0:00:02 > 0:00:04TV, the magic box of delights.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06As kids, it showed us a million different worlds
0:00:06 > 0:00:09all from our living room.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11This takes me right back.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12That's so embarrassing!
0:00:12 > 0:00:14I am genuinely shocked.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Each day, I'm going to journey through the wonderful world of telly
0:00:18 > 0:00:21with one of our favourite celebrities.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23It's just so silly!
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Ah! I love it.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26Is it Mr Benn?
0:00:26 > 0:00:27SHE SINGS
0:00:27 > 0:00:28Shut it!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31As they select the iconic TV moments...
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Oh, hello!
0:00:34 > 0:00:36..that tell us the stories of their lives.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40- Oh, my gosh!- Cheers.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Some will make you laugh.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42Agh!
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Oh, no!
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Some will surprise.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48- TOY SQUEAKS - Oh!
0:00:48 > 0:00:49Many will inspire.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Ooh!
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Look at this. Why wouldn't you want to watch this?
0:00:53 > 0:00:55And others will move us.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Seeing that there, made a huge impact on me.
0:00:58 > 0:00:59You're not having my kid!
0:00:59 > 0:01:00Got a handkerchief?
0:01:01 > 0:01:07So, come watch with us as we rewind to the classic telly that shaped
0:01:07 > 0:01:11those wide-eyed youngsters into the much-loved stars they are today.
0:01:20 > 0:01:21Welcome to The TV That Made Me.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25My guest today is one of Britain's most gifted actors.
0:01:25 > 0:01:26Ladies and gentlemen,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30please welcome the hugely talented Amanda Abbington.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34- Hello! Hello.- Hi.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36- How are you?- Very well.- Good.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38- All the better for seeing you. - And you.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40- Welcome to my humble abode. - It's lovely.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Star of stage, screen and Sherlock,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Amanda has starred in some of our most iconic shows
0:01:47 > 0:01:52over the last few years, including Mr Selfridge and crime drama Cuffs.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57The TV that made her includes an old-school classic comedy.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01And a terrifying post-apocalyptic series.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05- So, are you excited about today? - Yeah.- Looking back?- Yes, I am!
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- Yeah?- Yes, I'm really excited.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09- Was telly a big thing in your life growing up?- Huge.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12- Because I'm an only child, so I didn't have anyone to play with.- Aw!
0:02:12 > 0:02:14So they just stuck you in front of the telly, did they?
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Yeah, my mum did! She kind of did a bit.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19But that's because she had to get on and do her work.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21But that was then, that was '70s and '80s.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24That was sort of the thing you did. You either went out and played
0:02:24 > 0:02:26in the summer holidays with your friends
0:02:26 > 0:02:28but you were mainly kind of...
0:02:28 > 0:02:29You just sort of stayed at home
0:02:29 > 0:02:32and you didn't have the internet or anything, so the telly was...
0:02:32 > 0:02:35- And there was four channels.- I know, blimey. Do you remember that?
0:02:35 > 0:02:38My children don't understand that. They can't fathom that at all.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42- Yeah, and that we had to get up and change channels.- Yeah!
0:02:42 > 0:02:44- Yeah.- Yeah, it was a big thing in those days.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Yeah, you just didn't bother in the end.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49- You'd end up with World Of Sport for four hours.- Yeah, yeah.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53So today is a celebration of some of your favourite TV classic moments.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56We're going to look back on that but first up, let's rewind the clock
0:02:56 > 0:02:58and have a look at a very young Amanda.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04Born in 1974, Amanda was raised by her parents
0:03:04 > 0:03:06Patsy and John in Hertfordshire.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Her love for performing was evident from an early age
0:03:11 > 0:03:14when Amanda was a promising dancer.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17But she decided to pursue a career in acting,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20which has seen her star in shows like After You've Gone
0:03:20 > 0:03:21with Nicholas Lyndhurst...
0:03:23 > 0:03:26..and of course, as Mary Watson in Sherlock,
0:03:26 > 0:03:29where she starred with her real-life partner, Martin Freeman.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34- So, was it a happy childhood? - Yes, it was.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36My mum and dad were brilliant.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39We lived with my nanny and grandad as well when I was growing up,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42- so there was five of us in the house.- Oh, really?- So, it was...
