Lesley Joseph

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0:00:02 > 0:00:04Telly, that magic box in the corner.

0:00:04 > 0:00:07It gives us access to a million different worlds,

0:00:07 > 0:00:10all from the comfort of our sofa.

0:00:10 > 0:00:14In this series, I'm going to journey through the fantastic world of TV

0:00:14 > 0:00:16with some of our favourite celebrities.

0:00:16 > 0:00:20They have chosen the precious TV moments that shed light...

0:00:20 > 0:00:23- Love this!- She has beaten the panel.

0:00:23 > 0:00:24Look at that!

0:00:24 > 0:00:26..on the stories of their lives.

0:00:26 > 0:00:29Go on, Champion, go on, Champion.

0:00:29 > 0:00:30Like, oh, ugh, ew.

0:00:30 > 0:00:31Some are funny.

0:00:31 > 0:00:34Oh, quite amazing. Unbelievable.

0:00:34 > 0:00:36No, no, no, Christina.

0:00:36 > 0:00:37'Some...' Yes! Yes!

0:00:37 > 0:00:38..are surprising.

0:00:38 > 0:00:40Paddington Bear.

0:00:40 > 0:00:41Some are inspiring.

0:00:41 > 0:00:43That is what kids should be doing now.

0:00:43 > 0:00:46Ten pence piece on a table with a bit of sticky tape.

0:00:46 > 0:00:48Look at that, stonking.

0:00:48 > 0:00:49And many...

0:00:49 > 0:00:51Some turtles capsize...

0:00:51 > 0:00:53..are deeply moving.

0:00:53 > 0:00:57I knew that we were in the presence of history.

0:00:57 > 0:01:01I am crying, I'm actually... I broke down in tears after that.

0:01:01 > 0:01:05So, come watch with us as we hand-pick the vintage telly that

0:01:05 > 0:01:09helped turn our much-loved stars into the people they are today.

0:01:09 > 0:01:11Welcome to The TV That Made Me.

0:01:20 > 0:01:24My guest today is one of the loveliest actors I know.

0:01:24 > 0:01:26A star of stage and screen,

0:01:26 > 0:01:28Lesley Joseph is best known

0:01:28 > 0:01:32as one of Britain's most enduring sitcom characters -

0:01:32 > 0:01:36the endearing man-eater-next-door, Dorien Green in Birds Of A Feather.

0:01:39 > 0:01:43The TV shows that have shaped her range from Dickensian drama...

0:01:43 > 0:01:45Don't stand there staring, boy. What's the matter?

0:01:45 > 0:01:47Where is Mama, Peggotty?

0:01:47 > 0:01:48..to a sassy sitcom...

0:01:48 > 0:01:52- Look at that, look at that.- Oh, I am not doubting your strength, darling.

0:01:52 > 0:01:54..and a presidential assassination.

0:01:54 > 0:01:56Well, it can only be the one and only,

0:01:56 > 0:01:59the beautiful, the hugely talented...

0:01:59 > 0:02:00- SHE LAUGHS - Lesley Joseph.

0:02:00 > 0:02:02Here she is, ladies and gentlemen.

0:02:02 > 0:02:05- What is television in your life? - Do you know...

0:02:05 > 0:02:07Television is quite an important part

0:02:07 > 0:02:09because it is my life, to a certain extent.

0:02:09 > 0:02:13Lesley was born in North London in 1945.

0:02:13 > 0:02:16At the end of the Second World War, the youngest of two,

0:02:16 > 0:02:19she grew up in Kingsthorpe in Northampton with her brother Robin,

0:02:19 > 0:02:22mum Vicky and dad Jack.

0:02:22 > 0:02:25Lesley's passion for performing developed at a young age

0:02:25 > 0:02:28and her dad's love of cine film meant that she was already

0:02:28 > 0:02:30learning to perform for the camera.

0:02:31 > 0:02:35What was it like, being brought up in Northampton?

0:02:35 > 0:02:38Well, you have to remember that it was just after the war so we

0:02:38 > 0:02:39played with ration books.

0:02:39 > 0:02:40I mean, literally.

0:02:40 > 0:02:43We did not have any money, really. We used to play in cardboard boxes.

0:02:43 > 0:02:47I was a little tomboy. We didn't have anything.

0:02:47 > 0:02:50But we used to try to dig to Australia in the garden...

0:02:50 > 0:02:51HE CHUCKLES It was...

0:02:51 > 0:02:54So I am assuming you didn't have a telly?

0:02:54 > 0:02:58Well, we did, because I remember watching the Coronation in 1953.

0:02:58 > 0:03:01And we were the only person in the street to have a television.

0:03:01 > 0:03:04So it was wonderful, it was the most social thing.

