Episode 11 Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman

Childhood holidays... Oh, ho! The anticipation seemed endless.

The holiday itself...well, it was over too quickly.

So, in this series, I'm going to be reliving those wonderful times

with some much-loved famous faces.

THEY SCREAM

Every day, I'll be arranging a few surprises

to transport them back in time.

Oh, look! Ha-ha! It's just as I remember! Ha-ha!

We'll relive the fun...

THEY LAUGH

..the games...

BOTH: Yes! We got him!

..and the food of years gone by...

Yum...my!

Welcome to 1959.

-Total happiness.

-Yes. Perfect.

..to find out how those holidays around the UK

helped shape the people we know so well today.

Bruce Forsyth.

His mother said, "You're still my favourite."

So, buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.

You know, Len, I'm quite enjoying being on my holidays with you.

On today's journey through time,

I'm picking up our mystery holiday-maker

in a car he'll remember well from his trips away,

a vintage Fiat 132.

The guest I'm on my way to meet today,

is in need of a well-deserved holiday.

After all, he spends most of his time chasing crooks

and cornering conmen.

He was born in Wokingham, near Reading, in 1970.

Just look at that cute face!

You wouldn't be able to pull the wool over those eyes.

From a very early age you could say, he had a curious nature.

And this would serve him well as a journalist in the BBC newsroom.

In 1997, he got on his bike and became a bit of a watchdog,

but by the looks of him, his bark is worse than his bite.

He's a real consumer champion and a bit of a brainbox

being crowned Celebrity Mastermind in 2004.

Rogue traders fear him and the nation cheers him.

You got it yet?

Of course, you have. My guest today is a bit of all right.

It's Matt Allwright! Hey-hey!

Matt, here I come!

Matt grew up in Reading with his piano teacher mum,

his dad, who was engineer, and his older brother, John.

Matt was your typical young boy, who was football crazy

and longed for the summer holidays.

After studying at university and a stint of teaching in Japan,

Matt went on to qualify in broadcast journalism

and kicked off his TV career as a presenter

and producer in BBC newsrooms.

-Ha-ha!

-CAR HORN HONKS

-Hello, mate.

-Matt.

-Look at that!

-Look at it!

It's the original.

-It's the original. Do you recognise it?

-Well, yeah, yeah.

We didn't have an automatic, but I'm not going to be picky.

Look at that, that is exactly...

That is exactly the one.

-How are you, mate?

-Good to see you.

-Good to see you.

-Hey!

-I love it!

Do you know that was classed as a very big car back in about 1976?

-Yeah.

-This is executive. You got the sunroof and everything.

-It's a posh, isn't it?

-Very posh.

-Well, nothing, but the best.

-Thank you very much.

-Now...

-Very kind of you.

..where are we going?

Len, it's what I call the Teignmouth-Shaldon axis. OK?

Two little towns either side of an estuary in Devon,

and for me, it's almost holy ground.

What year is it?

-We're talking about 1977.

-I remember it.

That was the year Man U beat Liverpool to win the FA Cup.

-Oh, you see...

-Proper football. 100,000 people.

Yeah, I do remember that

because I was just taking a really strong interest in football.

Liverpool was my team and it was the first time I can remember losing.

We weren't really losing at that period, apart from that one game.

-I'm sorry to bring that up.

-Yeah, thanks for that.

I was on a high at that point. THEY LAUGH

-Now, listen, we've got a full day.

-Excellent.

-We've got loads to do.

-Excellent.

-Should we get in?

-Are you driving?

-I can...I can drive!

-Good.

-Do you trust me?

-Yeah... Well, just a bit.

Come on, then! Ho-ho! Tally-ho!

Teignmouth is a popular Devonshire seaside town

on the north bank of the River Teign.

Across on the south bank, lies the sleepy village of Shaldon.

You're just 14 miles south of Exeter

and 20 minutes' drive from Torquay.

South Devon is a family favourite

with over one million visitors coming to stay here

for some much needed R and R.

Both Teignmouth and Shaldon have been a holiday hotspot

since the 19th century.

Today, I'm taking Matt back to re-live those happy holidays

he had here as a young boy...

-Come on! In!

-That's the one!

Ha! No!

BOTH: Yes!

We've got him!

..enjoying the sights,

tastes and smells of his favourite childhood vacations...

-It's all coming back.

-It's coming back to you, isn't it?

I remember that. Mm.

That's a good cake.

..and throw in a couple of curve balls

at this cool, collected, consumer crusader.

-What am I doing in Wombley Stadium?

-You've made it!

