Paul Martin The TV That Made Me

TV, the magic box of delights.

As kids, it showed us a million different worlds,

all from our living room.

This takes me right back.

That's so embarrassing.

I am genuinely shocked.

Each day, I'm going to journey through the wonderful

world of telly with one of our favourite celebrities...

It's just so silly.

Oh, I love it! Is it Mr Benn?

SHE SINGS

Shut it!

..as they select the iconic TV moments...

Oh, hello!

..that tell us the stories of their lives.

SHE GASPS

Oh, my gosh.

Cheers.

Some will make you laugh...

Argh!

Oh, no!

.. some will surprise...

PUPPET QUACKS

SHE SCREAMS

..many will inspire...

-Ooh!

-Look at this. Why wouldn't you want to watch this?

..and others will move us.

Seeing that there made a huge impact on me.

-You're not having my kids!

-Got a handkerchief?

So come watch with us as we rewind to the classic telly

that shaped those wide-eyed youngsters

into the much-loved stars they are today.

Welcome to The TV That Made Me.

My guest today is one of our best BBC presenters.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Mr Paul Martin.

-Hello.

-How are you, mate?

-Really well, thank you.

-Welcome to my flat.

-Love this. I love it.

Come and sit yourself down.

Paul Martin has been a valuable fixture on our screens

since 2002, popping up at auctions

and fairs across the country on the hit daytime show Flog It.

In 2012, he joined Penelope Keith to restore a country house

in To The Manor Reborn.

The TV that made him includes a Royal wedding...

CROWD CHEERS

What an extraordinary moment for the new Princess of Wales.

..some rag and bone men...

"Fifi Aylor Photography."

..and the show that gave him his big break.

And I think this has to be one of the nicest things I've ever

seen on Flog It.

-What do you think of my flat?

-I think it's great.

-It's well '50s.

-Yeah?

Do you find yourself, wherever you go, just looking at...

Valuing things?

Yeah, like in a hotel going, "Ooh, look at that."

Yeah, exactly.

You never switch off in this business, you never switch off.

I'm constantly collecting and I'm constantly learning.

Well, today is a celebration of things that you might have

-learnt on television.

-OK.

-Yeah.

-You're taking me back to my past.

Yeah, I mean, this is all classic TV that you've chosen over the years.

But first up, we're going to rewind the clock

and have a look at a very young Paul Martin.

Oh, dear.

Paul Martin was born in 1959 and grew up in Surrey.

He studied art and woodwork at college

and later became a professional drummer.

After developing a passion for antiques,

he eventually opened his own dealership.

But it was after a one-off interview with the BBC that he finally

found his true vocation and big break,

when he burst onto our screens to present antiques series Flog It.

So, what about where you grew up, what was that like?

In Surrey, West Molesey, a really nice place.

We had a house, it was a semidetached near the River Thames.

-Right.

-So, had a canoe, which was really good when I was about 11.

-Not many kids had a canoe. Cor, blimey.

-No.

So, we used to take that down and go canoeing with Dad.

I played a lot of snooker with my dad.

-Oh, really?

-He was good at snooker. Yeah, a big snooker fan.

Played it all the time with Dad. We used to watch Pot Black.

-That was in black and white.

-Yeah, yeah.

-So, you didn't know if it was a pink or a yellow.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-"Oh, what's happening now?" No, I loved that.

-So, siblings?

Older sister, well, two years older.

You know, old enough to duff me about, when I was six or seven.

-Really?

-It was a big age gap, isn't it - seven to nine?

-We still fight as well.

-Really?

-We love each other, though, really.

We lived next door to Ray Davies of The Kinks.

So, that was quite funny, growing up next to them.

He was always falling out with his brother, Dave.

My dad had a banger and Dave Davies was a mechanic

-before he was a guitarist. He used to fix my dad's car.

-No, really?

And they were all fighting and they still fight to this day, I believe.

-You know, brothers.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Used to play drums in the Scouts.

-Oh, really?

-Marching drums, yeah.

So, that's why I wanted to be a drummer.

I got in with Nick Avery and The Kinks.

