Episode 5 Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman

Childhood holidays - oh, 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!

It's just as I remembered.

'We'll relive the fun...

HE LAUGHS

'..the games...'

THEY CHEER We got 'em!

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

Yummy!

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.

IMITATING BRUCE FORSYTH: Marvellous, Len. You're still my favourite.

'So buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.'

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

On today's journey through time, I'm picking up our mystery

holiday maker in a British classic, a 1970s Vauxhall Viva saloon!

Oh, what fun. Holidays, love them!

The lady I'm meeting today might have been very good at throwing her

toys out of her pram when she was a nipper.

This is her at a very young age.

She was born in 1961 and she's a globetrotter.

She's been up against some stiff competition.

You could measure her achievement in meters.

But she's been rewarded with medals. And plenty of them.

In 2011, she got up close

and personal with some very nasty creatures.

She was on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

She came third. I couldn't believe it. Robbed!

Yes, you've got it. It's Fatima Whitbread.

And I'm rolling up in this little beauty.

It's more or less the same car that her folks used to take on holiday.

I can't wait to see her face. Fatima! I'm on my way.

Fatima has achieved great success despite a difficult start in life.

She was born in North London to Cypriot parents, but was

abandoned by them, and grew up in several Essex children's homes.

At the age of 14, she was adopted by the Whitbread family.

She became a daughter to mum Maggie, a teacher,

and dad John, who worked on the docks.

And she was a new sister to younger brothers Greg and Kirk.

Fatima first picked up a javelin at the age of 11, and went on

to write herself into the history books, winning gold medals at the

European and World championships, and silver at the Olympics.

She's even got an MBE!

These days, she's a loving mum to her sixteen-year-old son, Ryan.

HORN BEEPS AND SHE LAUGHS

Look at that!

-I just love that. How are you, Len? Nice to see you.

-And you.

-You feeling athletic?

-I'm ready, yeah. I'm raring to go.

-You recognise the car?

-I do, it's fantastic.

I can't believe that you've turned up in that.

-What year is it?

-1976.

-The hot year.

-The hot year.

-Yes, oh, yes.

We haven't exactly got a heat wave, but '76... And where are we going?

We are going to Burnham. Creeksea.

-Burnham? In Essex?

-Burnham in Essex.

Lovely jubbly.

Your chariot awaits. Off we go.

50 miles from London, Burnham on Crouch sits on the

Dengie Peninsula between its more famous and favoured neighbours,

Clacton and Southend on Sea.

On the north bank of the River Crouch, Burnham is a small town of

around 15,000 residents.

It's an upmarket location,

historically renowned for the oysters that have been farmed

locally for over 400 years.

These days, it's a sailing hotspot,

and the modern marina brings boat enthusiasts all year round.

Today, I'm taking Fatima back to relive

her first ever family holiday,

when she came to Burnham with the Whitbreads in the summer of '76.

We were always eating them. We were pop-pop-popping them in like that.

Fast as you could.

We'll relive the sights

and the sounds of her first childhood holiday.

And I'll find out if she's still as competitive all these years later.

-I've got one!

-You have.

And we'll see just how important

those days in Burnham on Crouch really were.

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

Whether by plane, train or automobile,

we've all experienced those hours of anticipation, just waiting to

get to the promised destination you've been dreaming of all year.

For Fatima in '76, the journey from the Whitbread family home was

a relatively short 30 miles, but it took around an hour

for the family to wind their way along the Essex country roads.

So you didn't have a really long journey, but

when you're young, even two minutes up the road seems a long while.

For me, it definitely was. It was a new beginning, a new start in life.

-A new family.

-Wonderful.

It was definitely one of the best things that has ever happened

to me in my life, looking back.

-Where did your journey start?

-Back in Greys Thurrock.

On the road where my mum and dad lived.

-It was quite a big thing for me.

-Yes.

-It was my first family holiday.

I'd never had a family holiday before.

I will always remember that it had a long pathway to the back.

We would always be up and down the path,

loading the car with all its different things.

And the boys screaming at the top of their voices with excitement.

