Episode 7 Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman

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

Fun in the sun, sand castles, 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! 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'll relive the fun...

TRAIN WHISTLE TOOTS Oh! No! No!

The games...

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 helped 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?

Today I am meeting someone who I watch on the television

all the time.

Oh, yes.

She's a lady who, like me,

loves having a good old nosy around people's houses.

She was born in London in 1971.

Oh, look at her angelic little face!

An early TV appearance of hers

was in the Chesney Hawkes video The One And Only.

# I am the one and only

# Nobody I'd rather be. #

She must have had a lot of hairspray on that up-do!

After entertaining the kiddiewinks on children's TV,

she became a firm fixture on morning television

and has been going in and out of houses all over the UK with who?

Martin Roberts.

Have I got a bid on today's guest?

Going once, going twice. It's gone.

It's Homes Under The Hammer's

Lucy Alexander.

And I'm on my way to pick her up in this beautiful Bentley,

just like the one her dad would have driven

when she was just a little girl in pigtails.

Oh, so posh!

Ooh, here I come.

Look, here she is back then in the actual car.

Lucy was born in East Dulwich

and grew up with her older sister, Sally,

mum, Kay, who worked in a children's nursery,

and dad, Fred, who had a driving school and sold cars on the side.

Lucy started singing and dancing from a very early age

and adored performing so much, she set out for a career in theatre.

But with an eye for a good buy

combined with a winning personality,

she became instead one of our favourite TV presenters,

hosting Homes Under The Hammer for over a decade.

This property could be an imaginative country retreat,

so let's see what happens to it when it goes under the hammer.

I'm hoping we're going to get on like a house on fire

as we relive her holiday memories,

starting with the classy car she came here in.

Oh, I love it!

My goodness.

I'm so excited to meet this man.

Whoa! Look, a silver Bentley!

Len! Oh, my goodness!

-I'm going to slide across.

-Wow!

Wow, can I have a kiss?

-Course you can.

-Hello, darling.

I'm so excited.

-Does this bring back memories?

-Completely.

-The mahogany dash. Look at it.

-Look at it!

-Wow!

-HE LAUGHS

Do you know, it seems smaller.

It seemed so much bigger when I was a kid.

Well, I tell you what, it's not so much smaller when you drive it.

-It is massive!

-How is it to drive? Beautiful.

-It's beautiful.

-Smooth.

-Smooth, automatic.

Where are we off to?

So, Herne Bay is where I spent a lot of my childhood holidays.

-So did I.

-Did you?

-Yes!

-And what's the year?

-1979.

Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive.

-Oh! I know all the words.

-Of course you would!

-Shall we have a sing-along?

-Now, no seat belts.

-I can cope with that. That's all right.

-But just sit in.

-Just drive safely.

-Herne Bay. Here we come!

Whoohoo!

For a bit of traditional seaside magic, you can't beat Herne Bay.

It has been welcoming visitors with its lovely beaches

and fresh air since the late 1700s.

At the end of the Thames estuary, it's eight miles north

of Canterbury and a few miles east of its posher neighbour, Whitstable.

With two miles of splendid seafront, it's

proud home to a pleasure pier, beach huts and a bandstand.

As well as gardens, arcades and all the usual seaside favourites.

Today I'm taking Lucy back to relive these glorious days when

she came here as a little girl down from London in a big fancy motor.

Well, before any holiday begins, you have to get there first.

For nine-year-old Lucy, leaving East Dulwich back in '79,

it was all about keeping mucky fingers off Dad's posh car.

My grandmother bought a bungalow, which was our holiday home,

-and we used to come down for weekends, long weekends.

-Perfect.

And I remember coming down in this car, not every weekend,

because this wasn't the car that my dad always had.

We used to literally have this car

and then the week later, my dad would have a different car

and the doors would fly open.

So we'd go from complete luxury

to complete where we'd be holding on for dear life.

Cos he'd go, "Careful, Luce. That door opens sometimes."

