Rebecca Adlington The TV That Made Me


Rebecca Adlington

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Transcript


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Telly, that magic box in the corner.

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It gives us access to a million different worlds,

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all from the comfort of our sofa.

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In this series, I'm going to journey through

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the fantastic world of TV with some of our favourite celebrities.

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They've chosen the precious TV moments that shed light...

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I loved this.

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-BOTH:

-Crackerjack!

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..on the stories of their lives.

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Listen, this looks smashing.

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-BOTH:

-# Right on time... #

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Some are funny...

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THEY LAUGH

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HIGH PITCHED: # ..became of the people... #

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-Some...

-Just like that.

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..are surprising.

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I'll let you into a secret I've never told anyone before.

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Some are inspiring...

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I wanted to be a Miss something.

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The best TV transports you.

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-And many...

-Did George Orwell get his predictions right?

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It's all so dramatic.

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-..are deeply moving.

-Oh!

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'The death of John F Kennedy...'

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This takes me back.

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-It makes me want to cry.

-Oh, you can have a cry if you want.

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So come watch with us as we hand-pick the vintage telly

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that helped turn our much-loved stars

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into the people they are today.

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Welcome to The TV That Made Me.

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My guest today is an international sports champion

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who's had a swimming pool, a pub and a train named after her.

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She even managed to withstand the horrors of the

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I'm A Celebrity jungle.

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Yes, she's Britain's most decorated female Olympian,

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Rebecca Adlington, and the TV that made her includes

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the TV legend who brought us a lorra, lorra love.

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And Carmelo from Manchester.

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And the cooking show that offered us a little bit of afternoon delight.

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It's up to you now to decide who's going to be the winner.

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Green peppers or red tomatoes? Would you please vote now?

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It can only be the one and only Rebecca Adlington is here

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with a pillow.

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LAUGHING: Yeah. I haven't stuffed my dress, don't worry.

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-So, do you get much time to watch TV?

-Yeah. I love TV.

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-Yeah?

-TV... Especially, like, when I was an athlete, it's how you

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switch off, it's how you relax, how you unwind.

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So, I'm such a TV girl.

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Today is a celebration.

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What we've done, we've picked some TV highlights,

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well, you've picked some TV highlights that probably made you

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into the person you are today.

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But first up, we're going to have a look at a very young Rebecca.

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In 1989, Rebecca Adlington entered the world.

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Or to be more exact, the town of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire.

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And just three years later, her parents enrolled her for

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swimming lessons, a decision that will ultimately lead Rebecca to win

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a staggering 17 international medals - including seven golds -

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making her one of our most successful athletes,

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something she says she could never have achieved without her mum,

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dad and two older sisters.

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It must absolutely engulf your world, your life.

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It does your whole family. It was a case of Mum

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was getting up at 4.30 in the morning with me.

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She'd take me to the pool. I'd swim two hours before school.

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She'd then take me straight to school.

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I'd go straight from school back to the pool in the evening

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and wouldn't get home till about 8.00 at night.

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And it was a whole family effort,

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it was something that we just joined together

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and really worked as a team,

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just enabled me to live out my dream.

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So, Rebecca, TV - your first, your earliest TV memories?

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I think, cos I've got two older sisters,

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it was kind of like one of those things that I kind of dipped

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into the really early stuff like Postman Pat and things like that.

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But then I was kind of like forced to watch the older programmes.

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So I never really went through the whole, kind of,

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Peppa Pig that's nowadays and all the Teletubbies and that sort of stage.

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Me and my sisters used to love programmes kind of like

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Art Attack and things like that.

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But they were just dead arty and they're dead creative

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whereas I was just sat there going,

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"Really? I'm too young for this." I wanted something like Scooby-Doo on

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and things like that, I absolutely loved.

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So, this is it, Rebecca. Bit of Art Attack.

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Now, to make a funky frame,

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you need a large round tray or plate

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and just place part of it...

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Is this something you would have made?

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It's something I'd tried to have made.

