Gok Wan The TV That Made Me


Gok Wan

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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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The wind almost blew my BLANK off!

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You're nearly in the telly, here!

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'..on the stories of the lives.'

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If you're so blinking clever, you look after him.

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This takes me back completely.

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'Some are funny...'

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# And when they were down they were down! #

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-'Some...

-Oh, thank you!

-'..are surprising.'

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Aw, a lamb!

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-It terrifies the life out of me.

-Yeah?

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'Some are inspiring...'

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I wanted to be on telly...

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That's it from me, back to you two.

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'..and many...'

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...though this rather futuristic TV..

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'..are deeply moving.'

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-And it was heartbreaking, I wept.

-Yeah?

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-It was heartbreaking.

-It's not real.

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

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'helped turn our much-loved stars into the people they are today.'

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Welcome to The TV That Made Me.

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Now, my guest today is a fashion consultant,

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author and star of stage and screen.

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The irrepressible Gok Wan.

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The man who has almost single-handedly taught us

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how to feel good about the way we look.

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The TV that made him includes a blot on the comedy landscape...

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-He is bagged.

-Oh, yes, Blott!

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..the most unpredictable pop show ever...

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# Talk to me

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# Like lovers do. #

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..and the Europe-wide quiz for eggheads, Going For Gold.

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But you probably know this golden-hearted man best

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from the Channel 4 show, How To Look Good Naked.

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I mean, you look gorgeous. Our cameraman's shaking right now.

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He is easy to spot, he is the one with his clothes on.

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It can only be the one and only, international superstar,

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babe magnet, Gok Wan!

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-Are you happy with that?

-"Babe magnet"?

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I don't know... You're a babe magnet, I'm a fridge magnet.

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-It's lovely to be here. How are you?

-Oh, thank you.

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Do you like my apartment?

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I love your apartment, it's very nice.

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It's definitely more stylish than I thought it would have been,

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-judging from the clothes you wear, Brian.

-Ain't that lovely? Thank you.

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Now, as you know, today is a celebration of you,

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-of your television. Television that made you.

-Yeah.

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-But first, we're going to go back to the beginning.

-OK.

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And see the young Gok Wan.

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-Oh, does it go back that far?

-Yeah.

-Wow.

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Gok Wan started life in a caravan in Leicester in 1974.

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His family did eventually move into their own council house,

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but he spent most of his time in The Bamboo House,

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a Chinese restaurant run by his mum, Myra, and dad, John.

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Now, not wanting to be left behind by his elder brother, Kwoklyn,

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or elder sister, Oilen,

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Gok began working tables at a very, very early age.

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Mum and dad are massive grafters.

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You know, seven days a week in the restaurant, they were there all day,

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prepping for the evening but working lunches as well.

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We were at school.

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So all of our time was literally spent in the restaurant,

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all our social time.

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As soon as we finished school, we'd get picked up,

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go to the restaurant, so we were always working.

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So from the age of three-and-a-half months, I was in the kitchen.

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Slave labour, don't tell the NSPCC now!

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So our friends were the chefs and the waiters and the customers

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that came in, and it was the most incredible place to be.

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And it wasn't until I got slightly older, like six, seven, eight,

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did TV start making an appearance in my life.

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Probably the earliest memory was a show called Monkey, Monkey Magic.

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There's no denying how popular it was.

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-Yeah, huge!

-It was one of the number-one programmes.

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Especially of... Well, I'm a little bit older than you,

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but I mean, for all of us, it was THE programme to watch.

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Absolutely, yeah.

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And all the catchphrases as well.

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When he used to take the stick out of his ear and he did this with it

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and throw it in the air and then all of a sudden,

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a cloud would appear and he could fly.

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And then when Tripitaka used to do the chanting, do you remember that?

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And the gold band around his head would get tighter.

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Could you do the chanting?

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HE MAKES CHANTING SOUND

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I wish we had one of those on your head, right now.

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Anyway, I remember that, and I remember the lion coming into it.

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Me and my brother and sister would all...

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We knew the word, word-for-word at the beginning, which was,

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"Through evolution came stone Monkey!"

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THEY LAUGH

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-You do that so well.

-It's quite funny, that.

-Go on.

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-Do you remember it?

-Well, I remember it, I know it.

-Have you got it?

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Of course we have. Here you are.

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'Elemental forces caused the egg to hatch.'

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From it then came a stone monkey...

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It's amazing. Look at those production values. Amazing.

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Do you know, I'm getting really excited watching this.

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It's incredible. What great telly!

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Yaah! Hi-yah!

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'The truly revolutionary Monkey was made in Japan in 1978

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'and flew onto BBC Two in 1979.

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'Each week, it blended martial arts with magic, as Monkey battled

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'against an array of evil foes in his quest for enlightenment.

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'No British children's show had ever featured such expensive

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'special effects and fight choreography.'

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-Oh, the music as well, listen.

-Does it take you back?

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No wonder I'm camp.

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I mean, look at the costume! It is amazing.

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-I mean, it's the closest you would get a panto on TV, really.

-Yeah.

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-Terrible acting... Not that we do terrible acting.

-No, God, no.

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But, you know, kind of all the moves are set up

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and the choreography, the sets all shaking around.

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I mean, what is there not to love about this?

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But as a child, did it ever make you laugh, the way it was dubbed?

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Yeah, a little bit.

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You would take that on... 'Want a cup of tea?'

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BRIAN LAUGHS

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-And it would literally be like that.

-And why was it great for you?

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It was great because, you know...

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I was brought up on a council estate in the Midlands in the '70s and '80s,

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and we were the only Asian family around.

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And the only Asian references that we had, were either food

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or Chinese New Year, when the school would celebrate Chinese New Year.

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And so when there was this programme on television with Asian people

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on television doing Asian things like kung fu and using chopsticks,

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all of a sudden, it felt like we were accepted.

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And so this was a real rite of passage for me, this programme,

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it made me feel really special and it made me feel really accepted.

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It was one of the first times as a child that I felt

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I had a place in our community, because, in my head,

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I imagined everyone watching this programme at the same time as me

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and they were watching it and I was their link to that.

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-Do you see what I mean? Does that make any sense?

-Yeah.

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And I love the characters as well, I love the storylines,

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it was brilliant, it was all fantasy,

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but there was fighting in there and there was magic in there.

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I love magic.

