Amanda Abbington The TV That Made Me


Amanda Abbington

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TV, the magic box of delights.

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As kids, it showed us a million different worlds

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all from our living room.

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This takes me right back.

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That's so embarrassing!

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I am genuinely shocked.

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

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with one of our favourite celebrities.

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It's just so silly!

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Ah! I love it.

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Is it Mr Benn?

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SHE SINGS

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Shut it!

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As they select the iconic TV moments...

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Oh, hello!

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..that tell us the stories of their lives.

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-Oh, my gosh!

-Cheers.

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Some will make you laugh.

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Agh!

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Oh, no!

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Some will surprise.

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-TOY SQUEAKS

-Oh!

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Many will inspire.

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Ooh!

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

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And others will move us.

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Seeing that there, made a huge impact on me.

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You're not having my kid!

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Got a handkerchief?

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

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those wide-eyed youngsters into the much-loved stars they are today.

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Welcome to The TV That Made Me.

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My guest today is one of Britain's most gifted actors.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

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please welcome the hugely talented Amanda Abbington.

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-Hello! Hello.

-Hi.

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-How are you?

-Very well.

-Good.

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-All the better for seeing you.

-And you.

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-Welcome to my humble abode.

-It's lovely.

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Star of stage, screen and Sherlock,

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Amanda has starred in some of our most iconic shows

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over the last few years, including Mr Selfridge and crime drama Cuffs.

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The TV that made her includes an old-school classic comedy.

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And a terrifying post-apocalyptic series.

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-So, are you excited about today?

-Yeah.

-Looking back?

-Yes, I am!

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-Yeah?

-Yes, I'm really excited.

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-Was telly a big thing in your life growing up?

-Huge.

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-Because I'm an only child, so I didn't have anyone to play with.

-Aw!

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So they just stuck you in front of the telly, did they?

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Yeah, my mum did! She kind of did a bit.

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But that's because she had to get on and do her work.

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But that was then, that was '70s and '80s.

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That was sort of the thing you did. You either went out and played

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in the summer holidays with your friends

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but you were mainly kind of...

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You just sort of stayed at home

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and you didn't have the internet or anything, so the telly was...

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-And there was four channels.

-I know, blimey. Do you remember that?

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My children don't understand that. They can't fathom that at all.

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-Yeah, and that we had to get up and change channels.

-Yeah!

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-Yeah.

-Yeah, it was a big thing in those days.

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Yeah, you just didn't bother in the end.

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-You'd end up with World Of Sport for four hours.

-Yeah, yeah.

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So today is a celebration of some of your favourite TV classic moments.

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We're going to look back on that but first up, let's rewind the clock

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and have a look at a very young Amanda.

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Born in 1974, Amanda was raised by her parents

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Patsy and John in Hertfordshire.

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Her love for performing was evident from an early age

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when Amanda was a promising dancer.

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But she decided to pursue a career in acting,

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which has seen her star in shows like After You've Gone

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with Nicholas Lyndhurst...

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..and of course, as Mary Watson in Sherlock,

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where she starred with her real-life partner, Martin Freeman.

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-So, was it a happy childhood?

-Yes, it was.

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My mum and dad were brilliant.

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We lived with my nanny and grandad as well when I was growing up,

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-so there was five of us in the house.

-Oh, really?

-So, it was...

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And I was very close to all of them.

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Because I was the only one, I was really not spoilt

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-but there was a lot of love and it was nice.

-Yeah.

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And then they got a little cottage, my mum and dad, and so we moved out.

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-But I remember being very close to my grandparents, growing up.

-Yes.

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Which was lovely, it was lovely having them around.

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I mean, I don't know whether my dad was too enamoured about living

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with his in-laws, I don't know. But, yeah, it was...

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I loved it, it was great.

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It is great to have you here.

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Let's start with your very first TV memory. Here it is.

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The Flumps. SHE GASPS

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They were the best, I used to watch this all the time.

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The 1970s stop-motion series The Flumps

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told the adventures of a family of lovable furry creatures.

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Look at Grandpa! Look at him garden!

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-Look at Pootle and Posie.

-Ah.

