0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to the show that serves up famous lives on a plate.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28To explore the dining experiences of your past is to take a truly tasty journey back in time,
0:00:28 > 0:00:35which is why I am going to be taking today's special guest on a culinary stroll down memory lane.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Now today's guest is one of the country's finest actors,
0:00:38 > 0:00:43but most peoples' introduction to him was on a building site in Germany.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Having appeared in countless movies and TV dramas,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58he has become a regular cast member of the films of Mike Leigh.
0:00:58 > 0:01:05And more recently, he has become a very familiar face in the enormously successful Harry Potter films.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10Yes, today's special guest is the fabulous British actor, Timothy Spall.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12And coming up in today's show,
0:01:12 > 0:01:17Timothy Spall's entire family recreate Christmas lunch in his honour.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22This is the one job I do on Christmas, and this is just for show I don't even normally do this.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Actor and friend Sam Neill cooks a salmon for his mate.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30The thing about Tim is that he is someone that loves being alive,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33it seems a banal thing to say but he wasn't nearly alive for a bit.
0:01:33 > 0:01:40And Tim's friend and actor Kenneth Cranham challenges us to make a steak and kidney pie.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44- Is that too much of a knob? - It is quite a big knob.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45There we go!
0:01:48 > 0:01:50Timothy, welcome to A Taste Of My Life.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54- Nice to be here.- You were born very close to here, in Lavender Hill?
0:01:54 > 0:02:00I was born just off Lavender Hill, we were re-housed in '68, it was.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05I was watching TV about four years after we had moved and I saw a picture of my street
0:02:05 > 0:02:11and it had been flattened and the commentator said, "At last, slum clearance complete in South London."
0:02:11 > 0:02:13Oh, bless them!
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I didn't even know I lived in a slum, I thought it was nice!
0:02:16 > 0:02:18What sort of a boy were you? Were you a good kid?
0:02:18 > 0:02:23I think so, yeah. Very imaginative, I think, and quite a hypochondriac.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25A very happy childhood though. It was a very...
0:02:25 > 0:02:29You know, we could play in the street, we had no bathroom either,
0:02:29 > 0:02:34tin bath was just in the back yard which every Saturday, my dad would fill from the Ascot.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36The Ascot, I had forgotten about Ascots!
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Yeah, it sounds like I was bought up in 1850, doesn't it?
0:02:39 > 0:02:43So my mum would have a bath and then we would get in the bath after.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44What was the food like?
0:02:44 > 0:02:49It was, you know, roast chicken and lots of roast potatoes, everybody would have a kip,
0:02:49 > 0:02:52we would watch the Sunday film and I would usually cry
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and try and hide it because I didn't want everyone to see I was crying!
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Were there any particular treats, anything that you really looked forward to?
0:02:59 > 0:03:03The thing I was obsessed with and I loved was chicken and chips.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07I absolutely went through a period of being almost obsessed with them.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12Chicken and chips, a no frills dish this, but a popular favourite.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Some basic steps - chicken always needs butter to keep it moist
0:03:17 > 0:03:22and is great at helping seasoning or herbs stick to the bird's skin.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Some people insist that cooking your chicken breast-side down
0:03:26 > 0:03:28gives a juicier result.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Any opportunity I had, I would say, "Please can I get some chicken and chips?"
0:03:32 > 0:03:36Or I would have chips with crackling which you never see any more,
0:03:36 > 0:03:38which was basically a load of remnants of batter.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- Oh, batter bits.- It must have been seven million calories in a bag!
0:03:42 > 0:03:45- I know, but it was a real treat to get the batter bits.- Yeah.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Before deep frying your own chips,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53slowly bring the temperature of your oil up to 180 degrees.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58For the perfect chip, cook first at a lower temperature,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01then cook again in a hotter oil to brown.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I remember there was a guy who was laying all new pavements
0:04:04 > 0:04:07around our street and I would sit and just chat to him.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11I remember telling him I could eat chicken and chips for every meal for the rest of my life,
0:04:11 > 0:04:16in fact I could eat it straight after I have had chicken and chips, I could have chicken and chips again!
