0:00:02 > 0:00:03BBC Four Collections.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06Specially chosen programmes from the BBC archive.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10For this collection, Sir Michael Parkinson has selected
0:00:10 > 0:00:13BBC interviews with influential figures of the 20th century.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16More programmes on this theme, and other BBC Four Collections
0:00:16 > 0:00:18are available on BBC iPlayer.
0:00:37 > 0:00:43APPLAUSE
0:00:58 > 0:01:03Ho-ho-ho! Ho-ho-ho! Hello, my little gnomes and elves.
0:01:03 > 0:01:04A very happy Christmas.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07I hope your Christmas Day, and your whole Christmas,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10has brought you everything you wished for yourself and more.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Just sit back in the mellow mood, probably the worst for drink,
0:01:14 > 0:01:15no more than we are ourselves...
0:01:15 > 0:01:18SLURS WORDS ..on this Christmas night...
0:01:18 > 0:01:21LAUGHTER I hope to add to your Christmas cheer
0:01:21 > 0:01:23with a bevy of stars,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25the like of which will astound and delight you.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31I shall have a primadonna... in the operatic sense,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35and a great supporting player in the wedding of the century,
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Dame Kiri Tikanawa will sing for us and talk to me as well.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44A great, great superstar, composer, pianist, performer,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47but probably best known in north-west London
0:01:47 > 0:01:50as the chairman of Watford Football Club.
0:01:50 > 0:01:52That will be Elton Hercules John.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59I shall be talking by scientific methods, across the sea,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03and over the Rocky Mountains, to Los Angeles,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07and there, by virtue of the satellite which has cost us a fortune,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11dressed to kill for Christmas, will be little Pammy Ewing,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13who demanded a rematch from last year.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15So it will be my pleasure to talk again to Victoria Principal
0:02:15 > 0:02:16in the course of the show.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20But first of all, a gentleman who made a ginormous impact
0:02:20 > 0:02:26last year on Wogan, and he has come back this year to apologise.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Ladies and gentlemen, it is Freddie Starr.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32APPLAUSE
0:02:38 > 0:02:40# I just can't help believing
0:02:40 > 0:02:44# When she slips her hand in mine
0:02:44 > 0:02:46# And I feel so small and helpless
0:02:46 > 0:02:50# That my fingers fold around like a glove
0:02:57 > 0:03:00# And I just can't help believing
0:03:00 > 0:03:03# When she is whispering her magic
0:03:03 > 0:03:09# And her tears are shining honey sweet with love
0:03:14 > 0:03:18# This time the girl is going to stay
0:03:20 > 0:03:24# This time the girl is going to stay
0:03:25 > 0:03:28# For more than just a day
0:03:57 > 0:04:00# For more than just a day
0:04:05 > 0:04:08# I just can't help believing
0:04:08 > 0:04:11# When she slips her hand in mine
0:04:11 > 0:04:14# And it feels so small and helpless
0:04:14 > 0:04:19# That my fingers fold around it like a glove.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27# And I just can help believing
0:04:27 > 0:04:30# When she is whispering her magic
0:04:30 > 0:04:36# And her tears are shining honey sweet with love
0:04:41 > 0:04:44# This time the girl is going to stay
0:04:47 > 0:04:52# This time the girl is going to stay
0:04:52 > 0:04:55# For more than just a day
0:04:59 > 0:05:05# I just can't help believing I just can't help believing
0:05:05 > 0:05:13# I just can't help believing I just can't help believing. #
0:05:14 > 0:05:18CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:05:42 > 0:05:46- Come back to say you're sorry, eh? - Yeah. After all this time.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- It has been two years, isn't it? - Yeah.
0:05:49 > 0:05:50What?
0:05:50 > 0:05:53What's been happening to you in those years?
0:05:53 > 0:05:59- Have things change for the better? - Yes, they have. They have changed.
0:05:59 > 0:06:00For the better?
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Honestly, no, for the better. They changed.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08I remember when you came the last time, you said,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11- "Things are going to change." - Yeah.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13LAUGHTER Did they?
0:06:13 > 0:06:16- I'll tell you what, Terry... - They haven't changed!
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Words right out of my mouth.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24Thanks to you, and the little old lady in Bournemouth...
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Who, Des O'Connor?
0:06:26 > 0:06:29LAUGHTER You know, eh?
0:06:30 > 0:06:34No, being serious, Terry, they have really changed for me,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36and everything is going fine now, you know.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38And the dog has come back now!
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Is there any danger, with the return to the top,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48you becoming...respectable?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50What?!
0:06:50 > 0:06:52You've got to... You've got to be...
0:06:52 > 0:06:54You've got to be different.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56You've got to come out, and when people ask you questions,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58you've got to answer the questions that you are asked.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01- Yeah. - When?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05How soon can we expect this minor miracle?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Now.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Have you had much of a Christmas Day, so far?
0:07:12 > 0:07:13Well, I stuffed a turkey.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16LAUGHTER
0:07:17 > 0:07:21I've got to kill her first, you know what I mean?
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- That is one way to kill it! - Yes, "Whoa, Paxo"!
0:07:29 > 0:07:31What did you do on Christmas...
0:07:31 > 0:07:33What did you do this morning, did you get up early
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and make sure the kids have their presents?
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Yeah, I got up, I fed the parrot...
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Well, it's his Christmas as well, isn't it?
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Yeah. I have got a parrot called Margaret.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47- It's her Christmas as well. - Yes.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Who we named after Lennie Bennett's wife, Maggie.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54You know, "Not at all, not at all!"
0:07:54 > 0:07:58And also...
0:07:58 > 0:08:00I bought the dog a bone.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02# Knick-knack paddy-whack Give the dog a bone
0:08:02 > 0:08:05# This old man came rolling home. #
0:08:05 > 0:08:08I gave the dog a bone, and the dog went, "What's that?"
0:08:08 > 0:08:11LAUGHTER
0:08:11 > 0:08:13I said, "It is a bone!"
0:08:13 > 0:08:16"Oh." And then I woke the kids up,
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and they said, "what do you want?"
0:08:19 > 0:08:23And I said, "Ho-ho-ho!"
0:08:23 > 0:08:27What about your own Christmases as a kid in Liverpool?
0:08:27 > 0:08:29- Did you have a... - No, not really.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32I mean, most people, you know,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35my mates were very poor kids.