Mum used to look after the studio, when they went away.

Dad had a job offer to move to Cornwall,

when I was about 15 years old. It was a real wrench.

What was your dad's job then?

-He was a senior lecturer at Twickenham College.

-Mm-hm.

And then he got offered a vice principalship

-at Falmouth College.

-Right.

-So, it was a good promotion.

Mum and Dad promised that they'd buy me a drum kit.

That was the carrot to get me to Cornwall.

I said, "I don't want to move! I don't want to move!"

So, that was it, really, from the age of 16,

I wanted to be a professional drummer

and they bought me a drum kit. This premier drum kit.

I had it in my bedroom. I just used to thrash away.

Do you still own a drum kit?

-I do, I'm teaching my son to play the drums.

-Oh, right.

-Yeah.

So, Paul, what was your earliest TV memories, then?

I guess it would have to be something like Captain Pugwash,

those kind of things.

-So, when watching these programmes, did you have any snacks?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

-I'd shout, "Mum! Where's my Nesquik and sausage rolls?"

-Really?

Yeah. And I always sat on the floor, right in front of the telly as well.

She'd bring me a couple of small sausage rolls

-and a strawberry Nesquik.

-Oh.

-Well, just shout that to me now.

-OK, have you got any Nesquik?

-Of course we have. I don't mess about.

-You haven't, have you?

Yeah, I've got it in the kitchen here. Look at that.

Oh! Mum, you've changed. Nesquik, yeah.

APPLAUSE

LAUGHTER

Oh, Mum, thanks.

Thanks, Mum.

-There you go.

-One for you and one for me.

-Very cool.

Thank you very much indeed. Put that out away.

-Look at that.

-Come on, let's have a sip. Let's have a little

-trip down memory lane. Cheers.

-Cheers. Here we go.

-It's the proper stuff as well.

-Mm.

It's putting me back in the spot now, look, in front of the telly.

-I should be on the floor, really.

-Yeah, yeah.

And you mentioned Pugwash. Let's have a little look.

Let's have a look at Captain Pugwash.

-On the high seas.

-This will take you right back.

CAPTAIN PUGWASH THEME TUNE PLAYS

I mean, surely, one of the most recognisable theme tunes.

There he is, Captain Pugwash.

-It's the Black Pig, yeah?

-Yeah.

Back aboard the Black Pig, the pirates have been

straining their eyes on the distant enemy ship...

The series followed the misadventures of Captain Pugwash

and his crew, as they scored victories

over arch-rival Cut-Throat Jake in the pursuit of treasure.

It's going, going, gone.

I mean, look at the work that's gone into those cardboard cut-outs.

There's someone doing that, isn't there?

-Going down and holding the table.

-Yeah.

The animation was achieved using large boards with moving parts,

operated by hand.

Hero's welcome, that's what he deserves.

And that's what he'll get. We'll prepare a regular banquet for him.

Anybody like this?

This was state-of-the-art. I mean, it was state-of-the-art.

All the voices are done by Peter Hawkins, I believe.

-It used to go out live.

-No! Did it really?

-Yeah.

-It did, in the very early episodes, yeah.

-God, I never knew that.

I know.

Here he comes.

Pugwash first debuted in the boys' comic Eagle, in 1950,

before being adapted for TV.

The series, which originally aired between 1957 and 1966, was wrongly

believed to have featured characters with risque maritime names.

Creator John Ryan successfully sued two newspapers

after they published stories claiming that the rumours were true.

What was it about this programme that drew you in?

I think it was because he was a pirate and I wanted to grow up

and be a pirate.

I didn't want to be as big as that, though, but what a character.

Pugwash was both vain and greedy,

but adored by his loyal crew on the good ship Black Pig.

Why, the way you sunk that ship of Jake's, you'd think it'd been

hit by a whale.

What an extraordinary notion, Pirate Barnabas.

Let's talk about something else, shall we?

I mean, how important was the television?

You know, I mean, was it a big thing? Do you remember getting one?

It was. Yeah, I can remember Mum and Dad plonking it right there.