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-IN A NASAL VOICE:

-Pootle used to talk like Pootle,

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because she used to have a cold in her nose.

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She used to talk like that, that's why I loved her.

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"What is she talking about?" asked Perkin.

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"She's got secrets under her hat," said Pootle.

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-IN A NASAL VOICE:

-See? She's got

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secrets under her hat.

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I remember one where she had a cloud or a balloon or something.

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-IN A NASAL VOICE:

-And she used to carry it and she got really sad.

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I loved it, I loved it.

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It was so much fun. Oh, my gosh, this is taking...

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That's a really good impression there.

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-I can tell what you done as a kid.

-Yes, all I did.

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-I told you, only child.

-Yeah, with your Pootle impressions.

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-There was just 13 episodes ever made.

-Is that all? Really?

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So they must have kept repeating them, yeah.

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Mother Flump knew that Pootle and Perkin

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were up to something.

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"What are you two arguing about?"

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-Look at Mum.

-I love Mum's headscarf.

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Isn't it brilliant, though? And look, they've got apples.

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-Little apples.

-A lot of attention to detail.

-Yeah, there really was.

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They're doing a little jigsaw puzzle there, aren't they?

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You see, I always thought Pootle was a girl.

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But maybe I was wrong, maybe he's just a very young boy.

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Bulgelling.

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Pootle was indeed a boy and also the youngest of the Flump family.

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The focus was often on him, as he got up to all kinds of mischief.

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"Oh, Pootle. You're always getting words mixed up.

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"You mean bulging and full up."

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"That's what I said."

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-Bit like me, I was always getting it wrong.

-Really? What, as a child?

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Yeah, I always used to get things wrong.

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Can't think of anything off...

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But you do a great Pootle impression. Any other impressions?

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They may well come out during the course of the show.

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They may well come out during...? HE CHUCKLES

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I used to, I think I used to really annoy my mum and dad

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because I used to do lots of different voices

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and accents and people.

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But you were just learning your craft, wasn't you, really?

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-Yeah, looking back, that's probably what it was.

-Yeah.

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I did used to do a lot of performing in front of them as well.

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I'd make a makeshift stage and sort of tell jokes.

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It must have driven them nuts. They probably hated it now, looking back.

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-So, it was always in you to perform?

-I think so, I think so.

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-I loved it from the word go, I think.

-Yeah.

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And it was always something I enjoyed doing.

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I was never frightened of it, you know?

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I think, because I was bullied as well, as a kid, I think that

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that kind of, the humour became like a defence

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and I wanted to make people like me.

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So, I'd make people laugh and that's maybe what I...

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-That fuelled it as well, I guess.

-Yes.

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-So, who would you watch this with? Your grandad?

-Um...

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No, I probably watched it with my mum.

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She'd come and watch it with me.

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Because it was all...

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We didn't have kids' programmes throughout the whole day,

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so it would be on, I think there'd be some in the morning.

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Maybe, possibly in the summer holidays.

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But kids' programmes would start about three

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and finish about half five with Blue Peter.

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-Or Grange Hill or something like that.

-Yeah.

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So, and again, when I tell my kids that, they go, "That's ridiculous."

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And you say, "No, because there was only a finite

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"amount of time for kids' programmes."

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So, tell me about your sitting room, growing up. What was that like?

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Well, when we moved out of my grandparents' house,

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we got a little terraced cottage

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and so, you'd walk in the front door and you'd come into the front room

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and there'd be like a sofa here and a sofa here and then an open fire.

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And then a big sash window and then the telly was in the corner.

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And then at Christmas, we'd have the Christmas tree

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right in front of the window. But...

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-Yeah, it was a really cosy little cottage. It was lovely.

-Yeah.

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And I used to sit, my dad bought this Chesterfield.

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They were the big thing then and I used to sit on it

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and just get buried in it and watch all my programmes and it was lovely.

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Under a blanket. It was really nice.

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Now, we've seen the shows that you love

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-but this next one is your grandparents' choice.

-OK.

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-SHE CHUCKLES

-Ah!

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Last Of The Summer Wine.

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This was the world's

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longest-running sitcom.

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It ran for 37 years.

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37 years!