0:08:35 > 0:08:41And, you know, we used to go to the docks
0:08:41 > 0:08:43and rob things.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47You know, to keep me mam, give her a few bob, like.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51And I was going past, there was always a policeman on the gate.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53And he said, "Hey, what have you got under your arm?"
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I said, "Hairs. What have you got, feathers?"
0:08:56 > 0:08:58You've got lovely eyes!
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Most of your musical impressions
0:09:01 > 0:09:03seem to be based on stars of the '60s.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07By the way, I bought you a pair of shoes for Christmas.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10LAUGHTER
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- And... - The socks?
0:09:16 > 0:09:18I bought you a pair of socks.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22- They won't go with the trousers. - It is all right.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27You couldn't massage that foot there, could you, Terry?
0:09:27 > 0:09:30LAUGHTER
0:09:30 > 0:09:31They're warm, aren't they?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39It's all right, isn't it?
0:09:39 > 0:09:41LAUGHTER
0:09:47 > 0:09:49- But seriously... - Yes.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Most...
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Most of your impersonations, your impressions,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57are based on the '60s, are they?
0:09:57 > 0:09:59- Sorry?! - Do you ever feel...
0:09:59 > 0:10:00Do you ever feel...
0:10:00 > 0:10:04It's certainly a far cry from Sophia Loren, I'll tell you that.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Most of your impersonations are based... Can I try your shoe?
0:10:08 > 0:10:10You won't fit them. Put yours on.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12On the '60s, do you ever...
0:10:13 > 0:10:16You won't get them on. I've only got little feet.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18How do you walk in these? Huh?
0:10:19 > 0:10:23They are not walking shoes, they're for riding. You can't walk in them.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Very pretty. Thank you.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Just hang on a minute, I've got a call coming through.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Hello?
0:10:35 > 0:10:37- 'Hello, how are you going?' - Back in five minutes, OK?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39- 'All right, then, ta-ra.' - Bye.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Could you do that with any shoe?
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Only that one.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57- Hello. - 'Hello, how are you going?'
0:10:57 > 0:10:58That one's... Hello.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02Hello!
0:11:02 > 0:11:04'Use the other shoe!'
0:11:05 > 0:11:07See?
0:11:07 > 0:11:10- What would you get on that? - This one? Um...
0:11:11 > 0:11:12Hello.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14QUIETLY IN WEST INDIAN ACCENT: Hello there.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16LAUGHTER
0:11:16 > 0:11:18It's a SOLE singer!
0:11:18 > 0:11:22LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Yes.
0:11:32 > 0:11:34I need to ask you a question.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Where do you go from here? What... Would you like to do...
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Seriously?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Yeah. Would you like to do live television?
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Would you like to continue doing what you do successfully, cabaret?
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Would you like to take over a theatre?
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Where do you see Freddie Starr going from here?
0:11:48 > 0:11:52I'd like to do films. British films.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56I've written three film scripts already since I last saw you.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58That's true, actually. It is true.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01But traditionally, I mean,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03with the greatest respect to Morecambe and Wise
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and to Cannon and Ball, when they have made the transition,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08and Tony Hancock even,
0:12:08 > 0:12:10when they made the transition into film,
0:12:10 > 0:12:11it wasn't always successful.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13No, it depends what script you've got.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16I mean, you know, if you've got a good script,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18then you can work off it.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And it's how you perform, you see. If you're...
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Say I was doing a scene with you...
0:12:23 > 0:12:25POSH VOICE: ..and I was talking like this...
0:12:25 > 0:12:26Yes, of course, I know that, yes.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28NORMAL VOICE: And you speak to me and ask me a question.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30- But seriously, Freddie, how... - Yes?
0:12:30 > 0:12:33LAUGHTER
0:12:33 > 0:12:35It's doing things with props.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Do you understand? That's props. Using...
0:12:37 > 0:12:39As you're acting, using things.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42It's BBC props. You've dirtied a BBC prop.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44I'm very sorry, Terry, I'm humble.
0:12:44 > 0:12:45So you should be.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48- But... - So, it's making films for you.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52I'd like to make films, yes. And I would just...
0:12:52 > 0:12:56I'd like to wish the whole world that we live on, you know,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58because we don't live that long, you know,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I'd like to wish...
0:13:01 > 0:13:04everybody, you know, a very happy Christmas.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08And I hope people stop being silly and stop killing each other and...
0:13:08 > 0:13:10doing daft things, you know.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12I wish you a happy Christmas as well.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Thank you very much, Terry, thank you.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17APPLAUSE
0:13:26 > 0:13:27Freddie Starr, who's...
0:13:27 > 0:13:29LAUGHTER
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Freddie Starr, who's always welcome here.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35You had a short burst of...some
0:13:35 > 0:13:36some of his...
0:13:36 > 0:13:40You had a short burst of some of his finest operatic arias there. And...
0:13:40 > 0:13:45My next guest is, as I said earlier, a prima donna. A great operatic star.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47She's going to start with a song from the Auvergne.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52APPLAUSE
0:13:58 > 0:14:00MUSIC: "Malurous qu'on uno fenno"
0:14:08 > 0:14:10SHE SINGS IN OCCITAN:
0:14:10 > 0:14:12# Malurous qu'o uno fenno
0:14:12 > 0:14:14# Malurous que n'o cat!
0:14:14 > 0:14:17# Malurous qu'o uno fenno Malurous que n'o cat!
0:14:17 > 0:14:18# Que n'o cat n'en bou uno
0:14:18 > 0:14:20# Que n'o uno n'en bou pas
0:14:20 > 0:14:23# Tradera, laderi derero Ladera, laderi dera
0:14:23 > 0:14:26# Tradera, laderi derero Ladera, laderi dera
0:14:49 > 0:14:51# Urouzo lo fenno
0:14:51 > 0:14:52# Qu'o l'ome que li cau!
0:14:52 > 0:14:55# Urouzo lo fenno Qu'o l'ome que li cau!
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Urouz' inquero maito O quelo que n'o cat!
0:14:58 > 0:15:01# Tradera, laderi derero Ladera, laderi dera
0:15:01 > 0:15:05# Tradera, laderi derero Ladera, laderi dera. #
0:15:12 > 0:15:15APPLAUSE
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- Well... - Thank you for asking me.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43That was nice and short, anyway. What was that?
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Well, it was a funny little song and it really means,
0:15:45 > 0:15:50on the short side of it, "Unlucky is the man who doesn't have a wife,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54"and equally unlucky is the man who DOES have a wife".