Wanting to cram as much as we could into the car.

Even my javelins got put at an angle...

-You used to bring them with you?

-Yes, we used to bring them with us.

We had to feed them through the window

and put them down the centre aisle.

And of course, there were all the bikes that we strapped to the car.

-The toys for the boys.

-Fairly packed in then.

-Packed like sardines, yes.

'Back then, Fatima was already in training, preparing for the

'European Junior Championships which were to be held later that year.

'Her competitive streak is something that's defined her as an athlete

'and, surrounded by the Whitbread family,

'she finally had new sparring partners.'

Did you play any games going along?

We used to try and play I Spy.

-Yes.

-It would always end up with some obscure...

-Something you'd never guess.

-You'd never guess.

-Yeah.

Being competitive, even in those days, I would quite forget myself.

The little ones wouldn't always guess right.

Here we go, look, The Three Horseshoes. That's it!

-There you are.

-Unbelievable! Look at that.

-Three Horseshoes.

-It's still here!

At this stage, we were really excited...

-Cos you...

-Cos we know where we are.

-You are two minutes away.

'After 30 miles in 60 raucous minutes, the Whitbreads

'arrived in Burnham for their first holiday as a family of five.

'In the summer of '76, one story dominated the headlines.

'The summer heat wave!

'For 15 straight days, the country baked in temperatures over

'30 degrees Celsius - the hottest summer weather since records began.

'It was great news for the nation's 25,000 ice cream vans,

'as sales soared.

'Back then, a 99 cornet would set you back around 15p.

'But '76 was known in some quarters as the year of the ladybird.

'The intense heat meant the UK was blighted by a plague of them!

'The year's also remembered for the resignation of Prime Minister

'Harold Wilson, who had led the nation for almost eight years.

'And the most iconic passenger plane of them

'all entered service - Concorde flew 100 lucky passengers

'from London Heathrow to Bahrain on its first commercial flight.

'Supersonic!'

# I gave you my heart... #

'Classic '70s pop music was the soundtrack to the summer,

'and this was my favourite song of the year,

'Elton John and Kiki Dee...'

# Don't go breaking my heart

# I won't go breaking your heart... #

'It was number one for six magical weeks...'

-BOTH:

-# Don't go breaking my heart... #

'..and has gone on to sell over a million copies.

'To begin Fatima's holiday of her lifetime, I've brought her back

'to where it all began, the historic centre of Burnham on Crouch.'

-Well, here we are.

-Here we are. Look.

-You can...

-Smell the sea air.

-Yes. Yeah...

THEY LAUGH

-What's lovely about these places, they never change, do they?

-No.

-It's as I remember it.

-And I bet if you came back in 30 years' time...

-It would still be a same.

-Yes.

It's lovely.

-The bell chamber, it still here.

-Yeah.

It's an integral part of the town.

Most of the shops are still the same. The street looks exactly the same.

-Yes. It's got a quaintness about it, hasn't it?

-It's quite picturesque.

-I think so.

-It's a nice, gentle way of life down here.

It's proper sea, you're not a million miles away from anywhere.

It's a picturesque place. It's a town that has been forgotten, I think.

The town that's been forgotten.

Did you stay in the town, in a B&B? Whereabouts were you?

No, Len, it's only a javelin throw away. I used to stay in a caravan.

It was my grandfather's caravan and my mum used to take us

kids down there with my dad.

-Lovely.

-I'm not sure if it's still there.

-Jump in.

-Thanks, Len.

We are going to see if that caravan site's still there.

Burnham has fought hard to carve out its own

niche on the banks of the River Crouch.

These days, tourism is the lifeblood of the town.

The rail line to Burnham opened in 1889,

bringing Victorians in search of the fresh sea air.

The visitors kept on coming and the Dengie Peninsula now attracts

over three million guests a year.

But 400 years ago, the town traded on a very unique delicacy.

Peter Layzell is the cleverclogs of the Crouch River,

and what he doesn't know about Burnham isn't worth knowing.

When people come to Burnham, they are amazed by the number of

buildings in the town, in the core town, for the size of the place.

