1
00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:06,320
Welcome to the sleaze,
shocks and scandals of 1986.

2
00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,200
Verbal, physical, moral anarchy.

3
00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:12,360
A year when TV whipped up a storm...

4
00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,760
They're sordid.
They show the depth of depravity.

5
00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,480
..God moved in mysterious ways...

6
00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,240
How have they missed that?
Such a blatant handball.

7
00:00:22,240 --> 00:00:24,640
..and the soaps busted taboos.

8
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,320
Oh, come on, now.

9
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,960
Are you trying to tell me
that you and Colin are...

10
00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:30,680
homosexuals?

11
00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,400
You'd think World War Three
had started.

12
00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:33,760
SCREAMING

13
00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,560
We'll relive the celebrity scandals
that made Britain gasp...

14
00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,200
He's smoking drugs. Oh, my God!

15
00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,440
It became more about the headlines,

16
00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:45,760
with Michael Jackson,
than the music.

17
00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,680
..the moment we stared at
our TV screens in sheer disbelief.

18
00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,200
Wait, wait, wait.
You're dead, aren't you, bruv?

19
00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,200
I was just happy to have Bobby back,
in the shower.

20
00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:02,360
And we'll reveal the truth behind
some outrageous tabloid tales.

21
00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,640
One of the most famous
front-page headlines of all time.

22
00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:08,000
That can't be true, can it?

23
00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,320
A year of sex...

24
00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:13,600
Filth like this shouldn't be seen
on British screens.

25
00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:14,800
..drugs...

26
00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,440
I turned the news on,
and it was mentioned in Parliament.

27
00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,600
..and hyperbaric oxygen chambers.

28
00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,360
If it's good enough for Michael
Jackson, it's good enough for me.

29
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,320
So, strap in, hold on,
and prepare to be both shocked...

30
00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:30,560
It was so frightening to us as kids.

31
00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,040
..and entertained...

32
00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,320
It is a golden moment of TV.

33
00:01:35,320 --> 00:01:40,720
..as we throw ourselves headlong
into the stories that were so...

34
00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:48,320
Ah, 1986. I remember it well.

35
00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,920
It was the year Jeffrey Archer
sensationally resigned

36
00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:53,720
as Tory party chairman.

37
00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,760
The News Of The World said
he'd offered a prostitute money

38
00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,480
to leave the country in an attempt
to avoid a possible scandal.

39
00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,200
An attempt to avoid
a possible scandal

40
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,840
that didn't exactly work out
as planned.

41
00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:07,200
That same year,

42
00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:11,080
thrill-seeking tycoon
Richard Branson was in his powerboat

43
00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:15,520
smashing the world record for
the fastest-ever Atlantic crossing.

44
00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,400
Meanwhile,
one popular kids' TV series

45
00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:20,600
was also making waves,

46
00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,520
both here in Britain
and across the pond, too.

47
00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:24,920
GRANGE HILL THEME

48
00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:28,560
Nowadays, kids are hooked
on the school series Sex Education,

49
00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:29,960
but this was the original,

50
00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:33,640
as these comic book titles
and squelchy synthesiser theme

51
00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:36,880
announced another episode
of Grange Hill.

52
00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:41,320
In 1986, this weekly show
provided watercooler moments

53
00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:43,280
for millions of British kids,

54
00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,160
reflecting
inner-city comprehensive life

55
00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,360
in all its dramatic glory.

56
00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:50,920
Grange Hill was so popular
at the time.

57
00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:54,440
Viewing figures at one point
between nine and 12 million,

58
00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:56,680
which is, you know, unheard of now.

59
00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,800
The school first opened
its doors in 1978.

60
00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:01,840
You've been a naughty boy,
in't you, gutsy? No.

61
00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,280
Grange Hill's early years
mainly tackled

62
00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:06,480
familiar high school issues
like bullying.

63
00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:08,200
I've only got enough for
a packet of crisps.

64
00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:09,520
That'll do. Hand it over.

65
00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:13,640
But pinching small change
would give way

66
00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,760
to a truly shocking storyline
in series nine.

67
00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,280
Up until 1986, this fella -

68
00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:22,880
Samuel McGuire, AKA Zammo -

69
00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,080
was just another cheeky schoolboy.

70
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,080
Since starting at Grange Hill
in 1982,

71
00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,040
he mainly busied himself
with low-level mischief.

72
00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,640
Oi, give that back!
Get him!

73
00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,560
That's for taking his dinner!
And throwing rubbish!

74
00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,040
Zammo was a bit cocky,
you know, a bit of a scallywag,

75
00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:43,920
he was always in trouble
with the teachers,

76
00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:45,280
but a lovable scallywag.

77
00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,520
The kid behind the kid
was teenager Lee MacDonald.

78
00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,600
Zammo was his first major TV role,
and with millions watching,

79
00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:59,000
he soon found himself at the centre
of Grange Hill mania.

80
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,160
We was in the middle of a square,
and it was really scary.

81
00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,320
The kids went mad.
They just mobbed us.

82
00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:05,800
We was in the middle.

83
00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:08,640
The police come and was pushing us
out the way, weren't it?

84
00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:10,360
And I remember running down
the street,

85
00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:13,240
and people pointing at me
and shouting my name.

86
00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:15,160
All these girls,
and I got my shirt grabbed.

87
00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,080
And they was all really tall.

88
00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:20,080
And they was just everywhere,
grabbing me.

89
00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:22,600
My neck was round there,
and my face, like...

90
00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:24,080
For me, it was amazing,

91
00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,200
getting chased by,
you know, 20 or 40 girls.

92
00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,480
Never happen now, but at the time,
it was just unbelievable.

93
00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:31,920
Look, if you still don't trust me,

94
00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:33,760
I'll stay in here
while you go and get the money.

95
00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,680
Then in '86, Zammo pivoted

96
00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,960
from pestering posh kids
to a darker storyline,

97
00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:44,440
which pushed the boundaries
of what could be shown on kids' TV.

98
00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,000
Heroin was, like, a taboo subject.

99
00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,240
In my head, it was just, like,
really bad people did heroin,

100
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:54,920
and I think that's what most people
thought at that time,

101
00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,640
so choosing Zammo,
which was a really nice guy,

102
00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:00,200
it showed the turnaround

103
00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,760
that good people can get involved
with heroin.

104
00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:05,920
You know what we're here for,
don't you?

105
00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:07,160
No, I don't.

106
00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,720
You've been keeping those
second-hand shops busy of late, eh?

107
00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:11,160
Don't know what you mean.

108
00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,400
I had no idea it was gonna have
such an impact

109
00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,640
or the controversy around it.

110
00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,480
Zammo's fall into
the desperate life of an addict

111
00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,240
was documented in grim detail.

112
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:24,920
Oh, no!

113
00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,400
The downfall of the character
was unbelievable.

114
00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,040
Yeah, well, sometimes,
she gets home early.

115
00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,200
Well, you better put those things
in your bag, then,

116
00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:37,800
haven't you, greebo?

117
00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,440
To go from
this really likeable person

118
00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:42,880
to stealing from his mum,

119
00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:44,480
lying to his girlfriend,

120
00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:47,280
punching his best friend, Kevin...
Zammo!

121
00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:49,080
..and it was quite difficult to do.

122
00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:52,360
The main episode, for me,

123
00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,200
is when Roland walks
into the toilet,

124
00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,640
and he finds Zammo...

125
00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,520
Zammo! You all right?

126
00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,080
And people don't know whether
he's dead or he's just passed out.

127
00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:07,120
You know who that is, don't you?

128
00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,920
Yeah... but not Zammo.

129
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:14,880
It was a real kind of
seminal change-making moment

130
00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:16,320
in terms of kids' TV.

131
00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:18,280
Look, you better get him
out of here.

132
00:06:18,280 --> 00:06:19,720
Boss doesn't like junkies.

133
00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:24,560
It was so serious
and so frightening to us as kids.

134
00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:26,800
It got everyone talking
on the playground

135
00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:28,400
about how terrifying drugs were.

136
00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,320
With shocking scenes like that,
it's no surprise

137
00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:35,560
the heroin storyline
caused a storm of controversy.

138
00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,040
While some felt the series
had gone too far

139
00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,440
in its graphic portrayal
of addiction,

140
00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,800
many applauded Grange Hill
for raising awareness.

141
00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,840
All the politicians could say it,
but Grange Hill meant a lot more.

142
00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,600
They could relate to the characters
in Grange Hill,

143
00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:52,440
so I think
they did a really good job.

144
00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:57,880
The anti-drug message
had gone far beyond expectations.

145
00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,840
Everyone was talking about it.

146
00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:01,520
A new campaign has been launched

147
00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:04,840
to warn the under-16s
about the dangers of drug abuse.

148
00:07:04,840 --> 00:07:08,280
The main feature of the campaign
is a pop video made by the cast

149
00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:10,840
of the BBC children's series
Grange Hill.

150
00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,040
# Just say no
No

151
00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,040
# Just say no
Just say no... #

152
00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:20,080
Yes, the '80s was the era
of the worthy campaign single,

153
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:24,040
so, of course, the cast,
complete with iffy choreography,

154
00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:26,960
found themselves unlikely pop stars.

155
00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,640
They said to me, "Lee, we want you
to do the main vocals,"

156
00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:32,840
and I can't sing,

157
00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,640
so on the record,
Roland is singing my bits.

158
00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:37,040
# Just say no... #

159
00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:38,800
And I can't dance, either,

160
00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,800
so on video,
I'm doing weightlifting.

161
00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,000
You would be number 40
in the charts.

162
00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,000
You'd come back,
and then you'd be number 35.

163
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,880
And then each week, we come,
and we go, "Wow, we're number 20.

164
00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,160
"We're number 15. We're number ten.
We're in the top ten."

165
00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,080
And then we're on Top Of The Pops.

166
00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,480
Imagine being 16,
being on Top Of The Pops.

167
00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:57,960
The cast of Grange Hill, they're
giving some very good advice.

168
00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,800
Grange Hill's unlikely pop stars
even broke America,

169
00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:08,520
as the Just Say No message

170
00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,080
was allied with
the anti-drugs campaign

171
00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,120
spearheaded by First Lady,
Nancy Reagan.

172
00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:16,120
What will you do
when someone offers you drugs?

173
00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:18,840
CROWD: Just say no!

174
00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:22,520
Ha! That's wonderful.

175
00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,080
The final bit was walking
in the White House,

176
00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:27,320
sitting down with Nancy Reagan...

177
00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:28,680
Let's sit down.

178
00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:30,400
..this awful suit on,

179
00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,920
and giving her a copy of
the 12-inch version of Just Say No.

180
00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:35,880
Thank you very much. Thank you.
Thank you.

181
00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:37,640
Thank you, that's very nice.

182
00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,280
I'm sure it got thrown
under the chair pretty quickly,

183
00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:42,840
but just that memory

184
00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:48,000
of sitting in the White House
with Nancy Reagan was unbelievable.

185
00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,800
From a fictional comprehensive
to the White House,

186
00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,160
Zammo's journey proved
that controversy

187
00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:57,000
can sometimes change things
for the better.

188
00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:59,000
I was determined
it wouldn't beat me,

189
00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:02,280
determined to give it up for
all the people that helped me fight.

190
00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:06,000
There's no way an addict
would ever do this.

191
00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,200
Still get people come up and say,
"I didn't do drugs because of you."

192
00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,040
You're not crying, are you?

193
00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,280
'And it's so lovely that people
have got fond memories of it.'

194
00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:19,320
Coming up...

195
00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,360
Tabloids go Technicolor,

196
00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,720
as one outrageous newspaper
went further than any other...

197
00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,840
"Hide-and-seek Champ
Found Dead In Cupboard."

198
00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,480
It's a brilliant headline.
Let's be honest.

199
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,400
The Sunday Sport was
complete and utter trash,

200
00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,600
but people bought it.

201
00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,120
..and what really happened
when Freddie met Hammy?

202
00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,720
"Freddie Starr ate my hamster."
"What?!"

203
00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,560
Urban myth or truth? I don't know.

204
00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:56,960
JAN LEEMING:
Welcome back to the mid-'80s -

205
00:09:56,960 --> 00:09:59,600
1986, to be precise...

206
00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,640
..when you could spend hours loading
one game onto your home computer.

207
00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:07,440
REPORTER:
In homes throughout Britain,

208
00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,400
computers are now used
mostly for entertainment.

209
00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,520
At the cinema,
we felt the need for speed

210
00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,920
as Top Gun turned Tom Cruise
into a superstar.

211
00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,200
Although Top Gun
has done remarkably well

212
00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,800
at the American box office,
it's not without its detractors.

213
00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,240
Some people have said that
the film amounts to nothing more

214
00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:30,160
than a slickly produced recruiting
poster for the American Navy.

215
00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:31,720
And in politics,

216
00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,320
Margaret Thatcher was hoping
there'd be no slip-ups

217
00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,200
with her controversial plans
to ease financial regulations

218
00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,640
and weaken workers' rights.

219
00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,000
Popular capitalism is a crusade.

220
00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:49,120
A crusade to enfranchise the many
in the economic life of Britain.

221
00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:53,760
For me, 1986 is pretty much
peak '80s, really.

222
00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:57,120
It's when the kind of Thatcher
revolution really kicked in.

223
00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,320
On Monday, the Stock Exchange

224
00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:01,880
goes over to a new system
of share dealing.

225
00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,160
The so-called Big Bang,
or deregulation,

226
00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,640
will allow the buying and selling
of shares by telephone and computer,

227
00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:10,120
instead of face-to-face on the floor
of the Stock Exchange,

228
00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:11,440
as it's done now.

229
00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,560
You have the Big Bang of
the London Stock Exchange,

230
00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,000
which certainly reverberated
all the way across London,

231
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,560
that was suddenly full of yuppies.

232
00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:25,560
VOICE-OVER:
There's more money being made

233
00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:27,000
in the city now than ever before.

234
00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,400
Share prices reached record levels
this week.

235
00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,480
It was red braces a-go-go.

236
00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:38,240
It was just the beginnings of
mobile phones the size of bricks.

237
00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:44,520
It was suddenly this shiny,
glamorous, exciting new world.

238
00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,560
This shiny new world
may have been exciting

239
00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,160
if you were one of those
red-braces-wearing capitalists,

240
00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,080
but for workers of
the blue-collar variety,

241
00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,080
not so much.

242
00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:56,800
Take the newspaper industry,

243
00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,120
where a technological revolution

244
00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:01,320
was about to whip up
a storm of controversy

245
00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,560
thanks to high-flying
Manchester businessman Eddy Shah -

246
00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:08,400
a man who didn't see things
in black and white.

247
00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,040
VOICE-OVER: This is a year of crisis
for Fleet Street.

248
00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:12,800
Eddy Shah's on course to bring out

249
00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:16,000
Britain's first full-colour
daily paper.

250
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,800
For Shah's the catalyst
for the revolution in technology

251
00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:22,360
and job losses that's finally
arriving in Fleet Street.

252
00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,560
Eddy Shah was determined
to try and use

253
00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:28,720
Margaret Thatcher's new legislation
against the trade unions

254
00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,600
and against strikes,
in order to bring in

255
00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:36,040
new technical ways of doing things
in the newspaper industry.

256
00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:42,240
Eddy Shah's colour tabloid will be
produced in an electronic newsroom,

257
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,440
where journalists will feed their
stories directly into the paper

258
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,440
through computer terminals
known as Magician.

259
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,120
Everything was gonna be computers.

260
00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:54,480
It was gonna be in colour! We could
not imagine the use of colour.

261
00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:56,240
Designed electronically,

262
00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,000
the size and colour of pictures
or graphics

263
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,800
adjusted at the touch of a button.

264
00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,840
Like much else,
the idea came from America,

265
00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:08,600
where USA Today had rewritten
the newspaper rules,

266
00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,560
with a modern style
and full-colour photos.

267
00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,800
Eddy Shah wanted a piece
of that action here,

268
00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,640
with his new tabloid,
also called Today.

269
00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:18,320
INTERVIEWER: Why's it called Today?

270
00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,480
Because it is today's paper,
it is a modern paper,

271
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,800
and we felt we wanted a title
that reflected a modern viewpoint.

272
00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,240
Newspapers have been a staple
of the British diet for centuries.

273
00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,920
No-one had tried to use
colour before.

274
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,880
Britain's newest national newspaper
is now rolling off the presses

275
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,240
this evening in London,
in Birmingham

276
00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,360
and in Manchester.
It was pioneering.

277
00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,480
Pioneering, yes,
wildly successful, no.

278
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,360
By the mid-'90s,
Today was yesterday's news.

279
00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:52,440
But Shah's high-tech tabloid

280
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,120
had given an often divisive
Australian media mogul

281
00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:58,160
a few ideas
on how to increase profits.

282
00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,640
And if that caused
some controversy, did he care?

283
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:09,160
By 1986, the olden days of
the Fleet Street printing presses,

284
00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:12,560
using hot metal and ink
that stained your hands,

285
00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:15,480
needed to be phased out.

286
00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,960
And Rupert Murdoch,
the media tycoon,

287
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:22,680
had been working on an all-new
glossy printing plant in Wapping

288
00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,320
that would be using new technology.

289
00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:28,240
REPORTER: Thanks to Rupert Murdoch,

290
00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,800
the wind of change
is blowing down Fleet Street.

291
00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:32,840
Many fear it can never be the same.

292
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:36,840
The print unions
were deeply unhappy about it,

293
00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,120
and there was very little
they could do

294
00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:44,440
because it didn't need the manpower
to turn out the papers.

295
00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,160
It was absolute revolution.

