Hello, everybody.
I'm Dave Grohl.
Welcome to The Graham Norton Show.
Woo!
Hello!
Good evening.
You're all so welcome to the show.
And hello to our virtual studio audience at home there.
Hello.
Page after page, there they are.
Hey, just as well you are watching safe in your homes,
because, ladies, we've got a treat for you tonight.
Wa-hey!
The cameramen are excited as well.
Phwoar, the jangling of keys.
Yes, right here in the studio, we have one of the sexiest TV stars
in the world.
No, Alan, it's not you.
It is in fact the star of Bridgerton, Rege-Jean Page!
He's the new host of Interior Design
Masters, it's Alan Carr!
She's Sister Michael from Derry Girls, now
hosting the great pottery throw-down, Siobhan McSweeney.
And she's the star of classic shows like
The Good Life and Rosemary and Thyme, now setting
sail in Anything Goes,
it's the fabulous Felicity Kendal.
Last, shortly we'll be joined from Los Angeles
by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl.
And we'll have music right here in the studio from
singer-songwriter and podcaster Jessie Ware.
Good, right?
Good!
Jessie Ware.
Love that album.
Welcome, all.
First time for you, Felicity Kendal.
Yes, I know.
Why have you not asked me before?
I'm...
Now I wonder what was I thinking?
I don't know what happened.
You're here now.
I'm so happy to be here.
I'm free just for an hour and a half.
I love you so much.
Thank you.
I'm released, legally.
Felicity may be joining us again next week.
We'll see.
Thank you.
We'll show up, and she'll just still be here.
"I'm not going home."
And, Rege-Jean Page, I mention Bridgerton.
I guess what's weird is you're in the biggest show in the
world, you're a global superstar, but you're presumably just telling
your fridge.
Yeah, it's just me and the four walls and my cushions, my
exceedingly bad cushions all my friends tell me off for.
But has the postman been impressed to find
Rege-Jean Page behind the door?
No, because I don't go to the door because I'm
scared of the postie and
the tabloids.
That's the only bit that's real about the global
superstar.
Oh, so you don't know what's out there?
Yeah.
You don't know who's behind the door.
Lockdown has ended about three months ago.
And this is why I don't like the postie.
He didn't tell me.
He didn't tell me at all.
I just don't like an audience.
Siobhan McSweeney, now, I would have thought, Derry Girls, so
big that when you go home to Cork, you must be a superstar.
Yeah, no.
Well, as you know, it's very hard to impress a Cork person.
No, absolutely no recognition, no flicker of recognition.
And it's good, actually, because you don't
want to be looking like you have notions.
You don't want to be standing there in the middle of
Patrick's Street going, "You're right, it is me."
You have to be very, very cool.
Even if your head was on fire, nobody would look at you in Cork.
Because, Alan Carr, it must be quite nice to be in a studio because
you've been doing a lot of things on Zoom, and I don't mean
to criticise, but you haven't got any better at
it.
No!
I was on Good Morning Britain talking to Ben Shephard and
I have a very bad Wi-Fi signal where I live,
and then I was talking and
it just froze and it looked like I was pleasuring myself,
and then they actually had to go to another item,
and of course you're still talking and I looked and I'm like this...
LAUGHTER
You're not joking.
We've got a...
You've got the thing?
We've got a screen grab.
Oh, no.
No, no.
They went to another item.
I was still talking.
That does look like good morning Britain, yeah.
LAUGHTER
Well, now.
Let's start tonight with you, Felicity
Kendal, and good news - theatre is back.
Hopefully!
CHEERING
That's the plan.
Anything Goes, a huge, big, lavish musical, is going
to open at London's Barbican Theatre on the 5th of June.
Tickets are available now.
So this is happening.
Big cast, full orchestra.
It is happening if it's safe and if it's
allowed and if it's legal.
So the idea is, as we know, it's all going
to get back to normal.
Life is going back.
So in the sort of spirit of being completely positive about
things that are completely and utterly impossible to guarantee, we
are going ahead we think with this, but it obviously depends on the...
