Episode 10 Holiday of My Lifetime with Len Goodman

'Childhood holidays - oh, the anticipation seemed endless.

'The holiday itself, well, it was over too quickly.

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

'with some much-loved famous faces.'

This is a memory I will treasure.

'Every day, I'll be arranging a few surprises to transport them

'back in time.'

-I feel as though we're about to go over the edge.

-Don't say that.

'We'll relive the fun...'

THEY LAUGH Oh!

Ah! No! No!

..the games...' HE GROANS

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

I'm so excited.

The taste...the taste of your childhood.

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

'the people we know so well today.

HE ROARS

'So buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.'

Oh, yes.

We're going to get the water-skis out in a moment.

On today's journey through time,

I'm picking up our mystery holiday-maker

in truly nautical style

by getting onboard a narrow boat! So splice the main-brace.

It's anchors aweigh.

The lady I'm sailing off to meet has been

cruising down the river of stardom for over 35 years.

She was born in Birmingham in 1958. Here she is as a toddler.

Look at that little grin.

She started as an actress with modest roles, such as Quadrophenia.

Ho-ho! Rock on, Tommy!

She's well known for her hair-raising performances.

Oh, yes. She really hit the big time in the late '70s, early '80s.

As a pop star!

Still no idea?

Well, I tell you what. I'm not going to tell you yet. It's a mystery.

Have you got it yet? Of course you have.

It's multi-talented singer, actress, presenter, yes, it's Toyah Willcox.

And I'm off to meet her in this vintage narrow boat.

Just like the one she would have stayed in with her family

all those years ago.

Toyah! Toyah!

Lenny's coming, my darling.

Toyah grew up in Birmingham with her older brother and sister.

Her dad, Beric, ran a joinery and construction business,

while her mum, Barbara, looked after the family.

She was filled with a spirit of adventure,

even from a wee nipper, and loved the great outdoors.

As a teenager, she was already standing out from the crowd.

Toyah took herself off to drama school at 17

and it was the first step to a career as a successful

actress on stage and screen,

a chart-topping pop star and a TV presenter.

Oh, not forgetting a turn at Teletubbies!

A true hard-working star with serious success.

Ahoy there, Toyah!

Len, how are you?

Here I come.

Captain Pugwash here.

My limousine arrives.

-Toyah.

-Hello!

-Welcome.

-What do you reckon?

-I think it's fantastic. Beautiful, polished.

-Look at it.

-So where are we heading for?

-Llangollen Canal. 1968.

'68. I remember '68.

That was the year that they circled the moon and came back.

-And the following year, they stepped onto the moon.

-That's incredible.

Let's go and circle Wales then.

Well, I tell you what, shall we step on board?

-Yeah. I can't wait.

-Let me take your bag.

-Thank you.

-Come on.

I tell you what, I'll get on first...

I'm not boasting, Len, but I'm used to this.

-Are you?

-There you go.

-There you are.

Driver, can we get on with it please? We've got a lot to do.

So anchors aweigh. Here we go.

Toyah's holiday in 1968 centred around The Llangollen Canal -

one of the most beautiful waterways in Britain.

Starting at Hurleston Junction,

the canal branches off from the Shropshire Union Canal in England,

crosses the border into Wales

and travels through 44 miles of stunning scenery

to reach the town of Llangollen itself.

Visitors have admired this landscape since Victorian times,

and today, over 15,000 boats make their way up and down

the gentle waters every year.

So let's batten down the hatches of the Golden Lark

and set off with trusty skipper Darren at the tiller.

'Today, I'm taking Toyah on a watery trip down memory lane

'discovering the beginnings of her creative talents...'

No, no, no. No peeking at my... Please, no.

'..grabbing a sneaky snooze as we cruise...'

Oh, Len.

Oh, Toyah.

'..and getting her to earn keep by working the same locks and bridges

'that she did as child...'

Go on.

'..to see how much this holiday helped shape her

'into the personality we know today.'

Well done. There you are. It just shows you.

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

But for Toyah and her family in 1968, the journey WAS the holiday.