The front room was divided into the dining room

and the sitting room by one of those screens that you have shelves in.

Mum had all the Whitefriars glass. All the coloured glass.

You could look through it. It caught the light

at different times of the day.

And one of those great big long hi-fis. You know, in a cabinet?

-Yeah, yeah.

-With the speakers built in.

-Like a small bungalow.

It was, and the telly was a bit like that, funnily enough.

In a big cabinet.

We sat there, right on the floor, just watching and it was fantastic.

Of course, it was black and white but it didn't really matter.

There was nothing else around, was there? It was all black and white.

Everyone had black-and-white.

When we finally moved to Cornwall, when I was about 12 or 13,

-Dad bought a colour telly.

-Ooh!

-It was fantastic.

But then half the programmes weren't made in colour, still.

-So, it's hilarious you got a colour telly.

-No, they weren't.

Not all the programmes were colour.

Now, we don't normally go for a break this early on,

-but let's have a look at another one of your early TV memories.

-OK.

This nostalgic TV ad offered a simple,

traditional, flat-capped vision of northern England.

-Hovis.

-Yeah.

-It looks absolutely idyllic, doesn't it?

-Oh, it's fantastic.

I used to love that.

Last stop on the round would be Old Ma Peggoty's place.

Twas like taking bread to the top of the world.

-That music.

-That's Dvorak, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

My mum used to love this.

I used to say, "Mum, it's on! Quick! Quick!"

-She'd be in the kitchen.

-When adverts were an event.

-Yeah.

She'd come running in and we'd all go,

"Oh, wow." Cos it was like watching a movie.

-Directed by Ridley Scott.

-Really?

-Yeah.

Twas a grand ride back, though. I knew...

And, do you know, when I was a little bit older,

I think I was about 10, 12, 15, something like that...

I think, when I was a teenager, we found where that was,

-and it wasn't in Yorkshire.

-Was it not?

-No, it was in Dorset.

-Oh, no.

My mum and dad took me out to see that and we walked up

and down that hill.

-So, you paid homage to the big Hovis ad.

-I did.

-That's how much it meant to you.

-Yeah.

-"We have to go there."

"We've got to go there."

I've got these for you.

Do you know what that is?

No, I know what it does, but I don't know what it's called.

-A swanee whistle.

-Oh, right. OK.

I shall introduce the Clangers.

There they are.

That is a Clanger.

That is another Clanger.

And that is another Clanger.

And he's dropped a clanger.

These mouse-like creatures lurked beneath the surface

of a small moon, somewhere in outer space.

Their name comes from the sound the metal lids

made as they retreated underground.

And now they seem to be having a bit of an argument

about their piece of rope.

It's such a simple theme, isn't it?

-It's lovely. It was so popular.

-Bonkers!

Yeah, it was.

And do you know what?

Whenever Mum was cooking supper and we'd all be

in the kitchen or be in the sitting room,

everyone would walk around going, "Woo-woo."

My dad used to mimic this really, really well.

My dad loved it.

While we were having supper, he used to still go, "Woo-doo-oop,"

just to wind my mum up.

'The characters often came across space junk left over by

'early human exploration.

'The series was created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin,

'who also came up with Noggin The Nog and Bagpuss.

'However, the narration in Clangers was all done by Postgate.'

Ah, now, that is Major Clanger with his flying machine.

All set and ready to fly up into the sky.

But, you know, when this first started airing,

-space and exploration was on everyone's lips, you know?

-Yeah.

-It was that era, wasn't it?

-Yeah, it was, yeah.

This actually came out the same year as we landed on the moon.

THE CLANGERS WHISTLE

Yeah, it's great, and it's back on today.

-It's come full circle, like the interior we're sitting in.

-Yeah.

With its whimsical storylines and melodic sounds,

it's easy to see why children were so captivated by the Clangers -

and still are today.

More than 40 years after the original series came to an end,

the Clangers has had a reboot with a new series,

narrated by Michael Palin.

-That was on just before the news, wasn't it?

-Mm-hm. Yeah.

It was, wasn't it?

You got this little five minute...

-Little five-minutes clips you get before the news.