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Now, to make it even more funky,

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you need to glam it up in

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a really garish, groovy way. So...

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While Art Attack was hardly big budget telly,

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the ideas were genius

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and the series proved that any child could be good at arts and crafts.

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Couple of wobbly lines down there like that.

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Well, almost any child.

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-I'm not creative or arty at all.

-Really?

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I still draw stick people, even now.

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My sisters were dead good and theirs would look exactly like Neil's

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and mine would just be this pile of mush that was just rubbish.

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But they absolutely loved it, and I think being the baby of a family,

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-you just, you have to go with it.

-You're young. Yeah.

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-You just get told what to do.

-They're much older than you,

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-so they're bound to create something probably a little bit better.

-Yeah.

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Paint it using real crazy colours.

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Use poster or acrylic paint but make sure you use nice bright colours.

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And, of course, for the sake of entertainment,

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even Art Attack was guilty of taking the occasional television short cut.

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They used to come out with "Here's one I made earlier."

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-Did they ever do that?

-Oh, yeah, of course.

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-"This just dried earlier." Oh, OK then.

-Yeah.

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And when you've painted the whole of your frame,

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you'll end up with something that looks like that.

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-Oh, see, here you go.

-There you go.

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-BOTH:

-One I made earlier.

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One that someone else made earlier maybe if you were more honest,

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-but let's not go there.

-SHE LAUGHS

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On she goes.

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My pin-up, don't tell anyone.

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And there you have a fantastic funky frame.

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Would your frame turn out like that?

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LAUGHING: No! Mine just came out like a blob.

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-I loved it, though.

-Yeah?

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Your sisters, who are older than you,

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-did you go to bed at the same time as them?

-No.

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-HE GASPS No.

-Did it upset you?

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-Yeah.

-Does it still upset you?

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I always had to go to bed first and it was just...

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So, they'd be watching the telly, be watching a programme.

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Yeah, yeah, all the time.

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It was always things like on a Saturday night and it was just

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kind of like, it was a case of I was allowed to watch some

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things like Gladiators or a few of them shows.

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But then as soon as it started getting a little bit older TV -

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Man O Man, Blind Date, all them sorts of shows - it was kind of like,

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"Rebecca, it's your bedtime now."

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And I'd be like, "No, Mum, just ten more minutes!"

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And just was dying to stay up and watch it.

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Back in the early '90s, when Rebecca was being sent to

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bed, some of the most popular Saturday night shows included

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a reboot of The Generation Game, allowing Bruce Forsyth and

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his new sidekick, Rosemarie Ford, to give away even more cuddly toys.

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In Big Break, hosted by comedian Jim Davidson,

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we found out what happens when you combine snooker with a game show.

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And Noel's House Party gave us a superstar like no other -

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the one and only Mr Blobby.

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But there was one show

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and one entertainer Rebecca was desperate to see, our Cilla.

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Well, I'm sorry you were sent to bed,

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-so we've got a little clip from Blind Date.

-Oh!

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Thank you, thank you. Hello and welcome to Blind Date.

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Go on, Cilla!

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-MIMICS CILLA:

-Yes! Yes, indeed.

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Look at the shoulder pads!

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But look at the legs, she's... Oh, good set of pins on her, Cilla.

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-Look at that.

-Yeah, she does.

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We have Jason from London,

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Matt from Wiltshire

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and Carmelo from Manchester.

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Like its host, Blind Date is legendary.

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It ran for 18 years

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and attracted audiences of up to 17 million.

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-Did you ever want to be on the show?

-No. God, no.

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-Really?

-No, I'd hate it.

-Really, why?

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All the cheesy... I don't know, I think it's different

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if you were the one picking the guys or

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if you were one of the three girls, that'd be hard.

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I'd prefer to be the one that gets to pick the guys.

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-Hi, Emma.

-Hello.

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Well, I could do an impression of an owl, you see, I'm very wise,

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I can stay up all night

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and you'd be a twit-to-woo not to pick me tonight.

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LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

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So, would you play this at home?

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I was... We always used to guess which one they were going to pick.