0:04:16 > 0:04:21You know your chicken is done when the juices run clear.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29For easy gravy, add a glass of wine to the pan halfway through cooking.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Timothy Spall's taste of childhood.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Most of the family would have fish and if I ever had to go and get it,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40it was really boring because you ask what everybody wanted,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43cod and chips, rock and chips, cod and chips and someone,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47usually my mum or my nan, would say, "Will you get me a bit of plaice?"
0:04:47 > 0:04:51And you go, "Oh, no," cos you know you get to the chip shop
0:04:51 > 0:04:55and you'd say "Three cod, two rock, one plaice." "You'll have to wait for plaice"!
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Got to have a bit of sauce with that, haven't we?
0:04:58 > 0:05:01You said that your... And you got on very well with your brothers.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05You didn't let them see the sort of emotion that was coming when you watched films?
0:05:05 > 0:05:08I can remember sitting there
0:05:08 > 0:05:11and really being engrossed in these stories that weren't action movies
0:05:11 > 0:05:13and having to cover my face and think,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16"Oh, please don't look over here because I am really crying."
0:05:16 > 0:05:20I used to go on my own to the cinema quite a lot and sometimes
0:05:20 > 0:05:22used to go right down the front, so it was huge
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and sit and just look at it and be completely absorbed with it.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29So I always loved it and I don't think they ever had the projector quite right
0:05:29 > 0:05:33because I remember watching Flash Gordon and everybody was squashed,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36the film had got so old and there was all these little fat people!
0:05:36 > 0:05:42I remember things used to fly like ice-cream cones, and when the kids got bored...
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Pura cartons, those little plastic cartons.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47I remember coming out of the cinema once, feeling on my head
0:05:47 > 0:05:53and I had a top of an ice-cream tub stuck to my hair, someone had pitched it and it had stuck on there.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58This is good - I have this for tea now as well.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Tell me a bit about mum and dad.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04My dad was an incredibly...
0:06:04 > 0:06:10chipper fella, my mum was a very, very smart woman and still is to this day, extremely...
0:06:10 > 0:06:16Would never leave the house without full make-up on and looked like Alma Cogan or Diana Dors.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18And what were the, sort of, family meals like?
0:06:18 > 0:06:22- I remember my dad's favourite was rabbit and pearl barley.- Lovely.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- It was beautiful.- I love pearl barley and it's slightly...
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- You don't see it any more.- It's not fashionable but I am waiting
0:06:28 > 0:06:31for some chef to and make it fashionable again because I love it.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35'Rabbit stew. Though it is often a wrongly used phrase,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39'rabbit really does taste a bit like chicken, so don't shy away.
0:06:39 > 0:06:45'Buy wild rabbit rather than farmed, but that doesn't mean investing in a shotgun.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49'Farmed rabbits are bred for size, not flavour.'
0:06:49 > 0:06:52There is an awful lot of rabbits around that do a lot of harm
0:06:52 > 0:06:55to the crops and things, so let's get them in a pot.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Absolutely. You are seeing a lot of rabbit in gastro-pubs.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02I remember one where it said, "saddle of rabbit" and...
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Do you ride this thing?
0:07:04 > 0:07:06That's a bit cruel, isn't it!
0:07:06 > 0:07:11It's like loin of tuna and you think, where do they have legs on tunas?
0:07:13 > 0:07:19'Pearl barley is the milled grain from barley which is our most ancient grain.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29'It is a little heavy as an accompaniment
0:07:29 > 0:07:31'so it works best as an ingredient,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35'not only in stews such as this one, but also broths and soups.'
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Rabbit stew with pearl barley.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Yes, or Pearl Bailey as I used to think it was called!
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Pearl Bailey, the jazz singer.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Were you a close family?
0:07:47 > 0:07:51When I was born, my mum was a... worked in a chip shop...
0:07:51 > 0:07:56Not WHEN I was born, I wasn't dropped into the batter, that doesn't account for my love of...!
0:07:56 > 0:08:00And my dad was a scaffolder and when I decided to be an actor,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03my mum was very, "Yes, well, I will support you," and my dad was as well.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Was it you or was it your mum who said you were a bit like a vulture
0:08:07 > 0:08:09when food came on to the table?
