0:00:02 > 0:00:03TV - the magic box of delights.
0:00:03 > 0:00:07As kids, it showed us a million different worlds
0:00:07 > 0:00:09all from our living room.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12- This takes me right back. - That is so embarrassing!
0:00:12 > 0:00:14I am genuinely shocked.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Each day, I am going to journey through
0:00:17 > 0:00:21the wonderful world of telly with one of our favourite celebrities.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23It is just so silly.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Ah! Love it!
0:00:25 > 0:00:26Is it Mr Benn?
0:00:26 > 0:00:28- THEY SING - Shut it!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31As they select the iconic TV moments...
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Oh, he-llo!
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..that tell us the stories of their lives.
0:00:36 > 0:00:37WOMAN GASPS
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Oh, my gosh.
0:00:39 > 0:00:40- BOTH:- Cheers.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41Some will make you laugh...
0:00:41 > 0:00:43HE PRETENDS TO WEEP
0:00:43 > 0:00:45Oh, no!
0:00:45 > 0:00:46..some will surprise...
0:00:46 > 0:00:48SHE SCREAMS AND LAUGHS
0:00:48 > 0:00:50..many will inspire...
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Look at this. Why wouldn't you want to watch this?
0:00:53 > 0:00:55..and others will move us.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Seeing that there made a huge impact on me.
0:00:58 > 0:00:59BABY CRIES
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Got a handkerchief?
0:01:01 > 0:01:04So come watch with us, as we rewind
0:01:04 > 0:01:07to the classic telly that shaped
0:01:07 > 0:01:11those wide-eyed youngsters into the much-loved stars they are today.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Welcome to The TV That Made Me.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27My guest today is an amazing lady who has dedicated most of
0:01:27 > 0:01:30her life to righting wrongs.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32It is Dame Esther Rantzen!
0:01:32 > 0:01:34CHEERING
0:01:34 > 0:01:37- Oh, welcome.- Thank you. - Do I get a peck?
0:01:37 > 0:01:39She is a consumer champion, founder of ChildLine
0:01:39 > 0:01:44and one of the greatest broadcasters to ever grace the British Isles.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47The TV that made Dame Esther includes
0:01:47 > 0:01:52a drama that rocked the nation and crashed the BBC switchboard...
0:01:52 > 0:01:55the queen of "walkies!" and "siiiit"...
0:01:57 > 0:01:59..and of course, we will be looking at
0:01:59 > 0:02:01everyone's favourite consumer show.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03APPLAUSE
0:02:03 > 0:02:06- Please, come and sit down. Welcome to my flat.- Lovely.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08- My lodgers.- Yes.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- Very tasteful. - Do you like it?- It's nice, isn't it?
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Is there anything here that you may have had at home?
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Not one single thing.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19LAUGHTER
0:02:19 > 0:02:22So, Esther, are you a fan of nostalgia?
0:02:22 > 0:02:27Yes, yes, yes, I love looking back and seeing old programmes
0:02:27 > 0:02:30and hearing old music, makes me feel young again, I love it.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35- What was your home like growing up?- OK, I grew up...
0:02:35 > 0:02:37I was born in Berkhamsted during the war,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39about the same time as Dunkirk.
0:02:39 > 0:02:45And we lived in a typical little semidetached house,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48with a privet hedge, and my dad used to wash
0:02:48 > 0:02:51the car on a Sunday morning and it was all very respectable.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Today is a celebration, a celebration of television
0:02:54 > 0:02:58that you have watched and loved and picked for us today.
0:02:58 > 0:02:59We are going to rewind the clock
0:02:59 > 0:03:01and look at a young Esther Rantzen.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04- Oh, dear.- Or should I say Dame...Esther Rantzen.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07- Well, say it once, cos it's a great honour...- Oh, it is.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09..but don't frighten me with it all the way through.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11- OK, so I can call you Esther? - Please do.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14Otherwise I will have to be very proper.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Well, cop a look at this, this is Esther.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18- LAUGHTER - OK.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21Esther Rantzen was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
0:03:21 > 0:03:24in 1940 to parents Katherine and Harry.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27After a spell living in New York whilst her father
0:03:27 > 0:03:30worked for the UN, the family headed back to the UK,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33where Esther attended Oxford University.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36After a stint as a BBC Radio assistant,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40she moved into television as a reporter for Braden's Week.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45In 1973, Esther became a true household name,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48as she presented the magazine show That's Life,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52which attracted up to 18 million viewers each week.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56She set up ChildLine in October 1986, and last year alone,
0:03:56 > 0:04:02ChildLine dealt with over 300,000 young people reaching out for help.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Esther's incredible achievements were recognised in 2015
0:04:06 > 0:04:07when she was made a dame.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11- Was it a nice trip down memory lane? - It certainly was.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14BRIAN LAUGHS
0:04:14 > 0:04:16I tell you what I always think about that.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- If I had known that it was going to be all right...- Mmm.
0:04:19 > 0:04:20..how happy I would have been then.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24You get so worried when you're a kid, and you think things aren't
0:04:24 > 0:04:27going to work out, but actually, here you are at 75,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and I have been very lucky.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36So was TV a big part of your life growing up?
0:04:36 > 0:04:41Actually it was, because my late father was something
0:04:41 > 0:04:45- quite senior in the BBC - sorry about showing off.- No, no.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46But he was one of the television pioneers,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50so we actually had a television in 1946.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52But nothing to watch.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- I remember Andy Pandy.- Yes. - I remember Muffin The Mule.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00I remember the little dot disappearing in the centre
0:05:00 > 0:05:01of the screen.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05So you talk about the dot, do you remember the interlude?
0:05:05 > 0:05:06The interlude was...
0:05:06 > 0:05:10It was actually, in some ways, better than the programme.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18The Potter's Wheel interlude was introduced in February 1953,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21with a variety of these short films intended to cover
0:05:21 > 0:05:24the many intervals in programming.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31In those days, between programmes, you had this lovely soothing moment
0:05:31 > 0:05:33where you could just relax,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36chat to whoever you were sitting with, and there would be
0:05:36 > 0:05:39a potter doing something artistic
0:05:39 > 0:05:41and not at all rude with bits of clay.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52And it just put you in a good mood.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56Well, to put you in a good mood now, I would like to do my own...
0:05:56 > 0:05:58- interlude for you.- Erm...
0:05:58 > 0:05:59LAUGHTER
0:05:59 > 0:06:04- Shall I go over there?- This might be terribly rude.- No! You are a dame.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06You're going to make a lot of mess, aren't you?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09You are preparing yourself for this.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12I am doing this for you, Esther. Away we go.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18I have never, ever used a potter's wheel in my life.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23The interlude ranged in length
0:06:23 > 0:06:27and showed everything from spinning wheels to seascapes.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29Oh, isn't this lovely?
0:06:31 > 0:06:34This film shows the hands of Georges Aubertin
0:06:34 > 0:06:37as he throws a pot accompanied by music.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42- The music was so important.- Don't watch the telly, Esther, watch me.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46- I'm sorry, sorry. - I am working like a dog here.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50'Viewers who stayed alert might have noticed that Aubertin
0:06:50 > 0:06:54'never finished the pot, just kept remodelling it.'
0:06:54 > 0:06:56I'm getting a bit wobbly, a bit wobbly.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Oh, oh, oh, got a wobbly bit, wobbly bit.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03He's making his flatter.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07'Well, ladies and gentlemen, that is not how I roll.'
0:07:12 > 0:07:14APPLAUSE
0:07:18 > 0:07:22I can't believe I have actually done that. That is absolutely fantastic.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Very, very impressive.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30As pleased as I am with my pottery, I doubt I would ever have
0:07:30 > 0:07:33made it as a presenter on any of the classic craft shows.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Blue Peter led the way in 1958,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39and I certainly remember wanting to be awarded a badge.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43I still live in hope, although maybe not for my pot.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Tony Hart with Morph and the gallery slot which we all loved
0:07:47 > 0:07:52dominated a decade of telly crafting between 1984 and 1993.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Morph maintained his fame with another kids' craft show when
0:07:56 > 0:07:58he joined Kirsten O'Brien and co
0:07:58 > 0:08:01on SMart, which ran for 16 series.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04At the more grown-up end of the scale,
0:08:04 > 0:08:09we have the queen of the handmade home, Kirstie Allsopp,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11encouraging us to use our imagination,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15something Esther's father would often do.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Your father, he was very much into his technology, wasn't he?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21My father was one of the cleverest people I have ever met.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25He was an electrical engineer, he worked for the BBC,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27he worked for Lord Reith...
0:08:27 > 0:08:31- and he was one of the pioneers in television.- Really?
0:08:31 > 0:08:34He also invented a spoutless teapot.
0:08:34 > 0:08:39No! How do you get water out of a spoutless teapot?
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Well, it was actually a jug.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44But he thought the spout always got dirtier,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46so that's why he thought it would be useful.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51- So your dad invented a jug? - He invented a jug.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55But why I am so grateful to him was that he had two daughters,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00and this was at a time when, for a lot of girls and women,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03the ambition was get married, have children, settle down,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07good housewife, cook, dust - all those things.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10My parents wanted both of us to go to university and have careers.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13- Oh, wonderful.- And this was, you know, born in the 1940s,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- so this was fairly unusual. - Mm-hmm.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20So I am very grateful to both my parents for their aspirations.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23So you have spoken about your dad, what about your mum?
0:09:23 > 0:09:25She was...
0:09:25 > 0:09:26SHE SIGHS
0:09:26 > 0:09:32..in deep disguise. She was so naughty...
0:09:32 > 0:09:33- BRIAN LAUGHS - ..so anarchic.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36You would see this dear, little, old lady in her later life,
0:09:36 > 0:09:41with white curls and glasses, very respectable,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43and when she came on any of my shows,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45sometimes she would come on my talk show,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48she would always get a round of applause for being so wicked.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Really? Like a wicked sense of humour?
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Wicked sense of humour, always saying the unpredictable.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57What sort of things would she do?
0:09:57 > 0:10:00- Does anything spring to mind? - I remember Russell Harty...- Oh, yes.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03..thought that she was a dear, little, old lady,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05he was interviewing people's mothers.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07And he said to her, lovingly,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12"So, Mrs Rantzen, do you do a lot of baby-sitting for Esther?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14"Would you babysit for me?"
0:10:14 > 0:10:17And she said, "Russell, you couldn't afford me."
0:10:18 > 0:10:21It was good, it was good. But the television, in spite of the fact
0:10:21 > 0:10:22we had a very early television,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26my respectable parents thought it killed
0:10:26 > 0:10:29the art of conversation, so it was never allowed in the sitting room.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32- It had to be out in the hall. - In the hall?!
0:10:32 > 0:10:35So we would put a couple of chairs in the hall,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38and there was a boy who used to deliver the evening paper
0:10:38 > 0:10:40who spent hours looking through the letterbox.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42LAUGHTER
0:10:42 > 0:10:45We were a slightly eccentric family, looking back.
0:10:49 > 0:10:55- Let's move on now to your Must-See TV.- OK.- Have a little look at this.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Starring the multi-talented actress
0:10:59 > 0:11:02and model Lucille Ball,
0:11:02 > 0:11:04American television sitcom
0:11:04 > 0:11:06I Love Lucy ran for six series,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08from 1951 to 1957.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13180 episodes of TV gold.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Tell me, Mrs Ricardo, have you ever considered acting?
0:11:16 > 0:11:19- ETHEL AND RICKY:- Has she ever considered acting?!
0:11:19 > 0:11:21LAUGHTER
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Well, my...
0:11:24 > 0:11:28The calla lilies are in bloom again, really they are.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31A running theme throughout was Lucy's desire
0:11:31 > 0:11:33to be more than a housewife.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37This always caused great hilarity with her band leader husband Ricky,
0:11:37 > 0:11:41as well as with other supportive friends and family members.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I'm getting in the mood for my Italian picture debut.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49- ITALIAN ACCENT: - Arrivederci, mi amore.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51Ar-r-r-ivederci.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00- She was a legend.- She was a legend.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05Didn't she start as a rather glamorous Ziegfeld Folly type
0:12:05 > 0:12:07beauty queen and she...?
0:12:07 > 0:12:13- It is quite unusual for gorgeous woman, or it was, to be funny.- Yeah.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17But she did slapstick, she had that wonderful timing,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and of course that fantastic face.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24So where was you when you were watching I Love Lucy?
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- In America.- Oh, right. - I was on Long Island.- Mm-hmm.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32My father had been seconded from the BBC to the United Nations,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34so we lived there for two years.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38And maybe that is why I remember her so much, because of course,
0:12:38 > 0:12:40she was an American heroine.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43- Yeah. So did you enjoy your time there?- Loved it.
0:12:43 > 0:12:49And loved Americans, loved their openness and their warmth.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53I remember being astonished by the size of the portions.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56When you ate with a friend or ate in a restaurant,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59you had this steak that was flopping over the side of the plate.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Unknown in Britain.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Yes, I have never forgotten my time in the States. Always loved it.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08- Did you still have your TV in the hall?- No.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11- By then...- It was in the lounge?
0:13:11 > 0:13:14It had... Yeah, I think maybe the Queen made it respectable, didn't she?
0:13:14 > 0:13:16- With the Coronation.- The Coronation.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19- And everybody having a television set.- Yeah.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22- I always was sophisticated. - BRIAN LAUGHS
0:13:22 > 0:13:25But I think... I love slapstick. I love it.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- I mean, I love all forms of humour when it's brilliantly done.- Yeah.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- Well, funny is funny, isn't it? - Funny is funny.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33We all love a laugh and TV's given us some
0:13:33 > 0:13:38sensational slapstick over the years, especially here in the UK.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43Way back in 1946, the diminutive 5'4 comic Norman Wisdom
0:13:43 > 0:13:47first took to the stage with his Charlie Chaplin-esque routine.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Then in 1955, Benny Hill's domination of
0:13:50 > 0:13:53slapstick-style TV comedy began.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Norman and Benny were followed by many other great comedians.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Who could forget John Cleese in Fawlty Towers, which gave us
0:14:01 > 0:14:0812 episodes of Basil, Sybil and Manuel between 1975 and 1979?
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Then there's Barry and Paul, whose ChuckleVision
0:14:10 > 0:14:14brought us tears of laughter for over two decades.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16But arguably, the king of slapstick was Welshman,
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Thomas Frederick Cooper,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Who made his first foray into showbusiness in 1947.
0:14:24 > 0:14:25Tommy Cooper.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29I was once at a... I think it was it was Water Rats or Variety Club lunch
0:14:29 > 0:14:33and he was the after-lunch speaker.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Oh, I would have... It would've been my dream come true to have gone to that.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38So what was it like?
0:14:39 > 0:14:44He stood up and he read the menu and strong men wept.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Isn't that amazing?! Isn't that amazing?
0:14:47 > 0:14:51- I don't know how he did that. I just don't know how he did it.- Yeah.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54- A man that could read the menu and get big laughs.- And he could.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- All the way through.- Yeah.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58And I think it was because we knew the world was
0:14:58 > 0:15:02conspiring against him, particularly inanimate objects.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Anything around him, you know, a cup, a saucer, a teapot, you knew he
0:15:07 > 0:15:11was absolutely sure it was going to attack him, any minute, any minute.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15And he convinced us! We knew he was living the most precarious life.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16- Yeah.- Wonderful man.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Now, we've seen the shows that you love,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26but what about the one that your dad enjoyed?
0:15:29 > 0:15:32- VOICEOVER:- The band, the animals, the clowns, all the glitter
0:15:32 > 0:15:34and excitement was too much for Mr Pastry.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38He decided to join the circus.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- Ah!- Mr Pastry! ESTHER LAUGHS
0:15:41 > 0:15:43- Richard Hearne.- Amazing.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47"Is this the way in?" said Mr Pastry. "Oh! Good.
0:15:47 > 0:15:48"Thank you."
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Mr Pastry was a clumsy and accident-prone character created by
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Richard Hearne, which he took to the stage
0:15:54 > 0:15:56in the '40s and later onto television.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01This is worse than trying to cross Oxford Street in the rush-hour.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Richard Hearne was actually in talks to become the fourth
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Doctor Who back in 1974.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11But it could have been his suggestion of playing the Doctor as Mr Pastry
0:16:11 > 0:16:14that saw the role given to Tom Baker.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- IN FRENCH ACCENT:- "See, this is a plate and an egg.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21"I throw the egg up in the air and catch it on the plate."
0:16:23 > 0:16:27"So, voila!"
0:16:27 > 0:16:29"Oh, very good," said Mr Pastry.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32"What, me? Yes?
0:16:32 > 0:16:33"Voila!"
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Urgh.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38But even that didn't damp Mr Pastry's enthusiasm.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41He was still determined to get a job with the circus.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44The thing is, I think
0:16:44 > 0:16:47the other thing about great comedy is its simplicity.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50I mean, if you look at Richard Hearne and the egg,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53it took some timing, but it's quite a simple idea,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55- for an egg to fall on your head. - Yeah.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- Must have been happening as long as there's been human beings on earth. - Yeah.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01But now, when I listen to comedy, quite often, the comic will
0:17:01 > 0:17:07depend on shock of a swear word in the tag and you think to yourself,
0:17:07 > 0:17:12you know, actually, the great comics can make you laugh without that.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Yeah. So did your father prefer comedy to everything else?
0:17:16 > 0:17:19He seemed to. I always remember one particular night,
0:17:19 > 0:17:24- it was actually the night that Kennedy was assassinated...- Mm-hm.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30..and ironically, all the BBC bosses were at some glitzy hotel,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33because it was the BAFTA - or the forerunner of BAFTAs -
0:17:33 > 0:17:36and they were all getting awards and congratulating each other.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40So nobody was there to say, stop your normal programmes, we've got
0:17:40 > 0:17:44to have a moment when we reflect this terrible event, this tragedy.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Radio did it much better, they went to Any Questions.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Television put on Harry Worth.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- Oh, my word!- Do you remember the opening of his show,
0:17:52 > 0:17:56- when he was...- I know, in the shop window.- ..with the shop window? - Yeah.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58To stand in a shop window and do that daft thing.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00- But didn't we all do it? - Of course we did.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05Have you ever wandered past a shop window and done the Harry Worth "who-ho-ho!"
0:18:05 > 0:18:07- Absolutely, absolutely. - Yeah, I think we all have.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11- What a thing to have, you know, in your career.- Yeah.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14You were the programme that the BBC bosses should not have put out
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- the night Kennedy died. - It wasn't his fault, was it?
0:18:17 > 0:18:21It was absolutely not his fault and I think there was only one man
0:18:21 > 0:18:25in the whole world that was sitting - in our hall,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29I have to say - watching Harry Worth and roaring with laughter.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32And I was going around the house, listening to the radio,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34talking to my mum, saying this can't be true,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36and every time I went through the hall, there was my father
0:18:36 > 0:18:39- killing himself and watching Harry Worth!- Harry Worth.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42- Yes, he adored Harry Worth. He loved comedy.- Yeah.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51- So, from TV that gave you a giggle...- Yes.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54..to one that gave you a lump in your throat.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56- I hope you're ready for this.- Go on.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58This was, of course, Cathy Come Home.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Let's take him away without making any fuss, huh?
0:19:01 > 0:19:04What right have you got to take my kids from me?
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Well, you can't find a place for them, can you?
0:19:07 > 0:19:09We can't have them sleeping out.
0:19:09 > 0:19:10Will you help Mummy pack up?
0:19:10 > 0:19:15In 1966, the BBC first broadcast Ken Loach's gritty television drama,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19which dealt with a young family's descent into homelessness.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22It was watched by an audience of 12 million,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25a quarter of the British population at the time.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29And afterwards, the BBC switchboard crashed, because so many viewers
0:19:29 > 0:19:32called in to ask what they could do to help.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34We had a bite to eat from the cafeteria.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Of course, the kiddies didn't know what was going to happen.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40But I knew they'd catch up with us.
0:19:40 > 0:19:41- SCREAMING:- You're not having them!
0:19:41 > 0:19:44BABIES SCREAM AND CRY
0:19:44 > 0:19:46- Harrowing, isn't it?- Mmm.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48BABIES SCREAM AND CRY
0:19:51 > 0:19:53'66, Cathy Come Home.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- But it still touches you, I can see your eyes...- Oh, yes. Yes, yes.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59Do you think Ken Loach realised what he was making there?
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- Certainly, it looks like a documentary.- Hmm.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05Extraordinarily well-acted.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07Ken is a wonderful director.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12It was with pioneers like that that actually made you see that
0:20:12 > 0:20:18people sometimes have circumstances which they are powerless
0:20:18 > 0:20:20to protect their own children against.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22That programme really changed things.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26It shocked the nation and they wanted to do something about it.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- Got a handkerchief? - We have got some, do you want one?
0:20:29 > 0:20:31OK, I will keep one by me. Are you going to do that to me again?
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- No, no.- Promise?- Yes.- All right, Stick it there, in case.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38- Television's a fantastic medium for doing good.- Hmm.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41And that's what I've used all my professional life, to try
0:20:41 > 0:20:47and enable ordinary people to tell their story in such a powerful way.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- Hmm.- If you give the British public good information,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52they will come forward and help.
0:20:52 > 0:20:56That's how ChildLine was launched, that's how the Silver Line was launched,
0:20:56 > 0:20:59just because people recognised that this was
0:20:59 > 0:21:02a way of reaching out to people that no-one else knew about.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06- ChildLine has now helped more than 4 million children.- That is amazing.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09But that is generations of staff and volunteers,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12who have given their time and their commitment and their skill
0:21:12 > 0:21:15and enabled us to answer all those kids.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18As I say, with the Silver Line, do you know, our busiest day
0:21:18 > 0:21:23the year for the Silver Line was New Year's Day.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Just remind people what Silver Line is.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29- OK, it's a free, confidential help line for older people.- Mm-hm.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34And it's really to alleviate isolation, when people aren't
0:21:34 > 0:21:38talking to anybody, because they're living alone, they may be disabled.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41And it's really bad for us to be entirely on our own.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44So you can talk to someone who's just there
0:21:44 > 0:21:45because they want to listen.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Share memories, enjoy a conversation.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58It's time to move on now to your TV fear.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04A pioneering BBC series that gave us Brits an uncensored look
0:22:04 > 0:22:06into the medical profession.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08But first, Esther...
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- Yes, dear?- ..we're going to need these. I'll pop out to the kitchen.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15- He's left me all alone! - Which colour do you want?
0:22:15 > 0:22:18- Oh! I'll have the blue, please.- Blue.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Do you remember...
0:22:22 > 0:22:23what you used to do?
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Now, shall I explain what you're doing?
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- Yes, it's all yours, Esther. - Never looked lovelier.
0:22:31 > 0:22:32Thank you.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Picture the scene.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37- I think it was Your Life In Their Hands?- Mmm.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- Which took you into the operating theatre, OK?- Yeah.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42And I can't stand it.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45I'm totally squeamish, I can't watch anything like that.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48But my sister and my mother were addicted to it.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51So I was coming downstairs, remember the television in the hall?
0:22:51 > 0:22:53- Still in the hall? - Still in the hall.
0:22:53 > 0:22:59They're sitting on chairs, they were watching television like that.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02And I came down and saw these two lunatics with duffel coats
0:23:02 > 0:23:05on back to front, the hoods over their faces,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08and I said to them, "You could always switch the thing off!"
0:23:08 > 0:23:11And they said, "No, we don't want to miss anything!"
0:23:11 > 0:23:13Silly women.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Do you want to keep the duffle coat? Are you up for this?
0:23:15 > 0:23:17- Um...- Shall we have a little look?
0:23:17 > 0:23:21- I'd like to keep it by me, just in case.- As a comfort blanket, OK? - Thank you.- OK, here we go.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Originally presented by Dr Charles Fletcher, this ground-breaking
0:23:24 > 0:23:29medical series first aired in February 1958, giving the
0:23:29 > 0:23:33British public an insight into the work of our medical professionals.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36In this case, the show follows a liver operation.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40I said before in this series that it's not light entertainment.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43ESTHER LAUGHS It's blood and gore!
0:23:43 > 0:23:47We know that a few people have been upset by the films we've shown before.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49I can tell you who they are!
0:23:49 > 0:23:51In fact, some people have actually fainted.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54So, don't look in for the next few minutes...
0:23:54 > 0:23:56ESTHER LAUGHS
0:23:56 > 0:24:00Turn down the vision on your set or look away and I'll tell you
0:24:00 > 0:24:03when the film is over so that you can look in again.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06- VOICE-OVER:- The incision is being made...
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Oh, is it...
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Oh!
0:24:10 > 0:24:14I am dissecting amongst the deeper tissues...
0:24:14 > 0:24:16This eye-opening
0:24:16 > 0:24:19medical series was gory but compelling viewing.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22The programme understandably divided and doctors and viewers alike.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26No doubt it was way ahead of its time.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30..about an inch of the length, you can see the liver, which
0:24:30 > 0:24:33instead of being smooth, is very lumpy.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Oh, that's...healthy.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40- Thank God it's in black and white! - Oh, he's digging around! Look!
0:24:40 > 0:24:45Can you imagine having someone poking around in your tummy?
0:24:45 > 0:24:49- I have to tell you, there are people fainting in the audience. - AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:24:49 > 0:24:50And that's the end of the operation,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53so those of you who've turned down your vision can now turn it up.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55It is odd, isn't it?
0:24:55 > 0:24:58And actually, it's much more explicit, isn't it,
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- that most programmes on nowadays? - Yeah.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04I think if it came back, I would have to have a duffle coat handy.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08As a nation, we have always been fascinated with medical television.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10It's been over 15 years since
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Professor Robert Winston's ground-breaking medical
0:25:13 > 0:25:16documentary series gave us an insight into the human body
0:25:16 > 0:25:20at every stage from birth to death.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23More recently, Michael Mosley and his team investigate everything
0:25:23 > 0:25:28from aspirin to exercise, in the series Trust Me, I'm A Doctor.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Street Doctor had a slightly different remit.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Four GPs pounded the pavement of Britain to diagnose,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38advise and treat members of the general public
0:25:38 > 0:25:41and if specialist medical insight was more your thing,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44the dissected series with Dr George McGavin literally took apart
0:25:44 > 0:25:49our hands and feet to show us exactly how they work.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57So, Esther, now we're moving on to your next choice.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Here's a lady who was not afraid of taking the lead.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04- Now...- Ah!
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Barbara Woodhouse.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Hello, little doggy! Now, as we know, she's got... HAD a bad leg,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13it's not a bad leg now, is it? But we mustn't let her sit, Nicola.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15- It's a him, is it?- Yeah.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Barbara Woodhouse became a household name in the '80s
0:26:17 > 0:26:20and a ten-part series training dogs the Woodhouse way
0:26:20 > 0:26:24coined a couple of catchphrases we still use today.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27If you're going to jerk him, the hand comes on... Show me how.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Like that... And jerk! No, much harder than that. And let go.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Do you remember, it comes right up here? Righto. Good boy.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36You see, these days, somebody would give her a stylist
0:26:36 > 0:26:39and they'd do something about her hair.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44- And they'd do something about that kilt.- Mm-hm.- Bless her.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46There's nothing wrong with a bit of tartan.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50- I think I'm wearing the same as her in this...- I think you may be.- Yeah.- I think you certainly are.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Tap your hand and really encourage him! Let's go, shall we?
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Come on, Skipper, walkies! Jerk him back now.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57No, that's across you, try and jerk
0:26:57 > 0:26:59back if he's ahead. That's right. That'll stop him.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02As iconic as Barbara was, these days,
0:27:02 > 0:27:05dog training techniques have evolved.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- Wait!- Now, you did it wrong. You did it over his face.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Wait! Just by your hip.
0:27:11 > 0:27:12"Stupid girl, come on!"
0:27:12 > 0:27:14BOTH: Wait!
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Spit! I want to feel something.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18- Wai-t!- Wai-T!- Oh, splendid.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20LAUGHTER
0:27:24 > 0:27:26So, what was it about Barbara that you liked?
0:27:26 > 0:27:30I mean, she IS magnetic, isn't she? You're just drawn to her.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33- She's expert, she knows what she's talking about.- And formidable.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37- FLUTING VOICE:- "Jerk it a bit harder! Jerk it across!" I mean, oh, gosh!
0:27:37 > 0:27:42- I mean, the RSPCA, everybody... - Yeah.- ..would be up in arms.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47What she proves is that bossy older women make television magic.
0:27:47 > 0:27:48LAUGHTER
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Somebody needs to tell the bosses at broadcasting.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- Because... I mean, Fanny Cradock! - Yes, she was another legend.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Absolutely extraordinary!
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Mary Berry is much gentler.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01I don't think she'd ever ask anyone to "spi-T", would she?
0:28:01 > 0:28:04- LAUGHTER It's brilliant.- It's brilliant.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07I mean, the show was just a huge phenomenon, really, in its time.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Well, it was. Well, who would want to miss that?
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Bless her.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Old dogs, new tricks.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15Well, we Brits have always had a soft spot
0:28:15 > 0:28:17for pensioners on our tellies.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19And in the late '60s and the early '70s,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23we first saw two series which have stood the test of time.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Dad's Army came to our screens in 1968,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29with the wonderful Last Of The Summer Wine
0:28:29 > 0:28:32following five years later.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34More recently, there have been a couple of ageing Victors
0:28:34 > 0:28:38who have been victorious when it comes to having us in stitches -
0:28:38 > 0:28:42the cantankerous old grouch Victor Meldrew in One Foot In The Grave,
0:28:42 > 0:28:44and the doubly cantankerous pair of old pals
0:28:44 > 0:28:49Jack and Victor in the award-winning comedy series Still Game.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51And although Dennis Waterman and chums
0:28:51 > 0:28:53probably aren't the kind of old dogs
0:28:53 > 0:28:56that Barbara Woodhouse could have trained,
0:28:56 > 0:28:59since 2003, comedy drama New Tricks
0:28:59 > 0:29:01has certainly provided plenty of bite
0:29:01 > 0:29:03and howls of laughter.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Your next choice is your biggest influence,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18and here is a clip of you working alongside him.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26And who was it?
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Bernard Braden. Wonderful Canadian actor
0:29:29 > 0:29:33who became the inventor of consumer television.
0:29:33 > 0:29:34- Really?- Oh, yeah.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37- This is where it all started, really?- It is.
0:29:37 > 0:29:38That was really our office.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41This is 1968.
0:29:41 > 0:29:42I was 28.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45Canadian Bernard Braden first worked in the UK
0:29:45 > 0:29:48in the late '40s, but it was almost 20 years later
0:29:48 > 0:29:51that Braden's Week hit our screens
0:29:51 > 0:29:53and championed the brand-new format -
0:29:53 > 0:29:55consumer television.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Thank you very much and good evening.
0:29:57 > 0:30:03Bernie was just a genius, really, when it came to broadcasting.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07He was creative. He sort of invented the genre.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11And the theory was that this is what happened in the office.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14That the researcher would come back with a story
0:30:14 > 0:30:17and explain to the producer what had happened.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19And so we were re-enacting, if you like,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22in the studio, what had happened in the office.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24Esther Rantzen has a story for us now. Esther?
0:30:24 > 0:30:26Well, it's not so much a story, more a monologue.
0:30:26 > 0:30:27SHE LAUGHS
0:30:27 > 0:30:30One day a phone rang in the office, and a lovely voice said,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33"Here, there was a loud bang in my kitchen,
0:30:33 > 0:30:34"and it was my fridge.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36"So I rang Electrolux in London and they said,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39"'Oh, we can't do anything before February 4th.'
0:30:39 > 0:30:42- "Well, I exploded." - Just like the fridge.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44Brilliant, Esther.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46Well, we did call Electrolux,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48and they said a mechanic would visit Ms Carlin on Friday.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51What made Electrolux change their mind?
0:30:51 > 0:30:53She made a lot of fuss and a lot of noise.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55So we said, "So that's the way to do it."
0:30:57 > 0:31:00APPLAUSE Oh, well done.
0:31:00 > 0:31:01Now, that was a monologue.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04No autocue. HE LAUGHS
0:31:04 > 0:31:06So that's John Pitman sitting next to me.
0:31:06 > 0:31:07We're still very close friends.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Behind the desk we used to grab each other's knees
0:31:10 > 0:31:14to reassure each other. Cos we were nervous, terribly nervous.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17We were both obviously in the pilot of Braden's Week,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20but we both thought proper presenters would be put in the role.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23And consumer programmes, as I say, Bernie invented them.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27And then he went to Canada, to do that show in Canada,
0:31:27 > 0:31:31using obviously a Canadian team, and left behind in England...
0:31:31 > 0:31:34We still were getting letters from people with consumer complaints.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37- So that's how That's Life! came about.- Oh, right.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40That's Life! hit our screens in 1973,
0:31:40 > 0:31:45with Esther being the only presenter to appear in every episode.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Regularly gaining audiences of up to 18 million,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52it really was the ultimate British consumer entertainment programme
0:31:52 > 0:31:54for over 20 years.
0:31:55 > 0:31:56Was that recorded live?
0:31:56 > 0:32:00That was recorded live, which sounds funny,
0:32:00 > 0:32:02but what it means is we had a live audience,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04we didn't edit,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07- but in case we said something that was libellous...- I see.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10..the lawyers could come in and say, "You've got to bleep that.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12"Otherwise it'll cost the BBC millions."
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Well, we've got a little moment from That's Life!
0:32:20 > 0:32:22- Have you?- And Esther Rantzen.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Outside the village of Terrington St Clement, there's a road...
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Bless her. Who is she?
0:32:27 > 0:32:30According to the map, the road hasn't got a name,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33but six months ago, somebody put up a sign
0:32:33 > 0:32:35which said Grange Road.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Now, that was news to Mr and Mrs Dix who live at number 30.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42They always thought it was called Garner's Lane,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44named after a family called Garner.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48But across the road, there lives a man who's been there 25 years.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51He says it isn't called Garner's Lane either -
0:32:51 > 0:32:53it's called Marsh Road.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55BRIAN LAUGHS It goes on, doesn't it?
0:32:55 > 0:32:56So then I tried the post office.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59The post office decided the official address for all the people
0:32:59 > 0:33:02who live in Garner's Lane, Marsh Road,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04Whitehouse Road, Markham Road,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07Worth Road or Smallholdings Road
0:33:07 > 0:33:09is Grange Road,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13Terrington St Clements, King's Lynn, Norfolk.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15That is the official address.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18So there shouldn't be any problem from now on.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21Except that Grange Road isn't in Norfolk.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23It's in Lincolnshire.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32I mean, how much work goes into something like that?
0:33:34 > 0:33:36It's really interesting looking at that,
0:33:36 > 0:33:40because I think that must have been the first series of That's Life!
0:33:40 > 0:33:43You're right. That was actually the first episode.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Was it the first episode?
0:33:45 > 0:33:471973, that was.
0:33:47 > 0:33:48We learnt quite a lot after that,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51like not let an item go on for three hours.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54But of course, quite a lot of research went in.
0:33:54 > 0:33:55I went round Lincolnshire
0:33:55 > 0:33:59and whatever that road was called.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01I do remember doing that.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03But what then happened was
0:34:03 > 0:34:07that the man who was the producer
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and who actually wrote that from my research -
0:34:10 > 0:34:13John Lloyd, his name was - he died aged 36.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15He died of pancreatic cancer.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Lovely, lovely Welshman.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21And somebody had to write the show.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23And I've never forgotten sitting there
0:34:23 > 0:34:26with all the research people had done,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29and I had to turn all that research into a script,
0:34:29 > 0:34:32cos there was a slot waiting for us on Sunday night.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- And I was there until two in the morning.- Really?
0:34:35 > 0:34:38And that's when I started to write That's Life!
0:34:38 > 0:34:41And I learnt to make the items a bit shorter, I think.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43But I mean, that aside,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47That's Life! was absolutely just an incredible show.
0:34:47 > 0:34:49You know, it really was.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52It was ground-breaking, innovative,
0:34:52 > 0:34:54informative, it was just...
0:34:54 > 0:34:58And funny. I mean, for me, it's when you got arrested.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01I'm sorry. HE LAUGHS
0:35:01 > 0:35:03Well, there were a series of challenges that day.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06We were handing out bat stew.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09We were testing to see what it would taste like.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12- It's made of bat, what you've just eaten.- Oh, you dirty monkey.
0:35:12 > 0:35:13LAUGHTER
0:35:13 > 0:35:16Constable A Herbert suddenly emerged,
0:35:16 > 0:35:21and he said, "You can't do that there, cos it's obstruction. You're going to have to move along."
0:35:21 > 0:35:23- You're blocking the pavement.- But we've filmed here every week
0:35:23 > 0:35:25- for the last eight years. - I don't care
0:35:25 > 0:35:27whether you've filmed here for the last ten years.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29If you don't move, I shall arrest you.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31I said, "Very well, officer," and I moved along
0:35:31 > 0:35:34to the opposite corner, where there was nobody.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36But the thing is, if you're handing out bat stew
0:35:36 > 0:35:38and there's nobody to eat it, it's not quite so good.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42- It's not going to work.- So I came back to the original corner.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46And Constable A Herbert,
0:35:46 > 0:35:48suitably named,
0:35:48 > 0:35:50had been hiding in a doorway,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52and he shimmered out, and he said,
0:35:52 > 0:35:54"That's it, my girl, you're nicked."
0:35:54 > 0:35:57You're arrested there. Sorry.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00I've just been arrested for handing out bat stew.
0:36:00 > 0:36:01Come on, please.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04Now, I had not been arrested before,
0:36:04 > 0:36:08and I wasn't quite sure of the etiquette. And I said,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11"If anyone thinks I'm not guilty, would you mind speaking up for me?"
0:36:11 > 0:36:14And the whole crowd shouted, as one, "Guilty!"
0:36:14 > 0:36:16- Guilty!- It was the bat! - Guilty!- Guilty!- Guilty!
0:36:22 > 0:36:25- Did you miss That's Life!? - Well, what do I miss?
0:36:25 > 0:36:27There are lots of things about it I miss.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30I miss the fantastic rapport with the viewers.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34So we would say,
0:36:34 > 0:36:36"Funny-shaped vegetables these days,"
0:36:36 > 0:36:39and by the next post, we would be inundated
0:36:39 > 0:36:43with parsnips and carrots of the most disgraceful nature.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44BRIAN LAUGHS
0:36:44 > 0:36:47And people always blamed me, and I blame the viewers.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50And I miss our wonderful dog that said sausages.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53- Oh, yes.- Who is still remembered.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56I saw a commercial the other day for beans
0:36:56 > 0:37:00and a dog was looking lovingly in the frying pan
0:37:00 > 0:37:01and said, "Sausages."
0:37:01 > 0:37:05- Tell us what you have on a Thursday, Prince.- What does George give you, Prince?
0:37:05 > 0:37:06- HE GROWLS - What?
0:37:06 > 0:37:08- DOG:- 'Sau-sa-ges.'
0:37:08 > 0:37:09LAUGHTER
0:37:10 > 0:37:13I miss having that fantastic
0:37:13 > 0:37:16capacity to change things, you know?
0:37:16 > 0:37:20A consultant anaesthetist met me at some do
0:37:20 > 0:37:22and told me the story of a toddler
0:37:22 > 0:37:25who'd been standing up in the back of a car,
0:37:25 > 0:37:29Mum had been driving at 5mph in a traffic jam, stopped.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31The toddler had fallen forward,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34fractured her skull on the handbrake.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36And the anaesthetist said to me,
0:37:36 > 0:37:40"You wouldn't put fine china loose on the back seat.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43"Why would you leave your children
0:37:43 > 0:37:45"where they can be hurt and killed?"
0:37:45 > 0:37:48We put that story on the show.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52The next morning, the Minister for Transport, Peter Bottomley,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55was in our office. I remember he was carrying his red box.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- And he said, "How can I help your campaign?"- Oh, wow.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01And I said, "We've got no film showing what happens
0:38:01 > 0:38:04"to children in the back of a car.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08"Could the road laboratory, road research laboratory, do one?"
0:38:08 > 0:38:09So they did.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13They put models of children in the back of the car.
0:38:13 > 0:38:15The car stopped.
0:38:15 > 0:38:1625mph.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19The children went straight through the windscreen.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24And we showed that eight or nine times.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27As we got more stories from the viewers, we showed it again.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30And a private member's bill was put through,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33and now it's illegal
0:38:33 > 0:38:36to leave your children without seat belts on.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40So that's what I miss. I miss the capacity to take a single story,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42one brave person comes forward,
0:38:42 > 0:38:47sometimes someone who's experienced terrible tragedy, loss of a child.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Where you've got a caring nation like Britain,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53and all they need is to be given the information,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55"This is what's going wrong.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57"We think this might be the answer."
0:38:57 > 0:39:01And they come forward in droves.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04And television is a way to hold out your hand
0:39:04 > 0:39:07and know that someone's going to take it.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09You know, that's why I love this medium.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13Because, you know, the theatre is exciting, isn't it?
0:39:13 > 0:39:15You do a lot of wonderful theatre.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Film, you sit there mesmerised.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21But television makes you care.
0:39:21 > 0:39:24Makes you care about reality.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26People talk about reality television - I love it.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30So what was it like to have all your hard work recognised,
0:39:30 > 0:39:32you know, and become a Dame?
0:39:32 > 0:39:35What I have to say is, it was a huge honour,
0:39:35 > 0:39:39but it was for services to children and older people.
0:39:40 > 0:39:45And it was really to recognise the fantastic work done by ChildLine
0:39:45 > 0:39:48and the fantastic work, in two short years -
0:39:48 > 0:39:51only been going two years - done by the Silver Line.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55So I say thank you to them,
0:39:55 > 0:39:59because without the achievements of those two charities,
0:39:59 > 0:40:03I wouldn't have been given this honour.
0:40:03 > 0:40:04I'm not giving it back.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06LAUGHTER
0:40:06 > 0:40:10And it is quite funny, because wherever I go,
0:40:10 > 0:40:11people say to me,
0:40:11 > 0:40:13"How nice to meet you, Dame Edna."
0:40:13 > 0:40:17LAUGHTER
0:40:17 > 0:40:20- So I've got myself a gladioli thing...- Oh, right.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22..and a pair of stunning glasses,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24cos I don't want to disappoint people.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Esther, what do you enjoy watching now,
0:40:32 > 0:40:33at the moment?
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Erm...
0:40:35 > 0:40:38I love Gogglebox.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41- Yes!- Cos here we sit on the sofa -
0:40:41 > 0:40:44in fact, we're being Gogglebox, aren't we?
0:40:44 > 0:40:45Watching television,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47seeing all the artifice,
0:40:47 > 0:40:51seeing the bits of insincerity, if it's a politician.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Seeing through all that,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55but also caring.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56You watch them being moved,
0:40:56 > 0:40:58- you watch them roaring with laughter.- Yeah.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00I adore Gogglebox.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03I'm addicted to the news. I watch the news all the time.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06- Rolling news. - And anything about antiques,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08which is why I love your decor so much.
0:41:08 > 0:41:09LAUGHTER
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Anything about antiques, I love those.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15For two reasons. One is, I'm fascinated by learning more.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17And the other is,
0:41:17 > 0:41:21those programmes are an infallible cure for insomnia.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23So I will start watching the show,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26and I'll really want to know how much that was worth
0:41:26 > 0:41:28and what it made at auction,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31and I'll wake up, you know, about 20 minutes later, thinking...
0:41:33 > 0:41:36"How could I fall asleep just at the wrong moment?"
0:41:36 > 0:41:39It's been a real honour to have you sitting on my sofa.
0:41:39 > 0:41:40It really has.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45You're an inspiration to a whole nation. You really are...
0:41:45 > 0:41:47what is the right word?
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Could tell you what Rantzen means in German.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53- Go on, what does Rantzen mean in German, then?- Old bag.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54LAUGHTER
0:41:54 > 0:41:57Maybe that's what you were looking for in that moment.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00I was thinking of illuminating and charming.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04- Oh, well.- You get a choice now of the theme tune.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06Any theme tune for us to play out on.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09- Is there anything that springs to mind?- Well, thank you for that.
0:42:09 > 0:42:14I would like the theme tune to a programme called Man Alive,
0:42:14 > 0:42:17which was written by Tony Hatch, very famous composer.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19- Who wrote Neighbours?- He did.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22- And Downtown.- Oh, yeah. - Very clever composer.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25He wrote this signature tune, and my late husband,
0:42:25 > 0:42:28Desmond Wilcox, created Man Alive.
0:42:28 > 0:42:31And he always told me that when you hear the...
0:42:31 > 0:42:33CLICKING
0:42:33 > 0:42:34He did those.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36So it's a memory of Dessie.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39- All right, well... - And I'd love to hear it again.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41We've had some great memories today. Thank you for making them.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Esther Rantzen, Dame Esther Rantzen,
0:42:44 > 0:42:46- thank you very much indeed. - Thank you.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48APPLAUSE Been a wonderful honour.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50My thanks to Esther and my thanks to you
0:42:50 > 0:42:52for watching The TV That Made Me.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54We'll see you next time. Bye-bye.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58MUSIC: Man Alive Theme by Tony Hatch