Episode 2 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 memorable treasure.

Every day, I will be arranging a few surprises

to transport them back in time.

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

Don't say that!

We will relive the fun...

Whoa!

Oh! No!

..the games...

Oh!

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

Oh, I'm so excited.

Oh, 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.

Ah!

So, buckle up for Holiday Of My Lifetime.

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

All aboard! No kissing in the back seats.

Today, Goodman's Tours are taking a trip down memory lane

in a classic Leyland Leopard.

Tickets, please!

I'm on my way to meet a bloke who has a lot in common with myself.

You could say he's a bit footloose.

He's a bit of a mover and he got into dancing at the age of 14

and made a career of it.

Since then, he's gone from strength to strength as a dancer,

TV presenter and a celebrity.

His physique must have impressed somebody,

because in 2011, he won Rear of the Year -

not that I'd be a judge of that.

But I've had to judge him

and his many partners on Strictly Come Dancing.

He's been on all 12 series and famously threw my old mate

Ann Widdecombe around like an umbrella on a windy day.

You know who this is!

It's a great friend and accomplished dancer.

Oh, yeah, Anton du Beke.

I'll tell you what, I can't wait.

And I'm on my way to pick him up in this vintage coach,

much like the one he would've travelled in on his hols.

I'll tell you what, they don't make them like this any more.

Anton du Beke was born in 1966, in Sevenoaks in Kent.

He left school at just 16 to follow a career in amateur dancing.

He met his dance partner Erin in 1997

and the pair have been sweeping the boards at international

competitions ever since, some of which were judged by yours truly.

But his big break came in 2004, when he was catapulted

from the dance circuit directly into the nation's living rooms

with the launch of a little show called Strictly Come Dancing.

I wonder what happened to that?

Since then, he's become a much-loved TV personality

on Hole In The Wall and food show Step Up To The Plate,

where he appeared alongside Loyd Grossman.

Today, I'm taking him back to an early dance holiday

he went on, starting with a surprise coach trip.

Ha-ha! Oh, what a beauty!

ANTON LAUGHS

Oh...

Tickets, please.

Come on, my old son!

-Lord of Lendon.

-What do you reckon?

-That's a beauty.

Look at it - this must be similar to what you came up in.

-It would've been.

-And where are we heading for?

We're heading for the ballroom in Blackpool.

Oh, the Mecca.

-The Mecca of ballroom dancing.

-Is there anywhere else?

So, what is the year?

Well, it's about... I think it's 1981.

-Now, '81...

-Yeah.

Little fact for you, was the year Bucks Fizz won

the Eurovision Song contest.

-Skirt off moment.

-Make Your Mind Up.

-Making Your Mind Up.

And talking of making your mind up, shall we get on and get off?

-Shall we go?

-Yeah, come on!

-That is brilliant!

-Lead on.

-Ha-hey!

-Oh, it has got that smell of old coach about it.

-Yeah.

Well, I think that might be the driver.

'Only joking, Mike! Drive on, sir.'

Blackpool is one of Britain's most loved seaside resorts,

just 15 miles west of Preston

and between the smaller towns of Morecambe and Lytham St Annes.

It's here Anton came, back in 1981, to compete in one of his first

big dance competitions.

With its stunning coastline, piers and iconic tower,

it's no wonder 13 million people flock here every year.

Oh, now!

I'm taking Anton back to relive those early ballroom delights...

-How am I going to get down there?

-Repeat, repeat, repeat.

So we go like that...

..to enjoy the dizzy heights...

Tap dance, Len.

No, I can't do it. Me corn.

..and bright lights of this glorious town.

Whoa!

-Over there!

-There! Ha-hey!

But before any holiday truly begins,

first you must set out on a journey.

For Anton and his fellow dance school competitors in 1981,

that meant travelling to Blackpool in a coach

and it's not long before the memories of that come flooding back.

I can't even tell you, this makes me feel exactly like I was there,

the sun beating through the window on a coach with velour seats.

So, where are you coming from on this mammoth trip to Blackpool?

Our school of dancing was in Sevenoaks in Kent.

So you could've only been a bit of a lad when you came up there.

I must have been about 15, I think.

And, of course, it was the first time

I'd ever gone anywhere without my parents.

-Right.

-First time also I'd ever stayed in a hotel.