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The spectacular Monkey really did make

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our home-grown fantasy programmes for kids

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look a bit tame in the '70s.

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Apparently, there WERE monsters on Blake's 7,

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but the special effects budget was so low, we hardly ever saw them.

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And there was no way Tom Baker's Doctor Who was going to

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unwind his scarf and pull any neat karate moves

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on lumbering monsters like the Mandrels.

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Actually, the closest we got to sorcery

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and fantasy animals was

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the great Molly Weir playing McWitch

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next to the ghost of

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a pantomime horse on Rentaghost.

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Mind you, the lovely Sue Nicholls played Miss Popov in the

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same show and she was always magic.

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Do you think this will surprise people, how good you are at magic?

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-We've got a pack of cards.

-Right, OK.

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And I know you are great.

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Well, the thing is, I do love magic.

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When I was growing up, Paul Daniels was obviously

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the hottest thing on television when it came to magic.

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I always wanted to be Debbie McGee though, I have to be very honest.

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I always wanted to be the glamorous assistant, never the magician.

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So, what I'll ask you to do now, is choose a card, just choose one card.

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-You got one, two, three, four, five, six cards, sticking up.

-OK.

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No, don't tell me what the actual card is.

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What you need to do is tell me which number is it.

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One, two, three, four, five, or six?

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It is number five.

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Number five, right, OK.

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You ready? Watch this. One, two, three, four, five.

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Your card is on top there, it is going into the pack.

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-Right into the middle.

-Just there, yeah. Absolutely.

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Right, so what I'm going to do now is ask you to look at that one card.

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-Was it that one?

-I'm afraid it wasn't.

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-Oh, it wasn't that one?

-No.

-OK, so look at that card.

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-Is there anything wrong with that card?

-No, no.

-Does it look magical?

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-Does it look like it could do a trick?

-No.

-No, OK.

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So I'm going to put that back there.

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And what we're going to do... Just watch with your eyes, very carefully.

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-Just think about that card.

-Yeah.

-Think about it.

-Yeah.

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-OK, what card was it?

-It was a five of diamonds.

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Five of diamonds?

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That was brilliant.

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-I'm going to move on to classic advert now.

-OK.

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-So, let's just watch this.

-Right.

-Your pick. Classic advert.

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Oh!

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Well, bang goes 15 quid.

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-Wish they had.

-What?

-Gone bang.

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The first time when the Oxo adverts came out and all of a sudden

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you started following the lives of a family and they would drop

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a new advert every three, six, nine months, whatever it was.

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You would get to know this family

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and you would go on a journey with this other family.

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This advert was the first time I really saw another family

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that felt like mine.

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Because we were so close, and food was very important to us, bizarrely.

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But food was really important as a family.

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-That was pathetic!

-Yeah, and two quid of it was mine.

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'The Oxo ads were set in a normal family home

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'and acted so naturally you felt you were there.

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'It was this documentary feel that made them an immediate success.

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'The adverts reportedly boosted

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'sales by over 10%.'

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Oh, very funny!

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When your parents own a restaurant, when do you eat?

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You ate all the time. When you are Asian, food is everything.

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It really is absolutely everything.

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It is what you do when someone marries, when someone is born,

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when someone is dying.

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You just feed each other and food is the most important thing.

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And then that, coupled with a business about food,

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I mean, you can just imagine the explosion of prawn crackers

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and fried rice every single day.

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My favourite mealtime of all time was about 2:30 in the morning,

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Mum and Dad would come in from work and I'd be laying in bed,

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so if you can imagine, young Asian child, slightly overweight,

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underneath the Superman covers, and I would just go...

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HE MAKES SNIFFING SOUND

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Fried onions! Fried onions.

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Then we would bolt downstairs and dad would be making a massive feast

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at 2:30 in the morning.

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And even though we should have been sleeping

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and even though we had school the next day and even though we would

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have been tired, actually, that meal was the best education of my life.

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It was much more than a school could ever give me,

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because it was about family and about warmth

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and Dad would tell great stories and we would sit as a family.

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So those mealtimes, for me, were the most important.

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-And do you see that in the Oxo adverts?

-Yeah, I see all of that.

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And bizarrely, it is...

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Because the essence of that advert isn't necessarily,

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"If you buy this product you're going to have a great meal",

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it's not about that.

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It's turning round and saying, "This is what this product will do

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"to your family, because it will make you all come together

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"and you will laugh and do things together", and it's a great place.

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It's wonderful and it was revolutionary, this advert.

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It changed the British family in a lot of ways

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and then of course, the amazing, incredible, beautiful Linda.

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Aw. Such a loss.

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-The biggest, the biggest.

-Such a warm, endearing...

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I know you've worked with her, I've worked with her as well,

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and she was just the most giving,

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wonderful, funny, funny, funny person.

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'Watching the Oxo family grow up on our screens over 16 years

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'gave us an appetite for bite-sized soaps.

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'At the end of the '80s, we all wondered what Maureen Lipman's

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'grandson was going to do with his "ology".

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'Whilst boosting sales of coffee by up to 70%,

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'Anthony Head and Sharon Maughn kept us guessing

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' "will they, or won't they?"

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'And back in the '70s,

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'Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins

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'did a great job selling booze,

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'but I don't think there was ever

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'any question that THEY would.'

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-Well, I'm going to go now to Must-See TV.

-Yep.

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This is just something you just had to watch,

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it was of course, Must-See TV.

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And I want to take you to 1983.

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1983, I was nine.

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GOK GASPS

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This week's show's going to be completely out of proportion

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to anything that we've ever had before in our lives.

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The Tube! Look at Jools, he's a child!

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Could You do that for us, do you think?

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We've got live music from Sade,

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spelt "Say-day", pronounced "Shard-a"...

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-They've got matching hair!

-Oh, wow.

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This is so '80s.

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Oh, God. Do you know what, I miss the '80s.

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Don't you miss the '80s?

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Um...I miss being that young, yeah.

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I don't know whether I miss being that young, but I miss this.

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If you look on these monitors here, you will see two films that we shot,

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one of Swans Way, one of Colourfield...

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When I was nine, watching this with my sister,

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I would watch this programme with her, to try and be my sister.

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So I'd be emulating her to watch this programme.

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I didn't really understand it, because I was nine.

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But it was a way of me being closer to my sister,

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it was a way of me fitting into her world.