296
00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:48,520
And Murdoch...

297
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:51,880
..had the guts to do it.

298
00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,080
We are securing the future
of journalism

299
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:58,320
and giving it the proper role
in newspapers,

300
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,520
which is one of
far greater importance.

301
00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:05,400
6,000 workers protested

302
00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:07,920
and said that
they were going to go on strike.

303
00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:10,480
And Rupert Murdoch
simply dismissed them.

304
00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,280
There were more clashes
late last night between police

305
00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:16,880
and demonstrators outside the
News International plant at Wapping.

306
00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:19,160
I was there bringing the news,

307
00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,240
as we reported nightly
on the war of Wapping,

308
00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:24,720
when picketers clashed with police

309
00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:26,920
as they tried to stop newspapers
leaving the plant.

310
00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:31,240
REPORTER: Under police helicopter
searchlights, at the weekend,

311
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:33,440
Murdoch's juggernauts roll.

312
00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,880
This dispute
actually went on for a year

313
00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:38,400
and became extremely heated

314
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:42,160
because Rupert Murdoch
brought in so many security,

315
00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:45,080
and the police became
heavily embroiled,

316
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:47,480
and they used
special branch officers

317
00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:50,160
to infiltrate the protesters.

318
00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:53,800
You had policemen on horseback,
you had informants...

319
00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:56,840
Behind extraordinary
prison-like security,

320
00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,800
this is Rupert Murdoch's
Fortress Wapping.

321
00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:02,800
In the end, Rupert Murdoch won.

322
00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,720
The Wapping plan went ahead,

323
00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,960
everyone converted
to the new method of doing things,

324
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,800
and those who'd been dismissed
did not get their jobs back.

325
00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,000
There'd rarely been a more
profitable time to sell newspapers,

326
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,040
and with the circulation war
in full frenzy,

327
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,760
the scene was set
for another new publication

328
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,560
to burst rudely onto our newsstands.

329
00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:31,800
A controversial tabloid that was
so jaw-droppingly outrageous,

330
00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:36,040
it made all other red tops
look tame by comparison.

331
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,640
Well, this Sunday sees
the launch of a new paper

332
00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,480
that promises to make
The Sun and The Star

333
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:42,280
look about as racy
as Good Housekeeping.

334
00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,880
the Sunday Sport, when it came out,
I remember someone bought a copy,

335
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:49,920
we were all reading
the headlines out to each other

336
00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,480
in this sort of disbelief
that this had happened -

337
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,720
how could this happen in Britain?

338
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,400
Because it brought
that whole National Enquirer

339
00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,280
American-style newspaper to Britain.

340
00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,760
And the wizard of outrage
behind the Sunday Sport

341
00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,080
was millionaire soft-porn baron
David Sullivan.

342
00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:15,440
We feel that there is a hole
in the market at the bottom end.

343
00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,960
The sort of market the
News Of The World used to cater for,

344
00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:22,640
but since it's become
a very much all-round family paper,

345
00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,480
it's no longer caters
for that particular slot,

346
00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,400
and that's the hole
we are trying to fill.

347
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:32,360
The Sunday Sport promised readers
a nipple count

348
00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:36,600
because there were so many
bare boobs inside the pages.

349
00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,880
They did really disgusting things
like featuring photographs

350
00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,560
of 15-year-old glamour models

351
00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,800
and counting down until
those girls' 16th birthdays,

352
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,280
which is when they could legally
have photographs printed

353
00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,400
of themselves that were topless.

354
00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:58,040
The Sunday Sport was complete and
utter trash, but people bought it.

355
00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:00,280
A lot of women do say they find...
That's right, they do.

356
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,520
..this kind of paper offensive.
And some don't.

357
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,320
But to those who do,
what would you say,

358
00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,880
as somebody whose face is also
going to appear in this newspaper?

359
00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:08,520
Buy the Guardian.

360
00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,400
With so many tabloid racks
battling it out on the newsstands,

361
00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:13,600
controversy was the name of the game

362
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:15,920
when it came to getting
our attention.

363
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,640
Editors demanded
ever more outrageous headlines

364
00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,680
for their front pages and didn't
always worry about the truth

365
00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:24,120
getting in the way of a juicy story.

366
00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,800
INTERVIEWER: Tell me, what would
the ideal Sunday Sport story be,

367
00:18:28,800 --> 00:18:32,720
then, if you were able to write
your own headline?

368
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,120
Princess Di sunbathing nude
on a public beach.

369
00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:39,520
The Mirror and The Sun
were in a circulation war.

370
00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,760
Each of them wanting
to get THE exclusive,

371
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,680
the most outrageous headline,
the story that would make people

372
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:51,160
look at the front page and go,
"I've got to buy that."

373
00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:53,520
And then along came
the Sunday Sport,

374
00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:57,960
and they kind of took
what had already begun to veer

375
00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:02,200
just slightly into the realms
of believable fantasy.

376
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,400
And they took it, and they moved it
so far out there

377
00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,960
that nobody cared any more.

378
00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:13,840
They found Hitler on the moon
wearing a raincoat and suspenders.

379
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,800
This headline here,
"Charles' Sex Romp Shock,"

380
00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,280
that does not accurately
reflect the story, does it?

381
00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:20,520
It does, yes.

382
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:22,240
You think that's
an accurate reflection

383
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:23,880
of what the story is as a whole?
Yes.

384
00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,840
It's about Prince Charles,
and he's had a shock.

385
00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,120
It was the start
of clickbait headlines.

386
00:19:29,120 --> 00:19:31,680
You know, we didn't call it
clickbait then.

387
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:33,560
It was so ridiculous,

388
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,760
and you knew that the story
couldn't possibly be true.

389
00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:41,160
What?! The Elvis statue on Mars
doesn't exist?

390
00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:44,960
If there was a Pulitzer prize
for fact-free headlines,

391
00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,680
The Sunday and Daily Sport
would have won it weekly.

392
00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,240
And here's a few to enjoy.

393
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:56,160
"Gordon Ramsay Sex Dwarf
Eaten By Badger."

394
00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,440
Who thinks of this stuff?

395
00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,200
"Hide-And-Seek Champ
Found Dead In Cupboard."

396
00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:06,920
I mean...
HE LAUGHS

397
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,000
It's a brilliant headline.
Let's be honest, it's a good gag.

398
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,560
"Locked In Loony Bin
For Sex With Pop Tart."

399
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,080
Oh, my word. Honestly,
only in the Sunday Sport, eh?

400
00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:23,520
"Help! I've Got A Jamie Oliver
Garlic Press Up My Arse."

401
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:26,680
Oh, dear.
They wonder what killed the papers.

402
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,960
But none of the Sunday Sport's
controversial front pages

403
00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,680
can hold a candle
to one outrageous tabloid headline.

404
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,720
On the 13th March, 1986,
The Sun came up with a lead story

405
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,560
so ridiculous,
so head-scratchingly weird,

406
00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,280
it raised eyebrows across the globe.

407
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:55,760
"Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster."

408
00:20:55,760 --> 00:21:00,200
It's just one of those headlines
where you go, "I wanna read that."

409
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,080
That can't be true, can it?

410
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,520
I mean, it can't be.
How did he eat the hamster?

411
00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:06,720
How has he got that
between two slices of bread?

412
00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,400
Was it two slices of bread?
What did it taste like?

413
00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,880
Urban myth or truth?
I don't know.

414
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,640
"Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster"

415
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:20,600
has to be one of the most famous
front-page headlines of all time.

416
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:26,080
So incongruous, so outrageous
and so ridiculous

417
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:29,880
but such was Freddie Starr's
reputation in 1986

418
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:31,760
that, did he do it?

419
00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:33,720
It's quite possible that he did.

420
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:35,680
And she said...
HE SHRIEKS

421
00:21:35,680 --> 00:21:36,720
LAUGHTER

422
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,680
You totally believed it because
you knew Freddie was capable.

423
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:43,840
You know, Ozzy Osbourne
had bitten the head off a bat,

424
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:45,440
why wouldn't Freddie eat a hamster?

425
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,440
Do you find it tiring bombing around
doing these one-night stands?

426
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,040
Erm...

427
00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:53,000
Scouse comedy whirlwind
Freddie Starr started off

428
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,960
on the Northern club circuit...

429
00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:56,600
Do you want one?

430
00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:59,520
..before TV beckoned in the '70s.

431
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,040
Starr by name, star by nature.

432
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:06,040
He was unpredictable, untamed
and often unhinged.

433
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:09,200
Go on, go on.

434
00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:12,720
But by the '80s, his antics
were starting to look tired

435
00:22:12,720 --> 00:22:16,160
as a new wave of comedians
like Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson

436
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,200
were taking the spotlight.

437
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,960
Freddie needed a way to get back
onto the front pages.

438
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:23,400
The story goes like this,

439
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:27,920
Freddie Starr had been performing
in a nightclub in Manchester.

440
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,680
He went to stay at the house
of his friend afterwards,

441
00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:32,000
Vince McCaffrey,

442
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,200
and Vince's girlfriend,
Lea La Salle.

443
00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,480
He demanded
that Lea make him a sandwich

444
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,240
because it was late,
and he was hungry, and she refused.

445
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:43,680
So he then got two slices of bread
himself, got her hamster,

446
00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:48,560
put the hamster between the slices
of bread and ate the hamster.

447
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,680
The RSPCA weren't best pleased,

448
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,280
but the point is
that it had the desired effect,

449
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,320
it made the already famous
Freddie Starr even more famous.

450
00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:02,280
I seem to recall that his tour dates
suddenly got extended,

451
00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,240
and he did very well on it.

452
00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,200
I always think I'm right in saying
that Freddie Starr was vegetarian.

453
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:11,040
It didn't take Hercule Poirot
to work out

454
00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:13,440
that this bizarre story
was fake news.

455
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,760
It later transpired that Freddie's
controversial rodent-munching antics

456
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:19,240
were a work of fiction,

457
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,680
dreamt up by his publicist
to sell some gig tickets.

458
00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:27,360
Freddie Starr ate my hamster!

459
00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:30,440
But it didn't stop
"Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster"

460
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:33,920
from being voted as The Sun's
greatest-ever headline.

461
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:35,680
Now I'm mad.

462
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,720
This is the quintessential
Sun headline.

463
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:41,320
It's what you shout
across the street to a neighbour.

464
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,640
"It's war, petrol's down 20p!

465
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,520
"Freddie Starr ate my hamster!"
"What?!"

466
00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,600
So it's got everything
and the absolute punch line,

467
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,320
there's not a word of truth to it.

468
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:52,560
Coming up...

469
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,000
Well, you've patronised me
for the last time!

470
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,640
..the soaps get serious...

471
00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,440
It was gritty, it was raw.

472
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,160
..with the most
controversial storylines

473
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,960
that rocked our screens in 1986.

474
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,320
It's shocking to look back
at the newspapers of the time

475
00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:11,440
and see headlines
such as "EastBenders".

476
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,440
JAN LEEMING: Welcome back to
the seriously scandalous 12 months

477
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:25,920
that was 1986.

478
00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:29,560
A vintage year for TV,
in which we first set eyes on Bread

479
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,480
and Brush Strokes,

480
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,520
the "will they, won't they"
of Moonlighting

481
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,840
and those olden Golden Girls.

482
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,600
But if you wanted
true ratings busters,

483
00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:41,360
you looked no further than the soaps

484
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,400
which decimated all competition
nightly.

485
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,680
Hello, lover boy.

486
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:48,680
Happy New Year.

487
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,000
Comforting old Corrie
found itself under siege

488
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,600
against grittier storylines
from EastEnders and Brookside.

489
00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:58,280
You, the big man,

490
00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:00,280
standing behind
your fruit and veg...

491
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,480
Well, you've patronised me
for the last time!

492
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,040
ALL SHOUT AT ONCE

493
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,880
The soap battle escalated
in the mid-'80s,

494
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:11,920
the battle
to get those bums on seats,

495
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,920
and it was very much driven
by tackling issues

496
00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:17,120
that hitherto hadn't been tackled.

497
00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:21,120
And that's really
how you got the headlines back then.

498
00:25:21,120 --> 00:25:23,920
I think the one thing
that soaps do really well

499
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,000
is it gets into people's homes

500
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,200
and can talk to them
about stuff that's hard,

501
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,800
that they might not be
talking about elsewhere.

502
00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,360
Brookside hadn't shied away
from hot topics

503
00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:38,800
like suicide and gambling addiction.

504
00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,840
Then, in 1986,
it went further than ever before

505
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,000
with the shocking rape of
one of its most popular characters,

506
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,200
Sheila Grant,
played by Sue Johnston.

507
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:50,600
MAN: Sheila.

508
00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:55,880
SHE WHIMPERS,
SCREAMS

509
00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:58,080
RICHARD ARNOLD: I would've been
about 16 years old...

510
00:25:58,080 --> 00:25:59,800
SHE SCREAMS
SHEILA: No!

511
00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,080
..cos I remember sitting
with my parents and watching it

512
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,320
and thinking, "I've never seen
anything quite like this

513
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:05,440
"in a soap opera."

514
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,400
WATER RUNNING

515
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,320
I can still picture that scene now,

516
00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:24,840
where Sheila Grant is in the shower
washing herself.

517
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:30,440
SHE GASPS, SOBS

518
00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:33,760
It was gritty, it was raw.

519
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:35,840
There was nothing pretty about it.

520
00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:37,720
There was nothing comfortable
about it.

521
00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,880
BOBBY: Sheila?
KNOCK AT DOOR

522
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:43,760
I thought you were going
down The Swan, eh?

523
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,680
You've been to his house.
You haven't been near The Swan.

524
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:49,160
Sue Johnston
is such a great actress,

525
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:50,360
and she made it so real.

526
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,320
What the hell's going on?

527
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,520
For God's sake, what's going on?

528
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:04,520
Then you got a real sense of...
how such a traumatic event

529
00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:07,440
can impact not just the individual,
clearly,

530
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:09,880
but those living with her.

531
00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:11,720
She...

532
00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:15,560
SHE BREATHES
SHAKILY

533
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:16,760
I've been...

534
00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:19,440
Mm...

535
00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:21,360
Man...
What's the matter?

536
00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:23,640
SHE WHIMPERS

537
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,640
R-R-R... Raped.

538
00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,160
For Sue Johnston,
this wasn't just acting.

539
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,080
Shockingly,
she'd first-hand experience

540
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,800
of what her character had undergone.

541
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,600
Sue Johnston said
in her autobiography later

542
00:27:42,600 --> 00:27:45,600
that she herself
had been sexually assaulted in 1970.

543
00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:51,280
Acting that role made her
think about what had happened

544
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:56,240
and also prompted viewers
to consider this crime

545
00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:57,960
and get in touch with her

546
00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,280
and talk about things
that had happened to them.

547
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,640
When they came to put rape
into the storyline,

548
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,680
they knew that
I'd had an experience, if you like,

549
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,880
and therefore asked me
if I would mind covering that issue.

550
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:12,800
People kind of use you
as a sounding board,

551
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:14,320
in fact, an agony aunt, don't they?

552
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:16,200
I think not just to me,
to most people

553
00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:18,400
who are in soap operas,
you get people...

554
00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,360
I think it's almost therapeutic
that they can write to these people.

555
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:23,800
They feel...
They feel that they know them.

556
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:25,800
Mm.
And it's a release.

557
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,240
SIAN WILLIAMS: But it must've been
terrifying at the time,

558
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,800
having gone through something
personally

559
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:35,040
and then having to play something
out to the public

560
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:37,520
and not knowing
how that's going to affect you.

561
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,320
And she did it beautifully

562
00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,320
and, I think, sensitively.

563
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,480
# Twenty-one today, 21... #

564
00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,560
The harrowing ordeal of Sheila Grant

565
00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:56,160
wasn't the only big drama storyline
to cause controversy in 1986.

566
00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,120
Morning.
Morning. Morning.

567
00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:02,280
Having a gay couple on a soap
was strictly taboo,

568
00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:07,040
until EastEnders
boldly broke the mould in 1986.

569
00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:09,920
Didn't drink that much, did I?
No, only about 23 pints.

570
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,800
Gary Hailes was cast
as one half of that couple,

571
00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:16,320
and at first, he thought he was
walking into just another job.

572
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,760
I've never seen you there before.

573
00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:21,400
They gave me a script,
explained what it was,

574
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,240
told me that I was sworn to secrecy,

575
00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:26,280
and then they started to get
into a more serious conversation

576
00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:28,520
about, erm...

577
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:30,720
what the role entailed,

578
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,160
that it would be
quite a controversial role,

579
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,000
and if I were to be offered it,

580
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,080
would I be prepared to accept
what may come as a result?

581
00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,360
I'm an actor, I'm just like,
"Yeah, just give me the job."

582
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,640
BIKE BRAKES SQUEAL

583
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:47,160
Are you all right?
Yeah, fine, thanks.

584
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,360
See, I have that effect on people.

585
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,280
I told you it all tensed up,
didn't I?

586
00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:53,880
Yeah, yeah. Er... See you. Ta-ra.

587
00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:55,320
A bit out of your league, in't he?

588
00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,280
I'd have said the opposite.

589
00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:59,000
It wasn't something
that I considered

590
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,280
to be as controversial
as it clearly was.

591
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,960
Remember,
up until this point on TV...

592
00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:07,480
I don't know what to say.

593
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:12,240
..gay people and their relationships
were often marginalised and mocked.

594
00:30:12,240 --> 00:30:13,640
Previously on television,

595
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,640
gay characters
were always stereotypical.

596
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,040
My horoscope said
I was going to get a new position.