Because both my parents are foreign - my mum is Spanish,

my dad is Hungarian, as you know - during the summer holidays, we would

go away to see their families, so my aunts, my uncles,

-my grandmother, grandfather.

-Yeah.

-So we would stay in their houses, so we never stayed in hotels.

-No.

So this was a bit of a double whammy.

One, I was going away without my parents

and I was staying in a hotel?

-Oh, like Millionaires' Row!

-Of course it is, yeah.

You know, you go up for these competitions as a school,

back in those days. These were the finals,

so you would've had to have qualified somewhere.

And I remember I qualified at an old ballroom called the Rivoli

and you were judging. You were actually judging it.

And it's because of you that I got on this bleeding coach.

So that journey from Sevenoaks in Kent to Blackpool,

that was a few hours.

In one of these, it took about six... It was half a day.

So how did you pass the time on this six or seven-hour...?

Oh, well, you know, you try and read, so you might have a book,

or something like that, or do some sort of crossword-type affair.

Of course, then you get travel sick.

We didn't have, like, Walkmans.

-We didn't have iPods and stuff like that.

-Of course not.

We didn't have phones, all the things now.

So you literally had to do it old-school.

-You had to talk to people.

-Yeah.

Imagine!

Nowadays, people are usually nose down in their electronic devices,

but back in 1981, the TV was still king.

And making its debut this year, a wonderful show,

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

Arthur Dent, a perfectly ordinary Earth man,

was rather surprised when his friend Ford Prefect

suddenly revealed himself to be from a small planet

somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse

and not from Guildford after all.

He was even more surprised when a few minutes later, the Earth

was unexpectedly demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass.

The nation was gripped by the royal wedding fever as millions

watched Prince Charles marry Lady Diana Spencer.

And what an extraordinary moment for the new Princess of Wales,

to look out at this sea of human beings...

..who now feel that they, in some way, own her.

What a marvellous moment.

More than 7,000 runners signed up to run the first ever London Marathon.

Oh, nice weather!

And who could forget this belter from The Human League?

Don't You Want Me. Ho-ho!

It went on to be one of the biggest hits of the decade.

-# Don't you want me, baby?

-LEN SINGS ALONG

# Don't you want me? Oh

# Don't you want me, baby?

# Don't you want me? Oh. #

But it's time to turn the music down as the familiar

sights of Blackpool are beginning to come into view,

which for young Anton meant the mammoth journey was almost over.

So, I suppose, once you got to somewhere like this on the coach,

you know, the excitement is at fever pitch.

Oh, we are...

You've got the tower, look, the...

Do you know, the biggest excitement for me,

-the biggest excitement for me was always the amusements.

-Yeah.

-I love the arcades.

-Oh, do you?

Oh, because, of course, I'm from a time when it was...

I remember the first Atari home...

-Yeah, the ping-pong thing.

-The ping-pong.

Well, now, there's the pier.

I don't know what it is about Blackpool...

I guess it's because it holds so many wonderful memories

-for me and I guess for you.

-Yeah, you're right.

-You know, and...

It changes but doesn't really change.

At last we've made it and where better to make our first stop

than right on Blackpool's world-famous promenade?

I know it won't be long before we're feeling like

two teenage boys in 1981.

Wa-hey, bring it on!

TOGETHER: Thank you, driver.

THEY LAUGH

Oh!

-Oh, yes.

-A little bit of heaven right there.

Look, eh?

-What do you reckon?

-Calm sea.

Calm sea, sandy beach.

This is perfection, isn't it?

Do you know what I think about these tramlines?

Yeah.

-Never seen a tram.

-You've never seen a tram?

-Never seen one.

-There's one coming now.

-Shut up!

-So there.

-You are an...

-Look what you've done.

-I'd organised this.

-You'd organised it special.

-Yeah.

So, I suppose, as soon as you got off the coach, you're at the hotel.

Straight to the hotel.

-Chuck all your stuff in...

-Down to the amusements.

Straight down to the amusements!

Go on!

-Straight in!

-Even in the Winter Gardens there's...

-Amusements.

-They're everywhere.

-Everywhere you go.

-Come on.

-Look at that!

-Look at that, nothing. What a load of...

Isn't that lovely? That's the first one I've ever seen.

That's the new posh ones.

-Shall we have a little look at the beach?

-Come on, let's go down.

# Underneath the arches. #

ANTON LAUGHS

There is so much more to Blackpool than the promenade and tower.

In fact, it's hard to know where to begin.

That's why I've picked "seven!" of the best to tell you about.

Animal Magic's Johnny Morris opened the Blackpool Zoo in 1972.

With lots of activities and monkeying around,

it is im-PAWS-sible to miss.

And if you're feeling really brave,

get up close to some of the biggest cats in the world.

Look at them! Whoa! I wouldn't mess with them, would you?

If that's not scary enough,

why not try a guided tour through the town's most haunted locations,

hearing terrifying tales of murder and mystery

on the Blackpool Ghost Walks?

Spooky story man Stephen Mercer knows all about

Blackpool's grisly past.

We start outside the front of North Pier

and we make our way along in front of the tower.

The tower has a rich history, it's Blackpool's iconic image.

But there are things that do go bump in the night.

Most people don't expect Blackpool to have a haunted heritage

or a haunted history.

With so many people coming to Blackpool,

many people have experienced many strange things.

There is a Victorian lady who is often seen sitting towards

the land end on one of the benches and she'll get up

and she will walk just past us here

and she will actually disappear pretty much just behind me.

Whoo! Here, ghosty, ghosty!

It has been 34 years since Anton came to Blackpool to take part

in one of his first dancing competitions and I've got him back

on the bus to find out what he got up to inside his digs for the trip.

-Oh, there you go, the Metropole!

-Oh, look at it!

It's great because it's the only hotel on that side of the road.

Oh, yes, you're right, yeah.

Oh, I remember that! Look at it.

-Looks quite grand, doesn't it, from the outside?

-It is beautiful.

It is a beautiful building. So there you were.

There we were, at the Metropole.

-Running up and down the corridors.

-Of course, yeah.

Knocking on the girls' doors. "Let us in, let us in!"

-Did you share a room?

-"I've got a stick of rock."

Of course you have.

Well, I'll tell you what, there's plenty to see

and there's plenty to do,

so, Mike, time to park up.

Back in 1981, the bright lights of Blackpool's seaside entertainment

were huge attractions to the young Anton.

You know what amazed me is you said as much as you enjoyed coming

here for the dancing, it was the arcade games...

Oh, I loved the arcades!

Fabulous. Do your money in the first half hour.

-Well, it just so happens, here we go.

-Get in!

-The arcade is waiting!

-Have you got any pound coins on you?

We'll get them.

-Oi, oi.

-Oh, hello.

That's a bit of you.

-Go on.

-Shall I have a go?

-Yeah, you're an excellent driver.

Start. Lenny, we're in.

-Start your engines.

-Start your engine.

Here we go.

-Here we go.

-Look at you go now. Go on, then.

-Come on, you've got to get past someone, surely.

-There we go.

-Give him a nudge.

-Go on!

Yay! Go on, my son.

-Do a bit of that.

-Get in.

Oh, no!

Yes, you're getting there.

Straight between the two, watch this.

No, no, no! Oh!

Go on, Anton, you're a natural.

191mph, you're doing.

-Oh, it's slightly after six on a Friday night.

-You wish!

-Come on.

-Go!

Go on, then, just pass these three.

Love it. Love it, love it, love it.

-Seventh.

-Seventh.

It was a gallant effort.

What's his name, Lionel Hampton? No.

What's his name? Lewis Hamilton!

Not Lionel Hampton. Lewis Hamilton has nothing on you!

'Oh, he does love his arcade games, doesn't he?

'I prefer the old-fashioned ones where

'I can give Anton a run for his money.'

Get in! Three, number three.

-Oh! One was there!

-It was there!

I like this.

This is my sort of game.

I'll tell you what, I can tell what sort of a child you were -

you were competitive.

-No!

-Not much! Screaming and jumping, "I won, I won!"

But I think that's the nature of, you know, being a dancer.

We all want to get into the final, we all want to win. Of course we do.

-That would be nice.

-Let's stroll down the pier.

-The final.

-Yeah.

-What's that like?

-You want to do the freestyle, don't you?

-Free dance.

-Yes.

It's time to go back to the final Anton faced in 1981

when he took part in one of his earliest big dance competitions

at the wonderful Winter Gardens Empress Ballroom.