0:03:42 > 0:03:44And I was very close to all of them.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Because I was the only one, I was really not spoilt
0:03:47 > 0:03:50- but there was a lot of love and it was nice.- Yeah.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53And then they got a little cottage, my mum and dad, and so we moved out.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57- But I remember being very close to my grandparents, growing up.- Yes.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Which was lovely, it was lovely having them around.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02I mean, I don't know whether my dad was too enamoured about living
0:04:02 > 0:04:05with his in-laws, I don't know. But, yeah, it was...
0:04:05 > 0:04:07I loved it, it was great.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14It is great to have you here.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Let's start with your very first TV memory. Here it is.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22The Flumps. SHE GASPS
0:04:25 > 0:04:28They were the best, I used to watch this all the time.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34The 1970s stop-motion series The Flumps
0:04:34 > 0:04:37told the adventures of a family of lovable furry creatures.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Look at Grandpa! Look at him garden!
0:04:45 > 0:04:47- Look at Pootle and Posie.- Ah.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49- IN A NASAL VOICE:- Pootle used to talk like Pootle,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51because she used to have a cold in her nose.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53She used to talk like that, that's why I loved her.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57"What is she talking about?" asked Perkin.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00"She's got secrets under her hat," said Pootle.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02- IN A NASAL VOICE:- See? She's got
0:05:02 > 0:05:03secrets under her hat.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07I remember one where she had a cloud or a balloon or something.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11- IN A NASAL VOICE:- And she used to carry it and she got really sad.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12I loved it, I loved it.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14It was so much fun. Oh, my gosh, this is taking...
0:05:14 > 0:05:16That's a really good impression there.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19- I can tell what you done as a kid.- Yes, all I did.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22- I told you, only child. - Yeah, with your Pootle impressions.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24- There was just 13 episodes ever made.- Is that all? Really?
0:05:24 > 0:05:26So they must have kept repeating them, yeah.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Mother Flump knew that Pootle and Perkin
0:05:28 > 0:05:30were up to something.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32"What are you two arguing about?"
0:05:32 > 0:05:35- Look at Mum.- I love Mum's headscarf.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Isn't it brilliant, though? And look, they've got apples.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43- Little apples.- A lot of attention to detail.- Yeah, there really was.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45They're doing a little jigsaw puzzle there, aren't they?
0:05:47 > 0:05:50You see, I always thought Pootle was a girl.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52But maybe I was wrong, maybe he's just a very young boy.
0:05:52 > 0:05:53Bulgelling.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58Pootle was indeed a boy and also the youngest of the Flump family.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01The focus was often on him, as he got up to all kinds of mischief.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06"Oh, Pootle. You're always getting words mixed up.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10"You mean bulging and full up."
0:06:10 > 0:06:12"That's what I said."
0:06:12 > 0:06:15- Bit like me, I was always getting it wrong.- Really? What, as a child?
0:06:15 > 0:06:17Yeah, I always used to get things wrong.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Can't think of anything off...
0:06:19 > 0:06:22But you do a great Pootle impression. Any other impressions?
0:06:22 > 0:06:24They may well come out during the course of the show.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27They may well come out during...? HE CHUCKLES
0:06:27 > 0:06:30I used to, I think I used to really annoy my mum and dad
0:06:30 > 0:06:32because I used to do lots of different voices
0:06:32 > 0:06:34and accents and people.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37But you were just learning your craft, wasn't you, really?
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- Yeah, looking back, that's probably what it was.- Yeah.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I did used to do a lot of performing in front of them as well.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45I'd make a makeshift stage and sort of tell jokes.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49It must have driven them nuts. They probably hated it now, looking back.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53- So, it was always in you to perform? - I think so, I think so.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- I loved it from the word go, I think.- Yeah.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58And it was always something I enjoyed doing.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00I was never frightened of it, you know?
0:07:00 > 0:07:03I think, because I was bullied as well, as a kid, I think that
0:07:03 > 0:07:06that kind of, the humour became like a defence
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and I wanted to make people like me.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12So, I'd make people laugh and that's maybe what I...