Cruising to Llangollen at the top speed of 4mph,

it took days to travel the canals,

all the time passing through beautiful woods and fields.

This was a perfect playground

for the adventurous Toyah and her brother.

So how many of you would there have been on your holidays?

There was Mum and Dad, my brother and myself.

My sister, who is eight years old than me, never came on one of these.

But my brother was five years older than me

and we were both extreme tomboys.

-Yeah.

-We were uncontrollable.

-So you were naughty?

We were naughty, but we did such dangerous things.

This was just idyllic.

-Yeah.

-So it's the most perfect family holiday.

-Yeah.

-And how old were you?

-I was ten.

-And your brother?

-He was 15.

Was he a bully sort of boy or was he a loving brother?

-LAUGHING:

-Loving brother...

He was a loving brother, but on the holiday we had in '68,

we had a rough and tumble and I fell on a bread knife and stabbed myself.

I still have the scar across there.

Then the following year,

we did the same holiday and we discovered in a field a dead cow.

And he threw me in it.

Threw you in the dead cow?

-LAUGHING:

-He was such a rotten brother.

THEY LAUGH

So, you know, where you lived in Birmingham,

was it sort of in the built-up area?

-Yeah, we were bang in the middle of Birmingham.

-Yeah.

This countryside was so extraordinarily different.

-It was like chalk and cheese.

-Yeah.

You are in Birmingham, in the centre of everything. The industry.

And suddenly, this is wonderful, isn't it?

-This is mobile camping, isn't it?

-Yes.

I think what's lovely about it is you have to surrender to it.

-No telly, nothing.

-No telly, nothing.

When Toyah was sailing happily down the canal in 1968,

another sailor, yachtsman Alec Rose,

had just completed a record-breaking solo trip around the world

in 354 days.

Across the pond,

America was in mourning after the assassination of Martin Luther King.

And with the conflict in Vietnam escalating,

London saw the first anti-war protests -

10,000 marched, culminating in a mounted police charge

and over 200 arrested.

And the soundtrack to all this?

Well, we couldn't be in Wales without a bit of Tom Jones

and his smash hit ballad. Hold on, now what was it called again?

# My, my, my Delilah

# Why, why, why, Delilah... #

It was a top ten smash hit

and one of the biggest-selling singles of 1968.

My, my, my...

# Forgive me, Delilah I just couldn't take any more... #

My, my, my! They don't sing 'em like that any more.

This is the start of Toyah's Holiday Of Her Lifetime.

I tell you, I could get used to this.

With so much to explore along the canals and all the freedom

it offered, it must have been paradise for a young Toyah Willcox.

-This is what's nice as well.

-You meet people.

-You meet people.

Hello there. Beautifully steered, I've got to salute you.

Nice to see you.

There you are.

-See, this is what we did. We'd all sit up the back with Dad.

-Yeah.

And Dad would just let us all have a go.

-And it always lead to some kind of chaos.

-Of course.

Because once you turn,

it's a delayed reaction for the end to turn.

Right, so you'd give it a tweak this end

and it takes a while for the other end to...

-And then you'd go right across the...

-Give over!

-Yes.

Built between 1795 and 1808, the canal was once a vital

part of a wider industrial landscape that's difficult to imagine today.

In the late 18th century, this area became very industrial.

It was producing things such as coal and lime and bricks,

and all these products had to be exported out, but there was no good

way to export them out because the road system was awful at that time.

So a plan came up to make a canal system that would link

this area to the Shropshire Union Canal

and link it to the Midlands.

The heyday of the canal was short-lived,

as 53 years later, the railway reached the area.

It was no match for the speed of steam power,

so the canal fell into decline.

Fortunately for us, the countryside-loving Victorians

rediscovered the waterways as a visitor attraction,

which kept the canal maintained.

And later on, its calm waters proved very useful indeed.

During World War II,

it transported very dangerous chemicals along the canal,

which would have been a smooth ride to hopefully stop them blowing up.

Blimey, I'm glad we're not on one of those boats!