597
00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:21,240
LAUGHTER

598
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,080
But I interpreted it
quite differently.

599
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:25,280
LAUGHTER
Are You Being Served?

600
00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,280
Mr Humphries, "Ooh!"
You know, all that.

601
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:29,680
Oh! Stop it, I can't stand it
any longer!

602
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,880
And they were seen as
kind of almost joke characters,

603
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,920
but Colin and Barry
were just regular guys.

604
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:37,400
They were normal people

605
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,560
that you would meet in the pub
or work with.

606
00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:42,560
It was real.

607
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:46,880
You know, this "yuppy",
such was the buzzword at the time,

608
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,360
and this young market stall
"ragabond" kind of guy

609
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:51,880
getting together.

610
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,080
It just actually
really did make sense

611
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,320
that the opposites attract,
and they complemented each other.

612
00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:00,360
We supposed to be partners,
aren't we?

613
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:02,160
It's a good job
we weren't up the Hippodrome

614
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:03,800
when they have
them naff gay weddings.

615
00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:05,480
You'd have had us
being bride and groom.

616
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,360
I'll ignore that remark.

617
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:11,600
To have two gay characters
in a soap back then,

618
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:14,200
just living their lives
like any other character,

619
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,600
going through the motions
with their own soap storyline,

620
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,320
I think was a key part
in breaking down stigma.

621
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,240
What are you doing?
I'm doing my hair.

622
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,200
I always do my hair in the mornings,
you know that.

623
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:24,600
But why are you doing it in here?

624
00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:26,840
Particularly at a time,
and I think we have to remember,

625
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:31,720
that LGBTQ+ people were experiencing
a load of discrimination.

626
00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,480
Sadly, it didn't take long
for Gary to realise

627
00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:39,520
just why the EastEnders producers
had warned him of the repercussions

628
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,720
that might come
with taking this role.

629
00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,800
Every morning
before I went off to film,

630
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:46,560
I'd get into
my little blue Ford Escort,

631
00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,080
or whatever it was,
and there were builders opposite,

632
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:50,920
and I would just say,
"Good morning."

633
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:55,000
And the day after it came out,
I came out in the morning,

634
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:58,200
and the very same builders that
I'd been saying "good morning" to

635
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,560
every day for the last six weeks
and just, you know, chatting to,

636
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,800
suddenly hurled abuse
across the road

637
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:06,360
from their scaffolding.

638
00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:08,520
I was just a bit shocked
and a bit like,

639
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,720
"Oh, this is what they meant."

640
00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:11,840
HE CHUCKLES
"Now I get it."

641
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:15,800
As Colin and Barry's relationship
became more serious...

642
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,720
I bought you a present. Like it?
Hate it. Take it out again.

643
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:22,360
..including soap's first, albeit
remarkably chaste, gay kiss...

644
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:25,600
Promise me you'll take the day off,
and I'll ring you lunchtime, OK?

645
00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,120
..it wasn't just builders
stoking the homophobia.

646
00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:32,440
And it's shocking, I think,

647
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:34,360
to look back
at the newspapers of the time

648
00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,520
and see headlines
such as "EastBenders"

649
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:41,320
and highlighting how shocking it is
to feature two characters

650
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,600
kissing prior to the watershed.

651
00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:49,600
Dot, the icon of the square,
played by the wonderful June Brown,

652
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:52,920
was very much
against Barry and Colin.

653
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,720
But are you trying to tell me
that you and Colin are...

654
00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:58,240
homosexuals?

655
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,520
Sure. Didn't you know?
No!

656
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,960
I certainly did not. I mean...
I thought you was just friends.

657
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,160
You know, flatmates.
Yeah, well, we are.

658
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:09,600
Yes, but...
I mean, forgive me if I'm wrong,

659
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,600
but you're telling me
that you and Colin are involved...

660
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,160
You know... Right?

661
00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,160
She was very much voicing
what a lot of people at home

662
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:20,840
may well have been thinking.

663
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:22,840
Oh, my goodness.

664
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:24,680
I drank a cup of coffee
out of your flask.

665
00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:26,160
Oh, Dot, don't be so ridiculous.

666
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:28,040
It's me you're talking to.
Barry, right? No...

667
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,960
It would have been a risk
for EastEnders at the time

668
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:34,640
because you risk exposing Dot
as a bigot,

669
00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,880
and she's this beloved character
in the Square.

670
00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:40,680
But good Christian Dot
finally saw the light

671
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,720
and eventually formed
a touching friendship with Colin.

672
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:46,400
That's very thoughtful of you.
Oh, it's just a little something.

673
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:48,800
A token, you know, for the season.

674
00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:52,160
Colin and Barry's relationship
lasted just one year...

675
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:53,640
This isn't gonna work, is it?
What?

676
00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:55,600
This relationship,
it just isn't gonna work.

677
00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:57,480
I mean, we're too different.
You know that.

678
00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:00,000
But the legacy of that relationship
was a landmark

679
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,520
in representing the LGBTQ+ community

680
00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:06,120
in front of millions of viewers.

681
00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:08,000
Despite the controversy,

682
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,200
there was so much more positive
than there ever was negative.

683
00:34:12,240 --> 00:34:14,520
I get letters from people
where they'd say, you know,

684
00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:17,320
"watching Colin and Barry
gave me the courage to come out

685
00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:20,840
"and gave me the courage
to, you know, be who I am,"

686
00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,880
and that's...
that's pretty powerful stuff.

687
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:26,840
When June Brown passed away in 2022,

688
00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:31,400
EastEnders gave her a moving tribute
as Dot was laid to rest.

689
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:35,800
And among those celebrating her life
were two once-controversial faces

690
00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:39,040
now welcomed back as old friends.

691
00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,280
Thirty years ago,
I was his little chicken.

692
00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:42,760
Now we're just two old queens.

693
00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:44,680
Oh, stop...
Speak for yourself!

694
00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:49,840
I remember when Dot used to call me
"one of them homosexuals".

695
00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:51,680
I went back to EastEnders,

696
00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:53,680
and Colin and Barry
finally got the kiss

697
00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:55,560
that they were never allowed
to have in the '80s.

698
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,240
And there was no outrage,
there was no problem.

699
00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:05,320
In fact, quite the reverse.
There was a lot of support.

700
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:08,040
It's phenomenal to see that
there has been that much change.

701
00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,800
This place doesn't change much,
does it?

702
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,680
I don't know about that.

703
00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:14,200
It's not perfect,

704
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:17,080
but it does feel good
that we were part of

705
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:19,600
making that change
in our own little way.

706
00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:22,840
And I'm waiting for the spin-off,
you know,

707
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,080
Colin And Barry In Marbella
or something,

708
00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,480
I'm sure there's a series there,
if you're watching.

709
00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:33,520
Stay tuned for more moments of
gobsmacking controversy from 1986,

710
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:37,920
when we were bowled over
by Ian Botham's drugs confession...

711
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:41,040
Tabloids unleashed
their full frenzy,

712
00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,800
and Botham became
public enemy number one.

713
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,080
..and Maradona got very handy
at the World Cup.

714
00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,840
When Diego Maradona was asked
about the goal, he said,

715
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,360
"A little bit the head of Diego,
a little bit the hand of God."

716
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:57,760
Are you suggesting
that God advocates cheating?

717
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:02,400
LAUGHTER

718
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,880
APPLAUSE,
LAUGHTER

719
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:08,720
JAN LEEMING: Chat-show hosts
were kings of telly in the '80s.

720
00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:10,480
From Parky...

721
00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:13,440
HE MIMICS AEROPLANE,
LAUGHTER

722
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:15,040
..and Harty...

723
00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,240
She said, you know, "Do you
believe in sex before marriage?"

724
00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:20,800
And I said,
"Not if it delays the ceremony."

725
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:23,240
..to chat-master himself
Terry Wogan.

726
00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,080
If you're moral, you can't sleep
with a man without being married,

727
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,280
so I marry them, I sleep with them,
and when I've had enough, I leave.

728
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:30,840
LAUGHTER

729
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,400
Then there was the long-running
Des O'Connor Tonight.

730
00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:37,320
Thank you very much. Ha-ha-ha!
LAUGHTER

731
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:38,760
The clues were in the title.

732
00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:42,280
It was on at night
and hosted by Des O'Connor.

733
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,320
I went on one of those
pound-stretcher holidays.

734
00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:46,760
You can go to anywhere in the world
on a stretcher for a pound.

735
00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:48,160
LAUGHTER

736
00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:50,840
Des O'Connor
was a consummate professional

737
00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,360
at those sort of chat-show formats.

738
00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:54,560
He was brilliant.

739
00:36:54,560 --> 00:36:57,840
And how is mother-in-law
at the moment?

740
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,720
Well, she came to live with us
three months ago.

741
00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:02,880
As soon as I heard the knock
on the front door,

742
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:04,240
I knew it was her...

743
00:37:04,240 --> 00:37:06,400
cos the mice were throwing
themselves on the traps.

744
00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:07,640
LAUGHTER

745
00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,480
We had big international stars on,
British and American.

746
00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:14,080
Unusually, even at that time,
it was done live.

747
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:19,400
By 1986, Des had jumped ship
from the BBC to ITV,

748
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:24,320
where he was about to be reminded of
the perils of live broadcasting.

749
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,120
Here's the source
of the O'Connor controversy -

750
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:32,840
Liverpool comic Stan Boardman,
with his World War II fixation.

751
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,280
It was his use of
a German military term

752
00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,080
that turned into a bombshell
for poor Des.

753
00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:41,560
Stan Boardman
is a fascinating comedian

754
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:45,160
because his brother was actually
killed by a German bomb in the war.

755
00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:49,400
So when he talked about
the Germans "bombing my chippy",

756
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:53,880
which became his great, big
standing joke for many years,

757
00:37:53,880 --> 00:37:55,640
he knew exactly what it meant.

758
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:58,040
Everyone's asked me about
the Germans cos they say,

759
00:37:58,040 --> 00:37:59,760
"Well, did they bomb
your chip shops?"

760
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:02,000
I said "Yeah, but they bombed
everybody's chip shops."

761
00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,720
I mean, they bombed...

762
00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:06,800
In Poland, I mean,
they bombed Polish chip shops.

763
00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:08,240
But they haven't...
WOMAN LAUGHS

764
00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:09,920
All right? Is she Polish?

765
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:11,680
LAUGHTER

766
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:13,000
When it starts,

767
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,680
he tries to do a gag about bombing
Polish chip shops or something,

768
00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:17,480
and it doesn't work.

769
00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:19,400
There's tumbleweed
blowing across the stage,

770
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:21,600
so he probably thinks,
"I'm gonna have to up the ante."

771
00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,040
"I am in the Spitfire,
and all of a sudden,

772
00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:26,000
"I see in front of me two Fockes."

773
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,160
LAUGHTER

774
00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:31,080
He decides to tell this collision

775
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:35,040
of the German name
for an aircraft being a Focke

776
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:38,120
and the well-known
English expletive.

777
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:40,160
"I thinks to myself,

778
00:38:40,160 --> 00:38:43,400
" 'I must shoot
one of the Fockes down.' "

779
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:46,120
Des doesn't quite know what to do.

780
00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,400
The more he makes it obvious
that he understands the joke,

781
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:49,480
the worse it is.

782
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:52,640
"And the other Focke..."
LAUGHTER

783
00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,040
"..went into the cloud,
so I followed him.

784
00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:56,720
"And I lose the Focke."

785
00:38:56,720 --> 00:38:59,440
Des knows he's a goner.

786
00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:01,240
There is no point in stopping it.

787
00:39:01,240 --> 00:39:04,880
The train has left the station,
and it's hurtling down the track.

788
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,680
By now, Des O'Connor
has got his head in his hands,

789
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:09,120
he doesn't know where to go.

790
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:11,760
"I look behind me,
the Focke is behind me."

791
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:14,520
LAUGHTER

792
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:16,840
And I think by now,
we're at the eighth or ninth

793
00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:20,360
or tenth incantation
of the word "Fockes".

794
00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:23,200
He ultimately gets
to the punch line.

795
00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:25,240
Eamonn Andrews said,
"Hang on, Charlie Polanski,

796
00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:27,400
"you've got to explain
to the viewers that, you know,

797
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:28,800
"during the war,

798
00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:32,640
"the German fighter plane
was a German Focke-Wulf.

799
00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:34,160
He said, "That is correct, Eamonn,

800
00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:36,000
"but these fuckers
were Messerschmitts!"

801
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,720
LAUGHTER

802
00:39:38,720 --> 00:39:40,640
It's a golden moment of TV.

803
00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:45,760
If Des O'Connor was having
a difficult time in 1986,

804
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:47,560
it was nothing compared to

805
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:51,200
the sticky wicket endured
by one British sporting legend.

806
00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,560
Three?

807
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:56,440
Ian Botham was a cricketer
of such prodigious strength,

808
00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,480
he could even eat
three Shredded Wheat,

809
00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,520
as shown in this memorable
commercial from the time.

810
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:04,520
MAN: Who can eat more than two?

811
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:08,400
But in 1986,
we learned the England all-rounder

812
00:40:08,400 --> 00:40:10,920
had been dabbling
in something stronger.

813
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,120
I think what was really interesting
about Ian Botham

814
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,400
was that he wasn't
the kind of classic cricketer.

815
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:20,440
He was a bit more of a lad.

816
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,840
Ian "Beefy" Botham
taking on the establishment.

817
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:26,720
That splendid mullet
and the short moustache

818
00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:28,440
that made him the legend he was.

819
00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:31,520
PRESENTER: And he's won
so many awards and set many records,

820
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,240
it simpler just to say

821
00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:36,160
he's the greatest all-rounder
this country's ever produced.

822
00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:40,240
In 1985,
Botham took his mullet and moustache

823
00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:45,360
on an epic 874-mile walk
from John O'Groats to Land's End,

824
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:49,760
raising over £1 million
for leukaemia and lymphoma research.

825
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:51,520
He could do no wrong.

826
00:40:51,520 --> 00:40:54,040
INTERVIEWER: Ian, 23 miles to go,
do you think you'll make it?

827
00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:55,800
Yes, I'll make it, Mark,
no problems.

828
00:40:55,800 --> 00:41:01,040
He was almost untouchable,
until he had the temerity

829
00:41:01,040 --> 00:41:02,960
to smoke some marijuana.

830
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:06,720
Ian Botham's admission
that he smoked marijuana

831
00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:09,600
has got him dropped
from the England cricket squad,

832
00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:11,840
and it could have finished
his Test career for good.

833
00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:16,560
Yes, it transpired
the hallowed turf at Lord's

834
00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:19,800
wasn't the only grass Beefy Botham
had become familiar with.

835
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:23,120
In May '86,
he admitted to smoking marijuana

836
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:25,520
in an interview
with a Sunday newspaper.

837
00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,880
I haven't smoked a joint
since my early 20s.

838
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:30,480
It's a long time ago,

839
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:32,720
so I don't know
what the big fuss is all about.

840
00:41:32,720 --> 00:41:36,400
This is 1986,
where it was still seen as this,

841
00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:38,680
"Oh, wow," you know.

842
00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:43,000
"He's smoking drugs,
and he's Ian Botham?

843
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:44,800
"Oh, my God!

844
00:41:44,800 --> 00:41:47,000
"He's out of control,
he's had some weed."

845
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:52,360
The tabloids, in their fabulous way,
unleashed their full frenzy,

846
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:55,160
and Botham became
public enemy number one.

847
00:41:57,040 --> 00:41:59,760
Even as a 12-year-old,
I remember thinking,

848
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:02,640
"OK, he smoked cannabis,
but it's not that bad, is it?"

849
00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:06,960
But the England and Wales
Cricket Board thought it was.

850
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:08,640
They took a much dimmer view

851
00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:11,160
and decided,
in their infinite wisdom,

852
00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:14,280
that they would ban England's
greatest player of the time

853
00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:16,040
for, I think, 63 days.

854
00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:18,560
It was quite a long ban.

855
00:42:18,560 --> 00:42:22,000
He smoked a funny cigarette.

856
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,520
I accept, you know,
that he shouldn't boast about it,

857
00:42:25,520 --> 00:42:29,200
but to deny a person his livelihood,

858
00:42:29,200 --> 00:42:33,240
I think, is unduly punitive.

859
00:42:34,720 --> 00:42:36,880
Well, everybody was smoking weed
in 1986.

860
00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:38,400
Typically for him,

861
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:41,400
Botham didn't shy away
from the media spotlight,

862
00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:43,120
but wherever he went,

863
00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:45,720
the questions over his drug use
wouldn't go away.

864
00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:47,760
Where do we stand on drugs?

865
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:50,360
I mean,
what is the definitive situation?

866
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:53,880
Have you used them recently?
Was it years ago?

867
00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:57,760
As I said at the time,
it's all in my past, it's history.

868
00:42:57,760 --> 00:42:59,960
You've had nothing to do with it
for, what, years?

869
00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:01,920
Oh, long enough now.

870
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:04,120
See, the time element
is confusing me.

871
00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:07,400
He is trying hard, isn't he?
LAUGHTER

872
00:43:07,400 --> 00:43:10,560
Beefy took refuge
on a kids' current affairs show,

873
00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:13,320
where surely the questioning
would be less combative.

874
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:16,760
Wrong!

875
00:43:16,760 --> 00:43:18,960
Why do you think that,
as a cricketer,

876
00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:22,240
you've become wider known
for your antics off the field

877
00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:24,360
rather than for your performance
on the field?

878
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:27,520
Thanks to the British media.

879
00:43:27,520 --> 00:43:29,920
Why, when you complained so much
about publicity,

880
00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:32,280
do you go out of your way
to attract attention to yourself?

881
00:43:32,280 --> 00:43:33,960
Is it for financial gain?

882
00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:36,760
Attract attention to myself?
What, you mean, be good at my sport?

883
00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:38,960
Open To Question
was a fascinating show

884
00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,720
where you'd put a celebrity in front
of an audience of teenagers,

885
00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:44,560
and they pulled no punches.

886
00:43:44,560 --> 00:43:46,800
Don't you think
it's a very sexist remark

887
00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:49,880
to say that changing nappies
is women's work?

888
00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:51,400
No. I think it is.

889
00:43:51,400 --> 00:43:53,960
You know, if you want to send me
the nappies through the post,

890
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:55,600
I'll wash them and send them back.

891
00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:57,920
Wow, they did get stuck into him,
didn't they?

892
00:43:57,920 --> 00:43:59,840
As someone who is
always in the public eye,

893
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:02,040
promoting health, fitness and sport,

894
00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:04,360
why did you turn to drugs
that destroy health?

895
00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,080
I'm not saying it's right or wrong,

896
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:08,680
all I'm saying to you is
it's something happened in my life.

897
00:44:08,680 --> 00:44:11,280
HE LAUGHS
Oh, my Lord. Poor bloke.

898
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:12,920
How long did you take marijuana for?

899
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:15,400
I dabbled in it a few times.

900
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:17,840
Well, how long?
Over 12 years, whatever?

901
00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:19,640
IAN LAUGHS

902
00:44:19,640 --> 00:44:21,840
No, I said dabbled in it
over a few times.

903
00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:24,080
I don't know,
I'm sorry I didn't log it.

904
00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:26,280
I'm sure he didn't realise
that was gonna happen,

905
00:44:26,280 --> 00:44:27,840
but he handled it pretty well,
I thought.

906
00:44:29,720 --> 00:44:33,120
Having played a straight bat
to those tricky deliveries,

907
00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:37,040
it wasn't long before Beefy
was back in his cricket whites

908
00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:39,800
and ready to do what he did best.

909
00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:43,840
So, the first Test when he comes
back into the England side,

910
00:44:43,840 --> 00:44:46,120
he comes on to bowl,
and he comes running in,

911
00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:48,080
he's got the entire crowd
doing "ooh", like this.

912
00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:49,240
First ball, wicket.

913
00:44:49,240 --> 00:44:51,280
And he turns round
to the Members' stand like that.

914
00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:53,520
I thought, if he could've done that,
he would've done.

915
00:44:53,520 --> 00:44:57,560
With his reputation
as a sporting superstar restored,

916
00:44:57,560 --> 00:44:59,800
Botham then announced
his next mission

917
00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:02,960
was to trek across the Alps
with a herd of elephants.

918
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:08,360
On reflection, maybe not
the best way to reassure people

919
00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:10,080
you're off the wacky baccy.

920
00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:12,640
And after a successful career
in the media,

921
00:45:12,640 --> 00:45:15,680
this once-rebellious outsider
was made a life peer

922
00:45:15,680 --> 00:45:18,240
in the 2020 Honours List.

923
00:45:18,240 --> 00:45:20,920
This is a man who is now
in the House of Lords.

924
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:25,480
So somebody who was so outside
of the establishment back then

925
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:29,120
is now essentially
right there in the heart of it,

926
00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:32,760
which just does show you how much
our society has changed over time.

927
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:38,320
But while Ian Botham
looked set to play the role

928
00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:41,840
of sporting pantomime villain
in 1986,

929
00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:45,320
even he couldn't match the national
outrage caused that summer

930
00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:48,960
by this diminutive
and divisive Argentinian footballer.

931
00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:51,520
This was World Cup year,

932
00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:55,120
and Bobby Robson's England team
jetted off to Mexico

933
00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:58,680
with high hopes of emulating
the heroics of 1966.

934
00:46:00,320 --> 00:46:03,360
Thanks to the goal-scoring prowess
of Gary Lineker,

935
00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:06,200
the Three Lions made it through
to the quarter-finals,

936
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:08,480
where they would face
a familiar foe.

937
00:46:08,480 --> 00:46:11,920
England had started the tournament
as outsiders

938
00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:15,320
but grown into it
and gotten better and better.

939
00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:19,200
The win over Paraguay means
England play Argentina on Sunday.

940
00:46:19,200 --> 00:46:22,320
And here they were against Argentina
who, for many people,

941
00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:25,080
were the favourites
because they had Maradona,

942
00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:28,680
who at this time, was
the greatest player in the world.

943
00:46:28,680 --> 00:46:31,160
Maradona was completely
rock 'n' roll.

944
00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:35,160
You know, he was just a kid
from a barrio in Argentina

945
00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:37,920
who ended up being the greatest
footballer of his generation.

946
00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:41,120
Total genius, doing things that
people didn't think were possible,

947
00:46:41,120 --> 00:46:43,360
making it look really, really easy.

948
00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:46,840
Maradona
and his Argentinian teammates

949
00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:49,720
had extra motivation
to beat England.

950
00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:54,240
The game between England
and Argentina

951
00:46:54,240 --> 00:46:56,760
had quite a serious background
to it.

952
00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:02,960
It wasn't that many years after
there had been armed conflict

953
00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:04,960
between the British Army
and Argentina

954
00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:06,840
over the Falklands,
as we call them,

955
00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:09,160
the Malvinas,
as they're called in Argentina.

956
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:10,840
A territorial dispute.

957
00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,880
REPORTER: In five days,
three British warships were lost.

958
00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:17,800
And now they're lining up
on a football pitch.

959
00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:21,000
REPORTER 2: Police and army are to
visibly step up security measures

960
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,920
for the England versus Argentina
match.

961
00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:26,840
So, imagine being the referee
or a linesman.

962
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:30,800
You wanna make sure you get
every decision right.

963
00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:34,440
And they did... apart from one.

964
00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:38,520
In the first half,
it was nip and tuck.

965
00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:40,440
It was neck and neck.

966
00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:42,080
It comes to the second half,

967
00:47:42,080 --> 00:47:45,040
the ball ricochets up
in the England area.

968
00:47:45,040 --> 00:47:47,080
Peter Shilton goes up
to punch it away,

969
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:52,120
and Maradona, who is eight inches
shorter than Peter Shilton,

970
00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:54,480
somehow rises above him

971
00:47:54,480 --> 00:47:57,320
and heads the ball
into the goal

972
00:47:57,320 --> 00:48:00,400
as far as the referee
and the linesmen were concerned.

973
00:48:00,400 --> 00:48:06,280
Everybody else saw that his hand
was at least a foot above his head,

974
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:09,880
and he'd slam-dunked it
into the net basketball style.

975
00:48:13,720 --> 00:48:15,080
I think he's such a good actor.

976
00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:17,760
You know, he was like, "No, no,
it's all fine. It's all good."

977
00:48:17,760 --> 00:48:20,440
Referee allows it,
the goal is accepted.

978
00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:23,360
Maradona, he cheated, didn't he?
It's football for you.

979
00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:26,320
When you're viewing it through
today's prism, you're thinking,

980
00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:28,120
"Well, straightaway,
that would go to VAR."

981
00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:29,360
There was no VAR.

982
00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:32,560
The replays we saw in our lounge
just made us madder and madder.

983
00:48:32,560 --> 00:48:34,480
And you think,
"How have they missed that?"

984
00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:36,720
Such a blatant handball.

985
00:48:36,720 --> 00:48:39,160
Maradona could use his feet
when he wanted,

986
00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:41,960
and four minutes later
scored what many considered

987
00:48:41,960 --> 00:48:44,440
the greatest goal ever.

988
00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:46,200
A few days ago,
Argentines were saying,

989
00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:48,960
"How can you win a cup
with just one player?"

990
00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:52,480
Now they're saying,
"With Maradona, we can go anywhere."

991
00:48:52,480 --> 00:48:56,360
CHANTING:
England, go home. England, go home.

992
00:48:59,080 --> 00:49:02,240
And so England did go home,

993
00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:06,920
returning to a country seething with
injustice at Maradona's handiwork.

994
00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:10,680
There's still bitterness
over the 2-1 defeat by Argentina.

995
00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:13,560
Diego Maradona,
who scored both Argentine goals,

996
00:49:13,560 --> 00:49:16,880
has admitted his first
came after he handled the ball.

997
00:49:16,880 --> 00:49:21,120
The media in Britain
was absolutely apoplectic,

998
00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:23,760
outraged, incensed.

999
00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:26,960
And it was called "the hand of God"
because afterwards,

1000
00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:30,480
when Diego Maradona
was asked about the goal, he said,

1001
00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:34,120
"A little bit the head of Diego,
a little bit the hand of God."

1002
00:49:35,280 --> 00:49:37,480
Are you suggesting
that God advocates cheating?

1003
00:49:37,480 --> 00:49:40,040
Is that what you're suggesting -
that God's put it in the net for you

1004
00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:42,760
over Shilton's head with your hand
because he wanted you to win?

1005
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:45,080
If that's the path you're
going down, good luck with that.

1006
00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:48,880
Would you have owned up if you'd...
against Argentina?

1007
00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:50,200
If you'd put the hand in and...

1008
00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:52,680
Would you, as a true British
sportsman, have owned up to that?

1009
00:49:52,680 --> 00:49:54,440
No.
LAUGHTER

1010
00:49:54,440 --> 00:49:56,200
I think one of the things
about it is

1011
00:49:56,200 --> 00:49:58,760
it held up two different
world views.

1012
00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:01,240
There was that very supposedly
English notion

1013
00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:02,600
of, you know, fair play.

1014
00:50:05,120 --> 00:50:07,920
And then there was the much more
South American idea

1015
00:50:07,920 --> 00:50:09,880
of the kind of... the street hero,

1016
00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:12,840
the man who can get away with it,
the artful dodger.

1017
00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:15,120
I mean,
and that's what he was, basically.

1018
00:50:15,120 --> 00:50:16,840
He picked a pocket or two.

1019
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:20,960
Coming up...
You want more celebrity scandal?

1020
00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:24,440
You're welcome. The King of Pop
gets a new nickname...

1021
00:50:24,440 --> 00:50:29,080
People made up their mind.
He was Wacko Jacko, and it stuck.

1022
00:50:29,080 --> 00:50:32,080
..Madonna causes a commotion -
for a change...

1023
00:50:32,080 --> 00:50:35,720
She's always been opinionated,
she's always been outspoken.

1024
00:50:35,720 --> 00:50:37,640
She doesn't care about her critics.

1025
00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:42,400
...and in cinema, well,
where do you even start with this?

1026
00:50:42,400 --> 00:50:45,480
There is something really odd
about seeing Thomas Howell

1027
00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:48,080
in blackface and a wig.

1028
00:50:54,520 --> 00:50:56,200
JAN LEEMING: It's 1986,

1029
00:50:56,200 --> 00:50:58,680
a year Britain got out
the Union Jack bunting

1030
00:50:58,680 --> 00:51:01,760
and party poppers
to celebrate a royal wedding.

1031
00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:04,560
REPORTER: The day
the girl they called Fergie rode

1032
00:51:04,560 --> 00:51:07,240
in a fairy-tale coach
wearing a fairy-tale dress

1033
00:51:07,240 --> 00:51:09,640
to marry her prince.

1034
00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:13,400
Yes, Prince Andrew's days
of playing the field were over,

1035
00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:16,200
and he went on to live
a blameless life,

1036
00:51:16,200 --> 00:51:19,440
untainted by even the slightest
whiff of impropriety (!)

1037
00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:23,080
While the Windsors
played happy families in 1986,

1038
00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:26,200
it was left to pop royalty
to cause all the controversy.

1039
00:51:26,200 --> 00:51:29,480
And one newspaper headline
was to change our perception

1040
00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:32,080
of a global icon forever.

1041
00:51:32,080 --> 00:51:34,920
1986 was a very sort of key year

1042
00:51:34,920 --> 00:51:37,120
in Britain's relationship
with Michael Jackson.

1043
00:51:37,120 --> 00:51:40,080
CROWD CHANTING:
We want Michael! We want Michael!

1044
00:51:40,080 --> 00:51:41,720
CROWD SCREAMS

1045
00:51:43,400 --> 00:51:47,720
He'd been this incredible,
untouchable pop star

1046
00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:49,320
who was a bit eccentric.

1047
00:51:49,320 --> 00:51:50,680
He had Bubbles the chimp.

1048
00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:54,120
Well, you know, all pop stars
have a chimp, don't they?

1049
00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:57,880
But then we saw him
in his oxygen chamber

1050
00:51:57,880 --> 00:52:02,720
on the front of The Sun
and the headline "Wacko Jacko".

1051
00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:05,760
And in a way, that can be seen
as a sort of tipping point

1052
00:52:05,760 --> 00:52:08,440
in the public perception of him,
certainly in this country.

1053
00:52:08,440 --> 00:52:10,720
LAUGHTER

1054
00:52:10,720 --> 00:52:12,640
If it's good enough
for Michael Jackson,

1055
00:52:12,640 --> 00:52:14,920
it's good enough for me.

1056
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:19,600
People made up their mind.
At that point, he was Wacko Jacko,

1057
00:52:19,600 --> 00:52:22,280
and it stuck.

1058
00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:26,720
It was the moment
MJ went from the King of Pop

1059
00:52:26,720 --> 00:52:29,520
to the king of doing
really weird stuff.

1060
00:52:29,520 --> 00:52:33,240
But was there more
to the infamous oxygen chamber story

1061
00:52:33,240 --> 00:52:34,640
than we thought?

1062
00:52:34,640 --> 00:52:36,000
I actually knew Michael a bit,

1063
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:38,520
I spent three months with him
writing a book.

1064
00:52:38,520 --> 00:52:42,080
And he said what happened was
he went to open a new wing

1065
00:52:42,080 --> 00:52:44,760
of the Los Angeles
Children's Hospital,

1066
00:52:44,760 --> 00:52:48,600
and they had a hyperbaric
oxygen chamber thing.

1067
00:52:48,600 --> 00:52:51,480
The PR people said,
"Would you mind going in there

1068
00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:54,520
"and having the media
photograph you in the chamber?"

1069
00:52:54,520 --> 00:52:56,720
He said,
"Yeah, sure, I'll happily do that."

1070
00:52:56,720 --> 00:52:59,160
And so the picture came out,
and somebody wrote this headline

1071
00:52:59,160 --> 00:53:02,520
"Wacko Jacko",
which really hurt him,

1072
00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:04,680
cos he thought
he was just doing a kind thing

1073
00:53:04,680 --> 00:53:06,240
for the LA Children's Hospital.

1074
00:53:06,240 --> 00:53:10,680
But in the mid-'80s, there were
so many headlines about Jacko,

1075
00:53:10,680 --> 00:53:13,360
it was hard to separate fact
from fiction.

1076
00:53:13,360 --> 00:53:16,000
I think at one point,
he was trying to buy the bones

1077
00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:18,200
of John Merrick, The Elephant Man.

1078
00:53:18,200 --> 00:53:22,080
And he built for himself
a roller-coaster and a zoo

1079
00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:23,520
at his Neverland Ranch.

1080
00:53:23,520 --> 00:53:27,760
Neverland obviously named after
JM Barrie's Peter Pan,

1081
00:53:27,760 --> 00:53:30,360
this phenomenon
about never growing up.

1082
00:53:30,360 --> 00:53:32,800
It's what you do when you're rich,
and you're in Hollywood,

1083
00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:35,200
and you've got too much time
and too much money.

1084
00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:37,440
It became more about the headlines,

1085
00:53:37,440 --> 00:53:39,600
with Michael Jackson,
than the music.

1086
00:53:39,600 --> 00:53:41,360
It was like a volcano erupting.

1087
00:53:41,360 --> 00:53:43,200
So you were not even thinking about

1088
00:53:43,200 --> 00:53:45,760
the Michael Jackson music
that you used to love,

1089
00:53:45,760 --> 00:53:47,880
you were thinking about,
"Did he, didn't he?"

1090
00:53:50,880 --> 00:53:52,920
It may come as little surprise

1091
00:53:52,920 --> 00:53:56,640
that the King of Pop's main rival
for column inches in 1986

1092
00:53:56,640 --> 00:53:58,240
was the Queen of Pop.

1093
00:53:58,240 --> 00:54:00,160
After a string of top-ten hits,

1094
00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:02,360
she's become the darling
of the teenyboppers

1095
00:54:02,360 --> 00:54:05,160
and inspired a generation
to copy her distinctive style.

1096
00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:09,680
1986 was supposed to be
Madge's biggest year yet,

1097
00:54:09,680 --> 00:54:13,720
with a new movie, third album
and a big-star Hollywood husband.

1098
00:54:13,720 --> 00:54:16,080
Nothing could possibly go wrong.

1099
00:54:16,080 --> 00:54:19,400
Oh, wait. This is Madonna, remember?

1100
00:54:19,400 --> 00:54:23,640
Madonna has been the queen
of controversy her whole career,

1101
00:54:23,640 --> 00:54:28,440
has been interwoven
with controversial images,

1102
00:54:28,440 --> 00:54:33,120
controversial performances,
controversial decisions.

1103
00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:35,320
REPORTER:
What does your mum think of Madonna?

1104
00:54:35,320 --> 00:54:37,680
Erm, not much.

1105
00:54:37,680 --> 00:54:42,160
Well, most parents don't, really.
They think she's... bad.

1106
00:54:42,160 --> 00:54:45,760
She's always been opinionated,
she's always been outspoken.

1107
00:54:45,760 --> 00:54:47,520
She doesn't care about her critics.

1108
00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:49,360
Which was just as well,

1109
00:54:49,360 --> 00:54:52,400
because those critics
were about to have a field day

1110
00:54:52,400 --> 00:54:56,240
when she teamed up with hubby
Sean Penn for a new movie.

1111
00:54:56,240 --> 00:54:58,440
So, there's this
pneumatic superstar, Madonna.

1112
00:54:58,440 --> 00:55:00,760
Long, blonde hair,
great pair of lungs.

1113
00:55:00,760 --> 00:55:03,240
And she's just got herself
a new consort, Sean Penn.

1114
00:55:03,240 --> 00:55:05,640
Tell you what, fellas,
let's put them in a movie together.

1115
00:55:05,640 --> 00:55:08,000
A caper movie, a romp,
have a bit of fun. Isn't that great?

1116
00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:09,400
Well, no, it's not great.

1117
00:55:11,400 --> 00:55:13,600
While making Shanghai Surprise,

1118
00:55:13,600 --> 00:55:16,720
the couple the press had nicknamed
"the Poison Penns"

1119
00:55:16,720 --> 00:55:19,560
found themselves besieged
by paparazzi.

1120
00:55:20,960 --> 00:55:24,960
Sean Penn already had a reputation
as someone who was a bit fiery.

1121
00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:28,000
And you know that it's gonna be
one of those relationships

1122
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,200
that is completely intense,

1123
00:55:30,200 --> 00:55:34,040
is really, really passionate
but also totally tempestuous.

1124
00:55:35,160 --> 00:55:38,120
Penn was clearly not someone
who enjoyed the attention

1125
00:55:38,120 --> 00:55:40,440
that came with being Mr Madonna.

1126
00:55:40,440 --> 00:55:41,840
When faced with photographers,

1127
00:55:41,840 --> 00:55:44,240
he often let his fists
do the talking.

1128
00:55:44,240 --> 00:55:45,880
Then in July '86,

1129
00:55:45,880 --> 00:55:48,640
Penn was charged with battery
for attacking a man

1130
00:55:48,640 --> 00:55:51,240
who he claimed was trying
to kiss Madonna.

1131
00:55:52,520 --> 00:55:54,520
They said sort of years
and years after

1132
00:55:54,520 --> 00:55:56,960
that they were
the loves of each other's lives.

1133
00:55:56,960 --> 00:55:59,720
It's terribly sweet,
but he did not stop hitting people.

1134
00:56:01,320 --> 00:56:03,520
OK, so, while her movie tanked,

1135
00:56:03,520 --> 00:56:06,720
and her personal life
was splashed over the papers,

1136
00:56:06,720 --> 00:56:09,320
at least Madonna's pop career
could steer her back

1137
00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:11,880
into less controversial waters,
couldn't it?

1138
00:56:11,880 --> 00:56:13,920
Well...

1139
00:56:13,920 --> 00:56:18,960
In 1986, she released a song about
that totally uncontentious issue,

1140
00:56:18,960 --> 00:56:20,240
teenage pregnancy.

1141
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:27,840
CARRIE GRANT: Papa Don't Preach
was a kind of new image,

1142
00:56:27,840 --> 00:56:30,480
a new identity for Madonna.

1143
00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:33,520
She's got short hair.
She's wearing jeans.

1144
00:56:33,520 --> 00:56:35,320
She's got flat shoes on.

1145
00:56:35,320 --> 00:56:39,000
# Papa, I know
You're going to be upset... #

1146
00:56:39,000 --> 00:56:41,920
She's playing a teenager
who gets pregnant,

1147
00:56:41,920 --> 00:56:44,560
and then she's saying to her dad,
"I'm gonna keep the baby."

1148
00:56:44,560 --> 00:56:48,840
Her dad, played by Danny Aiello
from The Godfather.

1149
00:56:48,840 --> 00:56:53,440
You know she's taking
a chance on keeping this baby.

1150
00:56:53,440 --> 00:56:55,480
Because this guy knows people,

1151
00:56:55,480 --> 00:56:59,920
and he might make your boyfriend
an offer that he can't refuse.

1152
00:56:59,920 --> 00:57:03,960
# Daddy, Daddy
If you could only see

1153
00:57:03,960 --> 00:57:06,640
# Just how good
He's been treating me... #

1154
00:57:06,640 --> 00:57:08,960
Madonna was like a magic mirror
back then.

1155
00:57:08,960 --> 00:57:11,360
You saw what you wanted to.

1156
00:57:11,360 --> 00:57:14,000
# Cos we are in love... #

1157
00:57:14,000 --> 00:57:16,440
Some accused her
of promoting teen motherhood.

1158
00:57:16,440 --> 00:57:19,400
Others saw an anti-abortion message.

1159
00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:22,560
# Papa, don't preach
I'm in trouble deep... #

1160
00:57:22,560 --> 00:57:25,520
I can remember there being
so much hullabaloo

1161
00:57:25,520 --> 00:57:28,960
about this woman
singing about keeping a baby

1162
00:57:28,960 --> 00:57:32,520
and being strong and telling women,
"Don't be told what you wanna do.

1163
00:57:32,520 --> 00:57:35,280
"If you wanna keep the baby,
you can."

1164
00:57:35,280 --> 00:57:39,320
It's quite a moral song,
because she wants to keep her baby,

1165
00:57:39,320 --> 00:57:41,360
and she's in love
with her boyfriend.

1166
00:57:41,360 --> 00:57:44,240
It's not as if she's saying,
"I eat babies for breakfast.

1167
00:57:44,240 --> 00:57:46,440
"And I like a bit of Satan worship
in the afternoon."

1168
00:57:46,440 --> 00:57:50,320
It wasn't just the keeping of
the baby that was causing problems.

1169
00:57:50,320 --> 00:57:54,080
Some commentators speculated
on the use of the words "papa"

1170
00:57:54,080 --> 00:57:57,120
and "preach" as having
a deeper religious message.

1171
00:57:57,120 --> 00:58:01,520
And that led to Pope John Paul II
wading in on the debate.

1172
00:58:04,680 --> 00:58:08,040
To actually involve
the head of the Catholic Church,

1173
00:58:08,040 --> 00:58:11,040
that was really unheard of.

1174
00:58:11,040 --> 00:58:14,520
So, ironically, "Papa" did preach.

1175
00:58:14,520 --> 00:58:16,360
Madonna qualified the song's meaning

1176
00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:18,960
as about challenging
male authority figures -

1177
00:58:18,960 --> 00:58:20,920
a message her female fans lapped up.

1178
00:58:20,920 --> 00:58:26,640
The young Madonna wannabes
of the '80s who all dress like her,

1179
00:58:26,640 --> 00:58:29,440
that situation is
so identifiable for them,

1180
00:58:29,440 --> 00:58:32,640
because that would be the situation
they'd be talking about at school.

1181
00:58:32,640 --> 00:58:35,320
What would happen if you
went too far with your boyfriend?

1182
00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:37,760
What would you say to your mum,
what would you say to your dad?

1183
00:58:37,760 --> 00:58:40,080
All those things absolutely connects
with her audience,

1184
00:58:40,080 --> 00:58:41,360
and that's very clever.

1185
00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:42,840
I like the way she acts,

1186
00:58:42,840 --> 00:58:45,560
because I think all women
should be able to act like they want

1187
00:58:45,560 --> 00:58:47,920
without being run down
by men at all.

1188
00:58:47,920 --> 00:58:52,520
They think of the '60s, it was all
about the pill being introduced etc,

1189
00:58:52,520 --> 00:58:57,160
but thinking about the '80s
and socially, saying to somebody,

1190
00:58:57,160 --> 00:59:00,080
"Listen, not be pressurised.
One, you don't have to marry them,

1191
00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:02,480
"and two, you don't have to
get rid of the baby.

1192
00:59:02,480 --> 00:59:05,320
"Three, we will support you
if you decide to have that child."

1193
00:59:05,320 --> 00:59:07,880
So really, really strong messages

1194
00:59:07,880 --> 00:59:10,440
which, at the time,
were ground-breaking.

1195
00:59:12,520 --> 00:59:17,000
There was another famous blonde
causing controversy in 1986.

1196
00:59:17,000 --> 00:59:21,960
While Madonna was empowering women,
the main character of 9½ Weeks

1197
00:59:21,960 --> 00:59:26,120
was a submissive female,
sexually dominated by her partner.

1198
00:59:27,760 --> 00:59:28,960
Take off your dress.

1199
00:59:30,400 --> 00:59:32,240
What?

1200
00:59:32,240 --> 00:59:34,000
Will you take off your dress?

1201
00:59:37,160 --> 00:59:42,120
Based on an already controversial
erotic novel by Elizabeth McNeill,

1202
00:59:42,120 --> 00:59:44,120
the movie hyped itself up

1203
00:59:44,120 --> 00:59:47,080
as the most sexually explicit
big-budget film

1204
00:59:47,080 --> 00:59:51,600
since 1972's infamous
Last Tango In Paris.

1205
00:59:52,920 --> 00:59:56,560
The film is about two strangers
that go on a blind date,

1206
00:59:56,560 --> 00:59:58,440
played by Kim Basinger
and Mickey Rourke.

1207
01:00:02,240 --> 01:00:04,400
It's about a kind of
controlling relationship

1208
01:00:04,400 --> 01:00:06,440
that develops between them.

1209
01:00:06,440 --> 01:00:11,200
He orders her to do certain things,
purportedly for sexual reasons.

1210
01:00:11,200 --> 01:00:13,960
Sometimes, in the film,
I find it's played for laughs,

1211
01:00:13,960 --> 01:00:17,600
and sometimes,
it's played for erotica.

1212
01:00:20,160 --> 01:00:21,680
There are several moments

1213
01:00:21,680 --> 01:00:24,960
where Elizabeth is made
to do things by him.

1214
01:00:24,960 --> 01:00:27,280
The scene with the ice cube
is very famous,

1215
01:00:27,280 --> 01:00:28,720
cos it's so close-up.

1216
01:00:28,720 --> 01:00:31,640
I think there were
so many close-ups of body parts,

1217
01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:34,040
and so artfully lit
and artfully shot.

1218
01:00:39,960 --> 01:00:44,520
But ultimately, it was attempting
to be a study of obsession.

1219
01:00:46,720 --> 01:00:50,960
The film's director
was no stranger to big-screen sex.

1220
01:00:50,960 --> 01:00:54,960
Adrian Lyne gave us some of
the era's raunchiest screen outings,

1221
01:00:54,960 --> 01:01:00,120
like Fatal Attraction,
Indecent Proposal and Flashdance.

1222
01:01:00,120 --> 01:01:02,400
He had begun his career
in commercials

1223
01:01:02,400 --> 01:01:05,400
and can be argued
as one of the originators

1224
01:01:05,400 --> 01:01:09,440
of the 1980s'
slick, sensual cinema style.

1225
01:01:09,440 --> 01:01:11,280
MUSIC: 'You Can Leave Your Hat On'
by Joe Cocker

1226
01:01:11,280 --> 01:01:14,400
# Baby, take off your coat

1227
01:01:16,280 --> 01:01:18,240
# Real slow... #

1228
01:01:20,760 --> 01:01:23,360
Adrian Lyne is, like,
one of the great '80s film-makers,

1229
01:01:23,360 --> 01:01:25,400
and his visual style

1230
01:01:25,400 --> 01:01:30,320
and the way he made things
erotic was very arty.

1231
01:01:30,320 --> 01:01:33,440
Lots of smoke and shadows

1232
01:01:33,440 --> 01:01:37,040
and light coming through, you know,
Venetian blinds.

1233
01:01:41,760 --> 01:01:45,160
The whole film was
so fabulously stylised.

1234
01:01:45,160 --> 01:01:48,800
The music was just
absolutely amazing.

1235
01:01:48,800 --> 01:01:51,920
And you are hearing records like
Bryan Ferry's Slave To Love

1236
01:01:51,920 --> 01:01:55,080
and Joe Cocker, Leave Your Hat On.

1237
01:01:55,080 --> 01:01:57,960
# You can leave your hat on

1238
01:01:59,680 --> 01:02:01,720
# You can leave your hat on... #

1239
01:02:01,720 --> 01:02:05,280
It was like you were stepping into
a long-form pop video.

1240
01:02:06,720 --> 01:02:09,960
Elizabeth,
we're gonna play a little game.

1241
01:02:09,960 --> 01:02:12,360
The full monty fun didn't last,
though,

1242
01:02:12,360 --> 01:02:16,560
as the film transmuted
into a dark and unsettling dive

1243
01:02:16,560 --> 01:02:18,600
into power dynamics and dominance.

1244
01:02:18,600 --> 01:02:21,360
I can't get excited unless I see...

1245
01:02:21,360 --> 01:02:25,040
you get on your hands and your knees
and crawl across the floor.

1246
01:02:26,280 --> 01:02:31,120
Because of the S&M involved,
because of her complicity in it,

1247
01:02:31,120 --> 01:02:33,160
that's the debate, really,

1248
01:02:33,160 --> 01:02:36,560
is that is this
a comfortable depiction to watch

1249
01:02:36,560 --> 01:02:39,160
because Elizabeth,
this is Kim Basinger's character,

1250
01:02:39,160 --> 01:02:43,360
does seem so willing to indulge

1251
01:02:43,360 --> 01:02:46,640
in a lot of his fantasies.

1252
01:02:46,640 --> 01:02:48,120
I don't wanna crawl.

1253
01:02:48,120 --> 01:02:49,800
Get on all fours and crawl.

1254
01:02:49,800 --> 01:02:52,440
Elizabeth,
I don't wanna argue with you.

1255
01:02:52,440 --> 01:02:54,120
Now... Now crawl.

1256
01:02:59,120 --> 01:03:01,160
John, don't play with me like that.

1257
01:03:01,160 --> 01:03:03,720
Now, through the lens of today,

1258
01:03:03,720 --> 01:03:06,160
where you see
the sort of sadomasochism in it,

1259
01:03:06,160 --> 01:03:09,600
and you see all this horrible
sort of male domination...

1260
01:03:09,600 --> 01:03:11,200
SHE SCREAMS

1261
01:03:11,200 --> 01:03:13,120
Don't touch me!

1262
01:03:13,120 --> 01:03:17,840
..and the way that she is
objectified by Mickey Rourke...

1263
01:03:17,840 --> 01:03:19,200
Pick up the money.

1264
01:03:19,200 --> 01:03:22,320
I don't wanna pick up the money!
I don't like the money!

1265
01:03:22,320 --> 01:03:24,520
Pick up the money.

1266
01:03:24,520 --> 01:03:27,440
..it feels more shocking now
than it did then.

1267
01:03:27,440 --> 01:03:31,000
Synonymous with the 1980s,

1268
01:03:31,000 --> 01:03:33,400
the glossy, big-budget
erotic thriller

1269
01:03:33,400 --> 01:03:36,520
largely went out of fashion
in the '90s and '00s

1270
01:03:36,520 --> 01:03:38,840
before making a comeback
in a big way

1271
01:03:38,840 --> 01:03:41,480
with a film centred around
a powerful businessman

1272
01:03:41,480 --> 01:03:45,400
who gets his kicks controlling
and humiliating women.

1273
01:03:45,400 --> 01:03:47,440
Sound familiar?

1274
01:03:47,440 --> 01:03:50,680
Fifty Shades Of Grey must have been
influenced by 9½ Weeks,

1275
01:03:50,680 --> 01:03:53,400
because there are
so many similarities.

1276
01:03:53,400 --> 01:03:56,000
You've got
the domineering, sexy guy,

1277
01:03:56,000 --> 01:03:59,480
and then the young woman who's being
really kind of perhaps coerced

1278
01:03:59,480 --> 01:04:01,080
into a submissive relationship.

1279
01:04:01,080 --> 01:04:04,920
And then it's played
almost as a romantic drama.

1280
01:04:04,920 --> 01:04:07,800
Both films come from
a similar place.

1281
01:04:07,800 --> 01:04:11,480
In one sense, we haven't really
travelled that far at all.

1282
01:04:11,480 --> 01:04:14,000
Because Fifty Shades Of Grey

1283
01:04:14,000 --> 01:04:17,320
is more or less 9½ Weeks
for the 2010s

1284
01:04:17,320 --> 01:04:18,920
but with less good music.

1285
01:04:21,880 --> 01:04:25,640
Strap yourselves in, because another
big-screen offering from '86

1286
01:04:25,640 --> 01:04:29,840
made the storm over 9½ Weeks
seem like a mere blip

1287
01:04:29,840 --> 01:04:32,240
on the outrage-o-meter.

1288
01:04:32,240 --> 01:04:36,000
Picture the scene - a bunch
of Hollywood types have an idea.

1289
01:04:36,000 --> 01:04:39,560
Let's make a teen comedy
about a white law student

1290
01:04:39,560 --> 01:04:41,840
pretending to be Black
to get into Harvard.

1291
01:04:41,840 --> 01:04:45,760
At that point, someone should have
said, "Are you kidding?"

1292
01:04:45,760 --> 01:04:48,120
But instead, they all yelled,
"Green light it."

1293
01:04:48,120 --> 01:04:50,320
No, really.

1294
01:04:50,320 --> 01:04:53,760
Here we are, in 1986,
and Soul Man came out.

1295
01:04:53,760 --> 01:04:56,120
And what's the strapline?

1296
01:04:56,120 --> 01:04:59,080
"He didn't give up. He got down."

1297
01:05:01,440 --> 01:05:05,680
Soul Man has the kind of premise
where you just go,

1298
01:05:05,680 --> 01:05:09,600
"H-How? How did this ever exist?
How did this ever happen?"