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This gentle comedy followed the adventures of three elderly friends

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as they caused havoc in the Yorkshire countryside.

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-These three were fantastic.

-Yeah.

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-Look at Compo. He looks a bit like Pootle from The Flumps.

-Yeah!

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-You see, there's a link.

-There's a little theme going through.

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There's a little link, with his woolly hat on.

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-Oh!

-Peril. There's peril now.

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She used to really upset me, the way she spoke to those three.

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Oh, look at that!

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She liked it all, really. She loved the attention, really.

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She pretended she didn't, but she did.

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SHE LAUGHS No!

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It's brilliant. It's brilliant.

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Serves you right, you daft lot!

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-I love it, I love it. Gorgeous.

-Yeah. It brings back happy memories.

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-It really does.

-And who would you watch this with?

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-My nanny and grandad.

-Oh, right.

-And I'd be on the sofa again.

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-And my nanny used to eat pomegranates a lot.

-Right.

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So, she cut me half a pomegranate and she picked them out with a pin

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-for me and I'd sit and watch...

-Ah.

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Yeah, it was a real, that's a real kind of memory I have with her.

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You know, because she was quite a big lady as well.

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You know, she was cuddly, she was a cuddly woman. She was...

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I just loved her and the smell of her and that really reminds me

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of her and I was very, very close to my nanna, really close to her.

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How old would you have been?

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-I can't, I must have been about six or seven.

-Oh, really young?

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I mean, you know, and I just...

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Yeah, she was just, she was a real role model for me as well.

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-Oh, really?

-Because she went through...

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She had a lot of tough times, my nanna.

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She went... Terrible... Like a tough upbringing. And...

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And she was so strong, she was such a strong woman and loyal

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and loving, and her and my grandad had this fantastic relationship.

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She used to make me laugh.

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Like, my mum and dad bought her once a bottle of Pimm's.

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Big bottle of Pimm's.

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And she was in the kitchen cooking Sunday dinner and we hadn't

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heard from her in a bit and she was getting louder and louder singing.

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And then the next thing I know,

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we've walked out into the kitchen and the Pimm's bottle is empty.

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And she's at the top of the garden with my grandad, doing a waltz,

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and she's absolutely hammered.

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Because she didn't think you needed to dilute Pimm's.

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So she's been drinking it neat, cooking...

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And she still made the best roast dinner.

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She was a wonderful woman and I do miss her, she's great.

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-She was wonderful.

-Ah.

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And so, that really does remind me of both my nanny and my grandad.

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-Ah.

-It was great. Lovely, yeah.

-Lovely?

-Hmm. Just really...

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-You're filling up, aren't you?

-I am a bit, yeah, because she's...

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-Shall we move on?

-Yeah, because she's just...

-Yeah.

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She was amazing. And my mum takes after her, so...

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There's this line of very strong women in my family

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that are so stoic and...

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brilliant.

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-Well, now it is time for your next choice.

-Ooh!

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Let's see what your must-see TV was back in the day.

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SHE GASPS

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-Oh, my God!

-S.W.A.L.K.

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-Sealed With A Loving Kiss.

-Yes.

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Broadcast on Channel 4 in the early

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'80s, S.W.A.L.K told of the trials

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and tribulations of teenager Amanda.

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I loved this.

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And it was just all about growing up.

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-But there was only ever six episodes.

-Really?

-Yeah.

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-This is 1982.

-This was brilliant.

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And she liked him.

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I had a crush on her, she was my first crush.

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-I think he turned out to be a bit of a wrong 'un.

-Oh, really?

-I think so.

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This iconic show stood out from other programmes of its time,

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thanks to its unusual use of on-screen photo stories

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and an agony aunt played perfectly by Prunella Scales.

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They're not all creeps, are they?

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You've cracked it there, love.

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He's made the first move. It's up to you to make the next one, right?

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But she had an older sister. And her older sister was quite glamorous.

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And got all the boys and she didn't

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and they kind of had this real love/hate relationship.

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But I don't ever remember it being only six episodes, that's insane.

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Because it just seemed to go on and on for me.

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Oh, mate, that's so brilliant.

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-She pulls off the role of embarrassed teenager?