The reason for that is in the water - it's oysters.

The first time they were cultivated was in the 1500s, in medieval times.

In fact, John Norden,

who was one of the first people to travel Britain

and record what he found -

said that in his opinion, Walflete oysters from the Crouch

weren't the biggest

but they were the finest oysters to be found in all of the country.

The industry isn't as vibrant anymore.

Firstly, there was a drop-off in the public interest caused by

some outbreaks of cholera that were blamed on oysters.

I think probably the key reason was that after the Second World War,

transport became revolutionised and we were able to ship in oysters from

other parts of the world much more cheaply than we did our own oysters.

The unique attractions of Burnham on Crouch have been enticing

visitors since the 19th century, and not much has changed since.

There's plenty to discover here and I've picked ten must sees.

Burnham is the largest town on this southeast Essex peninsula

known as the Dengie 100.

These 750 acres of marshland have been populated

since the Iron Age, and was home to Roman and later Saxon settlements.

There are still some remaining buildings from that time.

St Peter's Chapel in nearby Bradwell was

built in the seventh century on the site of a Roman fort.

Restored in 1920, it's still used as a place of worship.

The peninsula is protected from the North Sea by a 40-mile wall,

built to defend 750 acres of farmland.

It extends from Mundon in the north down to North Fambridge,

affording walkers spectacular views of the local coastline.

Essex played a major part in defending

the nation during the First World War.

11 miles from Burnham, Stow Maries Aerodrome was built in 1916,

and for three years, served as base to the 37th Home Defence Squadron

of the Royal Flying Corps,

whose mission was to protect London from Zeppelin attacks from the east.

The site is now a museum,

with famous planes of the day on display to the public.

Part of the magic of any childhood holiday

is the excitement of staying somewhere different, the sights,

the smells and the thrill of having a new bed to lie in.

In the era before affordable long distance travel,

tourism at home was still booming. And in the '70s,

caravan holidays in the UK were at their peak.

Tens of thousands of mobile homes were sold across the decade,

and holiday-makers were flocking to static caravan parks.

In the hot summer of '76, the Whitbread family was one of them,

and I've tracked down the very place where she stayed.

Can you believe it?

I can't believe it's still here, actually, to be honest.

'This is the Creeksea Place Caravan Park on the edge of Burnham,

'and I'm taking Fatima back to the exact plot where her

'grandad's caravan stood 38 years ago.'

Right...

I can't believe this. Look at this.

Amazing. It's still here.

Everything about the place is still the same, yeah.

-Yeah?

-The caravans, different roads, I remember.

The smell of the creek. We used to play hide and seek here as well.

Why wouldn't you? It's perfect. And you've got the lake.

The lake there as well.

I think your caravan was along this path.

Should we have a stroll along, see if we can find it?

-I'm surprised this whole place is still here.

-Why wouldn't it be?

It's lovely.

Caravanning in the UK has a history stretching back 150 years.

The first purpose-built touring caravan was called The Wanderer.

It was built in 1885, but it wasn't until the Caravan Club was

formed in 1907 that caravanning as a hobby really took off.

It quickly became the holiday of choice for families,

and in the 1950s, static caravans became popular,

cheaper to buy and easier to maintain.

When the Whitbreads came to Burnham in '76,

there were 370,000 caravans in the country,

and one in particular meant the world to Fatima.

It cost her grandad £500.

Nowadays, it would set you back about four grand for a used one.

According to the records that they have,

this is the plot that your caravan was on.

It has changed, Len, but the feeling...you know you get

that feeling, a sense of belonging, where you have been somewhere before.

Yeah.

'Fatima's adoptive parents brought the family to this exact

'spot 38 years ago.

'And not only is Fatima back,

'but I've also arranged for her mum, Maggie, to join us.'

-Caravan life.

-Yeah.

-Mmm.

-See?

-Cooking.

-Yeah, food.

-Food.

That's what my mum would do, chop up all the vegetables and that first.

Talking about that, who is that?

FATIMA LAUGHS Hello, Mum.

'Maggie and Fatima first met in 1972.