1299
01:05:09,600 --> 01:05:12,640
You wanna feel good
about yourself, don't you, son?

1300
01:05:12,640 --> 01:05:13,840
Sure, Dad.

1301
01:05:13,840 --> 01:05:15,760
HE CHUCKLES

1302
01:05:15,760 --> 01:05:18,280
That's why decided to let you
pay your own way.

1303
01:05:20,160 --> 01:05:22,960
So, we have spoilt rich kid
Mark Watson,

1304
01:05:22,960 --> 01:05:26,640
whose privileges are suddenly
brought to earth with a bang.

1305
01:05:26,640 --> 01:05:28,120
Oh, I think it is.

1306
01:05:28,120 --> 01:05:30,200
What are you saying, Dad?

1307
01:05:30,200 --> 01:05:33,360
I'm saying that I've taken
your money from your tuition account

1308
01:05:33,360 --> 01:05:38,040
and used it to buy a time-share
in a condo on Barbados.

1309
01:05:38,040 --> 01:05:40,280
Here is a young white lad

1310
01:05:40,280 --> 01:05:43,560
who can't afford his college fees

1311
01:05:43,560 --> 01:05:46,040
because his very wealthy family
decide

1312
01:05:46,040 --> 01:05:49,320
that they're no longer
going to fund his education.

1313
01:05:49,320 --> 01:05:52,400
Well, the joke's on you, sucker,
because I'm going to Harvard.

1314
01:05:52,400 --> 01:05:54,560
And don't call me a liar!

1315
01:05:54,560 --> 01:05:56,720
That asshole thinks I'm lying.

1316
01:05:56,720 --> 01:05:58,640
Mark, you are lying.

1317
01:05:58,640 --> 01:06:02,880
And if he wants to go to university,
he's gonna have to do it himself.

1318
01:06:02,880 --> 01:06:06,600
And he discovers that
there is a scholarship on offer.

1319
01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:09,880
But the scholarship
is for Black students.

1320
01:06:09,880 --> 01:06:14,160
But where the hell
are you gonna get $53,000?

1321
01:06:14,160 --> 01:06:17,320
Brace yourselves.
It's worse than you can imagine.

1322
01:06:19,160 --> 01:06:22,920
Congratulations, Mr Watson,
and good luck at Harvard.

1323
01:06:22,920 --> 01:06:25,600
Thank you, sir. I'll do my best.

1324
01:06:25,600 --> 01:06:27,840
It was controversial
to a lot of people

1325
01:06:27,840 --> 01:06:31,640
because of
the main character switching

1326
01:06:31,640 --> 01:06:34,800
from white to Black,
in a very unique way.

1327
01:06:34,800 --> 01:06:38,080
He did it by taking lots
and lots of tanning pills.

1328
01:06:38,080 --> 01:06:40,560
I didn't know that that could work.

1329
01:06:40,560 --> 01:06:42,400
Mark, I don't know
how to tell you this,

1330
01:06:42,400 --> 01:06:43,840
but you're not tanned.

1331
01:06:43,840 --> 01:06:46,240
You're Black.
Yeah.

1332
01:06:46,240 --> 01:06:48,560
I exceeded the recommended dosage.

1333
01:06:49,680 --> 01:06:53,120
Gordo, these babies are my ticket
into Harvard Law School!

1334
01:06:53,120 --> 01:06:55,480
Throughout the '80s,
there were various films popping up

1335
01:06:55,480 --> 01:06:57,920
that were trying to do
this switch reversal

1336
01:06:57,920 --> 01:07:00,360
to give the audience
an alternative perspective.

1337
01:07:00,360 --> 01:07:03,800
We saw that in films like Big,
where he became young.

1338
01:07:03,800 --> 01:07:06,840
This tried to do it with race.

1339
01:07:06,840 --> 01:07:08,400
I don't think they did it very well.

1340
01:07:08,400 --> 01:07:10,600
Names?
Mark Watson.

1341
01:07:10,600 --> 01:07:12,880
Okey dokey, why don't we
just take Mark on our team,

1342
01:07:12,880 --> 01:07:14,000
and you can have, uh...?

1343
01:07:14,000 --> 01:07:16,200
Gordon Bloomfeld.

1344
01:07:16,200 --> 01:07:20,000
No, why don't you guys take Gordon,
and we'll take Mark?

1345
01:07:20,000 --> 01:07:22,680
Oh, well, you know, look,
I wrote it down this way,

1346
01:07:22,680 --> 01:07:26,080
and I know the way you hate
a messy team list, so, uh...

1347
01:07:26,080 --> 01:07:29,200
I actually have got to say
its heart was in the right place

1348
01:07:29,200 --> 01:07:32,440
because the idea is that
this white person becomes Black,

1349
01:07:32,440 --> 01:07:35,880
and then he discovers... from being,
like, a posh white person,

1350
01:07:35,880 --> 01:07:38,640
he discovers
what discrimination feels like.

1351
01:07:38,640 --> 01:07:42,000
# I'm a soul man... #

1352
01:07:42,000 --> 01:07:45,680
JAN LEEMING: So, here's the kind of
joke you can expect from Soul Man.

1353
01:07:45,680 --> 01:07:47,960
The sports jocks think
Mark is Black,

1354
01:07:47,960 --> 01:07:51,160
so therefore it follows
he has to be great at basketball.

1355
01:07:51,160 --> 01:07:55,400
But WE know he's white
and little more than useless.

1356
01:07:55,400 --> 01:07:58,680
For some, this was a parody
of white expectations.

1357
01:07:58,680 --> 01:08:03,000
But for others,
it was reinforcing stereotypes.

1358
01:08:03,000 --> 01:08:05,680
DAVID GRANT:
The food jokes, the walk jokes,

1359
01:08:05,680 --> 01:08:08,400
the clothes jokes, the music jokes,

1360
01:08:08,400 --> 01:08:10,920
the dancing jokes -
they're all there.

1361
01:08:10,920 --> 01:08:15,400
And you just think, "Yeah, I can see
what you're trying to do."

1362
01:08:15,400 --> 01:08:18,240
But this is as clumsy

1363
01:08:18,240 --> 01:08:21,000
as trying to thread a needle
in boxing gloves.

1364
01:08:23,440 --> 01:08:25,920
Raspberry tart, Mark?
Oh, no, thank you.

1365
01:08:25,920 --> 01:08:28,960
I really couldn't eat another bite.

1366
01:08:30,800 --> 01:08:34,560
All my life, I've only been able
to think about one thing...

1367
01:08:35,640 --> 01:08:37,360
..white women!

1368
01:08:37,360 --> 01:08:40,800
And now, at last,
I'm going to have one!

1369
01:08:40,800 --> 01:08:43,120
Yep, that actually happened.

1370
01:08:43,120 --> 01:08:46,080
In its own way,
it was slightly parodying

1371
01:08:46,080 --> 01:08:50,120
what people expect of Black culture
and Black representation.

1372
01:08:50,120 --> 01:08:53,080
But I do remember thinking
there is something really odd

1373
01:08:53,080 --> 01:08:57,280
about C Thomas Howell
in blackface and a wig.

1374
01:08:57,280 --> 01:08:58,920
And I do remember thinking,

1375
01:08:58,920 --> 01:09:01,160
"This is the weirdest film
I've seen."

1376
01:09:01,160 --> 01:09:02,920
That's an understatement.

1377
01:09:02,920 --> 01:09:05,400
Although the film is said
to have hauled in

1378
01:09:05,400 --> 01:09:07,680
$35 million at the box office,

1379
01:09:07,680 --> 01:09:11,400
its release was met
with protest and condemnation.

1380
01:09:11,400 --> 01:09:12,920
It was a box-office success,

1381
01:09:12,920 --> 01:09:15,320
and there were some
really good actors in it.

1382
01:09:15,320 --> 01:09:20,800
I just think that because of
where the world was by 1986,

1383
01:09:20,800 --> 01:09:23,560
a lot of Black people
just found it offensive

1384
01:09:23,560 --> 01:09:27,520
and said,
"We don't care about your reasons.

1385
01:09:27,520 --> 01:09:30,280
"We don't want you
representing us like that.

1386
01:09:30,280 --> 01:09:32,440
"We don't think it's right."

1387
01:09:32,440 --> 01:09:35,000
On the subject of "just not right",

1388
01:09:35,000 --> 01:09:37,360
we're about to revisit
another screen storyline

1389
01:09:37,360 --> 01:09:40,280
that had the world gasping
with disbelief,

1390
01:09:40,280 --> 01:09:43,840
when murdered Bobby Ewing
lurched back into life.

1391
01:09:43,840 --> 01:09:46,040
It was the most bonkers thing

1392
01:09:46,040 --> 01:09:48,960
that could possibly ever
have happened in a soap opera.

1393
01:09:48,960 --> 01:09:50,800
And in political dramas,

1394
01:09:50,800 --> 01:09:53,800
Ronald Reagan
went into arms dealing -

1395
01:09:53,800 --> 01:09:55,680
very badly.

1396
01:09:55,680 --> 01:09:58,200
Sticking your nose
in somebody else's affair.

1397
01:09:58,200 --> 01:10:01,760
Which the Americans, of course,
are past masters at doing.

1398
01:10:07,840 --> 01:10:11,240
JAN LEEMING: If you could distil
the '80s into one TV show,

1399
01:10:11,240 --> 01:10:12,720
this was it.

1400
01:10:14,680 --> 01:10:18,920
From the skyscrapers in its famous
split-screen title sequence

1401
01:10:18,920 --> 01:10:22,760
to the outrageous storylines
and flamboyant outfits,

1402
01:10:22,760 --> 01:10:24,360
Dallas had it all.

1403
01:10:24,360 --> 01:10:27,320
Big hair, big frocks,
big storylines

1404
01:10:27,320 --> 01:10:31,560
and, in '86,
a big suspension of disbelief.

1405
01:10:31,560 --> 01:10:34,360
Dallas was the first example
of watercooler telly.

1406
01:10:34,360 --> 01:10:36,360
It was preposterous

1407
01:10:36,360 --> 01:10:38,640
and therefore
incredibly entertaining.

1408
01:10:38,640 --> 01:10:40,560
Teeth and tans, everyone!

1409
01:10:40,560 --> 01:10:44,400
We're in the world of oil barons,
sibling rivalry and double-dealing.

1410
01:10:45,920 --> 01:10:48,480
Are you telling me
that she works for you?

1411
01:10:50,280 --> 01:10:51,720
Works for me?

1412
01:10:51,720 --> 01:10:53,680
That is what you're saying?

1413
01:10:53,680 --> 01:10:56,280
You had JR,
everyone's favourite soap baddie,

1414
01:10:56,280 --> 01:10:58,600
and his brother, Bobby,
the show's heart-throb.

1415
01:10:58,600 --> 01:11:00,520
Bobby, you're my brother.
I just wanna help you.

1416
01:11:00,520 --> 01:11:01,800
I just want help in return.

1417
01:11:03,120 --> 01:11:06,680
It's Cain and Abel, isn't it?
Like, good brother, bad brother.

1418
01:11:06,680 --> 01:11:08,000
Agh!

1419
01:11:11,160 --> 01:11:14,920
I was completely obsessed
with Bobby Ewing

1420
01:11:14,920 --> 01:11:17,400
because, er, he was very cute.

1421
01:11:17,400 --> 01:11:20,280
Cute maybe,
but by the eighth series,

1422
01:11:20,280 --> 01:11:22,800
Patrick Duffy's fame
had outgrown the show,

1423
01:11:22,800 --> 01:11:27,360
so he sensationally quit
to pursue a movie career.

1424
01:11:27,360 --> 01:11:29,720
And just to make sure
he couldn't be brought back

1425
01:11:29,720 --> 01:11:33,400
in some unbelievable
and controversial plotline,

1426
01:11:33,400 --> 01:11:37,400
he asked for Bobby to be killed
in one last heroic act,

1427
01:11:37,400 --> 01:11:40,320
saving Pam, the love of his life.

1428
01:11:41,440 --> 01:11:43,440
Pa-a-a-am!

1429
01:11:52,160 --> 01:11:56,360
This proved to be a bad idea
for all concerned.

1430
01:11:56,360 --> 01:11:58,440
They can't possibly kill off

1431
01:11:58,440 --> 01:12:02,960
one of the most famous characters
in this huge soap opera.

1432
01:12:02,960 --> 01:12:04,720
I love you...

1433
01:12:06,160 --> 01:12:08,320
..so much.

1434
01:12:08,320 --> 01:12:09,840
But kill him off they did,

1435
01:12:09,840 --> 01:12:12,360
and there wasn't a dry eye
in the hospital,

1436
01:12:12,360 --> 01:12:16,320
as season eight ended
in the most dramatic way imaginable.

1437
01:12:18,200 --> 01:12:19,960
BEEPING INTENSIFIES

1438
01:12:19,960 --> 01:12:21,480
CONTINUOUS BEEPING

1439
01:12:27,720 --> 01:12:29,440
No.

1440
01:12:29,440 --> 01:12:30,480
No!

1441
01:12:30,480 --> 01:12:32,280
You can't do this to me, Bobby.

1442
01:12:33,600 --> 01:12:35,760
Don't leave me.

1443
01:12:35,760 --> 01:12:36,920
Bobby, don't.

1444
01:12:39,440 --> 01:12:41,000
So, goodbye, Bobby.

1445
01:12:41,000 --> 01:12:43,760
No one character
was bigger than the show, right?

1446
01:12:43,760 --> 01:12:46,160
INTERVIEWER: Do you think
that the format of Dallas itself

1447
01:12:46,160 --> 01:12:49,440
can cope with the vacuum
that Bobby's character will leave?

1448
01:12:49,440 --> 01:12:53,000
Are you asking my ego,
or are you asking my business sense?

1449
01:12:53,000 --> 01:12:55,280
Both.
Yeah, my ego says no.

1450
01:12:55,280 --> 01:12:57,480
And his ego was right.

1451
01:12:57,480 --> 01:13:00,840
With Bobby gone, viewers started
leaving Southfork, too.

1452
01:13:00,840 --> 01:13:03,400
As ratings nosedived
for series nine,

1453
01:13:03,400 --> 01:13:05,720
the bosses realised
they had to pull off

1454
01:13:05,720 --> 01:13:08,720
a Lazarus-style comeback - and fast.

1455
01:13:09,920 --> 01:13:13,640
"Listen... rating's really bad.

1456
01:13:13,640 --> 01:13:15,680
"We gotta do something about this.

1457
01:13:15,680 --> 01:13:19,360
"Who's our most popular character?"
"Bobby."

1458
01:13:19,360 --> 01:13:21,720
"Get him on the phone,
bring him back.

1459
01:13:21,720 --> 01:13:23,640
"I don't care how much he wants."

1460
01:13:23,640 --> 01:13:25,640
"But how are we gonna
bring him back? He's dead."

1461
01:13:25,640 --> 01:13:27,040
"That's YOUR problem."

1462
01:13:27,040 --> 01:13:30,760
How complimentary were they
when they tried to lure you back?

1463
01:13:30,760 --> 01:13:33,120
Did they actually say,
"Look, the ratings are dropping.

1464
01:13:33,120 --> 01:13:34,560
"We need you?" What did they do?

1465
01:13:34,560 --> 01:13:36,280
Well, basically, yes.

1466
01:13:36,280 --> 01:13:39,400
Um, you know,
it's not a good negotiating ploy

1467
01:13:39,400 --> 01:13:41,880
to come on your knees to somebody

1468
01:13:41,880 --> 01:13:43,680
and say that,
"We can't live without you,"

1469
01:13:43,680 --> 01:13:46,480
so that didn't happen
until after I signed.

1470
01:13:46,480 --> 01:13:47,840
LAUGHS

1471
01:13:47,840 --> 01:13:51,560
Do you think you'll be able
to manage on $75,000 an episode?

1472
01:13:51,560 --> 01:13:54,520
I was happy making what I made,
and I'll be...

1473
01:13:54,520 --> 01:13:57,760
even more happy, if that's possible,
on what my new salary is,

1474
01:13:57,760 --> 01:13:59,200
which I won't disclose,

1475
01:13:59,200 --> 01:14:02,200
and no-one yet has accurately
forecast what it is, so...

1476
01:14:02,200 --> 01:14:04,800
You're not even in the ballpark yet.

1477
01:14:04,800 --> 01:14:08,840
The scene was set for Patrick Duffy
to make a dramatic comeback.

1478
01:14:08,840 --> 01:14:11,320
There was just one
teeny-weeny problem.

1479
01:14:11,320 --> 01:14:14,800
Bobby Ewing was still a bit...
well, dead.

1480
01:14:14,800 --> 01:14:17,800
If you've got an actor
you really want to employ again,

1481
01:14:17,800 --> 01:14:21,120
and they've agreed on a contract,
and they've given in to the money,

1482
01:14:21,120 --> 01:14:23,320
then you're gonna
bring them back somehow

1483
01:14:23,320 --> 01:14:25,680
if you're running a soap,
and that's what happened.

1484
01:14:25,680 --> 01:14:30,400
The writers' room must have been
perfectly ridiculous,

1485
01:14:30,400 --> 01:14:33,560
and what they came up with
was perfectly ridiculous.

1486
01:14:33,560 --> 01:14:37,880
And remember,
Stephanie was in The Colbys.

1487
01:14:37,880 --> 01:14:41,920
But so it came to pass
that on the 8th October 1986,

1488
01:14:41,920 --> 01:14:46,160
British TV viewers tuned in
to witness a soap-opera miracle,

1489
01:14:46,160 --> 01:14:49,840
as Pam woke up
from a very, very deep sleep.