-Yeah.

-Then they'd hit you with something serious.

-Yes! Exactly.

Right, now we're going to level you.

Something serious, yeah. No, that was brilliant.

So, Paul, here now is your First Tears At TV moment.

It's TV but it's also a film, and it was The Railway Children.

Awww!

-I've got here some tissues...

-I might need them.

-..just in case...

-I might need them.

..you get moved. This is it, The Railway Children.

-Morning, Miss.

-Good luck, Miss Roberta.

-Thank you.

'The Railway Children is the story of three siblings

'who move from London to picturesque rural Yorkshire.

'Their lives have been turned upside down after their father is

'wrongly imprisoned for spying.'

..On a day like this.

-Jenny Agutter.

-Oh, English rose.

-Yes, without a doubt.

I've taken too great a liberty, haven't I?

On a day like this, you know?

No, Mr Perks. Of course it's not...

-Who's that?

-Bernard Cribbins.

-Bernard Cribbins, yeah.

Dear Mr Perks, we love you quite as much

-as if you were an uncle of our own.

-Hey!

-On a day like what?!

-Well, like this here!

I told you I'd seen it in the papers, didn't I?

-I told you!

-Saw what in the papers?!

The film offered an idyllic vision

of Edwardian England during the steam age -

a heart-warming story that has made it a timeless TV favourite.

So why did it get you so emotional?

I was in love with her.

-That was my first TV crush.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, it was.

-Not Bernard Cribbins?!

-No!

Oh, I did cry!

-Oh, here we go.

-Oh, they're getting the... Oh-oh!

-We know what's coming. He's going to come through smoke, isn't he?

-Yeah.

-I did cry. I did cry.

-Really?

-Yeah, this did make me cry.

In this emotional scene,

Jenny's character, Bobbie, is finally reunited with her father.

Daddy! My Daddy!

-There you go, Paul.

-Oh, look, welling up.

-Oh, really?!

-Yeah.

AUDIENCE LAUGH

Isn't it amazing how those emotions still come back?

-Go on, have another tissue. We can afford it.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Go on.

-I don't want to ruin the make-up.

-So why does it...

-I guess...

..why does it make you feel like that?

Well, because I'm a dad now. I've got two kids and I think...

I think there's a big part of that...

Just looking at that, you know, I miss my mum and dad.

Oh, don't we all, you know?

But I think your mum's love of antiques...

You know, I mean, you're still carrying on that memory,

-in a way, aren't you?

-Yeah.

Would you say she had a very strong influence on you?

Oh, gosh, yeah, yeah.

Very, very strong, yeah.

-Is it amazing how those memories all come back...

-Yeah.

..you know, just watching a short scene like that?

Yeah. Do you know, I haven't seen that for possibly 30-odd years?

Mm-hm.

And it's still there, isn't it? You can remember it.

-I remember that moment.

-Yeah.

I knew this whole experience would remind me of my mum and dad.

-Yeah, yeah. Well, that's lovely.

-Yeah.

Well, we're going to move on to your next one now.

It had an estimated 750 million people watching it around the world.

Let's have a look at what it was.

This is of course the marriage...

-Diana...

-And Charles.

The bride and groom.

And what an extraordinary moment for the new Princess of Wales to look

out at this sea of human beings.

-This was 1981.

-Wow!

I was in London at the time.

What do you remember about watching it?

-I thought she was incredibly beautiful.

-Yes.

-She was a princess.

-Oh, without a doubt.

-She was a princess, wasn't she?

-Yes.

I can... I just felt so...

I felt so proud to be English, to tell you the truth.

A national holiday was declared to mark the marriage

of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.

600,000 people filled the streets of London to catch

a glimpse of the newlyweds.

The prince probably remembering when he stood here

as a very small boy after his mother's Coronation.

A global TV audience of 750 million people watched,

making it, at the time, the most popular programme ever broadcast.

I'd never seen so many people in one place as well.

We actually tried to get there, and we gave up.

We just gave up.

We thought, "Well, let's just go back home

"and let's try and catch them on TV."

