0:00:02 > 0:00:04TV, the magic box of delights.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07As kids, it showed us a million different worlds,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09all from our living room.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11This 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 > 0:00:21world of telly with one of our favourite celebrities...
0:00:21 > 0:00:23It is just so silly.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Oh, I love it!
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Is it Mr Benn?
0:00:27 > 0:00:28Shut it!
0:00:28 > 0:00:33- ..as they select the iconic TV moments...- Oh, hello.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..that tell us the stories of their lives.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Oh! Oh, my gosh.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39- BOTH:- Cheers.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42- Some will make you laugh...- Wah!
0:00:42 > 0:00:44SHE LAUGHS
0:00:44 > 0:00:46..some will surprise...
0:00:46 > 0:00:47ED QUACKS
0:00:47 > 0:00:48SHE LAUGHS
0:00:48 > 0:00:50- ..many will inspire...- Oh!
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 > 0:00:57Seeing that there made a huge impact on me.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Got a handkerchief?
0:01:01 > 0:01:02So, come watch with us,
0:01:02 > 0:01:07as we rewind to the classic telly that shaped those wide-eyed
0:01:07 > 0:01:11youngsters into the much-loved stars they are today.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21APPLAUSE
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Welcome to The TV That Made Me.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27My guest today is one of the most recognisable faces on our screens.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30She's made us laugh, she's made us cry,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33and it is a real pleasure to have her here today.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Please welcome the wonderful Nina Wadia!
0:01:37 > 0:01:38CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:01:38 > 0:01:41- How are you?- Oh, welcome. - Thank you.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47Nina Wadia burst onto our screens in 1998 in the award-winning
0:01:47 > 0:01:51comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56In 2007, she joined the cast of EastEnders as tough talking Zainab Masood,
0:01:56 > 0:02:01before joining David Jason in Still Open All Hours as local
0:02:01 > 0:02:02gossip Mrs Hussein.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08The TV that made her includes a calamitous comedy sitcom,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11a frustrated housewife...
0:02:11 > 0:02:13..my custard is unpredictable.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17..and the show that made her a star.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20..when you can make it at home for nothing!
0:02:20 > 0:02:24- So, are you excited about this trip down memory lane?- Terrified.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27- Why?- Because I feel old.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28SHE LAUGHS
0:02:28 > 0:02:29Oh, you don't look old.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33- You look absolutely radiant. - Thank you, but, yeah, no...
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Just actually having to think about all the stuff I used to watch.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39We're looking forward to today.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Today is a celebration of TV classic moments that you have chosen,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46but first up, we're going to rewind the clock now, Nina,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and have a look at a very young Nina Wadia.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51Oh, no.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Nina was born in Mumbai, in India, in 1968.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00She and her family moved to Hong Kong when she was nine,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04after her airline purser dad landed a new job running a restaurant there.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09After heading to the UK to finish of her education,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12she decided to pursue a career as an actor,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16attending drama school in Wandsworth, in London.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Her big break came on the award-winning sketch show
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Goodness Gracious Me,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24where she played a whole variety of characters.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Nina broke away from comedy to join EastEnders,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30where she was at the centre of some explosive storylines.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36- What's it like looking back? - Strange, really strange.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Brings back a lot of fond memories.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Because, sadly, both my parents have passed,
0:03:40 > 0:03:42so it is nice to see them again.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45We had very few pictures of the five of us. Very few pictures.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Because, you know, cameras weren't that easily available,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51and all that stuff, at the time. And we weren't particularly well off,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54so... I found this one particular black and white still
0:03:54 > 0:03:55of the five of us.
0:03:55 > 0:03:59The edges have all been kind of eaten away with damp from where
0:03:59 > 0:04:02we found it in our place.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04But it looks really amazing, it is
0:04:04 > 0:04:07like somebody's particularly framed the five of us in this cloud.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10It is quite special, quite special.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13You had quite an unusual childhood, didn't you?
0:04:13 > 0:04:18- Because you weren't born here. - No. My heritage is Persian.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22But I was born and brought up in India, and then in Hong Kong.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25And in between, with Dad on postings with the airlines,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29I used to... I have kind of lived all over the world a bit.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33- Was your father a pilot?- No, he was a purser. A flight purser. - Oh, right.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35- Oh, right.- He was the real kind of actor in the family.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38What sort of telly did you have in Mumbai or Hong Kong?
0:04:38 > 0:04:42- Well, in... We... It was Bombay at the time.- Oh, right.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47We had... It was a big thing when we actually had a telly come in,
0:04:47 > 0:04:48it was a huge thing.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52And I remember as a child being very confused at this box arriving.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55I didn't know how they made people that small.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56LAUGHTER
0:04:56 > 0:05:00They could move and walk in them. That was really surprising to me.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03And I remember there was a lot of news,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06because that's the only real programmes they had there.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09News in Marathi and in Hindi.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12I had kind of just started to learn those languages,
0:05:12 > 0:05:13I was very little.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15So I'd say, "Who is this lady who always comes
0:05:15 > 0:05:17"and tells us really bad things every day?"
0:05:17 > 0:05:19I didn't like her very much.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22And then there was this big thing, because we got a colour TV.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- Oh.- And it was about the year before we left for Hong Kong,
0:05:26 > 0:05:27I was about nine.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And I'll never forget, there was this thing... They went:
0:05:30 > 0:05:32"Oh, we've got cable! Cable TV!"
0:05:32 > 0:05:34And I'm thinking, what is cable TV? What's cable TV?
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Well, that was a guy in the top flat who had the best TV signal
0:05:38 > 0:05:40running a cable to the back of our TV!
0:05:40 > 0:05:42LAUGHTER
0:05:42 > 0:05:44So who was in your family?
0:05:44 > 0:05:48So Mum, Dad, my brother, my sister and myself.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51And I was a mistake, as you know, my brother and sister
0:05:51 > 0:05:52- kept reminding me.- Oh?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Because they were a lot older than I am.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59So I sort of suddenly came along a bit later,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02and just, you know, was thrown in.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05And one thing which really annoyed me was the fact that
0:06:05 > 0:06:07I very rarely had new clothes.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11I was always given either my brother or my sister's old clothes to wear!
0:06:11 > 0:06:12LAUGHTER
0:06:12 > 0:06:14So I was a little bit of a tomboy as well.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17- And then we moved to Hong Kong. - Yeah, how exciting was that?
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- And what age would you have been?- Gosh.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23That would have been sort of coming up to nine, now,
0:06:23 > 0:06:27and there was the opportunity for Dad to go to Hong Kong,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and run a restaurant.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31And Mum wanted him to stop flying, because, you know,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35he missed a lot of birthdays and things, mostly mine,
0:06:35 > 0:06:36cos he'd get overtime at Christmas,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39and I'm born around Christmas time, so it would be like, here we go,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Dad's not going to be there for my birthday.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44But he always made sure that there was some parcel or present
0:06:44 > 0:06:48that arrived with one of the other guys from the flight crew,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51so I really used to look forward to that as well.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53So it was a very exciting time.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01So we're going to have a look at your first choice, now, Nina.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04This is the first sort of TV programme that you came to love.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08- It's the A-Team.- Oh, yes!
0:07:08 > 0:07:10I love it!
0:07:11 > 0:07:14'These men promptly escaped from maximum-security stockade
0:07:14 > 0:07:15'to the Los Angeles underground...'
0:07:15 > 0:07:18With its iconic theme tune,
0:07:18 > 0:07:221980s action adventure series the A-Team was one of the first shows
0:07:22 > 0:07:25that young Nina watched after moving to Hong Kong.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30THEME TUNE PLAYS
0:07:30 > 0:07:32..dun-dun, dunnn!
0:07:32 > 0:07:34THEY BOTH DUN-DUN THE THEME TUNE
0:07:36 > 0:07:38NINA LAUGHS
0:07:38 > 0:07:39Love it!
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Breakfast At Tiffany's star George Peppard
0:07:41 > 0:07:43played group leader Hannibal,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45whose plans always saved the day.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48This is when men were men!
0:07:48 > 0:07:50LAUGHTER
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Dirk Benedict was the smooth talking Faceman,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56the team's second-in-command.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Look at him, his blue eyes. Look at that!
0:07:59 > 0:08:00SHE GIGGLES
0:08:00 > 0:08:04Dwight Schultz was the insane and unpredictable pilot
0:08:04 > 0:08:06"Howling Mad" Murdoch.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Oh, Murdoch used to make me laugh.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11- He was definitely off the wall, wasn't he, that guy?- Definitely.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13I kind of liked all of them in different ways,
0:08:13 > 0:08:15but I actually really liked Mr T.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18I just... I loved him! He was so...
0:08:18 > 0:08:21I loved that he hated to fly so much. This really big, strong...
0:08:21 > 0:08:23Like, "I'm not getting on a plane!"
0:08:23 > 0:08:26Appearing, too, was Rocky III star Mr T,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30who played BA "Bad Attitude" Baracas.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31- AS MR T:- I pity the fool.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- Yeah, wonderful stunts, wasn't there?- Oh, superb stunts.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I mean, for a television programme as well, yes.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Cars just flipping over like nobody's business.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Look at that, look at that!
0:08:49 > 0:08:51- Can I watch the whole episode, or do I have...- Oh, no!
0:08:51 > 0:08:52LAUGHTER
0:08:54 > 0:08:56- Fasten your seatbelts. - Keep the nose down.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57In this hair-raising clip,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59pilot Murdoch has been
0:08:59 > 0:09:01temporarily blinded, but as always,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Hannibal has it all under control.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Yeah, we're definitely out of fuel.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08You see, this is my favourite combination.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10- It's humour and action.- Mm-hm.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Two things I love.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14OK, when you think you're going to hit the runway,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16you pull back on that yoke as hard as you can.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Hang on, you're not allowed to smoke on a plane.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20LAUGHTER
0:09:20 > 0:09:23It's the A-Team, you can do anything you like! And it's fine.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Get on the brakes, Smith. Hit the brakes!
0:09:27 > 0:09:29- HANNIBAL: Where are they? - I got 'em!
0:09:29 > 0:09:32BRIAN: One of the running themes was BA's aversion to flying.
0:09:32 > 0:09:33This was his worst nightmare.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- See, there's a stunt, isn't there?- Wow!
0:09:43 > 0:09:44See, BA, flying isn't so bad.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48LAUGHTER
0:09:49 > 0:09:51I love it when a plan comes together.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56"I love it when a plan comes together." There we go.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59- There you go.- Oh, so good! - Yeah.- So good.
0:09:59 > 0:10:00It bring backs happy memories.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02It really does. We're just...
0:10:02 > 0:10:05It was one of those where I, of course, got to sit on the floor,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08in our house, because the sofa wasn't big enough for all of us.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10- Of course, being youngest... - Being the youngest,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13but then also my brother, so my brother and me down there,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Mum and Dad and my sister on the sofa, and that's it,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18we used to just... I used to LOVE watching this.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20So what were you like as a kid, then?
0:10:20 > 0:10:21Annoying.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23- Really?- No! - LAUGHTER
0:10:23 > 0:10:25It's really weird, I went through...
0:10:25 > 0:10:27I started off very good,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29I was a very good little girl.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31I studied a lot, I used to love school.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32I loved school, I just enjoyed it
0:10:32 > 0:10:35cos I had a lot of friends at school and...
0:10:35 > 0:10:39And I loved sport, and that was my kind of real background,
0:10:39 > 0:10:43and you know, and then when we moved to Hong Kong,
0:10:43 > 0:10:45I had a completely new set of friends there.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Because I grew up kind of playing cricket
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and things like that in India, I started to play it over there,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54and people found that a bit funny, and also...
0:10:54 > 0:10:56When I then went from Hong Kong to here and people said,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59"Oh, there's a girl from Hong Kong coming," and I was Indian,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02they'd go, "What happened to her? We were expecting a Chinese girl to come in!"
0:11:02 > 0:11:03LAUGHTER
0:11:03 > 0:11:06But...I was a good kid.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14So was there many American imports
0:11:14 > 0:11:17that you used to watch in Hong Kong? TV shows?
0:11:17 > 0:11:18- Yes, it was mostly...- Really?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Mostly American stuff, which is why the A-Team sort of came along.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24And then we had...
0:11:24 > 0:11:27strangely, an Australian show that came over,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30which was Prisoner Cell Block H, which was...
0:11:30 > 0:11:32terrifying.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35For some reason, I was really scared of those women.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39And it was a show that my mum and my sister loved, but I was too young.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42And they used to scare me, saying, "Oh, you can't watch this show."
0:11:42 > 0:11:43So then I'd go and hide.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45And then, they'd go, "Actually, this bit's fine,"
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and it would be the horrible bit where some woman was beating
0:11:48 > 0:11:50another woman up, and I'd go "I don't like it!"
0:11:50 > 0:11:54- So you used to find Prisoner Cell Block H terrifying?- I did.
0:11:54 > 0:11:55I really did.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59- I find shows where women are cruel to women most upsetting.- Really?
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Yeah! I don't mind men beating each other up,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03it's women being cruel I don't like.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- So do you feel confident enough to watch a little clip, now?- Er...
0:12:06 > 0:12:08- From Prisoner Cell Block H? - Do I have to?
0:12:08 > 0:12:09LAUGHTER
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Yes, I'm afraid you do. This is The TV That Made Me, and here it is.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15This is Prisoner Cell Block H.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- Do you want me to hold your hand? - Yes, please.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22Prisoner cell Block H was set
0:12:22 > 0:12:24in the fictional Wentworth detention centre.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28The show focused on how inmates dealt with the power struggles,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31friendships, and rivalries of life behind bars.
0:12:32 > 0:12:33She was all right.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35The really naughty older one.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38- This is Liz.- Liz, that's right.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42- HUSKILY:- She had that voice, didn't she?- Oh, yeah.- She has the voice of a murderer.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- That one! She's the scary one! - Oh, yeah.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51One of the main sources of conflict was over who was prison top dog.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53In this scene, Frankie, played by Carol Burns,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56is making it very clear that she is in charge.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00See, look, look, she's going, she's going to hurt her now.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Don't hurt her, don't hurt her!
0:13:02 > 0:13:04What are you saving up for, your old age?
0:13:04 > 0:13:06- ALARM RINGS - You should be worried about your old age, Lizzie.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Old bones take a long time to heal.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12It also made me think that all Australians are mean.
0:13:12 > 0:13:13It did!
0:13:16 > 0:13:18And there comes the tennis player.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21I always thought she looks like Martina Navratilova, this woman.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23- LAUGHTER - She does, doesn't she?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Anything wrong, Lizzie?
0:13:25 > 0:13:26No, Mrs Jackson.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31692 episodes of this, there was.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34Gosh.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36It was created by Reg Watson,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38who also created Neighbours.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Prisoner was screened late at night in the UK.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45With its wobbly sets and outlandish storylines,
0:13:45 > 0:13:47it rapidly became cult viewing.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49SHE GROANS
0:13:49 > 0:13:52This is why I'd never steal or kill someone, because I'd end up there!
0:13:52 > 0:13:53LAUGHTER
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- So this definitely made you scared of prison?- Yeah.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58It made me scared of life generally.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I think all teenage girls should watch this show,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04and they'll be really decent human beings.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07For me, suddenly seeing a show that was mostly women,
0:14:07 > 0:14:09which is also very unusual for its time.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Most shows were kind of run by men and had men in them,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15and then seeing these women that were really quite hard and whatever,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17I was like...
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Mind you, it came in handy for my career a bit later,
0:14:20 > 0:14:21when I had to play stronger women.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - I took a bit of that with me.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Several TV comedies and dramas
0:14:29 > 0:14:30have made prison life
0:14:30 > 0:14:32the backdrop to their plot.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34'80s drama Tenko saw women trapped
0:14:34 > 0:14:35in the appalling conditions
0:14:35 > 0:14:40of an early 1940s Japanese prison camp.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45On a more light-hearted note,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47jailbird Fletch,
0:14:47 > 0:14:48played by Ronnie Barker,
0:14:48 > 0:14:49tried to avoid trouble
0:14:49 > 0:14:53while scoring victories over the authorities in Porridge.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson
0:14:59 > 0:15:01played Birds Of A Feather's
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Sharon and Tracy.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04Their lives were never the same
0:15:04 > 0:15:08after husbands Chris and Daryl were in prison for armed robbery.
0:15:13 > 0:15:14And Pauline Quirke
0:15:14 > 0:15:15found herself behind bars
0:15:15 > 0:15:17in the psychological thriller
0:15:17 > 0:15:18The Sculptress.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Now, for your next choice, Nina,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30let's see what show you cancelled everything to see.
0:15:30 > 0:15:31SHE GASPS
0:15:31 > 0:15:33This is, of course, your must-see TV.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34That rhymes.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- Moonlighting.- Ohh!
0:15:39 > 0:15:40Best show ever.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44Cybill Shepherd starred as Maddie
0:15:44 > 0:15:46in one of the biggest series
0:15:46 > 0:15:47of the 1980s.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51# Some walk by night... #
0:15:51 > 0:15:54The show introduced us to a wisecracking future megastar
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Bruce Willis,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58as cheeky chappie investigator
0:15:58 > 0:15:59David.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01It was a classy comedy drama,
0:16:01 > 0:16:02focused on tension between
0:16:02 > 0:16:04the two lead characters.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08# ..cos we met on the way... #
0:16:08 > 0:16:10- Would you still watch it?- I would still watch it again
0:16:10 > 0:16:11if it were on now.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15- Yeah.- But it's got the ultimate man in it for me.
0:16:15 > 0:16:16SHE LAUGHS
0:16:16 > 0:16:17Still, even now, Bruce?
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Still, even now. Still, even now.
0:16:20 > 0:16:21Nothing.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Not during the whole thing, David,
0:16:24 > 0:16:25you haven't said a word.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28I don't have to say anything.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31This was now slightly older.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32I was kind of maybe 16 or 17...
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Oh, my God, this is the scene!
0:16:34 > 0:16:37- They finally, after how many series, get together.- Right.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39What do you mean, not worth it?
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Not worth it, not worth it. No woman is worth this, all right?
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Season three promised a culmination of David and Maddie's
0:16:44 > 0:16:47will-they-or-won't-they relationship.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50But in this scene, it looked like yet again it wouldn't happen.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52I'm not worth it? I'm not worth it?
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Look who's talking about worth, Mr Bargain Basement.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57If there was a close-out sale on human beings,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59you'd be the last one to sell!
0:16:59 > 0:17:00Yeah, you ought to know, honey!
0:17:00 > 0:17:04See, I left Hong Kong before this aired...
0:17:05 > 0:17:09..and I begged a friend of mine there to tape it on VHS, and said,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11"I will miss the episode, they get together!
0:17:11 > 0:17:14"I've been waiting for six years," or however long it was.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17And she did, she sent it to me, and I watched it about 100 times.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19This one scene,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21cos I just thought it was so sexy.
0:17:21 > 0:17:22I was only 16, I was like...
0:17:22 > 0:17:24"This is so sexy."
0:17:24 > 0:17:25Did you wear the tape out?
0:17:25 > 0:17:27- I did!- Really?
0:17:28 > 0:17:29- Fine.- Fine.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30- Good.- Good.
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Here comes the slap.
0:17:33 > 0:17:34- Boom!- Get out.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37- And she'll do it again. Watch! - Ooh, that had to hurt.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38- One more.- Ooh!- Get out.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Third one coming.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45MUSIC: Be My Baby by The Ronettes
0:17:53 > 0:17:54And smash!
0:17:59 > 0:18:00NINA GIGGLES
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Ooh, there goes the table! There was no need for that.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05That was a good table, that. LAUGHTER
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- OK, we can stop now, this is embarrassing.- No, I'm enjoying it.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- Stop it! - LAUGHTER
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Oh, my!
0:18:15 > 0:18:17- He's so gorgeous, isn't he?- Yeah.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21You think she's gorgeous, I'm sure, but... Yeah, no.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25And then that was it. After... I then became this big Die Hard fan.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28When he then decided to go into action movies, forget it!
0:18:28 > 0:18:30That was it for me. But...
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Yeah, he's just... He has that...
0:18:32 > 0:18:33It's the humour.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35It's the humour along with the fact that, you know,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38he looked the way he looked, as well. It's just kind of...
0:18:38 > 0:18:41And then he went into action. Finished, I'm done.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45So did you watch this Moonlighting with your family?
0:18:45 > 0:18:46Never in a million years.
0:18:46 > 0:18:47- No?- No chance! - LAUGHTER
0:18:47 > 0:18:50I couldn't watch this show with them.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52What sort of programmes were your parents strict about you watching?
0:18:53 > 0:18:55Anything that involved a kiss.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56LAUGHTER
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- Well...up until about 15... - So Moonlighting was definitely out.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Moonlighting was out! Moonlighting was, you know,
0:19:01 > 0:19:04going to my friend's house after school, watching what she'd taped.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Going, "I'm studying, Mum, I'm doing my physics."
0:19:07 > 0:19:09"(Oh, my God!)" You know.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11So there was a lot of...
0:19:11 > 0:19:14running to friends' places to watch certain stuff, whatever,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17but that was just a general thing, because we...
0:19:17 > 0:19:19You know, in India,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22in all of the Bollywood films that we'd ever watched as a kid,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25the people go close to kissing, but they don't ever touch lips.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27- Right.- So we actually see people actually locked lips, you're like,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29"Oh, my gosh! They actually did that!"
0:19:29 > 0:19:32So if you were in the lounge, how would your mum and dad react
0:19:32 > 0:19:34to you, if something was on that was a bit...
0:19:34 > 0:19:36that there was a kiss involved, or a cuddle?
0:19:36 > 0:19:38I would actually get up and leave.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42- You... Really?- I would get embarrassed. I... I can't do it.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43In fact, even as a grown-up, right,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46if my kids, now... My kids are 12 and 8.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49My daughter's there, I'm like... I put my hand over her eyes like that.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51I just find it a bit funny.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53I remember, again, when I was in EastEnders,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56the press would ask me, "Do you let your kids watch the show?"
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I would go "No!" It's too adult.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00There's no way I would let my kids watch it.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03And then, of course, newspaper: "Wadia bans children from TV!"
0:20:03 > 0:20:05I'm like, "No, I don't ban them from TV."
0:20:05 > 0:20:07- I just think it's too adult for them.- Yeah.
0:20:10 > 0:20:11Moonlighting's David and Maddie
0:20:11 > 0:20:13are one of countless TV couples
0:20:13 > 0:20:15who've been the subject of a
0:20:15 > 0:20:16will-they-won't-they storyline.
0:20:17 > 0:20:18Just Good Friends,
0:20:18 > 0:20:19starring Paul Nicholas
0:20:19 > 0:20:22and Jan Francis, featured two ex-lovers
0:20:22 > 0:20:25who try to become friends long after they broke up.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28But the old spark is still alive.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Love was in the air in the hit comedy series The Office.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Receptionist Dawn,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34played by Lucy Davis,
0:20:34 > 0:20:35and sales rep Tim,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37played by the future Hobbit star
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Martin Freeman, finally got together in the 2003 Christmas special.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Volatile East End couple Kat and Alfie,
0:20:47 > 0:20:48played by Jessie Wallace
0:20:48 > 0:20:49and Shane Richie,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51eventually got married
0:20:51 > 0:20:52in the Queen Vic,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55but their relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs
0:20:55 > 0:20:56over the years.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Now, let's look at a show that has a very big influence on you.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12And I think you're not alone in that.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14It is, of course, Blackadder.
0:21:18 > 0:21:19This period sitcom
0:21:19 > 0:21:21followed the ill-fated exploits
0:21:21 > 0:21:22of the ruthless and cynical
0:21:22 > 0:21:25opportunist Edmund Blackadder,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27and his hapless sidekick Baldrick.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31The second series is set during the Elizabethan era.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34It started in 1983.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35- Did it?- Would you believe? Yeah.- Gosh.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37Right, Baldrick...
0:21:37 > 0:21:38Baldrick is loyal, but very dim,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40much to Blackadder's frustration.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43If I have two beans,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and then I add two more beans...
0:21:46 > 0:21:48..what do I have?
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Some beans.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50LAUGHTER
0:21:50 > 0:21:52NINA GIGGLES
0:21:53 > 0:21:56This scene is typical of the comedic relationship between the two.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Let's try again, shall we?
0:21:58 > 0:21:59I have two beans.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Then I add two more beans.
0:22:01 > 0:22:02What does that make?
0:22:02 > 0:22:04A very small casserole.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06LAUGHTER
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Baldrick's declarations that he had hatched a "cunning plan"
0:22:11 > 0:22:14were almost always the exact opposite.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17One, two, three, four!
0:22:17 > 0:22:19So, how many are there?
0:22:19 > 0:22:20- Three.- What?
0:22:20 > 0:22:22- And that one. - LAUGHTER
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Three... And that one.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26So if I add that one to the three,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28- what will I have?- Oh!
0:22:28 > 0:22:29Some beans.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31LAUGHTER
0:22:33 > 0:22:38- Isn't it great?- Love it! Just so clever.- Yeah.- It's just so clever.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Towards the end of my teens
0:22:40 > 0:22:43that was when a lot of British shows started coming over,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and I think one of the first ones I saw out there was Blackadder.
0:22:48 > 0:22:54And I was just fascinated by this incredibly cruel man,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57but he was so funny. I loved that he was cruel with it, and it...
0:22:57 > 0:22:59- This, of course, is Rowan Atkinson. - This is Rowan Atkinson.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03And it just started to shape my sense of humour,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05when I realised that...
0:23:05 > 0:23:08the British sense of humour's more mine, which is slightly cruel.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10But...
0:23:10 > 0:23:14But it's very witty, and very funny, and I love the use of sarcasm,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16and irony, which I think I had anyway,
0:23:16 > 0:23:17but I didn't know how to express it,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19or I didn't think it was OK to express.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22So, did you like the way they set the series in a different era?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24- I think that was...- That was so clever.- Clever.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25That was really clever.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31In fact, to be honest, everything about that show was just genius.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33It was absolutely spot on.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Obviously, Richard Curtis was part of the whole thing,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39and I mean, Ben Elton's a huge part of that, isn't he?
0:23:39 > 0:23:42- Oh, wonderful writer. Yeah. - Incredible writer.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46So, that whole team of people, you know, so incredibly? clever.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50The equivalent, I guess, of Saturday Night Live in the States, you know.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52They have these groups of people that just...
0:23:52 > 0:23:53- They just work.- Yeah.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55And that was them.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Would you like to have been in it?
0:23:57 > 0:23:58I would have loved to have been in it!
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Who would you have liked to have played?
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Ah... It would have to be Queenie.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04It would just have to be.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07- I mean, Miranda Richardson is just incredible.- Yeah.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08No.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10I'm completely bored with explorers.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11And if you haven't brought me
0:24:11 > 0:24:12any presents,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14I'm going to have you executed!
0:24:14 > 0:24:15Ma'am?
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Miranda Richardson's portrayal
0:24:17 > 0:24:20of a cruel, immature Queen Elizabeth
0:24:20 > 0:24:21was comedy gold.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Anyone who failed to keep the every petulant Queenie happy
0:24:25 > 0:24:26faced certain execution.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- Good.- A most extraordinary gift from the island paradise we visited.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Hurry up!
0:24:33 > 0:24:34Ah.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35LAUGHTER
0:24:37 > 0:24:39- What is it?- A stick.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44By her side was Stephen Fry, as grovelling advisor Lord Melchett,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47one of Blackadder's biggest rivals.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48If you throw it away...
0:24:48 > 0:24:50it comes back!
0:24:50 > 0:24:52- LAUGHING:- Oh, well!
0:24:52 > 0:24:54That's no good, is it?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Because when I throw things away,
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I don't want them to come back!
0:24:58 > 0:25:03Now, Blackadder was famous for his fantastic descriptions and insults.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06I'm going to read some out for you now.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Now, they're either all about Baldrick, George or Blackadder.
0:25:10 > 0:25:11But which is which?
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Who was thicker than a whale omelette?
0:25:16 > 0:25:17SHE LAUGHS
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Was it Prince George, Baldrick or Blackadder?
0:25:22 > 0:25:26- Prince George.- Well done. She got that right, ladies and gentlemen.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28APPLAUSE
0:25:28 > 0:25:33Who's plans were as cunning as a fox who has just been appointed
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Professor of Cunning at Oxford University?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39- Baldrick, George or Blackadder? - Baldrick.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42It was Baldrick, correct.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Who was the least convincing female impressionist
0:25:45 > 0:25:49since Tarzan went through Jane's handbag and ate her lipstick?
0:25:50 > 0:25:53- Don't know! I really don't know. - It was George.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56- Lieutenant George, so you got one wrong, you got one wrong.- OK.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Who was as happy as a Frenchman who has invented
0:25:59 > 0:26:01a pair of self-removing trousers?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Baldrick, George or Blackadder?
0:26:05 > 0:26:07SHE LAUGHS
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- George!- Correct!
0:26:10 > 0:26:12APPLAUSE
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Final one - who was very amusing and brave as well,
0:26:15 > 0:26:20not to mention being as clever as a chap with three heads?
0:26:20 > 0:26:22- Blackadder.- Baldrick, George or Blackadder?
0:26:22 > 0:26:23- What did you say?- Blackadder.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27You got four out of five. Well done indeed, Nina.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29APPLAUSE
0:26:35 > 0:26:39- Well, here's a programme that you chose as your sneaky peek.- OK.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44It's Benny Hill.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Benny Hill is one of the great success stories of TV comedy.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51For over 35 years, his mix of slapstick
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and suggestive humour was a huge hit.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02I think the music was so...well, brilliant, iconic, wasn't it?
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:27:05 > 0:27:11At its peak, his show was pulling in audiences of up to 20 million
0:27:11 > 0:27:13and celebrities including Charlie Chaplin
0:27:13 > 0:27:17and Clint Eastwood were said to be amongst his biggest fans.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Strangely, my parents would let me watch this with them
0:27:20 > 0:27:25and I would always pretend I needed some water and run to the
0:27:25 > 0:27:29kitchen when the girls took their clothes off and ran round the field.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Why are three girls hiding behind a tree?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41- It is quite ridiculous, isn't it? - So camp. I love it.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45The most common running gag was the chase scene,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48where Benny got himself into silly predicaments.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53- Was it the innuendoes that used to make you laugh?- Oh, yeah.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56To be honest, his comic timing was brilliant.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59It was just he's such a clever man.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03So what other shows resonate with you at that age?
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Um, Morecambe and Wise and, um, Tommy Cooper, I loved.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09I loved that kind of... We used to say it's koylu.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13Koylu, in our language means just, kind of, it's so corny
0:28:13 > 0:28:15but it's so brilliantly delivered.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17That's a good way of explaining it, yeah.
0:28:17 > 0:28:21And that's what we'd say to my dad, "Oh, so koylu, Dad."
0:28:21 > 0:28:25It was dad humour, but done so brilliantly you loved it.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27The Two Ronnies.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31See, I like words, I like language and Ronnie Barker,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35- when he did all of his wordplay in his shows...- Those monologues.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38- Loved it, yeah.- Spoonerisms. - Fork handles and all of that stuff.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40I LOVED it.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43I thought that was so incredibly clever, and then to end up
0:28:43 > 0:28:47being lucky, working with Sir David Jason now on Still Open All Hours.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50With a picture of Ronnie Barker up there, I'm like,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53"This is not happening, this is surreal."
0:28:53 > 0:28:56It's things that I dreamed would happen are happening.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00- Yeah.- So I feel incredibly blessed. Incredibly blessed.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11- So, talking of your parents, let's have a look at your next choice.- OK.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14- Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.- Brilliant.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19Accident-prone Frank Spencer, played by Michael Crawford,
0:29:19 > 0:29:23spends his life going from one calamity to the next.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27- Started in 1973 and ran till 1978.- Wow.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32And this sequence, wasn't this all...? He did all of this himself.
0:29:32 > 0:29:33Did his own stunts, yeah.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38He's such a brave man. Oh, my gosh.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48What a genius. Absolute genius. Here we go, here we go, here we go.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53This incredible roller-skating scene is typical
0:29:53 > 0:29:57of the sheer bad luck that Frank experiences in every episode.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02- That took some doing, didn't it? - Unbelievable.
0:30:05 > 0:30:06I can't bear it!
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Betty! Betty, I've been articulated!
0:30:12 > 0:30:13Look at that!
0:30:23 > 0:30:27Now, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, it was very physical humour, wasn't it?
0:30:27 > 0:30:29Yeah. And I love that.
0:30:29 > 0:30:34- Was this a show that you all watched as a family?- Yes. Yeah. Loved it.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Absolutely loved it. And, just, it made us laugh.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41The put-upon character of the wife, Betty,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44"Oh, he's going to do this again."
0:30:44 > 0:30:47It's the quality of - I can't stop saying that enough -
0:30:47 > 0:30:51it's the quality of the actor, their training,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54and every single moment is made important. For me, it's details.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58What do you think is required of a good comedy actor?
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Detail. It's the detail. The littlest thing, the littlest look,
0:31:03 > 0:31:09the littlest moment that you can find in anything that you do,
0:31:09 > 0:31:10that's the genius.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12That's the bit that's genius.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14I mean, you've done both. You've done comedy acting,
0:31:14 > 0:31:16- you've done straight acting.- Yeah.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20- Do you think, what is the toughest? - Comedy. By far.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22By far.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24I mean, look, I'm sitting next to,
0:31:24 > 0:31:28I'm sorry, but an absolute legend here and your...
0:31:28 > 0:31:31The skills that you guys have is incredible.
0:31:31 > 0:31:32And I've learnt from that.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35I've learnt from watching that and I believe I always will.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38I'm not someone who sits back and goes, "Yeah, I can do that."
0:31:38 > 0:31:42I can't. I'm always fascinated and always want to improve myself.
0:31:42 > 0:31:43Mm-hm.
0:31:43 > 0:31:48So, for me, it's that ability to be so quick off the mark
0:31:48 > 0:31:53and know exactly...to pre-empt anything that's thrown at you.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57It's amazing, absolutely amazing.
0:31:57 > 0:31:58Was laughter a big thing?
0:31:58 > 0:32:01I mean, did your dad have a good sense of humour?
0:32:01 > 0:32:03Huge sense of humour.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06My parents used to just throw really, really fun parties.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09They had very fun, very loud friends.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12And, as a kid, we were all allowed to muck in
0:32:12 > 0:32:16with all the other friends and their kids and all of that.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18But once it got to 9 and 10 o'clock, it's like,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21"Off you go to bed" and then you'd hear just laughter the whole time.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25And they'd play cards. And that's what I grew up with.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29I grew up with just joy around me.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31You know, which is a big thing.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34- Oh, if you're a child, it's very important.- Absolutely, it is.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39Frank Spencer is one in a long line of hilarious
0:32:39 > 0:32:41accident-prone TV characters.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43Whenever danger comes near,
0:32:43 > 0:32:46you could always depend on Lance Corporal Jones to deliver
0:32:46 > 0:32:49his notorious catchphrase, "Don't panic!"
0:32:49 > 0:32:51Whilst doing just that.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56Last Of The Summer Wine's Compo, played by Bill Owen,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00was often the guinea pig for the boys' latest harebrained scheme.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04He would go to any length to impress the disinterested Nora Batty.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Basil Fawlty, played by the brilliant John Cleese
0:33:11 > 0:33:17had an uncanny knack of turning a simple task into an almighty fiasco.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25The ever-optimistic Del Boy's mantra of "He who dares"
0:33:25 > 0:33:27rarely paid off.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32Lucrative jobs, like removing a priceless chandelier,
0:33:32 > 0:33:33often ended in disaster.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45Now, Nina, we're moving on to a show that made you feel
0:33:45 > 0:33:46just a little bit sad.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53Behold, the dreaded sponge.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55There's a young Nicholas Lyndhurst there.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58And, of course, the lovely Wendy Craig.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02Butterflies, penned by The Liver Birds writer Carla Lane, was about
0:34:02 > 0:34:06a woman trying to escape the boredom and monotony of family life.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Slight problem with her meals, didn't she?
0:34:10 > 0:34:12Could not cook to save her life.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26It would appear that Adam has got all the custard.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29Sorry! Thought it might pour.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Not my custard, Adam.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34You should know by now that my custard is unpredictable.
0:34:34 > 0:34:40- She is the ultimate character to play.- Really?
0:34:40 > 0:34:44Cos she's funny, but deep inside she's sad.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49- I mean, you're laughing now, but at the time, this was TV tears.- It was!
0:34:49 > 0:34:50It was.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Because I felt for her, especially when she meets the other guy.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Nothing really happens with them,
0:34:57 > 0:35:01but she meets him and she really wants that other life too.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05That's the thing with women generally - we want it all.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09We want the love, but we want the excitement of the affair,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12but we want our career, but we want children.
0:35:12 > 0:35:18We want it all and that lady there, that's who she was playing.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22So she has this family unit, she loves them,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24but she thinks something's missing.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27She wants that excitement of another romance
0:35:27 > 0:35:29or the excitement of something else.
0:35:29 > 0:35:35I look in the mirror, and I think... I think...
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Go on, tear those to pieces while you tell me what you think.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42A lot of these things that I've seen,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45I've always been interested in watching how the women play it,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48because there were never that many women doing the kind of comedy
0:35:48 > 0:35:50that I would aspire to,
0:35:50 > 0:35:52so when you had people like Wendy Craig come along,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55or you had Miranda Richardson creating her character,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58you got, "Oh, yeah, there is a possibility. I can do it."
0:36:04 > 0:36:07Now, Nina, it's time to move on to your big break -
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Goodness, Gracious, Me.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14- Get some tea. - Oh, no, no, no. No need.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18I made this at home, for nothing!
0:36:22 > 0:36:26- Now, about the wedding...- Yes. Do you have any thoughts on the venue?
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Yes. I thought...we'll make it at home for nothing.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32One of Nina's most memorable characters
0:36:32 > 0:36:35was the embarrassingly frugal mother,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Mrs "I can make it at home for nothing!"
0:36:38 > 0:36:42You think weddings are all free booze and fancy gifts
0:36:42 > 0:36:43and # Come On Eileen # ? Hm?
0:36:47 > 0:36:50- Are you sure that this is going to be...?- Yes, of course.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Why waste money, when you can make it at home for nothing?
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Now, I thought, as a bridal outfit, I would give your daughter
0:36:59 > 0:37:03this sari which my mother gave to me on her death bed.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08- She's insane!- Well done.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12- Oh, dear.- So who inspired that one?
0:37:12 > 0:37:14My mum! Obviously, my mum.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17And the reason was - I'll explain this - when we'd go out
0:37:17 > 0:37:20to dinner or something, Mum would go, "Where are we going?"
0:37:20 > 0:37:23And if you said, I don't know, "A pasta restaurant." "Pasta?!
0:37:23 > 0:37:25"I can make it at home in two minutes here!"
0:37:25 > 0:37:29You'd go, "Yes, but, Mum, every pasta you make has a chilli to it,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32"so I'd rather go to an Italian restaurant."
0:37:32 > 0:37:36So that's where that came from. Mum was not too pleased.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38- Great time, though?- Yeah. Best time.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42We laughed, from morning to night, just laughed, making this,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45because it's our experiences.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49It's our experiences of being an immigrant in this country
0:37:49 > 0:37:52and what it's like. That was my first proper TV.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54I'd been a theatre girl up till that point.
0:37:54 > 0:37:59I was doing loads of Shakespeare and that was my kind of thing.
0:37:59 > 0:38:05Then we made a one-off series, on radio, and the next thing
0:38:05 > 0:38:08we knew, they said, "It's not just radio, we're going on TV."
0:38:08 > 0:38:11And I went, "I don't have any TV experience."
0:38:11 > 0:38:15So what you see there is my first foray properly on TV.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19Was you surprised at how huge it became?
0:38:19 > 0:38:21I'm still surprised how huge it became.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25I was just happy that, kind of, Indian people laughed at this show.
0:38:25 > 0:38:26I thought that's what it was going to be,
0:38:26 > 0:38:28was something for the Indian community.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32It didn't even occur to me that people understood what
0:38:32 > 0:38:37we were trying to do, you know, and then it went worldwide after that.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41Just it went crazy and people, I think people just related
0:38:41 > 0:38:43to the characters themselves,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46not necessarily the fact that they were Indian characters.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49There was an event we were invited to with the Greek community
0:38:49 > 0:38:52in North London and they said, "You're an honorary Greek."
0:38:52 > 0:38:54The same thing happened, we went to a Jewish event,
0:38:54 > 0:38:56"You're an honorary Jew.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58"We have Jewish mums who are like the competitive mums."
0:38:58 > 0:39:02So every community felt like they knew someone there
0:39:02 > 0:39:08and it was humour that kids could watch, right up to grandparents.
0:39:08 > 0:39:13- And so it worked.- So obviously you then moved on to EastEnders.- Yes.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16I'd never seen the show before. I'm not a soap fan, at all.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20So, for me, that was a big thing. I was called in.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Neither my agent or myself had mentioned
0:39:22 > 0:39:26to the casting director and the exec at the time that I was pregnant.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28I was eight months pregnant when I went for the meeting,
0:39:28 > 0:39:32and I thought, "This is odd. Surely they... Why are they seeing me?
0:39:32 > 0:39:34"It's not like I can start next week."
0:39:34 > 0:39:37And it was a shock for them when I walked in the door. They went, "Oh!
0:39:37 > 0:39:40"We need you to start straightaway." And I said, "Not going to happen."
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- So I thought, you know, "Job's gone away."- Yeah.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Um, then my son was five weeks old and they rang and said,
0:39:48 > 0:39:50"Can you start next week?"
0:39:50 > 0:39:53And, you know, because we'd talked about a character that
0:39:53 > 0:39:55I would create, and they said, "What kind of thing would you like?"
0:39:55 > 0:39:57And they told me what THEY wanted.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00The brief was "Pauline Fowler, but funny."
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Now, I'd, of course, known of Pauline Fowler.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Even if you don't watch a show, everyone knows,
0:40:05 > 0:40:07like, you know who Ian Beale is, even if you don't watch it.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11So, I thought, "She's really grumpy. Grumpy old woman. How do I do that?"
0:40:11 > 0:40:12So, of course, I asked my husband,
0:40:12 > 0:40:15"How do I create a character who's a grumpy old woman, but funny?"
0:40:15 > 0:40:16He went, "Just be yourself."
0:40:16 > 0:40:18LAUGHTER
0:40:18 > 0:40:21- I said, "All right, then!"- We're going to take a little look.- OK.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Here we are.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25- Oh, dear.- EastEnders.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29- I'm glad for the good times. - Oh, there were good times?
0:40:32 > 0:40:33I'm joking.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40That was very funny. Ha, ha.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44I'm glad for them too, Mas.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48This is the moment that Nina's character Zainab
0:40:48 > 0:40:50and husband Masood finalise their divorce.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56- So, should we...shake hands, or...? - I don't know. Do we?
0:41:05 > 0:41:08Gosh. Oh. Eurgh. Yuck.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11I mean, I've known Nitin for so...
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I've known him longer than my own husband.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16He's played my husband in so many other things,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20so we kind of knew each other a lot before we worked together,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22so it was very easy working with him
0:41:22 > 0:41:26and it was very easy to find that couple and that family.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28It was very, very good.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30And on Enders, they made fun of us,
0:41:30 > 0:41:32because we actually hung out together as a family.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35So you were there for six years. How difficult was it to say goodbye?
0:41:35 > 0:41:40- Very hard.- Was it your decision? - My decision. And very hard.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43- Why did you make that decision? - I was missing my kids.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47It's very long hours, long days.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52I was really missing them and I thought, "No, I need to go away.
0:41:52 > 0:41:53"I need to freshen up."
0:41:53 > 0:41:57And if they ever want her back, I would go back but with force.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01I'd go in and just be funny again and stick to that side,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03- because I enjoyed that side of her. - Mm-hm.
0:42:10 > 0:42:13So, Nina, what sort of TV do you like watching these days?
0:42:13 > 0:42:15What do you enjoy?
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Um, again, sticking with the comedy theme, but slightly different,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20I was saying Modern Family is one of the ones that we can watch.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24We tend to kind of, for evening telly viewing or a Saturday night
0:42:24 > 0:42:27or something, we tend to watch something
0:42:27 > 0:42:30that the kids will enjoy too, but that's funny.
0:42:30 > 0:42:31I'm doing a lot more documentary watching.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35You know, the kind of biopics of rock stars
0:42:35 > 0:42:38and a bit more grown-up stuff, grown-up TV.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42My guest obviously gets a chance to pick a theme tune for us
0:42:42 > 0:42:46- to play out on.- Yes.- What's it going to be?- Oh, it's a tough choice.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48I'm going to go with Dukes Of Hazzard.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51- OK, so it's going to be The Dukes Of Hazzard.- Yes.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53- My thanks to you, Nina.- Thank you so much.- Thank you so much.- Aw.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55- You're brilliant. - You've been an absolute joy
0:42:55 > 0:42:58to have a little chat with today. So, my thanks to Nina
0:42:58 > 0:43:01and my thanks to you for watching The TV That Made Me.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03We'll see you next time, bye-bye.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10MUSIC: Theme from The Dukes Of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)