Episode 16 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!

Everyday 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...

..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.

HE SCREAMS

So buckle up for Holiday of My Lifetime.

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

LAUGHTER

On today's show I'm in the beautiful Southwest

to take my mystery guest on a trip down memory lane.

He's a star of stage and screen

and best known for playing the ultimate TV hippy.

I'm on my way to meet a man

whose been entertaining us since the early 1980s.

He was born in London in 1953.

Here he is as a little boy, what a handsome lad.

A bit like myself.

He was one of those cheeky little whippersnappers

who started British alternative comedy.

Oh, they were naughty.

And he enjoyed early success

with the definitive British comedy about students.

Which one is he?

He's the "Young One."

And he's still wowing us on-screen and off to this day,

with his writing and his acting.

Oh, he's posh!

If you haven't got it by now you never will.

Today's guest is the amazingly talented and funny Nigel Planer.

And I'm on my way to pick him up in this vintage Ford.

Almost like the one he would have come down on holiday with all those years ago.

Hold on to your seats.

Nigel Planer was born in 1953,

and grew up in West London with his two brothers.

His dad ran a medical technology company

whilst mum was a speech therapist.

It was mum who gave him his acting bug

when she took him to see his first theatre show when he was just eight.

He became a founding member of The Comic Strip.

They were pioneers of the alternative comedy movement,

but he's best known for his role as Neil the hippy housemate

in the 1980s BBC sitcom, The Young Ones.

Since then, he's appeared in countless shows

including Blackadder and Filthy Rich & Catflap

with his Young Ones buddies Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson.

Recently he appeared on our screens in Boomers

and in crime drama Jonathan Creek.

Today I'm taking him back to a memorable summer holiday of his childhood

and I'll tell you what, I can't wait to meet him.

I hope he's not going to ask me to dance.

Oh, look at that.

A Ford Anglia, brilliant.

How fantastic, with the slanty back on it.

-Hello, Mr Goodman.

-Hello!

-Do you recognise it?

-Hello, yes I certainly do. Look at that.

-It must be very similar to the car you...

-Yeah.

-How are you?

-Nice to see you.

-Good to meet you.

-Good to meet you.

The Ford Anglia, in fact I went on to...

My first car I ever owned was one of these.

It was pale blue.

I understand the one you actually came down in was black.

Black, that's right.

-But we couldn't find a black one anywhere.

-Right, there we are.

Back in the '60s, police forces snapped these up

to become panda cars, and the public loved them too!

Even Vyvyan in The Young Ones had one.

Ford Anglia, how's it driving?

Like a dream.

So where are we off to?

We're off to Ottery St Mary in Devon.

Lovely, I've never been there so I'm hoping you're going to show me all around.

-And what's the year?

-1960.

-A little fact for you.

-Yes?

-Big movie, won all the Oscars in 1960...

-Was?

-Ben-Hur.

-Ben-Hur.

-Well, here you are, your chariot awaits.

-Perfect, Perfect.

-Should we get going,?

-Yeah.

-Come on then, here we go.

Ottery St Mary is steeped in centuries of history.

Sitting just 12 miles east of Exeter and six miles from the coast,

the town is set in the beautiful Devon countryside.

The picturesque valley is home to the River Otter, which flows by the town.

Nigel's grandparents lived here in 1960,

and Nigel and his brothers would spend their long summers with them.

Ottery St Mary dates back over 1,000 years as a market town.

Thankfully we're not going back that far.

I'm taking Nigel back to his childhood in 1960,

when as a seven-year-old he dreamed

of Boy's Own adventures like den building.

-Are you the Sheriff?

-I'm going to be the Sheriff.

-I'm going to shoot you.

-No, no!

'Dirt digging.' Down there, drop it down!

I think Len has done this before.

And deckchairs by the sea.

What a lovely bay.

-It's beautiful isn't it?

-Yeah.

-What a beautiful spot.

But before any holiday begins, you must set out on a journey.

For Nigel, that meant a drive in the car with his mum or dad and his two brothers.