-Absolutely.

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She was amazing. I used to, I loved, I loved her.

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I loved her, I'd just be like that.

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And I'd wait every week for the next episode.

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That's brilliant because I haven't seen that since I was younger.

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-Really? '82.

-God! Yes, so I was...

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-I wasn't that old, I wasn't that old.

-You was a baby.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

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-But just, I wanted to be her.

-What made that so exciting for you?

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-To want to be her.

-I just thought she was really cool.

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And I just thought...

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I just, I just liked her and I wanted to be like that.

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And I was hoping that when I got to her age, that's what I'd be like.

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I'd be this kind of...

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You know, everything is kind of, "Oh, it's all terrible

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"but I'm getting through it," kind of thing. Yeah, that's so weird.

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And I'd forgot that Prunella Scales was in it.

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Yes, she played, like, the thoughts in her head, her agony aunt.

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Yeah. That's fantastic, I'm so pleased I've seen that.

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Did you used to read girl magazines?

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-You know, with those photo stories in.

-I did. I used to read Girl.

-Hmm.

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-Which was amazing. And Jackie.

-Ah, Jackie.

-But I...

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I think I probably wasn't allowed to read that

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when I started reading because it was a little bit grown-up.

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-Bit racy?

-Yeah.

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-Which one would be racy out of that? What, Jackie or both?

-Jackie.

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Girl wasn't so much.

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Girl, there was a cartoon strip in Girl magazine

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that I followed every week and it was about these two ballerinas.

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And one was good and one was evil

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and it was about their fight to get this leading role.

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And again, I'd be waiting until it came out,

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I think it came out every Tuesday.

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And I'd be down the newsagents with my mum and reading it

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and stuff, it was great. Yeah.

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So, when you was watching S.W.A.L.K, was you...?

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Did you have your acting ambition then?

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No, I wanted to be a dancer then.

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So, I trained, I started doing ballet when I was about five

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and that's what I wanted to be. And then it...

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It became clear very quickly that I was not going to be a ballet dancer.

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Because I just couldn't do it and I didn't have the discipline

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and I just, I wasn't, I wasn't very good, you know?

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And then a drama teacher, when I went to drama...

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Because I did go to dance school for a year and then the drama teacher

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said, "You know, I don't think you're going to

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"pull it off as a dancer.

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"But you show promise as an actress and I think you should pursue that."

0:15:330:15:36

And that's what made me become an actress.

0:15:360:15:38

-So, at what age would that have been?

-When I was about 16, 17.

0:15:390:15:42

I knew then, that it was never going to happen.

0:15:420:15:44

And I was quite pleased because it's hard work.

0:15:440:15:47

-Acting is a lot easier than dancing.

-Really?

0:15:470:15:50

Yeah, because you don't have to keep training, you know.

0:15:500:15:53

You don't have to train every day to be an actor.

0:15:530:15:55

That's kind of in there, it's a natural thing.

0:15:550:15:59

You know, but dancing, you have to work your muscles and you

0:15:590:16:02

have to keep supple and you have to keep it all in there.

0:16:020:16:06

It's different.

0:16:060:16:07

-So, are you pleased it went off?

-Very, very.

0:16:070:16:10

-Because my career would be over now.

-Hmm.

0:16:100:16:12

You know, as a dancer, I probably wouldn't be...

0:16:120:16:15

Unless you're somebody like Darcey Bussell,

0:16:150:16:17

who's an incredible ballerina,

0:16:170:16:19

-your time is limited as a dancer.

-Hmm.

0:16:190:16:22

Whereas acting, you know, you can do it till you're 100.

0:16:220:16:25

-Well, I'm very pleased that you moved into acting.

-Thank you.

0:16:250:16:28

Now it's time to move on to your TV fear.

0:16:330:16:36

SHE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

0:16:360:16:38

-Let's take a look.

-All right.

0:16:380:16:40

Would you like the paper?

0:16:400:16:42

The Day Of The Triffids was an adaptation

0:16:420:16:44

of John Wyndham's cult novel.

0:16:440:16:46

Telling the terrifying tale of the world's battle to survive

0:16:460:16:50

the petrifying man-eating

0:16:500:16:51

Triffid plants.

