Alison Hammond The TV That Made Me

TV, the magic box of delights.

As kids, it showed us a million different worlds,

all from our living room.

This takes me right back.

That's so embarrassing!

I am genuinely shocked.

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

with one of our favourite celebrities.

It's just so silly!

I love it!

Is it Mr Benn?

Shut it!

As they select the iconic TV moments...

Oh, hello!

That tell us the stories of their lives.

Oh, my gosh!

Some will make you laugh...

Some will surprise...

Many will inspire...

Look at this.

Why wouldn't you want to watch this?

And others will move us.

Seeing that there made a huge impact on me.

Got a handkerchief?

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

that shaped those wide-eyed youngsters into the much-loved stars

they are today.

Welcome to The TV That Made Me.

My guest today is a friend to the stars

and one in her own right.

It can only be the lovely Alison Hammond!

Oh, yeah!

Hello!

You all right, babe?

I'm good.

Bubbly Brummie Alison has been evicted from the Big Brother house,

strutted her stuff on Strictly, and is a showbiz reporter

who regularly rubs shoulders with the famous.

But today, she's a welcome visitor to my humble abode.

The TV that made her includes a comedienne

who had her in stitches...

Kick your own buttock.

A TV show with a personal connection...

And a brain-busting game show.

This is nice.

You like it?

Yeah.

It's like my own home!

No, it's nothing like it.

But it was similar to this when I was younger.

That's good, because we're going to go back in time.

This is a celebration of your TV classic moments

that you've chosen that have probably made you

the person you are today.

I know.

I can't believe how important TV was back then.

Obviously, we only had one telly in our house.

And I loved TV when I was younger.

No one has one telly in their house these days.

No, I have one in every room.

I don't watch them all, not at the same time.

It's just a thing to have.

Even in the bathroom now.

No, I haven't.

But people do.

I'd be in the bath all day.

And I love having a bath.

No, I haven't got a telly in there.

We're going to take a trip back but first, we're going to rewind

the clock and look at a very young Alison Hammond.

Here we go.

Born in 1975, Alison grew up with her mum,

older brother and sister in Birmingham.

Her love of stage and screen shone out from an early age.

After leaving school,

Alison had a spell as a cinema usherette and a holiday rep,

before finding fame when she entered the Big Brother house in 2002.

She was evicted after just 15 days,

but nonetheless, Alison's television career really took off.

Within weeks of leaving Big Brother, she was offered a three-month stint

on This Morning, and she's still there

to this day.

So, Alison, normally we go into the first TV clip,

but as a homage to your clip, I'm going to get changed.

No!

Yeah.

What are you going to wear?

I'm nervous.

This is now a clue.

I love it!

You know what the programme is?

Yeah!

Do I have to put that on?

Is it Mr Benn?

It is Mr Benn.

Oh, I love Mr Benn!

Let's cue Mr Benn.

That is brilliant.

This classic 1970s animation series followed the adventures of Mr Benn

as he embarked on a different fantastical adventure

every time he tried on a costume at a fancy dress shop.

Although Mr Benn was never given an on-screen first name,

writer David McKee always thought William would suit him.

Oh, memories for me.

I used to love this show.

As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared.

He used to go into the shop and then get dressed up

and become that character.

So one day, he would become a spaceman.

I literally thought I was Mr Benn.

I wanted to be Mr Benn, believe it or not.

And I always wanted to be like a cave person

or something like that, a caveman.

Could you imagine it?

I would like to try the space outfit.

Favouring camera moves across still drawings,

the animation was basic,

that didn't stop children adoring Mr Benn.

I can't believe it wasn't even moving at the time.

Mr Benn was soon in the changing room, and quickly took off

his clothes and put on the space outfit.

He looked at himself in the mirror.

Then he looked for the other door, the door that always

led to adventures.

This was Ray Brooks, who used to narrate this.

Ray Brooks, who many people will remember from Ken Loach's

ground-breaking 1960s television drama Cathy Come Home,

also narrated another children's animated series,

King Rollo.

I just wanted to go on these adventures.

He's now going to be a spaceman and literally become a spaceman.

How amazing would that be,

that you just went into a shop and came out

as whatever you wanted to be?

