0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to A Taste Of My Life, the show that serves up famous lives on a plate.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29What we eat can tell us an awful lot about who we are.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Whether it's the food we love, or hate.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Taking a culinary trip down memory lane can evoke memories,
0:00:35 > 0:00:37both good and bad.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Which is why I'm going to guide today's famous face
0:00:39 > 0:00:42through the tastes and flavours of their life.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Now, today's guest can be best described in just a few words.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47He's unpredictable.
0:00:47 > 0:00:53# I know all there is to know about the crying game
0:00:53 > 0:00:57# Share of the crying game...
0:00:57 > 0:01:01He's definitely been something of a rabble-rouser in his time.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03You're so thick. I'm going home, then.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06You're so...dead.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08You really are dead!
0:01:08 > 0:01:10And I like your telephone manner, it's nice.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13And he's known as something of a tough nut.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Forest, chased by hounds.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Guards, guards!
0:01:20 > 0:01:22In my own room? In my own room?
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Where are the men? This is nothing to do with Robin Hood!
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Yes, today's guest is Keith Allen.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29As long as he behaves himself.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Coming up in today's show...
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Keith Allen's son Alfie makes bangers and mash,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and tells us about Keith the dad.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39People get the wrong impression of my dad.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41I've never had any complaints about him,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43so I don't know why Lily does.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Keith and I take each other on in a cook-off,
0:01:47 > 0:01:49to make the perfect Yorkshire pudding.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54- So you beat your eggs separately? - I'm just gonna lie. Always.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57And bad boy of British art, and Keith's buddy,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00Damien Hirst, cooks up a work of art.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02What is wrong with chefs?
0:02:02 > 0:02:06They're either rubbish at their job, or they're rotten people.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07You get nothing in the middle.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15- Keith Allen, welcome to A Taste Of My Life.- Thank you.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Now, you were born in Wales.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19- Your father was a submariner.- Mm-hm.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Are we talking family meals? Did you sit round?
0:02:21 > 0:02:23No, that was never a big thing.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26It was because time was so fractured.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31My dad was either away on a submarine, and not there,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34or my mum was at work.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36But there was with my grandmother,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40when we used to go and stay with my grandmother in Wales.
0:02:40 > 0:02:41That was a big thing.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44Are there any particular things that she'd make that you miss?
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Anything you really loved?
0:02:47 > 0:02:52My favourite meal was stuffed hearts.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55That was a very, very common dish.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00No surprise, then, that the Sheriff of Nottingham eats stuffed sheep's hearts.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02But don't go all funny at the knees.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04For my stuffing, I'm using bacon, onions,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and a healthy dose of lemon rind,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10to cut through the heart's richness, though you COULD use orange.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13There is this sort of yucky thing about offal,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15but in fact, it's absolutely delicious.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- We ate stuffed hearts. We ate liver.- Did you really?
0:03:18 > 0:03:19Yes, we ate liver.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22We ate a lot of liver, actually.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24But you're right. It was...
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I mean, it was a money thing, more than anything else.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30I'm also using suet, as well as bread crumbs,
0:03:30 > 0:03:34for an extra-rich flavour to the stuffing.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37But also, there was something about,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41certainly MY mother, wanting to use bits that other people didn't.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44The bits that actually are delicious.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48The kidneys and that sort of thing, that now, people think, "Yuk."
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Because we're prone to being a bit squeamish,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54it won't come as a surprise that hearts are rarely seen in our supermarkets.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58If you want a comparison, their taste is very similar to venison.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I haven't eaten this for 30 years, 25 years, now.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05I'm trying to picture you as a little boy.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09For some reason, I'm thinking of you always being a bit naughty.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12I remember, years ago, Ken Campbell the playwright,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14he directed a play that I saw up in Hull.
0:04:14 > 0:04:21One of the characters was describing somebody as being like a stoat.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23What a stoat does is,
0:04:23 > 0:04:27you put it in a little cage, and then it scratches away at that,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30and gets out of the cage into the kitchen.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Then it scratches the kitchen door and gets to the garden.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34That's what I was like.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37And they would find me in various places in the house.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39I'd be in the airing cupboard.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43I'd climb up into the airing cupboard, and sleep by the boiler.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46At other times, I'd open the bottom drawer of a chest of drawers,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48get in with the blankets, and shut the drawer.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52- I can see you being the face of... - Hearts.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Blackcurrant pie, as made by Keith's nan.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The great thing about blackcurrants is that they freeze incredibly well,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03so this can be made all year round.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06To thicken the pie filling, use cornflour.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09But don't just throw it in. It'll get lumpy.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Instead, smooth the cornflour into a paste first,
0:05:13 > 0:05:14using the currant juice.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18You could add some cinnamon to the pastry,
0:05:18 > 0:05:20to give your pie a bit of personality.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23And you shouldn't feel too guilty about this.