0:07:12 > 0:07:14- That fuelled it as well, I guess. - Yes.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17- So, who would you watch this with? Your grandad?- Um...
0:07:17 > 0:07:20No, I probably watched it with my mum.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22She'd come and watch it with me.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23Because it was all...
0:07:23 > 0:07:25We didn't have kids' programmes throughout the whole day,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28so it would be on, I think there'd be some in the morning.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29Maybe, possibly in the summer holidays.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32But kids' programmes would start about three
0:07:32 > 0:07:35and finish about half five with Blue Peter.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37- Or Grange Hill or something like that.- Yeah.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41So, and again, when I tell my kids that, they go, "That's ridiculous."
0:07:41 > 0:07:44And you say, "No, because there was only a finite
0:07:44 > 0:07:46"amount of time for kids' programmes."
0:07:46 > 0:07:50So, tell me about your sitting room, growing up. What was that like?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Well, when we moved out of my grandparents' house,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54we got a little terraced cottage
0:07:54 > 0:07:57and so, you'd walk in the front door and you'd come into the front room
0:07:57 > 0:08:01and there'd be like a sofa here and a sofa here and then an open fire.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04And then a big sash window and then the telly was in the corner.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07And then at Christmas, we'd have the Christmas tree
0:08:07 > 0:08:08right in front of the window. But...
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- Yeah, it was a really cosy little cottage. It was lovely.- Yeah.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14And I used to sit, my dad bought this Chesterfield.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16They were the big thing then and I used to sit on it
0:08:16 > 0:08:20and just get buried in it and watch all my programmes and it was lovely.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22Under a blanket. It was really nice.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Now, we've seen the shows that you love
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- but this next one is your grandparents' choice.- OK.
0:08:34 > 0:08:35- SHE CHUCKLES - Ah!
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Last Of The Summer Wine.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41This was the world's
0:08:41 > 0:08:42longest-running sitcom.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44It ran for 37 years.
0:08:44 > 0:08:4737 years!
0:08:47 > 0:08:51This gentle comedy followed the adventures of three elderly friends
0:08:51 > 0:08:54as they caused havoc in the Yorkshire countryside.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58- These three were fantastic.- Yeah.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06- Look at Compo. He looks a bit like Pootle from The Flumps.- Yeah!
0:09:06 > 0:09:08- You see, there's a link.- There's a little theme going through.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11There's a little link, with his woolly hat on.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- Oh!- Peril. There's peril now.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21She used to really upset me, the way she spoke to those three.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Oh, look at that!
0:09:25 > 0:09:28She liked it all, really. She loved the attention, really.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31She pretended she didn't, but she did.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37SHE LAUGHS No!
0:09:39 > 0:09:41It's brilliant. It's brilliant.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Serves you right, you daft lot!
0:09:44 > 0:09:48- I love it, I love it. Gorgeous. - Yeah. It brings back happy memories.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- It really does. - And who would you watch this with?
0:09:51 > 0:09:54- My nanny and grandad.- Oh, right. - And I'd be on the sofa again.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58- And my nanny used to eat pomegranates a lot.- Right.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02So, she cut me half a pomegranate and she picked them out with a pin
0:10:02 > 0:10:04- for me and I'd sit and watch...- Ah.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Yeah, it was a real, that's a real kind of memory I have with her.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11You know, because she was quite a big lady as well.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14You know, she was cuddly, she was a cuddly woman. She was...
0:10:14 > 0:10:18I just loved her and the smell of her and that really reminds me
0:10:18 > 0:10:22of her and I was very, very close to my nanna, really close to her.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24How old would you have been?
0:10:24 > 0:10:27- I can't, I must have been about six or seven.- Oh, really young?
0:10:27 > 0:10:28I mean, you know, and I just...
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Yeah, she was just, she was a real role model for me as well.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33- Oh, really? - Because she went through...
0:10:33 > 0:10:35She had a lot of tough times, my nanna.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38She went... Terrible... Like a tough upbringing. And...