0:08:09 > 0:08:11I was a little vulture, yeah.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I would always eat incredibly fast, I never planned it,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17it was just gannetry, I would just eat the lot as quick as I could,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22then I would be sitting watching everybody else to see if they were going to leave anything.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26I would say, "Are you going to leave that?" And the hand would come out...
0:08:29 > 0:08:31What sort of teenager did you develop into?
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I was fat, I remember that, being fat, but I have always
0:08:36 > 0:08:39been quite agile, I have always been quite tubby but quite agile.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41I was very lazy at school.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44- You weren't academic? - No, no, useless.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46You didn't want to be a train driver, then?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Well, actually, firstly I wanted to be a fireman,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52and then I wanted to be an architect because I liked the sound of it.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55It was a toss up being a tank driver or a surrealist.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02With encouragement from his teacher, Tim decided to pursue a career as an actor.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04He applied to RADA.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09Because it seemed to happen so quickly, I thought they had got me mixed up with someone else.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13I remember going to Freed, the ballet shop in St Martin's Lane
0:09:13 > 0:09:17and trying these tights on, thinking "What is the point of this?
0:09:17 > 0:09:21"They are only going to say that they have got the wrong person."
0:09:21 > 0:09:26Well, I caught up with somebody from that time and they have left a little message for you.
0:09:26 > 0:09:27Oh, lovely.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30We are upstairs in Greek St,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34which is just opposite the Prince Edward Theatre in Soho.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36- This is a patisserie.- Ahh!
0:09:36 > 0:09:39He might ask what have you done to your hand, Michelle?
0:09:39 > 0:09:43I did something stupid, I thought it was cold water and I put my hand in
0:09:43 > 0:09:46to do some cleaning and it was boiling water... It is ok!
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Sounds about right!
0:09:49 > 0:09:53I remember on the first day when I was auditioning for RADA,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56we were just both waiting to go in and I heard him audition first.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00You know, he has got that thing like Ralph Richardson, or someone like that.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05He is of that kind of magnitude and eccentricity and deliciousness.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07He will be remembered, won't he, as the others sail by?
0:10:07 > 0:10:09He will be remembered.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Oh, my, God, Kim what are you up to?
0:10:15 > 0:10:18He knows the bitter side and the sweet side of life
0:10:18 > 0:10:21so he knows the pain of life and that is why he is very funny,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23because he has had a great illness and survived that,
0:10:23 > 0:10:28so that must inform him even more now. Lovely.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- That's for him.- Wow, delightful.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39I wish to say that it is a pity we don't live for longer and we haven't got all these things to do because
0:10:39 > 0:10:44if we had more time to spend together, it would be a lovely thing, but the days just rush by.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52I don't know why I am getting upset! Stupid!
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Oh, that's lovely, absolutely delightful. Oh, goodness me, look at that.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05- Have a bit of cake. - Cor it is like... And as if my magic.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Look at that, look at that.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09I had better shut up and try a bit of this, hadn't I?
0:11:09 > 0:11:11She is a delight.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13And so is this cake.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18As Tim's friend Michelle mentioned, in 1996,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Timothy's life was turned upside down by a frightening diagnosis.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26Yes, I had a rather hellish bungee jump into hell
0:11:26 > 0:11:29when I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia
0:11:29 > 0:11:33which I am in complete of remission now, and it made me realise
0:11:33 > 0:11:36how important my family and my friends are to me, you know.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41So it is when you get people being so lovely, it is a bit, you know...
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I will try not to cry...yet!
0:11:45 > 0:11:47I will do it for the finale.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Still to come on Taste Of My Life, Hollywood actor Sam Neill remembers
0:11:51 > 0:11:54catching salmon with Tim in New Zealand.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00It is exactly the same size as the one Tim fought with so manfully for at least three hours.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Tim's family Christmas is brought to the studio.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06A toast to the lord of the household, Dad. To Dad.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08To my wonderful son.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13And while I cook up a steak and kidney pie, Tim makes fabulous gravy.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Hey, I'm cooking! I'm cooking!