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# Talk to me

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# Like lovers do. #

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-Oh, my God! Annie! Incredible. What a voice.

-Yeah.

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'From the time it hit our screens in 1982,

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'The Tube revolutionised the way we watched music TV.

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'All the acts played completely live, and after The Tube,

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'miming to records on other pop shows just looked like cheating.'

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MUSIC: Here Comes The Rain Again by Eurythmics

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Amazing fashion. She was the '80s personified.

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Gok, what we'd love you to do now is to critique

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some of the acts that they had on.

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GOK LAUGHS

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MUSIC: Too Shy by Kajagoogoo

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# Ooh, baby try... #

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-The Tube.

-Wow.

-There they are.

-Amazing.

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Absolutely amazing. I mean, look at that.

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-The first thing is...

-Remember the name of the band?

-It was...erm...

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-Kaja...

-Kajagoo...

-Correct.

-Kajagoogoo, yeah.

-Yeah.

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-The first thing you think of...

-# You're too shy, shy... #

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-All right, still talking.

-Sorry.

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-So, the first thing...

-Sorry.

-GOK LAUGHS

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The first thing that you think of when you think of the '80s is hair.

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-Yeah.

-That hair is incredible.

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If you ever want a reference that tells you about the '80s,

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then all you need to do,

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is why don't you just cut everything to about two-and-a-half inches

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and then just let the back row as long as you possibly want?

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But, that is the '80s. I mean, it was incredible.

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It was also the first time that boy and girl really did cross over.

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You know, there wasn't any one uniform for a boy,

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any one uniform for a girl and I loved it.

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Have a little look at this.

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Here it comes.

0:15:590:16:00

MUSIC: Hong Kong Garden by Siouxie & The Banshees

0:16:000:16:02

# Harmful elements in the air

0:16:020:16:04

# Cymbals crashing everywhere... #

0:16:040:16:07

-Siouxue and The Banshees.

-Yeah.

-I mean, look at that!

0:16:070:16:11

She looks incredible.

0:16:110:16:13

But, if you put that down a catwalk for McQueen or Vivienne Westwood,

0:16:140:16:17

Balenciaga, right now, you wouldn't know the difference.

0:16:170:16:20

It's thought out, it's clever,

0:16:200:16:22

there's great movement in that clothing,

0:16:220:16:24

there's wonderful texture, brilliant performance stuff as well.

0:16:240:16:27

-I mean, it's great.

-Yeah.

0:16:270:16:28

-You can't beat the '80s.

-I think we've got one more for you.

0:16:280:16:32

Who's this?

0:16:330:16:34

Who's that? Is that Fun Boy Three?

0:16:340:16:37

-This would have been...

-Oh, is it Wham?!

-It's Wham, it's Wham.

0:16:370:16:39

MUSIC: Young Guns by Wham

0:16:390:16:41

-# Hey sucker

-What the hell's got into you... #

0:16:410:16:44

-Is that George?

-That is Wham.

-Look at George.

-Oh.

0:16:440:16:47

Now, that is incredible.

0:16:470:16:48

I mean, if there was ever a way of doing double denim,

0:16:480:16:50

-there's three different variations there.

-Yeah.

0:16:500:16:53

That is just a delight.

0:16:530:16:54

It's amazing, because it's what

0:16:540:16:56

I remember about fashion,

0:16:560:16:57

it's probably the first time that

0:16:570:16:58

I looked at fashion and thought,

0:16:580:17:00

"I understand you" or, "I know you" or, "I want to get to know you".

0:17:000:17:03

-Have pop stars got a look now?

-Yeah.

-Is there a look now?

0:17:030:17:06

Was my job for years to dress them like that.

0:17:060:17:08

It was, you know, it's really important,

0:17:080:17:10

but how we present ourselves is vital. It's so important.

0:17:100:17:14

It sends out a gazillion messages to people

0:17:140:17:17

without even opening your mouth.

0:17:170:17:20

'80s bands like Culture Club, Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode

0:17:200:17:24

'and Frankie Goes To Hollywood's TV appearances were sending out

0:17:240:17:27

'messages about style and sexuality that influenced us all.

0:17:270:17:33

'But the fashion icon that really made her mark on Gok

0:17:330:17:36

'was a lot closer to home.'

0:17:360:17:38

Did your sister influence you in what you do now?

0:17:380:17:42

-Oh, my God, everything.

-Really?

-The first makeover...

0:17:420:17:44

Is it because you're into...

0:17:440:17:47

you are attracted to dominant women?

0:17:470:17:49

Probably. I...

0:17:490:17:51

I've always loved women and my sister is a strong, clever, brilliant woman.

0:17:510:17:56

When we were going through quite a lot of social abuse

0:17:560:17:58

-on the estate for being Chinese and fat and camp...

-Really?

0:17:580:18:01

..and all that kind of thing, it never affected my sister.

0:18:010:18:04

She was strong and she would stand up for the family.

0:18:040:18:06

I mean, I wasn't as strong then as a person,

0:18:060:18:09

so I looked up to her for that reason.

0:18:090:18:11

So, women have always...

0:18:110:18:12

and she probably was the catalyst of my appreciation for women.

0:18:120:18:16

The first makeover I ever saw was my sister's makeover,

0:18:160:18:19

and she would get home from school and she'd wear a navy blue

0:18:190:18:21

and a white uniform, and then she would go upstairs to her room

0:18:210:18:25

and then come downstairs. Within moments she was transformed

0:18:250:18:29

and she'd be semi-goth with a tube skirt and brogues,

0:18:290:18:33

an oversized boyfriend blazer.

0:18:330:18:35

And I remember watching my sister, thinking it's the most

0:18:350:18:38

incredible thing that you can go from looking this way

0:18:380:18:41

to that way in a second.

0:18:410:18:42

-What it does is it just boosts your confidence.

-Yeah.

0:18:420:18:45

And it turns you into a different person.

0:18:450:18:47

It was the way that my sister started to develop into

0:18:470:18:49

the person that she is.

0:18:490:18:50

So, if you think about it, I've probably done, I don't know,

0:18:500:18:53

-thousands and thousands and thousands of makeovers over my career.

-Yeah.

0:18:530:18:57

But, in fact, the most important makeover

0:18:570:19:00

was stemmed from that programme.

0:19:000:19:01

It was The Tube and that era and my sister's makeover.

0:19:010:19:05

-My taste...

