0:00:02 > 0:00:04TV - the magic box of delights.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05As kids, it showed us
0:00:05 > 0:00:08a million different worlds, all from our living room.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12- So funny!- That was state-of-the-art.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15- Argh!- I loved this.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16Each day, I'm going
0:00:16 > 0:00:19to journey through the wonderful world of telly...
0:00:19 > 0:00:22- Cheers.- ..with one of our favourite celebrities...
0:00:22 > 0:00:23We're going into Space.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25- It's just so silly.- Oh, no!
0:00:28 > 0:00:31- Yeah!- ..as they select the iconic TV moments...
0:00:33 > 0:00:35- My God, this is the scene!- Oh, dear.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38..that tell us the stories of their lives.
0:00:39 > 0:00:41I absolutely adored this.
0:00:41 > 0:00:42'Some will make you laugh...'
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Don't watch the telly, Esther, watch me!
0:00:45 > 0:00:46'..some will surprise...'
0:00:46 > 0:00:49No way! Where did you find this?
0:00:49 > 0:00:51..many will inspire...
0:00:51 > 0:00:55It used to transport us to places that we could only dream about.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57..and others will move us.
0:00:57 > 0:00:58I am emotional now.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Today we look even more deeply.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Why wouldn't you want to watch this?
0:01:02 > 0:01:06So come watch with us as we rewind to the classic telly that
0:01:06 > 0:01:10helped shape those wide-eyed youngsters into the much-loved
0:01:10 > 0:01:11stars they are today.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21APPLAUSE
0:01:21 > 0:01:25Welcome to The TV That Made Me. My guest today is a national treasure.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29It can only be the one and only Mr Johnny Ball!
0:01:29 > 0:01:30CHEERING
0:01:30 > 0:01:33- All right?- John. Come and sit yourself down.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Welcome to my humble abode.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Johnny Ball is a national treasure.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43He may have started life as a stand-up comedian,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46but we all know him as a children's television presenter.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51The show that made him a household name was Play School, which he
0:01:51 > 0:01:53presented for 16 years.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59But he's fronted over 20 series since then,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03from Think Of A Number to Johnny Ball Reveals All.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06The TV that made him includes
0:02:06 > 0:02:08one of the most famous FA Cup finals...
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Bolton have drawn first blood within 90 seconds.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14..a landmark series on science...
0:02:14 > 0:02:17And it was instantly made a sensation.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21..and the show that launched his TV career.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22Could be seaweed, couldn't it?
0:02:24 > 0:02:27- How are you?- I'm very well. This is very nice.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Well, today's a look back at, you know, your favourite TV highlights.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- I know.- But first we're going to delve into your past
0:02:33 > 0:02:37and find out a little bit more about the young Johnny Ball.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Johnny Ball was born Graham Ball in Bristol in 1938.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46His father Daniel worked at an iron foundry,
0:02:46 > 0:02:51whilst mum Martha-Ann worked in a factory making boots during the war.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54The family moved to Bolton when he was 11.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56He left school at 16 with just two O Levels
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and a few years later signed on with the Royal Air Force.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02It was here that he learned his craft,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05entertaining his colleagues with his funny routines.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08After three years, he left to pursue a career in comedy,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11first becoming a Butlins Redcoat, then launching
0:03:11 > 0:03:16himself as a stand up comedian on the tough Northern club circuit.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19But it wasn't long before he was spotted by the BBC,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23and his long career in children's TV began.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Lovely memories there.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Yeah. Yeah, they were. My childhood was lovely.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32I was born in Bristol. Until I was 11, I was there.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Passed my 11 Plus there.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36It was blissful. It was absolutely wonderful.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Then we moved to Bolton and we were 200 yards from a Satanic mill.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42You know, and the railway shunting yards were across the road,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44where they used to drop coal into wagons.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47And everything was covered in dirt and soot and everything.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49So an incredible change.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And it was a terrible change, but I came through that.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54My parents were so disappointed when I only got two O Levels.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56They were heartbroken.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Cos I'd done very well.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01In the first year at that school, I got the maths prize
0:04:01 > 0:04:02and a chess prize.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04I'd never played chess in my life,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06and I got the chess prize for the year, you see.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09But I was in form 2B.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11But because I came from Bristol with a Bristol accent,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and really before television,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17in Bolton it was like a foreign accent.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20It really was. And so I went from form 2B to 3C
0:04:20 > 0:04:24to 4D, to lower 5E,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and the last year I was in 5E cos they didn't have
0:04:27 > 0:04:29a 5F.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38It's time for your first choice, Johnny.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41This was Sunday Night At The London Palladium.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43So your dad liked watching this?
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Yeah, we all watched it.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47And, of course, we watched the famous Brucie.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Oh, here he is. Look.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51Good evening!
0:04:51 > 0:04:53# Ladies and gentlemen
0:04:53 > 0:04:58# Welcome to Sunday Night At The London Palladium... #
0:04:58 > 0:05:02When ITV launched in 1955, it needed some big shows to bring
0:05:02 > 0:05:06an audience and advertisers to the new network.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Few shows were bigger
0:05:08 > 0:05:11and glitzier than Sunday Night At The London Palladium.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14You see, it's pure Butlin Redcoat.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18It's all smiles, all friendly, all nice and jolly, "I love you all."
0:05:18 > 0:05:20And you've also been a Redcoat.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Oh, yeah. That was the university of comedy.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29When I was 14, I went to Filey,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33and our Redcoat captain for our house
0:05:33 > 0:05:36was a guy called Des O'Connor.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Really? Des O'Connor?