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Shrewd thinking by the Auvergnois... I would have thought.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04What... Now that you've sung this Auvergnois song,
0:16:04 > 0:16:07in your own inimitable style,
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Kiri Te Kanawa, illustrate it for me, what does it mean?
0:16:11 > 0:16:14The Kanawa? Kiri? In the Queen's, King's English.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Ah, it's all very difficult.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I don't know, people tell me out in New Zealand,
0:16:19 > 0:16:22it's "bell" for Kiri, and Te Kanawa was a chief.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25But, um, I don't know, I'd really like to get to the bottom of it.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28You don't seem very well versed in the old Maori tongue.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31Well, you see, no, well, I really should avoid all those questions
0:16:31 > 0:16:33because I think I'm not very good at all that.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35Because I was brought up on the, sort of, white side
0:16:35 > 0:16:38and I'm a little ashamed that I didn't learn a little bit more
0:16:38 > 0:16:39about my Maori-dom.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42I'm sure you're not ashamed at all. I'm sure they're very proud of you.
0:16:42 > 0:16:43How's your golf?
0:16:43 > 0:16:46LAUGHTER
0:16:46 > 0:16:47It's a bad day.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49Whose show is this?
0:16:49 > 0:16:53Are you sure you're Kiri Te Kanawa, the opera singer?
0:16:53 > 0:16:55LAUGHTER
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Yes.
0:16:56 > 0:16:57What...
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Des has been playing today, too. He's not very good.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01It's misty.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Well, it's as well to keep track of what your husband is doing, isn't it?
0:17:05 > 0:17:07The Maori blood, how much is that...
0:17:07 > 0:17:09The Maoris are a great singing nation,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13It obviously played its part in developing you. You know.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Well, I think the Maori people, because, you know,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18it's a really very close-knit community, very much like...
0:17:18 > 0:17:21I'd put it akin to the Welsh people, if I dare.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24Because we are sort of from that sort of background.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26I remember down in Greymouth where my mother was,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28there was the mining field down there.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30And they would all get together and they'd all sing
0:17:30 > 0:17:32or they'd all have brass bands.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34It's really rather beautiful, that sort of...
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Was it for the joy of living or because there was nothing else to do?
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I think, really, there was not television.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44And in some ways it was a very beautiful time for people to live,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48because you got to know each other and you made your own entertainment,
0:17:48 > 0:17:50you didn't have television to just switch on
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and say, "Well, dare I watch this?" Or "I don't want to..."
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Sometimes there's a lot of rubbish on television, I mean. Isn't there?
0:17:56 > 0:17:58LAUGHTER
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Very rarely on a Saturday night at 9.20!
0:18:01 > 0:18:04But it's true.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07And I really loved it when I was young and I grew up,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09and I had a wonderful, wonderful time singing
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and making theatre with my friends and my parents.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16But coming from a singing nation, how did you manage to stand out.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Apart from your talent,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20who encouraged that, who brought you forward?
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Oh, gosh, it's such a long story. My mother did...
0:18:23 > 0:18:25- It's a very long show. - I know that.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29But, you know, where you start and where you get to,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33where I did start and where I am now, it's such a long gap.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37It's just a day after day after day working. And suddenly you arrive.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40You've done all these wonderful and exciting things,
0:18:40 > 0:18:41and I'm having such a fantastic time.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43I think, "Gosh, you know, Mum really was right."
0:18:43 > 0:18:45She did all marvellous things for me.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48She encouraged me, she pushed me into competitions.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50And she did all these things. And I really...
0:18:50 > 0:18:55I think I sacrificed an awful lot of my so-called growing up where,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59if I was in an exam at school, I was immediately pulled out because
0:18:59 > 0:19:04the singing teacher had reign over everything else in the school,
0:19:04 > 0:19:05because her choir came first.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08And it always brought the school up, you see, with the choir
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and the performances and things for concerts and charities
0:19:11 > 0:19:14and raising funds for, you know, some of the hospitals.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- So you never got an education? - Not really. No.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18I think I did miss out quite a lot.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21You made a sensational debut at Covent Garden, didn't you,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23- when you were a slip of a girl? - Yes.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Did it change it all for you, then? Did you see the lights?
0:19:27 > 0:19:30- You knew you were going to make it? - No, not at that point.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32I think when I did do my first performance
0:19:32 > 0:19:35I thought really I was the greatest, I really thought I was...
0:19:35 > 0:19:38I was flying high, I think I was on cloud ten.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40I missed cloud nine and got up to ten.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43I was really, sort of, buzzing there for a while.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46And then I... I just sort of calmed down
0:19:46 > 0:19:48and started working with my teacher
0:19:48 > 0:19:51and she sort of brought me back down to earth,
0:19:51 > 0:19:52and now I work, you know, a lot.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Do you have singing lessons at all, Terry?
0:19:54 > 0:19:55No, I don't.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58You sing a little, though? That voice, it's so luscious.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Oh, yes, I've had my share of success, of course.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03LAUGHTER
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Didn't you record a song or something like that?
0:20:05 > 0:20:07- Oh, yes. It wasn't... - How does it go?
0:20:07 > 0:20:09It was an old song of the Auvergne.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- Oh, really? - Slightly longer than your offering.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15I'm sorry I cut it short for you. But I thought that's what you'd like.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I loved it. I loved it. I was merely joshing.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Oh, I'm sorry. Well, now I feel guilty.
0:20:20 > 0:20:21I should have done ten...
0:20:21 > 0:20:24But, then, you wouldn't have liked it ten times longer.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28That would have been 20 minutes long, Kiri.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Yeah, I mean, if you have any extra notes that you'd care to throw in
0:20:31 > 0:20:33at this juncture, they'd still be very welcome, you know.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35I think YOU should sing a song.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Hang on. Your accompanist has gone home.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39- What? - So, there's no prospect of that.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41We're delighted to see you. Thank you.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Thank you very much, Terry.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46APPLAUSE
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Always engaging and charming. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03My next guest, one hears about his wealth,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07one hears about his chairmanship of football clubs...
0:21:08 > 0:21:10But one really admires him
0:21:10 > 0:21:13and appreciates his musical talent more than anything.
