Rebecca Adlington The TV That Made Me

Telly, that magic box in the corner.

It gives us access to a million different worlds,

all from the comfort of our sofa.

In this series, I'm going to journey through

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

They have chosen the precious TV moments that shed light...

I loved this.

-BOTH:

-Crackerjack!

..on the stories of their lives.

Listen, this looks smashing.

-BOTH:

-# Right on time... #

Some are funny...

THEY LAUGH

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

-Some...

-Just like that.

..are surprising.

It's a secret I've never told anyone before.

Some are inspiring...

I wanted to be a Miss something.

The best TV transports you.

-And many...

-Did George Orwell get his predictions right?

It's all so dramatic.

-..are deeply moving.

-Oh!

'The death of John F Kennedy...'

It just takes me back.

-It makes me want to cry.

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

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

that helped turn our much-loved stars

into the people they are today.

Welcome to The TV That Made Me.

My guest today is an international sports champion

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

She even managed to withstand the horrors of the

I'm A Celebrity jungle.

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

Rebecca Adlington, and the TV that made her includes

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

And Carmelo from Manchester.

The village with some truly appalling violent crime statistics.

And the hotel owner who could run a masterclass in sarcasm.

You CAN see the sea. It's over there between the land and the sky.

The one and only Rebecca Adlington is here with a pillow.

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

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

-Yeah. I love TV.

-Yeah?

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

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

So, I'm such a TV girl.

Today is a celebration.

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

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

into the person you are today.

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

In 1989, Rebecca Adlington entered the world.

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

And just three years later, her parents enrolled her for

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

a staggering 17 international medals - including seven golds -

making her one of our most successful athletes,

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

dad, and two older sisters.

It must absolutely engulf your world, your life.

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

was getting up at 4.30 in the morning with me.

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

She'd then take me straight to school.

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

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

And it was a whole family effort,

it was something that we just joined together

and really worked as a team,

just enabled me to live out my dream.

It was incredible.

Your mum sacrificed...your mum and dad's sacrifices, you know...

-Yeah.

-..helped you to win, you know...

-You can't do it without family support.

-Yeah.

You definitely, definitely can't.

I'm so lucky to have such a brilliant family that helped me

through everything.

Even as I got a bit older and I kind of moved to Nottingham to swim,

I kind of lived opposite my sister. Like in flats, like in Friends,

where they live opposite. And we just absolutely loved it.

But she just used to make me lasagne,

so it was tea on the table when I got home.

Yeah, we're a very close family and always looked out for each other.

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

I think cos I've got two older sisters,

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

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

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

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

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

Me and my sisters used to love programmes kind of like

Art Attack and things like that.

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

whereas I was just sat there going,

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

and things like that, I absolutely loved.

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

Now, to make a funky frame,

you need a large round tray or plate

and just place part of it...

Is this something you would have made?

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

Now, to make it even more funky,

you need to glam it up in

a really garish, groovy way. So...

While Art Attack was hardly big budget telly,

the ideas were genius

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

Couple of wobbly lines down there like that.

Well, almost any child.

-I'm not creative or arty at all.

-Really?

I still draw stick people, even now.

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

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

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

-you just, you have to go with it.

-You're young. Yeah.

-You just get told what to do.

-They're much older than you,

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

-Yeah.

Paint it using real crazy colours.

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

And, of course, for the sake of entertainment,

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

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

-Did they ever do that?

-Oh, yeah, of course.

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

-Yeah.

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

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

-Oh, see, here you go.

-There you go.

-BOTH:

-One I made earlier.

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

-but let's not go there.

-SHE LAUGHS

On she goes.

My pin-up, don't tell anyone.

And there you have a fantastic funky frame.

Would your frame turn out like that?

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

-I loved it, though.

-Yeah? You loved it?

Good, I'm glad you loved it cos I've got some modelling clay.

Just to make you feel at home.

There we are. Got various different colours there.

Colours of the rainbow for you there.

I think what we'd like you to do is possibly...

You make an animal. And I will make an animal.

-Can we not just say that's a snake?

-No, you can't.

That's cheating. And if it was,

it would have to be that, surely, green.

-You know?

-Oh, yeah, true. True. And just give it a few waves.

-There you go.

-Yeah.

-A snake.

Isn't that lovely, ladies and gentlemen?

This is Rebecca's attempt at making something beautiful

out of modelling clay.

-A snake.

-It looks like a snake.

-A snake that, I don't know, yeah.