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Do you like the whole big Christmas lunch thing?
0:12:21 > 0:12:26I do and we do tend to have quite a big do.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29I am encouraged to keep out of the way because I can't cook
0:12:29 > 0:12:34and I start worrying about things that are of no concern of mine, so...
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I am often sent away and then I come back with a bottle of wine
0:12:37 > 0:12:39with a teat on it and, you know, people work hard, why not?
0:12:39 > 0:12:44- I have got another message for you. - Have you? Oh, this is intriguing.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Behind Tim's back, his family have been preparing their unique Christmas dinner.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51Goodness, me!
0:12:51 > 0:12:54He's a wonderful father, one of the best dads you could possibly have
0:12:54 > 0:12:58and he is fun and Christmas has always been a really special time in my house.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00So what would Tim be doing at this stage?
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Tim would be shouting at the television!
0:13:03 > 0:13:08Shouting at the television. Not allowing us to watch the EastEnders Christmas special, screaming!
0:13:08 > 0:13:10This is the one job I do on Christmas,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13on the whole of Christmas, and this is just for show,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15I don't even normally do this.
0:13:15 > 0:13:21Dad said once that he liked a mug, so... and he liked novelty socks, so that was a bit of a mistake,
0:13:21 > 0:13:26- cos for the next ten years, he got mugs and novelty socks. - That's what he says now,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28"What have I got? A cheap mug?"
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Tim says that we are not allowed to have...
0:13:30 > 0:13:33If five minutes goes by and we are not eating or drinking,
0:13:33 > 0:13:34then it is not a proper Christmas,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38So he just goes, "Eat, drink, what is the matter with you?!"
0:13:38 > 0:13:40I am extremely proud.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45I saw it in him when he played the lion in the Wizard Of Oz
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and I never laughed as much in my life
0:13:48 > 0:13:52because he played the lion as gay - "Oh, Dorothy!"
0:13:52 > 0:13:58He really played it like that and the whole school was absolutely in fits.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03I take it for granted you know, he did say the first time we ever went out to the pub
0:14:03 > 0:14:07that he was going to be the actor of his generation.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09Arrogant sod!
0:14:09 > 0:14:15He was only 22 and I was 23, but he did say that and I did believe him.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Recently, it is amazing to have Timothy Spall being at the end of your line
0:14:19 > 0:14:23if you have acting questions, there is no better mentor.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Tim will not have anything to eat unless there is red cabbage with it.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31- No, he won't.- And the more disgusting, the better the red cabbage is.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36I am a waif and stray so they have just let me become part of their entire life.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39I am just thrilled and lucky to be one of the family.
0:14:39 > 0:14:46They are just gorgeous and generous and open and honest, I think that is the most fantastic thing.
0:14:46 > 0:14:52I just wonder how other people can get by without having a bit of the Spalls in their life.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Tim is Tim, nothing about him is false.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59MUM: When he was eight years old, he thought he had cancer up his nose
0:14:59 > 0:15:05because there was a man that used to walk about that had no nose and he was that sort of a...
0:15:05 > 0:15:09It would impress upon him and he laid in bed one night, really,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13really crying and he said, "I think I have got cancer up my nose, Mum."
0:15:13 > 0:15:18No, he really is a very, very lovely, kind man.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34I am going to propose a toast to the lord of the household, Dad.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36- To dad. To Tim.- A toast to my wonderful son.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38To the lord of the household.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Cheers, Dad.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44What a delight.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48- Oh, my God.- Lovely... - That's Boxing day!- Boxing Day.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52It is so lovely to see them all there, a peculiar experience
0:15:52 > 0:15:56to see all your family and where you live on the television.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01'Tim was first discovered by Mike Leigh back in 1982 and has gone on
0:16:01 > 0:16:04'to collaborate with him on films such as
0:16:04 > 0:16:06'Life Is Sweet and Secrets And Lies.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10'But he really broke through to a wider audience on the small screen.'
