0:00:02 > 0:00:04TV, the magic box of delight.
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 > 0:00:17Each day, I'm going to journey through the wonderful
0:00:17 > 0:00:20world of telly with one of our favourite celebrities...
0:00:20 > 0:00:22It's just so silly.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Oh, I love it! Is it Mr Benn?
0:00:26 > 0:00:27SHE SINGS
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Shut it!
0:00:29 > 0:00:31..as they select the iconic TV moments...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Oh, hello!
0:00:33 > 0:00:35..that tell us the stories of their lives.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37SHE GASPS
0:00:37 > 0:00:38Oh, my gosh.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Cheers.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Some will make you laugh...
0:00:41 > 0:00:43Argh!
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Oh, no!
0:00:44 > 0:00:45.. some will surprise...
0:00:45 > 0:00:46PUPPET QUACKS
0:00:46 > 0:00:48SHE SCREAMS
0:00:48 > 0:00:50..many will inspire...
0:00:50 > 0:00:53- Ooh!- Look at this. Why wouldn't you want to watch this?
0:00:53 > 0:00:55..and others will move us.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Seeing that there made a huge impact on me.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00- You're not having my kids! - Got a handkerchief?
0:01:00 > 0:01:06So, come watch with us, as we rewind to the classic telly
0:01:06 > 0:01:08that shaped those wide-eyed youngsters
0:01:08 > 0:01:11into the much-loved stars they are today.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Welcome to The TV That Made Me.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24My guest today is one of our best BBC presenters.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28Ladies and gentlemen, it's Mr Paul Martin.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31- Hello.- How are you, mate? - Really well, thank you.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34- Welcome to my flat.- Love this. I love it.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Come and sit yourself down.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Paul Martin has been a valuable fixture on our screens
0:01:41 > 0:01:44since 2002, popping up at auctions
0:01:44 > 0:01:48and fairs across the country on the hit daytime show Flog It.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54In 2012, he joined Penelope Keith to restore a country house
0:01:54 > 0:01:56in To The Manor Reborn.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01The TV that made him includes a Royal wedding...
0:02:01 > 0:02:02CROWD CHEERS
0:02:02 > 0:02:05What an extraordinary moment for the new Princess of Wales.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08..some rag and bone men...
0:02:08 > 0:02:10"Fifi Aylor Photography."
0:02:10 > 0:02:13..and the show that gave him his big break.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And I think this has to be one of the nicest things I've ever
0:02:16 > 0:02:18seen on Flog It.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21- What do you think about my flat? - I think it's great.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- It's well- '50s. Yeah?
0:02:24 > 0:02:26Do you find yourself, wherever you go, just looking at....
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Valuing things?
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Yeah, like in a hotel going, "Ooh, look at that."
0:02:31 > 0:02:32Yeah, exactly.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35You never switch off in this business, you never switch off.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I'm constantly collecting and I'm constantly learning.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Well, today is a celebration of things that you might have
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- learnt on television.- OK.- Yeah. - You're taking me back to my past.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Yeah, I mean, this is all classic TV that you've chosen over the years.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50But first up, we're going to rewind the clock
0:02:50 > 0:02:54and have a look at a very young Paul Martin.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Oh, dear.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02Paul Martin was born in 1959 and grew up in Surrey.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05He studied art and woodwork at college
0:03:05 > 0:03:08and later became a professional drummer.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10After developing a passion for antiques,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13he eventually opened his own dealership.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17But it was after a one-off interview with the BBC that he finally
0:03:17 > 0:03:20found his true vocation and big break,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24when he burst onto our screens to present antiques series Flog It.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28So, what about where you grew up, what was that like?
0:03:28 > 0:03:31In Surrey, West Molesey, a really nice place.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36We had a house, it was a semidetached near the River Thames.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39- Right.- So, had a canoe, which was really good when I was about 11.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41- Not many kids had a canoe. Cor, blimey.- No.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44So, we used to take that down and go canoeing with Dad.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I played a lot of snooker with my dad.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49- Oh, really?- He was good at snooker. Yeah, a big snooker fan.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Played it all the time with dad. We used to watch Pot Black.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53- That was black and white. - Yeah, yeah.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56- So, you didn't know if it was a pink or yellow.- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00- "Oh, what's happening now?" No, I loved that.- So, siblings?
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Older sister, well, two years older.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06You know, old enough to duff me about, when I was six or seven.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09- Really?- It was a big gap, isn't it - seven to nine?
0:04:09 > 0:04:15- We still fight as well.- Really? - We love each other, though, really.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18We lived next door to Ray Davies of The Kinks.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21So, that was quite funny, growing up next to them.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24He was always falling out with his brother, Dave.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27My dad had a banger and Dave Davies was a mechanic
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- before he was a guitarist. He used to fix my dad's car.- No, really?
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And they were all fighting and they still fight to this day, I believe.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36- You know, brothers.- Yeah, yeah. - Used to play drums in the Scouts.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39- Oh, really?- Marching drums, yeah.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42So, that's why I wanted to be a drummer.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44I got in with Nick Avery and The Kinks.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Mum used to look after the studio, when they went away.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Dad had a job offer to move to Cornwall,
0:04:49 > 0:04:53when I was about 15 years old. It was a real wrench.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55What was your dad's job then?
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- He was a senior lecturer at Twickenham College.- Mm-hm.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00And then he got offered a vice principalship
0:05:00 > 0:05:03- at Falmouth College.- Right. - So, it was a good promotion.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Mum and Dad promised that they'd buy me a drum kit.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07That was the carrot to get me to Cornwall.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09I said, "I don't want to move! I don't want to move!"
0:05:09 > 0:05:11So, that was it, really, from the age of 16,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13I wanted to be a professional drummer
0:05:13 > 0:05:16and they bought me a drum kit. This premier drum kit.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18I had it in my bedroom. I just used to thrash away.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Do you still own the drum kit?