0:05:23 > 0:05:28After all, the blackcurrants ARE full of Vitamin C and antioxidants.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Well, that's my excuse.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Wow! And there's steam coming off it.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Look at that inside. It's so beautiful.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Would you say that it was a happy childhood?
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Happy's the wrong word. It was busy.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46It was a very, very busy childhood.
0:05:46 > 0:05:51To say that your dad is a submariner is a conversation stopper amongst kids.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52- It's like, "Wow!"- Oh, yeah.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00But the bad boy Keith Allen we've all come to know,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03and, sometimes, love, wasn't something he grew into.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07All the signs of mischief were there from an early age.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09You did spend some time in a detention centre.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- You went to borstal. - I went to remand homes,
0:06:13 > 0:06:17hostels, detention centre, borstal.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19And boarding school and a comprehensive.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22And prison. All the institutions, I've done.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Borstal, I put my hands up and say, I really enjoyed it.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30I can't imagine the food was particularly exciting.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Institutional food, sadly, isn't.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35No, but it was very welcome.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38And when not locked up in an institution,
0:06:38 > 0:06:44he was back at his nan's, tucking into the Welsh classic cawl soup.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46I know that it has to be neck of lamb.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49OK, cos I have heard people say that you CAN use beef,
0:06:49 > 0:06:50it depends what's around.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53I have never, in my life.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- That's not cawl, that's Irish stew. - So, it's a proper neck of lamb?
0:06:56 > 0:06:58It HAS to be neck of lamb.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03As Keith says, neck of lamb really is the best option here,
0:07:03 > 0:07:06as it benefits from slow cooking.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08But I might have to take issue with him.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11You really could throw in lamb, mutton, beef, pork,
0:07:11 > 0:07:13or even bacon, if you wanted to.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Perfect cawl is to make it the day before,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21and then leave it overnight,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23and eat it the following day, which I still do.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27It's that strange thing that something happens overnight,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- that is nothing to do with the cook, it's just the food.- It's thinking.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33It is thinking, exactly, it's settling down,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36and all the ingredients marry, and get to know each other.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38I feel the same about a few things.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41- Trifle's another one, in the fridge. - Fantastic.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43- And curry.- Oh, yeah.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Given Keith's mishaps as a teenager,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48it's maybe a touch ironic that the Welsh phrase,
0:07:48 > 0:07:52"to make a cawl of something" means to mess something up.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55I'm very cheap. My hearts of lamb and my neck of lamb.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- A cheap date.- I am, aren't I?
0:07:58 > 0:08:01- You said people should be naughty more often.- Yes, I did.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03If you'd been my godfather,
0:08:03 > 0:08:07you might have encouraged me to not be the good boy all my life,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10cos I've always been the good boy. I've never been naughty.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15- Do you think you'll always be a naughty boy?- No, I think you get bored with it.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17There are other pleasurable things to do,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20like watching your kids be naughty. I like that.
0:08:20 > 0:08:25One of the secrets to parenting is to know when not to tell your kids off,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29to let them get away with it, and pretend that you don't know.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32As he moved into his 20s and 30s,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Keith Allen was to embrace the challenges of parenthood.
0:08:36 > 0:08:42Most notably becoming father to one of our most popular darlings of the pop world, Lily Allen.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- How many kids have you got? - A few.- A few?
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Eight.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52I don't like talking about it.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55You didn't see much of your dad, really.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Has that affected how you are as a dad?
0:08:57 > 0:09:01- What sort of dad are you? - It's very difficult when they read in the papers,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04"Another three-day bender on drugs and drink,"
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and you're trying to say, "Do your homework."
0:09:07 > 0:09:08They go, "Hang on, Dad."
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Interestingly, Lily's discovered what I've been telling her for years.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14I would say, "That's not true."