0:03:04 > 0:03:07And so about 4:30, people would come home from school

0:03:07 > 0:03:09and you would get, knock-knock-knock.

0:03:09 > 0:03:14"Can I watch the television, please?" "Yeah, course you can. Come on in." So any one night,

0:03:14 > 0:03:17there would be about 20 kids in my mother's sitting room,

0:03:17 > 0:03:20which was tiny, anyway! Little end-of-terrace house,

0:03:20 > 0:03:23and we would all be watching the television.

0:03:23 > 0:03:26Lesley's love affair with performing began at the age of seven

0:03:26 > 0:03:29when she joined the Masked Theatre Company

0:03:29 > 0:03:32and she got the star roles from the start.

0:03:32 > 0:03:35Her first paid acting job was as an understudy in a review

0:03:35 > 0:03:40at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford at the age of 21.

0:03:40 > 0:03:44But Lesley's desire to act had a very surprising source.

0:03:48 > 0:03:52# Champion The Wonder Horse! #

0:03:52 > 0:03:57Let's see if you have got it in the right key. Here we go, Champion The Wonder Horse.

0:03:57 > 0:04:01# Champion The Wonder Horse!

0:04:01 > 0:04:04# Champion The Wonder Horse!

0:04:04 > 0:04:06NEIGHS

0:04:06 > 0:04:09# Like a streak of lightning flashing across the sky... #

0:04:09 > 0:04:12# Like the swiftest arrow whizzing from a bow

0:04:12 > 0:04:16# Like a mighty cannonball, they seem to fly

0:04:16 > 0:04:18# I hear about it everywhere you go... #

0:04:18 > 0:04:19Oh, yeah.

0:04:21 > 0:04:22Let me go!

0:04:22 > 0:04:26This high drama children's Western series was renowned

0:04:26 > 0:04:30for its suspenseful soundtracks and action-packed storylines.

0:04:30 > 0:04:34The use of music through scenes like these was the key to keeping us

0:04:34 > 0:04:36on the edge of our seats.

0:04:36 > 0:04:3912-year-old Ricky North, played by Barry Curtis,

0:04:39 > 0:04:42was the human star, but the acting gong goes to Champion,

0:04:42 > 0:04:46whose dramatic timing was surely Oscar-worthy.

0:04:46 > 0:04:47You let me go!

0:04:47 > 0:04:49I will, soon as I get to ride that stallion.

0:04:49 > 0:04:53The Wonder Horse used to rescue them out of all terrible situations.

0:04:53 > 0:04:57Look at it, the horse comes galloping in.

0:04:57 > 0:04:58Get the saddle off that pinto.

0:05:00 > 0:05:04Champ, you had better do what they tell you.

0:05:04 > 0:05:07It's a bit like Tonto And The Lone Ranger, do you remember them?

0:05:07 > 0:05:10It sort of reminds me of the same thing.

0:05:10 > 0:05:12It's drama and the horse is the goodie

0:05:12 > 0:05:15and the horse went to the rescue.

0:05:15 > 0:05:16NEIGHS

0:05:22 > 0:05:25- Look at that acting, look at that acting!- I know.

0:05:25 > 0:05:26And that is a real horse.

0:05:26 > 0:05:29Maybe this is what made me want to become an actor,

0:05:29 > 0:05:31because I wanted to be rescued by Champion!

0:05:31 > 0:05:36Watching Champion The Wonder Horse made you into the actress you are today.

0:05:36 > 0:05:39I wanted to be an actress since the age of four.

0:05:39 > 0:05:42So I will have been watching all of this

0:05:42 > 0:05:45when I was on my path to becoming an actress.

0:05:49 > 0:05:52- So, you obviously like your serious drama.- Yes.

0:05:52 > 0:05:55- But you've got some comedy heroes as well.- Yeah.

0:05:55 > 0:06:00I'm going to take you back now to 1979.

0:06:01 > 0:06:05TERRY AND JUNE THEME TUNE

0:06:07 > 0:06:10Ah! Terry And June.

0:06:18 > 0:06:22Ah... See, June Whitfield, one of my comedy heroines.

0:06:22 > 0:06:26What is it about June that just makes you love her so much?

0:06:27 > 0:06:30She's such a great comedic actress.

0:06:30 > 0:06:33She IS a great comedic actress, but also you've got to love her

0:06:33 > 0:06:37because she's still here. She's still relevant. She's still working.

0:06:37 > 0:06:41Ab Fab, she was right there and she's still brilliantly funny.

0:06:41 > 0:06:46I think sometimes now we take for granted the sort of people

0:06:46 > 0:06:49that have the work record that she does.

0:06:49 > 0:06:50Ooh! Ah!

0:06:50 > 0:06:52Eh!

0:06:52 > 0:06:53Ah!

0:06:53 > 0:06:55Nng! Aaah!