'Three years later, Fatima had been adopted into the Whitbread family.'

I suppose that when you first got down here, you know,

maybe it hadn't been used for a couple or three months

so you had to open it all up...

That's it. Prepared all the preparations.

I remember when Mum, my dad and I used to rush around

and cut the lawn because it would be about a foot high.

We'd wipe all the caravan round.

Open the doors because it would be stuffy in here.

Get all the condensation off the windows.

There was always a lot to do before we could actually...

Yes, because it was so musty.

We were quick to settle into caravan life once we got here.

-Did you have a telly?

-Yes.

-We had a television.

The thing about the TV down here, and I've noticed with

the caravans as we have come in, they've got big satellite dishes.

But that wasn't the age then, back in the day.

You were with a metal coat hanger and, as my grandad said,

if all else fails, give it a whack.

And it would usually perform correctly

-and you get a muffled picture.

-Yeah.

But we didn't watch it that often, to be honest.

We were out most of the time.

And we had glorious weather so we'd take advantage of that.

In the summer of '76, the weather was indeed glorious.

That year is etched into the nation's memory,

as it was the hottest on record.

Nancy Crisp was living in Burnham at that time

and vividly remembers those heady summer days.

The summer of '76 was absolutely beautiful.

It was so hot and so sunny.

At first, we enjoyed the sun. At first, it was a pleasure.

Then bit by bit, we found that the heat got too much for anybody

who had pride in their lawn.

You couldn't use the sprinkler system on it. So it didn't stay green.

By the middle of summer, it was all a strange cream-yellow colour.

In 1976, I was a barmaid.

Anything I wore had to be either low at the top or high at the bottom,

but not both.

It was funny how many men would like the bottle at the bottom of the rack.

They thought that if I had a short skirt on, there would be more

to see than there was, because I was always careful about that.

But I liked making them laugh, and having a good time,

and making people enjoy themselves.

As she did in '76, Maggie is sorting out tea.

And while she does, I'm whisking Fatima off to go fruit picking,

something she enjoyed on her holidays all those years ago.

This was a time for the Whitbreads to be together

and grow in each other's company.

Before you first came to Burnham on Crouch did you ever experience

anything like this, strawberry picking or raspberry picking?

No, the closest I got to that, Len, was

when we were scrumping apples from my neighbours' gardens.

-Right.

-So it was quite a novelty for me.

It was a first, and for my little brothers, too, Greg and Kirk.

I was probably more excited than they were.

You didn't hear a lot of noise because we were always eating them.

We were pop-pop-popping them in like that. Fast as you could pick them.

-They are beautiful, aren't they?

-They are gorgeous.

'Fatima spent most of her childhood in care,

'and never really knew her natural parents.

'But she does have one memory of coming face-to-face with her

'birth mother at the children's home.'

I didn't know I had parents.

I didn't have any cards, visits or birthday cards to acknowledge that.

Then one day I was told by the house parents,

"Be ready at 9.00 down in reception.

"And sit there because you are going to be met by your

"childcare officer and your mum.

"You're going to go to a new home down in Ockingdon,

"to be with your half-brother and sister."

At five years old, that was quite a lot to take in.

I was ready at 9.00 and the matron came into the hallway.

She opened the door and there stood a very large lady.

She was introduced as my mum. As I looked up, she looked away from me.

I was thinking, where was I going, what was going to happen to me?

Who were this half-brother and sister?

Why hadn't I known that I had a mum? It was all a bit scary.

'Within two weeks, Fatima was back.

'She spent another eight years in care,

'until she was adopted by the Whitbreads.

'Her first childhood holiday here in Burnham was the confirmation

'that she'd been accepted into a new family.'

You know, after all those years in a children's home,

suddenly the Whitbreads took you in and you became part of a family,

it must have been the most wonderful experience.

Yeah, I count myself lucky.

Without them, I don't know where I would have ended up.

Let's move along cos there's some very fat raspberries

just along here.

I'm going down low.

She's a professional picker. I'm telling you.

Up and down, she's getting the places. Me, I'm an amateur at this.

I'm a bit worried about low-lying ones in case the dog has

come along and had a pee on them.

-How many?

-I've done well, I think. That is a tie.

Yep. Wow, I've enjoyed that very much.

-I'll just eat that one.

-I'm going to eat that one, too.

Despite its relatively small size, Burnham on Crouch

and the Dengie Peninsula have plenty to offer the three million

visitors they welcome every year.

First held in 1908, the Burnham Carnival honours the town,

its history and its people.

Originally born out of 19th century Guy Fawkes celebrations,

it grew to become a Mardi Gras style event with fairground rides

and processions through the town centre.

It now takes place on the last Saturday of September.

The town has come a long way since its early days as a tiny village.

The industries of fishing, oyster farming

and agriculture are all celebrated at the Burnham Museum,

which tells the rich story of the town.

With displays and exhibitions over two floors,

the museum houses artefacts from as long ago as The Stone Age.

The area's rich soil has proved fertile for British wine producers.

20 minutes' drive from Burnham is the New Hall Vineyard.

Established 40 years ago, it's one of the oldest in the country.

And with grounds over 100 acres, it's certainly the largest,

with visitors welcome to explore

and savour some of the best home-grown wine in the UK.

No holiday experience is complete without sampling a new kind of food.

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

When Fatima stayed here at Creeksea Place Caravan Park,

occasionally the family would be treated to fish and chips.

But usually,

it was mum Maggie who'd serve up a feast for the five of them.

And today we're having Fatima's favourite - beef casserole!

-I will be Mum.

-Yeah.

-Would you like a dumping?

-I will have a go at the dumpling.

-Give him plenty of meat.

-I will.

-And vegetables.

-Blimey.

Thank you very much.

-What do you think then?

-I think it's gorgeous.

-It's getting a ten from Len, I can promise you that.

-Yay!

-That's good.

Let me ask you, Margaret, when Fatima was in her early teens

and so on, was she a very driven sort of girl?

As far as athletics went, she was very, very highly motivated.

Because she did send me a letter.

I guess it was a series of coincidences, to be honest, Len.

Because how I met my mum, she was a schoolteacher.

Our school played her school at netball. It was a tight match.

The whistle went and this lady said,

"Any more cheek, any more noise and you're off."

Then a month later, it was the summer season,

so we decided that we would go to the local athletic club.

I had decided to go towards a big, tall, handsome blonde guy

who was chucking a spear. My friend went off to do sprints.

I walked over to the runway

and started looking at this javelin on the floor.

I went to pick it up and he said, "Oh, you are not allowed to do that.

"You need to speak to the coach." And I said,

"Well, where is the coach?" And he said, "She's not here."

So I sat in the stand, tapping my foot, thinking, where is this coach?

When is she coming?

And this figure got out of this little Mini

and started walking across the field.

When she got close I went, "Oh, my God! It's that same woman!"

-The referee!

-Yes, and she was never going to let me throw.

And then she said, "If you want to throw the javelin, young lady,

"no more cheek, like on the netball court."

So I said, "I promise you.

"I definitely want to throw the javelin."

-So you had never thrown one at that point?

-Never had. Never had.

The following week, you brought javelin boots and a javelin,

and you threw them on the ground.

"I've had an athlete pull out," she said. "Don't need these anymore.

"Do you want them?"

That was the first thing that somebody had ever given me.

I got up about 2.00 one morning, went downstairs into the front room

and pulled out the bureau, an airmail envelope.

And I said, "Dear Mrs Whitbread, one day I want to be the best

-"javelin thrower in the world."

-"The greatest," you said.

"The greatest javelin thrower in the world." So I stuck it down

and put, "Mrs Whitbread. St Chad's School."

And the next morning, I put it through the post.

Everything sort of went from there, didn't it?

I took you home to the house a couple of times.

Then one day, she was in the garden playing with the boys, then

Greg came running in, or Kirk, I'm not quite sure which one of them.

And then they said,

"Mum, we would like Fatima for a big sister."

I spoke to my husband about it.

Anyway, we started to put it all in motion.

-It was all from there.

-Right.

From that moment on, she just went from one success to another.

-My!

-And it just happened like that.

-Amazing!

-Yeah.

-It really is.

It was always going to be a successful working relationship,

mum and daughter, athlete and coach.

It had its ups and downs that way, didn't it?

We both realised that you have got to keep the two very separate.

-Yeah, that's right.

-Because it becomes too intense.

And that's where the caravan was such a help over the years.

May I say, though, I think,

as much as you talk about how much you trained, I think the

reasons you could throw that javelin so far was your mum's casserole.

Casserole.

THEY LAUGH

-Let's eat up.

-Put a bit of strength in your right arm.

In '76, Fatima played in the grounds of this caravan park with her

younger brothers Kirk and Greg.

The Whitbreads made friends with their holiday neighbours,

and I've arranged for them to meet up again.

They haven't seen each other for over 30 years.

-Oh, my God! How are you? It's nice to see you.

-Nice to see you, darling.

-How are you doing, Terry, all right?

-Nice to see you again.

Joan Nibbs and her children, Joanne and Terry, came here regularly

in the '70s and played with Fatima all those years ago.

-So you are still here?

-We have been here all these years.

-Yeah.

-How many years is it for you now?

-It has got to be getting on for 40.

-Yeah.

-That tree, that big one there, was literally as thick

as your finger when we first came here.

-It has really been an emotional roller coaster.

-It must be.

Even coming down and smelling the farmland, seeing this

countryside, coming into the gate as well cos that's not changed.

No, nothing's changed.

I was always worried about how we got through that little gate.

I can also remember up the top there, there was a little bowling green.

-That's right, yes.

-That's right.

I seem to remember you always playing tennis.

You loved tennis as well.

Yes, we had that swing ball. And we had the tennis rackets, too, yeah.

What was Fatima like when she was here?

Was she one of those naughty girls, running around causing...?

You don't want to know.

THEY ALL LAUGH

-She was lovely.

-Running around beaming and smiling.

-We always had a happy time down here.

-Yes.

Everybody did. The thing is, I think, you come over that bridge and you...

Relax, don't you.

-It truly is a little community.

-It's like extended family, really.

-Yeah.

-Oh, absolutely.

Once you got here, that was it, just one big, happy family.

Fatima achieved global fame in the 1980s

due to her fantastic performances with the javelin.

Representing Great Britain, she won an Olympic silver medal,

European Championship gold, and gold again at the World Championships.

She even broke the world record.

Her dedication to the sport and determination to succeed

helped her on her way to glory, and that was never more evident

than here in Burnham, where 15-year-old Fatima

continued to train, despite being on her first family holiday.

Now I've brought her back to the school grounds where

she practised, to hear her story first-hand.

This was the place where I started being a world-class javelin thrower.

All the way down here in Burnham.

What do you think would have happened

-if you had never discovered...?

-Sport?

Sport and the javelin? What would you have done?

I really wouldn't have a clue, Len.

I guess that when I found myself and truly came of age was

when I was involved with sport.

That was a chance for me to sort of develop myself as a person.

Feel more confident about myself. And show what was good about me.

Be a competitor.

Were you good at it straightaway?

Where you better than the normal kids?

To be honest, Len, I tried all sports, all events,

and I think the javelin was, I thought, the easiest one.

But it turned out to be the hardest because, in fact,

you need to cover every aspect there

possibly can be for a decathlete or heptathlete,

in order to shape that skill - strength, speed, suppleness,

endurance and above all, you've got to be strong willed,

a will to succeed.

When you've just listed those things, I've got all those.

I've got a feeling...I've never thrown a javelin ever.

But, you know, I think if I just picked one up

and you just showed me the technique...

We can arrange that! Looks, Len, look, there's one here.

I'll tell you what,

I'll give you some really expert advice on how to throw a spear.

I'm sure you'll be entered into the next Olympic games.

Here we have a grip. Show me how you would hold your...

-I think you should use the shaft grip.

-My finger goes there?

There.

You have to remember, the hand has to be facing up to the sky.

-Get that back.

-Relax the hips.

-Relax those hippos!

-Move your hips in.

One step forward and toss the javelin.

-That's it, well done!

-Look, it's stuck in! That's what I wanted.

-Excellent.

-Just show me the technique you should use.

-It's the basic one.

I always talk to the youngsters and tell them that it's like a clock.

That is your run-up. Your feet should be placed at two o'clock.

Your hips round at three o'clock.

The javelin should be in line with your eyes.

Between the eyeball and the top of the head.

And you would take the weight on the back leg, leaning back,

and then you'd pull through.

-I ended up with 288 feet as a world record.

-288 feet!

That's almost a football pitch.

At the time, Len, that would have put me in the men's

final of the European Championships when I won the women's final.

I tell you what, it's harder than it looks.

And that's what's great with people like yourself

and everyone who's at the top of their game, you make it look so...

-Simple.

-Simple.

-It feels so easy. You don't even think you've done much.

-Yes.

And when you see that, there is nothing nicer aesthetically

than to see that javelin float where the towel would be.

-Cos the towel does that, doesn't it?

-That's right. It flips.

-Yeah!

-And off it goes. Flying through the air.

And you are standing, watching, you must be willing it to get over.

You hear the crowd, the roar from the crowd,

and you realise it's a good throw.

I'd be good at the facial expressions and the reaction.

I wouldn't be much good at throwing it, but I'd be good at all the...

Oh, God! Yeah!

And then the ovation... Ahh!

You are going to wake up with a sore shoulder tomorrow.

THEY LAUGH

Visitors keep Burnham and the surrounding district thriving.

They spend £160 million annually,

because of the unique blend of sights, sounds and tastes on offer.

The extension of the railway in the 19th century

transformed the fortunes of Burnham.

The Mangapps Steam Railway Museum celebrates all things locomotive

and features a fully operational,

three-quarter-mile standard gauge line,

fully restored with stations and signal boxes.

The collection includes 18 steam and diesel trains,

in one of the country's most comprehensive railway exhibitions.

A ten-minute ferry across the River Crouch, Wallasea Island is

one of the most tranquil places in the county, home to skylarks,

Brent geese and various wading birds.

The RSPB is transforming the island by developing

the Wallasea Wetland Project,

making it the largest nature reserve of its type in Europe.

As far as yacht owners are concerned, Burnham is world famous.

Due to the mild climate and temperate winds,

the River Crouch is a perfect place for sailing.

Regattas have been held here since 1893,

with racing yachts competing for the Town Cup.

Burnham becomes flooded as visitors pour in to enjoy the party,

and the river becomes a sight to behold,

filled with over a thousand individual boats.

In the 1800s, oysters were the number one game in town.

This delicious delicacy helped establish Burnham's

reputation as an upmarket location.

Over a quarter of the population were employed by the industry.

Production declined after the Second World War,

but they're still available on local menus, freshly farmed every morning.

Fatima Whitbread is one of the Britain's most remarkable

and celebrated athletes. From humble beginnings,

she went on to conquer the world with her trusty javelin.

Nowadays, she spends her time coaching children,

passing on the knowledge she gained through her wonderful career.

Now I want to know how she grew from being a sporty 15-year-old

on holiday in Burnham into one of the nation's sweethearts.

What do you think you would have done if you had never found sport?

I don't know. I think that was my destiny, my path that I was walking.

I'm not sure what I would have done, to be honest.

I think it would have been quite difficult for me to survive,

because it was difficult times being in the children's home

and growing up with that feeling of, "What have I done wrong?"

So standing up for yourself was really important.

Tell me about the first major event you went in.

The biggest one was in '76, that was my first full international.

I remember lining up with Tessa Sanderson.

Tessa obviously was the one to beat.

From that point on, really...

In 1979, I won the European Junior title.

Then I had to keep working and improving, right up

until 1986, when I won my first major title, in Stuttgart.

I threw 76m. It was enough for me to win the European Championship title.

What about winning the Sports Personality?

That must have been a fantastic thrill.

That's the award that the BBC honoured me with in 1987.