0:16:510:16:53

Any idea of what it is?

0:16:530:16:55

No, no, not really. It's blown in from somewhere, I suppose.

0:16:550:16:59

Either that or a foreign import of some sort I know not what of.

0:16:590:17:03

No, it's none of that. You wait.

0:17:030:17:06

Come on, Bill. Have a look inside. Come on.

0:17:060:17:09

-Don't look inside it.

-Don't look inside.

-Don't look inside it.

0:17:100:17:13

-Eugh!

-Come on now, Bill. That's nature.

0:17:150:17:17

-It's good, isn't it? That, for the time.

-Yeah.

0:17:170:17:20

I shall take care of you, old chap.

0:17:220:17:24

-It starts shaking.

-SHE GASPS

0:17:250:17:27

Mysterious, intelligent and utterly terrifying triffids

0:17:290:17:32

could kill a grown man with their sting.

0:17:320:17:34

We were beginning to learn about the tri-feds,

0:17:380:17:41

or triffids, as they came to be called.

0:17:410:17:44

-Terrified me.

-Really?

0:17:440:17:46

It terrified the bejesus out of me, that did.

0:17:460:17:48

-Did it?

-Yeah, because I thought it could happen. I always thought

0:17:480:17:51

things like that would actually happen, so I thought...

0:17:510:17:53

-A vivid sort of imagination.

-Terrible,

0:17:530:17:55

my imagination. Yeah, incredibly vivid imagination. Yeah, yeah.

0:17:550:17:58

I remember reading something once about a black hole and thinking,

0:17:580:18:00

"Well, that's how I'm going to die.

0:18:000:18:02

-"I'm going to be hit."

-Fall into a black hole?

-Yeah.

0:18:020:18:04

Or a meteorite will hit me or...you know?

0:18:040:18:06

And so I thought, well, it's perfectly possible

0:18:060:18:10

-that triffids could come and destroy the planet.

-Hmm.

-And...

0:18:100:18:13

Yeah, that used to frighten the life out of me

0:18:130:18:15

and I remember having dreams about it.

0:18:150:18:17

About sort of it bearing down on me, over me.

0:18:180:18:21

And then I'd wake up screaming.

0:18:210:18:24

But then I think I read the book when I was about 12 or 13

0:18:240:18:28

and then that frightened me as well because of just the imagery in that.

0:18:280:18:31

I remember there was a chapter of the streets deserted

0:18:310:18:34

and there was this triffid walking up the road.

0:18:340:18:37

And that stayed in my head for a long time.

0:18:370:18:40

But I'm terrible, I am terrible. I can't...

0:18:400:18:42

When Martin's away, I can't think about or watch anything to do

0:18:420:18:46

with any kind of horror or thriller or Crimewatch or anything.

0:18:460:18:50

I just have to watch Friends or The Office, the American Office.

0:18:500:18:54

That's all I can do. Because anything else, I'm like,

0:18:540:18:56

"Well, no, that's going to happen to me. La, la!"

0:18:560:18:59

-I'm awful. So...

-Really?

-Yeah, that's horrible.

0:18:590:19:03

But you don't see it, "Oh, that's a prop,

0:19:030:19:05

-"there's a man crouched underneath."

-No, and I'm an actor!

0:19:050:19:08

So I know how it works.

0:19:080:19:09

But it's the idea that, you know, "Well, you know, it could work.

0:19:090:19:13

"Somebody could splice. You could splice two plants together."

0:19:130:19:16

I can see it, yeah.

0:19:160:19:18

-Sounds feasible.

-Stranger things have happened.

-Yeah.

0:19:180:19:22

-I'm just humouring you now.

-I know.

0:19:220:19:23

I know, I realise as I'm saying it, I sound insane.

0:19:230:19:26

But, yeah, that's childhood fear right there.

0:19:260:19:30

Your next choice is your biggest influence

0:19:350:19:37

and you couldn't have picked a more well-liked and respected actor.

0:19:370:19:41

# A fine romance with no kisses... #

0:19:430:19:48

Dame Judi Dench is a mega-famous film star.