Yes, but if it happens, people would be so desperate for it,
because it's such a joyous musical.
I think it's just...
It's like...
You know, I'm not being silly buggers, but it's
about...
It's like watching your show.
It's exactly what we need.
We've had doom and gloom and disaster
and trauma and everything.
Now what we need coming out of it is to just
go and watch some wonderful escapist thing, and this is a wonderful
musical.
I've seen the clips from America.
And it's all...
It's so stylish.
It's set on an ocean liner, and it's a romance.
It's a farce.
It's wonderful.
It's like a tragic Titanic.
I think Titanic is tragic.
I mean, I hated Leo DiCaprio.
He didn't die fast enough.
No, no.
It's a comic Titanic.
There you go.
A comic Titanic?
Yes, yes.
It's that sort of story.
The boy is the wrong person for the girl and then there
are crooks and then there are romances and it's all very, very
glamorous and everyone is moving from, you know, America to England
except it doesn't sink.
It's a wonderful, funny farce.
Silly buggers.
There's no ice.
There's no ice, not even ice-skating.
It's just fun.
And you've got these iconic songs.
It's all Cole Porter songs.
I have seen you in plays, but I've never seen you in a musical.
No.
So this is your first one.
Yes.
Is there a reason why?
I can't sing.
OK.
But it's joyous.
Don't worry.
It will...
I'll be fine.
It will.
Or I'll be fired.
Now without Felicity Kendal.
Anything Goes, but Felicity went.
Now, here's...
This is an odd bit of trivia.
Because, Felicity, I think I'm right in thinking...
We are
in old BBC TV Centre here tonight.
And you made the Good Life in this building.
And a lot of people, I think, are discovering the show
again in lockdown, you know, bingeing...
Thank you, Graham.
It's on Gold and all those sorts of things.
There's nowhere to go!
Oh, I'll watch this again.
I just think you watch it now and you
forget how radical it was at the time.
I mean, you and Penelope kind of pushed the envelope for women.
Tell us about the home-brew episode.
Oh...
Oh, when we got pissed?
Yes, the home-brew...
First of all, the writers were absolutely amazing and
they created the characters.
We didn't create them.
And they didn't write for us, they wrote for the
characters they created.
And they wrote these two really interesting
women, not deep and serious and psychological, but actually very
clever.
And there was a scene when the boys got pissed on made up wine,
and I thought, what if we get pissed, Penny?
Wouldn't that be good?
She said, that would be...
It's the nicest thing in the world to act pissed,
I love acting pissed more than anything.
I mean, it's really fun.
And I said, we'll do that, and they went and asked the
head of the BBC and they said, no, you can't do that.
Margot and Barbara, they can't get pissed.
They're loved by people.
They're sacred cows in a nice way.
No, they can't be rude and dirty and get pissed.
And anyway, we fought this with the producer,
director and with the writers, and eventually we did that
scene.
Because in those days, they didn't want the...
Yeah, yeah.
So how far have we come?
Now everybody's pissed.
Oh, yeah.
I'm pissed right now.
I won't remember this.
No.
Cheers.
No, but actually, here's the thing.
Because I love The Good Life, but are you aware of it?
I grew up on The Good Life.
FELICITY IMPRESSION: Margot and Jenny, just like you expect.
In fact, what was in that?
Sorry.
It sounds like you, doesn't it?
FELICITY IMPRESSION: Oh, the goats are eating the cabbages!
Because for Alan, though, watching The Good Life must
be like watching a documentary.
Oh, I know.
Well, we've got a farm, you see, with all of these animals.
You got some new animals.
You got chickens now.
Yes.
Well, the next-door neighbour, a fox killed all of the
chickens apart from this one, so we said we'd look
after it with our chickens, but they picked on it, our
chickens do, and my partner says it's because it's ginger.
So...
My brother's a ginge, just saying.
Don't write and complain.
So we've got it in the house now and, yeah, it's a
bit...
What's in the house?
A chicken in the house.