-But you spoke about being picked on

0:19:050:19:08

-and you spoke about being large.

-Yeah.

0:19:080:19:10

And I think people will be

0:19:100:19:11

quite surprised and unaware that you were very large.

0:19:110:19:14

Really large, yeah, yeah.

0:19:140:19:16

Probably wouldn't have fitted on this set, actually! THEY LAUGH

0:19:160:19:19

-OK, at the age of 15...

-I was 15st.

0:19:190:19:22

I gained a stone for every year I lived.

0:19:220:19:24

That was kind of how I measured my weight.

0:19:240:19:26

I got bigger and bigger and bigger.

0:19:260:19:28

So how old were you, what was the catalystic moment that

0:19:280:19:31

made you go, "Hang on, I need to sort myself out"?

0:19:310:19:34

I was 21.

0:19:340:19:36

I had reached 21st, approximately 21st, so I had a 48-inch waist.

0:19:360:19:41

I remember the 48-inch waist, but do you know what, I was really happy.

0:19:410:19:44

I'd gone to college and I had decided by then what my career path would be.

0:19:440:19:50

It was to be a performer.

0:19:500:19:51

I wanted to be an actor

0:19:510:19:53

and I auditioned at a really tough school to get into,

0:19:530:19:56

the Central School of Speech and Drama,

0:19:560:19:57

and I walked in and I stood there and I was this 21st, gay, tall,

0:19:570:20:04

Chinese, a little bit like Hagrid.

0:20:040:20:07

The door threw open and I remember the smell, first of all, was damp,

0:20:070:20:11

and the second thing I remember was looking round thinking,

0:20:110:20:14

"I do not look like any single person here, not a single person."

0:20:140:20:18

Everyone had blonde hair and blue eyes and they were beautiful

0:20:180:20:21

and they were thin and they were chiselled.

0:20:210:20:24

I suddenly thought to myself,

0:20:240:20:26

"Oh, no. You've done something wrong here.

0:20:260:20:28

"This is not good news for you at all.

0:20:280:20:31

And, at that point, I thought to myself,

0:20:310:20:34

"I can't look like this any more. I can't look this different."

0:20:340:20:38

I thought to myself, "Right, that's it, you're going to change

0:20:380:20:41

"the way that you look", and this is the biggest mistake of my life.

0:20:410:20:45

And if you look like everybody else,

0:20:450:20:48

then you'll be just as good as them.

0:20:480:20:50

And I remember that.

0:20:500:20:51

Why was it a mistake?

0:20:510:20:54

Well, it was a mistake because...

0:20:540:20:55

And look how much it affects you even now, because you are...

0:20:550:20:58

It was a big story because it's like part of your heritage, isn't it?

0:20:580:21:01

Because you...

0:21:010:21:03

I suppose I've made a career teaching people

0:21:030:21:06

the bad mistake that I made, believing in the hype,

0:21:060:21:09

the press hype that you have to look a certain way,

0:21:090:21:12

that, you know, if you're different at all then difference is wrong,

0:21:120:21:16

that you need to be like everybody else and I did truly believe it.

0:21:160:21:20

Really, really believed it and, you know, it was a big mistake.

0:21:200:21:24

So, what would you say to that 21-year-old now?

0:21:240:21:28

Do you know what? Don't worry.

0:21:280:21:30

Don't worry because you're going to find stuff later on in your life,

0:21:300:21:33

which will feel bigger and more emotional and harder

0:21:330:21:37

and this is a small moment in your life.

0:21:370:21:41

It feels like everything right now, but it's a small moment in your life,

0:21:410:21:44

and I do genuinely believe that we do love each other for who we are.

0:21:440:21:51

It's not just the way we look.

0:21:510:21:53

-Your next choice is a little thing called Just Because.

-Just Because.

0:22:000:22:05

Just because, you just like watching it... Just because...

0:22:050:22:07

-Just because. Let's have a watch.

-And it is...

0:22:070:22:10

Well, have a little look. Just because.

0:22:100:22:13

First of all, Tony and Josie.

0:22:130:22:14

Would you like to come forward ready to play?

0:22:140:22:17

GOK GASPS Whose Line Is It Anyway?

0:22:170:22:19

-Oh, my God! What an incredible, incredible show!

-Yeah.

0:22:190:22:25

So, when this show first came out... God, how old was I?

0:22:250:22:28

-What year was this?

-This is 1988.

0:22:280:22:31

1988, so I would've been 14 years old.

0:22:310:22:34

Yeah, absolutely, it works out perfectly.

0:22:340:22:36

This is when I knew I wanted to be an actor.

0:22:360:22:38

So, has anyone got a film style they like...?

0:22:380:22:40

-AUDIENCE SHOUT OUT

-Surrealist, yes.

0:22:400:22:42

And I love the fact that the audience got involved as well.

0:22:420:22:47

I really like the fact the audience were the missing member of the cast.

0:22:470:22:50

The scene I'd like you to improvise, Tony and Josie,

0:22:500:22:53

is a patient going to see a doctor.

0:22:530:22:55

"Whose Line Is It Anyway?" was filmed on a simple set

0:22:550:22:58

and the idea was simple too. Comedians like Josie Lawrence

0:22:580:23:02

and Tony Slattery were asked to improvise comedy scenes

0:23:020:23:05

on the spot and we all knew there was nothing simple about that.

0:23:050:23:10

It's what kept us glued to the show for 11 years.

0:23:100:23:14

Just take your clothes off, then.

0:23:140:23:16

LAUGHTER

0:23:160:23:17

Are you sure that's what I have to do, doctor?

0:23:170:23:19

It is a squint in my eye.

0:23:190:23:20

-Who was your favourite?

-Josie Lawrence.

-Right.

0:23:200:23:23

-I used to love it when she used to sing.

-Another strong woman.

0:23:230:23:25

Exactly. Another strong woman.

0:23:250:23:27

-Surrealist style.

-You see, I have an onion.

0:23:270:23:30

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

0:23:300:23:34

Not as much as doctors turn into Art Deco lamps.

0:23:360:23:39

Just incredible, isn't it? Isn't it absolutely amazing

0:23:390:23:42

-that they would think of it on the spot like this?

-I know.

0:23:420:23:44

If you think about it,

0:23:440:23:46

this is probably one of the first times that the audience,

0:23:460:23:49

or we as the audience, got to see the mechanics of performing.

0:23:490:23:52

It was the first time you were allowed into the brains of the actors.

0:23:520:23:55

It was a really clever idea for us to be privy to that.

0:23:550:24:00

Relatively unknown comedians who appeared on Whose Line have

0:24:000:24:04

gone on to great things.

0:24:040:24:06

Josie Lawrence played

0:24:060:24:08

Amanda Best in EastEnders.

0:24:080:24:10

Caroline Quentin put up with Men Behaving Badly and the tricks

0:24:130:24:16

of Jonathan Creek before settling

0:24:160:24:18

into Restoration Home.

0:24:180:24:20

Paul Merton is still the king of off-the-cuff remarks on

0:24:230:24:26

Have I Got News For You.

0:24:260:24:28

And Stephen Fry, the nation's favourite clever clogs,

0:24:300:24:33

hosts the comedy quiz QI.

0:24:330:24:36

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

0:24:370:24:40

This has just reminded me and I've actually never ever told

0:24:400:24:43

anybody in my life, and that is the truth.

0:24:430:24:46

-I always wanted to be a stand-up.

-You always wanted...

0:24:460:24:49

I wanted to be a stand-up because of this.

0:24:490:24:51

I remember I had a whole routine that I had written and that I...

0:24:510:24:56

But my routine was I was going to pretend that

0:24:560:24:58

I could improvise and I wasn't.

0:24:580:24:59

It was a set routine and I knew it word for word.

0:24:590:25:02

So, you rehearsed your ad-libs?

0:25:020:25:04

I rehearsed my ad-libs on my own, pretending that

0:25:040:25:07

I could fool people that I was improvising.

0:25:070:25:09

But don't you think it's what you're good at?

0:25:090:25:13

That it is... just to let you roll...

0:25:130:25:15

When you're doing your show, when you're doing anything on TV

0:25:150:25:20

so often, you are ad-libbing.

0:25:200:25:22

Yeah, my shows are improvised and we don't have scripts

0:25:220:25:25

and whether I'm doing a morning programme, or whether I'm making

0:25:250:25:27

How To Look Good Naked, or one of the fashion shows, we don't really have

0:25:270:25:31

scripts because you can't really have scripts when you're dealing with

0:25:310:25:34

people's confidence. You can't really have lines to say,

0:25:340:25:37

because it has got to be really, really natural

0:25:370:25:39

and you've just got to hope there's a connection there between two people.

0:25:390:25:43

What is the key ingredient to giving someone else confidence?

0:25:430:25:47

I think it's to listen.

0:25:470:25:48

The most important thing is listening and I think we sometimes

0:25:480:25:52

forget to listen, we get so bothered with telling people what

0:25:520:25:55

we've been up to, or what we feel we need to tell people that

0:25:550:25:58

when you think about it, when a woman comes onto my show and if

0:25:580:26:02

she hates her reflection and hates her body, all I do is listen to her.

0:26:020:26:07

I do very little else.

0:26:070:26:08

The clothes aren't really that important, they're not really needed.

0:26:080:26:11

I just use them as a device or as a vehicle to be able to

0:26:110:26:14

communicate with her.

0:26:140:26:15

-Your next choice is Guilty Pleasure.

-Guilty Pleasure.

0:26:200:26:23

I'm not going to say anything except I'm taking you back to 1983.

0:26:230:26:26

I'm so excited.

0:26:260:26:28

GOK GASPS

0:26:300:26:32

-Lynda La Plante.

-Oh, my God.

0:26:360:26:38

This is everything that I love about television.

0:26:380:26:41

What about explosives?

0:26:410:26:43

-Do me a favour.

-Sorry. Sorry, Dolly.

0:26:430:26:47

I've got a meeting with the security contact.

0:26:470:26:50

All of their fellas have all been banged up for a job

0:26:500:26:54

and they are the wives that are going to do the job now,

0:26:540:26:56

and it's basically a bank robbery.

0:26:560:26:58

-The big one's in four months' time.

-Is that the one we're going for?

0:26:580:27:01

We'll need every minute.

0:27:010:27:04

Sorry, love.

0:27:040:27:05

This is what old-school serial writing was.

0:27:050:27:09

It was not terribly acted, but not brilliantly.

0:27:090:27:12

It was just a really honest series that you got hooked into.

0:27:120:27:15

You two better get yourself wheels, good ones.

0:27:150:27:19

First screened in 1983, Widows was a huge hit and was

0:27:190:27:24

BAFTA nominated for its moody, realistic and innovative direction.

0:27:240:27:29

It was writer Lynda La Plante's first-ever screenplay,

0:27:290:27:32

which she wrote because she believed

0:27:320:27:34

there weren't enough realistic roles for women.

0:27:340:27:38

Now's your chance, love. In or out?

0:27:380:27:40

Do you remember years ago, before we had www.anything.com?

0:27:470:27:53

You know, you can get catch up this now and you can watch it

0:27:530:27:56

on your phone, you can watch it on your watch, you can

0:27:560:27:58

watch it on your mirror - do you see what I mean?

0:27:580:28:02

In a weird way, it's lost exactly what this programme was about.

0:28:020:28:05

It was about looking forward to something,

0:28:050:28:07

days before it was on and it was just also great writing.

0:28:070:28:11

-Did you love the characters?

-I loved the characters.

0:28:110:28:14

They were just strong and they were go-getting,

0:28:140:28:17

but also vulnerable at the same time.

0:28:170:28:19

I think everything that I love about women is that strength

0:28:190:28:22

and vulnerability mixed together.

0:28:220:28:25

Some of our greatest actresses have played

0:28:250:28:27

Lynda La Plante's toughest female characters.

0:28:270:28:30

Ann Mitchell, now better known as EastEnders' Cora Cross,

0:28:300:28:34

played Teflon-coated Dolly Rawlins in Widows.

0:28:340:28:37

And Amanda Burton played

0:28:390:28:41

La Plante's utterly ruthless

0:28:410:28:42

Claire Blake in The Commander

0:28:420:28:44

in 2003.

0:28:440:28:46

But La Plante's greatest creation

0:28:480:28:51

has to be Prime Suspect's

0:28:510:28:52

DCI Jane Tennison, who was played

0:28:520:28:55

to brittle yet steely perfection

0:28:550:28:57

by Helen Mirren.

0:28:570:28:59

-There's a real theme.

-Yeah, there is.

0:29:020:29:05

-When we talk about your sister.

-Yeah.

0:29:050:29:07

The way you sort of reacted to Annie Lennox

0:29:070:29:09

-and now this strong women.

-I've always, always, always...

0:29:090:29:13

I mean, far, way before I knew I was gay, I always loved women.

0:29:130:29:18

Women fascinate me.

0:29:180:29:19

And also when you are doing How To Do Good Naked,

0:29:190:29:23

you are making women into strong women.

0:29:230:29:26

Yeah, hopefully. A little bit.

0:29:260:29:28

I don't think I can be solely responsible for them being really

0:29:280:29:32

confident and strong, but hopefully,

0:29:320:29:35

I like to think I've had a hand in that.

0:29:350:29:37

I've given them a place that they can come to, that they can discuss

0:29:370:29:41

their fears and they can discuss how they really feel about themselves.

0:29:410:29:44

-I want to move on now to your Comedy Hero.

-Yep.

-This...

0:29:500:29:56

-I don't want to say any more.

-Go on.

0:29:560:29:58

Blott On The Landscape. Oh, my goodness.

0:30:000:30:03

What on earth's this, Mrs Purity?

0:30:030:30:05

That's your breakfast, Giles.

0:30:050:30:07

Breakfast? It's uncooked oysters.

0:30:070:30:09

Blott On The Landscape featured a stellar cast.

0:30:090:30:13

Not only Hercule Poirot, of course I mean David Suchet.

0:30:130:30:17

He is bagged.

0:30:170:30:18

But also Geraldine James and the great Arthur Daley, aka...

0:30:180:30:22

-I don't like him.

-..George Cole.

0:30:220:30:24

He's foreign, his teeth aren't nice

0:30:240:30:26

and he doesn't behave like a servant.

0:30:260:30:27

-This is British TV at its best, isn't it?

-Yeah.

0:30:270:30:30

Brilliantly made, the sets, the costume, the script is incredible.

0:30:300:30:36

This is great British telly.

0:30:360:30:38

I suppose he's not obsequious enough for you.

0:30:380:30:42

Bloody man thinks he owns the place.

0:30:420:30:44

-How old was you when you was watching this?

-I don't even know.

0:30:440:30:47

-What year was this made?

-This is 1985.

-1985.

0:30:470:30:52

So I would've been nine years old. Nine years old. Do you know what?

0:30:520:30:57

I tell you why I loved Blott On The Landscape.

0:30:570:31:00

It was because it was a bit rude.

0:31:000:31:03

This fodder is supposed to make me randy.

0:31:030:31:05

It was a bit naughty, the humour was a bit saucy, the language was

0:31:050:31:10

a bit saucy, there was a tiny little bit of nudity in there and...

0:31:100:31:15

as you know, there's a side of my personality which is quite naughty.

0:31:150:31:19

No! I don't think we've seen that today.

0:31:190:31:21

I like being really cheeky

0:31:210:31:23

and this is where probably my humour started to develop.

0:31:230:31:27

Pushing people a little bit further than they've been before to laugh.

0:31:270:31:30

You mention nudity. Did you question your sexuality

0:31:300:31:34

-when you watched something like that at that tender age?

-Yes, absolutely.

0:31:340:31:38

I was about nine years old

0:31:380:31:40

and I think I was coming of age, physically as well, and it wasn't

0:31:400:31:44

until this age that I started... I knew that I was attracted to guys.

0:31:440:31:50

It's very weird because the feeling was there way before words were.

0:31:500:31:54

-Really?

-I could never have articulated that. I just knew

0:31:540:31:57

it was there and it was programmes like Blott On The Landscape -

0:31:570:32:00

and Tom Sharpe is a very provocative novelist -

0:32:000:32:03

that allowed me to come out. It was a huge part of my coming out.

0:32:030:32:07

And how difficult was it for you to tell your parents?

0:32:070:32:11

It was quite tough. I told my parents much later, so I was 22 years old.

0:32:110:32:15

One Sunday, my brother and sister came to visit me in London,

0:32:150:32:18

and my sister left and as she left, she said, "Oh, your problem is

0:32:180:32:21

"you're always so moody.

0:32:210:32:22

"It's because you've not told Mum and Dad you're gay."

0:32:220:32:25

And they went and then about an hour later, the telephone rings,

0:32:250:32:28

or an hour and a half later, the telephone rings and my mum

0:32:280:32:31

is on the telephone and she says, "Oh, the kids are back."

0:32:310:32:33

And I said, "Yeah." She said, "I know."

0:32:330:32:37

I said, "You know what?"

0:32:370:32:39

She said, "I know you're gay."

0:32:390:32:41

And as a result, I didn't go home for months and months and months.

0:32:410:32:43

Surely that should've been a relief?

0:32:430:32:45

No, I was terrified and I didn't want my dad to know.

0:32:450:32:48

My mum knew, I didn't want my dad to know.

0:32:480:32:50

Eventually, my mum told me that she'd told my dad and I was seeing

0:32:500:32:53

a guy at the time and so I knew exactly what I was doing.

0:32:530:32:56

I'd created this device in my head and I said to this guy that

0:32:560:32:59

I was seeing, "Right, we're going to go back and meet my parents."

0:32:590:33:02

Went home, drove up, went into the restaurant, went up the stairs,

0:33:020:33:05

went through the door, took a right into the kitchen and like I thought,

0:33:050:33:09

my entire family was sat around the table eating and they all

0:33:090:33:13

spun around and then there was silence,

0:33:130:33:15

because I was standing there with this guy.

0:33:150:33:18

And they kind of looked away

0:33:180:33:19

and Mum said, "Get a bowl, sit down,"

0:33:190:33:22

so we sat down and we ate in silence for the first meal of my entire life,

0:33:220:33:25

and then halfway through the meal, my dad leaves

0:33:250:33:28

and goes into the sitting room and my father never does that.

0:33:280:33:31

The head of the table never leaves halfway through a meal,

0:33:310:33:34

he's always the last person eating, and he'd left, so we knew

0:33:340:33:37

there was something devastating, it was awful, it was terrible.

0:33:370:33:40

And at the end of the meal, I walked out and I walked through the hallway,

0:33:400:33:43

got to the living room door and I could hear my dad in there,

0:33:430:33:46

and it was a rustling sound of things being moved around,

0:33:460:33:49

and I opened the door and I looked through,

0:33:490:33:50

and my dad had taken all of the cushions off of the sofas and chairs

0:33:500:33:54

and laid them out and lit a fire, and it was his way of saying,

0:33:540:33:57

-"It's fine. You can sleep here with your boyfriend."

-Aww! Ain't that lovely?

0:33:570:34:00

-Ain't that a wonderful story?

-Aww!

0:34:000:34:03

Was there much on TV for young gay men at that time?

0:34:030:34:08

Well, there was kind of... Well, not really.

0:34:080:34:11

There was Eurotrash when I was growing up,

0:34:110:34:15

with Jean Paul Gaultier and Antoine, so there was

0:34:150:34:18

like those kinds of programmes, but not until Channel 4

0:34:180:34:21

came around that there was a big gay presence on television.

0:34:210:34:25

Did you have TV crushes?

0:34:250:34:27

Oh, my God. Yeah, Mark Lamarr. Oh, my!

0:34:270:34:32

It's probably why I've still got the quiff. I really, really fancied Mark.

0:34:320:34:37

-I still really fancy Mark Lamarr.

-Have you met him?

0:34:370:34:39

-Have you been in his presence?

-I've never met Mark Lamarr.

0:34:390:34:43

I've never ever met him, but, yeah, he was my big TV crush. Yeah.

0:34:430:34:47

Gok may have fancied Mark Lamarr of Shooting Stars fame, but he

0:34:490:34:53

doesn't come close to being one of the most fancied men on British TV.

0:34:530:34:58

Here is my titillating top five.

0:34:580:35:01

At five, Aidan Turner's Ross Poldark

0:35:030:35:06

kept an average of

0:35:060:35:09

eight million viewers very happy.

0:35:090:35:11

At four, he's out-sexed by a man

0:35:110:35:13

in a funny hat as Benedict Cumberbatch

0:35:130:35:17

draws 9.2 million

0:35:170:35:18

drooling Cumber fans.

0:35:180:35:20

At three, wet-shirted colossus Colin Firth kept ten million

0:35:230:35:28

hearts fluttering though the '90s

0:35:280:35:30

in Pride And Prejudice.

0:35:300:35:31

At two, the devastating double act of Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews

0:35:350:35:40

broke 11 million hearts

0:35:400:35:42

with Brideshead Revisited in the '80s.

0:35:420:35:45

But beating them all to number one, it's the original

0:35:480:35:53

and hottest Poldark Robin Ellis,

0:35:530:35:55

who made 15 million viewers swoon

0:35:550:35:58

through the '70s.

0:35:580:35:59

This is your Family Favourite now.

0:36:070:36:09

This is something you'd all sit down and have a look at if you could.

0:36:090:36:12

-It is, of course, Going For Gold.

-Going For Gold!

0:36:120:36:17

# Going, going for gold! #

0:36:170:36:20

Hosted by the legendary Henry Kelly.

0:36:200:36:24

Henry Kelly, who is now my neighbour.

0:36:240:36:26

Welcome again to Going For Gold.

0:36:260:36:28

Oh, look at him. You know what, he's not changed really.

0:36:280:36:31

-So, you would play this as a family?

-We'd kind of play this as a family.

0:36:310:36:35

Look at those stars. Look at Wales! Oh, Finland!

0:36:350:36:38

"Look, it's me. I'm from Finland."

0:36:380:36:40

-This was a great game show, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

0:36:400:36:42

Ready?

0:36:420:36:44

You could say Going For Gold

0:36:440:36:45

was the most unequalled quiz show ever created.

0:36:450:36:48

The contestants were from all over Europe,

0:36:480:36:50

but it was all in English and surprise, surprise,

0:36:500:36:52

England won the most times.

0:36:520:36:55

So, we're going to play.

0:36:550:36:57

First one to get three questions right wins a biscuit. Here we go.

0:36:570:37:00

What am I?

0:37:000:37:01

I am a European city famous as the birthplace of the Renaissance...

0:37:010:37:04

-France.

-..some of the greatest...

-BUZZER

0:37:040:37:06

-Norway.

-Florence.

-Is the correct answer.

0:37:060:37:09

-Florence.

-Shut up! I got it wrong.

0:37:090:37:12

Hands on the buzzers. Who am I? My name is the title of an opera.

0:37:120:37:14

The action is set in Spain, where I work in a factory...

0:37:140:37:17

BUZZER Carmen.

0:37:170:37:18

-Finland.

-Carmen.

0:37:180:37:20

-Carmen is correct.

-Yes! Got it.

0:37:200:37:23

-I'm so competitive, I can't bear it.

-Calm down.

0:37:230:37:25

-We're only having a laugh.

-GOK LAUGHS

0:37:250:37:27

What am I? I am a book that was made into a Broadway musical

0:37:310:37:33

and then into a film...

0:37:330:37:34

42nd Street.

0:37:340:37:36

..my story is about a French planter played in the film...

0:37:360:37:38

-BUZZER

-Wales.

0:37:380:37:41

-South Pacific.

-Is correct.

0:37:410:37:42

I didn't know it was Rogers and Hammerstein, did you?

0:37:420:37:45

-Judy knew it.

-Judy knew it. From Wales.

-We're really bad at this!

0:37:450:37:50

-You got one right.

-I got one right.

0:37:500:37:52

-Do I get a biscuit?

-You get a biscuit.

0:37:520:37:54

-I wish they were spring rolls.

-Sorry.

0:37:540:37:56

Chocolate or a digestive?

0:37:560:37:58

That is the worst gift I've ever been given in my entire life!

0:37:580:38:03

Gok, your big break had to be How To Look Good Naked.

0:38:090:38:13

-Would you say that or am I wrong?

-Yeah. Kind of.

0:38:130:38:16

It's weird, because I kind of had two jobs doing the same job.

0:38:160:38:20

-So you started as a pop star stylist?

-I did, yeah.

0:38:200:38:24

I originally was a make-up artist

0:38:240:38:26

and then discovered a rail of clothes on a shoot one day

0:38:260:38:29

and suddenly thought, "Oh, my God. This is incredible."

0:38:290:38:31

It was like I'd found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

0:38:310:38:34

and I looked through this rail,

0:38:340:38:35

I remember pulling out all these pieces for a photo shoot

0:38:350:38:38

for a supplement, a Sunday supplement, I was on assisting.

0:38:380:38:42

I remember seeing all the clothes and it was, every single piece that

0:38:420:38:45

I pulled out, I just, in a weird way, just understood the clothing.

0:38:450:38:49

I knew what it was about and why it was there

0:38:490:38:52

and what it was going to do and how it should be shot,

0:38:520:38:54

and that was my first entrance as a fashion stylist.

0:38:540:38:58

Working as a fashion stylist and working on music videos,

0:38:580:39:01

commercials, editorial, doesn't matter,

0:39:010:39:04

and then, all of a sudden,

0:39:040:39:06

television came around and I had put the performance side of my life

0:39:060:39:10

to rest and I kind of figured I would never do it,

0:39:100:39:15

and I made a programme for MTV called MTV Shakedown with a guy

0:39:150:39:20

called Wade Robson, who is,

0:39:200:39:21

who was Michael Jackson's choreographer. It was a dance show

0:39:210:39:24

and I was the on-screen stylist, and there was a camera following me

0:39:240:39:27

around and I loved being on camera.

0:39:270:39:29

My show reel had ended up on daytime at Channel 4

0:39:290:39:34

-and that's where Naked came from.

-Shall we have a little look?

0:39:340:39:37

Oh, my God. This is the hardest thing, for me to watch myself now.

0:39:370:39:40

Because of this area that we know that you're not happy with,

0:39:400:39:43

we want that to carry on down and

0:39:430:39:45

almost skim where your leg might be.

0:39:450:39:47

-That was ten, over ten years ago.

-Really?

0:39:470:39:50

What these trousers do is they have this great waistband here.

0:39:500:39:53

-You see how it stops just where your waist needs to be?

-Yeah.

0:39:530:39:56

-Tell me what you see?

-It comes in here.

0:39:560:39:59

Naked brought Gok's personal philosophy about loving ourselves

0:39:590:40:03

-into our living rooms in 2006.

-I mean, you look gorgeous.

0:40:030:40:07

Our cameraman is shaking right now. That's how gorgeous you look.

0:40:070:40:10

-I think it's making me look a lot thinner. Definitely.

-Hoorah!

0:40:100:40:14

-How do you feel when you watch yourself?

-I am so critical.

0:40:140:40:17

I'm finding it really, really difficult. That was ten years ago.

0:40:170:40:21

I'm so critical. I mean, it's amazing.

0:40:210:40:23

How To Look Good Naked was an incredible show.

0:40:230:40:27

It showed in so many countries around the world and was brilliant,

0:40:270:40:31

but, do you know what? It was never about my performance, I don't think.

0:40:310:40:34

I think I just did my job on TV.

0:40:340:40:36

It was the generosity of those amazing women

0:40:360:40:38

that gave their stories.

0:40:380:40:40

-How many episodes did you do?

-I think we made about 78 of them.

0:40:400:40:43

Tell me what do you think, all right?

0:40:430:40:46

Unlike similar lifestyle shows, Gok never

0:40:460:40:49

encouraged his girlfriends to have cosmetic surgery or even diet.

0:40:490:40:53

When you get so close to a woman and she's letting you in,

0:40:540:40:57

there's a respect that I've got to give her.

0:40:570:41:00

-Projected onto a building, bangers out for everyone to see.

-No!

0:41:000:41:04

But they were incredible, incredible women.

0:41:040:41:07

They were so generous with their stories because without them,

0:41:070:41:10

we didn't have a show to make really.

0:41:100:41:12

It wasn't about that top with the gorgeous chevrons. It wasn't about the jeans with

0:41:120:41:16

the panelling, it wasn't anything about that.

0:41:160:41:18

You'll forget those jeans and that top, but you'll never forget her.

0:41:180:41:21

How To Look Good Naked, we didn't think it was going to be like this

0:41:210:41:24

at all when we started filming it.

0:41:240:41:25

We didn't know the bond I was going to have with the women at all.

0:41:250:41:29

It was something that came much further on, and then at the end,

0:41:290:41:32

we were still filming, we'd run over the filming schedule

0:41:320:41:35

of the first series and we were filming on a boat on the Thames,

0:41:350:41:39

and it was the night that the first show went out and my director

0:41:390:41:43

said to me, "Your life is about to change for ever, Gok."

0:41:430:41:46

And I said, "Don't be silly. Don't be silly."

0:41:460:41:49

She said, "No, it will.

0:41:490:41:50

"Overnight, your life is about to change forever."

0:41:500:41:52

And she was absolutely right. 100%.

0:41:520:41:56

I want to ask you, what do you enjoy watching now?

0:41:560:41:59

-What do I enjoy watching now?

-Are you a box set man?

-Kind of. Yes.

0:41:590:42:04

The last box set I watched was Silk,

0:42:040:42:07

which was a great series.

0:42:070:42:10

I loved it, I got really into it.

0:42:100:42:11

It's all about lawyers and barristers. My sister's a lawyer.

0:42:110:42:14

There's a connection there again somewhere. I love Sex And The City.

0:42:140:42:17

I can watch those over and over and over again. I love Frasier.

0:42:170:42:21

It really makes me laugh, absolutely brilliant television.

0:42:210:42:25

And, you know what, I'm a bit of a sucker for The X Factor.

0:42:250:42:28

I have to say, I do love The X Factor.

0:42:280:42:31

And Britain's Got Talent as well, I really like. So, varied now.

0:42:310:42:34

When I'm not working, that is.

0:42:340:42:36

-I ask my guests to pick a theme tune for us to go out on.

-Yep.

0:42:360:42:40

-Is there one that springs to mind?

-It's got to be Monkey Magic.

0:42:400:42:44

It has got to be that,

0:42:440:42:46

because that is just everything about what I think TV should be -

0:42:460:42:49

-total escapism.

-Well, from the bottom of my heart,

0:42:490:42:52

I want to thank you for coming on the show.

0:42:520:42:54

Ladies and gentlemen - Gok Wan.

0:42:540:42:55

And thank you for watching TV That Made Me.

0:42:550:42:57

We'll see you next time. Give them a wave.

0:42:570:42:59

# Born from an egg on a mountain top

0:42:590:43:02

# The funkiest monkey that ever popped

0:43:020:43:07

# He knew every magic trick under the sun

0:43:070:43:11

# To tease the Gods And everyone and have some fun

0:43:110:43:16

# Monkey magic

0:43:160:43:18

# Monkey magic. #

0:43:210:43:23

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