It's not real.

It's not a documentary.

But to me at the time, it was quite real.

I like the fact that you don't remember that it didn't move.

I did not remember.

I thought it was moving.

Well, it is moving, but it's quite still, isn't it?

Hello, he said.

Ready for the blast-off?

Here we go, then.

Can you imagine children liking this these days?

You know what?

I was thinking if my son watched this, I think he would enjoy it.

I can't believe how primitive it is, watching it.

It really isn't that great, but I loved this programme.

It was like reading a book.

How can you talk to me seriously when I'm dressed like this?

I'd forgotten it.

You just look like Mr Benn.

Has it been great being a spaceman?

I've enjoyed it.

So you wanted to be a cavewoman?

A cavewoman, and a red Indian.

Never happened.

Never been a cavewoman.

Don't know if I want to do it now.

Well, you wanted to be a cavewoman.

I want to get out of this costume desperately right now.

Get out!

While Mr Benn's adventures were imaginary,

British TV has produced plenty of real life adventurers, too,

like the great Sir David Attenborough,

who over his six decade broadcasting career has made

some of the most impressive natural history programmes ever produced.

Sir David is the only person to have won a Bafta in black and white,

colour, HD and 3D.

Journalist and broadcaster will Alan Whicker was

best known for Whicker's World, running from 1959 to 1988.

The series featured Whicker reporting on

the unusual and bizarre from around the world.

The show even inspired a famous Monty Python sketch

about the mythical Whicker Island, populated by Alan lookalikes.

Speaking of Monty Python,

Michael Palin has been wowing us with his journeys around

the globe since 1989.

And while filming a travel documentary in Australia in 1997,

Michael managed to squeeze in a cameo on Home And Away

as an English surfer with a fear of sharks.

I want to move on to your next clip now.

This is what your must-see TV was.

Baywatch.

Loved Baywatch.

At its peak in the mid-1990s,

Baywatch was shown in over 140 countries in dozens of languages

and watched by over 1 billion viewers.

I actually did think I was in Baywatch.

See, you wanted to be a caveman, you wanted to be in Baywatch.

Was it the escapism?

I suppose so.

It was the running in slow motion, David Hasselhoff.

I loved him to bits, wanted to marry him.

Those orange things are called torpedo rescue buoys.

They're meant to keep them afloat.

I don't know why Pamela Anderson ever needed one.

She has her own buoyancy, hasn't she?

Apparently, they couldn't run very fast when they were filming this.

Because there would be too much jiggling,

so they had to run quite slowly.

This was on a Saturday night at about five o'clock.

This was the start of my Saturday evening.

I would sit and watch Baywatch and just go

into another world.

Wonderful escapism.

Yeah.

And they were good stories, about saving people.

And there was always some sort of dilemma going on.

It was great.

I loved it.

One of the biggest stars to come from the series was of course

Pamela Anderson.

Look at that, isn't she beautiful?

This is what happened every episode.

Someone was in need.

Well, if they didn't need help, there wouldn't be much to see.

Look how perfect she looked in that swimsuit.

How long has he been down?

Maybe ten minutes.

I don't think he's breathing.

Do you know CPR?

What are you going to do, Pam?

You'll get out of it somehow.

David will rescue you.

Love it.

Baywatch was brilliant.

So that was Saturday night for you.

Baywatch, then Blind Date.

Maybe a bit of Gladiators.

Remember Gladiators?

That was filmed in Birmingham.

I loved Gladiators.

I want to go back to your childhood.

You was a child actress.

I was.

At the age of 11, my mum said, "There are some auditions for this

club called the Central Television Workshop".

It was like a drama school for kids

who couldn't afford to go to drama school, so it got you off

the streets and you'd learn about

TV, theatre and drama and you would go every week.

I had to audition.

There were, like, 25,000 kids auditioning for 25 places.

I said to my mum, "I don't want to do it".

She said, come on, and drove me there

and I went for the audition and had such a good time.

I got through into the workshop, which was brilliant.

And the guys I worked with are some of my lifetime friends.

And I was in that from the age of 11 to 18.

I was cast in a couple of children's programmes.

I was in Your Mother Wouldn't Like It, Palace Hill...

I think I did some extra work for Boon,

remember that?

My mum was really into TV as well.

So my mum would do extra work and she'd get us

into certain things.

When I was really young,

I think we did a film together called

Artemis 81.

Sting was in it.

I had to pretend to be dead.

It was great.

You played a dead body?

I bet you were a good corpse.

I was a good actress.

I was quite young.

Did a couple of episodes of Doctors as well.

Not as a dead body?

No, I had a part in that.

I was a prostitute's sister, yeah.

And she was going through some issues and I was trying

to advise her of the right way to go.

So when you watch shows like Baywatch, did you aspire to be...?

Maybe not Baywatch, that was a little bit unrealistic.

But I probably would aspire to maybe being in Crossroads,

because it was set in Birmingham.

But never got on it.

What was your mum like?

She was a lovely mum, a worker.

Single mum.

She's in our audience.

Shall we ask her what she thinks of you?

Hi, Mum!

Hello, Maria.

What was Alison like as a child?

She was a lovely child.

My mum is a big fan of yours.

I've seen you a few times at the Hippodrome in Birmingham.

Look, this is Alison's show, all right?

Let's get on with it, shall we?

Our next bit of telly is family favourite.

I know what it's going to be before you put it on.

Diff'rent Strokes.

Following the misadventures of a wealthy Manhattan family

who adopted their dead housekeeper's children,

Diff'rent Strokes ran for an impressive eight series,

and the catchy theme tune was co-written

by Blurred Lines singer Robin Thicke's parents.

Whenever there was a black person on the telly,

it was like, "There's a black person on the TV!"

Literally the whole family would run to the living room

to see who was on the TV.

So this was a big thing.

There were black people in this, so we wanted to see

what these black people were doing.

It was the one thing that culturally always happened.

They were huge child stars.

They were huge, yeah.

A vehicle for the precocious Gary Coleman,

Diff'rent Strokes turned child actors Dana Plato as Kimberly,

Todd Bridges as Willis and of course Coleman as Arnold

into international household names.

What a great bunch of guys at that club.

How come you guys never go down there?

Well, Dad, there's a good reason why we've never been down there.

What is it?

You never invited us!

He was the cutest little kid.

You just want to get his cheeks.

I wanted to marry him as a child.

I thought, "That's going to be my husband".

I may never be lean and mean, but I can be spunky and chunky.

Are they adopted by this family?

The penny's only just dropped.

I thought they were just one big family.

You thought that was his boys?

No, Alison.

As a child, you just watch it, don't you?

It's only now that I'm going, actually, I think they're adopted.

He's a widower, and he adopts those two.

And they live with the family.

You don't connect when you're a child.

I was a bit dim.

Diff'rent Strokes didn't shy away from tackling tough subjects

from bulimia to alcoholism,

while still keeping its comedy moments.

Even if you don't win the trophy, Dad, we can always have our own.

What a lovely show.

Yeah, it was a great show.

What was his catchphrase he used to say?

What you talkin' about?

What you talkin' about, Willis?

What you talkin' about, Willis?

Yeah.

That really reminds me of my childhood,

everyone gathered around the TV, especially my brother.

How many siblings are there, just you and your brother?

My sister and my brother.

But they're a lot older than me.

There's an eight-year gap between us.

So when you watched telly,

was there a hierarchy in who chose what to watch?

My brother probably would be the one controlling things.

He was nine years older than me, and he was the middle child.

They have problems, don't they, the middle child?

So he would choose what was going on on the TV.

But on a Saturday, we would all be watching those programmes,

Diff'rent Strokes, Baywatch and stuff.

Did you manage to get a seat on the sofa?

No.

I would sit on the floor.

They would all be on the sofa and I'd be sitting down there,

watching the TV, which was fine.

I was the youngest and cutest, and I was fine sitting on the floor.

Diff'rent Strokes was a classic American family sitcom,

but we Brits have produced some corkers too.

Back in the '80s, we lapped up the Boswells,

a Liverpudlian Catholic family living on the breadline.

Over 21 million viewers tuned in to watch Aveline

marry Protestant vicar Oswald in 1988.