And the sight of this place would've surely

taken his breath away.

Here it is.

Isn't it lovely? It's such a lovely...

Look at that. Look up.

-As soon as I get to here...

-Yeah.

-..it's like coming home a bit, you know?

-Yeah.

-Here we go.

And, of course, when the dancing's on,

there's dancers everywhere, people sitting having coffee.

It's just the atmosphere of the place.

It must be the same if you're a tennis player

and you walk through the gates of Wimbledon,

or you're a soccer player and you walk into Wembley.

-Wembley, yeah.

-And for dancers, I think this...

As soon as you get in, you start seeing all the band...

And do you know what? I'm twitchy to move on and get in there.

Come on, then, let's do it. Come on.

It was in the Empress Ballroom that Anton competed

with his school from Sevenoaks.

He was just a young boy hoping for a medal.

But then, so were hundreds of others.

-This is the stair, this is the moment.

-This is the stairs.

This is the moment I used to go, "Oh..."

And you're standing here and you can hear the band, right?

And there's people all milling about and there's some competition

going on and you...

And then, on the microphone,

"We will continue now with heat two

"of the Professional Ballroom Championships,"

and it just gives you a tingle.

-"Stand by your partners, please."

-Yeah.

-"Stand together, please."

-Oh...

-Oh, hold my hand because I've gone weak at the knees.

-This is the place.

-Isn't it a beauty? Look at it.

Look at it. And when you look at the size of the ballroom

and you're dancing a quickstep or whatever, or a waltz,

-you think, "I'll never get around."

-"I'm never going to get down there.

"I've never learnt enough choreography in my life to

-"get down the floor."

-Yeah.

What was it that made you decide you wanted

to take up ballroom dancing?

Well, the first time, I wandered into an old church hall

in Sevenoaks, really, and it was just a room full of girls.

And, of course, when I was growing up, I was really sporty and it was

all about sport, but we used to play football

-and we used to play cricket and...

-Yeah.

So, it was all about sport, always out.

And the thing I loved about ballroom dancing,

after I gathered myself in the roomful of girls,

was the fact it was competitive and I loved the competition.

-It just...

-I was the same. I didn't take it up till I was 21.

There you are, you see.

And, you know, there was four boys and 40 girls in a dance class

-and you're 21 - what else do you want to do?

-Exactly!

But I used to get the mickey taken out of me,

cos I was working on the docks, right? So I've got all these dock...

-"Ballroom dance?!" I said, "Yes!" I said, "It's fantastic."

-Fantastic.

And you were important in my,

sort of, early life as well,

because you were there judging and I'd see you there

and, you know, you were already legendary within the industry

and I thought, "Fabulous Len. I'd love to be like Len one day."

And so, so much about life I learnt through the dancing world.

Yeah, you do. So, there you are, it's 1981 or whatever,

you're coming up here, you're excited, you've walked in - ah!

-How did you do in the...?

-Terrible.

No! No, don't say that!

'Thankfully, he's got a lot better since then.

'And since we've got this ballroom to ourselves,

'I think we should enjoy it.'

And off we go.

Hey?

Reverse turn. Now we're going to do a three-step into the corner.

-Oh, come on.

-I have it.

-There you are.

-Look at that.

-You're moving well, Len.

-Round we go.

THEY LAUGH

-Oh!

-Hello, Len.

-And then you think...

I don't know any more!

How am I going to get down there?

Repeat, repeat, repeat! So off we go.

The ballroom dance scene in Blackpool is a tradition that

goes back more than 100 years.

The biggest competitions took place in the glorious Tower Ballroom

and, of course, the Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens.

But why did the town need more than one ballroom?

The man with the answers is Blackpool's ballroom boffin

Barry Band.

It's very popular with visitors.

Now, the Empress Ballroom was always favoured by the locals.

I'm afraid it was because we wanted to get away from the visitors.

Now, my memories of going into the Empress Ballroom

are 1950s memories when the place was thronged several times a week

to watch the big bands of that era.

They were so popular in the 1950s that we could go in at 7.30

and pay to go dancing and then, they'd empty the building

and we'd have to pay to go in again for a late dance three times a week.

That's how popular ballroom dancing was with the general public.

You're bringing a tear to my eye, Barry.

Now, we can't come to the Empress

and not have a proper ballroom dance, no way!

Anton, look, here we are, the home of ballroom dancing...

I feel good, emotional.

..and it would be remiss of us not to dance.

-What, am I being a girl, then?

-No, no, no, we couldn't do that.

Ladies, would you like to come along?

-Oh, hello, girls!

-This is Enid.

I'm Len, and Anton. Janet.

Janet, nice to see you. Lovely to see you, Enid.

-I have first choice.

-Naturally, of course.

-I'm the oldest, right?

-Of course.

Come on. Janet is yours.

Janet is mine, Janet.

So, Janet, did you compete here?

I have done competitions at a low level here as a child, yes.

Anton, she could've been dancing against...

She could've been the winner of the first time...

It definitely wasn't me, so it could've been you.

-I don't think it was me.

-We're about the same age, aren't we?

-Yeah.

-29.

-Yeah. Of course.

Could we have the music, please? Thank you.

GENTLE JAZZ PLAYS

Oh! Now, you can come as close as you want.

Now, then, we'll have a moment together. That's lovely.

Oh, Len, you're getting all, sort of, intimate there, I can see.

We are.

Oh, Janet, you're a natural.

My word! What are you doing in October, November?

Could you get yourself famous, by any chance?

Little hesitation. Whoa! Round we go.

How about that? Oh, look at us go.

And I think a little spin under the arm.

And thank you very much.

Under she goes, and I thank you.

-Well done.

-Beautiful!

-What a natural.

-Eh?

What score are you going to give me?

-I think you need...

-A ten.

..a ten.

-What, a ten for Len?

-A ten for Len!

Oh, yes, thank you!

-Janet.

-I can't really go any lower.

Come on, I've never had one. Could you be my first?

-Can't really go any lower, so it'll have to be a ten.

-Hey!

No trip away is complete without sampling the local tucker.

Those new tastes and textures

so different to home can transform your palate forever.

And no doubt after putting on a show in 1981, Anton

and his chums would've gone straight down the promenade

to find something good to eat.

What did you think when you came here for the first time,

and the food?

Do you know, it was... It was different.

The thing you must have here...

There's two things you must have staple in your diet.

-One is chips, naturally.

-I like a chip.

-The other one, gravy.

But I have it with everything.

Ham, egg and chips - gravy. Scampi and chips - gravy.

-Talking of gravy...

-Yes.

-..there's a cafe here

and we're going to go in, and we'll just see what happens.

What shall we have?

-Guess what?

-Gravy?

-Gravy!

Come on!

-I think I'll have gravy and chips.

-Yeah, why not?

-This is the stuff.

-Oh!

-Oh-ho-ho!

-Go on, give it a bit of a...

-Come on, shall we have a whizz?

-Yeah, now, I think...

-Now, you've got to add...

I know, got to add a bit of plain flour.

-Bit of plain flour.

-Little bit of thickening.

-That's it, yeah.

-Go on, whizz it in.

-You were on that Step Up To The Plate.

I tell you, best cookery show they've ever made!

You should know all about this.

That's not bad. A little pinch of the gravy salt.

It looks like it's been around a while, doesn't it?

Well, it probably has, it's from '81!

You need gravy thick. You can't have runny gravy, otherwise, it's a jus.

-To be honest with you...

-We don't have jus in Blackpool.

-No, of course not.

-No!

Let's get the expert over. Come and have a look. Are you Mark?

-No, I'm Len.

-Len?

-You're Len?!

-Oh-ho-ho, Len!

-Have a look, Len. What do you reckon?

-What do you reckon, Len?

-Definitely needs a bit more thickening.

-Thickening up?

-Yeah.

-Bit more Homepride?

-Yeah, plenty of that.

-That's it.

-Plenty of that. Whack it in.

-Yeah, whack it in.

Oh, now, now you're getting thick!

-Look at me, I'm like a chef.

-I wouldn't go that far.

I wouldn't charge anyone for it, I've got to be honest with you.

-I'll give it one more... Just a bit.

-Just a...

-That's... Right, OK.

-Now...

-That's good, innit?

-Yeah.

-Look at that, Len, I've got a lovely wrist action.

-He has, yeah.

-Are we going to pour it into the bowl?

-Go on.

-There you are, you see.

-Look at that, eh?