0:06:55 > 0:06:56I TOLD you I was too heavy!

0:06:56 > 0:06:59Light! Light as a feather!

0:06:59 > 0:07:01Well, now you've carried me over the threshold,

0:07:01 > 0:07:03could you put me down, please?

0:07:03 > 0:07:06- Yeah. Well, if I lean here, could you get yourself down?- Yes.

0:07:07 > 0:07:10We've got a whole weekend of work ahead of us

0:07:10 > 0:07:13- and you're exhausted already. - I feel terrific, never...never felt better.

0:07:13 > 0:07:17She's a true star, in the old-fashioned sense of the word

0:07:17 > 0:07:20and she's a grafter. A real pro.

0:07:20 > 0:07:24Because it was always Terry that took the limelight,

0:07:24 > 0:07:26but it takes two to tango.

0:07:26 > 0:07:28Yeah, it does.

0:07:28 > 0:07:31June's illustrious career has spanned seven decades

0:07:31 > 0:07:35and an array of fantastic roles, starting in the 1950s with

0:07:35 > 0:07:40various shows including the immensely popular Tony Hancock Show.

0:07:41 > 0:07:45A decade later, June took centre stage in her first starring role

0:07:45 > 0:07:47in Beggar My Neighbour.

0:07:47 > 0:07:52In the 1970s, Happy Ever After cemented a television marriage

0:07:52 > 0:07:55between June and Terry Scott that would last 13 years

0:07:55 > 0:07:59and span two different series as they went on to the popular

0:07:59 > 0:08:03sitcom Terry And June in 1979.

0:08:03 > 0:08:06The '90s brought us June as the hilariously unfazed

0:08:06 > 0:08:08mother of Jennifer Saunders

0:08:08 > 0:08:09in Absolutely Fabulous

0:08:09 > 0:08:12and most recently in 2014,

0:08:12 > 0:08:15she starred in the BBC comedy Boomers.

0:08:15 > 0:08:19The word "national treasure" I think is used very lightly now

0:08:19 > 0:08:21and it shouldn't be.

0:08:21 > 0:08:23I think if you're looking at a TRUE national treasure,

0:08:23 > 0:08:28that's June Whitfield and she's kept in with what's happening now

0:08:28 > 0:08:33and that's wonderful because she knows how the business works.

0:08:33 > 0:08:35But YOU know how the business works.

0:08:35 > 0:08:37- I hope so. - Because you've sustained it.

0:08:37 > 0:08:41I mean, what you're saying about June could very much be you.

0:08:41 > 0:08:46I think with myself, I realised that I had a certain ability to do comedy

0:08:46 > 0:08:50and that sort of took over, and musical theatre - I do half musicals.

0:08:50 > 0:08:52I LOVE theatre.

0:08:52 > 0:08:56I also love television and I think to give yourself longevity,

0:08:56 > 0:08:58you have to be prepared to do everything.

0:08:58 > 0:09:03Well, I would like to give you a challenge, now.

0:09:03 > 0:09:06Because I have in my pouf here

0:09:06 > 0:09:08a couple of scripts of some classic...

0:09:08 > 0:09:14Actually famously announced that these were the funniest jokes

0:09:14 > 0:09:16in history...

0:09:16 > 0:09:19And if you could deliver them to me...

0:09:20 > 0:09:24..in a very, very dramatic way.

0:09:24 > 0:09:27Can we have a bit of music for this? Hold on.

0:09:27 > 0:09:29- SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC - That's good.

0:09:29 > 0:09:31That's good music. We like that. OK.

0:09:31 > 0:09:33Go for it - cue Lesley.

0:09:33 > 0:09:37Two peanuts were walking down the street...

0:09:39 > 0:09:41..and one was assaulted.

0:09:44 > 0:09:45SHE SOBS

0:09:46 > 0:09:48My dog's got no nose.

0:09:49 > 0:09:51How does he smell?

0:09:53 > 0:09:54Awful!

0:09:54 > 0:09:56HE SOBS

0:09:57 > 0:09:59My wife's gone to the West Indies.

0:09:59 > 0:10:01Say it again, I missed that one!

0:10:01 > 0:10:04- My wife's gone to the West Indies. - Jamaica?

0:10:04 > 0:10:08- No, she went of her own accord. - That wasn't... Let's do that better.

0:10:08 > 0:10:11All right. My husband's gone to the West Indies.

0:10:12 > 0:10:15No, that doesn't work, does it, it's her!

0:10:15 > 0:10:17THEY LAUGH

0:10:19 > 0:10:22My wife's gone to the West Indies!

0:10:22 > 0:10:23- Jamaica?- No!

0:10:25 > 0:10:28- She went of her own accord. - Oh, my God!

0:10:29 > 0:10:31You know, this could be the end of my career.