I can remember getting the train back to Teddington

and going to get a drink in a pub, and everyone was celebrating

and it was still on and, you know...

There was bunting everywhere and

there was just such a feel-good factor in the country.

Oh, it was a wonderful, huge event.

Yeah, everyone was talking about it for days and days and days.

Paul, we're going to have a look at Must See TV now.

This is something that genuinely gave you an interest

-in antiques and memorabilia.

-OK.

And here it is.

Steptoe And Son!

It also does not have an electric fan.

In fact, the only wind I've got is from the horse's tail.

Look at Steptoe!

Look at that!

-This was my mum and dad's favourite programme.

-Was it really?

-Yeah.

Steptoe added a dose of gritty realism to the slapstick

style of other TV sitcoms around at the time.

The lead characters were rag-and-bone men,

scraping a living by selling other people's junk.

-That's a What The Butler Saw machine.

-Ah, you recognise it.

Takes you back to your lecherous youth, does it?

Harold! Harold!

-Look at him.

-Look how skinny he is!

I know. Fine figure of a man, wasn't he?

I've seen more fat on a chip.

Here, I remember that one!

Oh, it's red hot, that is.

Much of the comedy came from the generational conflict

between father and son.

Old Albert was set in his grimy ways,

but Harold was filled with higher aspirations.

Yeah, come on. Hurry up.

-Let's get it inside.

-All right, all right, all right! Calm down!

Or else I'll have to rub you down with an ice cube, mate.

-Oh, fantastic!

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-That is brilliant.

That is TV gold, isn't it? That really is.

So that was your mum and dad's favourite?

Mum and Dad's favourite, and they watched it all the time

and so I watched it.

-I was fascinated by all that eclectic mess. I loved it.

-Mm-hm.

I really loved it.

-And they had a stuffed bear...

-That's right...

-..and I wanted...

-In the lounge or the hall.

Yeah, and I pleaded with my mum and dad to buy a stuffed bear

but they thought that was a bit too much.

So how did you start out in television, Paul?

I was sitting in my antique shop.

I had an antiques shop in Marlborough.

We had a really quiet spell and I was sitting in the shop.

And a BBC researcher came in.

She said, "Oh, could you tell me about this cabinet?

"Could you talk me through this, if you don't mind?"

So I said, "Yeah, all right."

I thought, "Well, nothing to lose. She might buy it."

I'm trying to entertain her and, you know, give her the lowdown

and the spiel and a few anecdotes about it.

-It could have been used by the Duke of Wellington, you know?

-Yeah!

Those kind of stories.

Didn't think anything of it.

Yeah, I just went, "Oh, she didn't buy anything."

You think, you know, lost a client there.

And about three days later, I had a phone call from the BBC saying,

"Is that Paul Martin?

"We're looking at a video clip that someone sent in, a researcher,

"and we feel you've got the potential to become a TV presenter."

Oh!

-"It might work for you."

-It's worked...

-And it worked.

-It's worked for the last 15 years.

-15 years, yeah.

-Our 1,000th show this year.

-15 years!

Let's have a little look at Flog It!

280, anyone?

Christa, you've brought in a wonderful Moorcroft bowl.

Oh, I look like Lovejoy, don't I?! Long hair and biker boots!

This is from the first series.

Get in the queue.

Flog It! sees Paul and his team of experts

tour the country valuing antiques -

some of which are then sold at auction.

Now, you paid £4 for this.

-Yes, that's right.

-It's a bit of a star buy, isn't it?

Well, I think so, yes.

So she bought that bowl for £4.

Lot 462.

Start me straight in at £580.

-Huh!

-Whoa!

-Just a simple idea and it worked, didn't it?

-Yeah.

980, 1,000, 1,500.

(I can't believe it!)

-Do you ever tire of the reactions of the people?

-No.

-No?

-No, because it's so real, it's so natural.

-It is, yeah.

This is not fake. This is not set up.

-This is filmed as live. You only get one chance at that.

-Mm-hm.

You can't ask the auctioneer, "Hang on, stop!

"Let's do a retake. His mic's fallen off!" You just do it.