-Oh, look at that!

-It looks like a volcanic eruption in a lava flow.

-Isn't that a beauty?

Now, that...

-..is gravy.

-That's beautiful.

I wouldn't say it's three Michelin stars,

but it could be three Michelin tyres.

LAUGHTER

You know, what I loved was your action, your movement.

You know, it had a rhythm, like a samba.

# Doo-bah-bah Da-da, ba-da

-# Here we go... #

-Get the shoulders going...

A little bit of...

-A bit of shoulder, just to go for extras.

-Yeah, yeah!

Nice. Beautiful.

'Of course, it's not proper '80s Anton tucker

'until it's served with chips... and lasagne.

'I hope he likes it!'

-Dip away and let's have a look.

-Are you going to have a go?

Really?

-I've not seen you pull that face since...

-I had to lift...

..since you had to lift up Ann Widdecombe!

That's joyous.

And while we let that digest, here's the next instalment

of my seven top tips

that are guaranteed to light up any trip to Blackpool.

Lytham Windmill was built in 1805.

Farmers from far and wide trundled their pony and carts

of wheat and oats here for generations.

The building is Grade II listed and is now a museum, where you can

find out all about the history of mills and milling in the area.

If you see any exotic birds in the sky,

they're probably on their way to the Ribble Discovery Centre.

It's the gateway to the north side of the Ribble Estuary.

Keeping her eye on the sky is RSPB bird-watcher Julie Vale.

It's an amazing habitat, and an amazing home for nature

in that we are one of the top estuaries in the UK

for wintering birds.

We attract over a quarter of a million every year that come to us.

Most of them like to come in the winter rather than the summer,

so they're our opposite tourists.

And they come because we have really rich mud that is absolutely

full to the brim of food for them.

All aboard for the next leg of our journey.

I'm rekindling Anton's memories of when he first came to Blackpool in 1981.

But there was one thing he completely missed back then.

Now, I couldn't believe it, that you said you had never seen a tram

-and never been on a tram.

-Never seen a tram, never been on a tram.

I couldn't believe...

All the years when I came up here, with the tracks here,

I've never seen one go by. I thought they were sort of extinct!

Well, I've got a special treat.

-Look at this beauty!

-Beauty!

-81 years old...

-Really?

-Yes.

My next partner for Strictly Come Dancing!

And we're going to join it and have a little trip along the promenade.

-Oh, Len, you spoil me.

-I know.

-Captain.

-Thank you.

In 1885, Blackpool unveiled the first electric trams

in Great Britain, and when other parts of the country

were abandoning their trams, Blackpool was buying more.

And I'm glad they did. This is one of the original iconic trams.

And while we take in the glorious scenery,

I'm going to get Anton to dish the dirt on his Strictly partners.

Bye! Cheerio, fans!

-Look at this.

-Eh? What do you reckon?

-I've never seen it looking so lovely.

-It's gorgeous!

-There's a sign there somewhere.

-Yeah.

Listen, I know what you're going to...

You're going to try and skirt round this a little bit.

You've been on every series of Strictly.

You've had 12 different partners.

Was there any one of them that you would say, "Well, you know what?

"Bit more coaching, a bit longer, she could become a bit of a dancer"?

Well, do you know,

it's always been the thing about Strictly Come Dancing.

It's never the fact that they can or can't dance, it's always the time.

-Yeah.

-I think they could all have done with a bit more time.

Maybe, I don't know, four or five years.

And I think they'd have been all right. I think they'd be quite good.

But I've had a great time with all of them, really.

I mean, take, for example, Judy, from the last series.

The wonderful thing about her was her personality.

She came out of herself and we got to see her in a new light.

-Ann Widdecombe was a classic example.

-Yes!

Ann just wanted to perform. She was hilarious.

-She wanted to go out and be crowd-pleasing.

-And she was.

And she was. She pleased me no end.

But you eventually, after a few series,

got to know the technique -

get 'em up in the air!

-LAUGHING:

-Get 'em up early!

Get 'em up, either spin them on the floor or lift them up!

-The chuck and slide.

-Chuck and...

-Grab 'em, slide 'em.

When you're a celebrity on Strictly, you're not thinking about the step

you're doing now, you're thinking, "What's coming next?"

"What's coming next?"

For everybody on the show, certainly everyone I've danced with,

the biggest anxiety about the whole process is trying not to forget the routine.

-Of course!

-That's the thing that kills them every time.

"I'm going to forget the routine."

-Just to change the subject...

-Go on.

-Isn't this lovely?

-Beautiful.

Sitting on the top deck of a tram

really is the nicest way to see Blackpool.

4 million people climb aboard the trams each year these days,

but what I want to know is why did Blackpool become so attached

to its trams when other towns and cities were ripping theirs out?

Tram man Bryan has the inside track.

I think from day one,

Blackpool developed a love affair with its tramway.

There was something quite special and magic about them.

Because we were one of the very first in the country to actually use

electric traction, I think people particularly valued

the importance of that historical link.

But not only that, the tramway actually helped the town to

develop and grow, so from the very earliest days, they started to

put inland routes in all over the place, in areas that hadn't at that time been developed,

and the town basically grew up around the tramway.

Tramways around the country gradually closed down in favour of motor buses.

Blackpool's love affair with the tramway continued,

because we had this wonderful seafront tramway which still

carried thousands of passengers across the coast,

particularly during the Illuminations period.

So when the traffic was stationary on the promenade, the best way

to see the Illuminations and enjoy the seafront was actually by tram.

So it became an attraction in its own right.

In order to meet rail vehicle accessibility regulations,

so that tram cars have to be accessible for everyone,

then we had to completely renew our entire infrastructure

and replace our ageing fleet of vintage tram cars with new,

all-singing, all-dancing vehicles that can do everything.

Now, obviously, the history of the town and the tramway is

extremely important to Blackpool as an attraction in its own right,

and so we have our own Act of Parliament which enables us

to continue to operate the historic vehicles intertwined amongst

the brand-new ones.

I've got a special treat lined up for Anton at our final location,

and he certainly won't forget it.

While we head here,

there's just time for the final instalment of my SEVEN!

We tee off with the 18-hole Stanley Park Golf Course.

It was designed by Alister MacKenzie, famed for creating

the Augusta National, home of the Masters tournament.

Adrenaline junkies will love the Blackpool Wake Park,

which boasts an obstacle course that would test the best of wakeboarders.

Try kayaking, paddle boarding

or an open swim in the ten-acre lake created from a natural spring.

Wahey-hey-hey-hey!

A regular on the touring circuit,

Blackpool's Grand Theatre has played host to a galaxy of stars,

from Shakespearean actors like Donald Wolfit to modern comics

like Michael McIntyre.

Theatre buff Linda Tolson has the lowdown.

The theatre was built in 1894

by the very prolific Victorian architect Frank Matcham.

And, for a long, long time,

it became known as Matcham's Masterpiece.

Frank Matcham, of course, was the man who designed 150 theatres in his lifetime.

The London Palladium is one of his,

the Coliseum is one of his,

but I have to say that very few of those theatres remain.

In the 1970s, it was close to demolition,

until local residents clubbed together

and formed a trust to save it.

The Grand is a great survivor.

A beautiful Victorian theatre at the heart of iconic Blackpool.

No trip to Blackpool would be complete without visiting

the world-famous tower.

It was opened in 1894, was inspired by the Eiffel Tower

and offers breathtaking views of the Irish Sea and all of Blackpool.

'I'm taking Anton on a trip 380 feet into the sky,

'through a unique view of the town.

'It's not for the faint-hearted. Hey-hey, oh, no!'

Hold my hand. ANTON GIGGLES

-Have a look at that.

-Oh, no, don't!

THEY LAUGH

-Shut up!

-Ho-ho-ho!

Oh, my God!

Ain't it a beauty? Look at that!

This glass skywalk is just five centimetres thick

and can apparently hold the weight of two elephants.

And hopefully two dancers!

Tap dance, Len?

No, I can't. It hurts me corns!

The sea is beautiful.

Public access to the very top is restricted,

'but I've managed to pull a few strings to get Anton up there.'

Three flights of stairs,

15 on each flight, 45 stairs up...

-To the top.

-..to the very top.

-I've never been to the top.

-We're doing it now.

Would you like me to lead on, or would you like to...?

No, I'll let you lead. You've always been my leader, Len.

I know that. Come on.

We're about to get an open-air view of Blackpool few get to enjoy.

-Ooh!