0:09:14 > 0:09:16She'd go, "It is." "I swear it's not."
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Within three days of her being a recognisable face,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23she's on the phone, going, "I can't believe these people."
0:09:23 > 0:09:25They just make it up.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30Your family, one of them's got a little message for you.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32This'll be brilliant. The 35-year-old.
0:09:32 > 0:09:34"So you're my father, are you?"
0:09:43 > 0:09:44'Just sausage, mash and beans.'
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Really simple.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49He's cooked me roasts and stuff plenty of times.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54I think that's really the only proper meal he can cook, to be honest.
0:09:54 > 0:09:55Like every good man should.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57He's right.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00How many of these do you think I should do?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02- About five of those.- Five!
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- Lily's the same.- He's a lovely guy.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07He's very affectionate.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11Sometimes, he's really crap at doing small things,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15but then when it comes to being there when you really need him,
0:10:15 > 0:10:16he's brilliant at it.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- He's a lovely dad, but he's a... - Isn't that sweet?
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Like all dads, they CAN be a bit useless at times.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27He's always been there for me. I know stuff with Lily, and that,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29people kind of get the wrong impression of my dad.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31He's not like that at all.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34The papers want to put a picture out there
0:10:34 > 0:10:36about him being quite a distant dad,
0:10:36 > 0:10:40and wasn't really there most of the time, but that's absolute rubbish.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44He was there, and I've never had any complaints about him.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46So I don't know why Lily does.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Really, he's just a chilled-out guy.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53He's not really that mad, or not mad in a bad way, but sort of...
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Goes out and has it large all the time. That's not my dad.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Well, that looks great, Nigel, that.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04This is for my dad.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09He's going to enjoy it a lot, I hope.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11We love him to bits. You can't not love Dad.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15- Aw!- And his flat Yorkshire pudding is great.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17We love the flat Yorkshire pudding.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Dad, I want you to cook Yorkshire pudding with Nigel Slater.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Have a cook-off. See who cooks it best.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27I know that yours is, shall we say, flat Yorkshire pudding,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30but I think you can do it, and I want to see it happen.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- So, make it happen.- I wish!
0:11:38 > 0:11:41- Can I eat a bit of it? - Course you can.- Just a little.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50There are two things which I think every man should be able to make, scrambled egg...
0:11:52 > 0:11:53..and mashed potato.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Alfie has given you the challenge. Are you up for it?
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Yeah, I'll have a go. Definitely.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00You'll have to remind me of how to do it.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04- No problem.- God, that's good!
0:12:04 > 0:12:08OK, time to show the sheriff a trick or two.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Why is he so sure that Dad's puddings are always flat?
0:12:13 > 0:12:15Because they always are!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Having said that, I'm really going to focus on this.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- But do you do it the right way? - I don't know. I'm going to copy you.
0:12:21 > 0:12:28My mum always told me that the key is how hot this is,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31- before you put the mix in with it. - She's completely right.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35What you want, ideally, is that sort of "swoosh"
0:12:35 > 0:12:37of batter going in the hot fat.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39When people say it won't rise,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42it's because they didn't get their fat hot enough.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44It's not a race. You go on the top.
0:12:44 > 0:12:45- No, you go on the top.- Thank you.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Now, this is how I mix mine. Ha ha!
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Hm-hm!
0:12:55 > 0:12:57You beat your eggs separately.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01I'm just going to lie, always.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03My mum used to let her batter rest.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Yes, for about 20 minutes.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09I think it is the fact that the gluten can rest.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12- You're not shocking it by... - Uh-huh.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14The magic works if you leave things alone.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18You're not making rock cakes!
0:13:21 > 0:13:25If we were making muffins, I would say yes, that's right, yeah.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28- Is your whisk bigger than mine?- No.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32- Really!- Now put salt.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38That's mine.
0:13:39 > 0:13:40This looks so easy.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47No, it's not hot enough.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50It's not hot enough.
0:13:52 > 0:13:53I've got to go back.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- Is it?- It really isn't hot enough.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58But mine was on the top.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Actually, yours has bubbled up.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Yes, good! See!
0:14:02 > 0:14:05I'm gonna have to stick mine on top for a bit.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10Yeah, but you very cleverly kept me talking for a couple of minutes,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13while my fat cooled down. That's too much.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Your cup might overfloweth, there.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21You know, shape...