For Toyah and her family, their mode of transport was

also their home for a week,

but at just over 6ft wide,

it can be a bit of a squeeze.

Wow. I haven't been in one of these for about 43 years.

LEN LAUGHS

When I was on my holiday, this was a long bunk.

And there were shelves there. And a dining room table.

-And it was pretty basic.

-Yeah.

-But it was good enough.

-Good enough.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-We had lots of fun. We could play card games.

No telly, I suppose?

-No. We didn't watch telly much back then.

-No. No, of course you didn't.

This was 1968. So telly was just at the weekends.

-And the kitchen, there is the kitchen.

-Yeah.

This is a really good kitchen.

-Back then, you'd have Calor gas.

-Oh, yeah.

And you could smell it. And the lighting was gas.

Right, so you got that smell of... Yeah.

That kind of vapour in the air.

You know, it's got a lovely feel to it, cruising down the river.

-It's gentle and it's slow.

-Stopping off at pubs.

-Yeah!

Let's have a look further along. Come on.

Ho-ho-ho! What have we got?

Uh-oh.

-LAUGHING:

-Well, I actually remember the one we were on had a bunk there

and a bunk there. I don't remember it having a double bed.

But it might have done.

I'm going to give it a go. You want to give it a go?

Yeah.

This... Wow!

LAUGHING: I'm going to get down here.

Oh, Len.

Oh, Toyah.

-Who'd have thought?

-Cruising down the river.

-It's nice.

-It's lovely. It's lovely, though, isn't it?

-Take us to Venice.

-Yes.

LAUGHING: "Take us to Venice."

Well, we're short on gondolas here,

but the beauty of this canal still means thousands come to visit.

And why not? It's gorgeous and so is the countryside all around.

So here are Len's seven local attractions to enjoy today.

With 323 square miles of countryside making up Denbighshire,

the area has some stunning routes to drive through,

including the Horseshoe Pass.

This mountain road climbs to just over 1,350 feet

with superb views across the whole of northeast Wales.

Gorgeous!

A drive down into the valley - and there's another trip -

this time through memory lane at the Llangollen Motor Museum.

It's a family-run museum and a working garage

that restores vintage cars and even has its own private collection.

Look at them beauties!

The prized possessions are really the TR4

you can just about see down there.

And a couple of the motorbikes are 1916 dispatch riders motorcycles

that both my father and I still ride.

The old one are the best. And I tell you, I should know!

For young Toyah, away from the confines of Birmingham,

the canal offered freedom but also fun.

On the boat when you were a child, how did you entertain yourself?

-What did you get up to?

-It was never a problem. We had board games.

We had draughts. We had Monopoly. We played snap. We played poker.

Were you artistic at all?

Dad was. Dad loved the painting on the boats.

-For instance, the doors on that boat there.

-Yeah.

He did all those flowers.

He went through a phase where we had tea trays that were

painted in the traditional flowers.

-But my father loved it.

-Yeah.

Well, I tell you what, I've got something set up for you here

where we could have a go at capturing that artistic...

-Trays and things.

-Oh, yeah?

-Just over here.

-Don't you fancy it?

-I do. I really do.

-Come on.

-Fantastic.

-We even had chairs like that on holiday.

-Everyone did.

THEY LAUGH Oh.

-Wow! This is what my father used to paint.

-See?

LEN LAUGHS So, what are you going to paint?

I'm going to just try the flowers,

because it's the most simple thing you can do.

-The little individual petals.

-Yeah.

-Scroll round and... How about you?

Well...

Are you going to do a landscape? Come off it.

I might try and do this whole vista.

You're kidding?!

I really am.

What did your mum do?

-Mum went to drama school from the age of 12.

-Right.

She studied as a ballet dancer.

Mum was probably professional by the age of 14

and was in a dance troupe and went around the country with Max Wall.

And Dad fell in love with her when he saw her on stage

at Weston-super-Mare Theatre.

-How lovely!

-I know.

What impact do you think your mum and dad had on your career

and, you know, making you into the person that you became?

Oh, gosh.

-They maybe...

-They thought I'd end up in prison.

They really had no faith in me at all.

Because I was so naughty.

I was really bad at school and I was dyslexic. I didn't enjoy school.

I always felt I wasn't contributing and couldn't contribute.

I found it very frustrating.

I was uncontrollable.

So, to come here where all you've got to do is participate with

the natural flow of the water and the countryside,

it relieved me of being frustrated at school.

And when I told them I was going to be an actress, they just laughed.

They could not see it happening at all.

And I got there by pure will.

It is very civilised.

LAUGHING: I like it!

I've never done it and I've never thought of it, but I like it. I do.

I think if I do any more to this, it will spoil it. Because I do feel...

I didn't realise that I had this talent,

and it's amazing how certain things come to you late in life.

Show us.

I look up at it, and I must say...

-It's good.

-It's good, isn't it?

It's better than my horror.

-No, no, no.

-That's a horror.

No. It... Why did you paint an omelette?

THEY LAUGH

It's a Spanish omelette.

I see. Yeah.

-I think mine's the best.

-I do too. I agree with you.

-In fact...

-No. No. We'll keep those.

Back on the boat, and gliding peacefully through the trees,

it's easy to forget that we're never far from a town or village.

And the one that Toyah enjoyed stopping off at the most

was Llangollen itself.

The town is called Llangollen

and it's called after a sixth-century saint

called St Collen,

who settled in this area and built a small church.

And with the prefix of Llan, meaning a small enclosure,

where he built his church. So Llangollen.

From there, a village grew.

And once a stone bridge had been built across the River Dee,

then trade flourished.

It's a thriving centre for independent shops,

a restored Victorian railway

and even an international music festival.

It don't get better than that.

Has it changed much since 1968?

No, it's not changed at all.

-I'm recognising all of it.

-Yeah?

-Did you get a bit of pocket money?

-Two and six.

-Half a crown.

-Half a crown. Yeah.

-Look.

-And that went a long way.

There is a lot of lovely antique shops, I must say.

I know, I think that's partly why we came,

because my father was an antique dealer.

-And he'd heard about it.

-Right.

-Yeah.

So he'd come round and see

if he could pick up a few nice little snippets.

We were always looking for that Ming vase.

Yeah, well, of course we all are. This looks good.

-Let's have a look in here.

-Yes, please.

-Nook.

-Look at that.

-It's great.

-Lovely!

Toyah's dad took up carpentry after he retired.

He made spinning wheels and wooden furniture

and he sold some of it off to antique shops.

Now this is interesting.

This is what my dad would've made.

-They're three-legged.

-This could've been my dad.

I know it isn't cos he never made anything that thick.

-Yeah.

-Oh, God, is it one of his?

Wouldn't that be great if it was?!

Do you know, it might be one of my brother's.

Did he do it as well?

Blimey!

It's very hard to say. That's beautiful...

Where did he do it? In the back shed?

Yeah, we had a workshop at the house. Yeah.

Walking around the quaint streets of Llangollen as a ten year old,

Toyah could never have imagined that it wouldn't be

long before she would be treading the boards of the West End.

Now, I've got to ask you something.

-There you are, you're in Birmingham, right?

-Yeah.

How did you go from Birmingham to the National Theatre?

-It's unbelievable.

-How did that happen?

I got spotted by a director. He saw me. He cast me. And...

-Off you went.

-Off I went.

And you'd never had really...

I'd done one year at Birmingham Old Rep drama school.

And I never looked back.

And I'll tell you something else, listen,

I'm quite jealous of most people, but I must say...

-You were in a film with Katharine Hepburn.

-Made here.

-Not in Llangollen?

-No, but Betws y Coed.

-Oh, yeah?

-Yes.

What was she like? Cos she seemed such a character.

She was unbelievable, because when I met her first time,

I wore my wig from the National Theatre production.

-Because at that time, I had bright red hair.

-Right.

And my agent said to me,

"Please look normal, you are going to meet Katharine Hepburn.

"You're being seen for Bessie Wattie

"in Emlyn Williams' The Corn Is Green."

Welsh play. So, I went along, met Katharine Hepburn and George Cukor.

They loved me. They said yes. I got the job.

Went back the next day without the wig on and Katharine just went,

"Oh, George, isn't that beautiful?!

"I wish I could have done that when I was her age."

-And that was it. We...

-And was she charming?

She was just wonderful. They were both wonderful.

You know what I think I'd like to do now?

I've enjoyed this little stretch on the land.

-But I'd like to sit down, maybe a cup of tea.

-Yes.

-Come on.

-Good.

I tell you what. I was a bit nervous about meeting Toyah,

you know, with the coloured hair.

And I thought, "She's going to be a bit punky."

But what a lovely lady. It's been great.

Oh! Come on.

# On with the war paint... #

As well as starting an exciting acting career on stage and film,

Toyah had also started singing with her very own band.

# Lay-oh Lay-oh Lay-oh

# Layay man tey sa-ra-rai... #

How did the music career kick off?

It wasn't sudden.

When I moved to London to join the National Theatre,

there were musicians in the theatre. And I was desperate to sing.

And I wanted to write as well.

And we just got together, a team of us,

and started to play in pubs when I wasn't on stage at the National.

And within about a year, two years,

I had 2,000 people turning up to see me play in a pub.

And at that point, record companies go, "We need to sign this girl."

It was such an exciting time in my life.

With It's A Mystery, which was my first hit single...

I was going to ask you about that.

..I'd already made three albums.

# It's a mystery

# Oh, it's a mystery

# I'm still... #

And it was through the music business you met your husband.

Yes. Well, my husband - Robert Fripp - is a guitarist.

And I met my husband at a charity luncheon

when Princess Michael of Kent wanted her picture taken with both of us.

Neither of us had met and she pulled us both together.

-And that was the first time we met.

-Right.

So it was the princess who introduced you to each other?

-Oh, yeah.

-Yeah. Uh-oh. Now, don't look, because this is going to...

No, you're looking!

I think there is a lock.

-I'm not sure it's...

-It's a bridge.

-It's a bridge.

-We just have to lift it.

-We just have to lift the bridge.

'Yep, it's a bridge and we'll have to get on dry land for this.

'It's also going to need a bit of elbow grease.'

-I'm going to guess that you put that in there.

-Yeah.

-Am I right?

-That's correct.

Now, to go up, you go that way.

-You've got to put your back into it.

-Have a go, Toyah.

The gentleman in you, I can see.

You all right?

As soon as you are getting a bit cream crackered,

I'll step in and give it a few turns myself.

All right?

-Go on.

-Would you like a go?

-I'll have a quick go.

-There you go.

-I'm here.

-OK, you'll take over if...

-Yeah.

OK.

-PANTING:

-Oh, God...

HE LAUGHS

-I don't believe it.

-Go on. It's good for you.

There you are.

-Oh.

-Look at that, one arm.

Look, eh? People think I'm old.

Oh, yes.

Look what I'm doing, everyone.

I think that's it.

-Yeah.

-It's sort of stuck. Hello.

-Oh.

TOYAH GASPS

-Oh, my goodness!

-Not much...

-Wooo!

Not much clearance, is there?

-That's smooth.

-I salute you.

Well done. There you are. Just shows you.

Nicely executed, Darren.

After all this fresh air and graft,

I'm getting a bit Hank Marvin.

It must be time for lunch.

No holiday experience is complete without sampling the local food.

Those new tastes that are so different to home

transform our palettes forever.

When Toyah was on holiday, she would have been too busy

to have a sit-down lunch inside.

So nothing suited the family more than a picnic outside.

-Well, I tell you what, I'm getting starving now.

-And me.

What's this?

This is it. This is our picnic.

This is what we used to have!

Of course, that's what we wanted.

We always had boiled eggs, corned beef, salad cream and white bread.

Perfect. This is going to be our lunch.

And I think you should take on the role of the egg boiler.

OK, so basically, I'm the galley slave?

You are the galley slave.

-And I'm going to do the packing of the hamper.

-OK.

-How's that?

-This is good. This is good.

-This is good, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-So...

How many eggs would you like for your sandwiches?

-One.

-One. OK. One each.

-One each.

Oh, look.

Ooh, that's nice.

-Oh!

-Eh?

-That's lovely!

-Isn't that gorgeous?

Are you in touch with your feminine side?

Yeah, well, you know, I'm a ballroom dancer, darling.

THEY LAUGH

These are going to be done now. Beautifully.

I'll just put them in there.

'So the picnic's ready,

'but maybe there's one crucial ingredient missing.'

What's that?

Oh. Oh, my goodness.

Oh, my goodness. It's a pork pie!

-And this is how we refrigerated.

-In a bucket?

-Yeah, of cold water.

Kept the milk fresh. It's a pork pie!

-I like a pork pie.

-Fantastic!

Everything you could want. And look.

So, on these holidays, how important was food?

So important. The whole social aspect of it.

And the fact that we all ate together. We never ate apart.

-Yeah.

-We'd stop arguing and...

-You all muck in, don't you?

-All muck in.

-Would you like some cucumber?

-Yeah. Cucumber, please.

See, that's your trouble. You keep wanting to get at it.

TOYAH GIGGLES

Shall we save the pork pie for later?

-Or shall we have a piece now?

-Now.

Well...

That's it.

-That big knife from the...

-'scuse fingers.

-Yeah, I know.

That's good for me.

-This is fun.

-It's better than fun. There you are.

Mm.

Yum, yum, pig's bum. That's what we used to say.

Now, there's a photograph of you...

..in a pram, as a little girl.

-Yeah.

-With...who is that you're with and what's going on there?

In that photo, that's my mother, my brother, myself.

They kept me in a pram for quite a long time

because I was born with a twisted spine.

And my legs were curved inwards.

-Oh.

-So I couldn't walk properly.

And my mother was very, very embarrassed by it.

Being a dancer, she wasn't happy that this had happened.

And I remember, the prams got bigger.

And they kept me in the pram till I was about three.

-Blimey!

-And I'd had physio every day.

-Luckily, teens into the 20s, I had a pretty normal life.

-Yeah.

But my mother hid all the photos of me as a baby

because she couldn't look at the pictures of my legs.

-And with physio...

-It all straightened out. Yeah.

Oh, marvellous. Talking of fabulous...

This is pretty fabulous.

It's perfect. Michelin-starred picnic.

It's peaceful today,

but the canal would have been even more serene when it was first built.

Before steam power, engines came with four legs

and pulled the boats along the tow path.

Which brings me to the next of my top seven.

For the last 131 years,

visitors to Llangollen Wharf have been offered boat trips

up and down the canal powered in the old, traditional way.

They were founded by a man by the name of Captain Jones.

Captain Jones was a sea captain.

He worked for the White Star Line,

based in Liverpool.

And with his pension, he bought two lifeboats,

brought them down here, founded the horse-drawn boats of Llangollen.

Away from the canal,

and you'll come across a country house called Plas Newydd.

It was home to two notorious ladies in the early 18th century

who caused a scandal by eloping together and daring to live here

independent, without husbands.

We've saved the best till last on this trip,

as the next section of canal is just breathtaking.

At a dizzy height of 127ft and holding 1.5 million litres of water,

this is the largest aqueduct in Britain.

The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct was actually built between 1795

and 1805 by a very famous engineer called Thomas Telford

and his fellow engineer William Jessop.

The aqueduct, when it was built,

was actually the highest waterway in the world.

Wonderful!

Sir Walter Scott nicknamed it "the stream in the sky."

Once the Education Act had been passed in the late 19th century,

it meant all children had to attend school.

And they had to cross the aqueduct.

But if they were going to school in the morning

and there was an actual barge coming along with a horse pulling it,

there wouldn't be room for them to walk along the tow path.

So actually, they used to climb over onto the outside

and just walk...pull themselves along the railings.

Really dangerous.

Don't go getting any ideas, kids!

Crossing this bridge on a boat is terrifying enough.

Look how narrow it is.

It won't fit in, I don't... Will it?

If someone couldn't steer, they must buffer from side to side.

-Yeah, they just bang... But there's no railings on one side.

-Yeah.

-Why wouldn't you have railings?

-Here we go.

There is no railings.

Now, listen, you've done a lot of this barge work.

Why don't you take over?

-Take over the controls.

-Are you going to stay nearby?

I'll stay right by.

Because this is the one place I really don't want an accident.

I don't think you can go much wrong. Keep it steady.

Does it take much steering?

Keep it nice and steady. Oh.

At the moment, I feel as though we are about to go over the edge.

Don't say that.

Is that possible?

-No.

-OK.

Look at the views, though.

I'd love to look, but I'm too scared and I'm looking forward.

-Just pull it a little to me.

-Uh-oh.

-Left a bit.

-Uh-oh!

It's fantastic.

-Oh, it's gorgeous.

-It's quietly terrifying.

THEY LAUGH

-It's so lovely.

-Wow. Look at that!

It's so gorgeous!

I tell you what, I'm going to put my hat on while we go across.

-Cos, you know, I'm nautical.

-Excuse me, I'm the captain.

Oh, you're the captain!

Thank you.

Yay.

-How's that?

-Yeah, I like the little tip.

You've got a jaunty angle.

-We are going to be tap dancing back.

-Yeah.

LEN LAUGHS

This is fantastic.

And I tell you what, would you mind, everyone, clapping this lady,

who has steered us across?

-Toyah. Please give her a clap.

-Thank you.

THEY APPLAUD Fantastic.

You're all safe now.

Here you are.

-We've done it.

-Wow, that was really exciting.

Well, that was incredible.

We couldn't possibly top that, so it's bye-bye boat

and hello to a place that's very special to Toyah.

Does this bring back memories?

This was, for me, the best part of my holiday.

We discovered Ellesmere lakes.

15 miles from Llangollen is Ellesmere.

A lovely natural mere just on the outskirts of Ellesmere town itself.

People have been boating and swimming here for years,

just like Toyah back in 1968.

My mother brought me here and it was a really hot day.

We were in our swimming costumes and we went in.

And it was glorious. But the water was freezing.

But what a beautiful place to discover as a child.

It is beautiful, I must say.

-Now, I tell you what my plan is, is that we have a paddle.

-No way.

No way! Even shallow is cold.

Is it really?

Oh, blimey, yeah!

-Go on, you can do it. I'll watch.

-No. No, I can't.

I remember when I went in as a ten year old, it was freezing.

But it's just so exciting, because it's so different to the canal.

Did you go properly in and swim?

-I think we went up to about there and we were like this.

-Yeah.

And we kind of came back.

It is. It's lovely, though, I must say.

Do you know, I've thought about this so many times ever since

because it was so special.

Look, what I'm saying to you now is, this is your last chance.

Do you want to paddle?

No.

OK, right. We'll get off then.

Oh, I was so up for it too.

Well, if we're not going to dip our toes in,

we can check out the final of my seven tourist hot spots.

On the hills near Llangollen

is Valle Crucis,

an abbey dating back to 1201.

Whilst most of it fell

into disrepair in the 16th century,

the ruins are definitely worth a visit.

Down in the valley,

there are dozens of bridges that

span the River Dee,

including the Chain Bridge.

Originally built in 1817

and suspended from what's claimed

to be a network of handmade chains,

it's a feat of engineering.

It linked visitors from the hotel to

the railway just like it does today.

And at the station in Llangollen,

you'll find my number one.

The beautifully-preserved

Victorian steam railway,

which runs for ten marvellous miles.

Woohoo. All aboard. Woo-woo!

There's been a steam railway here since the early 1860s.

It's lasted just over 100 years, till the 1960s,

when it was closed under the Beeching cuts.

There are many preserved steam railways in Wales

due to its industrial heritage.

But this is the longest standing gauge one.

That sounds just the ticket!

It would seem that you were destined for a life in show business.

But had that not come along,

what do you think you would have done?

I was useless at school. I was never academic.

It was as if it was the only thing I could do.

Because I had a lot of willpower and a lot of kind of pizzazz.

And I used it.

But I suppose if, physically, I couldn't have done the things

-I've done, I would have sculpted or been a painter.

-Really?

Even though my pathetic painting today would not give

an inkling of any of my talents, but I do love the idea of sculpting.

Yeah.

Well, Toyah's certainly carved out a fine career

and she's worked with all the greats, you know.

The Teletubbies, what was that like?

It was five minutes of my life

and probably the most famous thing I've ever done.

I literally went into the studio, did two lines.

I did, "Over the hills and far away, Teletubbies come out to play."

And then, "The sun is setting in the sky, Teletubbies say goodbye."

I mean, it took five minutes.

-And yet, that was an international success.

-Yes.

-Pretty crazy, isn't it?

-Just crazy.

Throughout her showbiz life, there's been some definite highlights.

I remember I was invited to be the main artist on

The Old Grey Whistle Test live. Christmas Eve.

And that was the big TV concert of the year. Always shown on BBC TWO.

-And it had 12 million viewers that night.

-Fantastic.

Can you imagine that, 12 million?

-Incredible.

-Incredible.

-Incredible.

# On with the war paint

# It's just another day

# Lay-oh Lay-oh Lay-oh... #

Do you not think that that growing up

and your childhood with your parents,

coming here and so on, helped to give you that

sort of adventurous spirit and determination?

Absolutely. And I've never lost that sense of adventure.

I think life is not about reaching 50 and then going,

"Right, I'm going to slow down."

It's actually about, "What can I do next? What can I do now?"

Yeah. So, you know, you've done most things.

Is there anything you haven't done that you'd really like to do?

I have absolutely no sense of success. I just don't experience it.

For me, you do something, you let it go. Move on.

Do something, let it go. And I would like to do something where I feel,

"Yes, I will be remembered for that."

Cos I don't think I've done it yet.

# We dance

# We sing

# You touch

# We burst into flames... #

Well, I think our Toyah has a million things to be proud of.

Her career so far has seen her act in over 40 plays and 15 films.

She's clocked up over a dozen hit singles and 20 albums,

as well as writing books and telly presenting too.

That's not a bad achievement.

I've loved reliving Toyah's personal holiday memories.

She's proved herself to be worthy skipper...

..a true food connoisseur...

It's a pork pie!

'She's stronger than she looks...'

You're all right. Go on.

'And after spending the day with Toyah,

'it's easy to see just how much this holiday meant to her.'

Hasn't it been great?

It's just been delightful. Thank you so much.

And just so that you can retain the memories,

we've got a little scrapbook.

-Holiday Of My Lifetime with Len Goodman.

-Thank you.

A picture book of memories

from Toyah's time on

Llangollen Canal.

And I've also got a couple more

special little pressies.

I've got something else here for you.

This is the official guide. One and three shillings and sixpence.

And it's from the time that you were here.

Oh! My goodness!

Oh, how wonderful!

And, do you know what, I've decided to come back.

I'm going to bring my husband and we will use this.

There you are.

-Isn't it great?!

-Yeah. Isn't it great?

-Oh, I love it!

-It even smells like an old book.

-Smells. Well, that might be me.

TOYAH LAUGHS And there. Wait a minute.

So here... I'll get it out for you.

-I haven't got a clue what this is going to be.

-Wait. Wait.

Look what it is. The Toyah Willcox.

That is just brilliant!

-Thank you so much.

-Isn't it lovely?

-I think that is fantastic.

-It's great.

One day I'll own a bath big enough to share.

Have this kind of floating round the bath while I read my newspaper.

Gorgeous. Yeah. Just be careful where you moor it.

TOYAH GIGGLES OK. So there you are.

-It's been great!

-Thank you, that's brilliant. That's so kind of you.

-No.

-Fabulous day.

So it's farewell, or as we say round here,

hwyl fawr to lovely Llangollen.

For Toyah, this place will always hold so many special memories.

And I've tried with the Welsh pronunciations, I really have.