0:21:13 > 0:21:14Very great star.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17I'm delighted to have him on this Christmas night on my show.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18Elton John.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21APPLAUSE
0:21:21 > 0:21:23MUSIC PLAYS
0:21:40 > 0:21:42# Lipstick and lashes
0:21:42 > 0:21:45# The traces of stardom
0:21:45 > 0:21:47# Lit up on a billboard
0:21:47 > 0:21:50# So everyone sees them
0:21:50 > 0:21:51# In neon
0:21:55 > 0:21:57# Behind the counter
0:21:57 > 0:22:00# She stares out the window
0:22:00 > 0:22:02# Up at the billboard
0:22:02 > 0:22:05# That's like a reminder
0:22:05 > 0:22:07# In neon
0:22:10 > 0:22:12# She hates how she feels
0:22:12 > 0:22:15# But she hangs like a mirror
0:22:15 > 0:22:18# Maybe a stranger could walk in
0:22:18 > 0:22:20# And see her
0:22:20 > 0:22:22# In neon
0:22:25 > 0:22:27# For two cents of danger
0:22:27 > 0:22:30# She'd trust anybody
0:22:30 > 0:22:32# She'd smoke like a gun
0:22:32 > 0:22:34# If it meant she might wind up
0:22:34 > 0:22:36# In neon
0:22:36 > 0:22:39# The dreams in the light
0:22:39 > 0:22:42# Of a promise that dies
0:22:42 > 0:22:45# A shimmering city
0:22:45 > 0:22:48# A glimmer of hope and a lie
0:22:49 > 0:22:51# In neon
0:22:51 > 0:22:52# The name's gone
0:22:52 > 0:22:56# There's no reason why any more
0:22:58 > 0:23:01# Trust them and wind up alone
0:23:01 > 0:23:04# Behind a locked door
0:23:12 > 0:23:14# In neon
0:23:22 > 0:23:23# In neon
0:23:25 > 0:23:27# Pictures and patterns
0:23:27 > 0:23:30# The touches of glamour
0:23:30 > 0:23:32# Cut into a fashion
0:23:32 > 0:23:35# That flashes above them
0:23:35 > 0:23:37# In neon
0:23:40 > 0:23:42# A hot cup of coffee
0:23:42 > 0:23:45# Held in her fingers
0:23:45 > 0:23:48# A perfect complexion
0:23:48 > 0:23:50# That lingers above her
0:23:50 > 0:23:52# In neon
0:23:55 > 0:23:57# She hates how she feels
0:23:57 > 0:24:00# But she hangs like a mirror
0:24:00 > 0:24:02# Maybe a stranger
0:24:02 > 0:24:05# Could walk in and see her
0:24:05 > 0:24:07# In neon
0:24:10 > 0:24:12# For a shot at the title
0:24:12 > 0:24:15# She'd slip into something
0:24:15 > 0:24:17# She'd smoulder like ashes
0:24:17 > 0:24:20# If it meant she might wind up
0:24:20 > 0:24:21# In neon
0:24:21 > 0:24:24# The dreams and the light
0:24:24 > 0:24:26# Of a promise that dies
0:24:28 > 0:24:30# A shimmering city
0:24:30 > 0:24:34# A glimmer of hope and a lie
0:24:35 > 0:24:36# In neon
0:24:36 > 0:24:38# The name's gone
0:24:38 > 0:24:41# There's no reason why any more
0:24:43 > 0:24:46# Trust them and wind up alone
0:24:46 > 0:24:49# Behind a locked door
0:24:58 > 0:24:59# In neon
0:25:07 > 0:25:09# In neon
0:25:09 > 0:25:11# The dreams in the light
0:25:11 > 0:25:15# Of a promise that dies
0:25:15 > 0:25:17# A shimmering city
0:25:17 > 0:25:21# A glimmer of hope and a lie
0:25:30 > 0:25:32# In neon. #
0:25:34 > 0:25:37APPLAUSE
0:25:39 > 0:25:43CHEERING
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Before we start, you are not going to take those off, are you?
0:26:04 > 0:26:07No. They could walk on their own, by the looks of things.
0:26:07 > 0:26:08But you can't complain about these things.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10No. Well, you can.
0:26:10 > 0:26:11- You're jolly welcome. - Thank you.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13And it's actually the first time
0:26:13 > 0:26:14- we've ever met. - Yes, it is.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Pleasure to see you on this Christmas.
0:26:16 > 0:26:17How has Christmas Day been for you? Had a good time?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Excellent. Just traditional. Very quiet.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- In the bos-oom of your family? - In the bos-oom of my family, yes.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25And the new lady wife, of course.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Well, I was talking about her bos-ooms to start with!
0:26:27 > 0:26:30So, how is married life suiting you?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32It's very nice. Nearly a year, you know.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34We've seen each other three times.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37But, no, we're very happy. Everything is going very, very well.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39Yeah, me and the audience are very annoyed
0:26:39 > 0:26:41because we were about the only people you didn't ask to the wedding.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43We would have flown to Australia if you'd asked us, you know.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Well, that was the great thing about getting married in Australia.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Everyone you wanted to avoid couldn't get there.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51- Not meaning... - That's very nice(!)
0:26:51 > 0:26:53- For Christmas. - Yes.
0:26:53 > 0:26:54Was it a whirlwind romance?
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Cos you haven't really talked about it. We saw the wedding.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59And then you've done this world tour and all the rest of it.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Was it a whirlwind romance or had you been...cogitating it for a long time?
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I beg your... Well, I'd often done that. Um...
0:27:06 > 0:27:09But it was... Yes, it was kind of whirlwind.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12But I'd met her before. Renate's an engineer.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14And I'd met her on the previous album.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17And she was engineering on the Breaking Hearts album.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19And there was just a chemistry between the two of us
0:27:19 > 0:27:21and I had no doubts, and I thought,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23"At my time of life it's about time I took the plunge."
0:27:23 > 0:27:25And we had no serious thoughts about...
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Obviously, we had serious thoughts
0:27:27 > 0:27:29because getting married is a serious thing. You can't take it flippantly.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31- She's a German lady. - Yeah.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Is there anything of the Teuton in her?
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Does she have strict ideas? Does she keep you in line?
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Yeah. I think most people around me keep me in line,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41otherwise I'd go completely off the rails.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44That applies to people at Watford Football Club, and my family,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46my mother and father, the people that work for me.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Because sometimes in this business, you know, you think you're right
0:27:49 > 0:27:52and you can get everything you want and you're very hot-headed,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54and people around me just ignore me, which is the best thing to do.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56So I slam doors and after ten minutes no-one's come,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58and I'm going, "Where are they all?"