0:05:38 > 0:05:40And he was magic.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42He'd do gags like "This here is the Pig
0:05:42 > 0:05:43"And Whistle where the pigs get a whistle.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45"Over here we have the Palm Court,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47"so called because it's got a door with a strong spring,
0:05:47 > 0:05:50"and if you're not careful, you'll get your palm caught."
0:05:50 > 0:05:52And that was the gags he was doing.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54I thought he was wonderful, and I said, "I'm going to do that."
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Oh, really? So Des played a big influence on your career?
0:05:57 > 0:06:01And eight years later, I followed him and became a Redcoat.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03But I felt so good, you know, in those few days.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I went to the south of France. Always wanted to go there.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09What a place! Cyril, isn't it marvellous there? He lives there.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10He lives there, that boy.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12He's a great presenter, isn't he?
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Oh, he was lovely.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Oh, Beat The Clock.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19The show included the popular game Beat The Clock,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23where two contestants would take on a series of challenges.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Bruce's commentary and helpful suggestions and the imposing
0:06:26 > 0:06:31sound of the ticking clock had viewers on the edge of their seats.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35We want you to get one ball in that pocket, one ball in that pocket,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39one ball in that pocket, and the other ball in that, in that order.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41One, two, three, four.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44- That is impossible!- No, it's not. No, they'll do this.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49- I mean, it is big money. I mean, for its day.- Yeah.- £200.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53You have 40 seconds to the beat the clock, starting from now.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01They ain't going to do it, are they?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03- Oh, that is nice.- Oh, that's one in!
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Two, good, good.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09How that working?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12- That is really good going. - Why are the other two not moving?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15It's a bit like The Cube.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- Well done.- Oh, and this one's easy. This one's easy. How long to go?
0:07:22 > 0:07:25How long to go? Get in there, get in there, get in there!
0:07:26 > 0:07:28Oh, no!
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Oh! I mean, it really feels like event telly, doesn't it?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Oh, it does, it does, and the Palladium's such a wonderful,
0:07:34 > 0:07:35wonderful theatre.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38How much did you admire Bruce?
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Brucie I loved.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42And, you know, when you become a comedian,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46the first way to become a comedian is to watch everybody else,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49and it's not stealing the jokes - you steal inflection,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53you steal ideas of how to present yourself and all those things
0:07:53 > 0:07:56become... It slowly becomes you. Pieces of everybody else.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59So I used to do Brucie's walk
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and I'd come down the stairs like Brucie. I couldn't help it.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03And I was showing off, really.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06So can you still do that walk?
0:08:06 > 0:08:11No. No! Are you expecting me to do it. I don't know if I can.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Go on, we'll try, we'll try.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16- Oops.- Are you coming in? - I'm coming in.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to present for your pleasure
0:08:19 > 0:08:24and entertainment, Johnny Ball doing the Bruce Forsyth walk.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27APPLAUSE
0:08:29 > 0:08:32..to see you nice. Nice to see you. Oh, something like that.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- The Bruce Forsyth walk, ladies and gentlemen!- I tell you what...
0:08:38 > 0:08:41..I did Strictly a couple of years ago and I only...
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Cos I was out first, I only did three shows with Brucie and,
0:08:45 > 0:08:48oh, I got on so well with him, you know. And his wife...
0:08:48 > 0:08:52We occasionally meet his wife in Windsor when we go for lunch
0:08:52 > 0:08:55and as soon as we walk in, if she's there, she goes,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58"You should never have gone out." When I was thrown out of Strictly.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01"You should never have gone out." The first thing she ever says.
0:09:01 > 0:09:02Did you enjoy it?
0:09:02 > 0:09:04- Oh, I loved it. I loved it.- Yeah?
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Cos my wife's a dancer, you see.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10So every time I came home she would correct anything I was doing
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and hadn't got right yet, so it should have worked very well.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14It should have.
0:09:14 > 0:09:15So, anyway...
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Bruce Forsyth holds the Guinness World Record for the longest
0:09:21 > 0:09:23TV career of any male entertainer.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26After Sunday Night At The London Palladium,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30he went on to launch the legendary Generation Game on the BBC.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35He gave ITV a Brucie bonus with Play Your Cards Right.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38And he went back to the Beeb to present Brucie's Guest Night,
0:09:38 > 0:09:42an all-singing and all-dancing music and chat show.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Most recently, he reclaimed his crown as king of Saturday Night TV
0:09:46 > 0:09:50with the incredibly successful Strictly Come Dancing.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Well, as your next choice we've got a sketch.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Here's a little clip here.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06The legendary Mr Robb Wilton.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10'Robb Wilton became famous in the 1930s and '40s for his stage
0:10:10 > 0:10:14'and screen monologues, in which he played workshy authority
0:10:14 > 0:10:16'figures with little time for the public.'
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- What is it you've done? - I've poisoned him.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Poisoned him? Poisoned who?
0:10:24 > 0:10:27'In this famous police sketch,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29'he encounters a lady who is trying to confess
0:10:29 > 0:10:31'to murdering her husband.'
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Give me some particulars, will you? Just a few particulars.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Is... Is your husband with you?
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Oh, no! You've poisoned him.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Just give me a description and we'll see if we can get at it that way.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46He was 4'2".
0:10:46 > 0:10:484...
0:10:48 > 0:10:504'2"?
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Only one half of that frame...
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Bald-headed. Ball...
0:10:58 > 0:11:00Won't want so much ink for that.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03- Knock-knee.- Knock...
0:11:05 > 0:11:08You were in a hurry to get married, weren't you?
0:11:09 > 0:11:11APPLAUSE
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- Isn't he wonderful?- Yeah. - Absolutely wonderful.- Yeah.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20It's just such, you know, like you - gentle humour.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25My dad used to love all the old comics, and Robb especially.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28You didn't see them much on television but I heard them
0:11:28 > 0:11:30on radio and radio was great.