0:10:39 > 0:10:43And she was so strong, she was such a strong woman and loyal
0:10:43 > 0:10:47and loving, and her and my grandad had this fantastic relationship.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49She used to make me laugh.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Like, my mum and dad bought her once a bottle of Pimm's.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Big bottle of Pimm's.
0:10:53 > 0:10:57And she was in the kitchen cooking Sunday dinner and we hadn't
0:10:57 > 0:11:00heard from her in a bit and she was getting louder and louder singing.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01And then the next thing I know,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04we've walked out into the kitchen and the Pimm's bottle is empty.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And she's at the top of the garden with my grandad, doing a waltz,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09and she's absolutely hammered.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Because she didn't think you needed to dilute Pimm's.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15So she's been drinking it neat, cooking...
0:11:15 > 0:11:17And she still made the best roast dinner.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20She was a wonderful woman and I do miss her, she's great.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21- She was wonderful.- Ah.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25And so, that really does remind me of both my nanny and my grandad.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- Ah.- It was great. Lovely, yeah. - Lovely?- Hmm. Just really...
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- You're filling up, aren't you? - I am a bit, yeah, because she's...
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- Shall we move on?- Yeah, because she's just...- Yeah.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37She was amazing. And my mum takes after her, so...
0:11:37 > 0:11:40There's this line of very strong women in my family
0:11:40 > 0:11:43that are so stoic and...
0:11:43 > 0:11:44brilliant.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Well, now it is time for your next choice.- Ooh!
0:11:52 > 0:11:56Let's see what your must-see TV was back in the day.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04SHE GASPS
0:12:04 > 0:12:06- Oh, my God!- S.W.A.L.K.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09- Sealed With A Loving Kiss.- Yes.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12Broadcast on Channel 4 in the early
0:12:12 > 0:12:14'80s, S.W.A.L.K told of the trials
0:12:14 > 0:12:18and tribulations of teenager Amanda.
0:12:18 > 0:12:19I loved this.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21And it was just all about growing up.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24- But there was only ever six episodes.- Really?- Yeah.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- This is 1982.- This was brilliant.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30And she liked him.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32I had a crush on her, she was my first crush.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38- I think he turned out to be a bit of a wrong 'un.- Oh, really?- I think so.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48This iconic show stood out from other programmes of its time,
0:12:48 > 0:12:52thanks to its unusual use of on-screen photo stories
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and an agony aunt played perfectly by Prunella Scales.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59They're not all creeps, are they?
0:12:59 > 0:13:01You've cracked it there, love.
0:13:01 > 0:13:06He's made the first move. It's up to you to make the next one, right?
0:13:07 > 0:13:11But she had an older sister. And her older sister was quite glamorous.
0:13:11 > 0:13:12And got all the boys and she didn't
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and they kind of had this real love/hate relationship.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19But I don't ever remember it being only six episodes, that's insane.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Because it just seemed to go on and on for me.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Oh, mate, that's so brilliant.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26- She pulls off the role of embarrassed teenager?- Absolutely.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30She was amazing. I used to, I loved, I loved her.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32I loved her, I'd just be like that.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34And I'd wait every week for the next episode.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37That's brilliant because I haven't seen that since I was younger.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42- Really? '82.- God! Yes, so I was...
0:13:42 > 0:13:45- I wasn't that old, I wasn't that old.- You was a baby.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- But just, I wanted to be her. - What made that so exciting for you?
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- To want to be her. - I just thought she was really cool.
0:13:53 > 0:13:54And I just thought...
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I just, I just liked her and I wanted to be like that.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01And I was hoping that when I got to her age, that's what I'd be like.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03I'd be this kind of...
0:14:03 > 0:14:05You know, everything is kind of, "Oh, it's all terrible
0:14:05 > 0:14:08"but I'm getting through it," kind of thing. Yeah, that's so weird.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10And I'd forgot that Prunella Scales was in it.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Yes, she played, like, the thoughts in her head, her agony aunt.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Yeah. That's fantastic, I'm so pleased I've seen that.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Did you used to read girl magazines?
0:14:18 > 0:14:22- You know, with those photo stories in.- I did. I used to read Girl.- Hmm.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- Which was amazing. And Jackie.- Ah, Jackie.- But I...
0:14:26 > 0:14:29I think I probably wasn't allowed to read that
0:14:29 > 0:14:31when I started reading because it was a little bit grown-up.
0:14:31 > 0:14:32- Bit racy?- Yeah.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36- Which one would be racy out of that? What, Jackie or both?- Jackie.
0:14:36 > 0:14:37Girl wasn't so much.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Girl, there was a cartoon strip in Girl magazine
0:14:41 > 0:14:45that I followed every week and it was about these two ballerinas.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47And one was good and one was evil
0:14:47 > 0:14:50and it was about their fight to get this leading role.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53And again, I'd be waiting until it came out,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55I think it came out every Tuesday.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58And I'd be down the newsagents with my mum and reading it
0:14:58 > 0:15:00and stuff, it was great. Yeah.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02So, when you was watching S.W.A.L.K, was you...?
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Did you have your acting ambition then?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07No, I wanted to be a dancer then.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10So, I trained, I started doing ballet when I was about five
0:15:10 > 0:15:13and that's what I wanted to be. And then it...
0:15:13 > 0:15:16It became clear very quickly that I was not going to be a ballet dancer.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Because I just couldn't do it and I didn't have the discipline
0:15:19 > 0:15:22and I just, I wasn't, I wasn't very good, you know?
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And then a drama teacher, when I went to drama...
0:15:25 > 0:15:28Because I did go to dance school for a year and then the drama teacher
0:15:28 > 0:15:31said, "You know, I don't think you're going to
0:15:31 > 0:15:33"pull it off as a dancer.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36"But you show promise as an actress and I think you should pursue that."
0:15:36 > 0:15:38And that's what made me become an actress.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- So, at what age would that have been?- When I was about 16, 17.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44I knew then, that it was never going to happen.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47And I was quite pleased because it's hard work.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50- Acting is a lot easier than dancing. - Really?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53Yeah, because you don't have to keep training, you know.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55You don't have to train every day to be an actor.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59That's kind of in there, it's a natural thing.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02You know, but dancing, you have to work your muscles and you
0:16:02 > 0:16:06have to keep supple and you have to keep it all in there.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07It's different.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- So, are you pleased it went off? - Very, very.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12- Because my career would be over now. - Hmm.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15You know, as a dancer, I probably wouldn't be...
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Unless you're somebody like Darcey Bussell,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19who's an incredible ballerina,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22- your time is limited as a dancer. - Hmm.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Whereas acting, you know, you can do it till you're 100.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28- Well, I'm very pleased that you moved into acting.- Thank you.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36Now it's time to move on to your TV fear.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY
0:16:38 > 0:16:40- Let's take a look.- All right.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Would you like the paper?
0:16:42 > 0:16:44The Day Of The Triffids was an adaptation
0:16:44 > 0:16:46of John Wyndham's cult novel.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Telling the terrifying tale of the world's battle to survive
0:16:50 > 0:16:51the petrifying man-eating
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Triffid plants.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Any idea of what it is?
0:16:55 > 0:16:59No, no, not really. It's blown in from somewhere, I suppose.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Either that or a foreign import of some sort I know not what of.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06No, it's none of that. You wait.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Come on, Bill. Have a look inside. Come on.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- Don't look inside it.- Don't look inside.- Don't look inside it.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17- Eugh!- Come on now, Bill. That's nature.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- It's good, isn't it? That, for the time.- Yeah.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24I shall take care of you, old chap.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27- It starts shaking. - SHE GASPS
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Mysterious, intelligent and utterly terrifying triffids
0:17:32 > 0:17:34could kill a grown man with their sting.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41We were beginning to learn about the tri-feds,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44or triffids, as they came to be called.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46- Terrified me.- Really?
0:17:46 > 0:17:48It terrified the bejesus out of me, that did.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51- Did it?- Yeah, because I thought it could happen. I always thought
0:17:51 > 0:17:53things like that would actually happen, so I thought...
0:17:53 > 0:17:55- A vivid sort of imagination. - Terrible,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58my imagination. Yeah, incredibly vivid imagination. Yeah, yeah.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00I remember reading something once about a black hole and thinking,
0:18:00 > 0:18:02"Well, that's how I'm going to die.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04- "I'm going to be hit." - Fall into a black hole?- Yeah.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Or a meteorite will hit me or...you know?