No, it doesn't. Right, come on then, what are we going to make?

I want to make a frog.

-All right, you make a frog.

-Just a frog's head.

Da-da-da. We've got a bit of music there.

-I'm actually quite enjoying this.

-Very therapeutic.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That's really good!

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

So we're going for a frog here.

I was kind of just... SHE LAUGHS

Rubbish! We've just... No, no, no. Actually, no, there is...

-It looks like a cat.

-I think we can live with that.

Can't we? Here we go. There you go. This is our Art Attack moment.

-I meant to do a frog.

-Brian the snail. And this is...

-It was meant to be a frog.

-Cat-frog.

But we're happy with the cat-frog from Rebecca.

Your sisters, who are older than you,

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

-No.

-HE GASPS No.

-Did it upset you?

-Yeah.

-Does it still upset you?

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

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

Yeah, yeah, all the time.

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

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

things like Gladiators or a few of them shows.

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

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

"Rebecca, it's your bedtime now."

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

And just was dying to stay up and watch it.

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

bed, some of the most popular Saturday night shows included

a reboot of The Generation Game, allowing Bruce Forsyth and

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

In Big Break, hosted by comedian Jim Davidson,

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

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

the one and only, Mr Blobby.

But there was one show

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

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

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

-Oh!

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

Go on, Cilla!

-MIMICS CILLA:

-Yes! Yes, indeed.

Look at the shoulder pads!

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

-Look at that.

-Yeah, she does.

We have Jason from London,

Matt from Wiltshire,

and Carmelo from Manchester.

Like its host, Blind Date is legendary.

It ran for 18 years

and attracted audiences of up to 17 million.

-Did you ever want to be on the show?

-No. God, no.

-Really?

-No, I'd hate it.

-Really, why?

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

if you were the one picking the guys or

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

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

-Hi, Emma.

-Hello.

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

I can stay up all night

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

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

So, would you play this at home?

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

-Yeah.

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

or "I would have picked this person."

You can see her knickers through that.

-I know!

-Not quite sure what she's wearing there.

This is the reaction, this is the pay off.

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

away on your blind date with Carmelo from Manchester.

Come in, Carmelo.

CHEERING

So, Rebecca, if I was on Blind Date,

what sort of questions would you ask me?

-I'd have three, yeah?

-Yeah. Anything.

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

My perfect weekend would be with you.

-LAUGHING

-Because...

-Oh, cheese!

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

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

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

-Involve food and you've got me.

-Oh, right. Yeah.

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

-I like that. Northern girl.

-OK. Next one.

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

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

LAUGHING: Why?

Because I would put it there...

THEY BOTH LAUGH

I'm not going any further.

Time out. Have you got another one?

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

-No.

THEY BOTH LAUGH

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

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

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

No, I don't think you would.

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

-You would get...

-You had me with the weekend.

-Yeah, yeah.

-But, no.

While not everyone found love on Blind Date,

a few of the contestants did go on to find fame.

Amanda Holden, now better known for Britain's Got Talent.

Comedian Ed Byrne.

Actor and presenter Ortis Deley.

And even former National Lottery presenter Jenni Falconer.

Rebecca, tell us about your house, your living room.

You know, the telly.

The TV was one of those huge TVs. It was just absolutely massive.

Not a flatscreen, plasma, whatever you call it, none of that.

And it was just... Yeah, it was our family room.

And, as a family, when you all came together, what would you watch?

Things like Fawlty Towers were huge in our house.

We all used to love that. Cos we like comedies and light-hearted stuff.

Fawlty Towers, my mum and dad were massive John Cleese fans anyway.

And it was just something that all three of us ended up loving.

We ended up quoting, going round the house saying things,

and just, yeah, it's something that we all just enjoyed together.

So you're happy to see a little bit of Fawlty Towers?

-Definitely. I love Fawlty Towers.

-Here we go.

You call that a bath? It's not big enough to drown a mouse.

It's disgraceful.

I wish you were a mouse...

-This one's my favourite episode.

-Really?

My favourite.

Mrs Richards.

Deaf, mad and blind.

This is the view as far as I can remember, madam.

Even though only 12 episodes were ever made,

Fawlty Towers was voted Britain's greatest TV

show of the 20th century.

An accolade it earns with just about every line.

May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel

bedroom window?

Sydney Opera House perhaps?

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

-Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically...

-Don't be silly.

I expect to be able to see the sea.

"There it is. Between the land and the sky."

See, you can quote it.

I love it.