So 1960...

1960.

You must have been just a toddler.

-Seven, seven years old.

-I would have been. Right.

-And where were you...

-We came all the way down from London.

-We lived in London.

-Blimey, that's the journey, aye?

It's a journey. My mum, I had two brothers.

So there was the three boys and mum?

Three boys, my dad would come down on the weekends to join us.

-Oh, right.

-He would stay working, he used to work very hard.

-Right.

-And we used to have those little I-Spy books.

-Oh, yeah, I was in the I-Spy tribe.

-Were you?

-Yes, I was.

We had the little pamphlet, I spy with my little eye.

Now, funnily enough, if you take that top book from there.

Oh, yeah. What have we got?

-I-Spy On A Car Journey. Two and sixpence.

-There you are.

What was great, you had to look for the different things in the book.

-Yeah.

-I think they were great.

What else did we do to shut us up?

Sing songs, play games.

-Was there any sort of...

-Fighting? Yes there was.

Oh, yes I was going to say...

I was going to say was your mum like "behave yourselves back there!"

Yes, an awful lot of that.

So, there you are, there's your mum, you had the three boys coming down.

But your mum I understand wasn't going to stay...

Did your mum stay with you?

She did stay sometimes, but often she'd go back again.

She would leave me there with my gran and grandpa.

Oh, right.

It was like a magic land is what I remember it.

It was a completely different world down here in Devon.

-It's very, very beautiful Devon. I love it.

-Yeah.

1960 was a big year for the Royal Family.

The nation welcomed the arrival of the Queen's second son,

Prince Andrew, into the world.

Second in line of succession,

the safe arrival of Andrew Albert Christian Edward

was given a royal salute.

Then, just over two months later, the Queen's sister,

Princess Margaret, married Antony Armstrong Jones,

the 1st Earl of Snowden.

Across the pond, American citizens were welcoming their newly elected president on a wave of optimism.

John Kennedy has accepted a great deal more than a father's responsibility

in the coming year and those which follow,

if 1960s problems of race, creed and colour

are not to remain with us throughout the '60s.

Back home, a new type of official was taking to our streets for the first time.

The traffic warden.

Have you had to give many tickets out this morning?

I've only given one up to now.

And the soundtrack to the summer came from The Shadows

as Apache topped the charts.

HE HUMS The Shadows by Apache

But for Nigel, that summer was all about Devon.

And after six hours on the road he was almost there.

What a journey.

Listen, I'm not fishing for compliments

because it's not in my nature.

I think I've handled the drive quite well.

Quite good. There was a bit where you...

Ah yes, I did a swerve, I know. Yeah, you're right.

I was hoping you hadn't noticed that.

Now look, there it is, Ottery St Mary.

Oh, lovely.

-Are we nearly there yet?

-We're nearly there, you just wait.

It's certainly worth the wait as Ottery St Mary is lovely.

But is it ringing any nostalgic bells for our Nigel?

Nice.

-Well, great day for it, isn't it?

-No, it is.

Is there anything you remember or recognise?

I don't think that church was there.

No, it looks like a new build.

-Oh yeah, totally.

-Yeah.

But this actual square, I can't say sparks anything off.

-But I suppose you...

-I mean apart from it's lovely.

Yeah, I suppose you must have come here probably

with your grandparents or something. Going into town.

I must have said "Oh, no, not there."

-Maybe you played in the garden or whatever.

-Yeah.

Now talking of your grandparents, was their home near here?

-It was in a place called West Hill.

-West Hill.

West Hill, which I think is on the outskirts of town. I'm not sure.

It was more countrified, it wasn't in the centre of the town.

What about if we now mosey on into that area...

-And see if we can find it.

-See if we can find it.

-Yes, why not?

-Why not?

-Over here somewhere.

-Right.

-Here we go.

It may not look like much, but this church

was instrumental in putting Ottery St Mary on the map.

Transforming it from a small hamlet to a place visited by royalty.

Rob Neal's our man in the know.