Before any holiday truly begins, first you must set out on a journey.

We all remember that eager anticipation

of the magical moments that lie in wait at our dream destination.

And for Matt, in 1977, his fun-filled family road trip to Devon

began with setting off in the early hours.

-So, there you are.

-Yeah.

-I assume your dad's driving.

-Dad's driving.

-Mum?

-Mum's in this seat here.

-Yeah.

Me and my brother in the back.

My brother, John, is three years older than me,

so he'd be ten while I was seven.

And there was a bit...a bit of a thing that used to go on

between my dad and my uncle Morris.

And what they used to do is they used...

Every year, they used to try and beat each other

from where we lived in Reading down to Shaldon

to the hotel where we were staying.

-Right.

-So, every year it got a little bit earlier

until the point where we were woken up in the middle of the night

with our jamas on and our dressing gowns,

then they'd stick us on the back-seat and we drive through the night

to get there for breakfast in the morning

before uncle Morris and auntie Kate. And that was crucial.

So, not only was it a holiday,

it was a bit of a...sort of a... LeMond's, sort of, TT racing

-sort of thing.

-It was. It was.

Gentlemen, start your engines. It was a bit like that.

Did you have any games to play? Was there games involved?

-Do you know the I Spy books?

-Oh, yeah!

-Of course, I was in the I Spy Tribe.

-Was there an I Spy Tribe?

-There was an I Spy Tribe!

-Well, that was what...

Yeah, my mum sent off for it. So, you had an I Spy?

So, we had I Spy books

and they would be of different sorts, as I remember, anyway,

and some would be spotting particular types of car

and then you'd be spotting birds or a particular type of tree.

-And you know, you got points for each one that you spotted.

-Yeah.

But the most important game of all for the journey was...

-Come on, you are building up to this and I'm excited.

-This is the one.

-The most important game of all!

-This is the one.

This is bigger than racing uncle Morris.

-Bigger than I Spy.

-Yeah.

The biggest game was

I can see the sea.

Oh, waiting to see the sea.

-So, the first person that could see the sea...

-Yes!

And my mum used to build us up,

literally from the moment we left the drive.

Who's going to be the first person to see the sea?

-Yeah.

-And you come over the crest of this hill...

Yeah, you'll be looking, looking. You're nearly there.

-And we look out and...

-Ah!

We didn't realise we'd still be in Swindon or something,

but we'd still be...

"I, sort of, can see it, just over the top of that hill.

-"It's just there."

-'OK, Matt, game on!'

I think I might've just seen something through there as well.

-Oh, don't say you saw the sea before me.

-I think...

No, no, you didn't shout it out, so it doesn't count.

-I didn't shout it out, so I haven't won.

-No, no... Anyone could say that.

"Oh, I saw it three..."

There's a sunroof. I could poke my head out through it.

-See, I'm driving, I'm at a disad...

-No, you keep your eyes...

HE SHOUTS: I can see the sea!

-Oh, eh!

-I can see the sea!

-Look at it!

You can see the sea, Matt, but I definitely saw it first.

What I'd like to be on this journey

-is I'm going to be your big brother, John.

-OK.

-Right?

-Right.

-So, I want you to treat me like that.

Like your brother.

And I want to join in everything that you and John would have done.

-All right. That's good.

-So, it's going to be good, isn't it?

Do you know what? That's going to be lovely.

-My brother now lives overseas. He lives in the States.

-Oh, really?

-So, I don't get to see him as often as I'd like.

-Right.

-And it...

It's one of those things we always dial back to these holidays.

And it's... That would be very...

The first thing I've got to do, though...

-Oh, stick your finger in my ear. Ha-ha!

-Yeah, that's it!

You're properly initiated. I've done that.

Back in 1977, Matt's folks would have paid

the equivalent of 18p per litre to fill up their car

and a pint milk would have cost around 11p.

'77 was also the year of the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

An estimated 500 million people tuned in to watch it

and thousands of street parties were held all over the country.

1977 also saw Star Wars premiere in the UK.

During its first seven days, it took a record-breaking £117,690,

beating previous record holder Jaws.

And in 1977, the world mourned the death

of the legendary Elvis Presley, who passed away in Graceland.

The King was just 42 and left behind millions of heartbroken fans.

It's just so...

It's just unreal right now. I just can't believe it. I'm just numb.

I'm in a daze.

A little less conversation and a little more action

is what's required now, so to begin Matt's holiday of his lifetime,

I'm taking him back to where it all began - Shaldon.

-Right there is the Ness.

-OK.

-OK?