0:19:480:19:52

But back in the '80s, she spent more time on the small screen,

0:19:520:19:55

not just acting - but singing beautifully too.

0:19:550:19:59

# ..yesterday's mashed potatoes. #

0:19:590:20:02

Such a good cast.

0:20:020:20:04

It didn't even have a happy ending.

0:20:040:20:06

It wasn't meant to have a happy ending,

0:20:060:20:08

that's why it was so romantic.

0:20:080:20:09

Across four series,

0:20:090:20:11

viewers were glued to their screens watching the awkward romance

0:20:110:20:15

and insecurities unfold between Laura, played by Judi Dench,

0:20:150:20:19

and Mike, portrayed by her real-life husband Michael Williams.

0:20:190:20:23

Erm, Barbarella.

0:20:240:20:26

-Jane Fonda stepping out of that spacesuit.

-Pfft!

0:20:290:20:33

Well, what do you mean "Pfft"?

0:20:340:20:36

That's not romance, there wasn't even anybody else there.

0:20:360:20:39

There was, when I think about it.

0:20:390:20:40

Do you think the fact they were married in real life

0:20:420:20:44

-helped them play so well together?

-Yes, yeah, I do. I think it does.

0:20:440:20:48

What I loved about it was that it kind of had a lot of pathos

0:20:480:20:51

to it and I think that's what makes television great.

0:20:510:20:55

If you have comedy and sadness.

0:20:550:20:57

Because, you know, you need your ups and downs in anything,

0:20:570:21:00

in drama and comedy.

0:21:000:21:01

So it's nice when you have those moments of real...

0:21:010:21:03

..sort of sadness or just poignant within a comedy.

0:21:040:21:08

I think, because it's just nice to watch

0:21:080:21:10

because not everything is hilarious.

0:21:100:21:12

I mean, she's moved gracefully into film, hasn't she, Dame Judi?

0:21:120:21:15

-Yeah.

-And that's a big step, isn't it?

0:21:150:21:17

It's such a different way of working.

0:21:170:21:19

Yeah, and she just does it with such ease and grace and I love it.

0:21:190:21:23

Dame Judi Dench has delighted audiences of the stage,

0:21:260:21:29

small screen and big screen for over 50 years.

0:21:290:21:34

After making her stage debut in 1957,

0:21:340:21:37

she went on to join the Royal Shakespeare Company

0:21:370:21:39

and has gone on to play every leading female Shakespeare role.

0:21:390:21:44

But her talents weren't just reserved for the stage.

0:21:440:21:47

She's acted on television throughout her career,

0:21:470:21:50

starring in hit series such as As Time Goes By and Cranford.

0:21:500:21:54

And of course, Dame Judi is a huge hit in Hollywood too,

0:21:540:21:58

starring in many critically acclaimed films,

0:21:580:22:01

including M in James Bond.

0:22:010:22:04

Her amazing talent has seen her bag herself an Oscar,

0:22:040:22:07

two Golden Globes, seven Olivier Awards,

0:22:070:22:10

ten BAFTAs and, let's not forget, a damehood.

0:22:100:22:14

Dame Judi Dench, we salute you.

0:22:140:22:17

I managed to, I got to meet her and not work with her

0:22:170:22:20

but I was on the same stage as her at the Donmar.

0:22:200:22:22

They did a thing called The Vote

0:22:220:22:23

when the General Election was going and she was in it with her daughter.

0:22:230:22:27

And...

0:22:270:22:28

And I was in the same dressing room as her

0:22:280:22:30

and I just managed to talk to her for an hour and she was so...

0:22:300:22:33

Oh, God, she was just lovely. She's a wonderful, wonderful woman.

0:22:330:22:36

And not only is she a brilliant actress

0:22:360:22:39

and one of our very, very best,

0:22:390:22:41

but she's a decent, lovely woman as well.

0:22:410:22:43

That makes me so happy because I always like it

0:22:430:22:47

-when people who are brilliant are nice.

-Yes.

0:22:470:22:49

It just makes you go, "Oh, thank God for that. I can still like them."

0:22:490:22:52

It makes such a difference. She's very...normal.

0:22:520:22:56

She's a normal actress. And it's just lovely. There's...