0:10:31 > 0:10:35I know, shall we put them away while we're winning? Um...

0:10:40 > 0:10:42Lesley Joseph, TV brought acting into your life,

0:10:42 > 0:10:44but it also brought real-life drama.

0:10:44 > 0:10:49I'm going to take you to November 22, 1963.

0:10:50 > 0:10:54Latest news and pictures from America, over to the newsroom.

0:10:54 > 0:10:59The death of John F Kennedy happened in Dallas at 25 past 12.

0:10:59 > 0:11:02In our time, 25 past 6 this evening.

0:11:02 > 0:11:0535 minutes later, President Kennedy was dead.

0:11:05 > 0:11:08Half an hour later still, the United States had a new president -

0:11:08 > 0:11:11the newly sworn-in Vice President Lyndon Johnson.

0:11:12 > 0:11:16The diary of disaster began with a barely-credible agency message

0:11:16 > 0:11:18that President Kennedy had been shot.

0:11:18 > 0:11:20Time, 6:42.

0:11:20 > 0:11:24- I find that quite difficult to watch, even now.- Yeah.- It's so...

0:11:24 > 0:11:28extraordinary. I was at a piano lesson.

0:11:28 > 0:11:32I was with my piano teacher, called Miss Herveway

0:11:32 > 0:11:35and, I think I had just about... Either just left school

0:11:35 > 0:11:37or still at school

0:11:37 > 0:11:41and I was in her house and we were in the little front room

0:11:41 > 0:11:45and I don't know how she knew, maybe she had watched it on the television.

0:11:45 > 0:11:48- Mm-hm.- And she came in and she said President Kennedy has been shot.

0:11:48 > 0:11:52And of course, the piano lesson ended there and then.

0:11:52 > 0:11:55- But, yeah, I always remember that. - Does it all come flooding back to you?

0:11:55 > 0:11:57- Does it feel really immediate? - I can feel...

0:11:57 > 0:12:02I can see myself back in the room, taking the piano lesson.

0:12:02 > 0:12:03I can see her going out of the room,

0:12:03 > 0:12:06I can see her coming in and I remember...

0:12:06 > 0:12:11- Because then I was towards my late teens, so things like that...- Yeah.

0:12:11 > 0:12:15You take it all on board. It is not like you are a young child any more.

0:12:15 > 0:12:19You realise the implications of what has just happened.

0:12:19 > 0:12:21And that was a huge day,

0:12:21 > 0:12:26and I suppose huge that that was then repeated on the BBC news.

0:12:26 > 0:12:30When you look at it now, and again you hear the voice,

0:12:30 > 0:12:33this amazingly wonderful, beautiful voice,

0:12:33 > 0:12:36you know, saying such devastating news...

0:12:36 > 0:12:39And, um, I can see myself back then.

0:12:39 > 0:12:42And now, I still find, watching it, quite an emotional response to it.

0:12:42 > 0:12:45When word of the assassination first reached the UK,

0:12:45 > 0:12:49the BBC News team was completely unprepared.

0:12:49 > 0:12:53All of the key news broadcasters such as Richard Baker,

0:12:53 > 0:12:55BBC's first-ever TV newsreader,

0:12:55 > 0:12:57Robert Dougall and Kenneth Kendall

0:12:57 > 0:13:01were all attending a black-tie event in London.

0:13:01 > 0:13:03Even the BBC's chief Washington

0:13:03 > 0:13:05correspondent, Douglas Stuart,

0:13:05 > 0:13:09was - would you believe - stuck down a coal mine in Illinois.

0:13:09 > 0:13:13And so the job of announcing one of the biggest events in history

0:13:13 > 0:13:16rested on the shoulders of John Roberts,

0:13:16 > 0:13:18a junior member of the news team

0:13:18 > 0:13:22who had never presented a news bulletin in his life.

0:13:22 > 0:13:25At 7:26pm, after John's announcement that

0:13:25 > 0:13:29John F Kennedy had died, the BBC were thrown into a panic.

0:13:29 > 0:13:33The channel ran a rotating globe for 19 minutes, interrupting this

0:13:33 > 0:13:37with updates from John Roberts while they decided what to do.

0:13:37 > 0:13:41Normal programming eventually resumed and the following evening,

0:13:41 > 0:13:45the BBC unveiled their brand-new sci-fi drama, Doctor Who,

0:13:45 > 0:13:48in the hope that it might be a welcome distraction.

0:13:50 > 0:13:52He was this wonderful, good-looking,

0:13:52 > 0:13:56charismatic leader that everybody thought was going to bring

0:13:56 > 0:13:58fresh hope to the world and, you know,

0:13:58 > 0:14:01try and put an end to war and, um...

0:14:01 > 0:14:04Then when you see that and you realise that they had

0:14:04 > 0:14:08something that was bulletproof but they'd not had it up on that day...