0:18:06 > 0:18:10And so I thought, well, it's perfectly possible
0:18:10 > 0:18:13- that triffids could come and destroy the planet.- Hmm.- And...
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Yeah, that used to frighten the life out of me
0:18:15 > 0:18:17and I remember having dreams about it.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21About sort of it bearing down on me, over me.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24And then I'd wake up screaming.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28But then I think I read the book when I was about 12 or 13
0:18:28 > 0:18:31and then that frightened me as well because of just the imagery in that.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34I remember there was a chapter of the streets deserted
0:18:34 > 0:18:37and there was this triffid walking up the road.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40And that stayed in my head for a long time.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42But I'm terrible, I am terrible. I can't...
0:18:42 > 0:18:46When Martin's away, I can't think about or watch anything to do
0:18:46 > 0:18:50with any kind of horror or thriller or Crimewatch or anything.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54I just have to watch Friends or The Office, the American Office.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56That's all I can do. Because anything else, I'm like,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59"Well, no, that's going to happen to me. La, la!"
0:18:59 > 0:19:03- I'm awful. So...- Really? - Yeah, that's horrible.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05But you don't see it, "Oh, that's a prop,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- "there's a man crouched underneath." - No, and I'm an actor!
0:19:08 > 0:19:09So I know how it works.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13But it's the idea that, you know, "Well, you know, it could work.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16"Somebody could splice. You could splice two plants together."
0:19:16 > 0:19:18I can see it, yeah.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22- Sounds feasible.- Stranger things have happened.- Yeah.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23- I'm just humouring you now.- I know.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26I know, I realise as I'm saying it, I sound insane.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30But, yeah, that's childhood fear right there.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Your next choice is your biggest influence
0:19:37 > 0:19:41and you couldn't have picked a more well-liked and respected actor.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48# A fine romance with no kisses... #
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Dame Judi Dench is a mega-famous film star.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55But back in the '80s, she spent more time on the small screen,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59not just acting - but singing beautifully too.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02# ..yesterday's mashed potatoes. #
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Such a good cast.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06It didn't even have a happy ending.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08It wasn't meant to have a happy ending,
0:20:08 > 0:20:09that's why it was so romantic.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Across four series,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15viewers were glued to their screens watching the awkward romance
0:20:15 > 0:20:19and insecurities unfold between Laura, played by Judi Dench,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23and Mike, portrayed by her real-life husband Michael Williams.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Erm, Barbarella.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33- Jane Fonda stepping out of that spacesuit.- Pfft!
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Well, what do you mean "Pfft"?
0:20:36 > 0:20:39That's not romance, there wasn't even anybody else there.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40There was, when I think about it.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Do you think the fact they were married in real life
0:20:44 > 0:20:48- helped them play so well together? - Yes, yeah, I do. I think it does.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51What I loved about it was that it kind of had a lot of pathos
0:20:51 > 0:20:55to it and I think that's what makes television great.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57If you have comedy and sadness.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Because, you know, you need your ups and downs in anything,
0:21:00 > 0:21:01in drama and comedy.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03So it's nice when you have those moments of real...
0:21:04 > 0:21:08..sort of sadness or just poignant within a comedy.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10I think, because it's just nice to watch
0:21:10 > 0:21:12because not everything is hilarious.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15I mean, she's moved gracefully into film, hasn't she, Dame Judi?
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- Yeah.- And that's a big step, isn't it?
0:21:17 > 0:21:19It's such a different way of working.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Yeah, and she just does it with such ease and grace and I love it.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Dame Judi Dench has delighted audiences of the stage,
0:21:29 > 0:21:34small screen and big screen for over 50 years.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37After making her stage debut in 1957,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39she went on to join the Royal Shakespeare Company
0:21:39 > 0:21:44and has gone on to play every leading female Shakespeare role.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47But her talents weren't just reserved for the stage.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50She's acted on television throughout her career,
0:21:50 > 0:21:54starring in hit series such as As Time Goes By and Cranford.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58And of course, Dame Judi is a huge hit in Hollywood too,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01starring in many critically acclaimed films,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04including M in James Bond.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Her amazing talent has seen her bag herself an Oscar,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10two Golden Globes, seven Olivier Awards,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14ten BAFTAs and, let's not forget, a damehood.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Dame Judi Dench, we salute you.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20I managed to, I got to meet her and not work with her
0:22:20 > 0:22:22but I was on the same stage as her at the Donmar.