(Oh, I can't believe it!)

Are we all done at 1,500?

Yes!

Yes! Oh, gosh!

'Look at that!'

-1,500 and cost her £4.

-Yeah, and that's what the show's all about.

-Yeah.

-You know?

It's not the Antiques Roadshow where we say,

"Yes, Madam, it's worth 30,000 or 40,000."

It's real life. It's about stuff that we all come across,

that we inherit, you know, from Aunt Edna.

You don't like it, you don't want it and you want to put it into auction.

You want to flog it and you think it's worth

possibly a couple of hundred quid and hey-ho, a couple of grand.

Are there any items that have really taken your breath away that

have been auctioned off and sadly just done a left turn?

-On the show?

-Yeah.

-Oh, gosh, yes.

-And just gone through the roof.

Yes, yes. We had one about three years ago.

In Scotland, this lovely old chap, a pensioner,

still looking after his mum, never left home...

..had on his mantelpiece...

He had this piece of carved rhino horn.

This has to be one of the nicest things

I've ever seen on Flog It! and possibly one of the most

valuable items we've ever had on the show.

This was carved in the 17th century

and it was carved into the shape of a libation cup.

So it was Chinese and it had lots of mythical dragons

and figures around it.

He used it as an ashtray,

and when he stopped smoking he put drawing pins

and, you know, elastic bands in it.

It's one of those things, those typical pots you have

on the mantelpiece. It was disgusting and it had fallen off

several times and was chipped and broken.

He brought it along to our valuation day.

-How much do you think that's worth?

-A couple of hundred pounds.

A couple of hundred, yeah? A couple of hundred pounds.

He said, "Well, some bloke's offered me £300 for it.

"Should I sell it?"

My gut feeling is

this is worth £8-£12,000.

GASPING AND LAUGHING

-Yes, I'm not pulling your leg.

-Quite happy!

-Quite happy?!

We said, "What we'll do is we'll send this down to London

"and, if it is right,

"we'll put it in a special fine art

"sale in Bonhams in Bond Street for their Asian sale."

It's a big sale once a year, and the Chinese collectors fly over

and they buy everything.

This is your restored libation cup.

The auction house obviously really believe in this.

Lot number 470.

Who'd like to start this?

£5,000 for it. £5,000.

-5,000 is offered. Thank you, madam, very much.

-We're in.

'The cup appeared on an episode shown at Chinese New Year.'

-£30,000.

-There...

-£30,000, Tom.

'It was about to become the most exciting item ever to

'appear on the series.'

-The bid's at £40,000.

-40 grand!

£44,000. You're all done.

Sold!

-Thank you very much.

-What's it worth? £44,000.

Congratulations, Tom.

-Oh, isn't that incredible?

-Yeah.

-And he was going to sell it for 300.

-Yeah.

-I think it's one of the

reasons Britain loves Flog It! so much.

It's those stories. You can't make that up.

So what sort of stuff are you watching now on TV?

Erm, I still watch all the antiques programmes, obviously,

Antiques Roadshow...

Do you wish you'd thought of that?

Yeah, it's a lovely format, isn't it?

It's a great format, yeah. I watch all sorts of things.

I watch a lot of documentaries.

I'm a big fan of the natural history stuff.

You know, David Attenborough - legend, legend, legend.

-Paul, have you enjoyed it?

-I have, I have. You made me cry.

-I had a little tear. I welled up, didn't I?

-I'm pleased.

You took me back and I thought about...

-thought about all those good values my mum and dad gave me.

-Yeah.

That's important.

And we give our guests the opportunity now

to choose a theme tune to play out with.

-So what's it going to be?

-Well, it's got to be...

because I love snooker, Pot Black.

I think it was the black and white

-ivory tickle on the old piano, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-Fond memories of that.

-Fond memories, yeah.

Fond memories of Dad teaching me to place snooker,

-and now I'm teaching my son.

-Isn't that lovely?

-Yeah.

-And you've been lovely. Thank you very much.

-Oh, thanks.

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

We'll see you next time. Bye-bye!

MUSIC: Black And White Rag by George Botsford