-Anton, you still there?

We should've roped ourselves together.

ANTON LAUGHS Honestly, this is...

'Ere, there's no bloomin' safety nets and...

Ooh, Mummy!

-One more?

-No.

I'm not going up that as well, thank you! This'll do me.

Look what we've got this side - the Winter Gardens.

-Look at that, the perfect turn. The Winter Gardens.

-Yeah, there we are.

I do love that place, you know. It is...

HE SIGHS

It just makes me sort of have a big sigh and think... Yeah.

You go through those doors,

then through those double doors at the top of the stairs and you...

you are, literally, walking through to another world.

It is another world.

-And it is...

-Yes.

-And it's quite a world.

-Yeah.

-There will come a time...

-Yes.

..when, you know, you won't be able to perform to the level that you

-would wish to.

-Really?

-I promise you, that will happen.

-Now, you've got 30 years to go, if you like...

-Thank you.

..but that's going to happen.

Now, where would you like your career to go?

From dancing, performing,

would you prefer to go into more presenting shows?

Would you like to be one of the... take over from me as a judge?

Presenting is a form of performing, as you know.

-So, I really enjoy that enormously.

-Yeah.

I know it's a bit old-school, it's a bit like Brucie, really.

That's the sort of thing I really love.

That old feel of variety and stuff. I love that.

You're a product of your life, really.

And, you know, coming here in 1981 and subsequently,

-did that help to shape who you've become?

-Oh, completely and utterly.

It's given me everything in life...

that's carried me forward, really.

Through direction and, as I said before, role models

and a commitment to something

and a determination to try and succeed in whatever I'm doing,

and those things are invaluable in life.

-And to be able to accept disappointment.

-Yeah.

-Because you know what it's like as a dancer, you lose more often than you win.

-Course you do.

So...and how to deal with that and how to move forward from it.

So, really, it's been the biggest life lesson ever and it's sort of shaped me as a person, really.

Yeah, yeah.

If there came a time, for whatever reason, you weren't

part of Strictly, I don't think Strictly would be the same.

-Aww!

-I really don't, because what I love with you,

you have a naturalness about you.

You know? And that's wonderful.

My favourite thing still is dancing with somebody you don't

normally dance with or you haven't danced with before,

and the music goes on and you dance together, perfectly.

-Yeah.

-In perfect harmony.

-Yeah.

-That's still my favourite thing.

-Great.

You know, you probably told me this years ago.

If you're having a nice time, then your audience is having a nice time.

That's right.

I don't care who the celebrity is,

I look forward to seeing you dance the most.

And that's all I can tell you. And you're great. I mean it.

-Lenny...

-Great.

-..you're my hero.

'It's been wonderful to spend the day with Anton

'and learn more about how his early love for dance at a young age

'allowed him to compete at the highest level here in Blackpool.

'We've tripped the light fantastic...'

Under she goes, and I thank you.

'..relived some fast-paced excitement...'

-191mph...

-Oh, it's like the M6 on a Friday night.

'..and taken a tram trip down memory lane.'

-Isn't this lovely?

-Beautiful.

Let me tell you, I've known you, I don't know,

-since probably you were 14, you know?

-Yeah.

I've judged you in competition, and right back then when you did those,

you know, pre-champ and that, at the Rivoli,

I knew you were destined to be a terrific dancer.

And so you proved!

So, I've got this little scrapbook - Holiday Of My Lifetime.

Little photographs and things of your day with me.

For Anton, a scrapbook of memories of our time in sunny Blackpool

that will help him remember our seaside adventure.

But, knowing how much of a gaming fan he is,

I have one final surprise for him.

It's a digital tennis game,

which Anton would only have dreamed of back in 1981.

No TV set needed.

It's yours to play with.

-In those moments of...

-That is...just...wonderful.

Look at that!

This is possibly...

the most bestest day of my whole life.

-It's actually better than the original 1981.

-Really?

This is like 1981 all over again. Only better!

Just put that... I'm just going to put it down.

And I think we should finish in the traditional way of...

BOTH: Keep dancing!

-Am I the girl in this again?

-You are the girl.

-Thanks(!)

So, it's goodbye from Blackpool.

It was here Anton found his sparkle and began his journey

from a young amateur dancer to one of the nation's favourite all-round entertainers.