-"What?!" You know.

-Yeah.

And who was in the car with you?

Dad would be there driving, Mum would be sitting here,

and I would be in the back with my sister Sally.

Was she older or younger?

She was an older sister.

-And invariably, we would be arguing.

-That's what I was going to ask you.

-Was there a bit of squabbling going on?

-Oh, yeah, completely.

And I remember sitting in the car and Dad said,

"Right, kids, don't spill anything, don't drop anything.

"I'm going to have to sell this car."

And we had a box of chocolates in the back and he said,

"You be careful with those chocolates!"

And what happened?

Sally wanted that one, I wanted that one,

and the whole thing went up in the air.

He went absolutely crazy and he leaned back like this, got the box

of chocolates, unwound the window and just threw them out.

Oh, God. Heartbreaker.

We were crying. "Oh, my God, Dad! Our chocolates!"

But, yeah, obviously we got the chocolate everywhere.

All over the seats and he went mad.

Well, so he should.

Did you play any games on the journey?

We used to play a really funny game

because my dad was a car dealer, and he'd go, "Luce, what car's that?

"What car's that?" And I'd have to play this game with him.

-But I was the best one at it.

-Was you?

-I was really good.

-Better than your dad?

No, not better than my dad, but better than my sister and my mum.

Because I took quite an interest in cars, as well.

-So, yeah. We used to play that game.

-What's that car parked over there?

-That grey one?

-Is that a Seat?

Is that a Seat?

-No, it's a Skoda.

-Oh, no!

-Oh!

-First one.

-Boo!

-Nissan.

-Oh, well done. Bedford.

Yeah, well done.

Volkswagen. That's easy because it's got the great big VW on it.

-Ford.

-Ford. THEY LAUGH

And so, that's a good game.

I suppose, it wasn't that long a journey, really,

from Dulwich down to Herne Bay.

-What is it, an hour and a half?

-Yeah, about an hour and a half.

It was just enough time to get all excited

and we'd pack all the car up with all of our stuff.

And then sometimes my dad used to tow a boat

because he had a speedboat, as well.

So he used to take the speedboat down and we would put all the bikes,

prams, all bits and pieces, all in the boat

and we'd tow that and we'd take that down.

-God knows what we must have looked like on the motorway.

-Right.

Just as Lucy was arriving at her gran's house in 1979,

another lady was stepping over the threshold at Number Ten.

Yes, Margaret Thatcher had just become our first female

Prime Minister.

Another pioneer was the Walkman, the world's first low-cost,

portable stereo, which went on sale in Japan that July.

And debuting on our television

screens was the hit BBC series To The Manor Born,

starring Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles.

Nearly 24 million tuned in for the final episode that year

and the soundtrack to it all?

Well, it was Gloria Gaynor's year

and she belted out one of the best break-up ballads of all time.

# Did you think I'd crumble?

LEN: # Would I lay down and die?

# Oh, no, not I

# I will survive... #

-Go on, Gloria.

-# As long as I know how to love

# I know I'll stay alive

# I've got all my life to live... #

This timeless disco classic remained Gloria's biggest hit.

It reached number one in America, and here in the UK

it was number one for four glorious weeks.

# Go on, now, go

# Walk out the door... #

This is the start of Lucy's holiday of her lifetime.

After being cooped up in the car, there was

nothing like the fresh Herne Bay air.

Oh, it's bracing.

It is bracing, and it smells of Herne Bay.

-Of course it does.

-Doesn't it?

I know your dad threw the chocolates out of the window,

but you did get to here and survive the journey, right?

-Yeah, with no chocolates!

-Yeah.

Is this how you remember it?

Yeah, I can really remember it.

This is a place called Hampton.

It's just before you actually get into Herne Bay

and, obviously, the pier used to go right the way along to there.

-So that's the end of the pier?

-That's the end of the pier.

And all the little beach huts,

they just line along the side of the coast.

-It's fantastic, I must say.