0:16:10 > 0:16:13It is funny that you have done so many films but you are,
0:16:13 > 0:16:17I think...a lot of people know you through Auf Wiedersehen and Barry.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22I didn't expect it to be the success that it was, but it was an absolute humdinging hit.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25- Rodney.- Rodney?- Well, so what, like?
0:16:25 > 0:16:29No, no, no, nothing, that is a very nice name.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33- It was a shock to all of us because it changed our lives.- Yeah.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35It changed my life badly to begin with
0:16:35 > 0:16:39- cos I had a period of unemployment after the second series. - Because you were Barry?
0:16:39 > 0:16:41They must have just presumed that I was.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Do you think that with success, what you have eaten has changed?
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Discovering duck confit is...
0:16:48 > 0:16:50For some reason I thought it was jam, but I...
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Yeah, confit, confiture.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Confiture, and then I realised that when I saw duck was involved
0:16:56 > 0:16:59and I thought I would order it one day and I had been avoiding it,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03looking at it on menus, and then eating it and thinking, "My goodness."
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Because sometimes it comes roast and sometimes it comes sliced and looks like a dead man's bum or something.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Exactly, a silly little... .
0:17:10 > 0:17:14I know, you think, "Oh, bear it away!"
0:17:14 > 0:17:19Duck confit is a classic dish from the southwest of France.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24It can be made with goose or duck - it takes two days to prepare
0:17:24 > 0:17:28so if you have got a spare weekend, it is well worth the effort.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35It is essential to submerge the duck entirely in the fat.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47It is food that you go... when you see it.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52- That's right, exactly.- Even being able to say it in the right way means that I must have learnt something.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I am making some cream spinach in addition
0:17:57 > 0:18:01to the traditional accompaniment that is served with confit.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Simple but delicious braised lentils and vegetables.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Timothy Spall's taste of success -
0:18:10 > 0:18:13duck confit and not a jam jar in sight.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24Considering I am a maniacal actor who loves good reviews and awards and food,
0:18:24 > 0:18:31you know, I am personally very, very interested in what makes people tick,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34what makes ordinary things extraordinary.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37There is a lot of actors who probably looked at those parts
0:18:37 > 0:18:41and thought, "That's not for me, it is not loud enough, I'm not a hero."
0:18:41 > 0:18:48I am a little bit uncomfortable in playing the people that are adored and are looked up to.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51They are characters I always want to give a big hug to.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Well, you know, I love it when people say, "You made me cry,"
0:18:54 > 0:18:56and I think, "Thank you very much."
0:18:56 > 0:19:01Now very much at the other end of the acting spectrum, really, I suppose...
0:19:01 > 0:19:04- Harry Potter.- It is one of the smallest parts I have ever played
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and it is the one that everybody goes, "Hey, are you the rat guy?"
0:19:08 > 0:19:12You know, I have been in lifts with middle-aged people and you think
0:19:12 > 0:19:15they have had an argument and they are going to bed.
0:19:15 > 0:19:22Patrician-type Americans. AMERICAN ACCENT: "Would I be wrong in thinking that you are Wormtail?"
0:19:25 > 0:19:27What sort of friend do you think you are?
0:19:27 > 0:19:34I don't feel I have a duty but I have always felt that somehow I like people to feel good, you know.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38I try not to burden people with things - I don't use friends as psychiatrists.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43I caught up with a friend of yours, actually, and they have got another little message for you.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Ahh, this is a delight, this is a bit scary, but delightful.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56- Ahh!- 'I didn't meet him until I was working at Pinewood'
0:19:56 > 0:19:59doing something and Tim was on the next lot
0:19:59 > 0:20:06and he was having his lunch, and I got introduced to him and it was a big day for me.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11It was lunch time for both of us and I think that set the pattern,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13because our friendship...
0:20:13 > 0:20:18seems to be delineated by food and drink, that is what we do and that is what we do best!
0:20:19 > 0:20:24There is something very nice about cooking something that you have actually caught yourself.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28I didn't catch this chap but... I am sure he is up for it!