0:14:08 > 0:14:10And why was it not on that day?

0:14:10 > 0:14:13You know, history would have been changed.

0:14:18 > 0:14:19Have a little look.

0:14:21 > 0:14:25- Come on, Peggotty. - Don't be impatient!

0:14:25 > 0:14:26David!

0:14:28 > 0:14:31Here, take hold of this.

0:14:31 > 0:14:33Why isn't Mama out to greet me?

0:14:33 > 0:14:34Oh...

0:14:36 > 0:14:40- You gave out a little sigh then, Lesley.- You see, I'm crying now!- Oh!

0:14:40 > 0:14:43Hold my hand, darling - why? Why?

0:14:46 > 0:14:47Why are you upset?

0:14:47 > 0:14:51I'm not upset, because this takes me back...

0:14:51 > 0:14:54I don't know when this was made, but this is going back to stuff

0:14:54 > 0:14:57I used to watch - David Copperfield I used to love...

0:14:57 > 0:15:00- Yeah?- Dickens I used to love...

0:15:01 > 0:15:04Your mother has something to tell you, David.

0:15:04 > 0:15:05What is it?

0:15:09 > 0:15:11David, dear...

0:15:13 > 0:15:15David, Mr Murdstone and I have got married.

0:15:17 > 0:15:19He's your new father!

0:15:21 > 0:15:24- I don't want him for my father! - David?

0:15:24 > 0:15:26So where do we go, there?

0:15:26 > 0:15:28Why are you so moved by that?

0:15:28 > 0:15:32I think because I'm looking back on my childhood

0:15:32 > 0:15:35and my father was alive then - he died about 19 years ago.

0:15:35 > 0:15:37He used to take cine films of us all

0:15:37 > 0:15:40and, you know, it's all enmeshed in your childhood,

0:15:40 > 0:15:42watching stuff like this.

0:15:42 > 0:15:44The family was all still living together

0:15:44 > 0:15:47and it's all very evocative of what your life

0:15:47 > 0:15:49was like then as a child

0:15:49 > 0:15:54and with television coming in when I was reasonably young,

0:15:54 > 0:15:57how the sort of television you would watch

0:15:57 > 0:15:59would come at various times in your life.

0:15:59 > 0:16:03Charles Dickens' eighth novel David Copperfield has been adapted into

0:16:03 > 0:16:05a television series nine times

0:16:05 > 0:16:09since it was first published in 1850.

0:16:09 > 0:16:14The first adaptation in 1956 starred a young Robert Hardy in the role of

0:16:14 > 0:16:18David, who went on to play Siegfried Farnon,

0:16:18 > 0:16:21the eccentric animal doctor in All Creatures Great And Small.

0:16:22 > 0:16:24The David Copperfield TV adaptation

0:16:24 > 0:16:27which appeared on our screens in 1999

0:16:27 > 0:16:31starred Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe as a young David,

0:16:31 > 0:16:34along with a wealth of other TV talent including

0:16:34 > 0:16:38Dame Maggie Smith and Lesley's Birds Of A Feather bosom buddy,

0:16:38 > 0:16:41Pauline Quirke, as David's Nanny, Peggotty.

0:16:42 > 0:16:48Davey! Oh, Davey, Davey - my own darling, darling Davey!

0:16:48 > 0:16:50I love it. You see, I think

0:16:50 > 0:16:54television has always had a great reputation for doing Dickens,

0:16:54 > 0:16:58for doing the dramas, David Copperfield, this was my sort of...

0:16:58 > 0:16:59Not my... I suppose my youth.

0:16:59 > 0:17:03I'm not sure what year this was made, but this was a drama

0:17:03 > 0:17:07and maybe in my head one day I thought I might be in that.

0:17:07 > 0:17:11I must have seriously wanted to be a serious actress.

0:17:11 > 0:17:13- Mm-hm(!)- Don't laugh!

0:17:13 > 0:17:17I'm sitting here getting emotional, watching David Copperfield!

0:17:17 > 0:17:18Can I press pause?!

0:17:18 > 0:17:20Um...

0:17:20 > 0:17:23We've gone from the President's assassination,

0:17:23 > 0:17:26which I thought you took quite well...

0:17:26 > 0:17:29To David Copperfield, and I'm in bits!

0:17:32 > 0:17:35- That boy wants manners.- Davey?!

0:17:36 > 0:17:37Control yourself, Clara.

0:17:37 > 0:17:40What sort of things do you watch, I mean, with your mum?

0:17:40 > 0:17:42I don't know if we reminded everyone that your mum is

0:17:42 > 0:17:44actually 102 - isn't that amazing?

0:17:44 > 0:17:46She's 102 now, yes, she is.

0:17:46 > 0:17:49- Does she watch a bit of telly?- My mum was always too busy doing things.

0:17:49 > 0:17:53My mother never, ever sat down.

0:17:53 > 0:17:56She never did, she used to be the most amazing baker.

0:17:56 > 0:17:58If it was your birthday, she'd suddenly do this amazing doll

0:17:58 > 0:18:01in a crinoline, all made out of edible things -

0:18:01 > 0:18:05I always remember that. Or she'd do the most wonderful castle or

0:18:05 > 0:18:07a little thatched cottage with roses round the door.

0:18:07 > 0:18:09She was always making.

0:18:09 > 0:18:12She made amazing chicken soup with lokshen,

0:18:12 > 0:18:15she did amazing roast chicken, she was always baking,

0:18:15 > 0:18:18so she wasn't somebody that could ever sit down and say, "Right,

0:18:18 > 0:18:20"what are we going to watch?"

0:18:20 > 0:18:22I don't remember ever watching anything with her.

0:18:22 > 0:18:27You know, my brother and I would sit and watch, but she was a doer,

0:18:27 > 0:18:32she used to make all our clothes because just after the war,

0:18:32 > 0:18:33you didn't have anything.

0:18:33 > 0:18:36So it was practically... Nice curtains?

0:18:36 > 0:18:39Right, let's take those down - there's your dress, Lesley.

0:18:39 > 0:18:42She had a sewing machine, so she was always doing.

0:18:42 > 0:18:45She never really sat and watched,

0:18:45 > 0:18:48so I don't remember watching anything with her.

0:18:53 > 0:18:57Now, you like your telly short and sweet. I'll tell you what I mean.

0:18:57 > 0:19:00That was a little clue. This is it.

0:19:00 > 0:19:01This telly advert,

0:19:01 > 0:19:03Lesley's favourite,

0:19:03 > 0:19:06was part of a £6 million global campaign in 2010

0:19:06 > 0:19:11inviting viewers to associate a sense of James Bond-esque decadence

0:19:11 > 0:19:13with a commercial airline.

0:19:15 > 0:19:19- I mean, the production values... - Amazing.- Phenomenal, isn't it?

0:19:19 > 0:19:21# Feeling good... #

0:19:21 > 0:19:24Da-dum, da-dum!

0:19:26 > 0:19:29- This is a lovely visual, watch. - Oh, it's amazing.

0:19:29 > 0:19:30Here we go - are you ready?

0:19:30 > 0:19:34# Drifting on by, you know how I feel

0:19:34 > 0:19:36# It's a new dawn, it's a new day... #

0:19:36 > 0:19:39There's something wrong with that!

0:19:39 > 0:19:40It's very Dorien!

0:19:40 > 0:19:43It's just an incredible advert.

0:19:43 > 0:19:47The sassy soundtrack and slick and sexy choreography

0:19:47 > 0:19:50entice us to fly into a glamorous,

0:19:50 > 0:19:55aspirational world, but the ad neatly brings us back to earth

0:19:55 > 0:19:58with the ability to laugh at the indulgence of it all.

0:19:58 > 0:20:01- Is that Linda?- No, she's in Miami. - Ah, of course she is.

0:20:01 > 0:20:05What's interesting about commercials is they're either comedy

0:20:05 > 0:20:08and you remember them for the comedy, sometimes they're

0:20:08 > 0:20:11so amazingly, brilliantly produced

0:20:11 > 0:20:12you remember the commercial

0:20:12 > 0:20:14but you don't know what it's advertising.

0:20:14 > 0:20:17So that works for me because the red and the Virgin

0:20:17 > 0:20:21and the whole thing, it's all very enmeshed together, so there's

0:20:21 > 0:20:23no way you get to the end of that

0:20:23 > 0:20:25and think, "What was that selling, a car?"

0:20:25 > 0:20:27What about a good comedy ad?

0:20:27 > 0:20:30I think if an ad's clever, it doesn't matter if it's comedic,

0:20:30 > 0:20:33beautiful to look at - look at the Guinness adverts.

0:20:33 > 0:20:37They're amazingly well produced, they're all about a minute long and

0:20:37 > 0:20:39you get that wonderful shot at the end with the froth on the Guinness.

0:20:39 > 0:20:45The Hovis adverts with the little boy trundling up the cobbled stones.

0:20:45 > 0:20:47It doesn't matter - one isn't better than another,

0:20:47 > 0:20:50it's how you choose to sell that product.

0:20:50 > 0:20:53I remember when I came out of drama school we had to fill in things

0:20:53 > 0:20:56and it said, "Would you do a commercial?" Absolutely not!

0:20:56 > 0:20:58A commercial?!

0:20:58 > 0:21:01No! I went into the business to be a serious actress,

0:21:01 > 0:21:03I'm a serious actress!

0:21:03 > 0:21:06I started off doing Chekhov and Shakespeare and I still do,

0:21:06 > 0:21:09but the comedy world took over.

0:21:14 > 0:21:15Birds Of A Feather.

0:21:15 > 0:21:18Something that you're very famous for.

0:21:20 > 0:21:23# What'll I do

0:21:23 > 0:21:25# When you

0:21:25 > 0:21:28# Are far away

0:21:28 > 0:21:31# And I am blue?

0:21:32 > 0:21:35# What'll I do? #

0:21:36 > 0:21:37This is me.

0:21:41 > 0:21:42Goodnight then, Dorien.

0:21:43 > 0:21:46Oh, Roger, you have something on your lip.

0:21:46 > 0:21:48- Really, what is it?- Me!

0:21:48 > 0:21:50LAUGHTER

0:21:59 > 0:22:01Until tomorrow night then, darling.

0:22:01 > 0:22:03Listen, if the night gets long and...

0:22:04 > 0:22:06..lonely...call me.

0:22:11 > 0:22:14Do you think all great comediennes,

0:22:14 > 0:22:17great comedians, are desperate to be taken seriously?

0:22:17 > 0:22:19I think the grass always looks greener.

0:22:19 > 0:22:23I think sometimes I could look at those who do wonderful, serious

0:22:23 > 0:22:25work and think, "Oh, my goodness,

0:22:25 > 0:22:27"I would love to do Shakespeare in the West End," or "I've never

0:22:27 > 0:22:30"worked at the National, I'd love to work at the National."

0:22:30 > 0:22:33On the other hand, if you said to me,

0:22:33 > 0:22:35"You can go on the road with Annie,"

0:22:35 > 0:22:39I would say just to dance Easy Street, I will take that,

0:22:39 > 0:22:42because dancing Easy Street brings me alive.

0:22:42 > 0:22:45But you can dance.

0:22:45 > 0:22:46That's how talented you are.

0:22:46 > 0:22:49- Lesley Joseph...- Oh, no!- ..dancing.

0:22:49 > 0:22:51Oh, dear.

0:22:51 > 0:22:53# I was sad and blue

0:22:53 > 0:22:57# But you made me feel

0:22:57 > 0:23:01# Yeah, you made me feel

0:23:01 > 0:23:03# All shiny and new... #

0:23:03 > 0:23:04Go on, Lesley!

0:23:04 > 0:23:07# Like a virgin!

0:23:08 > 0:23:09# Touched for the very first time! #

0:23:09 > 0:23:13I've still got that dress. It's got a matching handbag.

0:23:14 > 0:23:17Why would you keep that dress and matching handbag?

0:23:17 > 0:23:20- Because it's iconic! - I see, OK!- It's ICONIC, Brian!

0:23:20 > 0:23:22- So it's not something you'd wear out?- I've worn it since.

0:23:22 > 0:23:27We filmed this at the Hammersmith Palais in front of about 400 extras

0:23:27 > 0:23:30on the very first day of filming.

0:23:30 > 0:23:34This was the most requested in a whole year of Points Of View.

0:23:36 > 0:23:39It was the most requested clip and it's the one whenever anybody

0:23:39 > 0:23:44talks about Birds, it was such a good episode.

0:23:45 > 0:23:47I have to say, you are very brave.

0:23:47 > 0:23:50I thought I was being brilliant, Brian, you don't understand -

0:23:50 > 0:23:53I thought I was singing it brilliantly.

0:23:53 > 0:23:56There's a bit that comes afterwards when the legs go apart, as well.

0:23:56 > 0:23:58- His or yours?- Mine.- Oh!

0:23:58 > 0:24:01And I loved it, it was such fun.

0:24:01 > 0:24:02Oh, dear.

0:24:02 > 0:24:04Birds Of A Feather, the comedy romp

0:24:04 > 0:24:08which played out the misadventures of two sisters and their saucepot

0:24:08 > 0:24:13neighbour, was a ratings smash around for nine series from 1989.

0:24:13 > 0:24:15The series returned in 2014

0:24:15 > 0:24:20and its opening episode attracted 9.5 million viewers -

0:24:20 > 0:24:24ITV's highest-rating comedy in over a decade.

0:24:24 > 0:24:26I was very aware when Birds started

0:24:26 > 0:24:29that Dorien was very much the third character,

0:24:29 > 0:24:33so had she not been liked or had it not worked, they could have

0:24:33 > 0:24:38moved or she would have moved, but I think you needed that third

0:24:38 > 0:24:40character to come in, as Pauline always used to call me,

0:24:40 > 0:24:42a wooden spoon.