1490
01:14:49,840 --> 01:14:52,080
WATER RUNNING

1491
01:14:52,080 --> 01:14:54,280
Pamela, his widow,

1492
01:14:54,280 --> 01:14:57,440
woke up,
and there was Bobby in the shower.

1493
01:15:02,720 --> 01:15:04,160
Good morning.

1494
01:15:04,160 --> 01:15:05,640
And you're like, "Wait, wait, wait!

1495
01:15:05,640 --> 01:15:07,160
"You're dead, aren't you, bruv?"

1496
01:15:08,760 --> 01:15:09,960
Pam, what's the matter?

1497
01:15:11,640 --> 01:15:13,480
There had been rumours circling

1498
01:15:13,480 --> 01:15:16,320
that Patrick Duffy was back
as Bobby's twin

1499
01:15:16,320 --> 01:15:19,440
or someone who'd had Bobby-style
plastic surgery,

1500
01:15:19,440 --> 01:15:22,680
but what actually happened
was even more startling.

1501
01:15:23,840 --> 01:15:25,440
And she realised

1502
01:15:25,440 --> 01:15:28,600
that the whole
of the previous series

1503
01:15:28,600 --> 01:15:29,800
had been a dream.

1504
01:15:29,800 --> 01:15:32,360
Darling, what's the matter?

1505
01:15:32,360 --> 01:15:33,960
You look like you just saw a ghost.

1506
01:15:35,280 --> 01:15:36,600
For a minute, I thought I did.

1507
01:15:36,600 --> 01:15:38,160
And it was ridiculous!

1508
01:15:38,160 --> 01:15:39,840
It was the most bonkers thing

1509
01:15:39,840 --> 01:15:42,920
that could possibly ever
have happened in a soap opera.

1510
01:15:42,920 --> 01:15:46,120
But when I woke up,
I thought that you were dead.

1511
01:15:46,120 --> 01:15:47,200
What?

1512
01:15:47,200 --> 01:15:50,080
I had a nightmare,
a terrible nightmare.

1513
01:15:50,080 --> 01:15:51,600
It's a hell of a kip she had.

1514
01:15:51,600 --> 01:15:54,120
It must have been 31 hours of sleep

1515
01:15:54,120 --> 01:15:56,400
to have all the episodes
of series nine.

1516
01:15:56,400 --> 01:15:58,840
Pam, I'm right here. And I'm fine.

1517
01:15:58,840 --> 01:16:00,560
LAUGHS: It was all a dream.

1518
01:16:00,560 --> 01:16:03,080
Oh, there was so much more,
and, Bobby, it seemed so real.

1519
01:16:03,080 --> 01:16:07,320
The oldest and laziest plot twist
in the book had been resurrected.

1520
01:16:07,320 --> 01:16:11,080
So, let's see how that went down
with the viewers, shall we?

1521
01:16:11,080 --> 01:16:13,960
REPORTER: The climactic moment came
right at the end of the programme.

1522
01:16:13,960 --> 01:16:15,720
WOMAN: Uh-oh!

1523
01:16:16,960 --> 01:16:19,440
SCREAMING, LAUGHTER

1524
01:16:21,000 --> 01:16:25,760
I tell you, I was never satisfied
with the whole episode at all,

1525
01:16:25,760 --> 01:16:27,600
and not with his reappearance

1526
01:16:27,600 --> 01:16:29,840
and with the way
that it's been set up.

1527
01:16:29,840 --> 01:16:30,960
Very disappointed.

1528
01:16:30,960 --> 01:16:34,200
NINA WADIA: I think some fans
were absolutely fuming.

1529
01:16:34,200 --> 01:16:36,040
Like, this is outrageous
and ridiculous,

1530
01:16:36,040 --> 01:16:38,000
and how could you possibly do it?

1531
01:16:38,000 --> 01:16:39,480
Erm, I was not one of them.

1532
01:16:39,480 --> 01:16:41,840
I was just happy to have Bobby back,
in the shower.

1533
01:16:41,840 --> 01:16:44,960
I'm glad he's back, and, uh...
and I was real happy to see him.

1534
01:16:44,960 --> 01:16:46,520
I liked the way it was done, too.

1535
01:16:46,520 --> 01:16:48,400
And we forgot very quickly,
didn't we?

1536
01:16:48,400 --> 01:16:50,920
It was, "Oh, yeah, he's back
from the dead. Let's carry on now."

1537
01:16:54,640 --> 01:16:57,920
But whatever craziness
TV writers can come up with,

1538
01:16:57,920 --> 01:17:00,680
you can bet politicians
will top it in real life.

1539
01:17:02,440 --> 01:17:04,480
Along with Bobby's second coming,

1540
01:17:04,480 --> 01:17:07,880
another unbelievable drama was
taking place on America's screens -

1541
01:17:07,880 --> 01:17:10,200
although this time,
the weirdness came

1542
01:17:10,200 --> 01:17:13,240
not from Southfork
but the White House.

1543
01:17:14,280 --> 01:17:15,920
REPORTER:
The situation this morning -

1544
01:17:15,920 --> 01:17:17,520
the White House is under siege.

1545
01:17:17,520 --> 01:17:20,320
The President says,
"I'm not going to back off.

1546
01:17:20,320 --> 01:17:22,480
"I'm not going to crawl
into a hole."

1547
01:17:22,480 --> 01:17:25,320
The '70s had Nixon and Watergate.

1548
01:17:25,320 --> 01:17:28,960
The '80s had Reagan
and the Iran-Contra affair.

1549
01:17:28,960 --> 01:17:32,080
It's taken six years
for the President's casual,

1550
01:17:32,080 --> 01:17:34,760
even light-hearted, approach
to his job to get him into trouble,

1551
01:17:34,760 --> 01:17:36,720
and it is serious trouble.

1552
01:17:36,720 --> 01:17:39,320
Reagan and the Iran-Contra scandal.

1553
01:17:39,320 --> 01:17:43,280
You've got to think of a really...

1554
01:17:44,560 --> 01:17:48,520
..outrageous Hollywood film,

1555
01:17:48,520 --> 01:17:54,080
and you've got to think of
the most preposterous plots ever.

1556
01:17:54,080 --> 01:17:56,760
President Reagan has again pledged
to get to the bottom

1557
01:17:56,760 --> 01:17:58,320
of the Iranian arms scandal

1558
01:17:58,320 --> 01:18:00,120
and the money
which was funnelled off

1559
01:18:00,120 --> 01:18:01,960
to rebel forces in Central America.

1560
01:18:03,800 --> 01:18:06,280
OK, pay attention.

1561
01:18:06,280 --> 01:18:09,520
Here's the story of this controversy
in bite-size form.

1562
01:18:11,240 --> 01:18:15,760
In the Middle East,
you have got some American hostages,

1563
01:18:15,760 --> 01:18:18,080
in Lebanon, and...

1564
01:18:18,080 --> 01:18:21,400
Ronald Reagan says to his advisers,
"Let's get them out.

1565
01:18:21,400 --> 01:18:23,560
"I want the Americans home."

1566
01:18:23,560 --> 01:18:25,280
They come up with a plan,

1567
01:18:25,280 --> 01:18:29,880
and the plan is
to sell arms to Iran.

1568
01:18:31,120 --> 01:18:32,360
Now, it was illegal.

1569
01:18:32,360 --> 01:18:34,680
They're not supposed to be
selling arms to Iran.

1570
01:18:34,680 --> 01:18:36,360
But the idea was that
if they did that...

1571
01:18:37,600 --> 01:18:42,920
..Iran would allow
these American hostages to go home.

1572
01:18:42,920 --> 01:18:44,360
At the same time,

1573
01:18:44,360 --> 01:18:48,640
the money that was going to be made
by selling arms to Iran

1574
01:18:48,640 --> 01:18:52,520
could be funnelled to Nicaragua

1575
01:18:52,520 --> 01:18:54,720
to actually give to the Contras,

1576
01:18:54,720 --> 01:18:58,440
so that they could be armed
in their struggle against Communism.

1577
01:18:58,440 --> 01:19:01,320
Or to sum it up more succinctly...

1578
01:19:01,320 --> 01:19:04,240
Sticking your nose
in somebody else's affair.

1579
01:19:05,360 --> 01:19:08,800
Which the Americans, of course,
are past masters at doing.

1580
01:19:11,400 --> 01:19:14,280
It's kind of amazing, right?

1581
01:19:14,280 --> 01:19:15,880
That Ronald Reagan thought,

1582
01:19:15,880 --> 01:19:17,600
"Well, this sounds like
a great idea,

1583
01:19:17,600 --> 01:19:19,680
"and no-one's ever gonna find out."

1584
01:19:19,680 --> 01:19:23,120
Anyway, it all blew up in Reagan's
face when it was discovered,

1585
01:19:23,120 --> 01:19:24,680
and that was the scandal.

1586
01:19:24,680 --> 01:19:27,520
This supposedly top-secret arms deal

1587
01:19:27,520 --> 01:19:30,840
became a proper Thanksgiving gift
for the world's press.

1588
01:19:30,840 --> 01:19:33,240
REPORTER: Mr Reagan was presented
with the traditional

1589
01:19:33,240 --> 01:19:35,000
eve-of-Thanksgiving Turkey,

1590
01:19:35,000 --> 01:19:38,360
but the White House press corps
were sharpening THEIR knives

1591
01:19:38,360 --> 01:19:40,960
for the President.
SHOUTING

1592
01:19:40,960 --> 01:19:44,160
MAN: Mr President, what did you know
about money going to the Contras?

1593
01:19:44,160 --> 01:19:47,120
All I know is
this is just gonna taste wonderful,

1594
01:19:47,120 --> 01:19:49,280
and I'm looking forward
to tomorrow.

1595
01:19:49,280 --> 01:19:50,920
He's not looking forward to it...

1596
01:19:50,920 --> 01:19:52,520
MAN: Mr President!
..but I am.

1597
01:19:52,520 --> 01:19:56,000
How much trouble are you in
because of this Contra revelation?

1598
01:19:59,920 --> 01:20:01,920
Did you know about the Contras, sir?

1599
01:20:03,160 --> 01:20:05,920
Here's somebody who took pride
on being straight.

1600
01:20:05,920 --> 01:20:09,160
You know, "I'm a kind of
straight-talking president."

1601
01:20:09,160 --> 01:20:11,360
I was not fully informed
on the nature

1602
01:20:11,360 --> 01:20:14,760
of one of the activities undertaken
in connection with this initiative.

1603
01:20:14,760 --> 01:20:17,280
And this information was
coming out that was showing that,

1604
01:20:17,280 --> 01:20:19,560
A, he wasn't being straight
with people,

1605
01:20:19,560 --> 01:20:21,720
and B, there was actually
quite a lot of incompetence

1606
01:20:21,720 --> 01:20:22,760
around this deal.

1607
01:20:22,760 --> 01:20:24,720
Either Reagan knew it was going on,

1608
01:20:24,720 --> 01:20:26,440
and he's lying
to the American public,

1609
01:20:26,440 --> 01:20:29,480
or else he's incredibly stupid
and, uh...

1610
01:20:29,480 --> 01:20:31,360
inept at keeping an eye over things.

1611
01:20:31,360 --> 01:20:33,680
He should've let the people know
what he was doing

1612
01:20:33,680 --> 01:20:35,600
instead of trying to go behind
their back.

1613
01:20:35,600 --> 01:20:38,800
AS REAGAN: Remember the diseased
colon I had a while back?

1614
01:20:38,800 --> 01:20:42,280
Oh, during the operation,

1615
01:20:42,280 --> 01:20:44,720
the Soviets infiltrated the theatre

1616
01:20:44,720 --> 01:20:48,480
and secretly implanted
a large bugging device.

1617
01:20:48,480 --> 01:20:52,360
Somebody must have told 'em
that I talk through my ass.

1618
01:20:52,360 --> 01:20:54,960
LAUGHTER,
APPLAUSE

1619
01:20:54,960 --> 01:20:57,600
Reagan eventually did
the honourable thing

1620
01:20:57,600 --> 01:21:00,080
that most presidents do
when in a tight spot.

1621
01:21:00,080 --> 01:21:02,000
He let others take the blame -

1622
01:21:02,000 --> 01:21:04,480
namely,
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North,

1623
01:21:04,480 --> 01:21:06,640
of the National Security Council.

1624
01:21:06,640 --> 01:21:08,640
Despite the "Contra-versy",

1625
01:21:08,640 --> 01:21:11,480
the arms to Iran scandal
didn't bring down Reagan

1626
01:21:11,480 --> 01:21:12,880
as some thought it might.

1627
01:21:12,880 --> 01:21:15,560
In fact,
his popularity remained high.

1628
01:21:16,760 --> 01:21:19,480
Reagan was a film star.
I mean, he had star quality.

1629
01:21:19,480 --> 01:21:22,160
He had that appeal to people.

1630
01:21:22,160 --> 01:21:24,000
They called him
the "Teflon President"

1631
01:21:24,000 --> 01:21:25,680
because nothing ever stuck to him.

1632
01:21:25,680 --> 01:21:29,280
And somehow, he managed to survive.

1633
01:21:29,280 --> 01:21:31,960
The corruption and everything else,
it's appalling.

1634
01:21:33,240 --> 01:21:35,840
I just look at it
as a Hollywood script.

1635
01:21:35,840 --> 01:21:37,400
Still to come...

1636
01:21:37,400 --> 01:21:41,680
More TV outrage as Channel 4
becomes Channel Phwoar...

1637
01:21:43,760 --> 01:21:45,800
They are horrific,
they're not artistic.

1638
01:21:45,800 --> 01:21:48,400
They are sordid,
they show the depths of depravity.

1639
01:21:48,400 --> 01:21:51,600
..while the BBC got lewd, nude

1640
01:21:51,600 --> 01:21:53,480
and extremely rude.

1641
01:21:53,480 --> 01:21:56,720
Fleet Street just saw bums,
the Beeb,

1642
01:21:56,720 --> 01:21:58,560
Mrs Whitehouse,
and they went for it.

1643
01:22:05,240 --> 01:22:06,720
JAN LEEMING: While, for many,

1644
01:22:06,720 --> 01:22:09,520
the mid-'80s was a golden age
of television,

1645
01:22:09,520 --> 01:22:11,720
not everyone was happy
about the kind of stuff

1646
01:22:11,720 --> 01:22:14,680
that was being beamed
into our living rooms.

1647
01:22:17,440 --> 01:22:19,960
Chief culprit
in the controversy stakes -

1648
01:22:19,960 --> 01:22:22,520
you've guessed it, Channel 4,

1649
01:22:22,520 --> 01:22:25,360
who had been busy
steaming up people's glasses

1650
01:22:25,360 --> 01:22:27,600
with some of their more racy output.

1651
01:22:28,760 --> 01:22:31,400
Channel 4 was already very radical,

1652
01:22:31,400 --> 01:22:34,240
it was always in trouble
with the newspapers.

1653
01:22:34,240 --> 01:22:39,680
Every other day, another,
"Channel 4 outrages the nation."

1654
01:22:39,680 --> 01:22:42,280
And there were always questions
asked in the House of Commons

1655
01:22:42,280 --> 01:22:44,240
about what Channel 4
were doing next.

1656
01:22:44,240 --> 01:22:46,920
In '86, the channel announced

1657
01:22:46,920 --> 01:22:50,560
that a season of shocking
foreign films would be aired,

1658
01:22:50,560 --> 01:22:54,440
movies that would push the British
censorship laws to their limits.

1659
01:22:54,440 --> 01:22:57,240
They were known
as the red triangle films.

1660
01:22:57,240 --> 01:22:59,760
ANNOUNCER: From time to time,
in the late evening,

1661
01:22:59,760 --> 01:23:02,880
Channel 4 transmits films
made for the cinema

1662
01:23:02,880 --> 01:23:06,400
which some viewers may find
a bit strong for television.

1663
01:23:06,400 --> 01:23:08,800
From now on, as an experiment,

1664
01:23:08,800 --> 01:23:11,760
we'll be using
this triangular warning symbol

1665
01:23:11,760 --> 01:23:15,480
before and during films
which include explicit material.

1666
01:23:15,480 --> 01:23:18,160
The purpose of having
the red triangle on screen

1667
01:23:18,160 --> 01:23:20,840
was that if you were flicking
through the channels,

1668
01:23:20,840 --> 01:23:23,680
and you happened
to stumble across Channel 4,

1669
01:23:23,680 --> 01:23:26,000
you wouldn't inadvertently
see something

1670
01:23:26,000 --> 01:23:28,680
that you didn't want to see.

1671
01:23:28,680 --> 01:23:31,000
You may then decide
not to watch a film

1672
01:23:31,000 --> 01:23:33,680
which might offend you
or a member of your family.

1673
01:23:33,680 --> 01:23:36,000
For example,
an intense sex sequence,

1674
01:23:36,000 --> 01:23:39,840
or maybe features cannibalism
or long scenes of torture.

1675
01:23:39,840 --> 01:23:44,080
We hope that this will help you
enjoy your viewing on Channel 4.

1676
01:23:44,080 --> 01:23:48,080
I think the ironic thing about
having the red triangle on screen

1677
01:23:48,080 --> 01:23:50,840
is that it made it feel
rather taboo.

1678
01:23:50,840 --> 01:23:53,840
And bizarrely, it ended up
becoming quite a big success.