0:11:30 > 0:11:36Robb used to come on and it was so laconic and so quiet.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39And, of course, he was Liverpool, a Liverpool comic.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41There was Tommy Handley was Liverpool,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- Arthur Askey was from Liverpool.- "Ay-thang-yaw."
0:11:44 > 0:11:45"Ay-thang-yaw"
0:11:45 > 0:11:50My dad loved Arthur Askey because he was the only
0:11:50 > 0:11:53comedian, literally the only comedian in the early days,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55- who came through the box.- Mm-hm.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58- He knew how to work it. - Yeah, did it straight to you.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01The gags came straight to you and he took you with it.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03My dad loved him.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06So when I did television and my Think programmes,
0:12:06 > 0:12:07it was all straight to the camera.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Although I had audience, it was really all camera to camera.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15And it was all exactly the way my dad
0:12:15 > 0:12:17had seen, you know, the great comics.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Wilton was one of the handful of comedians who made
0:12:22 > 0:12:25the leap from music hall to screen.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Arthur Askey was one of the first.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Appearing as the TV comedian in the 1930s,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32he went on to become one of the judges
0:12:32 > 0:12:35in the 1970s talent show New Faces.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Flanagan and Allen's mix of comedy and music was hugely popular
0:12:40 > 0:12:44during The Second World War, leading to roles in both film and TV.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Tommy Trinder was one of Britain's foremost wartime entertainers
0:12:52 > 0:12:54and later became the first compere
0:12:54 > 0:12:56of Sunday Night At The London Palladium.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58Last, but not least,
0:12:58 > 0:13:03ukelele-playing star George Formby's comedy films became major hits.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05By the end of the '30s,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08he was one of the UK's highest paid entertainers.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Who knew you could make so much money cleaning windows?
0:13:16 > 0:13:19So we're going to move onto something that will bring
0:13:19 > 0:13:21a lump to your throat.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23I hope you're ready for this.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28'100,000 people crammed into Wembley in 1953 to watch
0:13:28 > 0:13:31'Bolton play Blackpool in the FA Cup Final.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35'It was the first Cup Final to reach a live TV audience.
0:13:35 > 0:13:36'As an avid Bolton supporter,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39'it was nail-biting stuff for a young Johnny Ball.'
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Now Bolton get going smoothly. Hassall collects and passes.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Isn't that Lofthouse? He was absolutely wonderful.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48As the ball goes to Nat Lofthouse, he shoots.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Farm fumbles and it's a goal!
0:13:50 > 0:13:54'After Bolton took a 3-1 lead, the cup seemed in their grasp
0:13:54 > 0:13:58'but they then sustained injuries and Blackpool had Stanley Matthews.'
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Oh, Mortensen scores from here.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Oh, me heart was breaking. Oh, no!
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Mortensen takes it. Wham!
0:14:07 > 0:14:08Oh, there you go!
0:14:08 > 0:14:10Oh, and here he comes.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13'Matthews' spectacular performance meant
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'the match will be forever known as the Matthews Final.'
0:14:16 > 0:14:18That was 3-3.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22But our left-half and our left-back have both been injured.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25- Right.- There were no substitutes in those days.- Oh, interesting.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27So he didn't have anybody to beat!
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Blackpool 4, Bolton 3.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31Matthews recently ignored by the England selectors,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34is the Man Of The Match.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36I watched this next door but one,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40- and walked the 20 yards crying in the street.- Oh, really?!
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- Absolutely crying in the street... - Really?
0:14:43 > 0:14:44..because we'd lost.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47But the right-back for Bolton who had nothing to do with Matthews,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50he was on the other side and did not get beat by Matthews,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52was Johnny Ball.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54And because he was Johnny Ball,
0:14:54 > 0:14:56all my mates called me Johnny Ball.
0:14:56 > 0:14:57I loved that because it
0:14:57 > 0:14:59was a nicer name than Graham,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I didn't like Graham...
0:15:01 > 0:15:04But they made me play right-back but I wanted to be centre-forward.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07So it ruined my football, but I've been called Johnny ever since.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09- Isn't that amazing? - That's when it started.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10Yeah, just from that, that's amazing.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14So even though you lost, does it still bring back good memories?
0:15:14 > 0:15:15- It was terrible memories.- Really?
0:15:15 > 0:15:19It was so sad but our whole left flank was depleted
0:15:19 > 0:15:23and the left winger for Bolton was Bobby Langton,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26who also played for England now and again.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Matthews, Finney and then Langton, they were really three left-wingers.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Let's just check if you were right. Was it Matthews...?
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- This is a gift for you.- Oh!- It's a programme from that day.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39APPLAUSE
0:15:39 > 0:15:41To bring back all those happy memories.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43It's made me shake.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Oh, this is wonderful! One shilling.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52And we were robbed!
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- And there's Johnny Ball, J Ball. - Yeah.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57- There you are. Oh, that's fantastic.- That's yours.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- We'll give it to you later. - Oh, right!
0:15:59 > 0:16:01- Oh, that's tremendous. - Oh, it's a pleasure.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11Johnny is in good company when it comes to changing his name.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Slapstick comic Benny Hill was born Alfred Hill,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17but changed his first name to the surname of his favourite
0:16:17 > 0:16:20vaudeville comedian, Jack Benny.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Before going on to The Goon Show and greatness,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29Spike Milligan was called Terence Milligan.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33He created his stage name in homage to one of his favourite bands,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Spike Jones And The City Slickers.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Vic Reeves was born Jim Moir.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44He created his new persona by supposedly combining
0:16:44 > 0:16:48the names of his favourite singers, Vic Damone and Jim Reeves.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Well, now for your next choice, Johnny.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- This is Must See TV. - Right.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07The Phil Silvers Show centred around our Ernest Bilko,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10an unlikely sergeant in the US Army who spent most of his time
0:17:10 > 0:17:13dreaming up a get-rich-quick scams.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16It instantly appealed to the young Johnny Ball,
0:17:16 > 0:17:19who had recently joined the Forces.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22So this would have been on whilst you were in the RAF.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23We used to watch...
