0:00:02 > 0:00:05Childhood holidays. Oh, the anticipation seemed endless.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08The holiday itself, well, it was over too quickly.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11So, in this series, I'm going to be reliving those wonderful times
0:00:11 > 0:00:14with some much loved famous faces.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17THEY SCREAM
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Every day, I'll be arranging a few surprises
0:00:20 > 0:00:22to transport them back in time.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27Oh, look! It's just as I remember.
0:00:28 > 0:00:29'We'll relive the fun...'
0:00:29 > 0:00:31THEY LAUGH
0:00:31 > 0:00:32'..the games...'
0:00:32 > 0:00:34- Yes!- We got them!
0:00:34 > 0:00:36'..and the food of years gone by...'
0:00:36 > 0:00:38Yummy!
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Welcome to 1959.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44- Total happiness.- Yes, perfect.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47'..to find out how those holidays around the UK
0:00:47 > 0:00:50'helped shape the people we know so well today.'
0:00:50 > 0:00:51Bruce Forsyth.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54- IMPERSONATES BRUCE FORSYTH: - Marvellous. You're my favourite.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57'So buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.'
0:00:57 > 0:01:00You know, Len, I'm quite enjoying being on my holidays with you.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10On today's trip down memory lane, I'm in the sunny southwest,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12heading to meet our mystery holidaymaker.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Hello. Here's the news - Len Goodman is catching the ferry
0:01:17 > 0:01:23to meet a lady whose illustrious career spans over 45 years.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27Here she is practising her first smile for the camera. Hey!
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Born in 1944,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34this lovely lass was destined to make headline news herself one day
0:01:34 > 0:01:37when she became the first woman journalist
0:01:37 > 0:01:39to read the news on national TV.
0:01:40 > 0:01:45In 1976, she broke out from behind the news desk
0:01:45 > 0:01:47to high kick her way through a dance routine
0:01:47 > 0:01:50with comedy greats Morecambe and Wise.
0:01:50 > 0:01:51Oh, yes!
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Recently, she has been championing the causes of the consumer,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58stopping those people from getting ripped off.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00You must know who it is.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01You must have got it.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05It's the Ginger Rogers of news reading. It's Angela Rippon!
0:02:09 > 0:02:13An only child, Angela comes from modest roots.
0:02:13 > 0:02:18Her dad, John, was a Royal Marine, and her mum, Edna, a seamstress.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19When she left school,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23she worked in newspapers before moving into radio and television.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26She's tried her hand at just about everything in the world of telly,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30but I remember her presenting Come Dancing in the '80s,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and she's still strutting her stuff all these years later.
0:02:35 > 0:02:40- Welcome to my world!- Lovely. Oh, what a lovely day.- It's not bad, is it?
0:02:40 > 0:02:42You realise, you've crossed the border there, don't you?
0:02:42 > 0:02:45You've come from my hometown of Plymouth in Devon,
0:02:45 > 0:02:46but in the middle of the River Tamar here,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48is the border between Devon and Cornwall.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51And when you got off the boat, you stepped into Cornwall.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52- Cornwall, here we are.- Yeah!
0:02:52 > 0:02:54So where are we going?
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Mount Edgcumbe, but we're going to start in Maker Camp,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00which is where all the kids from Plymouth used to go
0:03:00 > 0:03:03for a sort of summer boot camp in their school holidays.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07- Fabulous. And what year is it?- 1952.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11- I was eight years old.- Do you know something? So was I.- I know.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15- Darling, we're the same generation. - Yeah, we are.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19So back then, in '52, how would you have arrived here in Cornwall?
0:03:19 > 0:03:21When I was with the school,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25we came over. And we'd get to here and then we'd get on a bus.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27So it would have been a bus something like this one?
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- Oh, my goodness. - Here it is.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33An original 1952 bus.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35SHE LAUGHS
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Which would have taken a whole load of us screaming schoolkids
0:03:37 > 0:03:40off to an adventure.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Yes! Oh, yes.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44So let's get on board.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47# We're all going on a summer holiday. #
0:03:57 > 0:04:00On the south coast of England, Mount Edgcumbe Country Park
0:04:00 > 0:04:03sits on the Rame Peninsula.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05It's on the border between Cornwall and Devon
0:04:05 > 0:04:08and across the River Tamar from the city of Plymouth.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12It's nearly 900 acres of beautiful lawns, gardens and woodland
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and is also home to the Grade 1 listed Mount Edgcumbe House,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20which was formerly the seat of earls and countesses.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23This area is known as Cornwall's forgotten corner,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26but still attracts thousands of visitors every year.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Today, I'm taking Angela back to relive that memorable holiday,
0:04:31 > 0:04:35when she set off with her school chums for a week away from home...
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Oh. That's the taste of childhood.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40..leaving behind the port of Plymouth
0:04:40 > 0:04:43for a countryside adventure.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45With our jam jars and our nets
0:04:45 > 0:04:50and our bare feet in rock pools like this, having the time of our lives.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52'And I'll find out just how formative
0:04:52 > 0:04:56'this first childhood vacation was for Angela.'
0:04:56 > 0:04:59From that holiday, I got that sense of adventure,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03I got the curiosity, and I think that's probably what stayed with me.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Before any holiday truly begins,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15first you must set out on a journey.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Whether by plane, train or automobile,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21we've all experienced those hours of anticipation,
0:05:21 > 0:05:26just waiting to get to the promised destination you've been dreaming of.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29In the years following the Second World War,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32holidays were very different to today.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Back then, less than half of us could afford one
0:05:35 > 0:05:38so there were no low-cost airline trips to the Mediterranean
0:05:38 > 0:05:40for our Angela.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44When she hopped off the ferry with her school friends in 1952,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47an original '50s bus, like this one,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52whisked them away for a week of fun and activities in a summer camp.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56So, does this take you back to 1952?
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Well, it does, and even beyond that
0:05:58 > 0:05:59because I was born in the city of Plymouth,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02which during the war, was bombed.
0:06:02 > 0:06:03Right, yes.
0:06:03 > 0:06:08It was blitzed by the Germans. And my family were not wealthy -
0:06:08 > 0:06:10we were like most people in Plymouth,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12struggling after the war, very poor.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15We couldn't actually afford to go on holiday anywhere,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17so we used to go on day trips.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19And then going to primary school
0:06:19 > 0:06:23- and suddenly to have the opportunity to go to a camp, a holiday camp.- Yes.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25That was the excitement.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28So getting on a bus, as we would have done like this,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31with all the screaming schoolkids, you know, say 40 of us in the back,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33sitting with our little suitcases...
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- Singing along.- Singing along.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39- Without our parents.- Wow!- That was the thing - without Mum and Dad.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41That was the adventure.
0:06:41 > 0:06:42So we're going to Maker Camp.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Now, what am I going to look forward to seeing?
0:06:45 > 0:06:49My memory is that it was a lot of sort of wooden huts
0:06:49 > 0:06:51that did look like an army camp.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55- I mean, it was basic. - Did you have a scrapbook?
0:06:55 > 0:06:56Did you keep a diary?
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Were you writing things about your time at Maker Camp?
0:07:00 > 0:07:02No, I wasn't.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05I suppose, although I never knew I was going to be
0:07:05 > 0:07:07a television journalist
0:07:07 > 0:07:10because, you know, again, living in the West Country,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13poor family background, the thought of working on television
0:07:13 > 0:07:15was not something that would have gone into my head.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18I wanted to be a photojournalist and fortunately,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21I've been born with almost a photographic memory.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24So my diary, Len, is up here.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27I actually have pictures in my mind.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Stories, words, situations are all in my mind.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33So no, I didn't keep a scrapbook at all, no.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37The journey from the dock to the camp took just 15 minutes,
0:07:37 > 0:07:42but by the time Angela arrived, excitement was at fever pitch.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46We're nearly here at Maker Camp. Have you been back since 1952?
0:07:46 > 0:07:51Good Lord, no. It was a one-off holiday. Never been since.
0:07:51 > 0:07:57Oh, look! It's just as I remember.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Corrugated iron huts. Look at that.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02SHE LAUGHS
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Back in 1952, Great Britain was a very different place.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10It was the last time we had a king.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13George VI reigned for 14 years
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and was just 56 when he passed away in his sleep.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20After 12 years, our national drink
0:08:20 > 0:08:23was no longer subject to wartime rationing.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26At that time, the UK consumed almost a third
0:08:26 > 0:08:29of the entire world's tea production.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Talking of big productions, Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap
0:08:33 > 0:08:37started its run at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London,
0:08:37 > 0:08:42a play that still runs to the present day, over 60 years later.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46And 1952 saw the introduction of the music charts.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50The country had its first-ever number one hit single!
0:08:50 > 0:08:52American crooner Al Martino made history with...
0:08:52 > 0:08:59# Here in my heart I'm alone and so lonely. #
0:08:59 > 0:09:04# And stay here... #
0:09:04 > 0:09:07He had to fight off competition for the coveted spot
0:09:07 > 0:09:10from Nat King Cole and national hero Vera Lynn.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18To begin Angela's Holiday Of Her Lifetime,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22I've brought her to the place it all began - Maker Camp.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26It was a former outpost for American soldiers in World War II,
0:09:26 > 0:09:27but after the war,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31it was transformed for use as a summer camp for children,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and Angela took full advantage.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Here we are. Can you manage?
0:09:36 > 0:09:37- Look at the view from here. - The view.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Can you imagine a gang of kids getting off a coach,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44coming up here and saying, "Come and look at this"?
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Coming out of Plymouth, 1952...
0:09:47 > 0:09:50They'd kind of, I think, started rebuilding the city.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55But coming out of that, never having been away from Mum and Dad before.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Freedom!
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- You've arrived and you know you've got a whole week.- I know.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06A whole week away from Mum and Dad with your mates, in the sunshine,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09on holiday. What's not to like?
0:10:09 > 0:10:10I'd love to have a little look.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13- Shall we go inside and see what it's like?- See if it's changed.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Well, I hope it has.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16SHE LAUGHS
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Part of the magic of any childhood holiday
0:10:21 > 0:10:23is the excitement of staying somewhere new.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28In 1952, Angela and her classmates stayed on site
0:10:28 > 0:10:31in one of five converted Nissen huts.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Each hut had 20 iron beds
0:10:33 > 0:10:36and the boys and girls slept in separate dorms.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Angela hasn't been back in over 60 years.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Oh, my gosh!
0:10:42 > 0:10:44So this would have been it?
0:10:44 > 0:10:46This would have been it.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Iron bedsteads. Oh, yes, I remember this.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52Oh!
0:10:52 > 0:10:54- Oh, not too bad actually. - There you are.- Not too bad.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Do you remember which bed you slept in?
0:10:57 > 0:11:01I know I was on... Coming in, I was on the left-hand side.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04- I would have been down here somewhere.- Right.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06I know I was kind of in the middle,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09because we came with our teacher, Mrs Adams,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12and like a lot of teachers at that time,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15she had her favourites, and I was not one of them.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16But when we came here,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19we had to make our own beds. And I shall never forget...
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Actually, it was a lesson well learned.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23..that I made my bed, and Mrs Adams
0:11:23 > 0:11:25went round like the regimental sergeant major,
0:11:25 > 0:11:27you know, looking at that.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29"Rippon!
0:11:29 > 0:11:31"What have you done?" she said.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33- And I had just sort of pushed it round.- Yeah, pushed it all in.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35And she said, "No, hospital corners,"
0:11:35 > 0:11:39and I learnt how to do hospital corners, and I've done it ever since.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41The bed-making technique of hospital corners
0:11:41 > 0:11:44is common in boarding schools and the military
0:11:44 > 0:11:45as well as hospitals.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48It involves folding sheets tightly and neatly
0:11:48 > 0:11:51in order to make the bed presentable to look at
0:11:51 > 0:11:53and comfortable to lie in.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58- I'll have a go at this one. - And I'll have a go at this one.- OK.
0:11:58 > 0:11:59And we'll compare.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03I wish Mrs Adams was still around, cos she could decide...
0:12:03 > 0:12:07She could decide who did the best hospital corners? Yeah.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09I tell you why it sticks in my memory.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Not only because I had to learn how to do this,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16but also because I was halfway down and I really was...
0:12:16 > 0:12:18She sort of made an exhibition of me.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Oh, she said, "This is how not to do it."
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Oh, she shouted at me. Oh, gosh, yes, didn't I get shouted at?
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Cos what I did was...
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Cos I came in never having done it, I just went like that, you see.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32And she said, "Rippon, do it again!"
0:12:32 > 0:12:35And then showed me how to do it.
0:12:36 > 0:12:37And I've never forgotten.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39I still do all the sheets in the house at home...
0:12:39 > 0:12:44When I'm making the bed, I still have to do hospital corners,
0:12:44 > 0:12:45Len, just like that.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Still do it.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52'Who'd have thought it?
0:12:52 > 0:12:55'TV's golden girl getting told off by her teacher!'
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Angela grew up in Plymouth,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02born into the rubble of the Second World War.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Food was rationed, money was scarce
0:13:04 > 0:13:08and much of the city had been destroyed by German bombers,
0:13:08 > 0:13:13so escaping the war-torn ruins must have been a great relief.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Plymouth, a bit like where I grew up in the East End,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20did take the full brunt of the Blitz.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22It was absolutely flattened, absolutely flattened.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26We had the dockyard, we had the Navy here, the Army, the Air Force.
0:13:26 > 0:13:27We were a prime target.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30I can remember walking around the city, with my father
0:13:30 > 0:13:32walking me up through what is now Royal Parade,
0:13:32 > 0:13:33and that was all flattened,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37walking me into St Andrews Church, which is...
0:13:37 > 0:13:40We always think of it as the parish church of the city of Plymouth.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42..a beautiful, beautiful old building.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46It was completely destroyed in the war. Lost its roof, lost everything.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48And very famously,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51a schoolteacher found a piece of wood,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53which had been one of the beams presumably,
0:13:53 > 0:13:54and with chalk, as a teacher,
0:13:54 > 0:13:59she wrote "resurgam", which is Latin for...
0:13:59 > 0:14:01- "Rise again."- "..I will rise again."
0:14:01 > 0:14:05And she put it in front of the church. And it was a sort of...
0:14:05 > 0:14:08That really sort of summed up the spirit,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10I think, of the people of Plymouth.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12"We don't care that these bombs are coming
0:14:12 > 0:14:15"and absolutely trying to beat us into submission.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18"We will rise again."
0:14:18 > 0:14:19And the church did. And in fact,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22that's the church that I was married in.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25These days, Maker Camp is a residential community centre.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27But back in the '50s and '60s,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30it was a place for children to let their hair down,
0:14:30 > 0:14:35as local girl and former Plymouth councillor Gloria Bragg recalls.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37The boys were
0:14:37 > 0:14:39up to all their tricks.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41They were away on holiday as well.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44And they decided that they would spook the girls,
0:14:44 > 0:14:45trick the girls.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51They used to make noises like it would be an owl or a fox or a dog,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53everything. They would do that.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55They would have a bang on the windows and run away.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57But it was all part of fun.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Night-times, we would make sure, the teacher would go away and say,
0:15:00 > 0:15:04"Goodnight, girls," and, "See you in the morning.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07"You'd better go to bed early and have a nice rest after today."
0:15:07 > 0:15:12And we would jump on the beds and we would have pillow fights.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15And we had the best pillow fights and we were jumping around the beds.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18We were really having some fun.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23And my head was pretty sore at that time because, don't forget,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26the pillows at that time, they were real feathers
0:15:26 > 0:15:28and they were pretty hard.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37No holiday experience is complete without sampling the local food.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39The memories of those tastes,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42smells and textures stay with us forever.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Angela came to Maker Camp just seven years
0:15:45 > 0:15:47after the end of World War II.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Millions of Britons had grown up with food rationing,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53and basic provisions that we now take for granted
0:15:53 > 0:15:55were seen as treats.
0:15:55 > 0:16:01- Well, this looks like a typical 1952 feast.- It does, doesn't it?
0:16:01 > 0:16:03- When did rationing end? - '54, I think.
0:16:03 > 0:16:08'54, so it was rationing, yeah. This would have been staple food.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10And I don't think you'd have got as much butter as that.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14- No, nothing like that. - You'd have got the loaf.- Yes.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17- Jam.- Got the bread and the jam. - Yeah, mums used to make jam.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19And I'll tell you what we used to have -
0:16:19 > 0:16:23lettuce leaves with sugar on them. Oh, that was luxury.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26So I'm going to go for a nice slice of bread and jam.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27Are you going to do the same
0:16:27 > 0:16:30or are you going to go for the lettuce and sugar sandwich?
0:16:30 > 0:16:33- I think I'm going to have the lettuce and the sugar.- Go on, then.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37- Piece of bread.- Yeah, piece of bread.- Cut it in half then.- Yes.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39And I'm not going to have the butter
0:16:39 > 0:16:44cos I have an intolerance of dairy foods now, unfortunately.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48When I was little, I could eat anything. Anything.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50And of course, being in the West Country
0:16:50 > 0:16:52with all the wonderful dairy products down here,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56we used to have clotted cream on everything -
0:16:56 > 0:16:58on the cornflakes, everything.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01'There was no clotted cream at Maker Camp, though.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05'Instead, Angela is having her favourite childhood meal,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08'although I can't say it sounds too appetising.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10'Lettuce and sugar? Oh, no!'
0:17:10 > 0:17:11What's it like?
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Oh, that's the taste of childhood.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Have a bit of it. Remember there's no butter on it.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21That's all right.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24That's all right because it doesn't matter. You don't actually need it.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25Here we go.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29I would imagine that all different areas,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33you basically fed your kids what was in ready supply.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36- What you could afford. - And what you could afford.- Mm.- Yeah.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44- It's lovely.- Not bad, is it, Len?
0:17:44 > 0:17:46- No.- Lettuce and sugar.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49We lived with my grandparents until I was about six, I think.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- He would have grown lettuce in the back garden...- Yeah.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54..because he would have grown lettuce, tomatoes.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58- We had chickens in the back garden. - We had chickens.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01We had chickens. And, you know, if I was naughty,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03I used to hide in the chicken coop.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- You and the eggs. - Yeah, right up the back.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Despite its proximity to bomb-damaged Plymouth,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Mount Edgcumbe in the early '50s
0:18:12 > 0:18:15must have felt a world away to children like Angela.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19So, growing up, money was tight.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Did that spur you on to want to get out of that?
0:18:22 > 0:18:26I don't think money was then, or is now,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29the driving force in my life.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31I tell you what was.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35My dad bought me a little Box Brownie camera.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39And in fact, I brought it here, to Maker Camp.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43And it had a white plastic thing on the top,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45you know, to wind the film.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49From the age of about six or seven, I took photographs,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52and still do in fact,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54and I wanted to be a photographer.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Then I wanted to be a photojournalist,
0:18:56 > 0:18:58and that was my ambition.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01I'd seen an advertisement in the local newspaper
0:19:01 > 0:19:03for a job in the photographic department of the newspaper,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and I applied for that and got the job, and that was it.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08And I did two years of photography
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and then joined the local Sunday newspaper as a journalist,
0:19:11 > 0:19:12photojournalist.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15I suspect it all came from that little plastic camera
0:19:15 > 0:19:17that my dad gave me that I actually brought here
0:19:17 > 0:19:19and remember taking photographs.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21I wish I could find some of the pictures that I had taken!
0:19:21 > 0:19:23But that was my first camera.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28The city of Plymouth, and the surrounding areas,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31is very popular with British holidaymakers.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Over four million visits every year.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38There's so much to enjoy here, and I've chosen ten of my favourites.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Plymouth is brimming with historical reminders
0:19:42 > 0:19:43of its military past.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46The Crownhill Fort was built in the 1860s
0:19:46 > 0:19:49to repel any potential French invasion.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53At the time, its moat and ramparts were seen as advanced.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55And today, it serves partly as a museum,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58open to the public once a month.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Older still is the Merchant's House,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04a 16th-century building still standing tall.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07A former home to mayors and other wealthy locals,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11this mostly limestone house was restored in the 1970s
0:20:11 > 0:20:13and now serves as a museum.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17On the waterfront, sits one of the best outdoor
0:20:17 > 0:20:18swimming pools in Europe -
0:20:18 > 0:20:22the Art Deco Tinside Lido opened in 1935,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26allowing swimmers to comfortably bathe in the sea water.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Despite falling into neglect, it's undergone a recent renovation
0:20:30 > 0:20:34back to its former glories, and is open from May to September.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Plymouth has a proud reputation for seafaring.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47It was from here that Sir Francis Drake embarked
0:20:47 > 0:20:49with the English fleet
0:20:49 > 0:20:53to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55Plymouth prodigy, Chris Robinson,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58knows all about this great British hero.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01The story of Drake is a fun one, really,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03because people have got it wrong down the years.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06The Armada was sighted, and somebody came running to tell him.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08And he was playing bowls.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10But Drake would have known the state of the tide
0:21:10 > 0:21:12and he knew his ships were ready,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16so he knew that there was no chance of him moving out of the harbour
0:21:16 > 0:21:18for at least a couple of hours, so he said,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20"I'm going to finish my game of bowls,
0:21:20 > 0:21:21"then I'll deal with the Spanish Armada."
0:21:21 > 0:21:23And thankfully,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26he did deal with it effectively, and we're not speaking Spanish today.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Hooray.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Mount Edgcumbe sits atop the Rame Peninsula,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36looking across the Plymouth Sound.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39Three miles to the south lie the coastal villages
0:21:39 > 0:21:41Kingsand and Cawsand.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43With three beaches between them,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45this is where Angela and her school friends
0:21:45 > 0:21:48came in search of adventure in 1952.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Now I'm bringing her back to Kingsand
0:21:51 > 0:21:53to see if this is where
0:21:53 > 0:21:56she discovered her thirst for knowledge.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58- This is lovely.- It's pretty, isn't it?- It's really pretty.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02- This is classic kind of Cornish fishing village.- Yeah.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05- Tiny little roads, never built for cars, of course.- Of course not.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07And all these lovely little cottages.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11- Charming, isn't it? - Yeah, charming is the word.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14There we go. There's the sea. And the little beach.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16It's absolutely fabulous.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19A small sand and shingle beach appears at low tide
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and fascinating rock pools are revealed
0:22:22 > 0:22:25to inquisitive young holidaymakers like eight-year-old Angela
0:22:25 > 0:22:27all those years ago.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30They're doing exactly what we used to do
0:22:30 > 0:22:33when we came down here to Kingsand and Cawsand.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35They've got their nets, they're in a little rock pool
0:22:35 > 0:22:37and seeing what they can find.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Look at that little boy out there, look, with a net.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41We used to do all of that.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Isn't it lovely that we can see kids doing what
0:22:43 > 0:22:44we used to do 50 years ago,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46still getting pleasure out of it?
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Not sitting at home with their laptops and this,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50that and the other. It's great.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52I'm going to roll my trousers up
0:22:52 > 0:22:55because we might get a bit wet down here.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Actually, of course, we would have taken our shoes off.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02And I can see you now - 1952, all you little girls,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04with your frocks tucked into your knickers.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Oh, yeah, with our jam jars and our nets
0:23:07 > 0:23:12and our bare feet in rock pools like this, having the time of our lives.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15This little pool, it's actually quite...
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Look, we've got lots of little winkle shells down here.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- And these are all live. - Live winkle.- Little live winkles.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26- We used to have them Sundays.- Yeah? - Yeah, round my nan's.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Tiny, tiny little shells. I can't see any sea anemones.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Look at these. Look at these little limpets stuck.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35- Limpets.- Not coming off.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Look at that. Solid.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41Do you think that was the start of your being inquisitive
0:23:41 > 0:23:43- and wanting to find out things? - Probably.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45It was being out in the country, bird-watching,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48being able to say, "Oh, look, there's a woodpecker,
0:23:48 > 0:23:50"that's a...whatever,"
0:23:50 > 0:23:53you know, "tree creeper or a starling or whatever."
0:23:53 > 0:23:55- Yeah.- I tell you what it also was.
0:23:55 > 0:24:00It was part of my love of the countryside
0:24:00 > 0:24:01and natural history.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05Angela's parents encouraged her interest in the natural world.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09She was very close to her father, who was away from home
0:24:09 > 0:24:12fighting in the war for the first three years of her life.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Was you a bit of a daddy's girl?
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Very much so because my father was a Royal Marine, as I said,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21very much a macho man,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25and my mum couldn't have any children after me, so I was the only one.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28But my dad imparted to me
0:24:28 > 0:24:30a lot of the things that he would have done to a son -
0:24:30 > 0:24:34things like standing up for yourself, self-reliance, believing in yourself,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38all of those things, which haven't half stood me in good stead
0:24:38 > 0:24:40working in television, I can tell you.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43So, there you were, one of the first female journalists
0:24:43 > 0:24:48ever to be on the news, the proper nationwide news.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Did you get advice from your dad?
0:24:50 > 0:24:54My very first day in television was at BBC Plymouth.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59My father said to me, "When you look at the camera, talk to me.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01"Just pretend I'm the camera."
0:25:01 > 0:25:04And my dad was so right,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07because I've now spent 48 years talking to my dad.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09He was a special guy, my dad.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Tourism is a major industry here in the southwest of England.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18In Plymouth alone, visitors spend over £250 million
0:25:18 > 0:25:22every year exploring this historic naval city.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Sailors have always been well-catered for down here,
0:25:26 > 0:25:30and the city is home to the oldest gin distillery in the world -
0:25:30 > 0:25:32Black Friars.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35This 18th-century building once produced more gin
0:25:35 > 0:25:40than anywhere else on earth, and now hosts distilling demonstrations.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42Older still, the Minerva pub
0:25:42 > 0:25:46has been serving for over 450 years.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49It's said that Sir Francis Drake himself drank here.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53And the building's wooden framing is taken from the Spanish Armada
0:25:53 > 0:25:54he helped to defeat.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Nine miles outside the city is an altogether different attraction.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04On the edge of Dartmoor, in 33 acres of woodland,
0:26:04 > 0:26:06is a family-owned zoo.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09It's home to a lion, tigers and even a bear,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13and was featured in the 2011 film We Bought A Zoo.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Without doubt, the main attraction at Mount Edgcumbe
0:26:21 > 0:26:25is the Grade 1 listed house and its spectacular gardens.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Angela didn't come here with her school,
0:26:27 > 0:26:29but she did come with her parents,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32a time which holds some very precious memories,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34so I'm taking her back in style.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36All aboard!
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Come on, Andrew!
0:26:38 > 0:26:42So, Angela, you used to go off to Edgcumbe House.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44As a day trip, yes. It was so easy, you see.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Come over on the ferry, walk up that lovely driveway to the house,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51have a picnic in the grounds and then walk around the headland
0:26:51 > 0:26:55and, if you were really energetic, come as far as Kingsand and Cawsand.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59This place holds such formative memories for Angela,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02the eight-year-old girl who grew into a national treasure.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Now I want to know how she's managed to transform herself
0:27:05 > 0:27:10so many times through almost 50 years on our TV screens.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Well, you're certainly one of those people that loves
0:27:13 > 0:27:14to spread their wings.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17You've done so many different things. Why is that?
0:27:17 > 0:27:20I always think, Len, I've been uniquely privileged
0:27:20 > 0:27:22that... "I'm a broadcaster," I always say,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24"and not a nanocaster, I'm a broadcaster."
0:27:24 > 0:27:28But I've been given the opportunity as a broadcaster
0:27:28 > 0:27:29and a communicator
0:27:29 > 0:27:31to work on everything from Top Gear...
0:27:31 > 0:27:34I was the first presenter of that on national television.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37..Come Dancing, of course, What's My Line?
0:27:37 > 0:27:41Of course, now using my journalistic skills in consumer affairs
0:27:41 > 0:27:44as one of the presenters on Rip-Off Britain on the BBC.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48The first time I really saw you spread your wings
0:27:48 > 0:27:51was when you came away from the news desk
0:27:51 > 0:27:55onto that fantastic Morecambe and Wise programme.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58That was enormous fun, it really was,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01and a huge compliment because, of course, at the time,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Eric and Ern were THE names on British television.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06And to be asked to do that
0:28:06 > 0:28:10sort of plum spot at the end of their Christmas special,
0:28:10 > 0:28:12that was such an accolade when you think of all the people
0:28:12 > 0:28:13that did it before me -
0:28:13 > 0:28:16like Andre Previn, Elton John - big, big names.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19So to be asked to do it was huge
0:28:19 > 0:28:21and such a compliment.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24And weren't they just the loveliest people to work with?
0:28:26 > 0:28:28Set within nearly 900 acres,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Mount Edgcumbe House was built in the middle of the 16th century
0:28:32 > 0:28:35and has been the seat of seven earls.
0:28:35 > 0:28:40Thanks, Andrew. Thanks for bringing us back in the bus. There we go.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42'Angela first came here as a young girl
0:28:42 > 0:28:45'and hasn't been back in over 20 years
0:28:45 > 0:28:48'so I've arranged for manager Ian Berry
0:28:48 > 0:28:51'to give us a special tour of this splendid building.'
0:28:51 > 0:28:54- This is fascinating. - It's lovely, isn't it?
0:28:54 > 0:28:55I guess back in '52,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58because there'd been a lot of damage during the war,
0:28:58 > 0:29:00it wasn't quite how we see it now.
0:29:00 > 0:29:01No, it was not.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03It had been severely damaged
0:29:03 > 0:29:05- and in fact caught fire, didn't it, Ian?- It did.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07And there was no roof.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09- We're talking about a building what, Tudor?- Tudor building.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13Stood all that time and then the German bombers came along
0:29:13 > 0:29:14and puff - off it went.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Two small incendiary bombs on the roof burned through the roof,
0:29:17 > 0:29:19set fire to it all.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21There was a big wing just along here.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24That all went up in smoke and it was left as a shell.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27And my first real kind of memory of this place
0:29:27 > 0:29:32was coming here with my parents and getting bored on a Sunday afternoon.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36And I came up and snuck through the wire
0:29:36 > 0:29:37to where I shouldn't be,
0:29:37 > 0:29:41to come in and kind of explore all around the garden,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43which is over there to the other side of the house,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45and I was having a great time.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47I thought, "I'm here and there's nobody else here."
0:29:47 > 0:29:50And then I saw a lady in the garden over there with a hat
0:29:50 > 0:29:53and secateurs and a trug,
0:29:53 > 0:29:55and I thought, "I'm going to be caught,"
0:29:55 > 0:29:58and I just hightailed it out of here and went back down there
0:29:58 > 0:30:01and thought that would be the last time I'd ever go into the house,
0:30:01 > 0:30:02but of course it wasn't.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05'After being devastated in the Second World War,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08'this magnificent house has been restored
0:30:08 > 0:30:12'in a classic 18th-century neo-Georgian style.'
0:30:12 > 0:30:15- Look at this.- Wow. - Isn't it lovely?- Fantastic.
0:30:15 > 0:30:21- And I suppose, when you was a young girl, there was no roof.- No, no.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24- When I was little and came here, the roof was gone, wasn't it, Ian?- Yeah.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29It was just a shell then. And they started a rebuild in the 1950s,
0:30:29 > 0:30:31which in itself is a fascinating story.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34- We need to look at this painting up here.- Oh, right.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38This is of Kenelm Edgcumbe and his wife, Lillian.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41Kenelm was the Sixth Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and it was Kenelm who had the inspiration to rebuild the house.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46The family had been through a pretty rough time.
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Their son had been killed at Dunkirk.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50The house had burnt down in 1941.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53The Fifth Earl died in 1944.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56That's when Kenelm came into the title.
0:30:56 > 0:30:57So that's the lady I saw
0:30:57 > 0:30:59in the garden with the secateurs and the trug.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01- That's the one, Lillian.- Fantastic.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05'Just being in such grandeur is making me feel kind of regal.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09'I could see myself as the lord of the manor here.'
0:31:09 > 0:31:11- I tell you what, Len.- What? - Talk about Fred and Ginger.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13- We've got the steps. - Oh, yes.- We've got the ballroom.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16We could have our little dance, couldn't we?
0:31:16 > 0:31:18SHE LAUGHS
0:31:18 > 0:31:20- We can just... - We can go across, can't we?
0:31:20 > 0:31:21We can just swan across.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23THEY LAUGH
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Angela's television career began in 1966,
0:31:28 > 0:31:33when, aged 21, she worked as a news reporter for BBC South West.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35She returned to Edgcumbe House
0:31:35 > 0:31:39to make a film about the restoration of the gardens here.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43Now I've done some digging, and dusted down the old film
0:31:43 > 0:31:46that Angela hasn't seen for nearly 40 years.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49Ah. Vivaldi.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53I know what you're going to show.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55Well, just sit back and enjoy it.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57The beauty of the house was so widespread
0:31:57 > 0:32:00that it was claimed as prize in war.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03'We were told that the Duke of Medina,
0:32:03 > 0:32:05'who commanded the Spanish Armada,'
0:32:05 > 0:32:07had decided that Mount Edgcumbe would be his home
0:32:07 > 0:32:09after he conquered the British fleet.
0:32:09 > 0:32:10- It's fantastic.- Good Lord.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13So, how long is it since you've seen that footage?
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Oh, Len, I haven't seen that probably since I made the film,
0:32:17 > 0:32:20which would have been, what, in the late '60s.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22- Really?- Yes.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25And you talk about having a photographic memory.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28That piece to camera I did from memory.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31- There was no autocue in those days. - No, of course not.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Now, going on to your time as a newsreader,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39one of the ventures that you went into
0:32:39 > 0:32:42was TV-am with four others.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46It was a revolution and there was so much, I remember, criticism.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50- "News in the morning?"- "On telly?" - "On telly? No, we can't have that."
0:32:50 > 0:32:51We were actually...
0:32:51 > 0:32:55It was me, Anna Ford, Robert Kee,
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Michael Parkinson and David Frost.
0:32:59 > 0:33:00We were the famous five.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03The ratings battles between rival breakfast shows
0:33:03 > 0:33:05made headline news in the '80s,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07but TVam struggled to win viewers
0:33:07 > 0:33:10and was mired in internal politics,
0:33:10 > 0:33:14leading to difficult times for its under-pressure presenters.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17Anna Ford and I were very publicly sacked,
0:33:17 > 0:33:19which was...
0:33:19 > 0:33:20Did that knock my confidence?
0:33:20 > 0:33:24I thought that was the end of my broadcasting career, I really did.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27But I was given the opportunity to go and work for CBS in Boston
0:33:27 > 0:33:30as their arts and entertainments correspondent.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34I went to America, absolutely on a flyer for a year.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37From then on, I've just continued to work in television.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39And I actually think, in a very funny way,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41rather like this building that we're in,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43that, you know, Mount Edgcumbe House,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46like a phoenix, rose from the ashes from that destruction,
0:33:46 > 0:33:50that from that moment of destruction, actually going to America
0:33:50 > 0:33:54and working on American television for CBS for a year
0:33:54 > 0:33:57was one of the best things that could have happened to me.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01And it wouldn't have happened had it not been for the debacle at TV-am.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03It could have destroyed me, but it didn't.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04It actually, out of the ashes,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07gave me an opportunity to do something quite different,
0:34:07 > 0:34:10and 48 years later, still be here, working in television.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12You know, the thing is, you turned
0:34:12 > 0:34:14- a negative into a positive. - Into a positive.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17And just like that little eight-year-old, you know,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20if you fall over, you get up,
0:34:20 > 0:34:22- you dust yourself off and you start...- Yes.
0:34:22 > 0:34:23Pick yourself up.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27BOTH: You dust yourself off and you start all over again.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30The house and gardens at Mount Edgcumbe
0:34:30 > 0:34:33date back nearly 500 years.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35But today, I've roped in Richard Toy
0:34:35 > 0:34:38to help me find a more modern way
0:34:38 > 0:34:40to enjoy these peaceful surroundings.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42- Look out.- Hey?
0:34:42 > 0:34:44- That's smooth.- That's what you call a pair of wheels.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46- That is, isn't it? Yeah.- Excellent.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48- Are we going to go on one of these? - Absolutely.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50- Yeah.- Oh right.- Let's give it a go.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52'These things look a bit too nippy for me.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54'I'll wait and see how Angela gets on.'
0:34:56 > 0:34:59Richard, I want you to watch both of us individually.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03I want you to decide which one is the more elegant.
0:35:03 > 0:35:05I'll score you out of ten if you'd like.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09I would like that, please. And don't start all that seven business.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11All right, let's get you started.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14So when you're ready, two hands on the handlebars. There you go.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16Just place one foot on for the moment.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19Lift yourself up with your leg onto the second foot platform.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21There you go. You might wobble around a little bit.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23You're a pro already.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26As you start to lean forward, you're going to start to crawl.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Excellent. When you lean back slightly... And then you'll stop.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33- Oh, no.- Do we have The Blue Danube? - No. You're showing off now.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37I don't think I need to have a go, Richard, really.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40I think Angela has shown us. Whoa! Hey!
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Well, I have to say, you picked that up really quickly.
0:35:43 > 0:35:44Marks out of ten?
0:35:44 > 0:35:48It would have to be at least a nine. Let's make that 9.5.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52- Not bad for a novice.- Absolutely.- You going to have a go?- Well, yes, I am.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54- Go for a ten?- I'm going for a ten. - Going for a ten.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58Let's see a supreme performance.
0:35:58 > 0:36:03- Start leaning your entire body... - No, don't. I don't like it. No.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06Oh, no, give over. Why is it going over there?
0:36:06 > 0:36:12- You're steering it that way. - I don't mess about. Here I go.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14I must be doing three miles an hour now.
0:36:14 > 0:36:16See if you can stop right there.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18- Stop right there?- Stop right there.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26- Perfect. - Where are you going?- Shut up.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31- No, I'm going to dismount.- OK.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Ten for Len or not?
0:36:33 > 0:36:37Not quite, no. It was nearly a nine.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41- I must say, Angela, you did have a more professional approach.- Did I?
0:36:41 > 0:36:44- Yes.- They're fun!- They are fun. - They're a lot of fun, absolutely.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48- Can I have another go?- Yes, of course you can.- Want a lift, Len?
0:36:48 > 0:36:49Carry on.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51That's the trouble -
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Angela is good at everything.