Rocked by the change of two of the lead actors in series five,

the show's popularity slipped, and the last episode aired in 1991.

And 1991 was the year we welcomed the Porter family to our screens

in 2point4 Children.

For eight series, we watched the seemingly average family's

world turned upside down by bizarre and unlucky situations.

In the noughties, the domestic sitcom My Family,

following the fortunes of Ben and Susan Harper and their kids,

kept us entertained.

The show ran for 11 series, with the last episode airing

in 2011.

Alison, we're moving on to Mum's Choice now.

This is a programme that your mum used to love watching.

Want to go for a drink?

Is it your birthday?

Is this Angels?

Yes.

Maybe you're right.

A very young Pauline Quirke.

In that case, mine's a pint of special.

Dealing with the subject of student nurses,

British drama Angels received some criticism for its unglamorous

depiction of the nursing profession,

while others declared it grittily authentic.

My mum did extra work on this.

Really?

Yeah.

Sometimes, she'd say, "I'm on tonight's show",

and literally if you blinked, you would miss it.

Just a quick walk by.

She would be like, come on, and gather

the whole family.

It would be a massive event, food, drink, everything,

and then she would just go past for two seconds.

I didn't see it because I blinked.

You didn't have video in those days,

so you can't rewind it.

But yeah, my mum used to work on that.

Well, we can't not take a look at her in action.

Get ready, here she comes...

and there she goes.

Worth another look, eh?

And there she is.

She always said she furnished our house through extra work.

I was able to look after you and give you

all the little luxuries from my extra work.

The bike and the roller skates.

That was all from her "extra" work(!)

I know now.

Extra work, eh?

That's what she called it.

Alison, I'm going to move on now to what we call

your comfort viewing.

Ooh!

Let's have a look.

Some very good performances from the girls

from Gravesend Grammar School.

Amazing.

I'm getting comfy already.

Bob Holness.

Look at Bob.

Based on an American game show with the same name,

the original run of Blockbusters was on our TV screens for ten years.

With Bob Holness at the helm, sixth formers

put their general knowledge to the test.

James, for the first time.

What did you think of Bob Holness?

I loved him.

He was the original James Bond on the radio, Bob Holness.

Stop it!

Really?

I can see why.

Did you always want to be on this show?

I did, but I knew I'd be rubbish on it.

I knew I wouldn't answer any of the questions.

Because they were always teenagers,

the make-up girls used to call the show Spotbusters.

Really?

Yes.

I didn't even know that.

I never even noticed, probably because I was a teenager myself.

I just loved this show.

A bit of Blockbusters.

Can I have a P, Bob?

Remember that?

So funny.

Shall we see if we can play along?

Yes, go on.

Where do we want to start?

PO.

He's going to go for PO.

I used to try and predict it.

PO.

Faint or complete military training?

DAV.

OAV, sorry.

Two ingredients that make French dressing?

Oil and vinegar.

Well done.

FT.

Moralistic fantasy stories for children?

Fairy tales.

That is it.

TW.

Characters who opened Shakespeare's Scottish play?

The witches.

Three witches.

SM.

Its cocoon is unwound and woven into a fine fabric?

Silk moth.

Silkworm.

No.

There's more to it.

Silk moth!

Silkworm...

Did you get frustrated watching it?

For me, it was all about if I could predict the path

of where it was going to go.

And I am normally quite good at it.

You said he was going to go PO, and he went PO.

See what I mean?

That reminds me of coming home.

Great game show hosts are something the UK excels at.

Just look at Sir Bruce Forsyth.

He has been on TV almost as long as television has existed,

making his first appearance in 1939.

And as a game show host, he has given us many

a famous catchphrase.

Who can forget, "Good game, good game"?

"Didn't they do well?"

And of course, "Nice to see you, to see you, nice."

From nice to nasty.

Queen of mean Anne Robinson often made contestants quake in the quiz

show, The Weakest Link.

She even made ex-Blue Peter presenter John Noakes cry by teasing

him about the death of Shep.

The rotter!

And of course, who could forget the legendary Bob Monkhouse?

After carving out a career as a top comedian, Bob went on to host

a whole heap of popular game shows, from Family Fortunes

to Bob's Full House.

It seems as if during your youth, you did watch quite a bit of telly?

I didn't think I did, but it did carve out a lot

of my time, to be honest.

I'm not like a couch potato, honestly.

You didn't sit on the couch, you were on the floor.

Floor potato!

I did go out a lot, but I loved TV.

TV was great.

That's probably why you ended up in it.

I think it was my mum more than anything.

She pushed me into it.

You know one of them pushy mums?

Over there.

Your next choice is your comedy hero.

Let's take a look at this fitness fanatic.

There she is.

Love Victoria Wood.

Victoria Wood's my favourite.

I'll just launch into my usual preamble.

Bear with me if you've heard it before.

I'm Madge.

Obviously.

Sorry, not obviously.

Got a new leotard on too.

Do you like it?

It's flattering, isn't it?

She's just the funniest...

This is one of her best sketches I have ever seen.

You can do it any day you like, girls.

If you can't do these exercises, you're up the shopping centre

without a credit card.

Actress, writer and producer Victoria Wood

is one of Britain's top comediennes.

During the '80s and '90s, her character-driven sketches

kept the nation in stitches.

It's just that physical comedy.

I know.

The words are so clever too.

I know.

She's hilarious.

This is the biggest muscle in the entire body

and it's directly connected to the brain.

So while we're working it, we are improving our circulation

and breathing, and our ability to follow a knitting pattern.

I go to a Zumba class, and the teacher is like that.

I'm not even joking.

Hi, Lynn!

She's literally like that.

When I go in, I literally chuckle to myself and think of Victoria

Wood.

She has a gruff, loud voice.

It's hilarious.

That is how she carries on.

There is a point where skinny can tip over into scrawny.

And I should know, because I am dangerously near it myself.

Absolute genius.

Really is funny.

That sketch, I remember.

It cracks me up every time I watch it.

I love that sketch.

Did you used to watch these as a child?

Yeah.

Maybe a little bit older, maybe as a teenager

I used to watch Victoria Wood.

I just found her brilliant.

I thought she was a genius.

I would literally laugh out loud and think, you are hilarious.

Is there anybody else you used to laugh at?

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

They were the best at their job.

It's the physical comedy.

I love physical comedy.

Slapstick.

Slapstick just makes me laugh.

I love it.

I suppose I have incorporated it a little bit.

When I do my sketches on This Morning, sometimes I get

a little bit physical.

I would probably put it towards Victoria Wood.

Are you also a fan of silent comedy?

Love silent comedy.

I just think it's the most clever comedy going.

Obviously, you've got no words.

People like Buster Keaton...?

Harold Lloyd.

I was a massive fan of his.

I've been telling people, why don't they repeat

Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy?

Your dream has come true.

We will repeat a little bit of Harold Lloyd.

On the clock tower.

So no words.

It was black and white.

Arguably his most famous sketch.

And he wore glasses as well.

And apparently, he did all of his own stunts as well.

I couldn't believe it.

So funny.

He looks absolutely terrified, doesn't he?

He was crazy, when you think about it.

This is a programme that literally had you on the edge of your seat,

but you can't help but carry on watching.

I think it was very cleverly shot.

I don't think he was actually up that high.

Look!

So dangerous.

Oh, no!

There's always a disaster with Harold Lloyd.

Legendary silent film star Harold Lloyd was one of the greatest

comic stars of his time.

His motion picture career spanned 34 years

and over 200 comedies.

Here we go!

We've had two completely different types of comedy there.

What is closest to your heart?

I like them both.

I like the silent, purely because you have to work so hard

to keep people's attention.

You're a big fan of Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy?

I wanted to see Charlie Chaplin.

Yes, all of those sorts of things, I used to watch mesmerised.

Loved it.

You don't have to really think.

It's all done for you.

I like that!

Sit back, relax.

How would you describe your own sense of humour?

I don't know.

Natural.

Keep it natural.

I don't like to try and find the laughs.

I find natural comedy out of everyday life.

Has your love of comedy helped you in life?

Yeah, I suppose so.

I've always had a good sense of humour, even in bad times.

You have to laugh, otherwise you'd cry.

I'm not scared of crying either.