0:22:560:23:00

Because there are some actors that are quite fussy

0:23:000:23:03

and quite hysterical and quite chaotic.

0:23:030:23:05

-But she's none of those things and she's one of our best.

-Yes.

0:23:060:23:09

And the fact that she's one of our best

0:23:090:23:11

-and she's still very down-to-earth, just makes me very happy.

-Yeah.

0:23:110:23:15

And I'm glad she's around and I'm glad she's British

0:23:150:23:18

and one of ours, I really am.

0:23:180:23:20

She's a joy.

0:23:200:23:21

I wanted to bring it now to your career. How did it all come about?

0:23:270:23:30

You know, those early days and then sort of going to university.

0:23:300:23:34

-Well, no, I went to drama school.

-You went to drama school?

0:23:340:23:36

And it was a little one up in Hitchin, that nobody knew about,

0:23:360:23:39

and it was called the Hertfordshire Theatre School.

0:23:390:23:41

So you were the only one there?

0:23:410:23:43

-Pretty much, there were eight people in my year.

-No? Really?

0:23:430:23:46

Eight or nine people in my year, yeah.

0:23:460:23:47

There was one boy, one boy and the rest were girls.

0:23:470:23:50

So, while I was there, I got an audition for The Bill.

0:23:500:23:52

One of my many, many appearances in The Bill.

0:23:520:23:55

And I got the job and then I got an agent from that

0:23:550:23:58

and it just sort of went from there, really.

0:23:580:24:00

-So, you like comedy?

-I do.

0:24:000:24:02

-Sitcom, could you imagine you and your husband Martin...

-Yeah.

0:24:020:24:06

-..together in something? Really?

-Yeah.

0:24:060:24:08

I mean, we never rule out not doing anything...

0:24:080:24:12

We'd do something else together.

0:24:120:24:13

-But I think because we're doing Sherlock at the moment...

-Yes.

0:24:130:24:16

We don't want to be in everybody's

0:24:160:24:17

front rooms all the time, the two of us.

0:24:170:24:19

People would go, "Oh, it's them again. That's all we need."

0:24:190:24:22

Of your future?

0:24:220:24:23

Since Amanda and Martin's

0:24:230:24:24

characters first met in 2014,

0:24:240:24:26

their story has been central to the

0:24:260:24:29

BBC's smart, sassy Sherlock reboot.

0:24:290:24:31

Together, they provided one of

0:24:310:24:33

the third series' most memorable

0:24:330:24:34

and emotional scenes as Dr Watson

0:24:340:24:36

is reconciled with his wife

0:24:360:24:38

after learning about her secret past.

0:24:380:24:41

SHE SOBS

0:24:410:24:43

You don't even know my name.

0:24:430:24:44

-Is Mary Watson good enough for you?

-Yes.

0:24:460:24:49

-Oh, my God, yes.

-Well, it's good enough for me too.

0:24:490:24:52

-It is nice working with your other half.

-Yeah.

0:24:550:24:58

Because also, you do your job and then you go home

0:24:580:25:01

and you kind of dissect the day and it's nice.

0:25:010:25:04

Because you've both been at work together

0:25:040:25:06

-and you've both experienced it.

-Because Sherlock's not the only time

0:25:060:25:09

-you've worked with each other.

-I've done quite a lot

0:25:090:25:12

of stuff with Martin.

0:25:120:25:13

I've played his wife a few times

0:25:130:25:15

and we met on a job.

0:25:150:25:17

Um, yeah, we've done...

0:25:170:25:18

But Sherlock is the biggest thing we've done together.

0:25:180:25:21

So, it's the longest thing we've done together.

0:25:210:25:24

And what job did you meet on?

0:25:240:25:26

It was a Channel 4 drama called Men Only,

0:25:260:25:29

which was quite a controversial two-part drama.

0:25:290:25:33

Erm, and I met him on that and I met him on a make-up bus

0:25:330:25:37

and I'd been moaning to the make-up artist,

0:25:370:25:41

saying, "I'm never going to have a boyfriend.

0:25:410:25:43

"I'm going to end up single for the rest of my life."