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- I do, I'm teaching my son to play the drums.- Oh, right.- Yeah.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31So, Paul, what was your earliest TV memories, then?
0:05:31 > 0:05:34I guess it would have to be something like Captain Pugwash,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36those kind of things.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40- So, watching these programmes, did you have any snacks?- Yeah.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44- Yeah?- I'd shout, "Mum! Where's my Nesquik and sausage rolls?"- Really?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Yeah. And I always sat on the floor, right in front of the telly as well.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49She'd bring me a couple of small sausage rolls
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- and a strawberry Nesquik.- Oh.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- Well, just shout that to me now. - OK, have you got any Nesquik?
0:05:55 > 0:05:58- Of course we have. I don't mess about.- You haven't, have you?
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Yeah, I've got it in the kitchen here. Look at that.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Oh! Mum, you've changed. Nesquik, yeah.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07APPLAUSE
0:06:07 > 0:06:09LAUGHTER
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Oh, Mum, thanks.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Thanks, Mum.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- There you go.- One for you and one for me.- Very cool.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Thank you very much indeed. Put that out away.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- Look at that.- Come on, let's have a sip. Let's have a little
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- trip down memory lane. Cheers. - Cheers. Here we go.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- It's the proper stuff as well.- Mm.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36It's putting me back in the spot now, look, in front of the telly.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39- I should be on the floor, really. - Yeah, yeah.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42And you mentioned Pugwash. Let's have a little look.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Let's have a look at Captain Pugwash.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- On the high seas. - This will take you right back.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51CAPTAIN PUGWASH THEME TUNE PLAYS
0:06:51 > 0:06:54I mean, surely, one of the most recognisable theme tunes.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57There he is, Captain Pugwash.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- It's the Black Pig, yeah?- Yeah.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Back aboard the Black Pig, the pirates have been
0:07:02 > 0:07:04straining their eyes on the distant enemy ship...
0:07:04 > 0:07:07The series followed the misadventures of Captain Pugwash
0:07:07 > 0:07:10and his crew, as they scored victories
0:07:10 > 0:07:15over arch-rival, Cut-Throat Jake, in the pursuit of treasure.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18It's going, going, gone.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22I mean, look at the work that's gone into those cardboard cut-outs.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24There's someone doing that, isn't there?
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- Going down and holding the table. - Yeah.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29The animation was achieved using large boards with moving parts,
0:07:29 > 0:07:30operated by hand.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Hero's welcome, that's what he deserves.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37And that's what he'll get. We'll prepare a regular banquet for him.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39Anybody like this?
0:07:39 > 0:07:42This was state-of-the-art. I mean, it was state-of-the-art.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44All the voices are done by Peter Hawkins, I believe.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48We'll prepare a regular banquet for him. Anybody like this?
0:07:48 > 0:07:52- It used to go out live. - No! Did it really?- Yeah.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55- It did, in the very early episodes, yeah.- God, I never knew that.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I know.
0:07:57 > 0:07:58Here he comes.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Pugwash first debuted in the boys' comic Eagle, in 1950,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04before being adapted for TV.
0:08:04 > 0:08:10The series, which originally aired between 1957 and 1966, was wrongly
0:08:10 > 0:08:14believed to have featured characters with risque maritime names.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Creator John Ryan successfully sued two newspapers,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21after they published stories claiming that rumours were true.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24What was it about this programme that drew you in?
0:08:24 > 0:08:27I think it was because he was a pirate and I wanted to grow up
0:08:27 > 0:08:29and be a pirate.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34I didn't want to be as big as that, though, but what a character.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Pugwash was both vain and greedy,
0:08:36 > 0:08:41but adored by his loyal crew on the good ship Black Pig.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Why, the way you sunk that ship of Jake's, you'd think it'd been
0:08:44 > 0:08:46hit by a whale.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51What an extraordinary notion, Pirate Barnabas.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56Let's talk about something else, shall we?
0:08:58 > 0:09:02So, how do you think this compares to what children are watching today?
0:09:02 > 0:09:03Oh, gosh.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07I mean, with CG and, you know, telly is so clever now, isn't it?
0:09:07 > 0:09:12I mean, it really is. My kids watch...
0:09:12 > 0:09:17I've relived being a four-year-old and a seven-year-old,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20seeing my kids grow up and watching the stuff they watch.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23It's like Scooby-Doo and they're all feature-length films.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- They're brilliant to watch. - Yeah, yeah.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28They're full of great actors now, all of these things.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- I think children's TV has moved on leaps and bounds.- Yeah, yeah.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- It's got its own channel now, let's face it.- Yeah.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Pugwash is one of many TV captains front and centre on our TV screens.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Arthur Lowe was Dad's Army's blustering Captain Mainwaring.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48He was a real stickler for following rules
0:09:48 > 0:09:51leading to hilarious consequences.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55"Are You Being Served?"'s Captain Peacock, played by Frank Thornton,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58was the pompous supervisor with the dubious military record.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02But the formidable Mr Slocombe had him wrapped
0:10:02 > 0:10:04around her little finger.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Patrick Stewart was Captain Jean-Luc Picard
0:10:07 > 0:10:09in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12He led his crew boldly through the universe,
0:10:12 > 0:10:16to explore new frontiers on the USS Starship Enterprise.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Back on planet Earth, Rowan Atkinson played Captain Blackadder,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25trapped in the trenches, desperately trying to avoid being sent
0:10:25 > 0:10:30over the top and to certain death, during the First World War.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34So, what was the set-up? I mean, how important was the television?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37You know, I mean, was it a big thing? Do you remember getting one?