So, that... What you've got there is a huge chunk of sandstone,

which used to house smugglers. There's a tunnel in there.

Shaldon village's down there.

Across the way is the bustling and evil metropolis of Teignmouth.

-Yes.

-Where we used to occasionally go.

So, you've got this nice thing

where you've got nice, sweet little Shaldon here

and big, strange and threatening Teignmouth there.

-When you're four years old...

-Ooh!

-Yeah, bad things could happen there.

-We're on holy ground.

-We're on holy ground right now.

Poor old Teignmouth.

Isn't it funny how a child's view of the world can be?

-The car journey is over.

-Yes.

-You're here.

-Right.

Are you still in your pyjamas?

I'm still in pyjamas and ladybird dressing gown

with a rope around the middle. That...

As soon as we get to the hotel, then we go in,

change very quickly into our swimming trunks.

As soon as we're in our swimming trunks, we're on the beach.

-That's it!

-No messing. You and John.

-Like that.

Me and John on the beach straightaway.

-So, you're straight into the water, no messing about.

-Yes.

Bucket and spade?

-Bucket and spade would be essential.

-Of course it would.

As you can see, what we have is this beautiful, pink sand here,

-and it's perfect for making pink sand castles on the beach.

-Yeah.

And that's what we used to do. We just used to make...

Inevitably, there'd be a crowd of kids some of whom we know,

some of whom would be new friends.

And we'd just be straight in the water and mucking about with them.

Oh, it's fantastic, I've got to say.

Why didn't my mum and dad bring me here?

We had to go all the way down to blooming St Ives

about another 300 miles.

-Shaldon's for the chosen few.

-It is.

Obviously, we weren't...

We weren't in the game.

Tourism has been big business for Shaldon and Teignmouth

since Victorian times.

Local historian Viv Wilson is so in love

with this part of the country that she's written 13 books about it.

The town had a different beat in the early '70s.

The beat that came with lots of people coming

and staying for a week or a fortnight

and really getting involved with the simple pleasures

that Teignmouth offered then.

The beaches were still so crowded that every family,

you know, was crushed in next to another family.

And the whole thing about holiday making at that time

was that it was a simple holidays-at-home idea.

Teignmouth's seafront, for example, had enough room

to accommodate 2,000 people from one end of the seafront to the other.

2,000 holiday beds.

It's quite different to now

because the town has become more visited by day people.

You know, they come, have a meal, walk about,

go to a show, perhaps, and then go away.

So, it's a completely different atmosphere

to the days of the big holiday groups coming down and staying

as they were in those times.

Over seven million day visitors come to South Devon every year,

but for Matt, back in the '70s, his visit would last a whole week.

He stayed at the Bairnscroft Hotel,

which, although still standing, has not been a hotel for some years now.

-Eh-ah!

-This is that.

-This is it.

So, this is it, right?

At the front there, where you see those two pillars,

that used to have a wrought iron sign going over the top

that said Bairnscroft Hotel.

Basically, this was the centre of Shaldon

because it was full of families all, you know...

Most of them either half or full-board.

So, everyone was back for lunch

and then everyone was back for tea and dinner.

-And it was... That was it.

-And it's a lovely spot, isn't it?

It's lovely cos you're looking out... You couldn't get better!

-You've got everything you need right here.

-Right.

-So, you go straight across the road... Mind the road!

-Mind...

BOTH: Mind the road.

Go straight over the road and then you're straight

onto this lovely beach, which is just powdery, fine sand.

The great thing about this place, it was so geared for kids.

You had a massive playroom out in the back, which had like trampolines

and, you know, little carts you could cycle around and that sort of thing.

In the evenings, after you'd been on the beach all day,

about five o'clock, in the dining room,

they laid out this huge high tea.

There was like mini rolls and jelly and ice cream.

It's where I first discovered peanut butter.

And all this food was just... It was just as much as you wanted.

Well, sadly, Bairnscroft is no longer a hotel,

but I've got some good news for you.

It's now a retirement home and you're getting on a bit.

-Maybe you could...

-There's a couple for sale, actually.

If I put a deposit down now, I might be able to afford it by it's...

When it's time to retire.

The waters around Shaldon and Teignmouth are perfect

for a spot of fishing,

which is something that a seven-year-old Matt loved to do.

Along with his father and brother, John,

they would hire a boat from a well-known local fisherman

called Snowy Hook and head out to sea.

Sadly, Snowy's boats no longer run,

but I've arranged a special vessel

so Matt can relive those magic moments.

-So, old Snowy Hook, when you used to come as a kid...

-Yeah.