0:25:430:25:45

And she was saying, "Well, there's an actor on here

0:25:450:25:48

"that's saying the same thing.

0:25:480:25:49

"He said he just wants to meet a decent woman."

0:25:490:25:51

And she said, "Oh, he's coming onto the make-up bus now."

0:25:510:25:54

He came on and I looked at him and he looked at me and we kind of

0:25:540:25:56

had this thunderbolt and I'd never experienced that before.

0:25:560:25:59

And he was like, "Hello." And I was like, "Hello."

0:25:590:26:01

And then the next day, we were still flirting with each other.

0:26:010:26:05

And then we went out for a drink that night

0:26:050:26:07

and about two months later, I moved in with him.

0:26:070:26:09

And we've been together for 16 years this year.

0:26:090:26:11

-That's good going.

-Yeah.

0:26:110:26:13

-AUDIENCE APPLAUDS

-Ah! So, yeah.

0:26:130:26:15

So, what about the TV that you enjoy watching now?

0:26:200:26:24

I love The Apprentice. We're big fans of The Apprentice in our house.

0:26:240:26:27

We watch that a lot.

0:26:270:26:28

-And...good dramas.

-Yeah.

-I love good comedies.

0:26:280:26:33

Erm...

0:26:330:26:34

Yeah, I just like...

0:26:350:26:36

I like quality stuff with really good actors in

0:26:360:26:40

and really good comedians.

0:26:400:26:41

Well, we make some good stuff.

0:26:410:26:43

Oh, we do, we do. And some good drama and good comedy.

0:26:430:26:45

And some great drama.

0:26:450:26:47

We should be very proud of what we dish out here,

0:26:470:26:49

-especially on the Beeb.

-I think we're really good. Yeah, I think so.

0:26:490:26:51

The Beeb's doing some fantastic stuff at the moment. It's great.

0:26:510:26:54

Well, we look forward to all the fantastic stuff

0:26:540:26:57

you have ahead of you

0:26:570:26:59

in the future. You've been a wonderful guest.

0:26:590:27:01

-Thank you so much for being here.

-Thanks for having me.

0:27:010:27:04

So, at this point, my guest gets to choose a theme tune for us

0:27:040:27:06

-to play out on.

-Yay!

0:27:060:27:08

-Have you had a little think about this?

-Yeah. Yeah.

0:27:080:27:11

-Oh, go on.

-Can I say?

-Yeah.

0:27:110:27:13

-Do you want a drum roll?

-Go on, then.

0:27:130:27:15

-The Wombles.

-AUDIENCE CHEERS

0:27:170:27:20

We're going out on The Wombles?

0:27:200:27:22

Just the...

0:27:220:27:23

THEY HUM THE WOMBLES THEME TUNE

0:27:230:27:25

# Wombling free! #

0:27:250:27:26

-Brilliant, it's a brilliant tune.

-It just takes you back?

0:27:260:27:29

Yeah, and also at the end, I remember the credits,

0:27:290:27:31

-he'd just be picking stuff up.

-Hmm.

-And I loved them, loved them.

0:27:310:27:35

-Well, we loved you.

-Oh.

-Thank you so much for being on the show.

0:27:350:27:38

-Thank you.

-Thank you, Amanda.

0:27:380:27:39

-Oh, go on, two.

-Yeah!

-Oh! Make it three. Mwah!

0:27:390:27:42

SHE LAUGHS So, my thanks to Amanda

0:27:420:27:44

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

0:27:440:27:46

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

0:27:460:27:48

THE WOMBLES THEME TUNE PLAYS

0:27:490:27:51

-BOTH:

-# Underground, overground wombling free

0:27:510:27:55

# The Wombles of Wimbledon Common are we

0:27:550:27:59

# Making good use of the things that we find

0:27:590:28:02

# Things that the everyday folks leave behind

0:28:020:28:06

# Uncle Bulgaria...

0:28:060:28:09

-SONG CONTINUES:

-# He can remember the days

0:28:090:28:12

# When he wasn't behind the times

0:28:120:28:15

# With his map of the world

0:28:150:28:17

# Pick up the papers and take 'em to Tobermory. #

0:28:170:28:24

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