0:10:37 > 0:10:43It was. Yeah, I can remember Mum and Dad plonking it right there.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46The front room was divided into the dining room
0:10:46 > 0:10:49and the sitting room by one of those screens that you had shelves in.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Mum had all the Whitefriars glass. All the coloured glass.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54You could look through it. It caught the light
0:10:54 > 0:10:56at different times of the day.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00And one of those great big, long hi-fis. You know, in a cabinet?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03- Yeah, yeah.- With the speakers built in.- Like a small bungalow.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It was, and the telly was a bit like that, funnily enough.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07In a big cabinet.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10We sat there, right on the floor, just watching and it was fantastic.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Of course, it was black and white but it didn't really matter.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16There was nothing else around, was there? It was all black and white.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Everyone had black-and-white.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21When we finally moved to Cornwall, when I was about 12 or 13,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25- Dad bought a colour telly.- Ooh! - It was fantastic.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28But then half the programmes weren't made in colour, still.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31- So, it's hilarious you got a colour telly.- No, they weren't.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33Not all the programmes were colour.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36Did your parents collect antiques at this time?
0:11:36 > 0:11:37Yeah, Mum did.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Mum was big on, as I said earlier, Whitefriars, she loved Whitefriars.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44She was a graphic designer. She worked in Kingston.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47So, she had a really good eye and she was always drawing.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48She taught me to draw.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Mm-hm. Dad was a draughtsman before he became a teacher.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55You know, they had all that early stuff, which
0:11:55 > 0:11:58everybody had. Which now you want nowadays.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00- You just talked about drawing. She taught you to draw.- Yeah.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02We've got some of your drawings here.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05LAUGHTER
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Look at that. Can you talk this through them?
0:12:09 > 0:12:13OK. That was my first attempt at an oil.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16I painted that with enamel Airfix paint. Look, feel it.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18- Can you see that it is fixed paint? - Yeah, yeah.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22That's Monty Python. That's one of the sketches from Monty Python.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- Oh, that is really good. - I did that for my dad.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- Is that me?- No. It's not a very good Edward Woodward.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32That's Callan, and that's the smelly guy that was always with him.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34- I've forgotten his name. I think it's Lonely.- It's Lonely.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37- That's it, yeah, Lonely.- Yeah?- I did that for my dad when I was about 14.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40All TV themed. And we've got this one here.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Oh, so what age were you when you drew that?
0:12:44 > 0:12:46That's 1966, I was six.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50- You were six years old when you drew that?- Yeah, yeah.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52I think that deserves a round of applause.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54APPLAUSE
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- Oh, dear.- If you'd sent that into Vision On,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- you probably would have won... - Well, we did.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00- I did, I sent loads into Vision On.- Oh, really?
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Yeah, but I never got it on the wall board - on the board, you know?
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- We used to watch every time the show came on.- Paul, it's been on
0:13:06 > 0:13:09this show now. So, you can just lay that and put it to bed.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11- OK, I can put it to bed. - Just walk away.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- Oh, I'm going to drink to that. - Yeah.- I was on it.- Cheers.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Now, we don't normally go for a break this early on,
0:13:24 > 0:13:29- but let's have a look at another one of your early TV memories.- OK.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33This nostalgic TV ad offered a simple,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37traditional, flat-capped vision of northern England.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- Hovis.- Yeah.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43- It looks absolutely idyllic, doesn't it?- Oh, it's fantastic.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45I used to love that.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50Last stop on the round would be Old Ma Peggoty's place.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Twas like taking bread to the top of the world.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57- That music.- That's Dvorak, isn't it? - Yeah.- Yeah.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59My mum used to love this.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I used to say, "Mum, it's on! Quick! Quick!"
0:14:01 > 0:14:04- She'd be in the kitchen. - When adverts were an event.- Yeah.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06She'd come running in and we'd all kind of...
0:14:06 > 0:14:09"Oh, wow." Cos it was like watching a movie.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14- Directed by Ridley Scott. - Really?- Yeah.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Twas a grand ride back, though. I knew...
0:14:17 > 0:14:19And, do you know, when I was a little bit older,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23but I think I was about 10, 12, 15, something like that...
0:14:23 > 0:14:26I think when I was a teenager, we found where that was,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28- and it wasn't in Yorkshire. - Was it not?
0:14:28 > 0:14:30- No, it was in Dorset.- Oh, no.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32My mum and dad took me out to see that and we walked up
0:14:32 > 0:14:33and down that hill.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36- So, you paid homage to the big Hovis ad.- I did.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39- That's how much it meant to you. - Yeah.- "We have to go there."
0:14:39 > 0:14:42- "We've got to go there," yeah. - How did you find out where was?
0:14:42 > 0:14:44You couldn't Google it back then, could you?
0:14:44 > 0:14:47No, you couldn't back then. Dad found out, somehow.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50I don't know how. We were always going out in the car every Sunday.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51National Trust members.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55So, I think that's why I had a great love, at a young age,
0:14:55 > 0:14:57- for historic buildings and artefacts.- Yeah.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00These big houses, you know. So, yeah.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02And that was one of the trips.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04..get it inside you, boy.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08And you'll be going up that hill as fast as you come down.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11The provocative imagery led to it being voted one of Britain's
0:15:11 > 0:15:14favourite commercials in 2000.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Watching that advert, what kind of images does it sum up for you?
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Being that age, in a way.
0:15:22 > 0:15:23You know, riding around on my bike,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26wanting to do that on a cobbled street, but obviously...
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- I probably had a Chopper at that stage.- Oh, a Chopper!
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- An orange one, as well! - With three gears.- Yeah, yeah!
0:15:31 > 0:15:32My sister on the back seat as well.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- I even had the tassels on the handlebars.- Oh, mate!
0:15:35 > 0:15:38You were the envy of the whole street if you had a Chopper.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40- Did you get some playing cards with pegs...- Yeah.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- ..and put them on the forks and they...?- They went...
0:15:43 > 0:15:45- BOTH:- Tzz-tzz-tzzz.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- It sounded like a motor bike. - Yeah, yeah. Sad, isn't it?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49No, it was good. Good times.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53- I wouldn't change a thing, do you know that?- Really?- No, I wouldn't.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03I've got these for you.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Do you know what that is?
0:16:05 > 0:16:07No, I know what it does but I don't know what it's called.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10- A swanee whistle.- Oh, right. OK.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29I shall introduce the Clangers.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39There they are.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41That is a Clanger.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43That is another Clanger.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45And that is another Clanger.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47And he's dropped a clanger.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50These mouse-like creatures lurked beneath the surface
0:16:50 > 0:16:53of a small moon, somewhere in outer space.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Their name comes from the sound the metal lids
0:16:55 > 0:16:58made as they retreated underground.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00And now they seem to be having a bit of an argument
0:17:00 > 0:17:02about their piece of rope.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05It's such a simple theme, isn't it?
0:17:05 > 0:17:07- It's lovely. It was so popular. - Bonkers!
0:17:07 > 0:17:08Yeah, it was.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10And do you know what?
0:17:10 > 0:17:13Whenever Mum was cooking supper and we'd all be
0:17:13 > 0:17:15in the kitchen or be in the sitting room
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and everyone would walk around going, "Woo-woo."
0:17:18 > 0:17:21My dad used to mimic this really, really well.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23My dad loved it.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26While we were having supper he used to still go, "Woo-doo-oop,"
0:17:26 > 0:17:28just to wind my mum up.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'The characters often came across space junk left over by
0:17:33 > 0:17:36'early human exploration.'
0:17:36 > 0:17:39The series was created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43'who also came up with Noggin The Nog and Bagpuss.'
0:17:43 > 0:17:47'However, the narration in Clangers was all done by Postgate.'
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Ah, now, that is Major Clanger with his flying machine.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55All set and ready to fly up into the sky.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59But, you know, when this first started airing,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02- space and exploration was on everyone's lips, you know?- Yeah.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04- It was that era, wasn't it? - Yeah, it was, yeah.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09This actually came out the same year as we landed on the moon.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12THE CLANGERS WHISTLE
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Yeah, it's great and it's back on today.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20- It's come full circle, like the interior were sitting in.- Yeah.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25With its whimsical storylines and melodic sounds,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29it's easy to see why children were so captivated by the Clangers -
0:18:29 > 0:18:31and still are today.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35More than 40 years after the original series came to an end,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38the Clangers has had a reboot with a new series,
0:18:38 > 0:18:40narrated by Michael Palin.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44- That was on just before the news, wasn't it?- Mm-hm. Yeah.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46It was, wasn't it?
0:18:46 > 0:18:48You got this little five minute...
0:18:48 > 0:18:50- Little five-minutes clips you get before the news.- Yeah.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54- Then they'd hit you with something serious.- Yes! Exactly.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55Right, now we're going to level you.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Something serious, yeah. No, that was brilliant.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08So, Paul, here now is your First Tears At TV moment.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12It's TV but it's also a film, and it was the Railway Children.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13Awww!
0:19:13 > 0:19:15- I've got here some tissues.... - I might need them.
0:19:15 > 0:19:17- ..just in case...- I might need them.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20..you get moved. This is it, The Railway Children.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26- Morning, Miss. - Good luck, Miss Roberta.- Thank you.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30'The Railway Children is a story of three siblings
0:19:30 > 0:19:34'who move from London to picturesque rural Yorkshire.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36'Their lives have been turned upside down after their father is
0:19:36 > 0:19:38'wrongly imprisoned for spying.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40..On a day like this.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44- Jenny Agutter.- Oh, English rose. - Yes, without a doubt.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46I've taken too great a liberty, haven't I?
0:19:46 > 0:19:48On a day like this, you know?
0:19:48 > 0:19:49No, Mr Perks. Of course it's not...
0:19:49 > 0:19:52- Who is that?- Bernard Cribbins. - Bernard Cribbins, yeah.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Dear Mr Perks, we love you quite as much
0:19:54 > 0:19:56- as if you were an uncle of our own.- Hey!
0:19:56 > 0:19:58- On a day like what?! - Well, like this here!
0:19:58 > 0:20:00I told you I'd seen it in the papers, didn't I?
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- I told you! - Saw what in the papers?!
0:20:03 > 0:20:06The film offered an idyllic vision
0:20:06 > 0:20:08of Edwardian England during the steam age -
0:20:08 > 0:20:13a heart-warming story that has made it a timeless TV favourite.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16So why did it get you so emotional?
0:20:16 > 0:20:18I was in love with her.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- That was my first TV crush.- Yeah?
0:20:22 > 0:20:26- Yeah, it was.- Not Bernard Cribbins?! - No!
0:20:32 > 0:20:33Oh, I did cry!
0:20:33 > 0:20:36- Oh, here we go. - Oh, they're getting the... Oh-oh!
0:20:36 > 0:20:39- We know what's coming. He's going to come through smoke, isn't he?- Yeah.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- I did cry. I did cry.- Really? - Yeah, this did make me cry.
0:20:53 > 0:20:54In this emotional scene,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Jenny's character, Bobbie, is finally reunited with her father.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Daddy! My Daddy!
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- There you go, Paul. - Oh, look, welling up.
0:21:20 > 0:21:21- Oh, really?!- Yeah.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23AUDIENCE LAUGH
0:21:23 > 0:21:26Isn't it amazing how those emotions still come back?
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- Go on, have another tissue. We can afford it.- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- Go on. - I don't want to ruin the make-up.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35- So why does it...- I guess...
0:21:35 > 0:21:37..why does it make you feel like that?
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Well, because I'm a dad now. I've got two kids and I think...
0:21:39 > 0:21:43I think there's a big part of that...
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Just looking at that, you know, I miss my mum and dad.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48Oh, don't we all, you know?
0:21:48 > 0:21:52But I think your mum's love of antiques...
0:21:52 > 0:21:55You know, I mean, you're still carrying on that memory,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- in a way, aren't you?- Yeah.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Would you say she had a very strong influence on you?
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Oh, gosh, yeah, yeah.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Very, very strong, yeah.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08- Is it amazing how those memories all come back...- Yeah.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11..you know, just watching a short scene like that?
0:22:11 > 0:22:14Yeah. Do you know, I haven't seen that for possibly 30-odd years?
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Mm-hm.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18And it's still there, isn't it? You can remember it.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20- I remember that moment.- Yeah.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23I knew this whole experience would remind me of my mum and dad.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26- Yeah, yeah. Well, that's lovely.- Yeah.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- So, Paul, we touched on one of your childhood crushes...- Yep.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- ..the beautiful Jenny Agutter. - She's still a stunner.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42Well, here's another little crush on someone you had.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- 'It's obviously not the horse. - No.- No.'
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- 'Follyfoot.- Follyfoot.'
0:22:49 > 0:22:51- # Down in the meadow - When the wind's in the west
0:22:51 > 0:22:53# The lightning tree stands at its best
0:22:53 > 0:22:55# Dreams come true if you want them to
0:22:55 > 0:22:58# If you want them to It's up to you. #
0:22:58 > 0:23:00I'll remember that theme tune for the rest of my life.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03I've never forgotten it. Never forgotten it.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06The lovely Gillian Blake.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10# Grow, grow, the lightning tree... #
0:23:10 > 0:23:14I wanted to be that guy because he got to work with her.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Desmond Llewelyn.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21- Q from Bond.- Yes!- Yes.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25Based on the 1963 novel Cobbler's Dream,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27the enchanting children's series Follyfoot
0:23:27 > 0:23:30was set at a rest home for horses.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Dora, I've got an idea.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37I always think this is like the predecessor to Emmerdale.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41Yes! Yeah, you're probably right, actually. Yeah.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44That's the whole idea,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46you go in disguise -
0:23:46 > 0:23:48in Callie's clothes.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Paul's favourite Follyfoot character was horse-loving Dora,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54played perfectly by Gillian Blake.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Then we'll got down to Hammond's.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59All you've got to do is go in and pretend you want to hire a horse.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02But make sure it's Starlight.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Look at that, isn't that great?
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Oh, the glasses are on.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16That is a disguise, isn't it?
0:24:16 > 0:24:20You'd never recognise her, now she's put those sunglasses on.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22Haven't you anything?
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Kind-hearted Dora would do anything to help a horse,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27even go up against a local thug.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- Haven't I seen you somewhere before? - Oh, please, I'm in a terrible hurry.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34You can't have that one. It's booked.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39- He treats the horse badly and she's trying to rescue it.- Ah, I see.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44- How much do I owe you?- Don't worry about it. See you when you get back.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53Filmed at a once-deserted farmyard, the whole area was given
0:24:53 > 0:24:56a serious face-lift to create the Follyfoot setting
0:24:56 > 0:24:58we would all come to love.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Oh, very dramatic!
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Yeah, you see, we want to know more, don't we?
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Yeah, I want to see some more now. Don't stop!
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Actually, the horse looked quite healthy, didn't it, really?
0:25:14 > 0:25:16It wasn't undernourished or anything.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19It was well groomed and well stabled.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22- I have a little something for you.- Oh, no!
0:25:22 > 0:25:26I've got your very own Follyfoot annual.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Oh, thanks, Brian!
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- And how about turning over to that first page?- OK.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33- Oh, look.- We've got an autograph.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36"To Paul, best wishes, Gillian Blake."
0:25:36 > 0:25:39- Gillian Blake. Let me show... - Oh, brilliant!
0:25:39 > 0:25:41- She just wanted to send you that. - Oh, bless her.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Oh, isn't that brilliant? Thank you very much.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It's an absolute pleasure. So it was a...
0:25:46 > 0:25:48I mean, did you watch it just cos of Gillian or...?
0:25:48 > 0:25:50- Yeah.- Let me put that away.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Gillian and the horses and the dogs and the farm.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01Follyfoot was based on the novel Cobbler's Dream by Monica Dickens,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Other famous children's book adaptations include
0:26:07 > 0:26:09the lavish period drama The Box Of Delights
0:26:09 > 0:26:12by John Masefield.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14It mixed live action and animation,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17to tell the story of a boy who shrinks in size
0:26:17 > 0:26:21and can even travel back in time, thanks to a magical box.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Richard Dempsey starred in the late '80s adaptation of
0:26:27 > 0:26:30The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe by CS Lewis.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Four children venture through the back of an old wardrobe to
0:26:33 > 0:26:37discover an ancient land, where they meet the great lion Aslan.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42The Philippa Pearce novel Tom's Midnight Garden
0:26:42 > 0:26:46has been dramatised three times by the BBC.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48It's a story about a boy who,
0:26:48 > 0:26:49in the 1950s,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52travels back in time to Victorian England.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Hobbit star Ian Holm was
0:26:55 > 0:26:56father of The Borrowers,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00in the adaptation of Mary Norton's fantasy novel.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04The tiny family lived on the walls and floors of an old house,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08secretly borrowing everything they needed from the humans.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Well, we're going to move on to your next one now.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23It had an estimated 750 million people watching it around the world.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25Let's have a look at what it was.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30This is of course the marriage...
0:27:30 > 0:27:31- Diana...- And Charles.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34The bride and groom.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40And what an extraordinary moment for the new Princess of Wales to look
0:27:40 > 0:27:45out at this sea of human beings.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47- This is 1981.- Wow!
0:27:47 > 0:27:50I was in London at the time.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53What do you remember about watching it?
0:27:53 > 0:27:56- I thought she was incredibly beautiful.- Yes.- She was a princess.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- Oh, without a doubt. - She was a princess, wasn't she?- Yes.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02I can... I just felt so...
0:28:02 > 0:28:05I felt so proud to be English, to tell you the truth.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07A national holiday was declared to mark the marriage
0:28:07 > 0:28:11of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14600,000 people filled the streets of London to catch
0:28:14 > 0:28:16a glimpse of the newlyweds.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18The prince probably remembering when he stood here
0:28:18 > 0:28:22as a very small boy after his mother's Coronation.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26A global TV audience of 750 million people watched,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31making it, at the time, the most popular programme ever broadcast.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33I'd never seen so many people in one place as well.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36We actually tried to get there, and we gave up.