0:17:23 > 0:17:26An audience this big in a room this size,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and we used to watch Phil Silvers and just roar.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31And then shut up to catch the next line.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33- 25 cents!- 50 cents!
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- One buck!- A buck and a half! - A buck 60!
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Stop it! Stop the sale Stop the sale!
0:17:39 > 0:17:41What do you think of Phil Silvers' performance here?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44It was just... It was made for him, he was made for it.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46It was perfect.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49He did A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, the film,
0:17:49 > 0:17:54and he was fine, but this was the starring part.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59A buck 60, a dollar 60 indeed for a television set?
0:17:59 > 0:18:01'Fast-talking and irrepressible,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03'Bilko was forever trying to
0:18:03 > 0:18:06'persuade his men to part with their cash.'
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Show them that.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10A dollar 60 for this magic box
0:18:10 > 0:18:14that brings you Jack Benny, Ed Sullivan, Janet Gleason?!
0:18:14 > 0:18:16Yeah, it's only a 2" screen!
0:18:17 > 0:18:21- Oh, he was a joy, he really was, wasn't he?- Yeah.
0:18:21 > 0:18:22He was wonderful.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25You know what it means to me to part with this after ten years?
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- It's like a wrench out of my heart. - Yeah, some wrench!
0:18:28 > 0:18:30- It never once worked. - I'm glad you brought that up.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33We found out why, we've been plugging it into electricity.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35We found out this work on gas.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40They all hung onto him, you know? It's tremendous.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43The series was filmed as live in front of an audience.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45So, you know, I suppose he played off that.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47That's right, that's right.
0:18:47 > 0:18:48And that's why he couldn't be word perfect
0:18:48 > 0:18:51because you can't do it, you know?
0:18:51 > 0:18:55With comedy you've almost got to go with it, go with the flow.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Hit it in the moment, you know? Oh, he's tremendous.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01So you were in the RAF while watching this.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04The RAF, yeah, and I had a fabulous time.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07All the mates who were coming out the RAF, out of National Service,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09there were two kinds.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12"Two years of wasted bloody time, waste of my life!"
0:19:12 > 0:19:14You know, terribly grumpy.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17And the others said, "Oh, get in there, John,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19"volunteer for everything. Go for it."
0:19:19 > 0:19:23And, of course, I took their advice and I had a fabulous time.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27I was surrounded by boffins, people doing air-to-air missiles,
0:19:27 > 0:19:29ground-to-air missiles.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31And I was with radar, lock-on radar,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34radar that would lock onto the target.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37Well, it was absolutely new when I was in the RAF.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41So that's where all my experience with science and technology came in,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- through rubbing shoulders with all these boffins.- Oh, right.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Oh, it was a great time.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51After leaving the RAF, Johnny started on the road
0:19:51 > 0:19:54to being a stand-up comedian, touring the north-east.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00It's hard being a comedian anyway, but to be in the north-east.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- I mean, those clubs didn't suffer fools.- Well, yeah.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05I was lucky cos I got it right.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09There was a guy called Ricky McCabe helped me write my first act,
0:20:09 > 0:20:13and it was very simple, and it worked.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15I used to apologise to the audience.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I used to come on with a paper bag, inflated, and I'd go,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I... I ... Before I start...
0:20:21 > 0:20:23"What I want... "
0:20:23 > 0:20:25HE STUTTERS
0:20:25 > 0:20:26"Bag of nerves."
0:20:26 > 0:20:29- LAUGHTER - And I'd walk off.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34And I'd walk off. And that gave them the time to laugh.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36What era was this? Was this '60s?
0:20:36 > 0:20:40This was '63 was when I was semipro.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Turned pro January '64.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46And it worked. So Jerry Lewis I used to follow a great deal.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48- Jerry Lewis, great slapstick comic. - Yeah.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53And I learned to run down a corridor with a tiled floor,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56and I could run down the corridor, and they'd go, "Now!"
0:20:56 > 0:21:00And I would just go in a heap
0:21:00 > 0:21:02- and finish up at the end.- Yeah.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05And the next thing I learned to do was fall down the stairs,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07and there were stone stairs.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09And I could fall down the stairs,
0:21:09 > 0:21:10and never hurt myself at all.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Taught myself all these things.
0:21:12 > 0:21:13Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16But I could fall down stone steps.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19- So was you a fan of Buster Keaton and...?- All of those, yeah.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22All of those. And I loved those.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24So I just had to perform.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26But, oh, I loved it.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Now, Johnny, it's time for a commercial break.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Let's have a look at the advert that you picked.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44- HE WOLF WHISTLES - Hey, Hey, Suzy Q,
0:21:44 > 0:21:45what's cooking with you?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Your teeth look whiter than new, new, new.- My teeth aren't...
0:21:48 > 0:21:52This catchy ad was first screened in the 1950s.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55It's animation style was similar to the Hanna-Barbera cartoons
0:21:55 > 0:21:58that were hugely popular at the time.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00# You'll wonder where the yellow went
0:22:00 > 0:22:03# When you brush your teeth with Pepsodent. #
0:22:03 > 0:22:05# Wonder where the yellow went
0:22:05 > 0:22:08# When you brush your teeth with dry cement. #
0:22:08 > 0:22:10LAUGHTER
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Pepsodent was perhaps upping the ante in their advertising campaign
0:22:14 > 0:22:16to combat falling sales.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And with what seemed like overkill, you were in no doubt
0:22:21 > 0:22:25what brand of toothpaste you were being sold.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28Pepsodent. Pepsodent. Pepsodent
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Now, Johnny, we move on to the category where you can choose
0:22:37 > 0:22:39anything you like, just because.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- Have a little look at this. - Just because. Wow.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Yes, Tonight's off to sea.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49This is the Tonight Show with Fyfe Robertson.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52With his trademark tufty beard,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Fyfe Robertson cut a distinctive figure.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57His popular roving reports eventually led to him
0:22:57 > 0:23:00getting his own weekly series.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01..Its 4,000 inhabitants,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04a very special, tender affection.
0:23:04 > 0:23:09The very name Islay warms the hearts of Inland Revenue men.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11Just as no doubt, on occasions,
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Islay's chief product warms their innards.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17- He's in the Hebrides.- Yeah.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20And look at the cable.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Yeah, yeah. Probably running back right the way to the studio.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Yes, this is powerful stuff, all right.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Powerful enough, they tell me, to loosen the tanks in your shoes.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32LAUGHTER
0:23:32 > 0:23:35I mean, what a character, wasn't he?
0:23:35 > 0:23:39- I mean, he was a proper TV original. - It was.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41His enthusiasm, I mean, it's boundless, isn't it,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- in these reports? - Oh, yeah. He was wonderful.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47By very special dispensation, arranged no doubt at the level
0:23:47 > 0:23:51just below Whitehall, I'm going to taste is sip.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53So here it goes.
0:23:57 > 0:23:58Oh!
0:23:58 > 0:24:01- Ha-ha-ha-ha.- It's half a pint!
0:24:01 > 0:24:02It's half a pint.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06And he's probably done about eight shots before then, when he's had to sip along.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09And this used to be seen at 6.30, which is the wonderful thing.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12So why did you choose Fyfe Robertson?
0:24:12 > 0:24:15I chose Fyfe because he was such an incredible character
0:24:15 > 0:24:17and he epitomised...
0:24:17 > 0:24:21He was the first one to really make a
0:24:21 > 0:24:26little piece about absolutely anything...
0:24:26 > 0:24:28mesmeric. You couldn't look away.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31You had to follow Fyfe, you had to listen to him.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33What the hell he was talking about you sometimes didn't know,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and then there's a twist to it. And he was just brilliant.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38He could entertain with anything.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40And that's what they learned.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43So Michael Rodd later came up. and then all the people who did
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Tomorrow's World, that all came from that and those presenters.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48And it was a wonderful era.
0:24:48 > 0:24:52And I learned a lot from them before I did my shows, you know?
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Johnny, your next choice is very educational.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06- Right.- Have a little peak at this.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09The theory of evolution by natural selection was certainly
0:25:09 > 0:25:16the most important single scientific innovation in the 19th century.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19This is the Ascent Of Man.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Mr Bronowski.
0:25:21 > 0:25:28And today we look even more deeply at the chemistry that we all share.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33The Ascent Of Man was a personal view of the history of science
0:25:33 > 0:25:37and technology through the eyes of historian Jacob Bronowski.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41From the very first...
0:25:41 > 0:25:47This book that he wrote with this series has been my Bible.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51- It was commissioned by Sir David Attenborough, the series.- Yeah.
0:25:51 > 0:25:57From that moment, it was no longer possible to believe any story which
0:25:57 > 0:26:02supposed that at any time now there could be created
0:26:02 > 0:26:06once again the beginning of life.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10But it's sadly so pedantic and slow for today that it's never been...
0:26:10 > 0:26:14It has been shown once and it didn't do particularly well.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18He was wonderful, and it was the only series he ever did.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21There's the lovely story when he was in Auschwitz,
0:26:21 > 0:26:27and he bends down and he's talking about man's inhumanity to man.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29I owe it as a human being
0:26:29 > 0:26:32to the many members of my family who died here
0:26:32 > 0:26:36to stand here as a survivor and a witness.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41We have to cure ourselves
0:26:41 > 0:26:45of the itch for absolute knowledge and power.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50And he picks up the dust from the floor, and as he's doing it -
0:26:50 > 0:26:52and he only did once take -
0:26:52 > 0:26:56he realises this isn't earth,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58this is ash.
0:27:00 > 0:27:08We have to close the distance between the push-button order
0:27:08 > 0:27:10and the human act.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15We have to...touch people.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18And he felt that as he did the piece.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20And he held it, walked off-camera
0:27:20 > 0:27:22and cried and cried and cried.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23And that was him.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26So you can do so much with television,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29and if you time it right and if you edit it right,
0:27:29 > 0:27:32the audience absolutely would be much more intelligent than
0:27:32 > 0:27:33you give them credit for,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35and will take it.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Bronowski, his book is my Bible.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48The next show made you a favourite with kids across the country.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Let's have a look at your Big Break.
0:27:51 > 0:27:52Of course it's Play School.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- Hello.- Hello.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58This, this is going to be a mountain. There you are, Hamble.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00You can sit on top.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02That's Sarah Long.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Well, no, that's a puppet. LAUGHTER
0:28:05 > 0:28:07- It's a puppet!- It is a puppet.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10These are the pieces of material.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14It can be fields and things on the lower slopes.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Play School was the first ever show to broadcast on BBC Two,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21after the channel's grand opening plan for the previous night
0:28:21 > 0:28:23was scuppered by a power cut.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Some light blue material here,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29that can be the shallow water.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Purple trousers!
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Who bought me purple trousers?
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Johnny was one of the longest-serving presenters,
0:28:36 > 0:28:41chalking up 545 episodes over 16 years.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44At what sort of age what this aimed at?
0:28:44 > 0:28:45It was definitely under fives.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48- Under fives.- And it worked.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Now, they didn't do any fairy stories, no elves and pixies,
0:28:52 > 0:28:57no fantasy. And nobody ever notices that.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02It was all factual, it was all about life, really.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06And this is darker blue, this could be the deepwater,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08the deep sea further out.
0:29:08 > 0:29:10And it can be all wavy.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13HE IMITATES WAVES CRASHING
0:29:13 > 0:29:15So how did you get the job on Play School?
0:29:15 > 0:29:17Well, somebody said,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20"We're looking for presenters for children's television."
0:29:20 > 0:29:23And the producer rang my agent and said,
0:29:23 > 0:29:25"Johnny would be perfect for this."
0:29:25 > 0:29:28It must be Crackerjack.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30So I go for an interview in Manchester
0:29:30 > 0:29:32and I breeze in, and I've got the job in two minutes.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36And he said, "Oh, you're going to be fabulous in Play School.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38LAUGHTER
0:29:38 > 0:29:40"What's Play School?"
0:29:40 > 0:29:42He said, "It's for under fives, 11 o'clock in the morning, BBC Two."
0:29:42 > 0:29:44And I went, "Thanks a lot."
0:29:44 > 0:29:47And I got up to walk out.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50And I got to the door, and he came and he put his hand on my hand
0:29:50 > 0:29:53and he said, "No, come and chat." So I went, "All right."
0:29:53 > 0:29:55So we went back and chatted and he persuaded me to do the audition.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58And when I started doing, Play School I couldn't do it
0:29:58 > 0:30:00cos he gave me a toy, you know, Hamble,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02and sing a song to Hamble.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05And being a stand-up comic it was very difficult,
0:30:05 > 0:30:07and I couldn't do it.
0:30:07 > 0:30:08So after three weeks they said,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11"When you're doing something you like you're great.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14"When you're doing something you don't like you're terrible.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18"So you've either got to get a grip and forget adults,
0:30:18 > 0:30:22"and talk for under-fives, or we'll have to let you go."
0:30:22 > 0:30:27And I went out and I thought, "Why am I being bad at something
0:30:27 > 0:30:30"because of some chip on my shoulder?" You see?
0:30:30 > 0:30:32And I changed, and I loved it.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35And I loved the integrity of the people who did Play School.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37I mean, Derek Griffiths, a great performer,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40he joined just after me,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43and I saw his audition, and gales of laughter in the gallery
0:30:43 > 0:30:46- with no effort at all.- Yeah.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48It was just lovely.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51I would drop kick Humpty through the window.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53- Really?- That's a wrap. Boink!
0:30:53 > 0:30:56- That's what we want to hear. I like that picture.- Yeah.
0:30:56 > 0:31:02We used to do that in studio seven in Television Centre,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and we'd have Morecambe and Wise or the Two Ronnies next door,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09and in a break they'd come and walk through other studio. Why?
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Cos they said, "We used to watch it with our kids."
0:31:12 > 0:31:14And they would come round and chat to us
0:31:14 > 0:31:19and then they'd go off and do their shows for nine million, you know, peak shows,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22and we'd do our thing at 11 o'clock in the morning.
0:31:22 > 0:31:23I mean, 16 years.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Yeah. 16 years, yeah.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27And it was just such a lovely period.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30It was the golden age of television,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32especially for BBC Children's.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35We were the best in the world by far.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37And that's what I did.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40We're very glad you did.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42BRIAN LAUGHS
0:31:43 > 0:31:48Johnny Ball isn't the only comedian who found a home on children's television.
0:31:48 > 0:31:49Fresh from the comedy clubs,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51future EastEnder Mike Reid
0:31:51 > 0:31:54hosted the anarchic game show Runaround for ITV.
0:31:57 > 0:31:5815 to 1 host Sandi Toksvig
0:31:58 > 0:32:01began her TV career on the live
0:32:01 > 0:32:04Saturday morning kids' show No 73.
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Rik Mayall's reading of Roald Dahl's
0:32:08 > 0:32:11George's Marvellous Medicine provoked complaints
0:32:11 > 0:32:13due to the naughty nature of the book
0:32:13 > 0:32:15and Rik's delivery of it.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19No surprise it is now enshrined in Jackanory folklore.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25Harry Hill found his brand of comedy a perfect fit for kids' TV,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28with his sketch show Shark Infested Custard.
0:32:30 > 0:32:34And of course our very own funny man Johnny Ball wrote comedy sketches
0:32:34 > 0:32:38for other people, but it wasn't always for children's programmes.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43I'd written for Les Dawson and other people.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Not a lot, but I'd written some and they wanted more.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49And it was difficult. Every time you wrote a sketch they'd say...
0:32:49 > 0:32:51You'd write a three-minute sketch and they'd say,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54"Great, John, we've had to whittle it down. A minute and a half."
0:32:54 > 0:32:57And they'd pay you a minute and a half. So you couldn't earn.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59It was about £35 a minute.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01So you couldn't earn £100 in a week.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04And there were people like John Cleese, The Goodies,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07and all these people were in that field,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11all jobbing writers before they got going.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14So Play Away said, "Will you write for us?" And I said, "Yeah."
0:33:14 > 0:33:16So I wrote a bit and they said, "Let's put it on a firm footing.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18"How much do you want a minute?
0:33:18 > 0:33:22And I said, "Well, the adults' pay 35 quid, pay me £30 a minute."
0:33:22 > 0:33:23And they said, "All right."
0:33:23 > 0:33:25First week, 16 minutes!
0:33:25 > 0:33:27Oh, my God.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29And that's how it started.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Hello? Oh, hello, Editor. Ida Scoop here.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36You've a story for me to cover?
0:33:36 > 0:33:38A Space probe? Where?
0:33:38 > 0:33:43Mr Willie Crackett. Number seven Jubilee Terrace.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47Play Away was originally intended to be a Saturday Play School,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50but with its mix of songs, sketches and gags -
0:33:50 > 0:33:52many of which were written by Johnny -
0:33:52 > 0:33:55it appealed to a much wider audience.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58- Daily Bugle here. - Oh, hello.- Hello.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01- Is it true you've built a device? - Yes, yes, I have. Yes.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03In your own back yard?
0:34:03 > 0:34:06- In my own back yard, aye. - To take you to the moon?
0:34:06 > 0:34:07To take me to the... To take me where?
0:34:07 > 0:34:10- To the moon.- The moon? Oh, don't make me laugh. No!
0:34:10 > 0:34:14So it isn't true? You haven't built a device to take you to the moon?
0:34:14 > 0:34:16No, no, no. I've built a device to take me to Mars.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18- To Mars?!- Yeah.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21Oh, that's fantastic. Do you think I could possibly see it?
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Yeah, of course you can. Just come this way.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Well, there she is.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Oh, this.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Johnny, I want to move on to your passion now of maths and science.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36- Yeah, it's odd, isn't it?- Did it come from, you know, your parents?
0:34:36 > 0:34:37It came from the start.
0:34:37 > 0:34:42My dad made a bagatelle table, you know, you fire the ball bearings?
0:34:42 > 0:34:45But he made one and it was better than you could buy in the shops.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48He made it - every single nail he put in.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51And I was very young
0:34:51 > 0:34:54when I could total up the balls as they dropped in.
0:34:54 > 0:34:5850, 75, 175, 225,
0:34:58 > 0:35:00as they dropped in.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03And I was very young when I could do that, and I just loved it.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05And bought me a billiard table.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07Now, billiards is all maths.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09All of it is maths,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12and it's angles and it's pressure.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Like driving is all maths.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16So suddenly you realise everything you do in life is maths.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19And I've always had this ability to link the two.
0:35:19 > 0:35:25There was a show called Don't Ask Me on Yorkshire Television,
0:35:25 > 0:35:28it went national, with Magnus Pyke, Miriam Stoppard and David Bellamy.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31And Derek Griffiths was asked to present it.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35And Derek started it, and they were giving him lines that, frankly,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38didn't have a laugh within 100 yards, you know?
0:35:38 > 0:35:41So he said, "Can I have Johnny Ball write for me?" So they said, "Yes."
0:35:41 > 0:35:42So I started writing for that show.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45I'd do things like... What kind of gags would I write?
0:35:45 > 0:35:48Honestly, you couldn't believe they paid me for this.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51You drop a peanut in beer and it sinks,
0:35:51 > 0:35:53and then it comes up again.
0:35:53 > 0:35:54Why does that happen?
0:35:54 > 0:35:56And thanks to me, Magnus Pyke said,
0:35:56 > 0:36:02"Because the beer is reaching parts of the peanut other beers cannot reach."
0:36:02 > 0:36:04LAUGHTER
0:36:04 > 0:36:06So I got involved with them
0:36:06 > 0:36:08and that's when I thought,
0:36:08 > 0:36:10"I could do this myself, couldn't I?"
0:36:10 > 0:36:12And that's when I did my Think programmes, after that.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16But how did you go into the BBC with the sales pitch for Think Again?
0:36:16 > 0:36:18They said... I was writing the...
0:36:18 > 0:36:21- They approached you?- No.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23They said...
0:36:23 > 0:36:26They said, "If you had your own series what would you do?"
0:36:26 > 0:36:29I said, "I'd do a programme on maths."
0:36:29 > 0:36:32And so that was Think Of A Number.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35But we found that the audience slowed the programme down
0:36:35 > 0:36:38because I could only go at a certain speed.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41So we did Think Again, and the reason we did Think Again is
0:36:41 > 0:36:45because I could do it straight to camera and get,
0:36:45 > 0:36:49we're television, and get more to the audience, the TV audience,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52get more to the TV audience, and that's why we did it.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55And they were my favourite programmes, the Think Agains.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59In the latter years of his life the great Isaac Newton spent much
0:36:59 > 0:37:04of his time studying alchemy, trying to turn base metals into gold.
0:37:04 > 0:37:05He never achieved it,
0:37:05 > 0:37:09but that's perhaps because he never had equipment like this!
0:37:10 > 0:37:13Freed up from having to entertain a studio audience, Think Again
0:37:13 > 0:37:18allowed Johnny to explore a much wider range of topics in depth,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21focusing on one subject for an entire episode.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Is it? Of course it's not.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27It's the base from which gold paint is made.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31And, as you know, you can buy gold paint in any paint shop in the high street.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35How much gold is there in gold paint? Not a scrap.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38However, you can produce gold in a laboratory.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40It's possible to turn platinum into gold.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43But as platinum is rarer than gold
0:37:43 > 0:37:46and more expensive it's a pointless exercise.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Besides, you need atomic physics to do it.
0:37:49 > 0:37:50It's all very costly.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53But you can produce startling effects very cheaply
0:37:53 > 0:37:55with other metals.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Metal like titanium.
0:37:57 > 0:38:01Well, that programme got an International Emmy nomination,
0:38:01 > 0:38:09and it was beaten by a programme with all of 20 times our budget.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12And, oh, it was just wonderful doing those programmes.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15And I think I was, if I can say it,
0:38:15 > 0:38:19I was suddenly at my writing peak.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22- And it was the comedy training, you see.- Yeah.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26You know with a comic, a gag has to go boom, boom, bash. You know?
0:38:26 > 0:38:29It's got a timing. It might be boom, boom, boom, bash.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32And you paint a scene and turn it on its head, and that's comedy.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34You know?