We've got a picture of you and the chicken in
the house.
Yes.
Now, that blanket appears to be covered in chicken
shit.
I know.
It shits everywhere, and someone told me if you take a
Covid mask and put the handles round the wing
and put the mask under its
private bits, then it's a chicken nappy.
He must be quite...
Well, he doesn't pull it down.
I mean, he's not that clever.
But also, it would catch the eggs as well.
Yes, you see?
Or it comes shooting straight back up.
A shocked-looking chicken.
Ooh!
Well, I never!
Because, Siobhan, now, you don't live on a farm, but
you do have a green fingers.
You produce produce.
So what is it, a balcony you have?
No, it's...
I live in central London, so it's not a
balcony, it's a sort of a balco.
It's not big enough to be the full word, really.
It's basically how a door can go like that, that's what I
have, but during lockdown, I along with, I imagine,
many people decided
that I would be really good at gardening.
I'm from Cork.
I'm from County Cork.
It's in my blood, for God sake.
I would be able to do this.
So turns out it's really fucking hard.
But then you did...
You went with radishes.
I went with radishes.
And this...
What I find surprising about this picture
you posted is that this is when you chose to harvest them.
You know what radishes look like?
They were...
That was them ready.
Like, I even gave them a couple of extra weeks,
like, and oh, my God, Graham, I talked to them.
Like, I hugged them at night.
I went bananas during the first lockdown, so I was like,
hello, radishes!
How are you doing?
Oh, my God.
They didn't like that?
Were you on anything else?
They took agin you.
But, you know, it's hard.
Because we don't eat anything.
We don't kill anything on our farm.
Even the...
And Paul bought four cows and, like, when the cows
aren't killed, they live to be like 35-40.
There's a good chance these cows could be at our funeral.
So you've got chickens and cows...
And alpacas...
There you go.
And pygmy goats.
I'm glad I asked that question.
Did you have real pigs when you did The Good Life?
They're horrible, aren't they?
They're very bitey.
Yes, they bite and they push.
Yes.
And they're not aggressive, but they're just heavy going and they
won't do what you want.
And Dickie hated them.
Every time he had to get into the pen and say, how are you
pinky or how are you perky or whatever it was,
and when they said cut, he leapt up.
Well, Alan Carr, you've gone from outdoors to indoors
with your latest project as the new host of Interior Design Masters.
Yes!
It's on BBC Two, Tuesdays at eight o'clock.
So explain what goes on.
OK, ten fantastic designers, all want to be the new interior design
Master.
And every week, they have to do up either a luxury hotel, a beach
hut, a restaurant, a salon, and then we have to eliminate people every
week...
I know, and it's so horrible.
And because of Covid, you can't hug them or anything.
Because on your show, I mean, you can't...
They're in a bubble.
We were in a bubble, but, yeah, but it's still
tough going, isn't it?
It's horrible.
I say, "I'm afraid you're going home," and then they're crying
and then you're like, "Bye."
You know, and you might as well basically have
a trapdoor which leads to a skip.
You know what I'm like, Graham.
I say what I feel and I think that's what they want, but...
I was surprised.
I imagined you would be quite lovely and a bit kind, but
you're actually...
You're quite harsh in the things you say.
Really?
Too harsh?
No, no.
You show up when things go wrong.
That's what I hated about it, because you know what TV's
like.
They're like, so and so, the awning has fallen down and the
paint has gone over the curtains.
And of course I turn up like Maleficent.
"So, what's happened here?"
And then it's so funny because they're like
that at the beginning
when they're doing up the house and everything, "How are you doing?
Oh, Alan."
And they're all giggling.
But, you know, there is a time constraint.
They have to finish by five o'clock and then, of course,
I'm turning up at 4.55.
"So, explain, how did you make this book shelf?"
And they're like, "Fuck off."
So, yeah, it was...
I love doing it.
I love doing it, but you've worried me now
about being too harsh.
No, because you're funny with it.
We've got a clip.
This is you checking in on one of the contestants progress.
Hello, John.
Hello, you.
Another day, another pair of skimpy shorts
I see.
They're lovely.
Get a bit of ventilation.
That's the one.
So tell us about the colour, because it's
very satsuma-y for a meeting room.
Have I said something wrong?
I feel offended.
I like satsumas.
Yeah, satsumas are good for you.
If you're in a meeting for two or three hours,
there's nothing worse than looking at a plain, blank, boring wall.
It's bright, it's good...
I like it.
Yes.
OK, I'll leave you to it, John.
Thank you.
The trouble with the colour orange, it's very divisive.
When some people think of orange, they think zesty
and fresh, but to other
people, they think budget airlines and fake tan.
It's funny.
Well, Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr continues on
Tuesdays.
OK, it's time to meet our virtual guest tonight.
He's the front man of the biggest rock band
in the world, Foo Fighters.
Please welcome Dave Grohl.
CHEERING
Hey, everybody.
How are you, sir?
I'm doing all right.
It's not bad here.
How are you?
We're great, thank you very much.
Lovely to meet you.
And actually we were just talking about interior design.
What a beautiful painting.
Oh, do you like this?
Well, I'm actually...
I'm in the room that my wife designed.
She's got one of those, like, those present wrapping table things.
I guess Oprah invented this, I don't know.
I've never used it, but this is the room I'm in now.
It's not very rock and roll, but...
But it's beautiful.
I can wrap one hell of a present if you like.
Alan, don't say anything.
Say nothing.
It's beautiful.
Alan's a little harsh.
Now, we're all delighted to see you, Dave.
I don't know if you have been watching
Bridgerton, but Rege-Jean Page, I mean, you are a proper Foo
Fighters...
I'm hugely relieved you're not in the studio.
I wouldn't be functional if you were.
It's a pleasure to meet you at a distance,
though.
A pleasure to meet you.
No, but didn't you learn the drums?
You're pretty much the reason I'm a performer, entirely.
The first song I learned to play on drums was
Learning To Fly.
My brother and I would terrorise the neighbours with
this on a loop.
We'd play it at all of our local church halls.
I think we've got a picture of you, Rege, in your band.
Here you are.
Look at you.
You're so cool.
That's what you did, Dave.
You built this.
You built that.
Don't put that on me.
Don't put that on me, man.
Hey, exciting times.
Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of Foo Fighters.
The new album, Medicine At Midnight, I believe I've got it here.
Yes, I do.
It's out today, and this is your tenth studio album.
I'm right in saying that, aren't I?
Yeah.
I mean, at this point, we've been a band for 25 years, and it's
our tenth album.
You know, 2020 was meant to be like the greatest year
of our band's career.
I mean, we finished this record a year ago.
We finished the record, the trucks were packed with all
of the equipment, all of the CDs...
CDs!
All of the T-shirts were pressed and we were ready to go.
And then the world just shut down.
And we had made this record.
It's kind of our most danceable boogie record.
I was like, "Oh, man, stadiums are going to
bounce to this.
The festivals are going to be...
I can't wait to hear 100,000 people singing this song."
Now it's like some lonely bachelor in his kitchen with a glass of
whisky dancing in his underwear to our new record.
But, you know, I'll take what I can get.
Of course, we're used to hearing people talking
about cancelling the gigs, but it hasn't struck me before, thinking
about the merchandise, do you have dates on your merchandise?
Yeah, you know, we made a lot of 25th
anniversary merchandise, which at this point...
I think I'm just going to take a sharpie or a spray
paint can to X out the five and put a six above it.
I mean, who knows?
Let's watch a clip.
This is the latest single off the album, Medicine At Midnight.
This is Waiting On A War.
Here we go.
# Is there more to this?
# More to this
# Just waiting on a war.
# For this and that has got to mean more.
# To this and that.
# Just waiting on a war.
# For this and that.
# There's got to be more to this than that.
# Just waiting on a war.
# For this and that.
# There's got to be more to this than that.
# Just waiting on a war.
# For this and that.
# There's got to be more...#
Wow.
CHEERING
An instant classic, Dave Grohl.
It's so good.
The stadiums are going to go mad with that.
That's going to be brilliant.
At least one of the lonely dudes dancing in his
underwear in his kitchen will be me.
And this lonely dude as well!
Make that promo happen.
Talk to my people.
You've got some dancing going on here.
This must be so frustrating, this idea of Foo
Fighters being grounded.
Because nothing stops you guys.
I mean, even
your broken leg did not stop you.
Well, I was...
Yeah.
I fell off stage and I broke my leg.
I mean, here's the thing...
Wait a minute, Dave.
Is that you still singing while your leg is being set?
Yes.
Basically, what happened...
It was a stadium in Sweden.
There was like 60,000 people there.
We were two songs into the set and I then, like a clown, I have
fallen off the stage, shattered my...
Dislocated my ankle, tore all the ligaments and broke a bone.
And I tried to stand and there's nothing
there.
So we stopped the show, and I say to my drummer, just keep
playing, play a Queen song, play a Queen song.
And they pulled me off to the side in a gurney, and the guy
says, ankle's dislocated, I've got to put it back in right now.
So I said to my tour manager.
I said, get me a whisky.
My wife was sitting next to me.
I put her leather jacket in my mouth and I bit as hard as I could
and the guy puts my ankle back in.
And so I'm sitting there and because of
the adrenaline and the whisky I
don't feel a thing.
So I just...
I'm like, that same man that you see holding my leg right there, I look
at him and I say, OK, can I go up and finish the show?
And he goes, no.
Because if I let go of your ankle, it's just going to fall out.
And I said, well, then, you're coming on stage with me right now.
So we went up on stage and we did another, like,
two and a half hours.
And then I said, OK, where's the ambulance?
Get me out of here.
Phew.
Listen, it's been lovely talking to you, Dave Grohl.
Medicine At Midnight is out now and good luck when the
tour resumes.
Dave Grohl, everyone!
CHEERING
Good night.
What a nice man.
He's great.
I mean, you are a proper huge fan.
I mean, all I want to know is whether he recorded the screen when
they put the ankle back in because I want to hear
that on the record.
I think that would be brilliant.
Somebody probably has it.
Someone has it somewhere.
Now, Rege-Jean Page is the Duke of Hastings in
Bridgerton.
It's streaming now on Netflix.
I mean, this thing is a global phenomenon.
82 million households.
If someone isn't a member of one of those 82 million households,
tell us what it's about.
It's the dramas you know and love, but not as you know
them.
It's faster, weightier, funnier, sexier.
It's a little bit sexier.
Very glamorous.
And just unashamed of its own joy.
And so we did our best to kind of subvert the
things that you think you know about period dramas
and have a bit more fun with them because we all need a bit
of fun at the moment.
And this comes from that sort of incredible world of Shonda Rimes,
Shonda-land, which you were in that world already.
Yes, I'd been working for Shonda for the last three or four years
before Bridgerton, in a show called For The People and I'm playing a New
York lawyer, doing my best kind of fast-talking,
high-trouser type of acting.
And Shonda didn't actually know that I was British when they
were cutting Bridgerton.
She was just like, I want what he was doing
in that show, but British.
And then I turned up and we had our meeting,
and she was like...
You're not...
You're not American.
I was like, no, this is actually what I do.
You'll be the first person to allow me to
act in my own accent for about six years.
Which was lovely.
Wow.
And I appreciate that very much.
It was great.
Not quite my accent.
I'm a little bit more common.
Yes, you actually are a little bit!
I was a bit disappointed!
I was like, oh...
POSH VOICE: It's just a lot of effort.
Oh, very good!
And of course, the two of you, you share a cast-mate?
Nicola?
Yes.
We do.
Yes, lovely Nicola.
And of course, that's why I started watching Bridgerton.
You're one of the reasons I stopped watching.
I do my best!
Because I live alone and there is a pandemic
going on and just watching very beautiful people have a lovely time,
dancing and having sex, I'm like, you know...