0:20:28 > 0:20:34He is such great company and they came to stay once at my house in New Zealand. We went out on the lake
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and we went fishing.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39And to Tim's complete astonishment, he caught a salmon.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43This is exactly the same size as the one that Tim caught,
0:20:43 > 0:20:49and fought with so manfully for at least three hours from my boat!
0:20:49 > 0:20:53We landed it, we took it back and we cooked it and it was one of those meals, you know.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59The thing about Tim is that he is someone that loves being alive.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03It seems a banal thing to say, but he wasn't nearly alive for a bit
0:21:03 > 0:21:05and, um, being alive for Tim...
0:21:05 > 0:21:08I am just guessing, but my observation is this,
0:21:08 > 0:21:14that he loves discourse, he loves company, he loves...
0:21:14 > 0:21:20He adores his little family, he has got great friends.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23He loves working and why not, he is so good at it.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27You can never have enough salt or pepper on things.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31I will put our little friend in here.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35Good luck and God bless you and hope for the best.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37A marvellous host and marvellous guest
0:21:37 > 0:21:40and just a great man to sit at a table with.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49That's a real delightful surprise.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52That is a delight. I can't take all this love -
0:21:52 > 0:21:54I am going to pass out in a minute!
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Tim, what are you like under pressure?
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It is a mixture, I either panic or I will go in to a place
0:22:02 > 0:22:06where I deal with it, but I deal with it at about a million miles an hour.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09I have caught up with a friend of yours - he's got a message for you.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12We are both fervent that we have never bought
0:22:12 > 0:22:16a bottle of water in our lives, we've never...
0:22:16 > 0:22:19We drink tap water and it's something we are fierce about!
0:22:19 > 0:22:24What I would like you to achieve is to work alongside Mr Slater
0:22:24 > 0:22:31and for Mr Slater to produce a wondrous pie of steak and kidney, or something of that nature.
0:22:31 > 0:22:38And for you to make an accompanying onion gravy and for a piece of it to come my way, is this possible?
0:22:38 > 0:22:40That is not too bad, that doesn't frighten me.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45- We can do pie and gravy. Pie and gravy. Let's make him a pie. - All right, let's do that.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53So Ken's challenge for you - we have got some lovely beef bones there.
0:22:53 > 0:22:54Oh, right, yeah.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58This is elaborate to make some gravy, you're gonna to put bones...
0:22:58 > 0:23:01- It is but we like a bit of bone. - We do like a bit of bone.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05- Let's bung it all in, shall we?- Yeah. - Bung it all in there.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06LAUGHTER
0:23:06 > 0:23:10- You are a bit of a worrier, aren't you?- Oh, yeah.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15I like a good worrier - I worry if I am not worrying.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19There is a bit of hypochondria in my family so one of the great cures
0:23:19 > 0:23:22for hypochondria is getting cancer, I find.
0:23:22 > 0:23:27- Did it help?- Well, it stopped it, once I stopped worrying, things started to work all right.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30You have enjoyed playing quite melancholy parts,
0:23:30 > 0:23:32is Timothy Spall a bit melancholy?
0:23:32 > 0:23:37On the whole I am pretty sanguine, pretty upbeat about most things.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42I worked with Les Dawson once and he was joyous and wonderful and funny,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47but there was always a slightly downturn look, there was something about him that was sort of like,
0:23:47 > 0:23:52- it is all sad underneath but it is quite funny.- Once that's melted...
0:23:52 > 0:23:56- Is that too much of a knob? - It is quite a big knob!- Yes!
0:23:56 > 0:23:58Whoop! There we go!
0:23:58 > 0:24:02- Pop those in and let them sizzle. - All of them?- Yeah.- Why not.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Hey, I'm cooking! I'm cooking!
0:24:06 > 0:24:10Pastry is a mystery to me.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Tastes nice.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Worcester sauce, I love Worcester sauce.
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Do you know, I think I was wrong, I think your knob was the right...
0:24:20 > 0:24:22My original knob was the one.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26You are a surgeon, aren't you, a mortician!
0:24:26 > 0:24:27LAUGHTER
0:24:27 > 0:24:31And then if you give that a stir round so the flour can cook a bit.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Yeah, and what's that in aid of?