-Yeah.

Whether lovely jubbly or chilly willy, Herne Bay's shallow

waters have been loved by visitors for centuries.

It was the creation of a kilometre-long pier in 1832

that really put the little town on the map.

Steam boats carrying Victorian passengers heading to the

coast, for all the benefits of sea bathing and fresh air,

could now stop off with ease at Herne Bay.

The pier brought holiday-makers here in droves.

In fact, in 1842, over 40,000 visitors arrived

and even more came later after a report in 1883

described Herne Bay

as the healthiest watering place in England.

The registrar general recorded

twice that Herne Bay had the lowest death rate

for seven infectious diseases,

so, therefore, making us one of the healthiest places in England.

I think we traded on that for a lot of years.

To accommodate the influx, hotels sprung up and a promenade was built

and much of the town's 19th-century charm is still retained today.

But behind all this Victorian respectability

hid a much shadier past.

Smuggling in Herne Bay was one of the staple industries

in the late 18th-19th century and they would have

been smuggling tea, tobacco, spirits, lots of spirits.

And, in fact, at one time,

they were smuggling so much gin into Herne Bay

that it said that some of the villagers

used it to wash their windows with.

What a liberty!

Just like the Victorians before them, young Lucy

and her family came to Herne Bay to escape the city and enjoy

the fabulous location of Grandma's bungalow right on the seafront.

This is incredible. I've not been here for so many years.

The beautiful thing about this was that it was right...

-Well, it IS right on the corner here.

-Yeah.

-Old corner plot.

And you can see right across to the sea

and you've got all this expanse of lovely greenery outside.

And we used to park our boat.

Dad used to put his boat just along here and we would

literally all run to the boat,

get our bikes out and we'd bomb it off down the road.

And look at this little thing here.

We would tie our bikes up on that and pretend they were horses!

Do you know, when I was a kid,

I used to go everywhere on a horse.

Did you?!

Giddy-up!

Off to school. "Come on! Let's get on." Whey-hey!

THEY LAUGH

But it's all the childhood memories of doing all

the make-believe play.

Look, I want to show you over here, because there's loads of beaches

and we used to sort of try and have our own little beach

and if ever we saw anybody else on the beach

we used to get quite cross.

-We'd be like...

-Liberty! "Oi!"

-"Get off our beach!"

-Let's have a look.

There's so many lovely little beaches

and we used to do roly-polies down here in the summer.

-Course you would.

-My sister and I, my cousin Fiona,

we'd just bomb it down here and that was our beach there.

-Right.

-And my dad used to take his boat down there and off we'd go.

Fantastic. I tell you what, it's absolutely great.

No holiday experience is complete without sampling the local food.

But not being a fan of fish when she was a kid,

the young Lucy turned her nose up at the traditional seafood fare

and preferred something different - very different.

What do you remember about this place?

I remember coming here with all my family and my cousins

and we would have the biggest ice cream

that my mum and dad would let us have.

Obviously, I went for the Knickerbocker Glory. It was massive.

Why wouldn't you?

And we'd just drink loads of fizzy drinks and we'd just...

Yeah, it would be part of our summer holiday to come here.

We've got something in common.

You and I like faggots.

I know! That...

That's so random that you actually like faggots.

-Yes, I do.

-The only reason I had faggots,

on a Friday night only, I hasten to add,

was because I didn't like fish as a kid - the bones in fish -

so I would always have faggots in gravy.

-Faggots and chips.

-And I loved it!

-Right.

-I haven't had them for years.

Well, we've been given full permission to go backstage...

Backstage! Da da-da!

-And do a bit of...

-Da-da

Do a bit of faggot cooking. Heh heh! Here we go, through the door.

Oh, yes!

'Moulded into balls and traditionally made from pigs heart,

'liver and fatty belly meat, faggots aren't to everyone's taste.

'Of course, you can throw in a bit of sausage meat, stuffing

'and seasoning for extra scrumptiousness.