How... Was he a proper sort of seaman-looking bloke?

Oh, listen, he was...

They based the look on him.

He had the little woollen hat on the back of his head.

He had National Health glasses. He had snow white hair, I remember.

And he always seemed to have, like, a fish-hook in his mouth

or something that was going on. He was mending nets.

He was the archetype fisherman. That was it. That was it.

So, it was the full deal.

Matt tells me mackerel was the usual haul,

so we're going to give it a go today and see what we can catch.

So, this has got to go over the back.

Look, it's got caught on my foot, now.

-I've already caught something already.

-What have you done?

-Oh, now I've got to go... Get it off me.

-There we are.

-Down goes the weight.

-Down goes the weight.

Just keep your hand on the line like that.

And you'll know when you've got one.

# Oh, little, pretty mackerel Bite on my line

# I've been waiting quite a while And now I think it's time

# I'd like to pull you up And bash you on the head

# And then have some fish and chips Once you're dead. #

HE LAUGHS

-That is...

-That's a mackerel song.

-It's quite disturbing.

I bet Snowy would have known just where to go.

He used to point the boat in the direction,

and you'd be out there for five minutes

and you'd definitely have one. You definitely have one at least.

While Matt loved catching fish when he was younger,

these days it's crooks that he catches

on the consumer show Watchdog.

So, what's it like to be part of a sting?

You know, you set it all up.

Well, actually, Len, funnily enough, it's very much like fishing.

You lay your wires down, you put your bait out there and then you wait.

-For the bite.

-You wait for the bite.

It is exciting, you know? And it can go right or wrong.

You don't know, and that's quite exciting in itself.

And what about the disguises? Do you like dressing up? Who...

There's a bit of a sort of...failed wannabe actor, I think, in me.

And we spent ages coming up with those characters.

And again, sometimes they worked and sometimes they didn't.

-When they worked, it was really good fun.

-Yeah.

-It was brilliant.

I hated the old bloke one that we did

cos he was like about 80 years old

and it took five hours to get all the prostatic make-up on,

but we got one fantastic sting out of that, made it all worth it.

-Yeah.

-Stitched this guy up

who was trying to sell products to older people

and he was claiming that he was, you know, a church-going,

Bible-loving guy, you know?

And that they were all in it for the good of the people

they were selling to. And they weren't.

Behind his hand, he was laughing at them and taking advantage.

And so, you know, that's when it's worth it.

I've got...I've got...

BOTH: Two!

THEY CHEER

Now, you've got to kill them! Oh, no.

THEY CHEER

Oh, my God! I've got your line as well. That's yours.

-We've got one each.

-Huh?

-We've got one each.

Yeah.

I'm not touching that!

-You've got to hold it.

-No, I can't hold it.

-It's your fish.

-Take responsibility for your f...

-No!

-Take responsibility for your fish!

-No, no! Oh, no... I'm not.

-Touch it!

-No, I'm jumping off.

Neither of us fancy fish for our tea,

so it's back into the sea for these little guys.

Matt might be used to catching slippery little blighters,

but clearly, I'm not,

although I have been up to something fishy,

and I have a surprise in store on the shore.

Snowy Hook, sadly, passed away a number of years ago,

but I've tracked down his daughter, Allie,

who still lives and works locally, and she's come along to meet Matt.

-This is Allie.

-Hello, Allie.

-Hello. How lovely to meet you.

-Allie is Snowy Hook's daughter.

-No!

-Yes, I am.

Oh, my goodness.

It's so amazing that you remember my dad when you're little boy.

Do you know, we don't just remember him,

he was an absolute essential part of our holiday. And it was...

Every time we came down, it would be, "Stop at Snowy's,"

which is just down there on the beach...

Yeah, yeah. Just down by the...

..and we'd go and do what we've just done.

You think about that hotel that was full of kids for all those years,

and all of them would've known them and all of them, like me,

have just got a little bit of a fragment of Snowy stuck away...

No, that's so lovely. I mean, Dad didn't know.

He didn't realise that he had this effect on people's lives.

He just thought, "Well, this is what I do for a living.

"I hire out boats."

Then of course, you know, growing up here as children,

I thought this was my dad's beach.

And I used to look at all the holiday-maker children I think,

"Excuse me! Get off my dad's beach."

You know, it... It was cos we were here for a week

or two weeks, if we were lucky,

and he was here the whole time.

We're all so happy with that.

My daughter's here and my granddaughter and, you know,

-she was very close to her grandad. Very close.

-I bet.

She loved him. We all did.

Yeah, we miss him dreadfully because he was such a huge character.