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-Yeah.

-Or go "Oh, no, I would have picked that one"

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or "I would have picked this person."

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You can see her knickers through that.

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-I know!

-Not quite sure what she's wearing there.

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This is the reaction, this is the pay off.

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Stand by for the thrill of the evening cos you're going

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away on your blind date with Carmelo from Manchester.

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Come in, Carmelo.

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CHEERING

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So, Rebecca, if I was on Blind Date,

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what sort of questions would you ask me?

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-I'd have three, yeah?

-Yeah. Anything.

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So, I'd ask you what your perfect weekend would be.

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My perfect weekend would be with you.

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-LAUGHING

-Because...

-Oh, cheese!

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Well, no, that's what they say though, isn't it, you know?

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With some sort of rude connotation, sort of, in there.

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I'd be an owl and I'd twit-to-woo, how, oh, dear.

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-Involve food and you've got me.

-Oh, right. Yeah.

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My perfect would-be weekend would be with you, and pie and chips.

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-I like that. Northern girl.

-OK. Next one.

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If you were an Olympic sport, what would you be and why?

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If I was an Olympic sport, I would be the shot put.

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LAUGHING: Why?

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Because I would put it there...

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THEY BOTH LAUGH

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I'm not going any further.

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Time out. Have you got another one?

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-I don't think I'd pick you.

-No.

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THEY BOTH LAUGH

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And if I was sad, how would you cheer me up?

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I would cheer you up with my shot-putting, there you go.

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God. I don't think I'd choose you.

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No, I don't think you would.

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I think I'm far too old for you as well.

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-You would get...

-You had me with the weekend.

-Yeah, yeah.

-But, no.

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Your next choice is something they don't normally show on BBC,

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it's a commercial break, and it's one of my all-time favourite ads.

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I just think it's genius.

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In 2007, this commercial premiered during the Big Brother

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finale and it proved to be a game changer in the world of advertising.

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For a start, viewers felt compelled to watch it.

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-Amazing.

-It's such a good advert, though, isn't it?

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# And I can feel it coming in the air tonight... #

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The novel idea of a gorilla playing the drums teamed with

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the perfect choice of music absolutely fascinated the public,

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making it one of the first ads to go viral.

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It attracted half a million YouTube hits within a week of its launch.

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# I can feel it coming in... #

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Do you think it's the music? It's just everything about it, isn't it?

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It's just everything, isn't it?

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It's just something that's totally not related at all to chocolate,

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for starters, it's just the music,

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it's the fact that they've used a gorilla, which is really random.

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-I know.

-Just the whole thing.

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But normally, especially nowadays, I don't know about anyone else,

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I kind of skip adverts. I flick to a different channel or

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I fast-forward or whatever. Whereas this, you just sit

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and watch the whole way through, you just absolutely loved it.

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# ..all my life... #

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The incredibly realistic costume took three months to make

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and the convincing performance is courtesy of an actor who

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previously worked on Planet Of The Apes.

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His performance and the high production values made this

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campaign a huge success, boosting sales

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and improving public perception of the company itself.

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But what really makes this ad

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so effective is the almost unbearable build-up.

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HE MIMICS DRUMMING

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# Oh, Lord

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# And I can feel it coming in the air tonight

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# Oh, Lord... #

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The energy. And I think, when you're at home, you just cannot help

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-but go...

-HE MIMICS DRUMMING

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-I think as well...

-Or is that just me?

-No.

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That's...no, totally get that. The song was perfect and it was just,

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it's something that everyone spoke about

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and it was just like, "Have you seen that advert?"

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And it's more about, like, the just remembering an advert

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and that was what was so great about that

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is that you instantly think of Cadbury's chocolate.

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-Yeah.

-And it's just something so random...

-Yeah.

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..but absolutely brilliant and it was, yeah, it was so clever.

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-Oh, yeah.

-So clever but it was just, yeah.

-And simple.

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-In some way, it's just that...

-It is.

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..that silence, that cos as a viewer we know that big drum

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break's coming in but the way he's just, just preparing himself for it.