In 1337, John De Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, decided to build

here in Ottery, his College of Canons,

or his ecclesiastical college.

And the first thing he did was to enlarge the old Mormon church

which was already on the site.

In addition to the beautiful church, there were cloisters

and from the cloisters we have the chapter house

and a large library which stretched right to the gatehouse.

The college was famous throughout the land.

It brought royalty to the town.

Along came Henry VIII, with his dissolution of the monasteries

in 1545, and of course a lot of the college was demolished

and some of it just fell into disuse.

But the church was spared because it was a parish church and it

remains even to this day one of the most beautiful churches in the country.

Nigel's grandparents' bungalow was just a short walk from the town centre.

Here's gran in the front with dog Bowson keeping her company.

And that cheeky young scamp back is our Nigel.

But that was 55 years ago and I've managed to sneak us in today.

I wonder how much it's changed.

Pennyfield.

Yes, Pennyfield, it's still called Pennyfield anyway.

This looks very grand.

-Do you recall it as being...

-Yes.

-We are talking 55 years ago.

-We are, yes.

-Things have probably moved on a bit.

-Yeah, this is very exciting.

-Isn't it?

-A long drive. I do remember it was a very long drive.

Blimey, look at that. Oh now I definitely remember this.

Do you remember all these rhododendrons and things?

I remember this tribe yes, and the way it splits into two like that.

There was a dog called Bowson who would have come running out

to join, you know, to greet us.

Oh blimey, yes now I definitely recall all of this.

This is fabulous.

This very grand garden, what an amazing garden.

Huge isn't it?

Nowadays...blimey look at this.

In a way the opposite of what... memory normally makes everything

bigger in your memory but this is bigger than I remember it.

So what were your grandparents like?

Well, my gran was almost like a

stereotypical "silver-haired with a bun" granny, in there.

Always cooking, she had an old stove and sort of always puttering about.

Very good natured and my grandpa was again quite stereotypically,

quite stiff backed, strict, quite grumpy.

-You had to be careful when you went...

-Yeah not to...

You know when you did and you didn't.

They were almost from sort of rent-a-grandparent.

You know what I mean?

-Typical.

-Yeah, they seemed to be.

This amazing garden is one thing,

but is the house still as Nigel remembers?

Well, I've pulled a few strings and have a big treat in store.

Want to knock?

-You have the key?

-I've got the key. Should we go?

Go on, let's have a look inside, yeah. How amazing is this?

Blimey. Look at this.

-Well obviously it's been updated,.

-It has a bit, yes.

-But is this how you...

-This is, yeah.

I remember the whole shape of it, everything.

-That would have been where the cooker was.

-Right.

And there was a larder.

-There it is. A larder.

-Oh, yeah.

-Something you don't get often these days.

-No, you never see a larder.

-Cool and covered and it's being used as a larder here.

-Good.

Look at that.

Should we have a look where you used to sleep?

-Come on, let's go on through, yes.

-Come on then.

-Careful, Nigel. I don't want you tripping over.

-Or banging my head.

No, I'm very good at banging my head.

-Oh, yes.

-Oh, yes, look at this.

So, this would have been one bed, the other bed.

That would have been my one.

There was an attic in there.

You could go through into the rafters

and find all my aunt's toys and my mum's toys.

-Oh Really?

-Old stuff from before the war.

There was a game called Buccaneer which was in a tube,

and you unrolled it and played pirates,

but as with all the things in the attic half the pieces were missing.

Yeah, you know.

But you have to go straight up there

and get all the things out of the attic and see what was there.

Yeah, have a little rummage.

How did your time spent here with your grandparents

differ from when you were with your mum and dad back in London?

Well, just much less stressed, isn't it?

I mean, I just remember my dad having to work very hard,

my mum being stressed looking after three boys

and my dad coming in late, working always.

And here you could just...

And plus of course when you were back home you were going to school everyday.

-There is that, yes.

-And here, total freedom.

-That's right.

So how does it feel to be back?

Well it's fantastic.

What's great is to realise it is as beautiful as I remembered it.

You know, you remember all sunny days and beautiful trees

and the forest there and all of that, but it is actually that beautiful.

And even as an adult it really is lovely.

There's so much more to see and do around Ottery St Mary,

so I've picked seven bobby-dazzlers to enjoy.

The Escot Country Park is set in 220 acres of stunning parkland.

Get up close to the red squirrels that call this place home

and see peacocks roaming wild.

Plus, there's a camp here where kiddies can spend a few days

and nights enjoying the great outdoors.

It's not too far from the River Otter.

Home to England's first wild beaver trial,

these creatures were thought to be hunted to extinction in Britain

until two years ago when eco-man, Tom Buckley, filmed one.

It was about two years ago now and I noticed a tree had been gnawed.

So I thought let's find out who or what has been actually doing this

and so I set up a wildlife camera.

And overnight, when I came back and looked at the footage,

you couldn't believe your eyes. There was a beaver!

Although you are very lucky if you see one,

what you're more likely to see is the beaver signs.

The evidence that they leave behind that they are in the vicinity.

So the sorts of beaver signs that you might see

are the typical pencil-shaped tree stump that's left behind

when the beavers fell the tree

to get at the nice juicy bark and the leaves at the top.

And if you look very closely at this, you can

see the individual teeth marks

on the actual cut itself.

Back in 1960, Nigel spent a lot of his time beavering away

in this idyllic garden at his grandparents' house.

Look at this.

You must have had a whale of a time.

Fantastic isn't it?

Now, what sort of games did you get up to?

Well, I'd be in a sort of fantasy world,

making a treehouse or a den or something like that.

Let's do it. What like a den?

Yeah. Finding all the branches and making it.

-Let's relive it, right?.

-Why not?

-Why not?

When Nigel was a nipper, he'd make short work of den building,

but luckily someone's been here already.

There's one we built earlier. It's the perfect den, isn't it?

I mean the rainwater would get in, it needs more.

It does need some...a bit of tarpaulin.

-You need something.

-Or some of these here, look.

-That's it.

-There, I think this, maybe in case it rained.

-Oh, that's good, a roof.

-A roof.

We could build a second story.

We could do, yeah, because it's very firm. Yeah.

I'm going to give it a go.

Hey, that's pretty cosy.

You won't get... No, I couldn't do it.

-Well...

-I couldn't do it and I've got to wear these trousers tomorrow.

-Yeah.

-LAUGHTER

Back in 1960, Westerns were all the rage.

I loved them.

And after watching the cowboy films at the old cinema,

kids would re-enact their own Wild West.

With this amazing garden at his disposal,

it wasn't long before Nigel's imagination ran wild.

I want to totally set the scene for you.

What about...stay there.

Would that make you feel at home?

-Oh, right, a cowboy hat.

-Cowboy hat.

Let's try that. It's about the size

for a seven-year-old as well actually.

-Let's have a look at you now. Oh, yes.

-Yeah?

-Oh yeah, it's perfect.

-Are you the sheriff?

-I'm going to be the sheriff.

I'm going to shoot you.

LAUGHTER

NATIVE AMERICAN WAR CRIES

See when I was a kid, my noise for the gun...

I didn't have a gun, most of the time I didn't have a gun, was...

GUNSHOT IMITATIONS

-Yeah, that was the noise wasn't it?

-That's what you did, yeah.

It was never "bang, bang".

And you didn't have a gun really.

-No, you had your fingers, but they were lethal.

-Yeah.

Yeah mine were, and I could do, you know, two out.

GUNFIRE IMITATIONS

Now, while you're sitting there and sort of in character...

In this, in my den.

In your den.

Was it always going to be acting or the stage growing up?

Was that your...

Pretty much, yeah.

I mean I was always playacting,

making my younger brother be the person who got killed

in little plays that I made.

That's all I wanted to do, really.

What did your parents think of that?

Initially, my mum was behind it.

-My dad was initially worried as he should have been.

-Yes.

But as soon as I started earning some money he was right behind it.

-Right.

-As soon as he could see it was possible to earn some money out of it.

May I say, I have done quite a few of these holiday programmes.

And you've never seen someone looking as ridiculous as this?

LAUGHTER

This is a bizarre setting of you in your den

with your cowboy hat on.

-Me with a sheriff's badge.

-And shooting you.

Yeah. LAUGHTER

Oh, no!

I'm sorry I wasn't nimble enough to get in there with you, really.

-I'm not sure there would have been room.

-There wasn't room.

Also I'm not sure I would have let you.

Now, get out, go build your own den. Of course.

"Build your own den, get off, Goodman."

No holiday is complete without sampling the local grub.

And when a young Nigel Planer visited here in 1960,

Gran always had some hearty home-made food on the old stove.

But can we create a dish that will bring back some tasty memories?

You know what that is?

-That is 1960s food, that is.

-It is indeed.

We've got this and we've got that.

And if you put them together you get a shepherd's pie.

-This is a joint effort.

-Mmhmm.

I will layer the meat and vegetables into the receptacle.

-Layer?

-You will layer it?

LAUGHTER

-I'm a bricklayer.

-Oh right, nicely.

-Whilst you...

-Mash the potatoes?

-Mash the potatoes.

Should you put some butter into that?

That's what I was just going to say,

you should put some butter in really.

I'm going to give you a bit of that.

I'm going to put the lot in, I'm not messing about.

-I think milk should go in there.

-Milk in there too.

-I think so.

-A touch. No that's plenty. I think I've done it.

-Well I'm cooking...

-It's not enough.

-Go on, you.

-Well it ain't.

It's too lumpy.

Now, how did you get started...

..in the entertainment business? What was your first gig?

My first major gig I suppose was understudying David Essex

-in the original production of Evita?

-Right.

And then as soon as that was over

there were advertisements for The Comedy Store,

people to join this new club that was going to start,

The Comedy Store.

-That was in Soho?

-That's right.

-Right.

And I went down there with Peter Richardson,

who's also from down here in Devon as it happens.

And we started a double act which we called The Outer Limits.

-Right.

-And my character, Neil the hippy,

came from that double act at The Comedy Store.

Oh, right. Alexei Sayle was the compere.

That's where we met Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson

and then a bunch of us went to another club in Soho

and started our own club, The Comic Strip.

And that's when it started to take off for us.

This doesn't look right at all, we're making a...

-You're making a pig's ear.

-What they call a pig's ear, yeah of this.

Yeah, because you know it's supposed to cover it.

I know, it's kind of what we've got is dollops

in the middle of this.

It's like a Caribbean island, isn't it? You know.

What we need is my gran, that's what we need.

Yeah, that who we need.

While all this was going on I would have just been outside playing

and then come in and said, "I'm hungry, what's for supper?"

And she would have said "shepherd's pie".

She would have said shepherd's pie and produced a perfect one.

I don't think we're going on MasterChef any time soon.

No, that's ridiculous. Not with Mount Vesuvius in the middle.

LAUGHTER

That is pretty bad.

Well, I don't mind it to be honest, I think it's got character.

-It's got potential.

-Yeah.

-Just open the oven.

-Open the oven.

LAUGHTER

Oh no, it's a dishwasher.

LAUGHTER

-Oh it's over there!

-Here we go.

-That's it.

While we wait for that to cook,

here's my next instalment of my seven wonders of this part of the world.

The quaint town of Gittisham

is known for its beautiful thatched cottages.

Situated in rolling farmland, it feels like a journey back in time.

Yet it's only a short hop from road or rail links.

Head to the Land of Canaan Park to find out about

Ottery St Mary's acclaimed romantic poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

He loved this part of Devon

and a river featured in one of his most famous works, Kubla Khan.

"In Xanadu did Kubla Khan, a stately pleasure-dome decree:

"Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man.

"Down to a sunless sea."

And if you like your poetry on the go,

there's now a new way to enjoy it.

They've recently formed a path in the local park

and there are stones running all the way along that path

with the whole of Kubla Khan printed on it.

I'm bringing back some family memories of 1960 for Nigel Planer.

When he spent the summer at his grandparents' home

and I've got a special visitor for him to meet.

Nigel, I want you to meet Pamela who remembers your grandparents.

-Oh, hello Pamela, I'm Nigel.

-Yes, how do you do?

-I knew your grandparents.

-Wow.

And I watched the coronation here with them in this room.

Crikey!

My mum bought a television in 1953

-just because the coronation was on.

-Yes.

-And we were the only

family in our street that had a telly.

I guess, was it the same here?

Were they the only ones with a television?

Yes, and I lived just across the road

and my mother used to come every

Saturday evening to see your grandmother.

Mmhmm.

What were they like, Nigel's grandparents?

Oh, they were lovely, and his grandmother in particular was a lovely cook.

Yes, wasn't she?

-Yes, and she was lovely, with lovely white hair.

-Yes.

So you would have only been a bit of a girl back then?

Yes, I was in my teens, early teens, yes.

Well I'll tell you what, if you pass me that remote control, Nigel...

-Yeah?

-I'm going to...

You can actually work those things can't you?

Well I've been told what button to press.

As I'm well in with the Royals, I've managed to wrangle a copy,

to recreate that very special moment.

Nigel was a baby when this was on,

and while he might not be able to remember it,

the estimated 27 million viewers certainly would.

Oh here we are, look. We should be standing really, I think.

But I remember, as well you may have done, it was marvellous to watch.

Oh, yes.

Our room was about as big as this and I reckon we had 30 people.

-All the kids were on the floor.

-We were on the floor, yes.

This was wonderful because every head of state, every king, prince

from every corner of the world came to this

and it was wonderful to watch.

I would imagine that more people bought a television during the '50s

for the coronation than any other period.

So, back then, when you first were watching TV,

did you ever have an inkling that, "Oh maybe I could be on television,"

or did that never enter your head?

From an early age I liked doing theatre shows and dressing up

and putting on theatre shows.

But it didn't occur to me until much later that I might be able to work in television.

Well, Pamela, thank you so much for your time.

-That's all right.

-It was lovely to meet you.

Nice to meet you, especially as I've seen you on television.

Well there you are.

You'll be able to say, "Oh, I know him."

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

People from these parts are known as Ottregians.

Back in 1898, a group of the great and the good

from this area decided to get together and form an association.

At one of these meetings,

Lord Coleridge announced that he'd composed a song.

And this song became very popular,

and children still sing it to this day.

So I've got a copy of the song here

and I'm just going to read some of it to you.

# There is a place, dear native place! Amid the meadows fair,

# Between the hills, beside the stream,

# Where blows the soft light air.

# O! Ottery dear! O! Ottery fair! My heart goes out to thee,

# Thou art my home wher'er I roam, The West! The West for me! #

Not only that, the Ottery Song is actually played on a carillon

every four hours on the hour from the church tower.

It's like a giant musical box.

It's tea time at last, and we're about to find out

if we are master chefs or disaster chefs.

This looks nice, just the right amount of shepherd.

-Yeah, that taste genuinely like 1960 to me.

-Yeah.

Cottage pie is lamb isn't it?

Cottage pie is lamb, no, shepherd's pie is lamb.

Shepherd's pie is lamb.

Shepherd's pie is lamb because of shepherds and sheep.

And cottage pie is beef. Yeah, I did know that.

Now, from that, the comedy shows you did,

is that where The Young Ones came from?

Yeah. We were performing in what was the Raymond Revue Bar.

We had most of the characters

and there was a lot of people that came down there,

sort of flash people.

We had Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson coming into the audience.

We were sort of the flavour of that year and we were desperately trying

to think of the right format.

How can we get this on telly?

And then Rik and Ben and Lisa,

Lise Mayer, came up with the idea of calling it The Young Ones,

and we're students and that's how it kind of...

So it came out of that.

So the characters already existed in our act.

And then it ran.

Only 12 episodes.

Was it only 12 episodes?

-No way.

-Yeah.

Only 12 episodes, like Fawlty Towers and The Office.

Only 12 episodes. I was working with Henry Winkler last year,

-The Fonz.

-The Fonz, yeah.

And I said, "How many episodes did you do?"

He said, "Oh, you know, 367.

"And how many did you do?" I said, "12".

LAUGHTER

If you want to hear shouting matey, this is it!

HE SHOUTS

LAUGHTER

It's funny, but being ill makes me lose my usual tolerant

and easy-going approach to communal living.

LAUGHTER

Now, how ruddy considerate, Vyvyan, thank you very much!

Yeah thanks, Vyv, that petrol bomb's really cleared my sinuses.

LAUGHTER

When you've devised a character that comes from yourself,

you know, that's been your act,

it's bound to be a bit, it's not like an acting job where

they send you the script and you think how can I be that?

These were our own acts, so we were...

they were versions of ourselves.

I must say it was the most fantastic programme.

I loved it and my son still watches them.

After the timeless and peerless Young Ones,

Nigel also starred in the wonderful Blackadder,

and was reunited with Rik and Ade in Filthy Rich & Catflap.

And even today he's been on Jonathan Creek and Episodes.

It's a long way from his days here in Devon

where he loved nothing more than making dens

and digging in the garden.

But today we're getting to play with the big boys toys.

Well, I know that back in 1960 this wasn't here,

but would this have been the sort of thing...

This is just the ticket, yeah.

This would have been exactly the sort of thing.

Well now, let me ask you this,

are you a competitive sort of person?

Yes and no, but...

What I'm going to suggest is that we get in one each...

Right, and see who can...

And we have a little competition about who can...

and the loser buys the tea

-All right.

-So let's go up there.

Learn the controls and get on with it. Here we go.

Three! Two! Hey!

Woah!

Oops!

This is gorgeous, now what do I do?

Forget what...oh I've got it now!

That's that.

Oh that's a lovely lot.

Now come up! Comp up! Come on!

Down there, drop it! Drop it down!

I think Len has done this before.

Oh, that's a really good one.

No, no, look at him!

Oh, no, Len.

You can't do a thing!

I wish I'd had one of these when I was a grave-digger.

I forgot how to tip it over.

Go on!

Woah!

I think I did brilliant.

That was brilliant fun, but how well did we do?

We need an expert to judge and young Matt here is just the man to do it.

Whose is the deepest?

I'm going to have to...

Len, I think it's yours actually.

-I'm the deeper?

-Deeper, yeah.

Who is the bigger?

It's quite wide, but...

Scruffy isn't it really?

It's scruffy, I know.

It is a little scruffy.

OK, so mark it now out of 10.

Don't let him bully you on this.

Out of 10, Nigel I'd give you a 6.

For that, a 6. It's good effort for the first time.

What did you give him?

-Goodman gets a...?

-And it was your first time?

-Yes.

I'm going with a 7.5.

Seven!

Seven and a half, Len.

-I'm afraid so.

-Come closer and hug me.

Well done, Len, well done.

The tea is on you. Here we go.

Here we go.

But before that, there's just time for my final seven wonders.

Harris' Hawks are the only birds of prey that hunt in groups.

A bit like wolves, and the dancers on Strictly.

You can meet Kitch and dozens of his friends

at the Yarak Birds of Prey Centre.

Cadhay Elizabethan manor house was built in 1550.

Its courtyard is known as the Court Of The Sovereigns.

With its statues of Henry VIII and his monarch offspring,

Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, standing majestically above the doors.

All of whom would have had access

to the finest lace materials of the day.

The Allhallows Museum is home to the most comprehensive

collection of Honiton Lace in the world.

Pat Perryman is a lady of the lace.