0:38:34 > 0:38:37And so that's how I wrote my scripts -
0:38:37 > 0:38:39as though I was writing comedy.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42So when I was talking about science and it had to go bang. I had to say da! And boom!
0:38:42 > 0:38:45I mean, what you underestimate is how cleverly you were explaining
0:38:45 > 0:38:48these things so children could get a grip on it.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50I just loved the medium.
0:38:50 > 0:38:51I love it.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54And it's just a wonderful thing, television.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57It's a great communicator, the greatest educator.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00We're all better educated because of television. We know more.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02It doesn't matter whether we watch rubbish or not.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05We're all educated because we know you, Johnny Ball.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07- JOHNNY LAUGHS - Well, I see.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10- I'm 77 now, but I'm still working. - You still look good.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14And I'm still working and enjoying it so much.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16We're much better than we think,
0:39:16 > 0:39:21and the future is brighter than anyone can imagine.
0:39:21 > 0:39:25Cos it was, comparing when I was a kid to today,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29much brighter than anyone could have imagined, and it'll go on.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31And that's what you tell your kids.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35And that's how we sell television, that's how we sell education.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37Oh, it should be beautiful
0:39:37 > 0:39:40in the future.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53And, Johnny, is there any TV that you like watching now?
0:39:53 > 0:39:55I love the good detectives.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58I still love the Poirots, I still do,
0:39:58 > 0:39:59even though I've seen them -
0:39:59 > 0:40:01different productions, but done again -
0:40:01 > 0:40:03and I know who's done it. It's lovely.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05I like Not Going Out.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08I think it's fabulous. I think it's absolutely...
0:40:08 > 0:40:12- The programme, or not going out? - Yeah, well, there you are! Yeah.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Oh, I never don't go out.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17Yeah, Not Going Out I think is a beautiful sitcom.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21It's a lovely thing, and it's...
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Do you know, it's modern in an old tradition, in a way.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26And it's pure. It's just pure and very inventive.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28- And very well written. - Oh, it's gorgeous.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31Lee Mack, isn't it? Oh, he's just wonderful.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33Go on, then, give me a compliment.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35All right.
0:40:35 > 0:40:37In this episode, Lee Mack is finally admitting
0:40:37 > 0:40:41his feelings for long-suffering flatmate Lucy.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45And he's making a typically ham-fisted attempt at it.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47All right, what about this?
0:40:47 > 0:40:48Your eyes look nice.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- Why do they look nice? - Because...
0:40:51 > 0:40:54your eyelashes look like...
0:40:54 > 0:40:57two tiny little crows that have crashed into the windscreen
0:40:57 > 0:40:59of your face.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03And bringing it back to television and children's TV,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06are you proud that Zoe followed your footsteps?
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Oh, it's just wonderful, you know?
0:41:08 > 0:41:11The great thing is I didn't write my first programme,
0:41:11 > 0:41:13factual programme, till I was 39.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Zoe had a great opening career then went quiet,
0:41:18 > 0:41:23- and she got Strictly, and she was about 39, 40.- Oh, right.
0:41:23 > 0:41:29- Not Strictly, but It Takes Two. - Mm-hm.- And...
0:41:29 > 0:41:33it's a perfect job for her. It's perfect for her.
0:41:33 > 0:41:38And then you see all the people coming in who, in 16 weeks,
0:41:38 > 0:41:41are incredibly good, you know? It's a beautiful programme.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43- Except for you.- Except for me.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48Leave it out! And she has dovetailed that job.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51It's perfect for her, she's perfect for it,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54- and it'll go on and on, and it's lovely.- Awww!
0:41:54 > 0:41:58Now, I give my guests an opportunity now to pick a theme tune for us
0:41:58 > 0:42:01to play out on. Have you got any thoughts?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Oh... Right, I wrote five educational stage musicals,
0:42:05 > 0:42:09and one was called Let The Force Be With You.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11And I needed a finishing number.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14And I stole this number...
0:42:15 > 0:42:18- ..which is Mr Ed. - Mr Ed!
0:42:18 > 0:42:20# A horse is a horse, of course, of course
0:42:20 > 0:42:22# And everyone understands... #
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Right. What I wrote was...
0:42:25 > 0:42:28# A force is a force, of course, of course
0:42:28 > 0:42:30# And everyone understands force, of course
0:42:30 > 0:42:32# Especially when, as a matter of course
0:42:32 > 0:42:34# You've seen us performing the show. #
0:42:34 > 0:42:39But that was it. And so writing lyrics, I love. Finding the tunes...
0:42:39 > 0:42:42Yeah, very often they're a bit borrowed.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44So, Johnny, thank you for being on,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47- and you're going to go out with Mr Ed...- With Mr Ed.
0:42:47 > 0:42:49- ..as your play-out tune.- Right.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51So it's my thanks to YOU, Johnny Ball,
0:42:51 > 0:42:53and my thanks to YOU for watching The TV That Made Me.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57- We'll see you next time. Bye-bye!- See ya!
0:42:57 > 0:42:59# And no-one can talk to a horse, of course
0:42:59 > 0:43:03# That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mr Ed
0:43:03 > 0:43:06# Go right to the source and ask the horse
0:43:06 > 0:43:08# He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse
0:43:08 > 0:43:10# He's always on a steady course
0:43:10 > 0:43:12# Talk to Mr Ed!
0:43:12 > 0:43:14# A horse is a horse, of course, of course
0:43:14 > 0:43:16# And this one will talk till his voice is hoarse
0:43:16 > 0:43:19# You never heard of a talking horse?
0:43:21 > 0:43:23# Well, listen to this!
0:43:23 > 0:43:26# I am Mr Ed! #