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-Simple but effective.

-Mmm.

-Very, very effective.

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Rebecca, your next choice is TV fear.

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Now, this is something you used to hide behind the sofa,

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but we don't want to stress you out too much.

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We've got a pillow if you want to hide behind this.

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-OK. Thank you.

-Do you know what I'm on about?

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-Do you know the show I'm talking about?

-Midsomer Murders.

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-Yeah.

-It used to terrify...

-Why?

-..the life out of me.

-Why?

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I just don't like anything like horror.

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I haven't really seen any horror films or like anything scary.

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So, you assume that Midsomer Murders is like a horror film?

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Well, it was like the anticipation, the tense, and it

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was only cos when I was really young I should have gone to bed,

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my parents were constantly telling me to go to bed.

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But the one episode that I watched was that the person died

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from somebody hiding in their bedroom.

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Well, that terrified the life out of me. I then was not able to go

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upstairs and I dragged my mum upstairs with me to check my bedroom

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was all clear and that there wasn't someone hiding in the wardrobe.

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Did you end up sleeping in that bedroom or did you go

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and sleep with your mum and dad?

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-Well, I shared a room with my sisters.

-Oh, right.

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But because I had to go to bed first, it was always the case

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they had to then, for literally probably about a good year,

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walk me to bed and walk upstairs with me.

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And why did I watch that one of all things?

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-Well, you can hide behind your pillow.

-OK. Thank you.

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I'm a bit worried about showing you this episode.

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-But here we have a little moment.

-OK.

-Brace yourself.

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Midsomer Murders.

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OWL HOOTS

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REBECCA LAUGHS

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See, even that's a bit creepy.

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HE CACKLES

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SHE LAUGHS

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With a homicide rate that would make it the murder capital of the UK,

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this fictional county is a precarious place for its residents.

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Why is everywhere dark? You'd have streetlights.

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Well, to add to the suspense.

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Yeah, but it's just someone would have a light on.

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Turn a light on! Yeah. Get a bigger torch, get a spotlight.

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-Exactly.

-Don't go... They're always on their own,

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they're always wandering into woods on their own.

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-Get a group of people.

-Yeah.

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Why was that guy out in the woods anyway? What was he doing?

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I'm a bit suspicious of him. And finding him.

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SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC

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-You're getting anxious, aren't you?

-I know.

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Oh! Oh!

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Seriously, my husband's going to have to walk me to bed

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every night for like a year now.

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-I still can't watch it.

-Oh, really?

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-I still can't watch it.

-Oh, come on, I've got to press pause.

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So, you're telling me, Rebecca Adlington,

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a lady in her mid-20s, still cannot watch Midsomer Murders?

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No. Terrifies the life out of me.

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Anything like that I just stay away from.

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I mean, with Midsomer Murders, it's all set in the West Country.

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-I mean, do you...do you get anxious?

-Don't go there.

-No?

0:16:200:16:22

Don't go there.

0:16:220:16:24

LAUGHING: I do. But, yeah.

0:16:240:16:26

Oh, let's put you on edge just a little bit more. Here we go.

0:16:260:16:28

And while it's a dangerous place to buy a character cottage,

0:16:310:16:34

if you do meet a grisly end, it will at least be interesting.

0:16:340:16:38

One week, it's a man tied to a tree,

0:16:380:16:40

smothered in expensive truffle oil and left to be eaten

0:16:400:16:44

alive by a wild boar, and the next...

0:16:440:16:47

-What have we got here?

-Dead for five or six hours.

0:16:470:16:50

Cause of death - head separated from the body.

0:16:500:16:52

Now, that's where we benefit from having an expert on the job.

0:16:520:16:55

That's enough from you.

0:16:550:16:57

Head separated from the body?

0:16:570:16:58

-I don't want to go to bed dreaming about this.

-No.

0:17:000:17:02

But would it worry you, I mean, because, you know, this village,

0:17:020:17:05

there were so many murders?

0:17:050:17:07

Yeah. Move.