Crying is all right.

It is good to cry.

To let it out.

I think I am the funniest crier you've ever come across.

I literally cry so loud and over the top.

When I broke my ankle ice-skating, everybody thought I was joking.

I was literally crying out loud.

Everybody was laughing, they thought I was taking the mickey.

I'd broken it in two places, my ankle.

I was in so much pain.

The next choice is an interesting one.

It's a woman who had a big influence on you.

We're about to sit back and relax and enjoy a little bit of,

who is it?

It's Oprah.

All right.

Inside one of these boxes is a key.

Do not open it yet.

Self-made billionaire and the richest African-American

of the 20th century,

Oprah Winfrey's hugely popular talk show ran for 25 years.

Famed for covering controversial subjects, the programme also hit

the headlines for its amazing audience giveaways.

JR is back in our audio booth.

This calls for a drum roll.

Cue the drum roll.

All right, open your boxes.

Open your boxes.

One, two, three.

Oprah has since said

the world-famous You've Got a Car Giveaway

is one of her all-time favourite happiest moments ever.

They all got a key.

They all got a car!

They all got a car.

Literally, she put a key in every single box.

Ladies and gentlemen,

now have a look underneath your seats, and you'll probably find

four legs to a chair!

How amazing would that have been.

To have sat in the audience.

Can you imagine being in the audience and winning a car?

Every person.

Then you go out, and there's your car.

Each car was worth over $30,000.

I loved when that happened, actually.

She did so many lovely things.

Oprah was one of my - she still is,

I find her very inspirational.

I find the things she says on programmes inspiring.

You know when you want to watch happy TV?

Watch Oprah.

Not in the early stages.

It was a bit Ricki Lake.

But then she became so inspirational.

There were doctors on it that would inspire me.

She tackled big issues as well.

It was not just about giving away cars.

She had amazing guests on.

She was one of those people who can really connect with people.

As soon as you started talking to her, you could see the guests

open up and want to tell their whole life story.

She would try to reach a resolution.

By the end of the show there was some sort of resolution.

When you finish watching, you felt happy.

If you can make someone happy, if you can make someone smile,

what a lovely thing to do.

I just love her for that really.

She was a huge influence?

Massive influence.

Love watching.

In fact, she came to England, she was promoting a film,

and I had an interview with her.

I was so, so excited, and for some reason it got cancelled.

And Lorraine Kelly did an interview with her.

It was such a lovely interview.

I was so upset I did not meet her, I cried my eyes out.

I still have not met her yet.

Did you cry like that?

I didn't, actually.

It was a silent cry.

I was so devastated.

I was crying tears because I have always wanted to meet her.

The fact I was that close to meeting her and it was cancelled...

We did not have the space for it.

I could not breathe.

I could not speak to anybody for the whole day.

I think one day me and Oprah's paths will cross.

Plenty of time.

She might give you a car.

You never know.

Just a box with a key in it.

I kind of had that moment with you as well.

I wanted to meet you.

Now my dreams have come true.

They say you should never meet your heroes.

It never works out, does it?

You have a lot of Oprah in you.

Do you think?

I love her hair.

You

You genuinely

You genuinely make

You genuinely make people

You genuinely make people happy,

You genuinely make people happy, Alison.

I hope if people watch me, I make them smile.

I probably make a lot of them sad as well.

If I can make someone smile, I am happy.

I'm doing my job right.

We first saw you on our screens in Big Brother.

How was that experience?

It felt like a mini holiday.

The first day we arrived we got a full luxury shopping list.

I had two weeks of luxury and then I got kicked out.

I was the second one to be kicked out.

I had a lovely holiday.

How long after that did you then work for This Morning?

Quite soon after.

About a month or so afterwards they asked me to come on and do

a three month contract.

I have been there 13 years now.

Started off on a three-month contract.

It never went away.

We are going to have a look at you on one of your first

interviews for This Morning.

Do you know who it is with?

Is it Mr Clooney?

It is.

George himself.

If you thought George Clooney was just another sex symbol

from Hollywood, think again.

With his directorial debut, he has proved he is just as talented

behind the camera as he is in front.

That is the Paul Ross bit out of the way.

The reason I'm here is for George Clooney!

What do you want?

George!

I looked so young.

So does George.

It's your directing debut - were you nervous?

I was nervous but I had to carry Sam Rockwell around.

I was fine.

If you have got a good actor you'll be OK.

I can't believe how confident I was.

I had an interview with him, and then he went away and I thought,

I will get another interview, so I just shoved a mike in his face.

That was a bit awkward.

But I never went to journalism school, so didn't know

what the etiquette was.

You got his attention.

And a years go by, and human members this was back

I did a sit down interview with him and I thought,

I look a bit different.

He ain't going to recognise me.

As soon as I walked through the door, he said,

did you hit me in the face of the microphone?

I was like, me?

He remembered that moment.

You have interviewed so many stars.

What was the big question that people always

ask you about this?

They always ask, who was your favourite star?

I think it will be Oprah when I meet her.

But maybe Will Smith.

He literally gives 125% when you don't even ask

for it.

He is so giving in interviews.

Then you have Hugh Jackman, who is great in interviews.

Renee Zellweger always asks about my son every time

I see her.

I have met her four times and she is like, how is Aidan?

She remembers his name!

I was pregnant when I first met her, so she was

taking an interest.

Didn't you tap dance with her?

I did!

I tap danced for her.

She loved it.

And you have rapped with Will Smith.

Yes, we had a little wrap.

He said, can you write orange?

I said, I can rhyhme anything.

But it is the only thing you can't rhyme.

Orange, you cannot find a rhyme that goes with.

But you have a talent to spark up an immediate rapport with someone.

That is what you have to be good at, and

that is what you have been doing for 13 years now.

I never even thought about the secret, but you have got

it, Brian.

When have you struggled to strike up a report?

--

-- rapport.

It does happen, you are not going to get on with

everyone.

People can have a bad day.

I am going to name drop him.

I can't remember his name!

LAUGHTER.

Probably me!

No, I was working with Colin Firth.

And the first time I met him, I was on the red carpet for Bridget

Jones.

He was all over me.

So my second interview, I was telling all the cameramen,

you're going to love this interview, because he was kissing me on the red

carpet.

He came in and went, I have had a bad night.

And the whole interview, no one else would have

noticed it.

But I could feel it in my heart, that he just wasn't with me.

That is just the way it is.

Some people have a good day, some have a

bad day.

Unfortunately, I had both with Colin Firth.

You did Strictly for us.

Can you believe I did Strictly?

This big girl from Birmingham?

You were brilliant.

You know, it was one of the best things

I have ever done.

And the fact that I got Aljaz, he was so lovely and we had such

a good time.

I didn't do very much dancing.

I did a lot of chatting and sitting around having a coffee

and a cup of tea.

And then we would do a bit of dancing.

I did about ten minutes of dancing in the whole thing.

I just loved every minute, the glamour, the hair,

the costumes, the glitter.

Brilliant.

What sort of TV do you watch now?

I do like daytime TV.

Of course.

Obviously, I like This Morning.

But I am really into box sets.

I've just finished watching Breaking Bad.

Loved it.

I am now watching, can't believe I'm so behind,

but I'm only just watching Homeland.

Really into that.

But can you switch off, or do you binge on it?

I binge.

I literally want to watch six episodes

at once.

I can't turn it off.

I might be watching in the car if I am

not driving.

I will watch in the train.

I literally binge.

I want to watch them all now.

I like box sets.

We give our guests the opportunity to choose a theme tune for us

to play out on.

What is it going to be?

For me, what reminds me of family and a Saturday night would have

to be the Dallas theme tune.

Big fan?

I loved it.

When JR got shot, who did it and all that stuff, loved it.

And we all used to sing it before it came on.

We would literally be dancing.

We were so happy when that came on, the whole family.

Well, you have made us happy today.

You are such a bright spark and a lovely

person.

Well, you've made me happy.

Thank you very much.

Give us a kiss.

So, my thanks to Alison and my thanks to you for watching

The TV That Made Me.

See you next time.

Bye-bye!

DALLAS THEME PLAYS

ALISON SINGS ALONG

Dad, can I just park the thing, OK?

Did you need planning permission for that cake?