0:24:42 > 0:24:45She'd come in and stir the mix and set sister against sister

0:24:45 > 0:24:48and they'd be against her or she'd be against Pauline

0:24:48 > 0:24:51and it was always the three. And then gradually

0:24:51 > 0:24:54she became sort of indispensable.

0:24:54 > 0:24:56Oh, I think after you watch this scene,

0:24:56 > 0:24:59it's obviously clear that you are indispensable.

0:25:01 > 0:25:03George Hamilton!

0:25:03 > 0:25:06- Please call me George. - Cheers, George!

0:25:10 > 0:25:13Is your...friend OK?

0:25:13 > 0:25:15I think she's a bit overcome.

0:25:15 > 0:25:17She's been carrying a bit of a torch for you

0:25:17 > 0:25:18ever since she was a young girl.

0:25:19 > 0:25:21Well, no wonder she's exhausted!

0:25:21 > 0:25:23Oh, that was funny.

0:25:23 > 0:25:26I couldn't remember that. "No wonder she's exhausted!"

0:25:26 > 0:25:28Of course, we went to LA.

0:25:28 > 0:25:32When we did Birds, we went to LA, Berlin, Majorca

0:25:32 > 0:25:36and we used to say whenever we had a Christmas special, "Please,

0:25:36 > 0:25:38"where can you send us this year?"

0:25:38 > 0:25:40Look how much hair I've got there!

0:25:40 > 0:25:42You've come all the way from England to see me,

0:25:42 > 0:25:44the least I can do for you is to invite you back to my mansion

0:25:44 > 0:25:50for a little, um, champagne by the pool and some sunbathing, huh?

0:25:50 > 0:25:52- What do you say?- You're kidding!

0:25:52 > 0:25:55I never kid where sunbathing is concerned.

0:25:56 > 0:25:58What are we waiting for?!

0:26:00 > 0:26:02Er...

0:26:02 > 0:26:05What about your friend? We can't just leave her here.

0:26:05 > 0:26:07Don't worry. We'll tell the bellboy

0:26:07 > 0:26:11to leave her with the rest of your old baggage till we get back.

0:26:11 > 0:26:14It worked incredibly well because it was always the chemistry

0:26:14 > 0:26:17between Pauline, Linda and I that made it work.

0:26:22 > 0:26:23Let's bring it right up to date.

0:26:23 > 0:26:25Well, we have, with Birds Of A Feather.

0:26:25 > 0:26:27What sort of stuff do you watch?

0:26:27 > 0:26:30We've already said that you don't have that much time, but...

0:26:30 > 0:26:32Is there stuff?

0:26:32 > 0:26:36I can't tell you how many box sets I've got that I've never even opened.

0:26:36 > 0:26:39I think, "I must watch this," and "everybody's watching that,"

0:26:39 > 0:26:43and "I've got to watch that," and I buy the box set and it sits there.

0:26:43 > 0:26:46Mainly because I'm not sure how to work the DVD player, but...

0:26:49 > 0:26:52I know that when I watched The West Wing many moons ago,

0:26:52 > 0:26:54I watched eight a day.

0:26:54 > 0:26:56- It's obsessive.- Oh, really?

0:26:56 > 0:27:00Yeah. Once I started watching it, it always had a cliffhanger at the end,

0:27:00 > 0:27:03so I had to keep watching it and I think I'm frightened of getting

0:27:03 > 0:27:06into something that I know is going to take the next six months

0:27:06 > 0:27:09of my life, I'm going to be like this in front of this goggle box.

0:27:09 > 0:27:13So I know I will get to watch everything that's in my box sets,

0:27:13 > 0:27:16but just not yet. I sometimes catch up on my soaps.

0:27:16 > 0:27:18EastEnders are fantastic

0:27:18 > 0:27:22because the strong matriarchal women are fantastic in soaps.

0:27:22 > 0:27:26So EastEnders is something you watch, anything else out there?

0:27:26 > 0:27:27I watch Emmerdale, Corrie.

0:27:27 > 0:27:31On this show, you get a chance to pick a theme tune,

0:27:31 > 0:27:34a theme tune for us to go out on. So what's it going to be?

0:27:34 > 0:27:37- Can I pick a theme tune from one of my clips?- Of course you can.

0:27:37 > 0:27:39Then I'm going to have David Copperfield.

0:27:39 > 0:27:41- You're not going to cry, are you?- Nope.

0:27:41 > 0:27:44Ladies and gentlemen, we bid farewell to the lovely,

0:27:44 > 0:27:46dear Lesley Joseph.

0:27:46 > 0:27:49This is David Copperfield playing us out.

0:27:51 > 0:27:54SHE SNIFFLES Oh, look!

0:27:55 > 0:27:57DAVID COPPERFIELD THEME PLAYS

0:27:58 > 0:28:00HE SOBS, SHE LAUGHS

0:28:07 > 0:28:08I thought he was a magician!