0:22:22 > 0:22:23They did a thing called The Vote
0:22:23 > 0:22:27when the General Election was going and she was in it with her daughter.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28And...
0:22:28 > 0:22:30And I was in the same dressing room as her
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and I just managed to talk to her for an hour and she was so...
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Oh, God, she was just lovely. She's a wonderful, wonderful woman.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39And not only is she a brilliant actress
0:22:39 > 0:22:41and one of our very, very best,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43but she's a decent, lovely woman as well.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47That makes me so happy because I always like it
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- when people who are brilliant are nice.- Yes.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52It just makes you go, "Oh, thank God for that. I can still like them."
0:22:52 > 0:22:56It makes such a difference. She's very...normal.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00She's a normal actress. And it's just lovely. There's...
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Because there are some actors that are quite fussy
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and quite hysterical and quite chaotic.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- But she's none of those things and she's one of our best.- Yes.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11And the fact that she's one of our best
0:23:11 > 0:23:15- and she's still very down-to-earth, just makes me very happy.- Yeah.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18And I'm glad she's around and I'm glad she's British
0:23:18 > 0:23:20and one of ours, I really am.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21She's a joy.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I wanted to bring it now to your career. How did it all come about?
0:23:30 > 0:23:34You know, those early days and then sort of going to university.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36- Well, no, I went to drama school. - You went to drama school?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39And it was a little one up in Hitchin, that nobody knew about,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41and it was called the Hertfordshire Theatre School.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43So you were the only one there?
0:23:43 > 0:23:46- Pretty much, there were eight people in my year.- No? Really?
0:23:46 > 0:23:47Eight or nine people in my year, yeah.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50There was one boy, one boy and the rest were girls.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52So, while I was there, I got an audition for The Bill.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55One of my many, many appearances in The Bill.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58And I got the job and then I got an agent from that
0:23:58 > 0:24:00and it just sort of went from there, really.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02- So, you like comedy?- I do.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06- Sitcom, could you imagine you and your husband Martin...- Yeah.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08- ..together in something? Really? - Yeah.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12I mean, we never rule out not doing anything...
0:24:12 > 0:24:13We'd do something else together.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16- But I think because we're doing Sherlock at the moment...- Yes.
0:24:16 > 0:24:17We don't want to be in everybody's
0:24:17 > 0:24:19front rooms all the time, the two of us.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22People would go, "Oh, it's them again. That's all we need."
0:24:22 > 0:24:23Of your future?
0:24:23 > 0:24:24Since Amanda and Martin's
0:24:24 > 0:24:26characters first met in 2014,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29their story has been central to the
0:24:29 > 0:24:31BBC's smart, sassy Sherlock reboot.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Together, they provided one of
0:24:33 > 0:24:34the third series' most memorable
0:24:34 > 0:24:36and emotional scenes as Dr Watson
0:24:36 > 0:24:38is reconciled with his wife
0:24:38 > 0:24:41after learning about her secret past.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43SHE SOBS
0:24:43 > 0:24:44You don't even know my name.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49- Is Mary Watson good enough for you? - Yes.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52- Oh, my God, yes. - Well, it's good enough for me too.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- It is nice working with your other half.- Yeah.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Because also, you do your job and then you go home
0:25:01 > 0:25:04and you kind of dissect the day and it's nice.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Because you've both been at work together
0:25:06 > 0:25:09- and you've both experienced it. - Because Sherlock's not the only time
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- you've worked with each other. - I've done quite a lot
0:25:12 > 0:25:13of stuff with Martin.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15I've played his wife a few times
0:25:15 > 0:25:17and we met on a job.
0:25:17 > 0:25:18Um, yeah, we've done...
