. It was good.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19- The trustees loved it.- Did they?
0:53:19 > 0:53:23And they just had a very good time with the portrait,
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and they were incredibly positive.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28It was very, very nice. They had two goes.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30They were in the studio and then they were back in the boardroom
0:53:30 > 0:53:32for their formal decision,
0:53:32 > 0:53:36but they were entirely positive and totally unanimous.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39- You're going to take it?- We're taking it. Thank you very much.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41- There you go!- It was really good.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45There's something about portraiture
0:53:45 > 0:53:47that is just so special
0:53:47 > 0:53:51and I think this particular work demonstrates why painting, I think,
0:53:51 > 0:53:54is just so 21st century. It's all the subtlety,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57all the complexity of a man who's a hero.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00There's quite a strong shadow behind him on the wall
0:54:00 > 0:54:02and nothing else,
0:54:02 > 0:54:04so it seemed to me that actually,
0:54:04 > 0:54:10that emptiness stood for some of the other people who died.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14It had all those kind of formal touches
0:54:14 > 0:54:17of those traditional war portraits with the medals,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19with the cap on the chair,
0:54:19 > 0:54:22and yet he, himself, is very informal,
0:54:22 > 0:54:26the unbuttoned shirt. He was the person he had become,
0:54:26 > 0:54:30rather than the victim that perhaps we first saw him as.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38The big day has arrived.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42The People's Portrait is about to be unveiled to the nation.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46'Slightly nervous.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49'This is your peers, these are the people that you live with,
0:54:49 > 0:54:51'you grew up with, and they voted,
0:54:51 > 0:54:55'and perhaps that's why it's more nerve-racking than anything else.'
0:54:55 > 0:54:57Perfecto.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03It's time to head for the gallery with his wife, Lucy.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05Proper spring morning.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08I think I've got butterflies for you today.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14- Hello, hello, hello.- Hello, darling, are you all right? Thank you.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Among the guests for the unveiling are Simon's three children
0:55:18 > 0:55:20and, of course, his mother, Pauline.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22I'm quite excited really, you know.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24I'd like her work
0:55:24 > 0:55:27when she did the two Princes and I thought it was excellent
0:55:27 > 0:55:30and so I'm really keen to see it.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32I'm also keen to see Simon's expression
0:55:32 > 0:55:34when he sees it for the first time.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38I'm terribly nervous about it, I can tell you,
0:55:38 > 0:55:42but I know he's going to tell me what he thinks.
0:55:42 > 0:55:43Right, here we go.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47'Historian Dan Snow, who nominated Simon for the People's Portrait,
0:55:47 > 0:55:50'is unveiling it with me.'
0:55:50 > 0:55:52Well, look, I just want to say it's been
0:55:52 > 0:55:55a thrill really to watch this portrait develop.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59It's been, what, eight sittings, I think, and about three months.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01Hmm.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03This is going to be quite a moment.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06I don't think there could be a better choice. It's the first time
0:56:06 > 0:56:09that people have voted for a portrait to hang here.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11It's the people's choice for a people's hero.
0:56:11 > 0:56:14Let's try and get it off. I think Fiona invited me because I'm tall -
0:56:14 > 0:56:15I can help to get this off.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Here we go.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19Da-da!
0:56:19 > 0:56:21APPLAUSE
0:56:30 > 0:56:32Simon, come and look.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39What do you think?
0:56:39 > 0:56:43Um, I think it's fantastic. I think it's fantastic.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46I'm slightly fatter in there than I am now, so...
0:56:46 > 0:56:47LAUGHTER
0:56:47 > 0:56:50No, I think it's wonderful. It's wonderful, thank you.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52- Do you really like it? - I do. Thank you so much.
0:56:52 > 0:56:53I think that's the first time
0:56:53 > 0:56:55I've seen you slightly lost for words.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58Yeah, but thank you so much.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01Well, it's been a pleasure. It really has. It was enormous fun.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03Look, you're opposite Margaret Thatcher.
0:57:03 > 0:57:04Yeah, Margaret Thatcher,
0:57:04 > 0:57:07without which none of this would have happened at all.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11Mum, what do you think?
0:57:11 > 0:57:17Er, he's looking quite serious I think, or he's asking questions.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21- Is that what it is? - I think it's fantastic.
0:57:21 > 0:57:22Yeah?
0:57:22 > 0:57:25I'm surprised you managed to get him to stand still for so long.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28THEY CHUCKLE
0:57:28 > 0:57:30It really sums him up.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32- It really sums him up?- Yeah.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35- You can't get a higher accolade than that, Nicky, can you?- No.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37Here for prosperity.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41But, yeah, no, I'm thrilled.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44I really am thrilled.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51It's... It's wonderful. It's... Yeah.
0:57:51 > 0:57:54I never thought that 32 years ago this would happen.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06As Simon's guests come forward to admire the portrait,
0:58:06 > 0:58:09perhaps it's a moment to reflect.
0:58:09 > 0:58:14It was never Simon's choice to stand out, to look different,
0:58:14 > 0:58:16to be in any way historic.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19Are you pleased?
0:58:19 > 0:58:20Hmm, yeah, very.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24His injuries did that for him
0:58:24 > 0:58:27but how Simon responded is surely what made him
0:58:27 > 0:58:32the people's choice for the first People's Portrait of our times.