-He was enormous fun.

-And, Allie, I've got to tell you,

I think you've made Matt's day.

-Oh, thank you so much.

-It's really lovely meeting you.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you so much for remembering my dad.

That really means a lot to all his family.

Your...your family and your dad

is part of our family story and mythology

and, you know, that's...that's...

-that's really lovely. It's lovely to share that.

-Thank you.

Oh, what a lovely moment there for Matt.

While Snowy and his beach hut are no longer around,

there's still plenty to see and do within just a few miles of Shaldon.

Time for my Ten from Len.

Less than 15 minutes down the road is the Babbacombe Cliff Railway.

Built in 1926, it shuttles 100,000 holiday-makers

to and from Oddicombe Beach every year.

With spectacular views of Lyme Bay and Portland Bill,

John Keats described it as one of the best views in the world.

The two carriages act as counter weights

and travel 240 feet up and down the cliff.

The House Of Marbles is a working glass

and games factory set in a historic pottery.

For many years, an unusual range of games, toys,

puzzles and, of course, marbles have been made here.

Home to some of the rarest marbles on the planet, there's also

the world's largest marble run and a giant floating marble.

The town of Teignmouth's population of around 15,000 increases

massively during the summer as tourists flock here.

Strolling along the promenade, you can take in the impressive Georgian

and Victorian architecture and visit the Grand Pier,

complete with amusement arcade. Oh, love it!

Although Matt and his family spent most of their time in Shaldon,

every holiday, they'd venture across the water to Teignmouth

so that the boys could go on the pier to play the arcade machines.

All year round I would be looking forward to getting in here

with a big bag of 2p coins, with my brother, and spending them in here.

That was the focus of our holiday.

-What, even in nice weather?

-Doesn't matter. Don't care.

I just want to get in there, have a

play on the games that we did last year but didn't quite win.

My mum wouldn't have let me. She'd have let me go in if it was raining.

When we ran out of money, that was it, it was all over.

-That was the deal.

-Right.

-That was the deal.

-Let's get in there.

Let's have a go.

Penny-in-the-slot machines became big business in the late

19th century, but there's even a crude version of one that dates

back to early as 200BC.

The rise of Victorian seaside holidays

and the invention of pleasure piers brought with them the penny arcades.

And for Matt, there was always one machine that he made a bee-line for.

-Quite a lot has changed. But this is the one.

-The tuck shop?

The tuck shop.

The tuck shop game is the one.

Right. You're wondering what to do, aren't you?

-Yeah.

-It's very simple.

What you do is, you get a ball that comes down here.

No flippers, nothing else.

It bounces and changes the lights through red, amber, green.

And if you land on green, if it finishes on green,

-you get a tube of sweets.

-Ah!

-We've got a bag of 2p coins.

-These are 10p a go.

-So we're going to struggle a bit with that.

-Inflation.

-Inflation.

-It used to be 2p but, you know,

I don't think that would work anymore, financially.

-Here we are. Let's give this one a go.

-You put it in.

Here comes the ball. Go for it. You've got to end up on green.

Come on!

THEY GROAN

Another one.

-It's on green, on green.

-Stay on green!

-Don't. No!

-No!

I think you're due it, you're good. But John was better.

-Let's have a joint pull.

-OK.

Go.

This will be the one.

-Come on.

-Come on!

-Back on green.

This is turning into the most expensive

packet of sweets I think we've ever had.

-Come on!

-Green! Green!

-That's the on!

Ah! No! THEY CHEER

We got them!

-Oh!

-There we go. Yeah, nice.

-Nice.

-That only cost us about three and a half quid.

-We were robbed.

Now Matt has been a TV presenter and consumer champion for 18 years

and I'm interested in what made him decide that was the career for him.

How did you get into journalism?

Right, so, I'd always wanted to be in advertising.

And then I suppose something changed.

I saw that actually adverts didn't give you the whole story.

They were misleading you sometimes.

Then suddenly I flipped to the other side and said,

"Actually, I'd like to tell the true story behind some of the products."

So, just to undercut that a little bit.

And say to people, "Don't believe everything.

-"Don't believe everything you're sold."

-Yeah.

I hate the thought of people being taken for a ride.

I just don't like it. People should be allowed to have a

fair crack of the whip and make their own decisions.

-And make their own mistakes.

-Yeah.

You should have clear information. And you shouldn't be lied to.

-And then you can do what you want with it.

-Yeah.

And I think that's a really sort of fundamental idea.

How did you first get into television?

What was your first job?

The first job I had in telly, I worked down in Southampton,

for BBC down there.

I was working as a sort of producer/reporter.

Then my mum had a problem with her tumble dryer.

And it sounded to me like a story.

She kept going on about it and I said,

"If you don't stop going on about it, I'll call Watchdog."

And she didn't. So I did.

And they said, "Well, that sounds like a story to us as well."

They called me in to report on the story.

Then I just hung on to the desk.

But they very quickly worked out that I was no good as a producer.

So that wasn't going to work.

And so they said, "We'd better stick him in front of the camera

"and let him do stuff there." And that seemed to work a bit better.

It certainly did,

as Matt has helped expose hundreds of dodgy dealers all over Britain.

-Blimey. That's seen some action.

-Yeah, they're not in...

I wouldn't say they'd pass their MOT this year.

-No. Not pristine.

-But, you see, because I was a Liverpool fan,

-always, only one choice. It could only be the red one.

-Yeah.

-That was it.

-Where would you be?

Would you be in the front or the back?

-Always in the front.

-Yeah. Brother John in the back?

-No, he'd be alongside, up the front.

-Oh, the two of you?

The beauty of this, you see, you've got four steering wheels.

The ladybird people have cleverly recognised that everyone wants

-to drive.

-Yeah.

-So why would you...

-Why would you limit it to one?

It's not actually going to affect the way it goes.

You're just going round and round. Give everyone a steering wheel.

-That's what you want to do.

-That wouldn't be a bad idea in cars.

Give people the illusion that they're driving.

You could have two steering wheels, and then

when my wife starts moaning at me, I can say, "Go on, you take over."

She's got her own wheel. Just gets cracking.

-Possibly some safety implications with that, but...

-Possibly.

-Fabulous.

-But that's it. Look. It's still there. It's still there.

-Teignmouth Pier is still here.

-Yes.

Some of those games are still there, back from 1976.

It hasn't changed.

Now, if hanging out at the amusements doesn't appeal,

don't worry, as there are plenty of other places to go to.

Devon has many beaches, from large spacious sands to quieter coves.

And if it's tranquillity you're after,

then Watcombe Beach is well worth it.

Surrounded by cliffs and wooded hillsides,

it's the perfect place to relax.

Over-indulging is often a holiday side effect

so some exercise might be called for.

You can test out your balance and try a yoga class with a twist -

it's not for the water phobic though,

as it's yoga while paddle boarding on the River Teign.

For those looking to keep dry but still want to work off

the holiday excesses, then a walk could be the perfect tonic.

Poet John Keats spent many weeks in Teignmouth in 1818,

and you can walk past the house

where he lived, on Northumberland Place.

During his particularly wet stay,

Keats described the weather in a letter as "splashy, rainy,

"misty, snowy, foggy, haily, floody and muddy."

A typical bank holiday weekend, then.

Now, one place Matt looked forward to going to every year

was a five-mile drive down the coast.

-So, there's you and John in the back.

-Yep.

-Were you well behaved?

-There was a lot of singing.

# We're off, we're off

BOTH: # We're off in a motor car

# 50 cops are chasing us and we don't know where we are. #

That was it. And that would be the first verse,

which was repeated basically until you were sick of it.

The only thing was...

Being very young,

I wasn't aware of the fact that people called police cops.

Oh, right.

And I had this picture in my head of being chased by cups and saucers.

-Oh, so the cop became a cup.

-Yeah, "50 cups is after us."

# 50 cups is after us and we don't know where we are... #

I couldn't understand it at first.

I can sense Matt's excitement brewing and it's all because

we're going to The Babbacombe Model Village in Torquay,

which was always a huge highlight of Matt's family holiday.

I love model villages.

This is not A model village, this is THE model village.

Every other model village was based on the excitement that this

brings out.

Because it's not just a model village, it's funny.

-They've made it funny.

-I don't care. I want to get in there.

Let's check it out.

Fire station. Railway. Olympic Stadium! Shut up!

Wombley Football Stadium. Not Wembley. BOTH: Wombley.

-That is the one to look for. That's the best bit.

-Oh!

Since opening in 1963, the model village has become Torquay's

most popular and visited tourist attraction.

Just 15 minutes' drive from the hotel in Shaldon, Matt looked

forward to coming here every year.

-Just look at it.

-Look at it!

-It's so cool.

-It's massive.

-Look over there.

-The bu...

-Oh, look at the burning building!

-How does that work?

'Representing British life and culture over the last five decades,

'it appeals to all ages - even old geezers like me!'

-It's the world in miniature.

-Yeah. You're absolutely right.

-That's why it's called a model village.

-That's what it is.

I've got it now!

-It's fantastico!

-Listen, this is the thing...

-Look, helicopter!

Look, with the thing going round.

Oh, I could live here.

For you, seven years old, this must have been a fantastic place.

-This is the thing, right. We did it every year.

-Yeah.

-And yet, it didn't get old.

-Yeah.

-You still looked forward to it.

Now you think, well, you might come here once and think,

"Well, we've done that. We don't want to go back."

-We did it every single year.

-I would have done it every day.

And I looked forward to the burning house, Wombley Stadium,

the weather centre and these things

just as much every year, cos it was part of the routine.

-Was it just you or did your mum like it?

-No.

My mum says if she could take one moment of our childhood

and put it in a bottle, it would this place, me and my brother,

and we've got a picture of it, standing on that bridge down there.

We've got a photo of the two of us down there.

And that is the moment she would bottle and keep.

Didn't you, as a kid, you know, want to jump over this bit of fence

and go down, kneel down and play with them all?

Not really. No. I did want to go into Wombley Stadium.

I did want to play with those. Cos I used to play Subbuteo a lot.

-Oh, yeah.

-And so it just looked like a game of Subbuteo.

-But the rest of it, I was happy just the way it was.

-I...I...

Two things would have happened if I'd have come here.

-First of all, I'd have been trying to get into the place.

-Yeah.

And when my mum said, "All right, it's time to go now,"

I'd have cried.

You were a bad lad.

What you're describing, that is a poorly behaved child.

Me? Never!

Now I know Matt is dying to take a look at his old favourite,

Wombley Stadium, but what he doesn't realise is that there's a very

special surprise waiting for him.

-They've not got rid of the streaker, I'm glad to see that.

-Yeah.

You see that, it's part of the crucial appeal of the whole place.

-Yeah.

-Yeah. He's still funny.

And still allowed full-frontal nudity in miniature.

Who's that chap there?

Who is that chap with a motorbike standing by the side of the pitch?

What am I doing in Wombley Stadium?!

-You've made it.

-I've made it into Wombley!

-Ah!

-I was waiting...

-That is mad! Have they made that?

They've made a model of you and placed it in Wombley Stadium.

You have arrived.

I can't believe that.

All I want now is to put the streaker on the back of my bike.

Then we'll be perfect. It'll be absolutely spot-on.

And never one to miss out on the action...

-So you're there as well?!

-Seven!

-Seven!

THEY LAUGH

We've made it.

We're there during the World Cup and everything.

-People of Babbacombe...

-We've arrived.

-We've made it.

Oh!

-Let's do a selfie.

-LAUGHING: A selfie by Wombley.

Nice. I tell you what, even if I get my hand in the pavement

-at Hollywood Boulevard, it will never get...

-More than that.

It won't get more important than that.

No holiday experience is complete without

stuffing your face with food.

The memories of those tastes, smells and textures stay with us forever.

For Matt, it was all about high tea at the Bairnscroft Hotel.

Sadly, as it's now retirement apartments, Matt can no longer

go to high tea, so instead, I'm going to bring high tea to him.

There is a problem here. For you.

-Right.

-Because obviously, when I was at high tea, I was a kid.

-Yeah.

-But you, at that time, would have been an adult.

-Right.

-And high tea is not for adults. It's only for kids.

-You eat later in the restaurant.

-Oh, right.

-With a glass of wine.

This is just for the kids.

But I'm your brother John. Wasn't he invited?

-If you are my brother John, then yes.

-I said that from the off.

You did say that. You're playing the role of my brother John.

-In which case...

-I can enjoy the high tea.

-You can have whatever you want.

-You don't start with the sandwich.

-What do you start with?

You start with the cake. Obviously.

The cake's first, and then you work your way through to the sandwich.

I'm going to offer you a cake.

-OK.

-And may I tell you a little bit about that cake?

-Go on.

That cake was baked by a lady called Anita.

-Right.

-Who was in charge of your hotel until 1980.

Oh!

And she has produced that cake to the same recipe that she

would have used in 1977.

This is an original Bairnscroft high tea cake.

From 1977.

-It's all coming back.

-It's coming back to you, innit?

I remember that.

That's a good cake.

It's only when your mum says,

"Have a sandwich as well" that you reluctantly have a sandwich.

That's the point of high tea,

you have whatever you want and you're in control.

That was the beauty of the Bairnscroft.

-It was all about the kids.

-Would it be every kid in the hotel?

All of them?

Yeah, we were feral. We were like rats.