You can see the sea. It's over there between the land and the sky.

I'd need a telescope to see that.

Well, may I suggest that you consider moving to a hotel

closer to the sea.

Or preferably in it.

-He's just genius, isn't he?

-Oh.

So this was your favourite or the whole family would absolutely...?

Whole family loved it. We've got it on DVD.

-We still watch it now if it's on TV. Cos they still run it now.

-Yeah.

But it's something that is just... The comedy in it never gets old.

The character of Basil Fawlty is based on a real hotel owner

also from Torquay,

who John Cleese described as a "wonderfully rude man"

before turning him into television history.

So if I put you to the test now,

do you think you could possibly come up with a few catchphrases?

I think I'd be all right, yeah.

You sound very confident.

I'm not good at names, but everything else I'm all right at.

I'm going to grill you on your knowledge of Fawlty Towers.

-OK.

-Here goes. Complete this line from Basil.

"I'm so sorry, he's from..."

Barcelona.

Could you do it as Basil Fawlty?

"I'm so sorry, he's from..."

MIMIC SPANISH ACCENT: Barcelona.

That's all right. Barthelona.

What were the names of the two little old ladies who were

always staying in the hotel?

It's a bit harder. Names are hard.

Eh?

-Gatsby?

-Absolutely, Miss Gatsby. And Miss...?

-Tibbs?

-Yes.

Ursula and Agatha I would have given you.

I wouldn't have known that.

This one is in the clip, so it's doubly easy.

Complete the line

"May I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel window?

"Sydney Opera House perhaps? The..."

Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

-Of course.

-We just saw that one.

-I know. Dead easy.

-I knew that one anyway.

Name the regular chef who appeared... This is hard.

Name the regular chef who appeared in the second series only.

-I know this.

-Go on.

-Terry.

-You are good.

-I know this.

I know the chef, yeah.

I know the main characters.

Which horse... You won't get this. You can't get it.

Which horse did Basil Fawlty win £75 on? And he'd done a little...

He sort of went like this.

He'd done a funny little thing.

Dragonfly. That one's easy.

That was one of the main episodes.

-That one was brilliant.

-Rebecca Adlington,

this could be your specialist subject on Mastermind.

I think it probably would cos it's not got that many episodes.

So you could full-on study it. Yeah.

Today, this multi-award winning show is regarded as a TV classic.

But it received terrible reviews after its first screening in 1975,

with the Daily Mirror running the headline "Long John Short On Jokes".

Though clearly Mr Cleese had the last laugh.

I'm going to move on now to parents' choice.

-OK.

-I'm not going to say anything, but have a look at this.

-OK.

Hello and welcome to a new series of A Question Of Sport.

Gosh, look at Sue!

With our two captains, John Parrot and Ally McCoist.

Gosh, Ally McCoist.

John is hoping to avenge his defeat of last series,

and has with him the Middlesex and England spinner Phil Tufnell.

Look at Phil!

-My God, look at Phil Tufnell.

-He loves his shirts, doesn't he?

-Yeah.

-His crazy shirts.

-Nice bit of lime green there.

He wouldn't get run over.

The golfer was Ernie Els.

Having been on air for 44 series,

A Question Of Sport is one of the worlds longest-running quiz shows

and boasts more than 1,000 episodes.

-Denise, Ally and Alison, are you ready?

-Yep.

-Cricket, the current Sunday League champions are?

-Essex.

-No.

-Carry on.

Which athlete set a new Commonwealth record at this year's

Grand Prix final?

-Ashley Hansen.

-Yes. Who is this?

This was my dad's choice. This was the thing that he had to have on.

It was like his sport element, but we were able to watch it

because it was the entertainment value.

It wasn't like it was just a football match or something

we were not interested in.

The whole family loved it and it was just great that you

could...just the picture around, guessing thing.

I used to go mental if a swimmer was on.

It would just make my life if a swimmer was on

because swimming wasn't a huge sport growing up.

It wasn't on TV all the time.

So whenever Mark Foster or Sharron Davies was on there,

we would be glued to it.

We just had to watch it. Or there was a swimming question.

We'd all try and beat each other to the answer cos that was

the one thing that we all knew about.

I think because I had watched it when they first asked me

to do it after Beijing, I was like, "Yes!" I jumped at it straightaway.

I was like, "I'm probably going to be rubbish."

And I've been on it about five or six times.

It wasn't until the last time that I actually won.

-Oh, right.

-I've lost every single time.

I was like, I'm jinxed with this programme.

Then finally I won the last one. I came home and I was like,

"We won! We won!"

I was so excited that I had actually won something.

I was just like, "Sorry." Normally, I'm letting the team down.

But I just love the show. It's such a laugh.

-They share their names with food.

-Apple. Banana. Orange.

Cherry.

Gee whiz!

-Banana.

-Pineapple.

-Pear.

Do you get nervous when you are on a show like that?

-Yeah.

-Really?

I think it's worse with quiz shows because you are just

so scared that you are going to get every single question wrong.

-And look stupid.

-Exactly. So it's worse.

When you just go on shows and you are chatting about you

and your life and swimming, it's fine.

But there is a certain element of pressure when you go on a quiz

show that you are just like, "What if I get everything wrong?"

A couple of times, I have got my swimming question

wrong on A Question Of Sport. And it's been like, "Oh, no!"

I've never lived it down. But then the other times you are just

so proud of yourself for getting it that you just feel like you

have achieved that day because you've got it right.

You feel like you are at school and you've got to get the top

mark in the class by going on A Question Of Sport.

Since its debut in 1970, the show has only had three presenters.

Sports personality David Vine.

The legendary David Coleman.

And tennis champion Sue Barker.

But, as for team captains, well, there have been 14 of them.

And here's some of the longest serving.

Starting with cricketer Ian Botham, who boasts a seven-year stint.

A record fellow cricketer Phil Tufnell has now matched.

Then there is Scottish footballer Ally McCoist

and rugby union man Matt Dawson,

Who both racked up 11 years.

Though that's nothing compared to former rugby skipper Bill Beaumont,

who holds the record with an impressive 14 years.

When you are on this show, what is your most favourite round?

I like the picture round. I love that one.

Just cos I'm awful with names so I just kind of go,

"That person from blah-blah..."

Then Phil or Matt end up helping you out and get it.

We've got our very own picture round here on The TV That Made Me.

OK.

Let's see if you can recognise from this selection of stars who

-have appeared on the show. Here is the first one.

-OK.

Shall I give you his first name?

Martin.

O...

-Offiah.

-Offiah. Don't give me that face. It is correct.

-That's only because he was on Strictly.

-Yeah, that's correct.

We were looking for the woman.

No, I'm joking. It was. There he is, there is Martin.

-The next one now. And this is a person...

-I know this one!

-Go on.

-Sarah Storey.

-Absolutely spot-on. I think that was quite easy, that one.

And finally, your last one. This gentleman has done 11 episodes.

Oh.

-That's hard.

-Shall I give you a clue?

Is his name Brian? Brian?

He's not Brian Conley, that's for sure. Look, look.

It begins with a B though, doesn't it?

-Does it?

-What do you think I'm doing? Swimming?

-Boxing.

-Yeah, we know he is a boxer.

-Yeah, but that his name begin with...?

-Barry.

-Barry.

-Barry.

-Ah!

-Yeah, yeah.

-Barry who?

-He looks really young!

Barry who? Don't cover this up. Barry who?

-No idea.

-It's Barry McGuigan.

-Yes. I'm awful with names.

-Are you?

Yeah, sorry, Barry.

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

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

I just think it's genius.

In 2007, this commercial premiered during the Big Brother

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

For a start, viewers felt compelled to watch it.

-Amazing.

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

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

The novel idea of a gorilla playing the drums teamed with

a perfect choice of music absolutely fascinated the public,

making it one of the first ads to go viral.

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

# I can feel it coming in... #

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

It's just everything, isn't it?

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

for starters, it's just the music,

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

-I know.

-Just the whole thing.

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

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

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

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

# ..all my life... #

The incredibly realistic costume took three months to make

and the convincing performance is courtesy of an actor who

previously worked on Planet Of The Apes.

His performance and the high production values made this

campaign a huge success, boosting sales

and improving public perception of the company itself.

But what really makes this ad

so effective is the almost unbearable build up.

HE MIMICS DRUMMING

# Oh, Lord

# And I can feel it coming in the air tonight

# Oh, Lord... #

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

-but go...

-HE MIMICS DRUMMING

-I think as well...

-Or is that just me?

-No.

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

it's something that everyone spoke about

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

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

and that was what was so great about that

is that you instantly think of Cadbury's chocolate.

-Yeah.

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

-Yeah.

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

-Oh, yeah.

-So clever but it was just, yeah.

-And simple.

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

-It is.

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

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

-Simple but effective.

-Mmm.

-Very, very effective.

Rebecca, your next choice is TV fear.

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

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

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

-OK. Thank you.

-Do you know what I'm on about?

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

-Midsomer Murders.

-Yeah.

-It used to terrify...

-Why?

-..the life out of me.

-Why?

I just don't like anything like horror.

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

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

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

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

my parents were constantly telling me to go to bed.

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

from somebody hiding in their bedroom.

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

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

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

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

and sleep with your mum and dad?

-Well, I shared a room with my sisters.

-Oh, right.

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

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

walk me to bed and walk upstairs with me.

And why did I watch that one of all things?

-Well, you can hide behind your pillow.

-OK. Thank you.

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

But here we have a little moment. OK. Brace yourself.

Midsomer Murders.

OWL HOOTS

REBECCA LAUGHS

See, even that's a bit creepy.

HE CACKLES

SHE LAUGHS

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

this fictional county is a precarious place for its residents.

Why is everywhere dark? You'd have streetlights.

Well, to add to the suspense.

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

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

-Exactly.

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

they're always wandering into woods on their own.

-Get a group of people.

-Yeah.

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

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

SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC

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

-I know.

Oh! Oh!

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

every night for like a year now.

-I still can't watch it.

-Oh, really?

-I still can't watch it.

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

So, you're telling me, Rebecca Adlington,

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

No. Terrifies the life out of me.

Anything like that I just stay away from.

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

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

-Don't go there.

-No?

Don't go there.

LAUGHING: I do. But, yeah.

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

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

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

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

smothered in expensive truffle oil and left to be eaten

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

-What have we got here?

-Dead for five or six hours.

Cause of death - head separated from the body.

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

That's enough from you.

Head separated from the body?

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

-No.

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

there were so many murders?

Yeah. Move.

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

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

"Really?" It is a bit unrealistic

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

So, a realistic crime show it's not

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

on the rules of the great British murder mystery.

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

It's going to make me go into labour.

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

At the risk of giving Rebecca another sleepless night,

here is just a handful of the many famous faces who've

appeared in Midsomer Murders over the last 18 years.

Kicking off with Orlando Bloom, who came a cropper with

the business end of the pitch fork in the story Judgment Day.

Meanwhile, Lord Grantham - AKA Hugh Bonneville -

managed to survive his stint in Bring Out Your Dead.

But his bell-ringing friends weren't quite so lucky.

And even Superman had to start somewhere,

though in the Green Man, Henry Cavill finds out that he

can't actually go faster than a speeding bullet.

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

You shouldn't like it,

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

-This, for you, is Ready Steady Cook.

-Ahh.

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

45 seconds.

For 16 years and more than 1,700 episodes,

Ready Steady Cook challenged two celebrity chefs to whip up

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

30 seconds.

Are you a keen cook then?

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

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

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

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

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

Oh, right.

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

as a chef as my mum, without a doubt -

but I took my medals with me and

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

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

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

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

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

It's my favourite food.

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

Ten.

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

winning streak,

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

-GONG CHIMES

-Stop cooking!

Your parents have to be your nutritionist,

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

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

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

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

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

it would have to be quick.

I was cooking things that you could eat within 20 minutes

cos you were starving after training.

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

And the best thing about Ready Steady Cook,

not only were the contestants well-fed,

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

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

LAUGHTER

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

-This is wonderful. It really is wonderful.

-Yeah? Good.

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

Green peppers or red tomatoes? Please vote now.

Any cookery show just makes you absolutely starving.

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

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

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

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

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

-No.

When did it suddenly dawn on you that you were

good in the swimming pool, exceptionally good?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rebecca's big break came at the age of 19

at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing,

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

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

What does it feel like to win?

I mean, when you do come up at the end

and there is that acknowledgement and you know you've won.

I mean, I always felt that you would often give a nod to your family.

-It's so hard...

-When they are there, when they are watching.

-Yeah.

It's so hard when you are in a massive arena because normally,

in a local or, kind of, national competition, there is

only your mum and dad in the stands. It's not a big sport like football.

So you are only used to seeing them and you're constantly...

Well, I used to look to my family. They were the support.

They were my safety net. I never felt like they added pressure.

It was just nice to hear them shout for me.

But then when you go to the Olympics

and there is 17,000 people in the stands...

And millions of people watching on TV.

Well, you just can't find them.

And it was so special after Beijing

because I don't know how the camera person did it.

They found my mum and dad.

I honestly to this day don't know how they found them.

I couldn't even find them.

I was in the water going, "Where are you?"

Looking up at all these 17,000 people.

Then the camera man found them and showed them on screen.

In 2010, Rebecca went on to win a gold

and a bronze at the European Championships.

Then just a few months later came her next triumph -

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

including two golds, to her collection.

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

'800 metres freestyle, Becky Adlington of England.'

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

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

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

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

cos you're in so much pain.

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

holding on to something cos your legs are burning.

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

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

worth it as well that literally you feel every single emotion.

From happiness to overwhelmed to literally every emotion possible.

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

-Yeah.

-I'll never ever forget that.

It feels like it was yesterday,

that I can remember it that clearly in my head.

Two years on, she competed at the London 2012 Olympics

as one of our most decorated athletes, going into the

competition with a staggering 15 international medals to her name.

This time, she came away with two bronzes,

something she initially felt disappointed with.

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

SHE SIGHS

Cos you didn't get that gold medal that obviously

everyone wants to get.

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

-Oh, yeah.

-That's all you can ask for.

-Yeah, exactly.

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

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

-No.

-And it was just that...

-You don't now, though?

-No, no, no.

-No. Good. Yeah.

But it was, kind of, that initial thing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And I was just like, "OK."

And it was just that moment where you just feel like you've let

people down. Then I saw my family.

They managed to bring my family down.

Again, I was there in bursts of tears.

Going, "I'm so, so sorry. I just didn't do it."

And they were just like, "Behave!" They were like, "That was amazing."

They were so proud and it, kind of, all disappeared

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

And actually, that was the major turning point.

You have not let yourself down.

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

-but you don't feel like that now?

-No, definitely not.

-No.

I look back now and I'm...

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

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

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

Yeah. Oh, without a doubt.

There isn't a stone left unturned,

there isn't that "What if?"

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

-Yeah.

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

So, how can I be disappointed with two bronze medals

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

-And two golds.

-And two, yeah, exactly.

-Don't forget them.

-No, exactly.

So, I gave everything the best shot I could.

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

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

-Do you get nervous for them?

-So nervous.

-Really?

So nervous cos you just, you realise every little step

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

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

I think we've got a moment here.

We've had a few moments in this pool,

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

I'm so pleased for Adam.

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

Rebecca's move into the world of punditry got emotional

when friend Adam Peaty won gold.

I'm just so pleased for him.

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

It's going to make me cry again.

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

-Oh, really?

He comes from a club.

Adam comes from a club, and I love that.

City of Derby, they're absolutely...

They will all be crying and bawling their eyes out.

I know how much this means to the whole club.

And actually a really good reminder that...

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

I think you just realise everything that goes into it,

you realise the dedication,

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

And it's like, nobody knows who you are,

you've just been getting up at 5.00 in the morning every day.

You've just been pushing yourself every single day.

And then you get this one moment, a minute of opportunity

to show what you've got.

And a lot of these guys are very similar to myself.

Adam there, he's just a local boy from Derby.

He just trains in a normal pool.

He's not got this amazing facility that's something special or anything.

He just has heart and passion and dedication for something.

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

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

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

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

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

-and just share what these guys have gone through.

-Yeah.

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

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

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

Rebecca has successfully made the transition from sports

to telly and she is in fine company.

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

in doing the same thing.

Starting with Clare Balding, who before coming

one of our favourite presenters was once an amateur jockey.

Meanwhile swimmer, Sharron Davies, has been

presenting television since the '90s, appearing

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

Then there's Denise Lewis,

who after winning a gold medal in the heptathlon,

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

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

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

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

Rebecca Adlington, what are you watching now?

Loads of different things. I love the new Sherlock.

Absolutely love it.

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

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

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

I love property shows, all that sort of stuff.

Like, your Grand Designs, The Restoration Man,

anything kind of property.

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

and things in the day, so a real mixture.

And then the comedy stuff.

The same as well, like The Big Bang Theory,

stuff that you get boxsets to.

-Have you enjoyed today?

-I've loved it.

-Yeah.

No, it's been really nice remembering stuff,

maybe not the murder - Midsomer Murders.

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

-That's going to terrify me.

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

-I know.

Well, I want to thank you.

So, hopefully we'll forget that one.

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

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

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

any one you wish to play out on.

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

-Fawlty Towers.

-Absolutely love it.

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

-Aw, thank you.

-Good luck with the baby.

-Oh, thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen, my thanks to the lovely Rebecca Adlington

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

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

MUSIC: Fawlty Towers Theme