0:14:25 > 0:14:30- You've done worse than me! - I've dribbled! I've so dribbled!
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Yours are rising already!
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Perfect mix. See! Tennis elbow.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It's not fair I get the bottom shelf.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Now, my suggestion, Nigel, right, is...
0:14:43 > 0:14:45- We take them out...- Yeah...
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Lie them on the thingy-bob here...
0:14:48 > 0:14:51And then you can show the people at home...
0:14:51 > 0:14:54I got the bottom shelf!
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Look...
0:14:58 > 0:15:02- Yes. These are the ones you get in a packet.- You got the top bunk.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04I certainly did.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06But there's a lesson to be learnt,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08for all aspiring Yorkshire pudding makers.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12- Which is, get the top shelf. - Get the top shelf.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15I tell you what. Look, look.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16Look.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24It's like slowly murdering a jellyfish.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30Look at that.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32And that.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Look, burnt on the...
0:15:35 > 0:15:37It's worse by the minute.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39If I could help you out,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42I don't think you put enough goose fat in there.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44I really don't.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Still to come on A Taste of My Life...
0:15:49 > 0:15:50Keith talks about the joys
0:15:50 > 0:15:53of playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55I get everyone else to do my fighting.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58"This is the Sheriff, go and fight him."
0:15:58 > 0:16:01All these things, you have to consider, when you take a part.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05The world's most successful living artist, Damien Hirst,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08makes a rather expensive sauerkraut for his drinking buddy.
0:16:10 > 0:16:11And over his final feast,
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Keith Allen considers what the future holds in store for him.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- What is the future?- Don't grow up.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28You do have a bit of a reputation as a party animal.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- You love a good party, don't you? - Yep. Yeah, I do.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Alfie's right. I do have this reputation.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39I'm one of these people, I never, ever drink at home.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41I've never drunk at home.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44I have an idea of people going down the list, thinking,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46"What's going to make this party work?"
0:16:46 > 0:16:48- and it's, "Invitation to Keith." - Yeah.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50There is that sort of...
0:16:50 > 0:16:53I know, they'd be right, because I'm only there to have a good time,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and it's because anything can happen.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58Talking of the unexpected...
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- It's my old headmaster, naked. - I'm afraid so(!)
0:17:04 > 0:17:06I've sat up there, with him.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27I was going to do roast pork, roast potatoes with sauerkraut,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30which I've done, I think, before, when Keith's come down.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34So, this is a little number I wrote back in...
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I learnt to cook this when I was in prison.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41I'm sure I've cooked this for him when he's been down here.
0:17:41 > 0:17:42In the glory years.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46I always think that cooking's like art, without the evidence.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49If you make a piece of art,
0:17:49 > 0:17:54then it's around for sometimes longer than we're around.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I think I was aware of him in the Groucho Club,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59when Keith was in there being a mental case,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and I always used to look at him and think,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05"Oh, my God, what's that guy like?" He was quite intimidating, really.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Like 12 years ago, my girlfriend Maia came down to me,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12and she says, "I've got a confession to make."
0:18:12 > 0:18:13And I said, "What?"
0:18:13 > 0:18:17She said, "I've asked Keith Allen to be Connor's godfather."
0:18:17 > 0:18:20My 11-year-old son now. I went, "Oh, no! I can't believe it!"
0:18:20 > 0:18:23I was like, "What? That nutcase? I can't believe it."
0:18:23 > 0:18:26Then he came right up to me, and he went, "I'm the godfather."
0:18:26 > 0:18:28I was like, "Oh, jeez." Mr Give.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30I don't understand Mr Give.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32I remember being drunk, talking to Keith,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35and he's always concerned about me and giving me guidance.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Whenever I turn round to him, "What about you?"
0:18:38 > 0:18:41He'd always go, "Don't worry about me, I'm Mr Give."
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Is that cider? Champagne?
0:18:48 > 0:18:53- Champagne?- That's the secret ingredient for my sauerkraut.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56When I first met Keith, I was intimidated,
0:18:56 > 0:18:57but we'd go in the Groucho Club,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01and you'd see all the Rowan Atkinsons and Rik Mayalls,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and while Keith was a kind of nutter,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05they all respected him really massively.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09In a way, a bit like John Lennon, or something like that.
0:19:09 > 0:19:13I've always admired those people who area working-class hero,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16or people who remain true to who they are,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19as they go up the greasy pole.
0:19:35 > 0:19:36What is wrong with chefs?
0:19:36 > 0:19:39They're either rubbish at their job,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42or they're rotten people, aren't they?
0:19:42 > 0:19:43You get nothing in the middle.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Slowing down? I don't know.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48I think he's slowing down, and we can have a civilised time,
0:19:48 > 0:19:50and then I see him at eight in the morning,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52with bloodshot eyes, going, "I'm Dad!"
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Fantastic.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Oh, look at that.
0:20:19 > 0:20:20Wow.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24Sadly, we can't eat Damien's roast pork with sauerkraut.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26I think he sold it to the Tate.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Very good!
0:20:31 > 0:20:33After Keith's bout of bad behaviour,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36he discovered an ability to make people laugh,
0:20:36 > 0:20:41and increasingly found himself rubbing shoulders with comedians and actors.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44I became a comedian for a bit.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48And then ended up presenting a TV show, Whatever You Want,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52which was the first youth TV access programme,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55and on the strength of that, wrote stuff for The Comic Strip.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58- Talk me through breakfast, Roy. - Thanks, Mum.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00My favourite breakfast.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05Nobody does bangers like my mum. Is that all right?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08And it was through The Comic Strip that I started to act.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11The thing I think of, when I think of you, is Shallow Grave.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Which I can watch over and over again,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17partly because I put myself in the position of your flatmates.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20What would happen if Keith Allen suddenly became my flatmate,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23and then dropped dead, and left a big suitcase of money.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25It's a great premise, isn't it?
0:21:25 > 0:21:28All this success that you've had,
0:21:28 > 0:21:35has it changed what you eat, and how you think about food, at all?
0:21:35 > 0:21:40I think I've got a slightly more sophisticated palate than I had when I was younger.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Otherwise, I just had my head in a bag of Maris potatoes.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46- You've got a favourite dish. - A warm potato...
0:21:46 > 0:21:48..and herring salad.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- Is this the Swedish version? - No, I got it in France.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Hmmm, a curious taste of success.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04When making a potato salad, try and use yellow-fleshed waxy potatoes.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- This way, they'll keep their shape. - Just really, really simple,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11but it's something that I try and eat as much as I can, anywhere.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13And I've seen it on quite a few menus.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17Add your vinaigrette to the potatoes whilst they're still warm,
0:22:17 > 0:22:19so that the spuds soak up the flavour.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Every nation has its own twist on warm potato salad.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Germans add a bit of tomato, peppers and bacon.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29The Greeks prefer it with garlic, olive oil and lemon,
0:22:29 > 0:22:33whilst Italians go for fresh parsley, salami and olive oil.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It's part of that great history of potato-and-fish dishes,
0:22:36 > 0:22:39whether it's as simple as fish and chips,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42- or whether it's a fishcake, or a fish pie.- Mm.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44It just works, it's the textures.
0:22:44 > 0:22:50The thing about the herring is that little bit of sharpness, sometimes,
0:22:50 > 0:22:51- with the warm spuds.- Yeah.
0:22:51 > 0:22:56- Just completely gorgeous.- It's brilliant. See, I AM sophisticated.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59Herring. An ultra-healthy fish option.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03I'm simply using a warmed rollmop, or pickled herring,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05for this dish, which is simply laid on top.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11A beautiful little side dish to this is beetroot salad.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Use just a couple of chopped and cooked beetroots,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17and mix in some creme fraiche.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19Add some dill, and hey presto,
0:23:19 > 0:23:23a companion to the herring-and-potato salad.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27And one of the biggest successes you've had was,
0:23:27 > 0:23:30- of course, Martin Chuzzlewit. - Yep.- Did you enjoy it?
0:23:30 > 0:23:32I did. Yeah, it was...
0:23:34 > 0:23:39There was one afternoon when I was in this horse-drawn carriage.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Myself, Paul Schofield,
0:23:44 > 0:23:46John Mills and Julian Fellowes,
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and I think we must have...
0:23:48 > 0:23:52I was praying that things would go wrong, so we could go round again,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55cos I was just sat in this carriage with these three other guys,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59- and then I suddenly thought, "My God, this really is brilliant."- Pour one.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Oh yes, as much of that as you like.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05'That's a once in a lifetime experience, that,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07'to have done it with those people.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Seems pretty smooth to me.
0:24:12 > 0:24:13And of course, now, the Sheriff.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17A lot of people have said that you're the perfect person.
0:24:17 > 0:24:18Well, I tell you what happened.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22I went out, did it, and I think, about three or four weeks in...
0:24:23 > 0:24:28..they liked what I did, and they said, "Can we go for lunch?"
0:24:28 > 0:24:30This is the producers.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32And I went to lunch, and they said,
0:24:32 > 0:24:36"How would you feel about coming back next year?"
0:24:36 > 0:24:38And I said, "Yeah, great."
0:24:38 > 0:24:40"It seems a great idea. I like doing it."
0:24:40 > 0:24:46They said "No, to be honest, in the original scripts, the Sheriff dies in episode 12."
0:24:46 > 0:24:48I said, "Really?" and they said "Yes."
0:24:48 > 0:24:53"We've decided, because we like the Sheriff, that he doesn't die. He comes back."
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Not now, Locksley. "Oh, I won't kill you."
0:24:59 > 0:25:01"I'm going to kill you, I mean it."
0:25:01 > 0:25:06What's fantastic about it was I get everyone to do my fighting, and everything.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Cos he's the Sheriff. Go and fight him.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11And it's 40 degrees, out in Budapest.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16I just sit there in a chair going, "Brilliant. Wonderful part."
0:25:16 > 0:25:19All these things you have to consider when you take a part.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Time to reflect on Keith's life over his final feast.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30First up, it's some simply roasted poussin.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Keith, your final feast.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Tell me about these little chickens.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Why those?
0:25:38 > 0:25:41They're so tender.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44You don't have to cook them for a long time,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46for the meat just to fall away from the bone.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48I love the skin.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56It's the youth of it, really. They're so young.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00OK, you've got clams here, and you've got spaghetti.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Spaghetti vongole. Quintessential summer dish.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08It's one of the great simple dishes of the world.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Pop your clams into a bowl, and thoroughly rinse in cold water.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16The best way to spot a truly fresh clam is to tap it,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18and check that it closes tightly.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20A shy clam is a healthy clam.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24There's a lot of seafood in my life, isn't there?
0:26:24 > 0:26:29- There is. The caviar on your baked potatoes...- Yeah.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Another no-frills dish.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Mix the insides of your potatoes with creme fraiche and chives,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38and put back into your potato skins.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41To get nice and crispy baked spuds, brush with oil,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45and sprinkle with salt before popping them into the oven.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47And then, it's luxury time.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52- Caviar. Hot pud. Bread and butter pudding, is this?- Yeah.
0:26:52 > 0:26:58It's just all comfort food, isn't it? I make no bones about it.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04Bread and butter pudding simply keeps getting better with time.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06There are countless ways to make it,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08though I'm going for the most traditional,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11by adding sultanas and sprinkling some cinnamon,
0:27:11 > 0:27:15but maybe you could try throwing in some whisky in with your custard,
0:27:15 > 0:27:16for a grown-up taste.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Or even replace your sultanas with blueberries.
0:27:22 > 0:27:26I mean, looking at this, this must be heaven.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27Well, it is, it's heaven to me.
0:27:27 > 0:27:32But people are often asked, "What would your favourite feast be?"
0:27:32 > 0:27:34and they never, ever get it realised.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38So this is fantastic, to physically see this.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42What next? I mean, what is there for you to do?
0:27:42 > 0:27:44Grow up.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47Don't do that, don't do that!
0:27:47 > 0:27:50I love having been given the opportunity
0:27:50 > 0:27:52to be a baddie to a generation of kids.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55You know, how many people get that opportunity?
0:27:55 > 0:27:57It's incredible.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Do you regret anything you haven't done?
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Anything that you think that you should have done?
0:28:02 > 0:28:05I could have listened a bit more.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09I'm one of those people that is of the moment.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12I've always lived in the moment, and thought in the moment.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Which is great, but as you get older,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17you have less and less moments to live in.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22I think I was very arrogant when I was younger,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and I think that kind of edge has been taken off.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27- Keith Allen, thank you...- Thank you.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31- It's been a real pleasure.- ..for being a guest on A Taste of My Life.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33- It's a pleasure, thanks.- Cheers. Nice wine.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35It is with flies on it.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk