Dan Walker Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman

Childhood holidays? We all love them, don't we?

Fun in the sun, sandcastles, swimming in the sea...

Can't beat them.

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

'with some much-loved famous faces.'

Everyone a winner! HE CHUCKLES

Come, on. Hook a duck.

And some of the most surprising guests

have the most fascinating holidays.

-You could do a night here.

-You could!

-Yeah.

However, I think that's long enough for me.

THEY LAUGH

'We will relive the fun...'

TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS Oh, no, no!

'..the games...' HE GRUNTS

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

That is a little taste of childhood right there.

'..to find out how those holidays around the UK help shape

'the people we know so well today.'

I'm giving you a standing ovation.

'So, buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.'

Can you come on all my holidays?

Oh-ho, yes, I'm so excited about today's guest.

He's a man who puts us through our sporting paces every week

and we don't even have to leave our sofa!

How good is that? Oh!

He was born in Crawley, in Sussex, in 1977.

Here he is as a cheeky young lad.

Oh, I bet he was some trouble for his mum.

He started his career as a sports commentator

and presenter on the wireless.

You know, people say I've got a face for the radio. Liberty.

And before long, he was fronting some of the biggest sporting

events on the planet,

like the Olympics.

Now, you don't get bigger than that.

But on a Saturday, you'll find his FOCUS is on the beautiful game.

Yeah, football.

You think it's all over?

Well, it is now.

Today's guest is coming straight from the Football Focus studios,

Dan Walker.

Oh, Len and Dan.

I'm on my way to pick him up in this fantastic Volkswagen camper van.

Oh, when he was a little boy, I bet he had some fun in the back of this.

Ho-ho!

Dan Walker grew up in Crawley, West Sussex,

where he lived with his brother, two sisters,

his mum, Mai, a college lecturer

and his dad, Austin, a pastor of a church.

After leaving school, young Dan went on

to the University of Sheffield

where he earned himself an MA in journalism.

Oh, he's a clever boy.

But really what kick-started his career was winning

a competition for young sports commentators.

That led to four years on the radio followed by a move into telly,

which has seen him present everything

from the Grand National to the Olympics

and even the odd episode of Songs Of Praise.

Today, this award-winning sports journalist is a married man,

father of three, presenter of Football Focus

and has a show on Radio 5 live.

Whoa, sounds to me like this young whippersnapper could really

do with a holiday.

Oh, just wait until he sees my retro wheels.

That, my friends, is a Volkswagen bus.

HE HONKS HORN

Lenny!

Where on earth did you find that?

Does it bring back memories?

I've never seen another one.

This is...this is remarkable.

In the right tone of yellow as well.

'Well, we do aim to please.'

-What do you think?

-Magnificent.

It brings back memories of the holiday, the family.

It looks, in fairness, it looks pretty similar,

although ours had brown corduroy seats.

-That's the only difference.

-So, where are we going?

We are off to Aberdeen.

-Aberdeen?

-Yeah.

I'll ask you about that later.

-The year?

-The year, Len, 1991.

1991 was when the film Thelma And Louise came out.

This is our moment.

-Thelma, get in. Away we go.

-Let's do it.

-Lovely.

LEN CHUCKLES

Today, we are travelling in style

as we head northeast to Aberdeen,

a city renowned for its oil, its seafood

and its architectural splendour,

which is why it is also called the Granite City.

After taking in the city sights,

we will be heading into the Grampian Mountains...

'..in order to relive Dan's 1991 family holiday'

when he was just 13 years old.

So, where were you coming from?

Crawley. So, near Gatwick Airport.

So...that's a journey.

-It's an epic journey, Len.

-Yeah.

How long did it take?

It took over 12 hours, cos my dad had this thing.

He was very...very efficient.

-Right.

-So, he would only...

-Let me check your speed limit.

-I'm on 30.

-He would only go 55mph, so...

-What, the whole...

-The whole way.

-You never went above 55?

-Never went above. Fuel economy.

It took virtually the whole day to get there.

I bet the journey was almost as long as the holiday.

THEY LAUGH

It was a beast.

So, I suppose you would've been sitting in the back there

with your Walkman, listening to New Kids On The Block.

MUSIC: You Got It by New Kids On The Block

So, why Aberdeen?

Many have asked that question over the years,

but we didn't really have much money for holidays. We never went abroad.

-We either went camping or we swapped houses with somebody.

-Oh, right.

So, somebody went and lived in our house for a week

-and we went and lived in their house for a week.

-Yeah.

We didn't even come in the summer.

We came in January/February, so it was...

-It was February?

-Yeah.

February 1991.

'And around that time in Aberdeen,

'you could usually expect a high of maybe ten degrees.

'Add to that the 12 hours of driving

'and you've got one very memorable journey.'

-You embrace the dream. It was great and...

-Embrace the dream.

-HE LAUGHS

-Of Aberdeen.

-Of Aberdeen.

But I remember... I do remember the excitement.

I think we probably grabbed our duvets and, you know,

first few hours, you snuggled up in the back.

-Yeah.

-I was excited.

-Well, why wouldn't you be?

-It was the year of the shell suit, though, Len.

-Oh, was it?

-Yeah, I wore a shell suit for the whole week.

-Wow.

I got it for Christmas.

It had been the only thing I asked for that Christmas.

-You wanted a shell suit?

-Yeah.

-Not a bum bag?

I had a bum bag and a shell suit, yeah.

Oh, you... THEY LAUGH

I wish it wasn't quite so unfashionable.

Well, we should start a small campaign between us.

-You know, we're on different shows and things.

-Yeah.

-Bring back the bum bag.

-The double B.

-The double B.

-Bring back the double B.

-THEY LAUGH

While the fashions of the day have proved unforgettable,

here's what else was going on in the world way back in 1991.

It was the year astronaut Helen Sharman became

the first Briton in space.

Incidentally, she also worked as a chemist for Mars -

the chocolate company, not the planet.

Meanwhile, British journalist John McCarthy,

Britain's longest held hostage in Lebanon, was set free

after more than five years in captivity.

And tragically, 1991 also saw the loss of one of music's most

talented and outrageous performers, the legendary Freddie Mercury.

-# Do the Bartman

-Do the Bartman... #

But that wasn't the only blow to the music industry,

as one of the biggest selling singles of 1991 was

Do The Bartman.

# Will you stop that infernal racket?

# Do the Bartman! #

Oh, what a year.

And of course, it was Dan's first ever visit to Scotland

and now, I've brought him back to Aberdeen.

I want to relive those precious moments.

Though, first, there's little surprise for him

in the back of the camper van.

-It's 1991.

-What have you got?

'Ha-ha!

'It's only the best Dan Walker lookalike shell suit money can buy.'

HE CHUCKLES

I've got to tell you, that is virtually it.

It was a little bit more...

-fluorescent, but come on, Len.

-Yeah.

This is it.

Well, yours is a bit more Bruno Tonioli than mine.

-Oh, it's nice.

-Oh, yeah.

Can you feel that smoothness as you pop it on?

-Yeah, silky sensation, I call it.

-Yeah.

Zip still works a treat. You go right...

I used to wear mine right to the top. You rocking that or not?

-Well, is that high enough for you?

-You'll go right to the top.

I don't want to... See, when you get old, you get this wattle.

-This wattle appears.

-You don't want to... Don't damage...

-I don't want to damage my wattle.

-Don't damage your wattle.

-I'll never get it off.

-You'll have to have a neck brace on Strictly.

'Well, anything's better than a shell suit

'and, of course, its must-have accessory.'

Wait.

Got to have it, ain't we? DAN CHUCKLES

You got anything you want me to put in, Len? Got any coins, pens?

-Food items?

-I got an apple core.

And two marbles, a toffee - only half-sucked...

-Have you got a Walkman?

-THEY LAUGH

'And now we are both the height of fashion,

'I think it's time we've got this double act on the road.'

-I'm going to even do this for you.

-Thank you, sir.

-Hop in.

-You in?

-Beautiful.

'Back in the day, Dan's dad would tell the family

'all about the interesting buildings you could find around Aberdeen.

'Today, it's yours truly doing the honours with a grand granite tour.'

Did you know that in the 19th century,

Aberdeen was the world centre for granite?

I didn't know that.

Well, I'm telling you now.