0:28:36 > 0:28:37We just gave up.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40We thought, "Well, let's just go back home
0:28:40 > 0:28:42"and let's try and catch them on TV."
0:28:42 > 0:28:46I can remember getting the train back to Teddington
0:28:46 > 0:28:49and going to get a drink in the pub and everyone was celebrating
0:28:49 > 0:28:51and it was still on and, you know...
0:28:51 > 0:28:52There was bunting everywhere and
0:28:52 > 0:28:55there was just such a feel-good factor in the country.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Oh, it was a wonderful, huge event.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Yeah, everyone was talking about it for days and days and days.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03CHEERING
0:29:06 > 0:29:10Looking as far as the eye can see to Trafalgar Square.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Surely, you must have come across some Charles and Di memorabilia?
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Oh, loads. Absolutely loads.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24- We even have sections of wedding cake that haven't been eaten.- No!
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Yeah, and we have a lot of Elizabeth Emanuel dress memorabilia
0:29:28 > 0:29:30and early sketches, things like that.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32But it's the photographs that are signed...
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Anything that's got great provenance to it.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38So if I've got a Charles and Diana plate... Something like... Is it..?
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Because there's so much out of it out there.
0:29:40 > 0:29:42There's so much of it and so much has survived.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- So it's worth nowt. - Well, it's worth something.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47There are a lot of Royal memorabilia collectors out there.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50But I think you've got to go back a bit earlier,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52you know, a little bit earlier.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Paul, we're going to have a look at Must See TV now.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04This is something that genuinely gave you an interest
0:30:04 > 0:30:07- in antiques and memorabilia.- OK.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09And here it is.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Steptoe And Son!
0:30:12 > 0:30:15It also does not have an electric fan.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19In fact, the only wind I've got is from the horse's tail.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Look at Steptoe!
0:30:21 > 0:30:23Look at that!
0:30:23 > 0:30:26- This was my mum and dad's favourite programme.- Was it really?- Yeah.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30Steptoe added a dose of gritty realism to the slapstick
0:30:30 > 0:30:33style of other TV sitcoms around at the time.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35The lead characters were rag-and-bone men,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39scraping a living by selling other people's junk.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43- That's a What The Butler Saw machine.- Ah, you recognise it.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47Takes you back to your lecherous youth, does it?
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Harold! Harold!
0:30:50 > 0:30:52- Look at him. - Look how skinny he is!
0:30:52 > 0:30:54I know. Fine figure of a man, wasn't he?
0:30:54 > 0:30:57I've seen more fat on a chip.
0:30:57 > 0:30:58Here, I remember that one!
0:30:58 > 0:30:59Oh, it's red hot, that is.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02Much of the comedy came from the generational conflict
0:31:02 > 0:31:04between father and son.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Old Albert was set in his grimy ways,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09but Harold was filled with higher aspirations.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11Yeah, come on. Hurry up.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15- Let's get it inside.- All right, all right, all right! Calm down!
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Or else I'll have to rub you down with an ice cube, mate.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24- Oh, fantastic!- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - That is brilliant.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26That is TV gold, isn't it? That really is.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28So that was your mum and dad's favourite?
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Mum and dad's favourite, and they watched it all the time
0:31:30 > 0:31:32and so I watched it.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35- I was fascinated by all that eclectic mess. I loved it.- Mm-hm.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37I really loved it.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39- And they had a stuffed bear... - That's right...
0:31:39 > 0:31:41- ..and I wanted... - In the lounge or the hall.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44Yeah, and I pleaded with my mum and dad to buy a stuffed bear
0:31:44 > 0:31:45but they thought that was a bit too much.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47It made me want to collect things,
0:31:47 > 0:31:52and I can remember getting a job in a bike shop on Saturday,
0:31:52 > 0:31:57while I was still at school, repairing inner tubes.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I can remember doing that and changing brake blocks for kids.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Doing all that to earn a bit of extra money,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04and coming home, and smelling and looking like that.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07But I loved it. I loved that whole thing
0:32:07 > 0:32:11of finding a wrecked bike and doing it up, stuff like that.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13Yeah, that set me on my journey.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16So you aspired to be Albert Steptoe.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19Do you know what? That's not a bad aspiration!
0:32:19 > 0:32:22They had a big yard in Hammersmith, let's face it, you know?
0:32:22 > 0:32:24That'd be worth a fortune, wouldn't it?
0:32:24 > 0:32:26- All that clutter's worth a fortune. - Yeah.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32Steptoe was one of many TV wheeler dealers in search of
0:32:32 > 0:32:34that elusive big payday.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37From selling tap water as spring water,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40to flogging paint strippers as fancy hairdryers,
0:32:40 > 0:32:43no moneymaking scams were off-limits to our Del Boy -
0:32:43 > 0:32:45played by David Jason,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48Peckham's dodgiest entrepreneur.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Ian McShane was the lovable rogue Lovejoy.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00His eagle eye for antiques saw him scour the country for anything
0:33:00 > 0:33:02that could make him a quick buck.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09The legendary George Cole played Arthur Daley
0:33:09 > 0:33:11who, despite doing some dodgy deals,
0:33:11 > 0:33:14somehow always managed to keep one step ahead of the law.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25So how did you start out in television, Paul?
0:33:25 > 0:33:27I was sitting in my antique shop.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30I had an antiques shop in Marlborough.
0:33:30 > 0:33:31It was going very well for me.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33I had the shop for three years.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35I was like the buyer, the seller,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38the restorer, the accountant and the delivery man.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42- You name it, you know?- Did it all. - Yeah, wearing several caps.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44I loved it. I lived and breathed it.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48I was working, sort of, seven days a week, 12-15 hours a day.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51And long journeys, buying things all over the country.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54We had a really quiet spell and I was sitting in the shop.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59I think it was a Wednesday afternoon and a BBC researcher came in.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02She started to take some photographs and she said, "I love your shop."
0:34:02 > 0:34:05"We're doing a piece on The Polly Tearooms in Marlborough but
0:34:05 > 0:34:07"I've just come up here, wandered up here.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09"Can I take some photographs of this?"
0:34:09 > 0:34:12She got out her little camcorder and was doing this and that.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15She said, "Oh, could you tell me about this cabinet?
0:34:15 > 0:34:17"Could you talk me through this, if you don't mind?"
0:34:17 > 0:34:19So I said, "Yeah, all right."
0:34:19 > 0:34:22I thought, "Well, nothing to lose. She might buy it."
0:34:22 > 0:34:25I'm trying to entertain her and, you know, give her the lowdown
0:34:25 > 0:34:27and the spiel and a few anecdotes about it.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30- It could have been used by the Duke of Wellington, you know?- Yeah!
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Those kind of stories.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36I did about three little vignettes for her.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39She recorded it and said, "Oh, that's really, really good."
0:34:39 > 0:34:43She said, "Look, I'm going to take this and send it to the channel
0:34:43 > 0:34:46"and they might use this as an archive somewhere
0:34:46 > 0:34:47"or your shop as a location."
0:34:47 > 0:34:49That was that. So I thought...
0:34:49 > 0:34:50You didn't think anything of it.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Yeah, I just went, "Oh, she didn't buy anything."
0:34:53 > 0:34:55You think, you know, lost a client there.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00And about three days later I had a phone call from the BBC saying,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03"Is that Paul Martin? Because we've just seen your name above your shop.
0:35:03 > 0:35:07"We're looking at the video clip that someone sent in, a researcher,
0:35:07 > 0:35:11"and we feel you've got the potential to become a TV presenter.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13- Oh!- "You could be the new face of antiques."
0:35:13 > 0:35:16"We're looking for a presenter to present an antique programme,
0:35:16 > 0:35:19"and you can keep your business and do the show.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22- "It might work for you." - It's worked...- And it worked.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24- It's worked for the last 15 years. - 15 years, yeah.
0:35:24 > 0:35:26- Our 1,000th show this year. - 15 years!
0:35:26 > 0:35:28Let's have a little look at Flog It!
0:35:28 > 0:35:30280, anyone?
0:35:30 > 0:35:32Christa, you've brought in a wonderful Moorcroft bowl.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Oh, I look like Lovejoy, don't I?! Long hair and biker boots!
0:35:36 > 0:35:38This is from the first series.
0:35:38 > 0:35:39Get in the queue.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42"Flog It!" sees Paul and his team of experts
0:35:42 > 0:35:44tour the country valuing antiques -
0:35:44 > 0:35:47some of which are then sold at auction.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49Now, you paid £4 for this.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51- Yes, that's right.- It's a bit of a star buy, isn't it?
0:35:51 > 0:35:53Well, I think so, yes.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55So she bought that bowl for £4.
0:35:57 > 0:35:58Lot 462.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Start me straight in at £580.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03- Huh!- Whoa!
0:36:03 > 0:36:05- Just a simple idea and it worked, didn't it?- Yeah.
0:36:07 > 0:36:08980, 1,000, 1,500.
0:36:08 > 0:36:10(I can't believe it!)
0:36:12 > 0:36:15- Do you ever tire of the reactions of the people?- No.- No?
0:36:15 > 0:36:18- No, because it's so real, it's so natural.- It is, yeah.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20This is not fake. This is not set up.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23- This is filmed as live. You only get one chance at that.- Mm-hm.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26You can't ask the auctioneer, "Hang on, stop!
0:36:26 > 0:36:29"Let's do a retake. His mic's fallen off!" You just do it.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31(Oh, I can't believe it!)
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Are we all done at 1,500?
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Yes!
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Yes! Oh, gosh!
0:36:38 > 0:36:39'Look at that!'
0:36:39 > 0:36:43- 1,500 and cost her- £4. Yeah, and that's what the show's all about.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44- Yeah.- You know?
0:36:44 > 0:36:46It's not the Antiques Roadshow where we say,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48"Yes, Madam, it's worth 30,000 or 40,000."
0:36:48 > 0:36:52It's real life. It's about stuff that we all come across,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54that we inherit, you know, from Aunt Edna.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56You don't like it, you don't want it and you want to put it into auction.
0:36:56 > 0:36:58You want to flog it and you think it's worth
0:36:58 > 0:37:02possibly a couple of hundred quid and hey-ho, a couple of grand.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05Are there any items that have really taken your breath away that
0:37:05 > 0:37:07had been auctioned off and sadly just done a left turn?
0:37:07 > 0:37:10- On the show?- Yeah.- Oh, gosh, yes. - And just gone through the roof.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12Yes, yes. We had one about three years ago.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14In Scotland, this lovely old chap, a pensioner,
0:37:14 > 0:37:17still looking after his mum, had never left home...
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Had on his mantelpiece...
0:37:20 > 0:37:23He had this piece of carved rhino horn.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28This has to be one of the nicest things
0:37:28 > 0:37:30I've ever seen on "Flog It!" and possibly one of the most
0:37:30 > 0:37:33valuable items we have ever had on the show.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36This was carved in the 17th century
0:37:36 > 0:37:38and it was carved into the shape of a libation cup.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41So it was Chinese and it had lots of mythical dragons
0:37:41 > 0:37:43and figures around it.
0:37:43 > 0:37:44He used it as an ashtray,
0:37:44 > 0:37:46and when he stopped smoking he put drawing pins
0:37:46 > 0:37:48and, you know, elastic bands in it.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50It's one of those things, those typical pots you have
0:37:50 > 0:37:53on the mantelpiece. It was disgusting and it had fallen off
0:37:53 > 0:37:54several times and was chipped and broken.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57He brought it along to our valuation day.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- How much do you think that's worth? - A couple of hundred pounds.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05A couple of hundred, yeah? A couple of hundred pounds.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09He said, "Well, some bloke's offered me £300 for it.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11"Should I sell it?"
0:38:11 > 0:38:14My gut feeling is
0:38:14 > 0:38:17this is worth £8-£12,000.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20GASPING AND LAUGHING
0:38:20 > 0:38:23- Yes, I'm not pulling your leg. - Quite happy!- Quite happy?!
0:38:24 > 0:38:28We said, "What we'll do is we'll send this down to London
0:38:28 > 0:38:30"and if it is right,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32"we'll put it in a special fine art
0:38:32 > 0:38:35"sale in Bonhams in Bond Street for their Asian sale."
0:38:35 > 0:38:38It's a big sale once a year, and the Chinese collectors fly over
0:38:38 > 0:38:41and they buy everything.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43This is your restored libation cup.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46The auction house obviously really believe in this.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Lot number 470.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Who'd like to start this?
0:38:51 > 0:38:52£5,000 for it. £5,000.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56- 5,000 is offered. Thank you, madam, very much.- We're in.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59'The cup appeared on an episode shown at Chinese New Year.'
0:38:59 > 0:39:03- £30,000.- There...- 30,000, Tom.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06'It was about to become the most exciting item ever to
0:39:06 > 0:39:09'appear on the series.'
0:39:09 > 0:39:12- The bid's at £40,000.- 40 grand!
0:39:12 > 0:39:16£44,000. You're all done.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17Sold!
0:39:17 > 0:39:22- Thank you very much. - What's it worth? £44,000.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Congratulations, Tom.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28- Oh, isn't that incredible?- Yeah. - And he was going to sell it for 300.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30- Yeah.- I think it's one of the
0:39:30 > 0:39:32reasons Britain loves "Flog It!" so much.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34It's those stories. You can't make that up.
0:39:34 > 0:39:35You just can't make that up.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37You never know when that's going to happen again.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39That's why the atmosphere is electric.
0:39:39 > 0:39:44You get to these valuation days and 600-800 people turn up.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47On a good day we get 1,000-1,200 people.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49We have six or eight experts on hand.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54We have three on camera, plus myself and you have to get through it.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56How about that? £44,000!
0:39:56 > 0:39:58I think they're in shock.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00What a day, what a moment.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02This really is the icing on the cake for me.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Ten years of hard work on the show and it just goes to show,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10you never know what you're going to find.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13Was antiques always in the background? Was it always simmering?
0:40:13 > 0:40:15I guess it was always there, you know?
0:40:15 > 0:40:18It's something you've grown up with, and once you've got an eye,
0:40:18 > 0:40:20you can look at something and
0:40:20 > 0:40:22understand its perspective and its detail and its symmetry.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25And you're good with colour and good with composition.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I think it was just a natural progression for me, you know?
0:40:28 > 0:40:32It's an opinion and somebody's opinion is different to
0:40:32 > 0:40:36somebody else's. Valuations are really hard to pin down because
0:40:36 > 0:40:38if two people really want something,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41they are going to carry on bidding and bidding and bidding.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45You find you could overpay for something in an auction room
0:40:45 > 0:40:48one day, get fed up with it, put it back into auction in two months
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- and you might only get half your money back.- Yeah.- You know?
0:40:51 > 0:40:54That's how dangerous the game is.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57What is something that you truly treasure that you found
0:40:57 > 0:40:59that maybe just came out of the blue one day?
0:40:59 > 0:41:03I bought in auction, about six months ago, one of the nicest things
0:41:03 > 0:41:06I've ever come across. It's a George III chest of drawers.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07It's quite tatty.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10It's ebonised, so it looks like ebony but it's just painted black.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Each drawer is graduated.
0:41:13 > 0:41:18You open them up and its full of fossils, gems and seashells.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21- Wow!- So it's a collector's cabinet and it's somebody's collection
0:41:21 > 0:41:23from, let's say, 1815.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27- Oh, wow.- You know, George III and it's all there intact.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Absolutely incredible.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32- There's a lifetime's collecting in that cabinet.- Isn't that amazing?
0:41:32 > 0:41:34- Yeah.- You managed to... - I bought that.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36- Yeah.- I'm going to give it to my son
0:41:36 > 0:41:38because he wants to be a palaeontologist.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40We go fossil hunting, you know?
0:41:40 > 0:41:44We collect sea shells, so that's a great little present for him.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54So what sort of stuff are you watching now on TV?
0:41:54 > 0:41:56Erm, I still watch all the antiques programmes, obviously,
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Antiques Roadshow...
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Do you wish you'd thought of that?
0:42:00 > 0:42:02Yeah, it's a lovely format, isn't it?
0:42:02 > 0:42:05It's a great format, yeah. I watch all sorts of things.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07I watch a lot of documentaries.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09I'm a big fan of the natural history stuff.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14You know, David Attenborough - legend, legend, legend.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17- Paul, have you enjoyed it? - I have, I have. You made me cry.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19- I had a little tear. I welled up, didn't I?- I'm pleased.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22You took me back and I thought about...
0:42:22 > 0:42:25- It's all about those good values my mum and dad gave me.- Yeah.
0:42:25 > 0:42:26That's important.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29And we give our guests the opportunity now
0:42:29 > 0:42:31to choose a theme tune to play out with.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33- So what's it going to be? - Well, it's got to be...
0:42:33 > 0:42:36because I love snooker, Pot Black.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38I think it was the black and white
0:42:38 > 0:42:40- ivory tickle on the old piano, wasn't it?- Yeah.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42- Fond memories of that. - Fond memories, yeah.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45Fond memories of Dad teaching me to place snooker,
0:42:45 > 0:42:47- and now I'm teaching my son. - Isn't that lovely?- Yeah.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50- And you've been lovely. Thank you very much.- Oh, thanks.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52Thanks to Paul and my thanks to you for watching The TV That Made Me.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56We'll see you next time. Bye-bye!
0:42:56 > 0:42:59MUSIC: Black And White Rag by George Botsford