0:25:18 > 0:25:21But Sherlock is the biggest thing we've done together.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24So, it's the longest thing we've done together.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26And what job did you meet on?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29It was a Channel 4 drama called Men Only,
0:25:29 > 0:25:33which was quite a controversial two-part drama.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Erm, and I met him on that and I met him on a make-up bus
0:25:37 > 0:25:41and I'd been moaning to the make-up artist,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43saying, "I'm never going to have a boyfriend.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45"I'm going to end up single for the rest of my life."
0:25:45 > 0:25:48And she was saying, "Well, there's an actor on here
0:25:48 > 0:25:49"that's saying the same thing.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51"He said he just wants to meet a decent woman."
0:25:51 > 0:25:54And she said, "Oh, he's coming onto the make-up bus now."
0:25:54 > 0:25:56He came on and I looked at him and he looked at me and we kind of
0:25:56 > 0:25:59had this thunderbolt and I'd never experienced that before.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01And he was like, "Hello." And I was like, "Hello."
0:26:01 > 0:26:05And then the next day, we were still flirting with each other.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07And then we went out for a drink that night
0:26:07 > 0:26:09and about two months later, I moved in with him.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11And we've been together for 16 years this year.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13- That's good going.- Yeah.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15- AUDIENCE APPLAUDS - Ah! So, yeah.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24So, what about the TV that you enjoy watching now?
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I love The Apprentice. We're big fans of The Apprentice in our house.
0:26:27 > 0:26:28We watch that a lot.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33- And...good dramas.- Yeah. - I love good comedies.
0:26:33 > 0:26:34Erm...
0:26:35 > 0:26:36Yeah, I just like...
0:26:36 > 0:26:40I like quality stuff with really good actors in
0:26:40 > 0:26:41and really good comedians.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Well, we make some good stuff.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45Oh, we do, we do. And some good drama and good comedy.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47And some great drama.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49We should be very proud of what we dish out here,
0:26:49 > 0:26:51- especially on the Beeb.- I think we're really good. Yeah, I think so.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54The Beeb's doing some fantastic stuff at the moment. It's great.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Well, we look forward to all the fantastic stuff
0:26:57 > 0:26:59you have ahead of you
0:26:59 > 0:27:01in the future. You've been a wonderful guest.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04- Thank you so much for being here. - Thanks for having me.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06So, at this point, my guest gets to choose a theme tune for us
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- to play out on.- Yay!
0:27:08 > 0:27:11- Have you had a little think about this?- Yeah. Yeah.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13- Oh, go on.- Can I say?- Yeah.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15- Do you want a drum roll? - Go on, then.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20- The Wombles. - AUDIENCE CHEERS
0:27:20 > 0:27:22We're going out on The Wombles?
0:27:22 > 0:27:23Just the...
0:27:23 > 0:27:25THEY HUM THE WOMBLES THEME TUNE
0:27:25 > 0:27:26# Wombling free! #
0:27:26 > 0:27:29- Brilliant, it's a brilliant tune. - It just takes you back?
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Yeah, and also at the end, I remember the credits,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35- he'd just be picking stuff up.- Hmm. - And I loved them, loved them.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- Well, we loved you.- Oh.- Thank you so much for being on the show.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39- Thank you.- Thank you, Amanda.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42- Oh, go on, two.- Yeah! - Oh! Make it three. Mwah!
0:27:42 > 0:27:44SHE LAUGHS So, my thanks to Amanda
0:27:44 > 0:27:46and my thanks to you for watching The TV That Made Me.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48We'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51THE WOMBLES THEME TUNE PLAYS
0:27:51 > 0:27:55- BOTH:- # Underground, overground wombling free
0:27:55 > 0:27:59# The Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we
0:27:59 > 0:28:02# Making good use of the things that we find
0:28:02 > 0:28:06# Things that the everyday folks leave behind
0:28:06 > 0:28:09# Uncle Bulgaria...
0:28:09 > 0:28:12- SONG CONTINUES:- # He can remember the days
0:28:12 > 0:28:15# When he wasn't behind the times
0:28:15 > 0:28:17# With his map of the world
0:28:17 > 0:28:24# Pick up the papers and take 'em to Tobermory. #