I'm not surprised with the amount of sugar in this little lot.

But it doesn't half taste good.

-You've got all your major food groups there. Eclair.

-Yeah.

-Bourbon.

-Fairy cake.

-Tunnocks.

Jam tart.

Basically there's nothing that you'd call healthy here at all.

-No.

-Was this daily?

-Daily. 5.00 every day. One week of the year.

That hotel, how did it ever close down?

In the 1970s, you've got to remember, for the other 51 weeks

-of the year, you'd just basically be eating fish fingers and beans.

-Yeah.

-And that was it.

-Yeah.

-This wasn't a big deal.

-You wouldn't get anything like this for the rest of the year.

-No, never.

God, it's good!

Over eight million people visit Devon every year,

and it's easy to see why.

Templer Way is an 18-mile walk that traces the historic tramlines

and canal routes that transported granite from the quarries

on Dartmoor to the docks at Teignmouth.

Nearly 200 years old, the tramway has long since disappeared,

but there's still plenty to see

with open moorland, woodland, river valleys and old quays.

Devon has always been known for its stunning coast and countryside,

but the area is becoming as famous for its fresh food, too.

Tucked away behind the fisherman's sheds on Back Beach

in Teignmouth is a unique shellfish takeaway called The Blue Hut.

It's hardly changed since it was established in 1936 and its seafood

is still caught by local fishermen - all served up with great views.

Voted Devon's Top Beauty Spot, Becky Falls was also

chosen as one of the WWF's Amazing Family Days' Out.

Set within a spectacular ancient valley, visitors can take

in the stunning woodland, waterfall walks and animal attractions.

Ness Cove lies between the magnificent red cliffs

of the Ness Headland, at the mouth of the Teign Estuary.

The beach is known to have been used by smugglers in the past

and many believe the access tunnel was built by them,

although another rumour is that it was created by the owners

of nearby Ness House so they could access a private beach.

In what way do you think your holidays coming here helped

to shape you to become who you are now?

Do you know what? My holidays here were just a...

Just like my childhood, to be honest.

They were a distillation of my childhood.

Which was almost without exception very, very happy.

I was very, very happy. My mum and dad are, were just terrific.

They're great.

And we'd come here and you would just feel,

as I was all of the time, I'd feel totally safe.

And totally happy. Surrounded by lovely people who looked...

And do you know what? There's a lot of people that don't get that

when they're growing up. And it gives you a sense of security,

a great foundation that you can start with. And I just was lucky.

You're keen on seeing people get value for money.

Do you think this place is value for money?

I don't know how much my dad paid for it. I know it was a lot of money.

Considering what he was earning.

But at the same time, what you took away from it, the memories

and the pictures and the experiences that we had, you can tell

how much I love that stuff.

And how much it still...I've got it not just in detail,

but it's in Technicolor those years that we spent here.

And it's as vivid now for me

as things that happened a couple of weeks ago.

-You can't put a price on that.

-No.

-Really.

What a great guy and what a top time we've had...

I've got two!

THEY LAUGH AND SHOUT

..remembering the happy holidays Matt had here as a kid...

All year round, I would be looking forward to getting in here

with a big bag of 2p coins, with my brother, and spending them in here.

..and reliving some of those special moments.

-Just look at it.

-Look at it!

-It's so cool!

-It's massive.

-Look over there.

-Look at the burning building!

How does that work?

-One of the most beautiful things about life is great memories.

-Yeah.

And I want you to have great memories about today.

So this is a little scrapbook of memories of our day together.

Thank you so much. You've given me so much.

We have indeed, and this is a special scrapbook of memories

from our delightful time in Devon.

But the surprises don't end there...

This is from the late '60s, into the '70s.

And it would have been the one they used

here in Teignmouth during the period you were here.

Look at that! HE GASPS

-The Bairnscoft - full page.

-That's the one.

Look at that.

-There is one other...

-What?!

-I know. This is a show that gives and gives.

They did it on a plinth for you.

Yes.

However, they are now doing another one, exactly the same,

-that will go into the ground.

-Not in Wombley?!

Not IN Wombley?

In Wombley it is going. Wombley Stadium.

-This will be there.

-Do you know, with the exception of my children,

this is the best thing I've ever been handed.

Babbacombe model me.

-Yeah.

-Look at that.

See what I'm saying?

-It's almost... You can't tell the difference.

-No, no, no.

Virtually the same.

So it's with a heavy heart that we say goodbye Shaldon and Teignmouth

and the wonderful holiday memories of Consumer Crusader,

the Marvellous Matt Allwright.