0:24:33 > 0:24:35That will just make it rich and thick.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39- Rich and thickenness-ness. - Rich and "thickenness-ness", yes!
0:24:39 > 0:24:46- Do you like booze in your gravy? I would put Madeira in... - Why not? Madeira sounds all right.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48- Let's put a bit in. - Madeira sounds good.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Now yours can just simmer quietly.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56That looks all right.
0:24:57 > 0:24:58Shall I give it a professional...
0:24:59 > 0:25:01There we are.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Johnny! I have always liked that,
0:25:03 > 0:25:06the painting and decorating side of cooking things.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08We'll pop that one in the oven.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Listen to that! That's spot on, isn't it?
0:25:13 > 0:25:14Crunchy, crunchy!
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Pastry and gravy.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20Where's that kidney? Right, I am going to try that.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25- Pie perfection.- Pie perfection!
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Pythagoras!
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'Time for Timothy Spall's final feast.'
0:25:30 > 0:25:35- Your final feast.- Mmm.- Now, what have I got over here?
0:25:35 > 0:25:39These are goujons, goujons of cod.
0:25:41 > 0:25:47'Goujon means strips of fish, typically sole or plaice, coated and fried.
0:25:49 > 0:25:55'Dip your fish in seasoned flour, then egg and then breadcrumbs.
0:25:55 > 0:25:59'Be warned, if you don't follow this order and forget your flour,
0:25:59 > 0:26:02'your coating will simply slide off.
0:26:04 > 0:26:10'Don't overcrowd your pan and don't let your goujons touch each other.'
0:26:10 > 0:26:12The last feast, I think,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15would be about eating what you know might kill you eventually,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18but who is going to care if it is your last feast?
0:26:18 > 0:26:21This to me... I love mince meat, I love it.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24All minced up and made into something else...
0:26:24 > 0:26:28Let's have a taste of that. That is lovely to me.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34'Sheekh kebab - this is a mild but deeply aromatic Indian kebab.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39'I have added garam masala, garlic, ginger, parsley and onion.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44'Ideally, this would be cooked in a tandoor oven, but it is almost
0:26:44 > 0:26:48'as good on a griddle pan and is divine on the barbecue.'
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Do you like the idea of looking through your life through what you have eaten?
0:26:52 > 0:26:55As I said to you earlier, I would love to be very slim.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59If there was something you could do that would make you eat this kind of food
0:26:59 > 0:27:01and it wouldn't affect you in a bad way...
0:27:01 > 0:27:04I know what someone is saying, I can hear them saying,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07"It is called exercise, you fat BLEEP!"
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Is there anything that you would like to have done but haven't?
0:27:11 > 0:27:18- Apart from world domination as a Hollywood sex symbol...- Absolutely!
0:27:18 > 0:27:23I am pretty pleased... and happy at where I'm standing.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24Before I was ill,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27I was chasing my tail and I was worried a lot about what
0:27:27 > 0:27:32you are supposed to achieve and what you do and what you don't, and now if, you know,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36things aren't looking like they are as scintillating as they can be,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39I think, "At least you are not ill and you are not dead."
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Tim, is there a wish for today?
0:27:41 > 0:27:47Being a hypochondriac, it's...living as long as I can,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51not purely selfishly, but to make sure that my family are OK,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53just so I can pop off.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57I don't want them to be upset when I go so I want to live long enough
0:27:57 > 0:27:59so they can say, "He's a BLEEP old git now so he can sod off"!
0:27:59 > 0:28:01I don't feel particularly grown up.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05I have had to been grown up cos I've had to leap over certain hoops health-wise,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10but I don't really feel much older than I did when I was about four.
0:28:10 > 0:28:17So if you can be four and maybe about 80 or something
0:28:17 > 0:28:23that would be all right, and then make sure everybody is all right, and I just keep learning.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25I just want to keep learning.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Timothy Spall, thank you so much for being my guest on Taste Of My Life.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30- Oh, cheers.- To you.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33It has really been lovely to talk to you, Nigel, very, very nice.
0:28:33 > 0:28:34- Thank you.- Cheers.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:54 > 0:28:57E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk