Episode 7 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! It's just as I remember.

We'll relive the fun...

THEY LAUGH

..the games...

-BOTH: Yes!

-We got it!

..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.

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.

If this vintage car had seat belts,

I'd be strapping myself in for another holiday adventure.

But don't worry, I'll drive safely, kids

and today's guest has asked me to pick her up at Southport station.

I'm on my way to meet a lady, who just like me,

knows all about fancy footwork.

She was born in Prestwich, Lancashire in 1943.

Here she is as a baby. Look at those feet!

They were made for dancing.

After heading for the bright lights of London in the '70s,

she formed her own dance troupe

and she lost her heart to a starship trooper.

Oh, bless her!

In the 1980s, she was the queen of choreography

when she worked with pop royalty

like Freddie Mercury, Elton John, George Michael!

(Oh, yes!) Her moves have been seen on stage and screen.

And I tell you what, she might have done a few high kicks herself

when she was awarded an OBE in 2001 for her services to dance.

You're getting it now, aren't you? You know who's coming.

And strictly speaking, she's never one to mince her words,

but who am I to judge?

You got it yet? Of course, you have.

It's my dear friend and world-renown director and choreographer,

the fabulous Arlene Phillips.

Oh! Arlene, I'm turning left to meet you!

Lancashire lass Arlene was born in 1943

to mum Rita and dad Abraham, who worked as a barber.

She grew up with her older brother, Ian and younger sister, Karen.

In the early part of the 70's,

she headed for the bright lights of London

where she began developing her own style of jazz dancing,

which she taught

in some of the capital's most prominent dance studios.

Since then, Arlene has spent the last 40 odd years

as an internationally-renowned choreographer.

Going to run in a circle.

Got to jump at the end, ready the right leg. Right, two, three.

-OK!

-One, two, three, kick.

She's worked on West End and Broadway musicals, pop videos,

live productions and films.

She used her expertise to judge various dance shows,

but she is probably best known as one of the original judges

on Strictly Come Dancing.

The glamour of Hollywood was brought to our floor.

What an opening for Strictly Come Dancing!

I'm on my way to pick Arlene up

from Southport train station in this vintage Hillman Motor,

which is what would have happened

at the beginning of her family holiday all those years ago.

CAR HORN HONKS

Ha-ha!

-Hello!

-Arlene! Wait a minute, I'm getting out.

-OK.

-Give us a...give us a cuddle.

-Oh...

-We are a couple of swells.

-How are you?

-We go to all of the best places.

-Of course, we do!

-Well, do you...do you recognise this?

-I do recognise this.

Oh. My. Goodness.

So, where are we off to?

-Well, we are going to Churchtown.

-Churchtown?

-Have you ever heard of Churchtown?

-No, never heard of it.

-Well, I can tell you an awful lot about it, Len.

-Right.

-I can teach you something.

-Ooh! And what year is it?

1954.

'50... Elvis Presley released his first single.

# Da-da! #

A little less conversation, a bit more action.

-So, let's get in the car.

-Yeah. OK.

-And off we go to Churchtown.

-Yes.

-Now...

-Yeah?

-Let me warn you.

-Yeah?

-No seat belt back in '54.

-And it's legal!

-And it's legal.

-And it only takes me 10 minutes to get my legs in.

-Bum first.

-Yeah, bum, then...

-Bum first. Shoulders, then your knees.

-Then drag the other leg in.

-Aha! I'm in.

-Oh, perfect.

-Wa-ho!

On the northwest coast of England,

north of Liverpool and south of Blackpool lies Southport.

And the suburb of Churchtown is just a 5-minute drive northeast

from the centre.

Southport is a Victorian seaside resort,

which gained a reputation in the 19th century

for being more refined than its neighbour up the coast, Blackpool.

With its sprawling beaches, restaurants,

world-class golf courses, shopping and family attractions,

it remains popular with 8 million tourists a year.

Today, I'm taking Arlene back 60 years

to try and re-live those wonderful seaside memories.

Enjoy the sights...

-Who was the first one to spot the sea?

-Me!

-You, Len Goodman.

Of course, of course.

..tastes...

Feed your face, Philips.

..and everything Southport has to offer.

Please, please, please, give me time to raid this shop. I love it!

And then burning off the calories in style...

HE HUMS

..as we lord it up...

-Lord Len of Dartford.

-Thank you. Curtsy, if you will.

..and see how precious those days spent in Southport really were.

It's really lovely to come back

and remember all those happy memories,

but for me it was also tinged with an awful lot of sadness.

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.

Arlene and her family would have boarded the train in Manchester

and travelled about 46 miles northwest to be met by her uncle

from the station before excitedly heading to Churchtown

to see her cousins.

What made you come up to Churchtown and Southport?

-Well, my...

-Hi, Len!

-Ha-ha!

My mother was the youngest of 11 children

and the sister that was older than her,

she got married and moved to Southport.

-And this is where we spent our holidays...

-Oh, right.

At my auntie's house. She was my rich auntie.

Erm, she married a very successful businessman.

Would you have come with your mum and dad and...

-Did you have brothers and sisters?

-Yeah.

My mother would come with my brother, sister and myself

and we'd all stay at my auntie's,

but my dad rarely came.

He was at home.

He was working.

And I remember the sun always shining.

Well, that's what you think...

You know, when I was a kid and we had school holiday,

I could never remember it raining.

-I can't remember it raining.

-No.

-It was perfection.

-Did you play any games sitting in the back?

-Oh, we played memory games.

-Oh, right. So, you had to...

-Memory games.

You'd say, "Apples," and I'd have to say, "Apples and pears."

And I say, "Apples, pears, bananas."

And I'd say, "Apples, pears, bananas and an orange."

Apples, pears, bananas, and orange and plums.

Apples, pears, bananas, plums...

-Orange and plums.

-Oh! See!

And grapes. And I got very good at the game,

but in the car, we didn't even have a radio.

-No. Well, like this car.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

When Arlene arrived in Southport in the summer of 1954,

she was hoping for excitement.

Unfortunately, April 11th of that year has been identified

by experts as the most boring of the 20th century,

which can't be said for the rest of 1954.

Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings was first published,

Roger Bannister made a run for it,

notching up the first sub-four minute mile at Oxford university.

And talking about good runs,

Winston Churchill celebrated his 80th birthday whilst in office

the only British Prime minster ever to do so.

In the world of music, The King had released his first single,

but 1954 was all about Doris Day,

who topped the charts that year with music originally featured

in the film Calamity Jane. Whoa ho ho!

# We'll be home tonight by the...

# Light of the silvery moon

# And my heart's a-thumping like a mandolin a-plunking a tune.

# Plucking a tune.

# When we get home,

# We're fixing to stay

# So, whip crack-away, Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away! #

We all loved to play The Air Is The Sea. Look!

-Who was the first one to spot the sea?

-Me!

-You, Len Goodman.

-Of course, of course. There it was looking at me.

Before heading to Churchtown, we have a couple of stops to make.

Who can miss an opportunity to get a first glimpse of the sea,

which in Southport can be a bit of a mission.

Well, Arlene, look at the sea.

Let me tell you, walking out to the sea...

-Yeah.

-..it was painful.

-You thought you would never, ever, ever get there.

-Yeah.

And would you come down here on the beach

with your buckets and spades and stuff?

Yeah, we had buckets and spades and a picnic.

-We always had a picnic. We had cucumber sandwiches.

-Nice.

-And we felt very lucky we had pop, you know?

-Yeah.

You know, Dandelion and Burdock or cream soda.

-Cream soda was my favourite.

-I loved it.

It'd take you half the day, wouldn't it, to walk down to the sea?

It's a good walk. You ready?

-No, I'm not! Ha-ha!

-We could stroll, Len.

Yes, ye... Oh, we could dance our way. A couple of quicksteps.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Quickstep and quick sharp as I have a day full of surprises lined up

and before heading to Arlene's holiday haunt in Churchtown,

we've time for a quick trip into Southport town centre,

which in 1954 was the place to be seen.

Gladys Rimmer-Armstrong runs a family history help desk

in Southport library and knows all about the town's appeal back then.

Southport in the 1950s was the place to be

because there was everything here for the perfect holiday.

We had the sun, the sand, the sea, the sea bathing lake,

the zoo, Pleasureland.

It had everything for every member of every family.

But for the fashion-conscious and clothes-caring

and our 11-year-old Arlene, there was one must-go-to place in town...

Lord Street.

When visiting Lord Street,

you always put on your Sunday best even if it was Saturday

because you just did not go down Lord Street in your work clothes.

And if you had children,

you put their best clothes on and you would just...

It was more window-shopping than a shopping day.

Which is exactly how Arlene would spend her day.

Now, what was it about Lord Street that was so fantastic for you?

Well, I think this was a place where people got dressed up

and strolled and looked in shop windows.

-Yeah.

-And it was very, very stylish.

Yeah, well, there is an elegance about the place.

I wanted black patent shoes so badly

and I had to wear my school shoes.

And I can remember...

-You know how you walk when you're shy about your feet?

-Yeah, yeah.

You know, I once did a videoshoot with Whitney Houston

and I choreographed some of her videos.

In one of them, she said, "I don't like my feet.

"I've got very large feet."

And she walked like she was trying to hide her feet and I think back,

"That was me," because I wanted black patent shoes.

What would have been the fashions of the day?

What would've been the sort of outfits you would have seen?

Well, '50s dresses, you know?

Sticking outskirts, tight waists and I wanted a net petticoat.

Oh, yeah!

All you needed was the petticoat, you could put anything on top.

-And it would make your skirt stick out.

-Yeah.

-And my dream was of red net petticoat.

-Wow!

I think I was thinking cancan even when I was 11 years old.

But I just thought that would be so wonderful.

-Well, let me just tell you, there's a shop up this arcade...

-Yeah.

-..that I would like to just show you.

-OK.

-So, come with me.

With the ending of clothes rationing,

people in the '50s had more freedom over what clothes they wore.

Teenage girls started dressing differently from their mothers,

preferring bright, patterned dresses with tight waists and wide skirts.

This style suited rock 'n' roll as the skirt would twirl up

reflecting the energy of the dance,

which in 1954 was about to take the UK by storm.

Now...

-..would this have been the '50s...

-Oh...

My... OK.

Please, please, please, give me time to raid this shop.

I love it! I didn't remember it.

-Well, they've set this window up just for you.

-Really?

-Yes, really.

-Oh!

-Going back in time.

-Yes!

-This was the '50s.

-Yeah.

This would've been the dress that I wanted.

Yeah, it's absolutely gorgeous, eh?

The glamour of Southport struck a chord with our Arlene,

who a few years later headed to London

where a fortuitous meeting with the man

who would become one of Britain's most successful film directors,

led to her first big break.

What happened to get you into the world of showbiz?

Well, I was very lucky.

I met a wonderful dance teacher called Molly Molloy,

who was teaching American jazz, and she was a friend of Ridley Scott

and Ridley Scott asked her does she know anyone

that could do some baby-sitting and a bit of housekeeping.

So, I helped Ridley Scott.

One day, Ridley Scott said, "Well, you dance all the time.

"I've got a TV commercial I need it choreographed.

"Can you put it all together?"

Big success and he asked me to do Dr Pepper.

Massive commercials! And off I was going to America.

That was over 40 years ago

and Arlene has been toing and froing across the pond ever since.

Good on her!

It's not just Lord Street

that puts Southport on the map as the-place-to-go.

Nowadays, there's plenty to see and do.

At the north end of Lord street is Hesketh Park,

the largest park in Southport.

It features a Victorian glasshouse, ornate fountain and a floral clock.

It was made by James Ritchie of Edinburgh in 1936.

It was Ritchie and John McHattie

who first had the idea of a flowerbed-embedded clock in 1903.

At the end of the pier is The Pavilion

where tourists can still spend a penny

at a penny arcade museum.

Change your pounds to old pennies

and use them playing on the old arcade machines.

You don't even have to walk all the way to the end of the pier

as there's been a tram here since 1863.

It used to be a way to get people's luggage to and from the steamers,

which once called at the end of the pier.

Over the years, it's progressed to the electric passenger tram

they have today, which runs every day except for Christmas Day.

And if you don't fancy that, hop onto the Pier Road Train.

Now, it's time for us to make tracks

as I've lined up a very special place for Arlene to visit...

Uncle Morris and Auntie Myriam's old house

where she used to stay.

-This is where you used to come to your uncle and aunt's.

-Absolutely.

-I used to...

-And this is it number 13.

But where's the tree, the tree in the middle of the garden?

Well, I suppose, you know, it is a few years back since you were here.

It's a long time. And we would dance round the tree.

Yeah?

And how does this house compare to the one that you lived in?

Well, this is the thing that makes me, kind of, quite emotional

is that I'm looking at this now

and it's a nice, little house on a nice, little street.

-I thought it was so posh.

-Yeah.

I thought it was much, much bigger.

And now I realise that's because my house was so small.

-It was a little terrace with a stone step and two up, two down...

-Yeah.

And there you are, here. And where was your room?

I had a little room at the back, which I would share with my cousins.

Oh, right. Yeah. Right, I'll tell you what.

Let's go in and try and find it.

-Are you serious?

-Yes.

-I can't believe it.

-Yeah.

Six decades after an 11-year-old Arlene holidayed here,

I'm unlocking the memories of her time in this house.

Enter.

-Uncle Morris.

-Oh, my God.

Eh.

What do you think?

Erm, it's so funny coming back and seeing all of this

because where I actually lived as a child doesn't exist anymore.

The entire area was flattened,

so coming back here and seeing this

and kind of going back to my childhood

and reminding myself what it was like.

-It's really touching.

-Yeah, I bet it is.

It's fantastic.

-It's a proper...proper posh house.

-Yeah.

Well, I think... Shall we go up the stairs?

We'll try and find your bedroom.

-Lovely. Where was it, this one?

-At the back.

This was the room.

Oh, this must bring back such lovely memories.

This was the room at the back and we could look over the orchard.

-And the orchard is still there.

-Yeah.

-And the other thing I remember is they had a record player.

-Oh!

You know, the old kind of open-it-up-and-put-the-record-on?

-Dance to records.

-It would have been like Elvis and stuff.

Yeah. Whatever. Yeah, yeah.

Most historians trace the beginning of rock back to 1954

when rock 'n' roll appeared and revolutionized musical tastes.

While the sound was developing so was the technology,

changing the way we listen to it,

which led to both the 33 rpm and the 45 rpm record.

This meant a better quality of sound and more music on one disc

for Arlene to dance to inside and outside of the house. Wa ho!

So, here it is, the orchard.

-This hasn't changed at all.

-Yeah?

-Just as it was a bit ramshackled, rough and tumble.

-Fantastic.

-It's pretty, isn't it?

-It's lovely.

-Isn't it pretty?

And did you do a bit of dancing when you're out here?

Len, I never stopped dancing. I made everybody dance. I put on shows.

-Really?

-My cousins had to be in the shows whether they liked it or not.

I think at the time, I would... You know, I think...

What, it just be a bit of...? Well, I couldn't...I couldn't click at 11.

THEY HUM: Da da da da.

Oh, yeah!

You were the director?

I was the director. I was the choreographer.

I was she-who-must-be-obeyed.

-They had to do what I wanted them to do.

-Yeah.

And inevitably, I got upset

because nobody was doing quite what I wanted.

Well, nothing's changed then.

And I would go off and sulk,

but it didn't take me long to get back and smile.

Right. Well, that's always the best way.

When Arlene wasn't dancing in the garden

in the her uncle and aunt's house,

she would be heading into Southport itself.

So, I'm taking her for a ride back down memory lane

or in this case, on the Pier Road Train.

Here we go, Arlene. Ha-ha! On the train in the train.

-In the train.

-Hey, hey!

Oh, lovely. Eh?

I loved to get on this train and ride down this pier.

It's such a long pier, so getting on this little train,

we'd all packed in and...

I don't know, it must've been very expensive

because we couldn't always get the train.

Southport Pier is a famous landmark in the town with a turbulent past.

Southport Pier was opened in 1860

and at the time,

it was the first pier ever to be built purely for pleasure.

It was not for the steamboats for dropping people off

or the fishing boats to anchor, although they did do in later years.

Four years later, it was extended,

which then made it the second longest pier in Britain.

The pier did burn down on more than one occasion.

It also got badly damaged by fishing boats in storms

because the local fishermen used to tie their boats up to the pier.

The end of the pier disappeared into the water

so it's no longer the second longest in Britain,

but we still hold the record for the only one built purely for pleasure.

Tell me about your first big project, Hot Gossip.

Hot Gossip was born out of frustration.

Every time I switched my TV on, every dancer was doing grin, grin, grin.

It's like, "What are they doing?"

Dancing is about your heart, your soul, your body, your balls.

So I created a dance group that was to do with everything

-that was going on in the outside world.

-Yeah.

-You know, the clubs, the vibrancy of London in the late '70s.

-Yeah.

I decided I was going to have a group everyone was going to talk about,

so the name had to be Hot Gossip, cos they were sexy.

Yeah, they were.

Hot Gossip started out performing in London nightclubs

until they got their big break

when they appeared regularly on the Kenny Everett Video Show.

I guess that really propelled your career on.

Once Hot Gossip broke out on TV in the Kenny Everett show,

which actually was three years after I first started the group,

that was it.

-I mean, when I say Hollywood called, Hollywood called.

-Right.

My next project was a huge film.

And the films kept rolling in.

Can't Stop The Music with the Village People,

Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life,

and the film version of the musical, Annie.

But we aren't talking about 'Tomorrow,'

we're talking about 1954 when a pint of milk

and a loaf of bread cost sixpence farthing in old money.

Local resident, Bev Gregory, was 16 at the time

and made the most of this summers by working the holiday season.

Well, Arlene, I'd like you to meet Bev.

-Hi, Bev.

-Pleased to meet you, Arlene.

-Nice to meet you.

Now, Bev has lived all of his life in Southport

-and he was here in '54 when you came as a little kid.

-Right.

Now what was you doing then, Bev?

I was working on the fairgrounds over there.

I was working on the Cake Walk which I don't know

-if you're remember?

-Yeah, yeah, I do.

-It used to go...

Forward and back, and the River Caves.

Are the River Caves still there? Or have they gone?

I loved the River Caves.

It's so... You could just float along and it was quiet and peaceful.

Very quiet.

And you could have a necking session with your girlfriend.

I'm thinking of taking Arlene up there.

Is there still the Tunnel of Love?

Unfortunately, I don't think there is.

You'll have to make your own tunnel.

This is lovely. This little area where you can get out a boat or...

That's right. These little boats have been here since I was a lad.

I remember the motorboats.

What did you get, 20 minutes before they called you in?

Yeah, something like that.

-We should go up to the Pleasure... What was it called?

-Pleasureland.

-Pleasureland.

-Pleasureland.

-Yes.

Did you fancy little walk along to Pleasureland?

-I would love a walk to Pleasureland. Candyfloss, toffee apples.

-Ice cream.

-Ice cream.

-Bev, it's been great.

-OK.

-Thanks a lot.

-OK, fantastic.

-Lovely to meet you.

-And you.

As we wave goodbye to Bev, we're also leaving behind

Southport Marine Lake where there's a whole host of water sports

for the whole family.

From paddling under your own steam to someone else's.

But the park also be viewed from dry land

as it's got its own miniature railway.

On the other side of the bridge smack bang on the promenade

are the 17 acres of Kings Gardens.

In 2012, they were awarded £5.5 million

from the Heritage Lottery Fund in Sefton Council

to restore the gardens to their former glories.

They've managed to conserve the historical features

as well as providing new, more contemporary additions.

Southport's war memorial was built in 1923

and consists of a central obelisk

which stands in the centre of a traffic island

with colonnades to the northeast and southwest.

Outside these colonnades are gardens which contain

a pool of remembrance and fountains,

the perfect place to sit and contemplate.

And contemplation is the name of the game

as I'm taking Arlene to an ice cream shop run by an Italian family,

just as it was in 1954.

Well, Arlene, when you're on your holidays,

you've got to have an ice cream.

-Absolutely.

-Here we go.

So, does this place bring back many happy memories?

Many happy memories of eating the best, creamiest ice cream.

-Nothing like it!

-Yeah, and what was it, a daily event or...?

No, it was a once-a-week treat if I was here for a week.

It couldn't be a daily event, but then that made it more special.

-That's what was exciting.

-Yeah.

On the taste of it, I've never, ever captured that taste ever

since I came here as a kid. I'll tell you something else I used to do

which we had to share between the three of us,

-knickerbocker glories.

-Oh!

Oh, Arlene, don't. No, don't. Don't get me started.

'Oh, the knickerbocker glory! It's been around since the 1930s.

'Although typically British,

'many think it may have started in America as the name pays homage

'to the striped sports garments called knickerbockers.

'The word itself comes from Dutch settlers in the New York area.

'One thing I do know, they taste blooming gorgeous.'

Come back, Len. Come back to earth.

Now this place has been here since you came in the '50s,

and they've told me that the recipe has never changed.

SHE GASPS

This is the knickerbocker glory, the famous one.

That's the traditional vanilla.

Oh, my gosh.

Well, I'll tell you what, first of all, close you eyes, Arlene,

and I'm going to spoon-feed you.

Here it comes.

Is that the taste of '54?

Oh, my gosh.

That is the taste of '54.

-Delicious.

-There you are. Ooh.

So how does it feel to come back? Is it a nice feeling?

Poignant or...?

You know, Len, it's really lovely to come back

and to remember all those happy memories,

but for me it was all so tinged with an awful lot of sadness.

And...

the memories that come flooding back have been here with my mother

and sort of losing her at the age of...15.

I was suddenly this bewildered teenager that was really lost

and it reminds me all of that, too.

-But the joys of taste.

-Yeah.

-The joys of sight, and the joys of...

Just the experience of being here

and the reason I wanted to do it was for me, to bring back those memories.

Lovely.

-I'm letting you into a secret, there's lots more to come.

-More?

Oh, yeah. We've not scratched the surface yet.

-Come on, Len, leave that knickerbocker glory.

-No.

-I want to see more. Come on!

-Let me just have one more bit.

One more bit.

-Seven.

-Seven.

-Keep going.

-No.

-Well, lovely.

-That was great. Thank you.

-Lovely.

-Love the ice cream.

'Time for another stroll along the beach, me thinks.'

Would you know, standing here reminds me a little bit

-of the beach in Nice.

-The south of France.

-Yes.

-I'm still standing.

-Yeah, Elton John and of course... Bruno.

-Bruno!

Part of the video was coming up from the mountains

and riding down in a car, Elton in the front of the car,

plate glass window, sugar glass,

Elton driving through the glass window...

Suddenly, the police said it was too dangerous

and so the whole story of the video was gone.

I went, "Oh, what were going to do? What are going to do?"

They said, "Well, think of something!"

I said, "Well, my friend has got a dance school.

"Let's get loads of dancers and we'll dance everywhere."

So they got permission to dance everywhere and Bruno was saying,

"What am I going to do? What to my going to do?

"I was doing the catching."

And I said, "OK, Bruno, we'll find something." You know,?

We got costumes from the shop, we got a body paint artist.

I'll tell you, to work all that out, you know, almost on your feet,

just, "Well, what we going to do?"

And just doing it, it turned out to be a terrific video.

-It was so much fun.

-Fantastic. So, how does that walk go? Show me.

I'm just going to do something now sort of Bruno-esque.

And then I'll carry on. There we go. Ha-ha!

And that wasn't the only one she made.

As the pop video became popular in the '80s,

Arlene worked with musical royalty

from AC/DC to Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

# I wanna dance with somebody

# With somebody who loves me. #

Via Diana Ross' Chain Reaction, Duran Duran's Wild Boys,

and Robbie Williams' controversial Rock DJ video.

It's a day full of treats and I have another surprise awaiting Arlene

back at Uncle Morris and Auntie Miriam's old house.

Oh, my gosh.

-Boiled potatoes.

-Yeah.

-Roast chicken.

-Yeah.

-Lots and lots of cucumber, and cabbage.

-Yeah, have a seat.

-And what about the plates? Were they...

-The plates are gorgeous.

-Were they the sort of posh plates?

-These were the posh plates

with gold round the edges.

So you'd all be sitting here, you know, five or six of you.

What was it, like a smash and grab?

Or was Uncle Morris in charge of dishing it out?

It was take the plates around and you all took a bit of this.

You are aware of how many people would have to eat,

and there wasn't the Hellmann's real mayonnaise.

There was Crosse & Blackwell Salad Cream.

Can I tell you something? I prefer salad cream to mayonnaise.

-It's because I grew up with salad cream.

-I'm saying.

-Would you like a bit of chicken?

-I'd love a slice of chicken.

-What about the cucumbers?

-Cucumbers, I loved cucumber.

-Would you like some potato?

-I'll have potato.

-Well, bon appetit.

-Bon appetit.

-Tuck in.

-Tuck in. Is it chicken?

-Mm!

By the start of 1954, food choices were still limited.

Despite the second world war having ended nine years earlier,

food rationing in Britain only ended at midnight on July 4 of that year,

when restrictions on meat and bacon were finally lifted.

Yum, Yum.

What would you have for pudding?

I have a memory of there being a cake shop.

There would be cream puffs, choux pastry full of cream.

-There'd be chocolate eclairs.

-Something along the lines...

-of that.

-Gasp!

Feed your face, Philips!

Len, that is the hugest chocolate eclair I've ever seen.

We haven't skimped. Now, I'm going to cut you a piece like this.

-That's a family eclair.

-It certainly is.

Not a family affair, a family eclair.

There is your bit and, of course, I better have the rest.

-Of course you better.

-It was better 50-50.

-Mm!

-Oh!

Oh, I'll tell you what.

Smack me with the damp chamois leather, will you? This is heaven.

Getting this in my mouth...

is too good.

Don't eat too much.

-OK, Len, here goes.

-Going for one of them?

In for a penny, in for a pound.

THEY LAUGH

Southport has something for everyone and culture plays an important role.

The Atkinson is a multi-artform venue

set in a grade II listed building in the heart of the town.

In 1875, William Atkinson offered Southport Corporation

£6,000 to build an art gallery and library.

Almost a century and a half later, a multimillion-pound makeover

is nearly complete with its beautifully restored galleries

and theatre, it promises to host the very best in visual

and performing arts throughout the year.

And venues don't come much bigger

than the Southport Theatre & Convention Centre.

It's the town's main live entertainment venue

and includes a 1,631 seat auditorium.

The Beatles from just down the coast even perform tier.

Their first appearance was in 1962

on a bill advertised as a "Rock 'n' Trad Spectacular."

Owned and managed by the Defty family for 35 years,

the Swan Restaurant and Takeaway is the oldest established

fish and chip restaurant in Southport.

They serve a wide range of fresh fish delivered

from nearby Fleetwood every day,

giving this place a reputation second to none.

Aimed at the under 12s, Farmer Ted's is a family-run business

which aims to combine farming fun and education.

Children get to enjoy all the fun of the farm,

whether it's milking cows, driving tractors,

or visiting the local watering hole.

It's just completed a major face-lift

so there's even more to do.

'It's time for a final visit to Southport Beach

'where Arlene spent so much of her holiday back in 1954.

'I want to find out just how after all these years she continues

'to deal with the ups and downs of life in the showbiz fast lane.'

-Now, we got to know each other via Strictly.

-Indeed we did, Len.

Ten years ago, and it was a wonderful, wonderful experience.

How was that experience being on Strictly for you?

-There I met Len Goodman.

-Yes.

We sat next to each other

and we looked at each other and we went, "This will never fly."

And then we said to each other, "Well, if you do it, I'll do it."

And you said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Same." You know?

And so we decided together to do it,

but we didn't think it was going to be a success until week one

when Natasha danced with Brendan and I suddenly thought,

"You know what? Maybe this will be a hit." And...

Because I remember saying to you, "This won't last one series."

-I know.

-I said no-one is interested in ballroom and Latin dancing.

Then we had all those marvellous series together

and suddenly they decide they're going to change around the judges

and I just couldn't understand it.

It must've been a terrible wrench.

It was.

But there was a gut-wrenching thing was that my wonderful manager

passed away the day before.

So the blows...came at me.

And so happening on top of one another has made me

kind of put Strictly locked away inside me.

Do you think your time spent in Southport at your uncle's garden

making up little dances with your cousins your brothers and sisters...

Do you think that sort of was the foundation

-for what came in the future?

-There's no question.

Everything I did as a kid in Southport helped my future.

I never stopped imagining.

I never stopped believing.

I never stopped fighting.

I never stopped working hard.

And, of course, you must have been so proud when the OBE, the Queen...

What was that like? What was that day like?

Let me tell you, the OBE was pretty grand, but the CB was legendary!

-So you've got one...

-I've had two.

-Never!

-Len, I have had two.

-For services to dance, I guess?

For services to dance, but my CB also was for services to charity.

Seems a little unfair you've got a CB and in OBE, and poor old Len...

-You've not got an OBE, have you?

-I've got nothing.

-Oh, Len!

-And I don't suppose I ever will.

-No.

Your services to Britain

-and to the world of ballroom dancing are legendary.

-Keep it coming.

Len, they are truly legendary and you have brought ballroom back,

not just here in the UK, not just in the USA, but around the world.

-So my goodness.

-Keep it coming, dear. It could be a knight.

-Is it a knight?

-That's what I'm thinking.

-It could be Lord Len of Dartford.

-It could.

-Who knows where it could stop.

-Lord Len of Dartford.

-Thank you.

Curtsy if you will.

It's been just wonderful to spend time with my old mucker, Arlene,

and to learn more about her family

and the precious time she spent in Southport all those years ago.

Seeing the birth of a diva...

And I would go off and sulk, but it didn't take me long to get back

-and smile.

-Right.

With her disco fever...

Dancing is about your heart, your soul, your body, your balls...

An expert ice cream retriever...

I want to get down there and dig deep.

-And a true believer...

-I never stopped imagining.

And I never stopped believing. I never stopped fighting.

I have enormous admiration for my chum.

It is been wonderful, and to think of you and your uncle Morris

back in 1954 coming here as a little girl.

It's been an absolute pleasure and I've enjoyed it so much.

It's been lovely to be with you, Len, and spend the day with you.

-It's been great, eh?

-Yeah.

Now, I want to remember this day,

so I've got a little thing for you here.

It's a scrapbook of memories of our day spent together.

Oh, how lovely.

A scrapbook of memories of Arlene's time spent in Southport

and bearing in mind how this beach holiday

has rekindled those memories, I have one last surprise.

One more thing.

You see, this is an aerial view taken the early '50s of Southport.

Oh, my goodness. So this was to Big Dipper at Pleasureland.

-Yeah, a little bit like your career.

-Yeah.

A few downs, but lots and lots of ups.

-Yeah, more ups than downs there, Len.

-Exactly.

-More ups than downs.

You know what, Len? Just here, just looking at that bridge...

My gosh, I can see Fred Astaire

-and Ginger Rogers dancing over it right now.

-Yeah.

Thank you.

-Ha-ha! Len and Arlene... Ooh!

-You know what, Len?

-You are no seven, you are a ten.

-Oh! On we go!

Today, I've seen why Arlene was attracted to the glamour

of 1950s Southport, which led her to the bright lights

of the showbiz world in which she has well and truly made her home.