0:27:58 > 0:28:00And...no, she's... I think everybody around me
0:28:00 > 0:28:02has been pretty level-headed.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04Because I am a monster, sometimes.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07I may be the nice little boy next door but you should see me sometimes.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11You used to have a very, very, um, lurid sense of dress,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13but I see that she's quietened down...
0:28:13 > 0:28:15I've toned down, yes. LAUGHTER
0:28:15 > 0:28:17The Vauxhall's outside, Terry.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20It's a sort of tame black-and-white number you have there,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23- apart from the luminous socks. - Yes.
0:28:23 > 0:28:24I was going to wear pink glasses
0:28:24 > 0:28:27but I think the TV...the camera people thought it might go crazy.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31So, no, yes, I'll never tone down, as far as that goes.
0:28:31 > 0:28:32You dress like that at home? You don't?
0:28:32 > 0:28:34- Yes, I do. - You don't.
0:28:34 > 0:28:35Do you?
0:28:37 > 0:28:38No, you don't.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41I'm not saying what I dress around the house in!
0:28:41 > 0:28:43This could be dangerous. Enough said.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45You don't come down to breakfast dressed like that.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47Oh, no, but I've got a fanfare. I play a fanfare every morning.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48# Da da-da-da da-da-da-da... #
0:28:48 > 0:28:50So the staff know I'm up,
0:28:50 > 0:28:52so I come downstairs and there's my breakfast on the table.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54And it takes me just the length of the corridor
0:28:54 > 0:28:56to when I get to the solemn bit.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58# Daa da-da-daa daa daa daa. #
0:28:58 > 0:29:01And by the time I come down the stairs the bacon sandwich is ready.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02Brilliant.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Do you have appropriate music for all of your functions?
0:29:04 > 0:29:06Not really.
0:29:06 > 0:29:07LAUGHTER
0:29:07 > 0:29:11I've got Otis Redding music for when I go to the toilet.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13No, not really. I listen to music all the time.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15There's music all round the house.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18You've been hammering away at the old Joanna now...
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Can't you see by the size of the fingers?
0:29:20 > 0:29:23- ..for these past many years... - Yes.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25..since you were a slip of a lad.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30Is it true to say that you are slowly slipping away from performance?
0:29:30 > 0:29:34No, it's just that I'm not going to do ten-week tours again.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38I'll maybe do two weeks, a concert here or there or whatever.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40But I've done touring now
0:29:40 > 0:29:42for the last four or five years solidly again.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44I gave up for a period of three or four years.
0:29:44 > 0:29:45And I would like really, ideally...
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Bernie and I, we want to sit down and write a musical. Um...
0:29:48 > 0:29:50not a rock'n'roll musical.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Something on a par, one hopes, or one aims for,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57as a West Side Story, or something like a Rodgers and Hammerstein...
0:29:57 > 0:29:58for the stage.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01Um, and that's our next project. Where we start from, heaven knows,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03but we've been planning that for so long
0:30:03 > 0:30:05that we've got to start sooner or later.
0:30:05 > 0:30:06Otherwise you tour and tour and tour
0:30:06 > 0:30:08and every musical project that comes up
0:30:08 > 0:30:11you put off for so long and you never get to do it.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14When you gave up for the first time was it just that you were fed up
0:30:14 > 0:30:16with the music business, fed up with yourself?
0:30:16 > 0:30:17Fed up with everything. I mean...
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Was it just too much of everything? Too much money?
0:30:19 > 0:30:21I'd made 25 albums since 1969.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25And in 1976 I hadn't had any time off at all. I mean, the amount...
0:30:25 > 0:30:27When you look back and think of the amount of work I crammed in
0:30:27 > 0:30:30and made albums, made separate singles, did all the tours,
0:30:30 > 0:30:32and I enjoyed every single minute of it.
0:30:32 > 0:30:33I mean, I'm not whining about it.
0:30:33 > 0:30:36But at the end of 1976 I was just physically exhausted, stale,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38musically stale, personally.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40And, um, that's really the reason.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44I knew the ego would have to say that someone else was going to take over.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46But at that time I was so tired I thought, "Let's get on with it.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48"Let someone else get on with it."
0:30:48 > 0:30:51- What brought you back? - Um...
0:30:51 > 0:30:54You couldn't leave it alone? Do you think...
0:30:54 > 0:30:56You know, you are an extrovert on stage.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Surely you're going to miss that.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01What brought me back was, I did a concert tour in 1979.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05I also did a concert in 1977, live on BBC television, where I retired.
0:31:05 > 0:31:06I said...
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Because it was a conglomeration of things,
0:31:09 > 0:31:11like huge sound systems, everything...
0:31:11 > 0:31:15I retired because of the things like big arenas,
0:31:15 > 0:31:16big sound systems.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19I did one concert. I thought, "I can't go through this again."
0:31:19 > 0:31:22And I said on TVV... TVV, TVVV...
0:31:22 > 0:31:24TV that I was going to retire. So I did again.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29And I didn't come back till '79 when I did a solo tour with Ray Cooper,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32who is a wonderful percussionist. And I got my...
0:31:32 > 0:31:35musical credibility back together for myself
0:31:35 > 0:31:37because I had to play numbers unaccompanied,
0:31:37 > 0:31:41sing numbers unaccompanied, more or less, sing in tune, play in tune.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43And...
0:31:43 > 0:31:47In '76 my musicianship was very, very stale. And very, very bad.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50Not bad, but stale and very, very uninspired.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53In '79, I did a tour of the whole world, just small theatres,
0:31:53 > 0:31:552,000-seaters.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58For three hours Ray and I played everything from slow ballads
0:31:58 > 0:32:01to rock'n'roll, and it was a theatrical thing.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04And I needed to do that to prove to myself that
0:32:04 > 0:32:07I could become a good musician again, and I really began to enjoy that.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10So that gradually eased my way back into it. Then I started...
0:32:10 > 0:32:12It was a gradual easing.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Because after six years of so much work and so much output
0:32:15 > 0:32:16you had to run dry sooner or later.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20Well, now you've reached a stage where you're going to retire again.
0:32:20 > 0:32:21No. And when...
0:32:21 > 0:32:23You're not going to be like Frank Sinatra?