It was a fashion accessory, and in the 1700s,

if a husband was treating his wife to a gift

he wouldn't buy her a diamond ring

he would buy her lace, because you showed your wealth

by the quality and quantity of your lace.

Made popular by Queen Victoria as well,

of course you mustn't forget her.

She had a wedding dress and a veil made of Honiton Lace

and that kept the industry going,

the cottage industry of course, until really the Second World War

and then it became a hobby which is what it is today.

Back in 1960, Nigel and his grandparents often took a short trip

to the nearby Budleigh Beach at Salterton.

So I've brought him back to rekindle those memories

and I've even found a couple of deck chairs

in a prime spot to soak up the rays.

-Oh, yes, the odd seagull. Isn't this beautiful?

-Lovely, lovely.

-And this is where you would come?

-Yeah, Budleigh Salterton.

But what a lovely bay.

It's beautiful isn't it? What a beautiful spot.

Still very, very quiet on this beach. Gorgeous.

As a child, my drink of choice was cream soda.

-What was your drink?

-Corona, brand.

-The brand, yeah.

They specialised in orange.

-Orange, Corona orange, very nice.

-Fizzy orange.

Just to bring back the 1960s, I have got...

Oh...

Be careful, it's a little bit sort of oiky.

-Oh, look, the proper old...

-Fizzy orange.

-Proper old gob stopper.

-Fizzy orange.

-Fizzy orange.

-Fizzy orange on Budleigh Salterton beach.

-Cheers.

-Cheers to you.

-It's lovely.

-It's lovely.

'It's clear that Nigel is a man of many talents

'and can turn his hands to all aspects of performing.

'But in his heart of hearts, what does he prefer?'

Actor, performer, comedian...

..author, poet, songwriter.

Which of those if you could...

if somebody said you can only do one... You have to give up,

it's too much you're doing.

You can only do one of those, what would the one be?

Well, it would have to be actor,

because that's the only one that earns any money.

It's quite simple.

Simple answer.

The excitement though,

if I had to put the real top of it, is hearing laughter.

It's getting the laughs, that's the thing.

Yeah. Of course.

If I had to choose, that's if I had to choose one thing ever to do ever again.

It would be something where I could hear them.

I speak, they laugh. I mean, that's really it.

Do you think coming down here into Devon,

and staying with your grandparents, and playing in that lovely garden

and coming here to the beach, do you think in any way that sort of helped

to shape who you became later?

It's funny, you know, going there today

has made me realise that yes, it must have.

And I would have answered yes before today,

but having seen it again now

I think, you know, even more so, yeah.

-It has been great.

-Thank you.

I promise you it has been great to talk with you.

And thank you so much for coming with me and showing me around.

-Thank you. Fantastic day as far as I'm concerned.

-I enjoyed it.

Absolute treat.

It's been wonderful to spend the day with Nigel

and rekindle those early childhood memories from 55 years ago.

We embarked on a Boy's Own adventure.

Cooked up a storm.

I don't think we are going on MasterChef any time soon.

And dug up some timeless memories.

-Well Nigel...

-Yeah?

Obviously this has been a lovely day

-and I want you to remember it.

-Yes, I will.

And if you forget about it,

I'd like to give you this Holiday of My Lifetime little book.

-To remind you.

-And who's that on the front there?

Oh that's a good-looking boy, aye?

A memento of our trip to Ottery St Mary.

A scrapbook of memories to help him remember our adventures.

But I couldn't leave him

without something for the long journey back home.

In case you endure another long car journey.

The I-Spy book.

-And one last thing...

-Yeah?

I know this is going to bring up terrible memories for you,

because you were thrashed.

Thrashed? I wasn't thrashed.

Well 6 to 7.5 is hardly thrashed.

-Oh, look.

-Isn't that great?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, I hope you've have had a good day.

I've had a fantastic day thank you so much.

-Thank you.

-Absolutely brilliant.

It's goodbye from Devon and the summer of 1960.

It was here that Nigel found a playground

where he could let his imagination run wild.

And it helped make him the true star he is today.