0:17:070:17:09

I would not be living there, if that was...that was me.

0:17:090:17:13

It always happens in these tiny villages and you're just like,

0:17:130:17:16

"Really?" It is a bit unrealistic

0:17:160:17:18

but, at the same time, still a bit scary.

0:17:180:17:21

So, a realistic crime show it's not

0:17:210:17:24

but what this much-loved series does do is put an enjoyable spin

0:17:240:17:28

on the rules of the great British murder mystery.

0:17:280:17:31

Seriously, I'm going to have nightmares for like a week now.

0:17:320:17:35

It's going to make me go into labour.

0:17:350:17:37

Can I take that cushion away from you to reveal that one? OK.

0:17:370:17:41

Rebecca, we're moving on to your guilty pleasure.

0:17:460:17:49

You shouldn't like it,

0:17:490:17:51

but somewhere deep in there, you just can't help yourself.

0:17:510:17:54

-This, for you, is Ready Steady Cook.

-Ahh.

0:17:540:17:57

Whoa, we've got big flames over here. 45 seconds.

0:17:580:18:01

45 seconds.

0:18:010:18:03

For 16 years and more than 1,700 episodes,

0:18:030:18:06

Ready Steady Cook challenged two celebrity chefs to whip up

0:18:060:18:09

something fabulous out of five quid's worth of random ingredients.

0:18:090:18:14

30 seconds.

0:18:140:18:15

Are you a keen cook then?

0:18:170:18:18

I love, I love food. I'm such a foodie.

0:18:180:18:21

But, yeah, I think, cos I didn't cook much growing up,

0:18:210:18:25

it was always like my sisters helping out my mum, so I kind of

0:18:250:18:29

didn't really get into cooking until about 19, 20, where I tried

0:18:290:18:32

everything. But I've actually been on Ready Steady Cook with my mum.

0:18:320:18:35

Oh, right.

0:18:350:18:37

And when we went on - and I am nowhere near as good

0:18:370:18:40

as a chef as my mum, without a doubt -

0:18:400:18:42

but I took my medals with me and

0:18:420:18:43

I showed it round the audience and then they all voted for me, so I won.

0:18:430:18:47

I was like, "Yes!" It was a brilliant result,

0:18:470:18:49

and my mum was like, "What?!" My mum was outraged because she just,

0:18:490:18:53

she is obviously the family cook, she's the one that makes

0:18:530:18:56

everything and, to be fair, I love my mum's cooking.

0:18:560:18:59

It's my favourite food.

0:18:590:19:00

If I had to pick one meal I could have, I would have me mum's cooking.

0:19:000:19:03

Ten.

0:19:030:19:05

And while even this show couldn't interrupt Rebecca's

0:19:050:19:07

winning streak,

0:19:070:19:09

it's another demonstration of how her family are always there for her.

0:19:090:19:14

-GONG CHIMES

-Stop cooking!

0:19:140:19:16

Your parents have to be your nutritionist,

0:19:160:19:18

they have to be your physios, they literally have to be everything,

0:19:180:19:21

and it was a case of my mum just...

0:19:210:19:23

I kind of always enjoyed cooking and so did my sisters,

0:19:230:19:26

it was always a case of I never really had time to cook.

0:19:260:19:28

And even by the time I was 18, 19, living on my own,

0:19:280:19:32

it would have to be quick.

0:19:320:19:33

I was cooking things that you could eat within 20 minutes

0:19:330:19:36

cos you were starving after training.

0:19:360:19:38

So, it's just like posh chicken and chips really.

0:19:380:19:40

And the best thing about Ready Steady Cook,

0:19:400:19:42

not only were the contestants well-fed,

0:19:420:19:45

they also stood to win a life-changing 100 quid.

0:19:450:19:48

Oh, I'd like to take you home with... Sorry.

0:19:480:19:51

LAUGHTER

0:19:510:19:52

If my wife wasn't here, I'd like to take you home with me.

0:19:520:19:55

-This is wonderful. It really is wonderful.

-Yeah? Good.