1679
01:23:53,840 --> 01:23:57,240
Of course, as planned,
this was a red rag,

1680
01:23:57,240 --> 01:24:00,640
or rather a red triangle,
to the bullish Mary Whitehouse,

1681
01:24:00,640 --> 01:24:02,480
who was in outrage heaven

1682
01:24:02,480 --> 01:24:05,240
with ten shocking films
to get cross about.

1683
01:24:06,480 --> 01:24:08,480
Does that mean that you approve,
for example,

1684
01:24:08,480 --> 01:24:10,400
of Channel 4's new system
of a warning triangle?

1685
01:24:10,400 --> 01:24:12,720
Look, let's get one thing clear.

1686
01:24:12,720 --> 01:24:16,640
That triangle would not
go on any programme

1687
01:24:16,640 --> 01:24:18,640
unless the programme concerned

1688
01:24:18,640 --> 01:24:22,880
was more extreme than would normally
be seen on television.

1689
01:24:22,880 --> 01:24:28,240
I mean, it is just verbal, physical,
moral anarchy.

1690
01:24:28,240 --> 01:24:30,840
There were people who were
sort of vehemently talking about

1691
01:24:30,840 --> 01:24:32,880
how it was degrading
public standards

1692
01:24:32,880 --> 01:24:37,520
and making TV go to a lower moment
than it's ever done before.

1693
01:24:37,520 --> 01:24:39,360
They are horrific,
they're not artistic.

1694
01:24:39,360 --> 01:24:42,240
They're sordid,
they show the depths of depravity.

1695
01:24:42,240 --> 01:24:44,160
I would suggest,
if people want to see this,

1696
01:24:44,160 --> 01:24:47,400
they should go to a special club
where such films can be shown

1697
01:24:47,400 --> 01:24:49,600
for people who are perverted
like that.

1698
01:24:49,600 --> 01:24:52,040
This is the worst,
most controversial TV of all time.

1699
01:24:53,200 --> 01:24:54,800
Meanwhile, the tabloids,

1700
01:24:54,800 --> 01:24:57,800
seemingly oblivious
to any irony or hypocrisy,

1701
01:24:57,800 --> 01:25:02,320
were apoplectic about the sex
and nudity on offer,

1702
01:25:02,320 --> 01:25:05,000
rebranding Channel 4
as Channel Phwoar.

1703
01:25:06,280 --> 01:25:09,080
None of which did the ratings
any harm at all.

1704
01:25:09,080 --> 01:25:12,160
I was lucky enough, not every kid
had a TV in their room,

1705
01:25:12,160 --> 01:25:16,440
and I pretended I'd go to sleep,
the lights would go out,

1706
01:25:16,440 --> 01:25:19,240
I could hear my mum and dad
checking, knocking on the door,

1707
01:25:19,240 --> 01:25:20,560
then they'd go downstairs,

1708
01:25:20,560 --> 01:25:23,120
and then I'd sneak over
to the TV in my room

1709
01:25:23,120 --> 01:25:26,000
and start watching
for potential flashes

1710
01:25:26,000 --> 01:25:28,000
of boobs or bums or anything else.

1711
01:25:28,000 --> 01:25:29,600
MAN: Argh!

1712
01:25:29,600 --> 01:25:32,880
Although those secret late-night
viewing sessions

1713
01:25:32,880 --> 01:25:34,640
could be seriously disturbing.

1714
01:25:34,640 --> 01:25:35,960
HE SCREAMS

1715
01:25:35,960 --> 01:25:40,200
Actually, a lot of the adult content
wasn't of a sexual nature.

1716
01:25:40,200 --> 01:25:42,480
Some of the content
was really harrowing.

1717
01:25:42,480 --> 01:25:44,240
SCREAMING CONTINUES

1718
01:25:44,240 --> 01:25:48,480
I remember watching a film
about life in a Turkish prison,

1719
01:25:48,480 --> 01:25:50,200
and it was really shocking,

1720
01:25:50,200 --> 01:25:53,120
which was just absolutely
devastating for me.

1721
01:25:55,320 --> 01:25:58,360
The red triangle films
might not have been exactly

1722
01:25:58,360 --> 01:26:01,680
what the teenaged Bobby
had been hoping for.

1723
01:26:01,680 --> 01:26:05,080
But there was bare flesh aplenty
in a controversial BBC drama

1724
01:26:05,080 --> 01:26:09,080
that once more had Mrs Whitehouse
reaching for the smelling salts.

1725
01:26:10,240 --> 01:26:13,560
The Singing Detective came from
the controversy-laden typewriter

1726
01:26:13,560 --> 01:26:15,080
of Dennis Potter,

1727
01:26:15,080 --> 01:26:17,960
who'd been testing boundaries
for years,

1728
01:26:17,960 --> 01:26:21,480
including the disturbing drama
Brimstone And Treacle,

1729
01:26:21,480 --> 01:26:24,440
which the Beeb had banned in 1976.

1730
01:26:26,080 --> 01:26:27,640
What are you trying to say?

1731
01:26:27,640 --> 01:26:29,280
I had him.

1732
01:26:30,600 --> 01:26:32,800
I saw him.

1733
01:26:32,800 --> 01:26:34,320
MUMBLES

1734
01:26:34,320 --> 01:26:36,200
His latest work followed the story

1735
01:26:36,200 --> 01:26:38,760
of a bedridden writer
called Philip Marlow.

1736
01:26:38,760 --> 01:26:40,040
MUMBLES

1737
01:26:41,320 --> 01:26:44,720
Nothing, just a babble.
But he's more or less asleep now.

1738
01:26:44,720 --> 01:26:46,240
Everything's under control.

1739
01:26:46,240 --> 01:26:48,920
You were right to call me, but
he'll sleep now for quite a while.

1740
01:26:48,920 --> 01:26:50,440
Forget supper, just leave him be...

1741
01:26:50,440 --> 01:26:52,240
Marlow escapes into fantasy,

1742
01:26:52,240 --> 01:26:55,840
imagining himself
as the eponymous crooning sleuth

1743
01:26:55,840 --> 01:26:58,080
from his own mystery novels.

1744
01:27:01,240 --> 01:27:04,560
The Singing Detective was always
going to be controversial.

1745
01:27:04,560 --> 01:27:08,320
Anything by Dennis Potter
had controversy attached to it.

1746
01:27:08,320 --> 01:27:11,760
# Cruising down the river... #

1747
01:27:11,760 --> 01:27:13,640
It was broadcast on Sunday night,

1748
01:27:13,640 --> 01:27:18,000
had Michael Gambon in,
big star, big budget.

1749
01:27:18,000 --> 01:27:20,360
I used to think that all I wanted

1750
01:27:20,360 --> 01:27:22,400
was the good opinion
of honourable men

1751
01:27:22,400 --> 01:27:25,400
and the encouraging love
of beautiful women.

1752
01:27:25,400 --> 01:27:26,720
HE SCOFFS

1753
01:27:26,720 --> 01:27:29,640
Now I know for sure that
what I really want is a cigarette.

1754
01:27:29,640 --> 01:27:31,600
Just one more cigarette, Ali.

1755
01:27:31,600 --> 01:27:34,960
It has all of Potter's brilliance

1756
01:27:34,960 --> 01:27:38,280
and all of his depravity
there on the screen.

1757
01:27:38,280 --> 01:27:39,800
The thing about this place,

1758
01:27:39,800 --> 01:27:42,040
it strips away
all the unimportant stuff

1759
01:27:42,040 --> 01:27:46,840
like skin, like love, like loyalty,
like passion and belief.

1760
01:27:46,840 --> 01:27:48,680
Anyone who saw it will never forget

1761
01:27:48,680 --> 01:27:51,200
Michael Gambon playing this guy

1762
01:27:51,200 --> 01:27:54,960
with this extraordinarily
debilitating skin condition...

1763
01:27:54,960 --> 01:27:56,320
Thank you.

1764
01:27:56,320 --> 01:27:58,920
..which was based on something
that Dennis Potter

1765
01:27:58,920 --> 01:28:01,080
actually suffered from.

1766
01:28:01,080 --> 01:28:03,040
I've reached the end.

1767
01:28:03,040 --> 01:28:04,320
Of what?

1768
01:28:04,320 --> 01:28:06,440
My tether.
Oh, hush, now.

1769
01:28:08,680 --> 01:28:10,680
I'd like... Christ, I'd...

1770
01:28:10,680 --> 01:28:12,800
I'd like to get out of it.

1771
01:28:14,040 --> 01:28:15,760
I can't stand...

1772
01:28:15,760 --> 01:28:18,600
I... I truly, I cannot stand it.

1773
01:28:20,120 --> 01:28:21,800
People discussed it the next day,

1774
01:28:21,800 --> 01:28:24,760
and they discussed it
because they sort of loved it,

1775
01:28:24,760 --> 01:28:26,280
even if they were shocked.

1776
01:28:28,080 --> 01:28:31,280
One infamous moment
from The Singing Detective

1777
01:28:31,280 --> 01:28:33,280
certainly had everyone talking

1778
01:28:33,280 --> 01:28:37,000
as one flashback scene
saw the ten-year-old Philip

1779
01:28:37,000 --> 01:28:40,640
witnessing his mother having
an illicit rendezvous in the forest

1780
01:28:40,640 --> 01:28:43,200
with a friend of his father.

1781
01:28:43,200 --> 01:28:46,240
Christ, we've been going through
this stuff for ages.

1782
01:28:46,240 --> 01:28:47,720
We must be half a mile
from anywhere,

1783
01:28:47,720 --> 01:28:48,800
we haven't seen a soul.

1784
01:28:48,800 --> 01:28:52,240
There was a lot of shocked response
to the, er...

1785
01:28:52,240 --> 01:28:54,400
to the scene where
we see Patrick Malahide...

1786
01:28:54,400 --> 01:28:55,600
HE GRUNTS

1787
01:28:55,600 --> 01:28:57,080
..humping away.

1788
01:28:58,720 --> 01:29:01,440
MOANING

1789
01:29:03,240 --> 01:29:07,080
Some shocked viewers
marched straight to the post office.

1790
01:29:07,080 --> 01:29:10,720
We've received over 200 letters
about The Singing Detective,

1791
01:29:10,720 --> 01:29:13,640
mostly like this from
Valerie Siggins of Cleckheaton.

1792
01:29:17,480 --> 01:29:19,720
Mrs EM Johnson of Darlington says...

1793
01:29:23,520 --> 01:29:25,640
But Paul Thompson of Shrewsbury
asks...

1794
01:29:29,840 --> 01:29:31,920
But half a second of bum

1795
01:29:31,920 --> 01:29:35,560
was still half a second too long
for Mary Whitehouse.

1796
01:29:35,560 --> 01:29:38,400
She suggested BBC controller
Michael Grade

1797
01:29:38,400 --> 01:29:40,600
should be given his P45.

1798
01:29:40,600 --> 01:29:43,400
The tabloids,
despite their own predilection

1799
01:29:43,400 --> 01:29:45,920
for flashing naked flesh,
also weighed in.

1800
01:29:47,600 --> 01:29:52,200
I think, really, that Fleet Street
just saw, you know,

1801
01:29:52,200 --> 01:29:55,760
it's bums, the Beeb, Mrs Whitehouse,
it was a good runner,

1802
01:29:55,760 --> 01:29:57,240
and they went for it.

1803
01:29:57,240 --> 01:30:01,080
I think the saddest conversation
I had last week was with a...

1804
01:30:01,080 --> 01:30:03,880
a reporter on the Daily Express,
and he rang me up, and he said,

1805
01:30:03,880 --> 01:30:06,080
"No, really,
we're all behind you, you know,

1806
01:30:06,080 --> 01:30:07,920
"I think it's great,
it's a fantastic series.

1807
01:30:07,920 --> 01:30:09,840
"And, no, she's, you know...

1808
01:30:09,840 --> 01:30:12,760
"She's getting into a fuss about
nothing, and we think it's great."

1809
01:30:12,760 --> 01:30:15,640
And I said, "Well, what
is your newspaper saying about it?"

1810
01:30:15,640 --> 01:30:18,600
"Er... Filth like this shouldn't
be seen on British screens."

1811
01:30:21,320 --> 01:30:24,120
Tabloids,
particularly in the mid-'80s,

1812
01:30:24,120 --> 01:30:27,440
they sold copy by jumping
on these kinds of things.

1813
01:30:27,440 --> 01:30:30,000
So it suited their interests
to stir up

1814
01:30:30,000 --> 01:30:32,320
any complaint
by the likes of Mary Whitehouse

1815
01:30:32,320 --> 01:30:33,680
to say, "This is obscene."

1816
01:30:33,680 --> 01:30:37,360
Obscenity was a big obsession
of the mid-'80s.

1817
01:30:37,360 --> 01:30:40,760
The tabloid press create shock

1818
01:30:40,760 --> 01:30:42,600
out of nothing.

1819
01:30:42,600 --> 01:30:45,800
They say, you know, "Shock,
outrage, screaming headlines."

1820
01:30:45,800 --> 01:30:48,800
And, of course,
it leaves the impression

1821
01:30:48,800 --> 01:30:51,920
that things...
that people are more easily shocked.

1822
01:30:51,920 --> 01:30:55,680
I think people are much more mature
than the newspapers,

1823
01:30:55,680 --> 01:30:57,840
the popular newspapers,
the tabloid newspapers

1824
01:30:57,840 --> 01:30:59,560
ever give them credit for.

1825
01:31:01,760 --> 01:31:03,760
But despite the controversy,

1826
01:31:03,760 --> 01:31:08,000
The Singing Detective has become
hailed as a TV masterpiece.

1827
01:31:08,000 --> 01:31:10,800
Its ability to mix tragedy
and comedy

1828
01:31:10,800 --> 01:31:13,120
and make us laugh
and wince simultaneously

1829
01:31:13,120 --> 01:31:15,560
was summed up by this classic scene.

1830
01:31:17,040 --> 01:31:19,560
MARLOW, INTERNAL VOICE:
'Oh, cock, do not crow.

1831
01:31:20,560 --> 01:31:23,440
'Poor cock, do not stir.'

1832
01:31:23,440 --> 01:31:26,960
Gambon's character
is trying not to become tumescent

1833
01:31:26,960 --> 01:31:30,080
as Joanne Whalley's nurse character

1834
01:31:30,080 --> 01:31:32,160
rubs this ointment on him

1835
01:31:32,160 --> 01:31:34,680
to alleviate the pain
of his skin condition.

1836
01:31:34,680 --> 01:31:37,520
'Oh, think of something boring,
for Christ's sake.

1837
01:31:37,520 --> 01:31:39,680
'Think of something
very, very, very boring.'

1838
01:31:39,680 --> 01:31:41,880
And there is this brilliant speech,

1839
01:31:41,880 --> 01:31:44,200
Gambon's character
trying to remember

1840
01:31:44,200 --> 01:31:47,240
all the most boring things
he possibly can.

1841
01:31:47,240 --> 01:31:50,760
'Oh, no, no. Think, think, think,
think really boring.

1842
01:31:50,760 --> 01:31:53,880
'A Welsh male voice choir.
Everything in Punch.'

1843
01:31:53,880 --> 01:31:55,360
Ooh.

1844
01:31:55,360 --> 01:31:57,360
You poor thing.

1845
01:31:57,360 --> 01:31:58,440
Oh.

1846
01:31:58,440 --> 01:32:00,640
'Wage rates in Peru.
James Burke. Finnegans Wake.

1847
01:32:00,640 --> 01:32:02,880
'All the bloody Irish.
The dog in Blue Peter.

1848
01:32:02,880 --> 01:32:05,760
'Brian Clough, and especially
James - Henry and Clive.'

1849
01:32:05,760 --> 01:32:08,080
He says so many things
all at the same time,

1850
01:32:08,080 --> 01:32:11,560
you know, the fallibility
and the stupidity of being a male,

1851
01:32:11,560 --> 01:32:13,320
isn't it, in a sense?

1852
01:32:13,320 --> 01:32:15,480
And also,
the playfulness of the whole thing,

1853
01:32:15,480 --> 01:32:17,040
and also, the darkness of it.

1854
01:32:17,040 --> 01:32:18,960
Completely, utterly genius.

1855
01:32:18,960 --> 01:32:20,520
'Guardian woman's page...

1856
01:32:20,520 --> 01:32:22,280
'Oh, dear Christ.

1857
01:32:22,280 --> 01:32:25,000
'The Bible. And, oh, God...

1858
01:32:25,000 --> 01:32:27,320
'Reader's Digest
special draw prize. No, no, no.

1859
01:32:27,320 --> 01:32:28,520
'Think Bible.

1860
01:32:28,520 --> 01:32:31,520
'Bible psalms. Song of Solomon.
"Thy breasts are like..."

1861
01:32:31,520 --> 01:32:33,840
'Oh, no. No.'

1862
01:32:33,840 --> 01:32:35,760
It's grotesque,
and it's fantastically funny,

1863
01:32:35,760 --> 01:32:37,400
and it's sort of filthy.

1864
01:32:37,400 --> 01:32:39,120
Ah!
HE EXHALES

1865
01:32:39,120 --> 01:32:41,440
NURSE: Sorry. Was that too hard?

1866
01:32:41,440 --> 01:32:43,160
Too hard? Yes.

1867
01:32:44,520 --> 01:32:47,440
It's like iodine in a cut.

1868
01:32:47,440 --> 01:32:50,640
The most extraordinary television
and extraordinary drama,

1869
01:32:50,640 --> 01:32:53,400
and the fact that
that was being made

1870
01:32:53,400 --> 01:32:57,320
on mainstream national television
was a real moment, I think.

1871
01:32:57,320 --> 01:33:00,680
I'm sorry, but I shall have to lift
your penis now to grease round it.