0:36:53 > 0:36:54She is.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59She's humiliated me in front of millions of people. Look at her now.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Look at her. Look at her go.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04- SHE LAUGHS - Shut up, Angela.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08SHE LAUGHS
0:37:12 > 0:37:15Plymouth and the surrounding area has a wealth of history
0:37:15 > 0:37:19that keeps millions of tourists coming every year.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Visitors can climb aboard one of these Segways
0:37:21 > 0:37:26for a guided adventure 300 feet to the top of Mount Edgcumbe.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29The vista from the summit is spectacular,
0:37:29 > 0:37:34with views across the Plymouth Sound and the River Tamar.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37The best way to get about the city is by hiring a bike.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Cyclists can head to the waterfront,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43and take in the Grade 1 listed Royal William Yard,
0:37:43 > 0:37:44or the Mayflower Steps,
0:37:44 > 0:37:48where America's Founding Fathers set off on a voyage of discovery.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54Plymouth has been home to the Royal Navy for over 300 years,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56and many have died in defence of the country.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01Completed in 1924, the spectacular Naval War Memorial
0:38:01 > 0:38:06commemorates the lives of over 23,000 personnel lost in battle.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12And the most iconic attraction has to be Smeaton's Tower.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16This 18th-century lighthouse stood 72 feet high
0:38:16 > 0:38:20and was originally lit with just 24 candles.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23Now visitors can now climb the 93 steps
0:38:23 > 0:38:27to witness spectacular views across the Plymouth Sound.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35Angela Rippon has had a most prolific and varied career.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38She's brought us the news. She's travelled far and wide.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41And she's even done a spot of dancing.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Her time spent on Mount Edgcumbe helped shape
0:38:43 > 0:38:48that wide-eyed eight-year-old into the national treasure we know today.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51But I want to know the secret to her success.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56Well, your career has spanned getting on for 50 years.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59What is the secret to longevity?
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Well, I don't actually know.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05I always feel that my theme song
0:39:05 > 0:39:08should be the one from Follies, Stephen Sondheim -
0:39:08 > 0:39:10I'm Still Here. Don't ask me how.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16I hope it's because people quite like working with me.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I hope it's because the viewers
0:39:19 > 0:39:22enjoy the kind of programmes that I get involved in.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Or maybe it's just because I'm stubborn and won't go away.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27THEY BOTH LAUGH
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Well, you know, of all those things, and the list is endless -
0:39:30 > 0:39:34documentaries, quiz shows, Come Dancing, on and on,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37newsreader - what one has given you the most pleasure
0:39:37 > 0:39:39or which one are you most proud of?
0:39:39 > 0:39:41I think probably...
0:39:41 > 0:39:44When I get young women coming up to me
0:39:44 > 0:39:48and saying, "You were my role model," when I was reading the news.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50"You were the person that made me
0:39:50 > 0:39:55"want to get into journalism or broadcasting."
0:39:55 > 0:39:57That, I think, is what gives me...
0:39:57 > 0:40:00I get kind of tingly just talking about it now.
0:40:00 > 0:40:03I think that probably makes me...
0:40:03 > 0:40:04I feel good about that.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07Of all the people you have interviewed,
0:40:07 > 0:40:11who has been the one that has impressed you the most
0:40:11 > 0:40:13and was just fantastic?
0:40:13 > 0:40:18Oh, I tell you who is quite outstanding for a lot of reasons -
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Yul Brynner. I was a fan of Yul Brynner since I can't remember.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26That voice, sexiest voice on the silver screen.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28And to actually meet him and interview him
0:40:28 > 0:40:31and get an interview towards the end of his life
0:40:31 > 0:40:33when he knew he was dying of cancer,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36the things that he said stayed with me forever.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39How do you think your holiday in 1952
0:40:39 > 0:40:43has helped you to become the person that you are today?
0:40:43 > 0:40:48I think probably from that holiday, I got that sense of adventure,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51I got the curiosity. And I also knew,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54because it was the first holiday I'd ever had away from my parents,
0:40:54 > 0:40:56a proper holiday,
0:40:56 > 0:41:01to stand on my own two feet and to trust my judgement
0:41:01 > 0:41:05and to be able to go out and do things on my own.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07- Yeah, not to be afraid.- No.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11And I think that is probably what stayed with me.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14'It's been an honour to take Angela back to a place
0:41:14 > 0:41:17'which holds such very special memories...'
0:41:17 > 0:41:21Oh, look! It's just as I remember.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25'..reliving the times she spent here as a schoolgirl 60 years ago...'
0:41:25 > 0:41:29I'm going to roll my trousers up cos we might get wet down here.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32'..and seeing that a few things have changed in all that time.'
0:41:32 > 0:41:33That's the taste of childhood.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36'It's clear that Mount Edgcumbe
0:41:36 > 0:41:40'is still a very special place for Angela even now.'
0:41:40 > 0:41:44- I've got a little gift for you. Don't get excited.- Right. Oh.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Here we go.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48What's this?
0:41:48 > 0:41:51This is Holiday Of My Lifetime With Len Goodman.
0:41:51 > 0:41:57It's a little keepsake of memories of our time together.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00'A photo album capturing all the fun we've had
0:42:00 > 0:42:02'on a wonderful day together.'
0:42:08 > 0:42:10I tell you why that's really brilliant, Len.
0:42:10 > 0:42:15I cannot find any photographs at all of that original holiday in 1952.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19So to have this, reliving it with you as my mate,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21as my companion,
0:42:21 > 0:42:23is really, really special.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25Thank you so much. Thank you.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30- The excitement hasn't finished. - Oh, my goodness. Can I take any more?
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Because when we were watching the film of you,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36you said, "I'd love to have that."
0:42:36 > 0:42:40- Oh, my gosh, there it is. - There it is.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44There's the film. Good heavens above.
0:42:44 > 0:42:45Me at Mount Edgcumbe.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Oh, Len, the old film can.
0:42:49 > 0:42:50There's not a film in there.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54Oh, it's a DVD. Oh, thanks.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58That's Christmas and birthday all rolled into one. Oh, thank you.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01So that's Mount Edgcumbe.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Wonderful beaches, spectacular gardens, breathtaking views
0:43:04 > 0:43:08and historic hall - all in one spot.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11No wonder it's a place that means so much to Angela Rippon.