0:32:23 > 0:32:26No, no, no. I said I am not going to do ten-week tours again
0:32:26 > 0:32:29because I am married with a family. I don't really need that.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31I've done that for the last four and five years
0:32:31 > 0:32:34and I've been lucky enough to have had a second chance again to do it.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37I just think I've got more musical things in me,
0:32:37 > 0:32:40that I that I need more time to take...
0:32:40 > 0:32:41If you're going to write a musical,
0:32:41 > 0:32:43that may be two or three years of your life to do that.
0:32:43 > 0:32:45But you're not going to forget the live performances?
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Oh, no, not at all, no. I'll always be live...
0:32:47 > 0:32:49I mean, they'll never keep me off the stage.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52But it's going to be in shorter doses.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55- When you see groups like Wham!... - They're fabulous.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Or Duran Duran.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00They're great. And I like Boy George. And I think...
0:33:00 > 0:33:03I think it's very unfair to pick on them because...
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Go and see them first and then make up your mind.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08And I've met these bands and they've got so much energy
0:33:08 > 0:33:10they make you feel...exhausted,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13because that's how Bernie and I used to be at 21 years of age,
0:33:13 > 0:33:15seeing Wham!, seeing George,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18seeing those bands, Nik Kershaw and people like that. Fabulous.
0:33:18 > 0:33:19Good luck to them.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21They're making great music, they're not doing anybody any harm.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23And I think, "Give them a chance," you know. They're great.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25I really enjoy their music.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27And I think it's very silly just to dismiss things.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31But you looking at them, do they make you feel your age?
0:33:31 > 0:33:34I do feel like a grandfather when I walk into the dressing room.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37You know, it's like... It's kind of like meeting the Queen...
0:33:37 > 0:33:38Don't say anything!
0:33:38 > 0:33:41Um, but it's... It's kind of like, what do you say?
0:33:41 > 0:33:43There is an age gap. One feels an age gap.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45But they've always made me feel very welcome.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49And I'm basically a shy person anyway. And I do feel a difference.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51But some of the music they're making is tremendous.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53And they've always been very, very nice to me.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Do you feel that your flamboyance has diminished?
0:33:57 > 0:33:58Do you feel that you've changed at all?
0:33:58 > 0:34:01I mean, marriage and settling down obviously is bound to change...
0:34:01 > 0:34:04I'm getting a bit more Hinge and Bracket, really, I suppose,
0:34:04 > 0:34:06in that direction. Er...
0:34:06 > 0:34:10I'll always be, sort of, flamboyant in a certain way.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13I don't want to lose that part of me. But, yes, I've toned down.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16I've had to tone down for my football club, for example.
0:34:16 > 0:34:18There's no way I could turn up to Watford in this suit,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20otherwise the manager would fire me!
0:34:20 > 0:34:23Absolutely true. And I wouldn't dream of it.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27But, you know, it's good enough for your programme!
0:34:27 > 0:34:29It might lead to a certain amount of racy talk.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32I was going to ask, because I'm sure there are lots of people
0:34:32 > 0:34:35who are trying to get their children to learn to play the piano...
0:34:35 > 0:34:36Yes.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39..and the children might say, "There's no need for me to learn.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41"Look at Elton John. He just bangs it out there."
0:34:41 > 0:34:43Did you actually have a formal training?
0:34:43 > 0:34:45Thank you!
0:34:45 > 0:34:48In your own spontaneous way, of course.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51I play by ear. My grandmother and my mother brought me up,
0:34:51 > 0:34:53because my father was away in the air force.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57My grandmother played slightly and my mother's sister played.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00And so I started playing by ear when I was about three or four.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02And I picked things up very quickly.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04I think if you've a gift for things, you do pick it up.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07And then my parents insisted that I went to musical education,
0:35:07 > 0:35:09which I didn't really want to do.
0:35:09 > 0:35:13And I qualified for the Royal Academy of Music as a day student
0:35:13 > 0:35:16on Saturdays. between the ages of 11 to 15.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18And I got through all my exams.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20And I didn't really appreciate it much at the time
0:35:20 > 0:35:21because I'd rather have been home playing football
0:35:21 > 0:35:24or something like that. But on recollection,
0:35:24 > 0:35:27and actually thinking about it again, it taught me an awful lot.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I'm very grateful that they did send me there
0:35:30 > 0:35:31because it did teach me a lot.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34And if you have a gift for something, you can only improve your technique
0:35:34 > 0:35:36by going to someone who can tell you about it.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39So you would say to youngsters, "Keep up the piano lessons"?
0:35:39 > 0:35:41If they're forced into doing it and they've got no talent whatsoever,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44it's a waste of time. But if someone has got a talent for something
0:35:44 > 0:35:47and they play by ear, then it is a good idea to go and have instruction
0:35:47 > 0:35:50and listen to someone else and learn. Yes, it is.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52You can always learn about something.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54So what are you going to do with the rest of Christmas Day?
0:35:54 > 0:35:57You're going to go home and...? Did you have...
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Do you have music playing during the turkey or suitable music?
0:36:00 > 0:36:03What was... What would be suitable turkey music?
0:36:03 > 0:36:04Um...
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Freddie Starr hasn't made an album, has he? Um...
0:36:08 > 0:36:10LAUGHTER
0:36:11 > 0:36:13No, sorry. Um, I don't know.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15We usually had the Queen's Speech on.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17- Yeah. - Ha!
0:36:17 > 0:36:20- That's very loyal. - No, I'm very, very...
0:36:20 > 0:36:23Land of Hope and Glory, and Elgar, the Enigma Variations.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25I'm terrible with sad music.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27If you show me the Cup Final, it's a good job the mascara didn't run
0:36:27 > 0:36:30because...Abide With Me is one of the most fabulous things in the world.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33And sad music always make me cry.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35- We wish you well... - Thank you.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38..with all that you continue to do. I hope the musical does happen.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40Yes, we're going to put our heads together.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43And that will eventually emerge, good or bad. Good, I hope.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45Well, happy Christmas with what remains of it.
0:36:45 > 0:36:46Thank you. And happy Christmas to everybody.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48APPLAUSE
0:37:01 > 0:37:02Elton John.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07Finally, a young lady who came across here last year
0:37:07 > 0:37:09and was one of our most charming guests.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11I thought we got on like a house on fire.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14But subsequently people thought I was a little edgy.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19I've always been a great fan of old Pammy.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24Anyway, she's insisted on a rematch.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26And we've managed, by the wonders of science,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28to do a linkup with Los Angeles.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31So here she is again, Victoria Principal.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34APPLAUSE
0:37:48 > 0:37:52They seem to quite like you here, Victoria, have you noticed that?
0:37:52 > 0:37:54Oh, I'm glad THEY do.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56LAUGHTER
0:37:56 > 0:37:59What, are you not universally popular, then?
0:37:59 > 0:38:01Where do they not like you?
0:38:01 > 0:38:02Oh, no, I was thinking of you, Terry.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05Oh. LAUGHTER
0:38:05 > 0:38:07As long as you just keep thinking about me
0:38:07 > 0:38:09we're going to get on like a house on fire.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12You're dressed in red. In red for Christmas night.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14How very nice of you.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18I'm working with a handicap because I can't see the faces you're making.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20- Um... - Look, please,
0:38:20 > 0:38:23the studio audience will bear me out here.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25I'm all sweetness and light and kindness.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27I'm not pulling faces behind your back or in front of...
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Actually, I'm looking up to you.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31You're on a huge screen in front of me.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34I'm virtually on my knees in front of you here.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36Do you know what they've done here?
0:38:37 > 0:38:40They've hung up a picture from Playgirl.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42LAUGHTER
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Oh, no, that can't be me. I failed the audition!
0:38:45 > 0:38:47LAUGHTER
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Now, Dallas brought you big stardom.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53And before that you did a couple of movies.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56But why didn't your film career catch on?
0:38:56 > 0:39:00Why did we have to wait for the old telly to bring you to stardom?
0:39:00 > 0:39:05Well, I quit acting. I did about five motion pictures.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09And then I wasn't... I wasn't happy with my own life,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12so I quit acting altogether to go into another business.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17And what dragged you from the acting, then? Was it the part of Pammy?
0:39:18 > 0:39:22Well, no, I'd returned to acting but for not a very long period
0:39:22 > 0:39:26when I read the part. And I loved it, and so I pursued it.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28You don't regret it?
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Oh, God, no, not at all.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34No, it's been a wonderful, wonderful seven years.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36In fact, the last time I did see you,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38you asked me about some of the changes
0:39:38 > 0:39:41it had brought about in my life, and they were all positive.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43These days... I mean, I've been lucky enough
0:39:43 > 0:39:45to have Rock Hudson on the show this year.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47And he didn't breathe a word about it
0:39:47 > 0:39:51but he sneaked into a soap opera as soon as he got back to America.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55All the big Hollywood names seem to want to get into the soap operas now,
0:39:55 > 0:39:57or into Dallas or...
0:39:58 > 0:40:00..Dysentery.
0:40:00 > 0:40:01LAUGHTER
0:40:03 > 0:40:04Why do you think that is?
0:40:04 > 0:40:08Well, I'm not sure, but it's funny you'd bring that up,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11wanted to get on Dallas, because actually I've been asked
0:40:11 > 0:40:15to offer you a part on the show by my producer.
0:40:15 > 0:40:16Great. We'd like you to...
0:40:16 > 0:40:21We'd like you to come on and play the remains of Mark Grayson.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23LAUGHTER
0:40:29 > 0:40:33And don't think I won't take up the offer either!
0:40:33 > 0:40:34LAUGHTER
0:40:34 > 0:40:39He gets paid more as a corpse than I get paid live, I can tell you!
0:40:39 > 0:40:43Well, you'll have to do it in bits and pieces!
0:40:43 > 0:40:46Yes, he was spread all over the Gulf of Mexico, wasn't he?
0:40:46 > 0:40:47SHE LAUGHS
0:40:47 > 0:40:49Can you swim?
0:40:49 > 0:40:50LAUGHTER
0:40:50 > 0:40:52Well, little bits of me, yes.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55LAUGHTER
0:40:55 > 0:40:57You were saying...
0:40:57 > 0:40:58You were saying last time...
0:40:58 > 0:41:00LAUGHTER
0:41:03 > 0:41:06I have to say... I have to say, Victoria,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08you obviously like me better from a distance.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11LAUGHTER
0:41:11 > 0:41:15You were saying last time that Dallas was one big happy family.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17- Now... - Yes, I was, wasn't I?
0:41:17 > 0:41:20If that's the case, why is the Poisoned Dwarf leaving?
0:41:20 > 0:41:22LAUGHTER
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Well, you didn't help.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31LAUGHTER
0:41:31 > 0:41:33I get the rap for everything here!
0:41:35 > 0:41:38And Bobby. And Bobby. You've given him the elbow, too.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40Isn't Patrick Duffy supposed to be leaving?
0:41:40 > 0:41:42No.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44No, actually, Patrick has chosen to leave himself.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48He's going to go on to something else, I presume.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50In sunglasses?
0:41:50 > 0:41:51LAUGHTER
0:41:53 > 0:41:55Listen, can you...
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Can you answer me, when poor old Bobby got shot -
0:41:58 > 0:42:00cos we're a little bit behind you -
0:42:00 > 0:42:03when he got shot, first of all he got shot in the back
0:42:03 > 0:42:06and it immediately affected his eyesight.
0:42:06 > 0:42:07LAUGHTER
0:42:09 > 0:42:11Then every time...
0:42:11 > 0:42:13Every time you went to visit him,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16poor little fellow sitting there either in a wheelchair
0:42:16 > 0:42:19or a hospital bed, you'd stay about ten seconds and then say,
0:42:19 > 0:42:23AMERICAN ACCENT: "Sorry, Bobby, you need your rest, I gotta leave now."
0:42:23 > 0:42:25LAUGHTER
0:42:25 > 0:42:29He never saw anybody for longer than ten seconds. Why was that?
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Oh, it's the thought that counts.
0:42:33 > 0:42:35LAUGHTER
0:42:36 > 0:42:39What about the little chap? We see too little of him now, don't we?
0:42:39 > 0:42:42He's running around now, isn't he?
0:42:42 > 0:42:45NOW you feel sorry for him! Um...
0:42:47 > 0:42:49That's the "ugly baby" you asked me about before.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51LAUGHTER
0:42:51 > 0:42:52Yes.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55The relative of the director or the producer.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00Well, he's grown into his looks now.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02He's a bit...
0:43:02 > 0:43:04He has a bit more personality.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Actually, he's a lovely child and he's still on the show.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10You're not told what's going to happen in the plot, are you?
0:43:10 > 0:43:12They keep it from you, don't they?
0:43:12 > 0:43:16I'm told to a certain degree what is going to happen to me as Pam,
0:43:16 > 0:43:18so I know which way my character is going,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21and that way I can discuss whether I like it or not.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24Um, but I don't know who is coming on the show as...
0:43:24 > 0:43:28as a guest-starring appearance or a continuous role
0:43:28 > 0:43:29until shortly beforehand.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31We notice, or at least I notice
0:43:31 > 0:43:35and the people who write in to me about the show notice,
0:43:35 > 0:43:39that there seems to be a preponderance of bathing suits.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41At least, the ones of Dallas we're looking...
0:43:41 > 0:43:45And your bathing suits have received a great deal of acclaim.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49Well, it's been a long, hot summer.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51LAUGHTER
0:43:51 > 0:43:54You're making it a long, hot winter over here for us.
0:43:54 > 0:43:56LAUGHTER
0:43:56 > 0:43:59I was pleased to see you dive into the pool, though.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02You're actually swimming in the old suits, proving that they work?
0:44:02 > 0:44:04LAUGHTER
0:44:08 > 0:44:11I'm not touching that, Terry!
0:44:11 > 0:44:14I have a lot of problems with people not wanting to touch
0:44:14 > 0:44:15things on this show!
0:44:15 > 0:44:18There was a big press feature recently over here
0:44:18 > 0:44:22about a new designer being brought in to make the Dallas ladies
0:44:22 > 0:44:24look more glamorous.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26I mean, aren't you glamorous enough?
0:44:27 > 0:44:29He was brought in to make us look taller.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Look taller?
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Mind you, you have put on height. You do...
0:44:34 > 0:44:38You're certainly bigger than I remember you.
0:44:38 > 0:44:43But you are about six foot tall and three feet wide here!
0:44:43 > 0:44:45No...
0:44:45 > 0:44:50We do have a new designer. Bill Travilla.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54And he's designing a lot of the clothing on the show.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57I'm wearing clothing that he, in fact, has not designed.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00Most of my clothing is Italian.
0:45:01 > 0:45:03As is half of me.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08Is that the half that's laughing at that mucky photograph?
0:45:09 > 0:45:10SHE LAUGHS
0:45:12 > 0:45:15Delayed laughter we have on the show.
0:45:17 > 0:45:18SHE LAUGHS
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Since we...
0:45:20 > 0:45:21LAUGHTER
0:45:23 > 0:45:25It seems to be getting better, whatever you're looking at.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30It keeps unfolding.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33LAUGHTER
0:45:35 > 0:45:38Some fellows... Some fellows have all the luck!
0:45:38 > 0:45:41LAUGHTER
0:45:43 > 0:45:47Since... Since we talked to you about your health and beauty book which,
0:45:47 > 0:45:50do you remember, you turned very nasty about...
0:45:52 > 0:45:55..all the Hollywood ladies seem to be getting in on the act,
0:45:55 > 0:45:57with Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch all producing books.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59How do you rate the competition?
0:45:59 > 0:46:03Well, just like you, I haven't read any of them.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06LAUGHTER
0:46:06 > 0:46:08APPLAUSE
0:46:12 > 0:46:15Just because you didn't give me a free copy of yours
0:46:15 > 0:46:20doesn't mean that Sophia and Raquel didn't give me a free copy of theirs.
0:46:20 > 0:46:22In fact - you don't know this, but I can't see you either -
0:46:22 > 0:46:25I have a picture of Raquel Welch in front of me here.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27LAUGHTER
0:46:28 > 0:46:31Tell me, it's Christmas Day. What have you had for dinner?
0:46:31 > 0:46:34LAUGHTER
0:46:36 > 0:46:40A Danish. It's the morning here.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44A Danish, eh? Was he up to your satisfaction?
0:46:44 > 0:46:47LAUGHTER
0:46:47 > 0:46:49APPLAUSE
0:46:54 > 0:46:56A Danish, you should know, is a tart.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59LAUGHTER
0:46:59 > 0:47:01- What am I saying? - I don't know.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04No...
0:47:04 > 0:47:06You know, you're a lot more fun this way.
0:47:06 > 0:47:07LAUGHTER
0:47:07 > 0:47:10What do you mean, unfolding in front of you?
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Well, I must say, you are terrific fun.
0:47:15 > 0:47:17I was just going to ask you, since it is the morning there,
0:47:17 > 0:47:20Christmas morning, what are you planning?
0:47:20 > 0:47:22Do you have to watch your diet on Christmas Day as well?
0:47:22 > 0:47:24Will you have the turkey with the stuffing
0:47:24 > 0:47:29and the Brussels sprouts and the chestnuts and all that stuff?
0:47:29 > 0:47:30Yes.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32LAUGHTER
0:47:32 > 0:47:34Did you ever ask questions that were longer than answers?
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Wait a minute, they're giving me a new picture here.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Oh. Let's hope it's one we can see. You wouldn't care...
0:47:44 > 0:47:47Would you care to lift up the picture that they're showing you?
0:47:48 > 0:47:51- Does it remind you... - I can show you one page of it.
0:47:51 > 0:47:52Oh, good.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54Will it remind me of anything?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:47:58 > 0:48:00HE LAUGHS
0:48:02 > 0:48:05- Yes. - I think you're lovely in blue.
0:48:05 > 0:48:06LAUGHTER
0:48:07 > 0:48:09I...
0:48:09 > 0:48:12It seemed...seemed a very snug fit.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14LAUGHTER
0:48:15 > 0:48:17Our sand is a bit different.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19LAUGHTER
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Victoria Principal, thank you for joining us on the show.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31We wish you a very happy Christmas and you are the sunny, cheery person
0:48:31 > 0:48:33that I saw the last time you were here.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35- It's lovely to see you again. - Thank you.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37And merry Christmas to all of you.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41APPLAUSE
0:48:48 > 0:48:52What is this strange, unearthly power I have over women?
0:48:52 > 0:48:56That's the ever engaging and extremely giggly Victoria Principal.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00I've enjoyed it immensely. I hope you've enjoyed the programme.
0:49:00 > 0:49:02I hope that the rest of your Christmas will go well.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06My thanks to Freddie Starr, Kiri Te Kanawa and Elton John.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Have a lovely Boxing Day. Have a very happy New Year.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13And I'll see you on BBC One in the New Year. Thank you. Bye-bye.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16APPLAUSE