'Not just a pretty face, you know?

'And there's plenty more where that came from.'

Half the granite in the whole of this city came from just one quarry.

-That's a big quarry.

-That is a big quarry, I'll tell you that.

'And by the time the Rubislaw Quarry closed in 1971,

'it had been mined for more than 300 years.

'No wonder there's granite just about everywhere you look.'

-On your right...

-Yes, sir.

-..St Mary's Church,

-also known as The Tartan Kirkie.

-Why is that?

Because of the patterning,

the patternation... You see I've gone all schoolteacher-y.

Is that a word?

The patternation on the roof.

I can see it. It's very...unusual, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's very sort of tartan kirkie.

-Right.

-That's why they call it that.

-Yeah.

'St Mary's has also just celebrated her 150th birthday.

'Though being made of granite, which doesn't weather,

'the old girl doesn't look a day over 40.'

-Dan, you will notice that on the right...

-Yeah.

..we have the Rosemount Viaduct tenements.

Built approximately in 1880

and there they are.

'Aren't they gorgeous?

'They are the tallest traditional tenements in the city,

'but if you think that's impressive,

'what about His Majesty's Theatre?'

The largest theatre in the north-east of Scotland.

All made of granite.

I was going to guess that it was made of granite.

'Everyone has been here from Noel Coward to Brian May.'

Isn't that something special?

I'm loving my lesson. My Len lesson.

Oh, look up in front of you now.

-Marischal College.

-Wow.

Now home of the Council,

it's the largest granite building in Aberdeen

and the second-largest in the world.

I'm going to throw one out there, Len.

I think that's the nicest council building I've ever seen.

I'm going to agree with you there.

And out the front is a statue of Andrew Murray on a horse.

-Robert the Bruce.

-Oh, was it?

I thought it might be Andy Murray. THEY CHUCKLE

If he wins Wimbledon again, they might put him there.

They might put him there.

'And so, cue the music, please.' SCOTLAND THE BRAVE PLAYS

'That's the end of my grand Goodman granite tour.

'If you liked it, tell your friends,

'if you didn't, keep quiet.'

What is your opinion on the bagpipe? Are you a fan or not a fan?

-It depends on the occasion.

-Yeah.

A friend of mine thinks it's the missing link

between noise and music.

There is, though... I'm not being daft here. There is a sort of...

-..strange beauty to it when it's played well.

-There is.

And I'll tell you what, even though I'm not Scottish,

so for the Scots it must be even more so,

it somehow fills you with a bit of pride.

-It gets you in there, doesn't it?

-It does. You know?

HE HUMS SCOTLAND THE BRAVE

THEY HUM SCOTLAND THE BRAVE

Dan and I's next stop is a fishy one.

Back in '91, the family loved visiting Aberdeen Docks

and maybe enjoying a kipper or two.

These days, the harbour sees less seafood,

but I found a place I know Dan will love.

-Hello, Jim.

-Nice to you.

-This is Dan.

-Lovely to meet you.

-Nice to meet you, Dan.

-Lovely to see you too.

Now, I understand we might try to fillet a fish.

It's not as easy as it maybe seems.

-I'm ready, Jim.

-We are.

-Are you going to have a go, are you?

Well, I think we'll... Are we both having a go?

-I'd rather you had a go and I sort of commented.

-Right. OK.

'And what better venue than Granite City Fish,

'a local company founded half a century ago

'by Gina Fletcher and Cathy Adams,

'two humble fish filleters who decided to take a gamble

'and open their own business.

'Today, it's Ed calling the shots.'

They started Granite City Fish in 1965.

It was very unusual, actually, for women to go into an industry

that is very male-orientated as well.

'Fortunately, the girls were a great success, though eventually,

'it came time to hand over the reins to the next generation.'

To be honest, I wasn't going to get involved,

but round about 1982, 1983,

Aberdeen had its first oil slump

and I got paid off from the oil industry

and decided to give my mother a hand in the fish trade

and 30-odd years later, I'm still in the business.

'Isn't that lovely?

'Though I wonder what Gina and Cathy would make of

'Ed's newest recruit, Dan.'

-Do you like a lobster?

-I do like a lobster.

-That's a beauty, isn't it?

-That's a big old beauty, that, isn't it?

-Yes, gorgeous.

-I've got a lobster gag. Do you want my lobster gag?

-Yeah, go on.

So, two lobsters talking to each other... Can I pick this up, Jim?

-Yeah.

-Two lobsters talking to each other.

One says, "You are all the same, you lot. You give it..."

Oh, no!

No, no, you cost them fortunes. Oh, no!

Lobster down.

-Lobster down.

-You're never going to flog that.

Now it's a one-armed lobster. Oh, no.

Special on one-armed lobster, Jim?

Yeah, we will do it cheap.

Buy one, get one free.

'I can't take him anywhere!'

What kind of fish is this, Jim?

-It's a plaice.

-Oh, I love plaice.

-Do you like plaice?

-I do.

-What's your favourite fish?

Plaice would be my top three fish. I do like skate.

-Oh, wing of skate is my absolute...

-Oh, come on!

-Absolute...

Now, Jim, is this locally caught?

Yeah, these are from North Sea and from Peterhead.

And we also do lemon sole.

I prefer a lemon sole to a Dover sole.

Now, that's something you didn't know.

-I've got lemon sole here.

-Where?

These ones are skinned,

both sides,

and I think they're actually going to Her Majesty, Madge.

-To the Queen?

-Yeah.

-These are the Queen's fish?

Indirectly, indirectly. We supply a customer and he is supplying her.

-What... Is that...

-That's the lemon sole with the skin on.

-I feel we need to salute it.

-So, that's...

-The Queen's fish.

-..that's as it comes off the boat.

-Straight off the boat.

-Yeah.

'So, we are definitely in the right PLAICE. Get it?

'No need to CARP on...

'Ha-ha. As Jim has a few tips for Dan to MULLET over.'

There is a skill to that knife.

Look, he just chucks it in

-like that.

-Have you seen the...

What's the official term for this? Is it gizzards?

-Offal.

-DAN AND LEN:

-Offal.

-Fish offal.

-It looks awful.

THEY LAUGH

'I'm on fire today, but we need to take this seriously.

'After all, I don't want Dan to make a mis-HAKE.'

-Knife like this and in there?

-No!

That way first. Up there.

-You can't get it from here.

-OK, right. In here.

-Try and find the bone.

-Find the

-bone.

-And slide it down like that.

-Like that. This bit.

-Yeah.

-Oh.

-Keep your hands back.

-Keep your hand

back. Where's that bone gone?

-Your knife is on the wrong side of it.

-Jim, I've got it!

-Is that right?

-Yeah, well, you are getting there.

-Now, lift this sucker up?

-Yep, but be careful. Just watch your fingers.

Get in there.

It's not as easy as it looks, is it?

Watch your fingers. I'm terrified.

OK. Now, where were...

Can I finish it for you?

I can do this, Jim. Come on. Jim, come on.

"I can do this."

Talk me through it. Where do we go?

-Down here now?

-No, you need to go

-in here.

-In there.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Just keep your hand...

Get rid of that bit. Get rid of the flap.

Get rid of the flap for God's sake, man.

-That's... Now, that's.

-Yes!

-Oh, yes.

-Let's have a look.

-The smallest filet you've ever seen.

'Not quite of a standard to send to Her Majesty,

'but I think young Dan has made the most

'of the oppor-TUNA-ty.

'I'm so sorry.'

I'm slightly concerned.

-The lobster's not going to the Queen, is it?

-No.

-No, not that one.

-It's not going to salute either.

You can't... Don't send her a one-armed lobster.

One... THEY LAUGH

No, we don't want that.

Well, I'll tell you what, Dan, I'm going to score it.

It can't be a ten from Len.

SEVEN!

Yeah, it's about a SEVEN!

You've got it.

'But there is a consolation prize -

'Jim's kindly sorted us out some smoked salmon.'

-OK, Len?

-Oh, look at that.

-Look at that.

-I'm only joking.

-It's beautiful.

-Get your...

-Oh, that's lovely. Thank you very much.

It's the same way our Arbroath smokies are done.

Oh, this is lovely. I like Jim, don't you?

Jim is my favourite Scottish fish man.

-Jim, thanks very much.

-Cheers.

As for our next stop, the Balmedie Beach,

all 14 miles of it, from the country park

down to the mouth of the Don in Aberdeen.

Welcome to the beach, Len. It's special, isn't it?

Oh, did you come down here?

Yeah, I'm not sure if it was exactly here,

but we spent a bit of time doing the normal paddling.

I can't remember the waves being quite so...boisterous

as they were today.

It was cold, it was February.

Oh, yeah, though you wouldn't have done a lot of it.

There was none of this shiny thing in the sky, but...

What a wonderful bay.

And Aberdeen is just there. It's...it's incredible.

Golf course behind us, beach right there.

-What more do you want, eh?

-Nothing.

-I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what you want.

-What?

-A nice bit of lunch.

-Ooh, is it time?

And I've got it ready for you. Come on.

Food's a big part of any holiday

and on the Walkers' road trip to Aberdeen,

Mum's cold sausages in the back of the camper van

were a very popular dish,

and if there was tomato sauce, even better.

Blimey, it's not very easy, this.

Hold on. No! No!

Give over. THEY LAUGH

-Come on, son, I've got you.

-I'm in.

-He's in!

THEY LAUGH

Why the... No!

THEY LAUGH

Cor!

Blimey O'Reilly. Oh!

'Now that unpleasantness is out of the way,

'I think it's finally time for lunch.

'On today's menu, a little surf...'

-You've cooked it beautifully(!)

-Took me hours.

'..and turf.'

Oh, oh. Oh! LEN GRUNTS AND SHOUTS

-Joy of joys.

-He's only gone and pulled it out of the bag.

Oh, look at that.

They are magnificently cooked as well.

-That's good sausage.

-It's a nice sausage.

Could do with a condiment, though.

How did you get yourself started into sports journalism?

I wrote a letter to Des Lynam when I was 11.

-Really?

-That said, "Dear, Des, I love your moustache.

"How do I get your job?"

He wrote back and said,

"Lovely to hear from you. Do your GCSEs, do your A-levels,

"don't do a media degree.

"Do something like English or history..." And I loved history.

"..and then do a postgraduate course in broadcast journalism

"and then get a job in local radio."

-And bizarrely, that's exactly the...

-Is that what you did?

That's the path that I followed. I nearly became a teacher

because I had always loved teaching.

I wanted to be a teacher, teach PE and history,

cos my teachers inspired me at school.

But I went and had an interview to be a teacher

and they turned me down.

They said I was too immature to be a teacher.

So, I thought, "Well, I'll give this broadcasting lark a go."

Applied to do a course, won a commentary competition

and that was it. Got my first job in local radio.

'Oh, what a happy ending.

'Speaking of which, there's dessert too -

'Jamaican ginger cake - just like Dan's mum used to make.

'Well, not from scratch.'

Can I smell it?

Have a smell.

Oh! You've hit the spot there. That's it.

That is our...that was our holiday dessert. Special occasions only.

Would you have had it, as we say in the French, pain ordinaire?

No, if you are...

I suppose if you're out and about you might go evaporated milk

if you're going crazy, but custard is the perfect...

Oh, Len.

Len!

Get that yellow goodness on that bad boy.

-You've got to do it properly.

-Around the edges?

-Around the edge like...

-Yeah, yeah, I know.

-Like the gingerbread is a moat... Is a castle.

-In an island.

-Yeah.

And the custard is your moat.

Yeah!

-Close your eyes.

-Yeah.

And here we go.

-Oh, yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

THEY LAUGH

'But it wasn't just ginger cake that was a compulsory part

'of a Walker family holiday.

'Also high on the itinerary was a camper van ride

'to the imposing Castle Fraser.'

-Oh! Remember this, Len.

-Do you, really?

-The Great Hall.

Yeah, and it is.

'Dan's parents were adamant that their time in Aberdeen should

'not only be fun, but educational.'

Geography, history, my mum and dad would have it all planned out,

so this would have been on the radar a long time ahead.

I think we went to three castles in total.

This is the one I remember the most, though.

But as a child, were your parents strict regarding, you know,

"Stop running around and..."?

Or did you just take it in

and listen to your dad telling you about things?

Places like this, I would be off wandering,

opening doors, you know, lifting things up.

"No. No, Daniel. No, Daniel."

A withering look from your mother. You know, one of them.

If I came here, my mother, before we went in...

Early warning.

Or I'd get a whack around the...

Not a hard one, but, "Lenny, don't you start in there."

'Though for young inquisitive minds, there's plenty to explore.

'This 16th-century castle has 32 rooms,

'19 of which are open to the public, spread over five floors.'

-Love a spiral staircase.

-So do I.

'It boasts everything from the Great Hall with family portraits

'everywhere to its very own library filled with atmosphere.

'You can even get an idea of what the ancient Fraser clan

'liked to eat.

'I'm guessing it probably wasn't cold sausages.

'They even have their own chapel.'

You know, if you notice,

-even these very small rooms got a fire.

-Yeah.

You know, cos I guess, we're in the Grampians here. It's cold.

-You got to wrap up warmly.

-Snuggle up. Yeah.

-At Christmas time.

Of course, you have.

'As impressive as Castle Fraser is, I would have had a word

'with the builders.

'Apparently, it took them more than 50 years to finish the place,

'but there's no fault in the landscaping.

'300 acres, pristine gardens and even swings for us kids.'

-I've got to ask you one question.

-Yes.

How did you get from radio to TV?

-That's a...

-A good question.

-You're full of good questions, aren't you?

-Yes.

-Cos I got told for a long time that they were very different

and then...

-I went for a job interview at ITV.

-Right.

I walked in there and thought, "Right, I'm fed up with all these

"interviews where, you know, I say I'd like to do this

"and they say, right, we'll get back to you."

So, I just said, "Listen, give me a three-month contract.

"If I'm rubbish, you can get rid of me after a week,

"but if I'm any good, then...

"give me a six-month contract or a 12-month contract."

And I think she...

The lady I was being interviewed by,

I think she took to that and she went, "OK."

So, they gave me a three-month contract,

then they offered me a six-monther and then after six months,

she left to go to the BBC and I went with her.

Well, if I was you, I'd be pinching myself.

You know, you do Wimbledon, you do Aintree, you do The Open - golf.

Oh, yeah. I feel incredibly privileged

and thankful to be doing it, really.

I remember just before the World Cup in South Africa,

I was sitting there and I was asked to interview Gary Lineker

and Alan Shearer.

-Right.

-The little boy inside me thought,

"That's Gary Lineker.

"He scored 48 goals for England."

And then the little boy inside me looked at Alan Shearer and thought,

"That's Alan Shearer, that is." And he goes,

"How long are we doing this for, Dan?"

And the little kid in my head went, "He knows my name."

-Yeah.

-And sometimes there's still a bit of that about it

because these are the people I grew up watching and really

enjoyed watching and playing for their country and their club.

And there I am sitting next to them, so, yeah.

Right, come on. How high can you go? Ready?

Well, I've had a lot of cake.

'Oh, yes. This has been the holiday of both of our lifetimes.

It's truly been fabulous

and my main concern is that you will remember the day.

-Cos I will.

-Oh, OK.

-So, with that in mind...

-Oh, the memories.

-This is a book of memories.

-Oh...

Len's on the front and everything.

'Oh, yes,

'and inside,

'every one of our special moments

'here in the Granite City

'has been captured,

'even the sausages.

'But I'm not finished yet.

'I've got one last surprise for young Dan.'

Do you remember the number plate of that Volkswagen

that you came up to Aberdeen in?

I do. VPL14OY.

-Never!

-Well, you can't forget...

I remember finding it hilarious because VPL,

visible panty line, as a 13-year-old,

I thought that was the funniest joke ever.

Well, with that in mind, we've got another gift.

You never stop.

We never stop.

Has it got the...? Look at that.

The number plate and everything.

I'm going to take that home and show the kids.

I think they will love that. I can tell them all

about my second holiday to Aberdeen and how much I have enjoyed it.

-Thank you so much.

-No, it's been great.

-Thank you.

-It's been fun.

-A pleasure.

'So, as Dan and I load up the real camper van and head home,

'all that's left to say from Aberdeen is

'och, aye, the noo, or bye-bye, the noo.'