0:19:550:19:57

It's up to you now to decide who's going to be the winner.

0:19:570:20:00

Green peppers or red tomatoes? Would you please vote now?

0:20:000:20:02

Any cookery show just makes you absolutely starving.

0:20:020:20:05

You just watch it and you're like, "I need food now!"

0:20:050:20:07

You weren't hungry before you watched it, then you go into the kitchen

0:20:070:20:10

and make something dead plain and boring and you're like,

0:20:100:20:12

"Oh, great(!) I get this for my tea now." Just watched something amazing,

0:20:120:20:16

-but it never turns out the way they do. Well, mine doesn't anyway.

-No.

0:20:160:20:20

When did it suddenly dawn on you that you were

0:20:250:20:27

good in the swimming pool, exceptionally good?

0:20:270:20:29

Not till I was about 13, not till I was a little bit older.

0:20:290:20:32

I'd kind of joined a club around eight and started competing

0:20:320:20:36

around nine or ten, but it wasn't until I got into my teenage years

0:20:360:20:40

that I took it seriously. It was just a hobby before and it,

0:20:400:20:43

kind of, I still saw it as a hobby, it just became a more intense hobby

0:20:430:20:47

that I did. And I just constantly wanted to be at the swimming pool.

0:20:470:20:50

My mum tried me with other things, I just wanted to be at the pool

0:20:500:20:54

all the time, just felt at home being in water.

0:20:540:20:57

Rebecca's big break came at the age of 19

0:20:580:21:01

at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing,

0:21:010:21:04

where she won two gold medals, set a new world record

0:21:040:21:07

and made her mum and dad the proudest parents on the planet.

0:21:070:21:12

In 2010, Rebecca went on to win a gold

0:21:120:21:15

and a bronze at the European Championships.

0:21:150:21:18

Then, just a few months later, came her next triumph -

0:21:180:21:21

the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where she added another four medals,

0:21:210:21:25

including two golds, to her collection.

0:21:250:21:28

'Now she's Commonwealth champion of the women's

0:21:290:21:31

'800 metres freestyle, Becky Adlington of England.'

0:21:310:21:35

I always get asked, "What does it feel like to win a gold medal?"

0:21:350:21:37

It's so hard to put into words cos it's so personal.

0:21:370:21:40

It's like your life, like, you flash back to everything, to the

0:21:400:21:44

times where you got out of the pool crying your eyes out

0:21:440:21:47

cos you're in so much pain,

0:21:470:21:48

where you can't even, like, walk down the stairs without

0:21:480:21:51

holding on to something cos your legs are burning.

0:21:510:21:54

Like, you've literally pushed yourself to the limit every

0:21:540:21:56

single day for about ten years, it's such a relief that it has been

0:21:560:22:00

worth it as well that literally you feel every single emotion

0:22:000:22:03

from happiness to overwhelmed to literally every emotion possible.

0:22:030:22:09

It is one of those incredible things that you'll never forget either.

0:22:090:22:13

-Yeah.

-I'll never ever forget that.

0:22:130:22:14

It feels like it was yesterday,

0:22:140:22:16

that I can remember it that clearly in my head.

0:22:160:22:19

Two years on, she competed at the London 2012 Olympics

0:22:190:22:23

as one of our most decorated athletes, going into the

0:22:230:22:26

competition with a staggering 15 international medals to her name.

0:22:260:22:30

This time, she came away with two bronzes,

0:22:300:22:33

something she initially felt disappointed with.

0:22:330:22:36

There is this tiny 1% of you that is like...

0:22:360:22:39

SHE SIGHS

0:22:390:22:41

Cos you didn't get that gold medal that obviously

0:22:410:22:43

everyone wants to get.

0:22:430:22:44

-But then, at the same time, you give it 100%.

-Oh, yeah.

0:22:440:22:47

-That's all you can ask for.

-Yeah, exactly.

0:22:470:22:49

That you just, kind of, have to accept that on the day

0:22:490:22:52

it's not good enough, that your best isn't good enough.

0:22:520:22:55

-No.

-And it was just that...

-You don't now, though?

0:22:550:22:57

-No, no, no.

-No. Good. Yeah.

0:22:570:22:59

But it was, kind of, that initial thing

0:22:590:23:01

and I just couldn't stop crying cos the first thing I said

0:23:010:23:03

to my coach, I had been with the same coach since I was about 12, 13,

0:23:030:23:07

it was Bill, and obviously, he had taken me through Beijing.

0:23:070:23:11

You have such a close connection with your coach and the first thing I said

0:23:110:23:15

to him was, "I'm sorry." And I just felt like I'd let him down.

0:23:150:23:18

And he just went, "Bec, don't ever say that to me again."

0:23:180:23:21

He was like, "You've got nothing to be sorry for, I'm so proud of you."

0:23:210:23:24

And it, kind of, all disappeared

0:23:240:23:25

once I realised I hadn't let anyone but myself down.

0:23:250:23:28

And actually, that was the major turning point.

0:23:280:23:31

You have not let yourself down.

0:23:310:23:33

And, I mean, you're talking about that moment,

0:23:330:23:35

-but you don't feel like that now?

-No, definitely not.

-No.

0:23:350:23:37

I look back now and I'm...

0:23:370:23:39

The one thing that a lot of people ask me about retirement is,

0:23:390:23:42

"Oh, do you miss it? Do you miss being in a pool?"

0:23:420:23:44

And I'm, "No, because I can honestly say I gave my career 100%."

0:23:440:23:47

Yeah. Oh, without a doubt.

0:23:470:23:49

There isn't a stone left unturned,

0:23:490:23:50

there isn't that "What if?"

0:23:500:23:52

-"Oh, what if I'd done that?"

-Yeah.

0:23:520:23:53

There's nothing because I can honestly say I gave everything 100%.

0:23:530:23:57

So, how can I be disappointed with two bronze medals

0:23:570:24:00

where I gave it my all, it just...that was it.

0:24:000:24:02

-And two golds.

-And two, yeah, exactly.

0:24:020:24:04

-Don't forget them.

-No, exactly.

0:24:040:24:06

So, I gave everything the best shot I could.

0:24:060:24:09

And now you're commentating on the next generation of swimmers.

0:24:090:24:12

Yeah. It's nice to see the younger ones come through.

0:24:120:24:15

-Do you get nervous for them?

-So nervous.

-Really?

0:24:150:24:18

So nervous cos you just, you realise every little step

0:24:180:24:21

they're going through, it's relatable, you can relate to them

0:24:210:24:24

and how they're feeling and it's just such an amazing thing to be part of.

0:24:240:24:29

I think we've got a moment here.

0:24:290:24:30

We've had a few moments in this pool,

0:24:300:24:32

but that is the first one that's made Rebecca Adlington cry.

0:24:320:24:35

I'm so pleased for Adam.

0:24:350:24:38

Invited to be an ambassador for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games,

0:24:380:24:42

Rebecca's move into the world of punditry got emotional

0:24:420:24:45

when friend Adam Peaty won gold.

0:24:450:24:48

I'm just so pleased for him.

0:24:480:24:49

These are good tears, they're good tears. And it was...

0:24:490:24:52

It's going to make me cry again.

0:24:520:24:54

-You can't show this to a pregnant lady.

-Oh, really?

0:24:540:24:57

He comes from a club.

0:24:570:24:59

Adam comes from a club, and I love that.

0:24:590:25:01

City of Derby, they're absolutely...

0:25:010:25:03

They will all be crying and bawling their eyes out.

0:25:030:25:05

I know how much this means to the whole club.

0:25:050:25:07

And actually, a really good reminder that...

0:25:070:25:09

Why did it get to you like that when it's not even you out there?

0:25:090:25:12

I think you just realise everything that goes into it,

0:25:120:25:15

you realise the dedication,

0:25:150:25:17

the amount of hours that he's trained for this one moment.

0:25:170:25:20

You just relate to everything they're going through and it's such

0:25:200:25:24

an honour to just pass on a little snippet of their life to people.

0:25:240:25:27

And that's what I love about the punditry is that you can just

0:25:270:25:30

give a little bit of an insight to what it is to be a swimmer.

0:25:300:25:33

So, it's nice to just pass on that knowledge to other people

0:25:330:25:36

-and just share what these guys have gone through.

-Yeah.

0:25:360:25:38

Especially for Adam Peaty, he's just gone from strength to strength,

0:25:380:25:42

he's just broke the world record a couple of weeks ago

0:25:420:25:44

and he's just one definitely to watch for Rio.

0:25:440:25:47

Rebecca has successfully made the transition from sports

0:25:480:25:51

to telly and she is in fine company.

0:25:510:25:54

And here are a few other famous women who've succeeded

0:25:540:25:57

in doing the same thing.

0:25:570:25:58

Starting with Clare Balding, who before coming

0:25:580:26:01

one of our favourite presenters was once an amateur jockey.

0:26:010:26:05

Meanwhile swimmer Sharron Davies has been

0:26:050:26:07

presenting television since the '90s, appearing

0:26:070:26:10

on everything from Gladiators to Channel 4's Big Breakfast.

0:26:100:26:15

Then there's Denise Lewis,

0:26:150:26:16

who after winning a gold medal in the heptathlon,

0:26:160:26:19

has gone on to even greater success as a pundit in athletics.

0:26:190:26:24

And last but not least, tennis player Sue Barker, who,

0:26:240:26:27

after winning 11 WTA singles titles, moved into commentating and of

0:26:270:26:32

course has now spent the last 18 years hosting A Question Of Sport.

0:26:320:26:37

Rebecca Adlington, what are you watching now?

0:26:430:26:46

Loads of different things. I love the new Sherlock.

0:26:460:26:50

Absolutely love it.

0:26:500:26:51

I'm addicted, and that's only got three episodes.

0:26:510:26:53

I'm like, "No, make it longer!"

0:26:530:26:55

And you have to wait ages in between the series as well.

0:26:550:26:58

I love property shows, all that sort of stuff.

0:26:580:27:02

Like, your Grand Designs, The Restoration Man,

0:27:020:27:05

anything kind of property.

0:27:050:27:06

Food shows, again, I love, kind of, my cookery shows

0:27:060:27:10

and things in the day, so a real mixture.

0:27:100:27:13

And then the comedy stuff.

0:27:130:27:15

The same as well, like The Big Bang Theory,

0:27:150:27:18

stuff that you get boxsets to.

0:27:180:27:20

-Have you enjoyed today?

-I've loved it.

-Yeah.

0:27:200:27:22

No, it's been really nice remembering stuff,

0:27:220:27:24

maybe not the murder - Midsomer Murders.

0:27:240:27:27

-Midsomer Murders. Ah, I can't...

-That's going to terrify me.

0:27:270:27:30

-You can't even say it. Maybe not the m-m-mur.

-I know.

0:27:300:27:32

Well, I want to thank you.

0:27:320:27:34

So, hopefully we'll forget that one.

0:27:340:27:36

But the rest of them, no, it's been really nice.

0:27:360:27:39

So you won't play out with that theme tune.

0:27:390:27:41

You get a choice now - you can choose any theme tune,

0:27:410:27:43

any one you wish to play out on.

0:27:430:27:45

It'll have to be my favourite, Fawlty Towers.

0:27:450:27:47

-Fawlty Towers.

-Absolutely love it.

0:27:470:27:48

You've been one of my favourites. Thank you so much.

0:27:480:27:51

-Aw, thank you.

-Good luck with the baby.

-Oh, thank you.

0:27:510:27:53

Ladies and gentlemen, my thanks to the lovely Rebecca Adlington

0:27:530:27:56

and my thanks to you for watching The TV That Made Me.

0:27:560:27:58

We'll see you next time, bye-bye.

0:27:580:28:00

MUSIC: Fawlty Towers Theme

0:28:000:28:04

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