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Childhood holidays. Oh the anticipation seemed endless. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
The holiday itself, well it was over too quickly. | 0:00:05 | 0:00:09 | |
So in this series I'm going to be reliving those wonderful times | 0:00:09 | 0:00:13 | |
with some much-loved famous faces. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:15 | |
This is a memory I will treasure! | 0:00:15 | 0:00:17 | |
Everyday I'll be arranging a few surprises | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
to transport them back in time. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:23 | |
I feel as though we're about to go over the edge. | 0:00:23 | 0:00:25 | |
Don't say that. | 0:00:25 | 0:00:27 | |
We'll relive the fun... | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
..the games, | 0:00:32 | 0:00:34 | |
and the food of years gone by. | 0:00:34 | 0:00:37 | |
That is a little taste of childhood right there. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:40 | |
To find out how those holidays around the UK | 0:00:40 | 0:00:43 | |
helped shape the people we know so well today. | 0:00:43 | 0:00:47 | |
HE SCREAMS | 0:00:48 | 0:00:50 | |
So buckle up for Holiday of My Lifetime. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:54 | |
We're going to get the water skis out in a moment. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:56 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:00:56 | 0:00:58 | |
On today's show I'm in the beautiful Southwest | 0:01:03 | 0:01:06 | |
to take my mystery guest on a trip down memory lane. | 0:01:06 | 0:01:09 | |
He's a star of stage and screen | 0:01:09 | 0:01:12 | |
and best known for playing the ultimate TV hippy. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:15 | |
I'm on my way to meet a man | 0:01:15 | 0:01:17 | |
whose been entertaining us since the early 1980s. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:21 | |
He was born in London in 1953. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:25 | |
Here he is as a little boy, what a handsome lad. | 0:01:25 | 0:01:30 | |
A bit like myself. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
He was one of those cheeky little whippersnappers | 0:01:32 | 0:01:34 | |
who started British alternative comedy. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:38 | |
Oh, they were naughty. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:40 | |
And he enjoyed early success | 0:01:40 | 0:01:42 | |
with the definitive British comedy about students. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:46 | |
Which one is he? | 0:01:46 | 0:01:47 | |
He's the "Young One." | 0:01:47 | 0:01:51 | |
And he's still wowing us on-screen and off to this day, | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
with his writing and his acting. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
Oh, he's posh! | 0:01:57 | 0:01:59 | |
If you haven't got it by now you never will. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:02 | |
Today's guest is the amazingly talented and funny Nigel Planer. | 0:02:02 | 0:02:08 | |
And I'm on my way to pick him up in this vintage Ford. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:13 | |
Almost like the one he would have come down on holiday with all those years ago. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:18 | |
Hold on to your seats. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:20 | |
Nigel Planer was born in 1953, | 0:02:20 | 0:02:23 | |
and grew up in West London with his two brothers. | 0:02:23 | 0:02:26 | |
His dad ran a medical technology company | 0:02:26 | 0:02:29 | |
whilst mum was a speech therapist. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:32 | |
It was mum who gave him his acting bug | 0:02:32 | 0:02:34 | |
when she took him to see his first theatre show when he was just eight. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:39 | |
He became a founding member of The Comic Strip. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:42 | |
They were pioneers of the alternative comedy movement, | 0:02:42 | 0:02:46 | |
but he's best known for his role as Neil the hippy housemate | 0:02:46 | 0:02:49 | |
in the 1980s BBC sitcom, The Young Ones. | 0:02:49 | 0:02:53 | |
Since then, he's appeared in countless shows | 0:02:53 | 0:02:56 | |
including Blackadder and Filthy Rich & Catflap | 0:02:56 | 0:02:59 | |
with his Young Ones buddies Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson. | 0:02:59 | 0:03:03 | |
Recently he appeared on our screens in Boomers | 0:03:03 | 0:03:06 | |
and in crime drama Jonathan Creek. | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
Today I'm taking him back to a memorable summer holiday of his childhood | 0:03:09 | 0:03:14 | |
and I'll tell you what, I can't wait to meet him. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:17 | |
I hope he's not going to ask me to dance. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:19 | |
Oh, look at that. | 0:03:19 | 0:03:21 | |
A Ford Anglia, brilliant. | 0:03:21 | 0:03:24 | |
How fantastic, with the slanty back on it. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
-Hello, Mr Goodman. -Hello! | 0:03:29 | 0:03:31 | |
-Do you recognise it? -Hello, yes I certainly do. Look at that. | 0:03:35 | 0:03:39 | |
-It must be very similar to the car you... -Yeah. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
-How are you? -Nice to see you. | 0:03:42 | 0:03:44 | |
-Good to meet you. -Good to meet you. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:46 | |
The Ford Anglia, in fact I went on to... | 0:03:46 | 0:03:48 | |
My first car I ever owned was one of these. | 0:03:48 | 0:03:51 | |
It was pale blue. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:52 | |
I understand the one you actually came down in was black. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:55 | |
Black, that's right. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:57 | |
-But we couldn't find a black one anywhere. -Right, there we are. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:00 | |
Back in the '60s, police forces snapped these up | 0:04:00 | 0:04:03 | |
to become panda cars, and the public loved them too! | 0:04:03 | 0:04:06 | |
Even Vyvyan in The Young Ones had one. | 0:04:06 | 0:04:09 | |
Ford Anglia, how's it driving? | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
Like a dream. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:13 | |
So where are we off to? | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
We're off to Ottery St Mary in Devon. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:17 | |
Lovely, I've never been there so I'm hoping you're going to show me all around. | 0:04:17 | 0:04:21 | |
-And what's the year? -1960. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
-A little fact for you. -Yes? | 0:04:24 | 0:04:26 | |
-Big movie, won all the Oscars in 1960... -Was? -Ben-Hur. -Ben-Hur. | 0:04:26 | 0:04:32 | |
-Well, here you are, your chariot awaits. -Perfect, Perfect. | 0:04:32 | 0:04:36 | |
-Should we get going,? -Yeah. -Come on then, here we go. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:38 | |
Ottery St Mary is steeped in centuries of history. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:48 | |
Sitting just 12 miles east of Exeter and six miles from the coast, | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
the town is set in the beautiful Devon countryside. | 0:04:52 | 0:04:56 | |
The picturesque valley is home to the River Otter, which flows by the town. | 0:04:56 | 0:05:01 | |
Nigel's grandparents lived here in 1960, | 0:05:01 | 0:05:05 | |
and Nigel and his brothers would spend their long summers with them. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:09 | |
Ottery St Mary dates back over 1,000 years as a market town. | 0:05:09 | 0:05:14 | |
Thankfully we're not going back that far. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:17 | |
I'm taking Nigel back to his childhood in 1960, | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
when as a seven-year-old he dreamed | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
of Boy's Own adventures like den building. | 0:05:24 | 0:05:27 | |
-Are you the Sheriff? -I'm going to be the Sheriff. | 0:05:27 | 0:05:29 | |
-I'm going to shoot you. -No, no! | 0:05:29 | 0:05:31 | |
'Dirt digging.' Down there, drop it down! | 0:05:31 | 0:05:33 | |
I think Len has done this before. | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
And deckchairs by the sea. | 0:05:37 | 0:05:40 | |
What a lovely bay. | 0:05:40 | 0:05:42 | |
-It's beautiful isn't it? -Yeah. -What a beautiful spot. | 0:05:42 | 0:05:45 | |
But before any holiday begins, you must set out on a journey. | 0:05:49 | 0:05:53 | |
For Nigel, that meant a drive in the car with his mum or dad and his two brothers. | 0:05:53 | 0:06:00 | |
So 1960... | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
1960. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:03 | |
You must have been just a toddler. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:05 | |
-Seven, seven years old. -I would have been. Right. | 0:06:05 | 0:06:07 | |
-And where were you... -We came all the way down from London. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:10 | |
-We lived in London. -Blimey, that's the journey, aye? | 0:06:10 | 0:06:12 | |
It's a journey. My mum, I had two brothers. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
So there was the three boys and mum? | 0:06:15 | 0:06:18 | |
Three boys, my dad would come down on the weekends to join us. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:21 | |
-Oh, right. -He would stay working, he used to work very hard. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:24 | |
-Right. -And we used to have those little I-Spy books. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:29 | |
-Oh, yeah, I was in the I-Spy tribe. -Were you? -Yes, I was. | 0:06:29 | 0:06:33 | |
We had the little pamphlet, I spy with my little eye. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:37 | |
Now, funnily enough, if you take that top book from there. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:42 | |
Oh, yeah. What have we got? | 0:06:42 | 0:06:45 | |
-I-Spy On A Car Journey. Two and sixpence. -There you are. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:49 | |
What was great, you had to look for the different things in the book. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:55 | |
-Yeah. -I think they were great. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:57 | |
What else did we do to shut us up? | 0:06:57 | 0:06:59 | |
Sing songs, play games. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:02 | |
-Was there any sort of... -Fighting? Yes there was. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:05 | |
Oh, yes I was going to say... | 0:07:05 | 0:07:06 | |
I was going to say was your mum like "behave yourselves back there!" | 0:07:06 | 0:07:09 | |
Yes, an awful lot of that. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
So, there you are, there's your mum, you had the three boys coming down. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:15 | |
But your mum I understand wasn't going to stay... | 0:07:15 | 0:07:18 | |
Did your mum stay with you? | 0:07:18 | 0:07:19 | |
She did stay sometimes, but often she'd go back again. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:25 | |
She would leave me there with my gran and grandpa. | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
Oh, right. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:30 | |
It was like a magic land is what I remember it. | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
It was a completely different world down here in Devon. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:37 | |
-It's very, very beautiful Devon. I love it. -Yeah. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:40 | |
1960 was a big year for the Royal Family. | 0:07:44 | 0:07:48 | |
The nation welcomed the arrival of the Queen's second son, | 0:07:48 | 0:07:52 | |
Prince Andrew, into the world. | 0:07:52 | 0:07:55 | |
Second in line of succession, | 0:07:55 | 0:07:57 | |
the safe arrival of Andrew Albert Christian Edward | 0:07:57 | 0:08:00 | |
was given a royal salute. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:01 | |
Then, just over two months later, the Queen's sister, | 0:08:05 | 0:08:08 | |
Princess Margaret, married Antony Armstrong Jones, | 0:08:08 | 0:08:12 | |
the 1st Earl of Snowden. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
Across the pond, American citizens were welcoming their newly elected president on a wave of optimism. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:22 | |
John Kennedy has accepted a great deal more than a father's responsibility | 0:08:22 | 0:08:26 | |
in the coming year and those which follow, | 0:08:26 | 0:08:28 | |
if 1960s problems of race, creed and colour | 0:08:28 | 0:08:31 | |
are not to remain with us throughout the '60s. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:34 | |
Back home, a new type of official was taking to our streets for the first time. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:43 | |
The traffic warden. | 0:08:43 | 0:08:45 | |
Have you had to give many tickets out this morning? | 0:08:45 | 0:08:47 | |
I've only given one up to now. | 0:08:47 | 0:08:48 | |
And the soundtrack to the summer came from The Shadows | 0:08:48 | 0:08:52 | |
as Apache topped the charts. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
HE HUMS The Shadows by Apache | 0:08:56 | 0:08:58 | |
But for Nigel, that summer was all about Devon. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:09 | |
And after six hours on the road he was almost there. | 0:09:09 | 0:09:14 | |
What a journey. | 0:09:14 | 0:09:15 | |
Listen, I'm not fishing for compliments | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
because it's not in my nature. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:19 | |
I think I've handled the drive quite well. | 0:09:19 | 0:09:22 | |
Quite good. There was a bit where you... | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
Ah yes, I did a swerve, I know. Yeah, you're right. | 0:09:24 | 0:09:28 | |
I was hoping you hadn't noticed that. | 0:09:28 | 0:09:30 | |
Now look, there it is, Ottery St Mary. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:34 | |
Oh, lovely. | 0:09:34 | 0:09:35 | |
-Are we nearly there yet? -We're nearly there, you just wait. | 0:09:35 | 0:09:40 | |
It's certainly worth the wait as Ottery St Mary is lovely. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:47 | |
But is it ringing any nostalgic bells for our Nigel? | 0:09:47 | 0:09:52 | |
Nice. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:53 | |
-Well, great day for it, isn't it? -No, it is. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:59 | |
Is there anything you remember or recognise? | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
I don't think that church was there. | 0:10:04 | 0:10:06 | |
No, it looks like a new build. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
-Oh yeah, totally. -Yeah. | 0:10:08 | 0:10:10 | |
But this actual square, I can't say sparks anything off. | 0:10:10 | 0:10:15 | |
-But I suppose you... -I mean apart from it's lovely. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:17 | |
Yeah, I suppose you must have come here probably | 0:10:17 | 0:10:20 | |
with your grandparents or something. Going into town. | 0:10:20 | 0:10:24 | |
I must have said "Oh, no, not there." | 0:10:24 | 0:10:25 | |
-Maybe you played in the garden or whatever. -Yeah. | 0:10:25 | 0:10:28 | |
Now talking of your grandparents, was their home near here? | 0:10:28 | 0:10:33 | |
-It was in a place called West Hill. -West Hill. | 0:10:33 | 0:10:36 | |
West Hill, which I think is on the outskirts of town. I'm not sure. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:43 | |
It was more countrified, it wasn't in the centre of the town. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:46 | |
What about if we now mosey on into that area... | 0:10:46 | 0:10:50 | |
-And see if we can find it. -See if we can find it. -Yes, why not? -Why not? | 0:10:50 | 0:10:54 | |
-Over here somewhere. -Right. -Here we go. | 0:10:54 | 0:10:56 | |
It may not look like much, but this church | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
was instrumental in putting Ottery St Mary on the map. | 0:11:07 | 0:11:12 | |
Transforming it from a small hamlet to a place visited by royalty. | 0:11:12 | 0:11:17 | |
Rob Neal's our man in the know. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:19 | |
In 1337, John De Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, decided to build | 0:11:19 | 0:11:25 | |
here in Ottery, his College of Canons, | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
or his ecclesiastical college. | 0:11:27 | 0:11:30 | |
And the first thing he did was to enlarge the old Mormon church | 0:11:30 | 0:11:35 | |
which was already on the site. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:36 | |
In addition to the beautiful church, there were cloisters | 0:11:36 | 0:11:40 | |
and from the cloisters we have the chapter house | 0:11:40 | 0:11:42 | |
and a large library which stretched right to the gatehouse. | 0:11:42 | 0:11:45 | |
The college was famous throughout the land. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:48 | |
It brought royalty to the town. | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
Along came Henry VIII, with his dissolution of the monasteries | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
in 1545, and of course a lot of the college was demolished | 0:11:53 | 0:11:59 | |
and some of it just fell into disuse. | 0:11:59 | 0:12:02 | |
But the church was spared because it was a parish church and it | 0:12:02 | 0:12:06 | |
remains even to this day one of the most beautiful churches in the country. | 0:12:06 | 0:12:10 | |
Nigel's grandparents' bungalow was just a short walk from the town centre. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:17 | |
Here's gran in the front with dog Bowson keeping her company. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:22 | |
And that cheeky young scamp back is our Nigel. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:26 | |
But that was 55 years ago and I've managed to sneak us in today. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:30 | |
I wonder how much it's changed. | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
Pennyfield. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:34 | |
Yes, Pennyfield, it's still called Pennyfield anyway. | 0:12:34 | 0:12:38 | |
This looks very grand. | 0:12:38 | 0:12:40 | |
-Do you recall it as being... -Yes. | 0:12:40 | 0:12:43 | |
-We are talking 55 years ago. -We are, yes. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:46 | |
-Things have probably moved on a bit. -Yeah, this is very exciting. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:51 | |
-Isn't it? -A long drive. I do remember it was a very long drive. | 0:12:51 | 0:12:57 | |
Blimey, look at that. Oh now I definitely remember this. | 0:12:57 | 0:13:00 | |
Do you remember all these rhododendrons and things? | 0:13:00 | 0:13:03 | |
I remember this tribe yes, and the way it splits into two like that. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:06 | |
There was a dog called Bowson who would have come running out | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
to join, you know, to greet us. | 0:13:09 | 0:13:12 | |
Oh blimey, yes now I definitely recall all of this. | 0:13:12 | 0:13:16 | |
This is fabulous. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
This very grand garden, what an amazing garden. | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
Huge isn't it? | 0:13:22 | 0:13:23 | |
Nowadays...blimey look at this. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:27 | |
In a way the opposite of what... memory normally makes everything | 0:13:27 | 0:13:31 | |
bigger in your memory but this is bigger than I remember it. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:35 | |
So what were your grandparents like? | 0:13:35 | 0:13:37 | |
Well, my gran was almost like a | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
stereotypical "silver-haired with a bun" granny, in there. | 0:13:40 | 0:13:45 | |
Always cooking, she had an old stove and sort of always puttering about. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:50 | |
Very good natured and my grandpa was again quite stereotypically, | 0:13:50 | 0:13:57 | |
quite stiff backed, strict, quite grumpy. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:01 | |
-You had to be careful when you went... -Yeah not to... | 0:14:01 | 0:14:03 | |
You know when you did and you didn't. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:05 | |
They were almost from sort of rent-a-grandparent. | 0:14:05 | 0:14:09 | |
You know what I mean? | 0:14:09 | 0:14:10 | |
-Typical. -Yeah, they seemed to be. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:13 | |
This amazing garden is one thing, | 0:14:13 | 0:14:16 | |
but is the house still as Nigel remembers? | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
Well, I've pulled a few strings and have a big treat in store. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:22 | |
Want to knock? | 0:14:22 | 0:14:24 | |
-You have the key? -I've got the key. Should we go? | 0:14:25 | 0:14:27 | |
Go on, let's have a look inside, yeah. How amazing is this? | 0:14:27 | 0:14:31 | |
Blimey. Look at this. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:36 | |
-Well obviously it's been updated,. -It has a bit, yes. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:43 | |
-But is this how you... -This is, yeah. | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
I remember the whole shape of it, everything. | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
-That would have been where the cooker was. -Right. | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
And there was a larder. | 0:14:51 | 0:14:52 | |
-There it is. A larder. -Oh, yeah. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
-Something you don't get often these days. -No, you never see a larder. | 0:14:56 | 0:15:00 | |
-Cool and covered and it's being used as a larder here. -Good. | 0:15:00 | 0:15:03 | |
Look at that. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:04 | |
Should we have a look where you used to sleep? | 0:15:04 | 0:15:06 | |
-Come on, let's go on through, yes. -Come on then. | 0:15:06 | 0:15:08 | |
-Careful, Nigel. I don't want you tripping over. -Or banging my head. | 0:15:11 | 0:15:16 | |
No, I'm very good at banging my head. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:18 | |
-Oh, yes. -Oh, yes, look at this. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:26 | |
So, this would have been one bed, the other bed. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
That would have been my one. | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
There was an attic in there. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:33 | |
You could go through into the rafters | 0:15:33 | 0:15:36 | |
and find all my aunt's toys and my mum's toys. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:40 | |
-Oh Really? -Old stuff from before the war. | 0:15:40 | 0:15:44 | |
There was a game called Buccaneer which was in a tube, | 0:15:44 | 0:15:48 | |
and you unrolled it and played pirates, | 0:15:48 | 0:15:50 | |
but as with all the things in the attic half the pieces were missing. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:54 | |
Yeah, you know. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:55 | |
But you have to go straight up there | 0:15:55 | 0:15:57 | |
and get all the things out of the attic and see what was there. | 0:15:57 | 0:16:00 | |
Yeah, have a little rummage. | 0:16:00 | 0:16:01 | |
How did your time spent here with your grandparents | 0:16:01 | 0:16:05 | |
differ from when you were with your mum and dad back in London? | 0:16:05 | 0:16:09 | |
Well, just much less stressed, isn't it? | 0:16:09 | 0:16:12 | |
I mean, I just remember my dad having to work very hard, | 0:16:12 | 0:16:17 | |
my mum being stressed looking after three boys | 0:16:17 | 0:16:22 | |
and my dad coming in late, working always. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:26 | |
And here you could just... | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
And plus of course when you were back home you were going to school everyday. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
-There is that, yes. -And here, total freedom. -That's right. | 0:16:31 | 0:16:36 | |
So how does it feel to be back? | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
Well it's fantastic. | 0:16:38 | 0:16:39 | |
What's great is to realise it is as beautiful as I remembered it. | 0:16:39 | 0:16:43 | |
You know, you remember all sunny days and beautiful trees | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
and the forest there and all of that, but it is actually that beautiful. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:50 | |
And even as an adult it really is lovely. | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
There's so much more to see and do around Ottery St Mary, | 0:16:58 | 0:17:01 | |
so I've picked seven bobby-dazzlers to enjoy. | 0:17:01 | 0:17:06 | |
The Escot Country Park is set in 220 acres of stunning parkland. | 0:17:06 | 0:17:11 | |
Get up close to the red squirrels that call this place home | 0:17:11 | 0:17:15 | |
and see peacocks roaming wild. | 0:17:15 | 0:17:18 | |
Plus, there's a camp here where kiddies can spend a few days | 0:17:18 | 0:17:22 | |
and nights enjoying the great outdoors. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:25 | |
It's not too far from the River Otter. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:28 | |
Home to England's first wild beaver trial, | 0:17:28 | 0:17:31 | |
these creatures were thought to be hunted to extinction in Britain | 0:17:31 | 0:17:35 | |
until two years ago when eco-man, Tom Buckley, filmed one. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:40 | |
It was about two years ago now and I noticed a tree had been gnawed. | 0:17:40 | 0:17:44 | |
So I thought let's find out who or what has been actually doing this | 0:17:44 | 0:17:48 | |
and so I set up a wildlife camera. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:51 | |
And overnight, when I came back and looked at the footage, | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
you couldn't believe your eyes. There was a beaver! | 0:17:54 | 0:17:56 | |
Although you are very lucky if you see one, | 0:17:56 | 0:17:59 | |
what you're more likely to see is the beaver signs. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:04 | |
The evidence that they leave behind that they are in the vicinity. | 0:18:04 | 0:18:08 | |
So the sorts of beaver signs that you might see | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
are the typical pencil-shaped tree stump that's left behind | 0:18:11 | 0:18:18 | |
when the beavers fell the tree | 0:18:18 | 0:18:20 | |
to get at the nice juicy bark and the leaves at the top. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
And if you look very closely at this, you can | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
see the individual teeth marks | 0:18:27 | 0:18:30 | |
on the actual cut itself. | 0:18:30 | 0:18:32 | |
Back in 1960, Nigel spent a lot of his time beavering away | 0:18:34 | 0:18:39 | |
in this idyllic garden at his grandparents' house. | 0:18:39 | 0:18:42 | |
Look at this. | 0:18:42 | 0:18:44 | |
You must have had a whale of a time. | 0:18:44 | 0:18:46 | |
Fantastic isn't it? | 0:18:46 | 0:18:47 | |
Now, what sort of games did you get up to? | 0:18:47 | 0:18:51 | |
Well, I'd be in a sort of fantasy world, | 0:18:51 | 0:18:54 | |
making a treehouse or a den or something like that. | 0:18:54 | 0:18:58 | |
Let's do it. What like a den? | 0:18:58 | 0:19:00 | |
Yeah. Finding all the branches and making it. | 0:19:00 | 0:19:02 | |
-Let's relive it, right?. -Why not? -Why not? | 0:19:02 | 0:19:06 | |
When Nigel was a nipper, he'd make short work of den building, | 0:19:06 | 0:19:10 | |
but luckily someone's been here already. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:13 | |
There's one we built earlier. It's the perfect den, isn't it? | 0:19:13 | 0:19:17 | |
I mean the rainwater would get in, it needs more. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:19 | |
It does need some...a bit of tarpaulin. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:22 | |
-You need something. -Or some of these here, look. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:25 | |
-That's it. -There, I think this, maybe in case it rained. | 0:19:25 | 0:19:32 | |
-Oh, that's good, a roof. -A roof. | 0:19:32 | 0:19:34 | |
We could build a second story. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:36 | |
We could do, yeah, because it's very firm. Yeah. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:38 | |
I'm going to give it a go. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:40 | |
Hey, that's pretty cosy. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:48 | |
You won't get... No, I couldn't do it. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:51 | |
-Well... -I couldn't do it and I've got to wear these trousers tomorrow. | 0:19:51 | 0:19:54 | |
-Yeah. -LAUGHTER | 0:19:54 | 0:19:56 | |
Back in 1960, Westerns were all the rage. | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
I loved them. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:02 | |
And after watching the cowboy films at the old cinema, | 0:20:02 | 0:20:06 | |
kids would re-enact their own Wild West. | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
With this amazing garden at his disposal, | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
it wasn't long before Nigel's imagination ran wild. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:16 | |
I want to totally set the scene for you. | 0:20:16 | 0:20:19 | |
What about...stay there. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
Would that make you feel at home? | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
-Oh, right, a cowboy hat. -Cowboy hat. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
Let's try that. It's about the size | 0:20:28 | 0:20:30 | |
for a seven-year-old as well actually. | 0:20:30 | 0:20:33 | |
-Let's have a look at you now. Oh, yes. -Yeah? -Oh yeah, it's perfect. | 0:20:33 | 0:20:37 | |
-Are you the sheriff? -I'm going to be the sheriff. | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