'Fatima was awarded the Sports Personality award after

'winning European gold in 1986 and World Championship gold in '87.'

That was the only gold medal Britain won.

We had some great athletes fall short.

-Like Steve Cram, Daley Thompson, Ovett, Coe.

-Yeah.

So, yeah, I was immensely proud about that.

It was the same year that I won the MBE.

It was given to me at the end of the year.

You have given everything to sport,

-but sport has given everything back to you.

-It has.

It has given me a whole new life.

And I'm able to share my life story with many others that have

obviously taken and drawn strength from it.

For me, my greatest moment of all now is the birth of my son, Ryan.

I'm a proud mum. It's funny how life evolves, isn't it?

From very early days of living life in children's homes,

having to be a little fighter,

it has stood me in good stead for being the person that I am today.

'For three decades, we've known Fatima as a great competitor.

'That was even evident back in 1976, when she came to this slipway

'and challenged her brothers to an event that you won't

'find at the Olympic Games.'

Is this the exact spot that you used to come and do a bit of crabbing?

-Look, there is a crab there! Look!

-Oh, look.

-There you go.

-No! Straightaway?!

-Yes. I'll keep him in the bucket.

-Yeah.

This is where we used to come and crab.

We'd get all these crabs and have a little race as well.

'It seems Fatima can turn her hand to just about anything,

'but catching crabs can't be that hard!'

You are not going to beat me at crabbing.

I'm in a competitive mood here.

You have to pull them in slowly and lift it up,

then hanging on the bottom will be a fabulous piece of...seaweed.

LAUGHING: Piece of seaweed.

On a good day, when you were kids down here,

how many would you get out?

-We'd get about ten, a dozen or more.

-Really?

-Yes.

There is no end of them. All shapes and sizes.

But what I remember about them is that they are really nippy.

Yeah. It must have been so exciting when you got one.

-I still like it now, to be honest.

-It's a bit of fun, isn't it?

Don't try and nick my crabs.

-I got one!

-Oh, you have!

Oh!

That is a beauty.

When you come up against someone as competitive as I am...

You are a professional at this. Put him in. I can't touch him cos...

They are nippy. That's the only thing I remember now.

Used to get bit a lot.

There you go.

'There are three options for these humble crabs.

'We could put them back in the water,

'we could have them for supper, or we could have our very own

'crab-a-thon, like Fatima did all those years ago.'

-I'll have the little one. I'm going to call him Nipper.

-Nipper.

-Yes.

-I'll have the big one, the mother of all.

We'll tip them out gently.

Gently. Go on.

-That's my one.

-Which one?

-That's your one.

No, don't go that way! Go that way!

-No, don't keep going that way.

-Come on!

-Go!

-Go! Come on!

-Keep going!

-I've lost this, I think.

Go! Go! Yes!

THEY LAUGH

'I've had a marvellous time with Fatima, reliving the memories

'of her first childhood holiday right here in Burnham on Crouch...'

Amazing. It's still here. Everything about the place is still the same.

'..re-tracing the steps of a true British sporting hero.'

-I got one!

-Oh, you have!

'It's been fascinating to see just how important this tiny town is

'to Fatima.'

It was a new beginning for me.

A new start in life and a new family.

I want to give you this, it is

little scrapbook of memories of your Holiday Of My Lifetime.

Oh my! Look at that!

'A scrapbook of memories from a wonderful day here in Burnham -

'a place that holds such precious memories for Fatima.

'And bearing in mind how important her time was here,

'I've a little something special for her, too.'

I've got another little thing.

This is a brochure, from 1976, of Creeksea Place Caravan Park.

Oh, wow! That's fantastic! Thank you very much.

Last but not least, to go with all your other medals,

here is a little pin badge from Burnham on Crouch, June 1976.

Thank you, Len. That's really nice of you.

That's something to keep and treasure for the rest of my life.

It will go amongst all my other medals, pride of place.

So that's historic Burnham on Crouch,

with its beautiful river banks, delicious oysters

and wonderful holiday memories for national treasure Fatima Whitbread.