'Oh, yes! Yum, yum, pig's bum!'

-So, let's make... No, you have to put it in first.

-Stick it in there.

-Does that feel nice?

-No!

-Oh, that feels a bit funny.

-Put your hand in that, that would feel even... Oh!

-Ugh!

-Put a bit of... No more.

-Is that too much?

-No, one more. That will do.

-Not much of that. Now, this, paprika or whatever.

-Turmeric. What is it?

I don't know what it is.

-It doesn't say, but it's something special. Look...

-OK.

-Give it a smidge around.

-What about these?

Oh, that's like a bit of stuffing, isn't it?

Go on, put the whole bag in.

No fear! I'll give you a little bit more.

-How much?

-Go on, a bit more. Because I think that's what gives it the...

-Binds it.

-Binds it all together and...

-It can't be more than that, surely!

-Here we go.

-Oh, it smells nice.

-They were in balls.

-Yeah, they're balls. They're like meatballs.

-Balls of fun.

-Balls of...

Great balls of fun!

-Don't! It's not a pizza!

-Go on, let's have a juggle.

-No, I'm not! I've only got...

-Catch, catch!

-No, I'm not going to.

-Catch it!

LEN LAUGHS

Look, there's one. There we go. Small balls.

Small balls coming up! Yeah, let's make them quite small.

-We have to put them...

-In the deep fat fryer?

-Follow me.

So, it's over to chef Hussan. Right, this is the moment of truth.

-Now, in the basket?

-In the basket.

-Now, which one is your ball of choice?

-Mine is that one.

Do you want to put a couple more in for safety?

Yes, let's do it because if they do fall apart,

some of the others might not.

-Four is enough.

-That's enough, isn't it? Yeah?

-Yeah.

-Ready?

-Go on, put it in.

-Yeah, go on.

-Fingers crossed.

Oh, ho-ho!

A few more minutes in the fryer and Hussan has them plated up

with some chips.

Oh, lovely!

-What do you call them?

-Faggots!

-Oh, look out!

-Oh, look!

-Oh, you've got four!

-And my little tomato ketchup.

-That looks great.

-Look out!

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you so much.

I'm just going to try a chip.

-Forget those, let's get straight into the faggots.

-OK.

-Come on!

-Ready?

-Yep.

-This is the big test.

I like that. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the in.

-I tell you what...

-Good, eh?

Jamie Oliver couldn't have done these better.

As a nine-year-old taking into her faggots,

Lucy already had big dreams. You went off to stage school.

-I thought you were never going to ask.

-Yes.

-I did actually, yes.

-What was that like?

-Fantastic.

My mum and dad were a little bit,

"Shall we send her? Shall we not send her?"

And I left a note next to my bed begging them, please, send me off.

I did all the things I wanted to do.

Singing, dancing, tap, ballet, jazz, everything all under one roof.

-Not so much maths and English.

-No, no.

-But who cares?

-Yeah, very, very happy time in my life.

-What was your favourite?

Was it the dancing, the singing, the acting? What was your favourite?

I loved drama, so I loved acting.

-I didn't ever think I'd end up being a presenter, which is weird.

-No.

But I loved jazz dance and tap dance. Can we just do something?

Can we have the faggot challenge?

Can you get a whole faggot in your mouth?

Come on, the faggot challenge! I want a whole faggot in your mouth.

-Yeah, well...

-Ready? Three, two, one, go!

Oh! Oh, ho-ho! Ooh!

Yeah, I've eaten it. Gone!

-No!

-Gone!

LEN MUMBLES

I think we need some water. He can't swallow it.

Talk among yourselves.

-It's half-past five now.

-Don't start!

-I've got to go home.

I've got two kids to feed. Can we stop?

Well, I might take two of these home. Put them in my pocket.

Now, because faggots were originally made from offal and offcuts,

they were top of the menu during the rationing years of World War II.

It was a time when Herne Bay looked very different.

Its gently shelving beaches were thought to be

a danger for invading German tanks.

And the long pier was immediately cut in two,

to stop it being used by enemy boats.

The old end of the pier is still visible today, out at sea.

Where I'm sitting now was in fact

of steel-pipe scaffolding as we now know it.

It was designed as defence against attack,

so the whole of this seafront

was virtually walkable but you really couldn't get on the beach unless you were young,

like I was, and my friends, who could wriggle under the bottom of it and get down to the sea.

After the war, of course, all of this was stripped away,

so the pier was not rebuilt because steel was only allowed

for places like factories and major works,

and £100 was the limit you could spend on any one property for its maintenance.

'Another traditional past time in a beach resort like this, and one

'that Lucy's family loved back on their 1979 holiday,

'was bingo.

'Popular since the '60s,

'more than three million people still wait for legs 11 today!'

WOLF WHISTLE

-Did you used to play bingo?

-Yes!

-Come on, of course we used to play bingo!

-Of course you did!

I LOVED playing bingo, I wasn't very good at it.

Was you ever lucky?

Do you know what, I can remember coming home with this big,

oversized, fluffy, massive pink teddy bear, and my mum used to keep

putting it in the loft and I'd want it back down again!

So I think I did win, once, but I could never concentrate enough.

The thing is, nowadays, it's not just on the pier and a fluffy teddy.

-It's like big bucks!

-Serious business.

So shall we have a go?

Hundreds of thousands of pounds, apparently, you can win now.

-Shall we have a go?

-Shall we try our luck?

-Come on.

Right, eyes down and dabbers at the ready!

-Your first number...

-Right, concentrate! Shhh!

Four and seven, 47.

Four and six, 46.

-Four and one, 41.

-Oh, I can't see!

On its own, the number seven.

-Yes!

-Eight and two, 82.

Slow down a bit(!)

Seven and four, 74.

-One and two, number 12. We have a claim, number 12.

-Never!

What? A whole line?

Oh, my God, it's quite stressful!

I can't do any more, I've got a headache. Oh, my God!

-I've had it.

-Let's go.

Looks like we may have to pass on the cash prizes this time(!)

-That is, that's quite hard work.

-Hard work? I've got a headache.

-You were rotten at it.

-I'm rubbish, you know what, I can't focus.

That's my problem.

Well, I thought I would be a bit slow, but it's so quick.

After singing, dancing and acting,

Lucy moved from the theatre to presenting children's TV.

But while we have a cheeky sit-down, I want to know how

she ended up moving into property.

So, have you always been a bit savvy when it comes to money?

Um... I do try.

I'm not so great with the numbers,

but I know what will make money and what will do well.

When did you buy your first property?

-You were quite young, weren't you?

-Yes.

I was very young when I bought my first property.

I was about 17 or 18.

I bought a little flat in Clapham,

and I was quite entrepreneurial even at that age,

because my mum and dad used to buy property and invest,

so I wanted my own place to live in, so, yeah.

Saved all my pennies from a couple of TV commercials

I'd done as a kid, and yeah, bought my own flat.

And then it went from there. Did you live in that?

I lived in it, I sold it, I then bought two,

I then got married and invested with my husband,

and then I got the property bug,

hence I've ended up doing the show I now do,

which is all about property!

-It's the perfect show, then, if you love it.

-I know. I love it.

I wish I'd have got some properties. I could've been a tycoon!

-You were too busy dancing around the world.

-I was.

-I was - I was too busy dancing.

-But Len, it's never too late.

Get in there, save your money.

If you can buy something, now is a good time.

-There's an estate agents up here. Come on.

-There's always a good time!

Well, there was another old pub that

Lucy and her family loved to come to right down on the shore.

-Do you remember this place?

-Do I remember this place?!

We used to sit outside here with a lemonade and a straw

and a bag of crisps, on that wall.

-I love it.

-Really? Shall we go in?

-Yes!

-Come on!

-Come on!

'The perfect place to have a final chinwag with Lucy about her career.'

How did Homes Under The Hammer come along?

It was really weird because I knew the executive producer

who was thinking about putting the show together,

and she knew that I loved property, so we did a little small series.

I'd just had a baby, and she said, "Well, what do you think?"

And I said, "Yeah, let's give it a go," and here I am,

13 years later, still doing the same programme

-and still loving it as much.

-How many episodes must you have done?

Hundreds and hundreds.

13 years' worth, and it's still on every single day of the week.

What is it about Homes Under The Hammer?

OK, for me, personally, I love the properties,

but I love meeting the people, just like I've met you today.

I love hearing the stories, and I love seeing what the people do

to the properties and then the end result,

and the journey that you go on with them, with them and the property.

So that is the thing that's kept me

signing those contracts all those years.

Well, this is the front reception room

and the wonderful proportions continue.

You've even got your own chandelier to get you started!

But putting my developer's head on, I think it's a shame

the original windows have been replaced with UPVC.

Have you ever walked into a place and you've thought, "No! This is...

"They must have been off their trolleys.

-"It's an absolute... you know...disaster!"

-Yes!

Yes, yes, like...like, almost every week.

The places I go in, you wouldn't believe.

Well, you would believe if you see it.

There are no floors, there are rats, there are spiders,

there are no roofs, you can't even put the kit down and your bag down.

-My feet stick to the carpet, and they stink.

-Yeah.

-You know, it's not a glamorous job doing a Homes Under The Hammer first look.

-No. I can imagine.

But you have to see beyond that, and sometimes the way they turn these places around,

it's incredible, and I still get inspired.

I still watch it and go, "Oh, my God! I'm so glad I do this!"

Because it's inspirational.

I still myself watch it, love it, I've got the property bug and after

all these years, I'm still investing and wanting to buy at auction.

Do you know, that comes across. Have you got any burning desires...

There's something else you'd really love to do?

I'd love to present a morning magazine show or something.

-Like a chat show?

-Like a chat show or...you know,

co-hosting it with somebody bubbly and chatty, like yourself.

-A bit like Des and Mel.

-Yeah. Like a Good Morning, Lucy And Len!

-Yeah.

-Lucy and Len.

-Lucy and Len with a couple of coffee cups.

-It'd have to be Len and Lucy, I'm afraid.

-Oh, really? Oh, right, OK!

Hey-hey, I'm looking forward to that.

Lucy's got exciting things ahead, I'm sure,

but there's no doubt her past here still means so much to her.

So, coming down here to Herne Bay with your mum and dad,

seeing your nan and so on,

do you think that has helped to shape you into who you are?

Definitely it's helped shape who I am,

I think because it grounds me,

I still come down here now with my own family, and I've got really

happy memories, and I'm very lucky because I had an amazing childhood,

-and it all stems from coming here as a little girl.

-Right.

-And it's been amazing.

-It's been great.

-I've loved it.

-Thank you.

-No - thank you!

-Let's have another clonky clonky cheers.

Cheers.

Well, Lucy, let me tell you, I will never forget today,

because it has been great. I've done things I never thought I'd ever do.

-I know!

-And I want to make sure you never forget it,

so because of that, there's a little scrapbook

of memories

-from the Holiday Of My Lifetime.

-That is a good photo of you.

-Look at me, saluting!

-Look at you! That is amazing.

I'm really.... That's so lovely. I'm honoured. Thank you, my darling.

And to remember one of her most favourite spots,

I've got another souvenir for her.

Now, for your new home that you're building,

we thought what could be nicer than... Oh, my God!

Oh! That...is fantastic!

-I love it. I'd like it myself!

-That is amazing!

What a beautiful photo.

-Thank you. Can I have a hug?

-Of course you can.

Well, it's the end of our lovely day together,

and it's goodbye to the beaches of Herne Bay.

For Lucy Alexander,

this town will always be the home of some very special memories.