I'm going to shoot you. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:41 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:20:41 | 0:20:42 | |
NATIVE AMERICAN WAR CRIES | 0:20:42 | 0:20:44 | |
See when I was a kid, my noise for the gun... | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
I didn't have a gun, most of the time I didn't have a gun, was... | 0:20:48 | 0:20:51 | |
GUNSHOT IMITATIONS | 0:20:51 | 0:20:54 | |
-Yeah, that was the noise wasn't it? -That's what you did, yeah. | 0:20:54 | 0:20:57 | |
It was never "bang, bang". | 0:20:57 | 0:20:59 | |
And you didn't have a gun really. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:01 | |
-No, you had your fingers, but they were lethal. -Yeah. | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
Yeah mine were, and I could do, you know, two out. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:07 | |
GUNFIRE IMITATIONS | 0:21:07 | 0:21:09 | |
Now, while you're sitting there and sort of in character... | 0:21:11 | 0:21:14 | |
In this, in my den. | 0:21:14 | 0:21:18 | |
In your den. | 0:21:18 | 0:21:20 | |
Was it always going to be acting or the stage growing up? | 0:21:20 | 0:21:24 | |
Was that your... | 0:21:24 | 0:21:25 | |
Pretty much, yeah. | 0:21:25 | 0:21:27 | |
I mean I was always playacting, | 0:21:27 | 0:21:32 | |
making my younger brother be the person who got killed | 0:21:32 | 0:21:38 | |
in little plays that I made. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:41 | |
That's all I wanted to do, really. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:43 | |
What did your parents think of that? | 0:21:43 | 0:21:45 | |
Initially, my mum was behind it. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:49 | |
-My dad was initially worried as he should have been. -Yes. | 0:21:49 | 0:21:54 | |
But as soon as I started earning some money he was right behind it. | 0:21:54 | 0:21:58 | |
-Right. -As soon as he could see it was possible to earn some money out of it. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:02 | |
May I say, I have done quite a few of these holiday programmes. | 0:22:02 | 0:22:06 | |
And you've never seen someone looking as ridiculous as this? | 0:22:06 | 0:22:09 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:22:09 | 0:22:11 | |
This is a bizarre setting of you in your den | 0:22:11 | 0:22:13 | |
with your cowboy hat on. | 0:22:13 | 0:22:14 | |
-Me with a sheriff's badge. -And shooting you. | 0:22:14 | 0:22:16 | |
Yeah. LAUGHTER | 0:22:16 | 0:22:19 | |
Oh, no! | 0:22:22 | 0:22:25 | |
I'm sorry I wasn't nimble enough to get in there with you, really. | 0:22:27 | 0:22:31 | |
-I'm not sure there would have been room. -There wasn't room. | 0:22:31 | 0:22:34 | |
Also I'm not sure I would have let you. | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
Now, get out, go build your own den. Of course. | 0:22:37 | 0:22:41 | |
"Build your own den, get off, Goodman." | 0:22:41 | 0:22:44 | |
No holiday is complete without sampling the local grub. | 0:22:44 | 0:22:48 | |
And when a young Nigel Planer visited here in 1960, | 0:22:48 | 0:22:51 | |
Gran always had some hearty home-made food on the old stove. | 0:22:51 | 0:22:56 | |
But can we create a dish that will bring back some tasty memories? | 0:22:56 | 0:23:00 | |
You know what that is? | 0:23:00 | 0:23:01 | |
-That is 1960s food, that is. -It is indeed. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:06 | |
We've got this and we've got that. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:09 | |
And if you put them together you get a shepherd's pie. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:13 | |
-This is a joint effort. -Mmhmm. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
I will layer the meat and vegetables into the receptacle. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:23 | |
-Layer? -You will layer it? | 0:23:23 | 0:23:25 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:23:25 | 0:23:26 | |
-I'm a bricklayer. -Oh right, nicely. | 0:23:26 | 0:23:29 | |
-Whilst you... -Mash the potatoes? -Mash the potatoes. | 0:23:29 | 0:23:33 | |
Should you put some butter into that? | 0:23:33 | 0:23:36 | |
That's what I was just going to say, | 0:23:36 | 0:23:38 | |
you should put some butter in really. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:40 | |
I'm going to give you a bit of that. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:42 | |
I'm going to put the lot in, I'm not messing about. | 0:23:43 | 0:23:46 | |
-I think milk should go in there. -Milk in there too. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:49 | |
-I think so. -A touch. No that's plenty. I think I've done it. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:55 | |
-Well I'm cooking... -It's not enough. -Go on, you. -Well it ain't. | 0:23:55 | 0:23:58 | |
It's too lumpy. | 0:23:58 | 0:23:59 | |
Now, how did you get started... | 0:23:59 | 0:24:02 | |
..in the entertainment business? What was your first gig? | 0:24:03 | 0:24:06 | |
My first major gig I suppose was understudying David Essex | 0:24:06 | 0:24:11 | |
-in the original production of Evita? -Right. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:14 | |
And then as soon as that was over | 0:24:14 | 0:24:17 | |
there were advertisements for The Comedy Store, | 0:24:17 | 0:24:20 | |
people to join this new club that was going to start, | 0:24:20 | 0:24:23 | |
The Comedy Store. | 0:24:23 | 0:24:24 | |
-That was in Soho? -That's right. -Right. | 0:24:24 | 0:24:26 | |
And I went down there with Peter Richardson, | 0:24:26 | 0:24:29 | |
who's also from down here in Devon as it happens. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:33 | |
And we started a double act which we called The Outer Limits. | 0:24:33 | 0:24:37 | |
-Right. -And my character, Neil the hippy, | 0:24:37 | 0:24:40 | |
came from that double act at The Comedy Store. | 0:24:40 | 0:24:43 | |
Oh, right. Alexei Sayle was the compere. | 0:24:43 | 0:24:45 | |
That's where we met Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
and then a bunch of us went to another club in Soho | 0:24:49 | 0:24:52 | |
and started our own club, The Comic Strip. | 0:24:52 | 0:24:56 | |
And that's when it started to take off for us. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:58 | |
This doesn't look right at all, we're making a... | 0:24:58 | 0:25:00 | |
-You're making a pig's ear. -What they call a pig's ear, yeah of this. | 0:25:00 | 0:25:03 | |
Yeah, because you know it's supposed to cover it. | 0:25:03 | 0:25:05 | |
I know, it's kind of what we've got is dollops | 0:25:05 | 0:25:07 | |
in the middle of this. | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
It's like a Caribbean island, isn't it? You know. | 0:25:09 | 0:25:12 | |
What we need is my gran, that's what we need. | 0:25:12 | 0:25:14 | |
Yeah, that who we need. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:15 | |
While all this was going on I would have just been outside playing | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
and then come in and said, "I'm hungry, what's for supper?" | 0:25:18 | 0:25:21 | |
And she would have said "shepherd's pie". | 0:25:21 | 0:25:23 | |
She would have said shepherd's pie and produced a perfect one. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:25 | |
I don't think we're going on MasterChef any time soon. | 0:25:25 | 0:25:28 | |
No, that's ridiculous. Not with Mount Vesuvius in the middle. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:32 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:25:32 | 0:25:34 | |
That is pretty bad. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:36 | |
Well, I don't mind it to be honest, I think it's got character. | 0:25:36 | 0:25:39 | |
-It's got potential. -Yeah. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:41 | |
-Just open the oven. -Open the oven. | 0:25:41 | 0:25:43 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
Oh no, it's a dishwasher. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:47 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:25:47 | 0:25:48 | |
-Oh it's over there! -Here we go. -That's it. | 0:25:48 | 0:25:52 | |
While we wait for that to cook, | 0:25:57 | 0:25:59 | |
here's my next instalment of my seven wonders of this part of the world. | 0:25:59 | 0:26:03 | |
The quaint town of Gittisham | 0:26:05 | 0:26:07 | |
is known for its beautiful thatched cottages. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:10 | |
Situated in rolling farmland, it feels like a journey back in time. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:15 | |
Yet it's only a short hop from road or rail links. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:19 | |
Head to the Land of Canaan Park to find out about | 0:26:19 | 0:26:23 | |
Ottery St Mary's acclaimed romantic poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. | 0:26:23 | 0:26:29 | |
He loved this part of Devon | 0:26:29 | 0:26:30 | |
and a river featured in one of his most famous works, Kubla Khan. | 0:26:30 | 0:26:35 | |
"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, a stately pleasure-dome decree: | 0:26:35 | 0:26:40 | |
"Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man. | 0:26:40 | 0:26:45 | |
"Down to a sunless sea." | 0:26:45 | 0:26:48 | |
And if you like your poetry on the go, | 0:26:48 | 0:26:50 | |
there's now a new way to enjoy it. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:52 | |
They've recently formed a path in the local park | 0:26:52 | 0:26:56 | |
and there are stones running all the way along that path | 0:26:56 | 0:27:00 | |
with the whole of Kubla Khan printed on it. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:03 | |
I'm bringing back some family memories of 1960 for Nigel Planer. | 0:27:07 | 0:27:12 | |
When he spent the summer at his grandparents' home | 0:27:12 | 0:27:15 | |
and I've got a special visitor for him to meet. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:19 | |
Nigel, I want you to meet Pamela who remembers your grandparents. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:23 | |
-Oh, hello Pamela, I'm Nigel. -Yes, how do you do? | 0:27:23 | 0:27:26 | |
-I knew your grandparents. -Wow. | 0:27:26 | 0:27:30 | |
And I watched the coronation here with them in this room. | 0:27:30 | 0:27:35 | |
Crikey! | 0:27:35 | 0:27:36 | |
My mum bought a television in 1953 | 0:27:36 | 0:27:40 | |
-just because the coronation was on. -Yes. -And we were the only | 0:27:40 | 0:27:45 | |
family in our street that had a telly. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
I guess, was it the same here? | 0:27:48 | 0:27:50 | |
Were they the only ones with a television? | 0:27:50 | 0:27:52 | |
Yes, and I lived just across the road | 0:27:52 | 0:27:55 | |
and my mother used to come every | 0:27:55 | 0:27:57 | |
Saturday evening to see your grandmother. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:00 | |
Mmhmm. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:01 | |
What were they like, Nigel's grandparents? | 0:28:01 | 0:28:03 | |
Oh, they were lovely, and his grandmother in particular was a lovely cook. | 0:28:03 | 0:28:07 | |
Yes, wasn't she? | 0:28:07 | 0:28:09 | |
-Yes, and she was lovely, with lovely white hair. -Yes. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:15 | |
So you would have only been a bit of a girl back then? | 0:28:15 | 0:28:19 | |
Yes, I was in my teens, early teens, yes. | 0:28:19 | 0:28:23 | |
Well I'll tell you what, if you pass me that remote control, Nigel... | 0:28:23 | 0:28:26 | |
-Yeah? -I'm going to... | 0:28:26 | 0:28:28 | |
You can actually work those things can't you? | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
Well I've been told what button to press. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:33 | |
As I'm well in with the Royals, I've managed to wrangle a copy, | 0:28:33 | 0:28:37 | |
to recreate that very special moment. | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 | |
Nigel was a baby when this was on, | 0:28:40 | 0:28:42 | |
and while he might not be able to remember it, | 0:28:42 | 0:28:45 | |
the estimated 27 million viewers certainly would. | 0:28:45 | 0:28:48 | |
Oh here we are, look. We should be standing really, I think. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:52 | |
But I remember, as well you may have done, it was marvellous to watch. | 0:28:52 | 0:28:57 | |
Oh, yes. | 0:28:57 | 0:28:58 | |
Our room was about as big as this and I reckon we had 30 people. | 0:28:58 | 0:29:04 | |
-All the kids were on the floor. -We were on the floor, yes. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:09 | |
This was wonderful because every head of state, every king, prince | 0:29:09 | 0:29:16 | |
from every corner of the world came to this | 0:29:16 | 0:29:20 | |
and it was wonderful to watch. | 0:29:20 | 0:29:22 | |
I would imagine that more people bought a television during the '50s | 0:29:22 | 0:29:27 | |
for the coronation than any other period. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:31 | |
So, back then, when you first were watching TV, | 0:29:31 | 0:29:35 | |
did you ever have an inkling that, "Oh maybe I could be on television," | 0:29:35 | 0:29:40 | |
or did that never enter your head? | 0:29:40 | 0:29:41 | |
From an early age I liked doing theatre shows and dressing up | 0:29:41 | 0:29:45 | |
and putting on theatre shows. | 0:29:45 | 0:29:48 | |
But it didn't occur to me until much later that I might be able to work in television. | 0:29:48 | 0:29:56 | |
Well, Pamela, thank you so much for your time. | 0:29:56 | 0:29:58 | |
-That's all right. -It was lovely to meet you. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:00 | |
Nice to meet you, especially as I've seen you on television. | 0:30:00 | 0:30:03 | |
Well there you are. | 0:30:03 | 0:30:04 | |
You'll be able to say, "Oh, I know him." | 0:30:04 | 0:30:06 | |
-Thank you. -Thank you very much. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:09 | |
People from these parts are known as Ottregians. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:17 | |
Back in 1898, a group of the great and the good | 0:30:17 | 0:30:21 | |
from this area decided to get together and form an association. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:26 | |
At one of these meetings, | 0:30:26 | 0:30:27 | |
Lord Coleridge announced that he'd composed a song. | 0:30:27 | 0:30:30 | |
And this song became very popular, | 0:30:30 | 0:30:32 | |
and children still sing it to this day. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:35 | |
So I've got a copy of the song here | 0:30:35 | 0:30:36 | |
and I'm just going to read some of it to you. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:39 | |
# There is a place, dear native place! Amid the meadows fair, | 0:30:39 | 0:30:44 | |
# Between the hills, beside the stream, | 0:30:44 | 0:30:47 | |
# Where blows the soft light air. | 0:30:47 | 0:30:49 | |
# O! Ottery dear! O! Ottery fair! My heart goes out to thee, | 0:30:49 | 0:30:54 | |
# Thou art my home wher'er I roam, The West! The West for me! # | 0:30:54 | 0:31:00 | |
Not only that, the Ottery Song is actually played on a carillon | 0:31:00 | 0:31:04 | |
every four hours on the hour from the church tower. | 0:31:04 | 0:31:08 | |
It's like a giant musical box. | 0:31:08 | 0:31:09 | |
It's tea time at last, and we're about to find out | 0:31:13 | 0:31:17 | |
if we are master chefs or disaster chefs. | 0:31:17 | 0:31:20 | |
This looks nice, just the right amount of shepherd. | 0:31:20 | 0:31:23 | |
-Yeah, that taste genuinely like 1960 to me. -Yeah. | 0:31:26 | 0:31:31 | |
Cottage pie is lamb isn't it? | 0:31:31 | 0:31:34 | |
Cottage pie is lamb, no, shepherd's pie is lamb. | 0:31:34 | 0:31:37 | |
Shepherd's pie is lamb. | 0:31:37 | 0:31:38 | |
Shepherd's pie is lamb because of shepherds and sheep. | 0:31:38 | 0:31:41 | |
And cottage pie is beef. Yeah, I did know that. | 0:31:41 | 0:31:44 | |
Now, from that, the comedy shows you did, | 0:31:44 | 0:31:49 | |
is that where The Young Ones came from? | 0:31:49 | 0:31:52 | |
Yeah. We were performing in what was the Raymond Revue Bar. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:57 | |
We had most of the characters | 0:31:57 | 0:31:58 | |
and there was a lot of people that came down there, | 0:31:58 | 0:32:01 | |
sort of flash people. | 0:32:01 | 0:32:03 | |
We had Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson coming into the audience. | 0:32:03 | 0:32:07 | |
We were sort of the flavour of that year and we were desperately trying | 0:32:07 | 0:32:12 | |
to think of the right format. | 0:32:12 | 0:32:13 | |
How can we get this on telly? | 0:32:13 | 0:32:16 | |
And then Rik and Ben and Lisa, | 0:32:16 | 0:32:19 | |
Lise Mayer, came up with the idea of calling it The Young Ones, | 0:32:19 | 0:32:22 | |
and we're students and that's how it kind of... | 0:32:22 | 0:32:24 | |
So it came out of that. | 0:32:24 | 0:32:26 | |
So the characters already existed in our act. | 0:32:26 | 0:32:28 | |
And then it ran. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:30 | |
Only 12 episodes. | 0:32:30 | 0:32:33 | |
Was it only 12 episodes? | 0:32:33 | 0:32:35 | |
-No way. -Yeah. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:38 | |
Only 12 episodes, like Fawlty Towers and The Office. | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
Only 12 episodes. I was working with Henry Winkler last year, | 0:32:41 | 0:32:45 | |
-The Fonz. -The Fonz, yeah. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:48 | |
And I said, "How many episodes did you do?" | 0:32:48 | 0:32:50 | |
He said, "Oh, you know, 367. | 0:32:50 | 0:32:53 | |
"And how many did you do?" I said, "12". | 0:32:53 | 0:32:56 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:32:56 | 0:32:57 | |
If you want to hear shouting matey, this is it! | 0:32:57 | 0:33:00 | |
HE SHOUTS | 0:33:00 | 0:33:02 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:33:02 | 0:33:03 | |
It's funny, but being ill makes me lose my usual tolerant | 0:33:03 | 0:33:08 | |
and easy-going approach to communal living. | 0:33:08 | 0:33:10 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:33:12 | 0:33:15 | |
Now, how ruddy considerate, Vyvyan, thank you very much! | 0:33:18 | 0:33:22 | |
Yeah thanks, Vyv, that petrol bomb's really cleared my sinuses. | 0:33:22 | 0:33:25 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:33:25 | 0:33:26 | |
When you've devised a character that comes from yourself, | 0:33:26 | 0:33:30 | |
you know, that's been your act, | 0:33:30 | 0:33:32 | |
it's bound to be a bit, it's not like an acting job where | 0:33:32 | 0:33:34 | |
they send you the script and you think how can I be that? | 0:33:34 | 0:33:37 | |
These were our own acts, so we were... | 0:33:37 | 0:33:39 | |
they were versions of ourselves. | 0:33:39 | 0:33:42 | |
I must say it was the most fantastic programme. | 0:33:42 | 0:33:47 | |
I loved it and my son still watches them. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:52 | |
After the timeless and peerless Young Ones, | 0:33:52 | 0:33:55 | |
Nigel also starred in the wonderful Blackadder, | 0:33:55 | 0:33:58 | |
and was reunited with Rik and Ade in Filthy Rich & Catflap. | 0:33:58 | 0:34:02 | |
And even today he's been on Jonathan Creek and Episodes. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:05 | |
It's a long way from his days here in Devon | 0:34:08 | 0:34:10 | |
where he loved nothing more than making dens | 0:34:10 | 0:34:13 | |
and digging in the garden. | 0:34:13 | 0:34:15 | |
But today we're getting to play with the big boys toys. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:19 | |
Well, I know that back in 1960 this wasn't here, | 0:34:19 | 0:34:23 | |
but would this have been the sort of thing... | 0:34:23 | 0:34:25 | |
This is just the ticket, yeah. | 0:34:25 | 0:34:27 | |
This would have been exactly the sort of thing. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:29 | |
Well now, let me ask you this, | 0:34:29 | 0:34:31 | |
are you a competitive sort of person? | 0:34:31 | 0:34:34 | |
Yes and no, but... | 0:34:34 | 0:34:37 | |
What I'm going to suggest is that we get in one each... | 0:34:37 | 0:34:41 | |
Right, and see who can... | 0:34:41 | 0:34:43 | |
And we have a little competition about who can... | 0:34:43 | 0:34:46 | |
and the loser buys the tea | 0:34:46 | 0:34:48 | |
-All right. -So let's go up there. | 0:34:48 | 0:34:50 | |
Learn the controls and get on with it. Here we go. | 0:34:50 | 0:34:54 | |
Three! Two! Hey! | 0:34:54 | 0:34:56 | |
Woah! | 0:35:08 | 0:35:10 | |
Oops! | 0:35:10 | 0:35:11 | |
This is gorgeous, now what do I do? | 0:35:11 | 0:35:14 | |
Forget what...oh I've got it now! | 0:35:14 | 0:35:16 | |
That's that. | 0:35:16 | 0:35:17 | |
Oh that's a lovely lot. | 0:35:17 | 0:35:19 | |
Now come up! Comp up! Come on! | 0:35:19 | 0:35:21 | |
Down there, drop it! Drop it down! | 0:35:21 | 0:35:24 | |
I think Len has done this before. | 0:35:27 | 0:35:29 | |
Oh, that's a really good one. | 0:35:31 | 0:35:33 | |
No, no, look at him! | 0:35:34 | 0:35:36 | |
Oh, no, Len. | 0:35:36 | 0:35:37 | |
You can't do a thing! | 0:35:37 | 0:35:39 | |
I wish I'd had one of these when I was a grave-digger. | 0:35:39 | 0:35:42 | |
I forgot how to tip it over. | 0:35:42 | 0:35:44 | |
Go on! | 0:35:47 | 0:35:48 | |
Woah! | 0:35:52 | 0:35:55 | |
I think I did brilliant. | 0:36:02 | 0:36:03 | |
That was brilliant fun, but how well did we do? | 0:36:06 | 0:36:09 | |
We need an expert to judge and young Matt here is just the man to do it. | 0:36:09 | 0:36:14 | |
Whose is the deepest? | 0:36:14 | 0:36:15 | |
I'm going to have to... | 0:36:18 | 0:36:19 | |
Len, I think it's yours actually. | 0:36:20 | 0:36:22 | |
-I'm the deeper? -Deeper, yeah. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:23 | |
Who is the bigger? | 0:36:23 | 0:36:26 | |
It's quite wide, but... | 0:36:26 | 0:36:27 | |
Scruffy isn't it really? | 0:36:27 | 0:36:29 | |
It's scruffy, I know. | 0:36:29 | 0:36:30 | |
It is a little scruffy. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:32 | |
OK, so mark it now out of 10. | 0:36:32 | 0:36:35 | |
Don't let him bully you on this. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:37 | |
Out of 10, Nigel I'd give you a 6. | 0:36:37 | 0:36:40 | |
For that, a 6. It's good effort for the first time. | 0:36:40 | 0:36:43 | |
What did you give him? | 0:36:43 | 0:36:45 | |
-Goodman gets a...? -And it was your first time? -Yes. | 0:36:45 | 0:36:48 | |
I'm going with a 7.5. | 0:36:48 | 0:36:50 | |
Seven! | 0:36:50 | 0:36:52 | |
Seven and a half, Len. | 0:36:53 | 0:36:54 | |
-I'm afraid so. -Come closer and hug me. | 0:36:55 | 0:36:57 | |
Well done, Len, well done. | 0:36:59 | 0:37:01 | |
The tea is on you. Here we go. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:02 | |
Here we go. | 0:37:02 | 0:37:04 | |
But before that, there's just time for my final seven wonders. | 0:37:09 | 0:37:13 | |
Harris' Hawks are the only birds of prey that hunt in groups. | 0:37:16 | 0:37:20 | |
A bit like wolves, and the dancers on Strictly. | 0:37:20 | 0:37:23 | |
You can meet Kitch and dozens of his friends | 0:37:23 | 0:37:26 | |
at the Yarak Birds of Prey Centre. | 0:37:26 | 0:37:29 | |
Cadhay Elizabethan manor house was built in 1550. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:33 | |
Its courtyard is known as the Court Of The Sovereigns. | 0:37:33 | 0:37:37 | |
With its statues of Henry VIII and his monarch offspring, | 0:37:37 | 0:37:41 | |
Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, standing majestically above the doors. | 0:37:41 | 0:37:46 | |
All of whom would have had access | 0:37:46 | 0:37:48 | |
to the finest lace materials of the day. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:51 | |
The Allhallows Museum is home to the most comprehensive | 0:37:52 | 0:37:56 | |
collection of Honiton Lace in the world. | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
Pat Perryman is a lady of the lace. | 0:37:59 | 0:38:02 | |
It was a fashion accessory, and in the 1700s, | 0:38:02 | 0:38:05 | |
if a husband was treating his wife to a gift | 0:38:05 | 0:38:08 | |
he wouldn't buy her a diamond ring | 0:38:08 | 0:38:09 | |
he would buy her lace, because you showed your wealth | 0:38:09 | 0:38:11 | |
by the quality and quantity of your lace. | 0:38:11 | 0:38:14 | |
Made popular by Queen Victoria as well, | 0:38:14 | 0:38:16 | |
of course you mustn't forget her. | 0:38:16 | 0:38:18 | |
She had a wedding dress and a veil made of Honiton Lace | 0:38:18 | 0:38:21 | |
and that kept the industry going, | 0:38:21 | 0:38:23 | |
the cottage industry of course, until really the Second World War | 0:38:23 | 0:38:27 | |
and then it became a hobby which is what it is today. | 0:38:27 | 0:38:30 | |
Back in 1960, Nigel and his grandparents often took a short trip | 0:38:32 | 0:38:37 | |
to the nearby Budleigh Beach at Salterton. | 0:38:37 | 0:38:40 | |
So I've brought him back to rekindle those memories | 0:38:40 | 0:38:43 | |
and I've even found a couple of deck chairs | 0:38:43 | 0:38:46 | |
in a prime spot to soak up the rays. | 0:38:46 | 0:38:49 | |
-Oh, yes, the odd seagull. Isn't this beautiful? -Lovely, lovely. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:54 | |
-And this is where you would come? -Yeah, Budleigh Salterton. | 0:38:54 | 0:38:57 | |
But what a lovely bay. | 0:38:57 | 0:38:58 | |
It's beautiful isn't it? What a beautiful spot. | 0:38:58 | 0:39:01 | |
Still very, very quiet on this beach. Gorgeous. | 0:39:01 | 0:39:04 | |
As a child, my drink of choice was cream soda. | 0:39:04 | 0:39:10 | |
-What was your drink? -Corona, brand. -The brand, yeah. | 0:39:10 | 0:39:14 | |
They specialised in orange. | 0:39:14 | 0:39:15 | |
-Orange, Corona orange, very nice. -Fizzy orange. | 0:39:15 | 0:39:18 | |
Just to bring back the 1960s, I have got... | 0:39:18 | 0:39:22 | |
Oh... | 0:39:22 | 0:39:24 | |
Be careful, it's a little bit sort of oiky. | 0:39:25 | 0:39:28 | |
-Oh, look, the proper old... -Fizzy orange. -Proper old gob stopper. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:33 | |
-Fizzy orange. -Fizzy orange. -Fizzy orange on Budleigh Salterton beach. | 0:39:33 | 0:39:37 | |
-Cheers. -Cheers to you. | 0:39:37 | 0:39:39 | |
-It's lovely. -It's lovely. | 0:39:46 | 0:39:48 | |
'It's clear that Nigel is a man of many talents | 0:39:49 | 0:39:52 | |
'and can turn his hands to all aspects of performing. | 0:39:52 | 0:39:55 | |
'But in his heart of hearts, what does he prefer?' | 0:39:55 | 0:39:58 | |
Actor, performer, comedian... | 0:39:59 | 0:40:03 | |
..author, poet, songwriter. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:06 | |
Which of those if you could... | 0:40:06 | 0:40:08 | |
if somebody said you can only do one... You have to give up, | 0:40:08 | 0:40:12 | |
it's too much you're doing. | 0:40:12 | 0:40:13 | |
You can only do one of those, what would the one be? | 0:40:13 | 0:40:16 | |
Well, it would have to be actor, | 0:40:16 | 0:40:18 | |
because that's the only one that earns any money. | 0:40:18 | 0:40:22 | |
It's quite simple. | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
Simple answer. | 0:40:24 | 0:40:25 | |
The excitement though, | 0:40:25 | 0:40:26 | |
if I had to put the real top of it, is hearing laughter. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:30 | |
It's getting the laughs, that's the thing. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:34 | |
Yeah. Of course. | 0:40:34 | 0:40:35 | |
If I had to choose, that's if I had to choose one thing ever to do ever again. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:39 | |
It would be something where I could hear them. | 0:40:39 | 0:40:41 | |
I speak, they laugh. I mean, that's really it. | 0:40:41 | 0:40:44 | |
Do you think coming down here into Devon, | 0:40:44 | 0:40:47 | |
and staying with your grandparents, and playing in that lovely garden | 0:40:47 | 0:40:52 | |
and coming here to the beach, do you think in any way that sort of helped | 0:40:52 | 0:40:56 | |
to shape who you became later? | 0:40:56 | 0:41:00 | |
It's funny, you know, going there today | 0:41:00 | 0:41:02 | |
has made me realise that yes, it must have. | 0:41:02 | 0:41:06 | |
And I would have answered yes before today, | 0:41:06 | 0:41:09 | |
but having seen it again now | 0:41:09 | 0:41:11 | |
I think, you know, even more so, yeah. | 0:41:11 | 0:41:14 | |
-It has been great. -Thank you. | 0:41:14 | 0:41:17 | |
I promise you it has been great to talk with you. | 0:41:17 | 0:41:19 | |
And thank you so much for coming with me and showing me around. | 0:41:19 | 0:41:22 | |
-Thank you. Fantastic day as far as I'm concerned. -I enjoyed it. | 0:41:22 | 0:41:27 | |
Absolute treat. | 0:41:27 | 0:41:29 | |
It's been wonderful to spend the day with Nigel | 0:41:29 | 0:41:32 | |
and rekindle those early childhood memories from 55 years ago. | 0:41:32 | 0:41:37 | |
We embarked on a Boy's Own adventure. | 0:41:37 | 0:41:39 | |
Cooked up a storm. | 0:41:42 | 0:41:44 | |
I don't think we are going on MasterChef any time soon. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:47 | |
And dug up some timeless memories. | 0:41:47 | 0:41:50 | |
-Well Nigel... -Yeah? | 0:41:56 | 0:41:58 | |
Obviously this has been a lovely day | 0:41:58 | 0:42:01 | |
-and I want you to remember it. -Yes, I will. | 0:42:01 | 0:42:03 | |
And if you forget about it, | 0:42:03 | 0:42:05 | |
I'd like to give you this Holiday of My Lifetime little book. | 0:42:05 | 0:42:10 | |
-To remind you. -And who's that on the front there? | 0:42:10 | 0:42:12 | |
Oh that's a good-looking boy, aye? | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
A memento of our trip to Ottery St Mary. | 0:42:15 | 0:42:18 | |
A scrapbook of memories to help him remember our adventures. | 0:42:18 | 0:42:22 | |
But I couldn't leave him | 0:42:22 | 0:42:24 | |
without something for the long journey back home. | 0:42:24 | 0:42:27 | |
In case you endure another long car journey. | 0:42:27 | 0:42:30 | |
The I-Spy book. | 0:42:30 | 0:42:32 | |
-And one last thing... -Yeah? | 0:42:32 | 0:42:34 | |
I know this is going to bring up terrible memories for you, | 0:42:36 | 0:42:40 | |
because you were thrashed. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:42 | |
Thrashed? I wasn't thrashed. | 0:42:42 | 0:42:45 | |
Well 6 to 7.5 is hardly thrashed. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:47 | |
-Oh, look. -Isn't that great? -Yeah, yeah, yeah. | 0:42:47 | 0:42:50 | |
Well, I hope you've have had a good day. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:53 | |
I've had a fantastic day thank you so much. | 0:42:53 | 0:42:55 | |
-Thank you. -Absolutely brilliant. | 0:42:55 | 0:42:57 | |
It's goodbye from Devon and the summer of 1960. | 0:42:57 | 0:43:01 | |
It was here that Nigel found a playground | 0:43:01 | 0:43:03 | |
where he could let his imagination run wild. | 0:43:03 | 0:43:06 | |
And it helped make him the true star he is today. | 0:43:06 | 0:43:10 |