I don't want to watch that.
Crying, eating beans in my pants.
SOBBING.
Another episode...
I hate myself!
Aagh!
I'll just eat a radish.
Oh, but look!
Go back to the garden!
No!
If you put Bridgerton to the radishes...
They would grow!
We are going to watch a little bit of Bridgerton.
This is you sparring with Daphne Bridgerton.
You appear displeased.
Do I?
We find ourselves seated beside each other, Miss Bridgerton.
I'd like to think you're happy about that.
Perhaps, Your Grace, it would be better if you refrained
from thinking about me at all.
It is simply surprising.
Yes!
However is it possible for a lady to offer anything other than a smile
whilst seated beside a duke?
Even one of your reputation.
You are aware of my reputation.
I am aware of your friendship with my eldest brother.
If that were not enough, I am also aware of the things
a certain writer has recently written of you.
Presumptuous?
Clearly.
Arrogant?
Most definitely.
You are a rake.
Through and through.
Tell me I'm wrong.
Who is to refrain from thinking about whom again?
I assure you, I am anything but interested in you.
Good.
Quite.
And I anything but interested in you.
APPLAUSE.
FIRE ALARM SOUNDS.
I guess we brought the heat, we set the fire alarms off!
Has your acting overheated the studio?
I know!
It's going up in flames!
He is so hot!
He is so hot, the fire alarms go off.
I'll take that.
Can you please keep that in the show so I can have it in my showreel?
I mean, yeah, Rege is used to this.
He walks into shops, the fire alarm goes off!
This is why I don't do the voice!
I knew I shouldn't have done it!
That's why he doesn't open the door because it'll probably
be the Fire Brigade!
I'll just check with people who know...
Are we all safe in our beds?
Oh, we're all good.
Now, when we heard about Bridgerton, we were promised it was going to be
this really raunchy, sexy...
And I was watching it...
Where's the sex?
But my God, once you pull the ripcord, it's nonstop!
There's a bit!
But even you must have been going...
At a table read you must have been going, blah-blah-blah...
I haven't spoken for pages!
I've probably got my mouth full half the time!
Which I was insisting on, because I think that's important
to see on TV as well.
That is uncommon, that you see that kind of power
dynamic in raunchy scenes.
And that's part of the way we wanted to modernise the show.
So the Duke does have his mouth full, and proud of it.
Yes!
There was a fair bit to be done on the show.
Because you're really going for it but you're going for it in kind
of beautiful locations.
And occasionally very uncomfortable locations.
Well, those library steps didn't look easy.
They had a chiropractor!
Didn't you have room monitors in the stately homes?
That's the problem, because the set, as usual, is more valuable
than any of the actors.
So if you're in a 200-year-old bed or a 400-year-old four-poster,
it has to have a minder.
When people bring expensive jewellery around and they have
to have a bodyguard.
There is a bodyguard for the room.
So at all times you have a minimal set and everybody gets very quiet,
very respectful, and you de-robe and you hit the bed.
And there's also Fran in the corner who's just there,
deciding whether or not to look.
She's like, I have to look, I'm not allowed to look, I have to look...
Could you please go easy on the bed, it's very, very old!
Not quite so enthusiastic...
Oh, do go on!
That's the inner monologue, I imagine, going on in
the corner of the room.
Yeah, I'll stop them in a minute!
Presumably you had to have the awkward family
conversation before?
Yeah, a little bit.
I mean, we've got a family WhatsApp group so there's a couple
of flashing red light emojis and the peach emoji.
Certain people have threatened to rate my peach.
But we missed a couple of family members and so I always enjoy
the fact that a couple of cousins missed the memo so they were
watching the show and I get a very stern message in my Instagram DMs,
oddly enough, just going...
There really needs to be a cousin warning.
I had to make so many tactical cups of tea.
I left the room and made my tactical cup of tea and came back
and it was still going.
So I had to start doing pots of tea.
You had to keep building up.
A tasting menu, if you will!
Are you not awkward doing sex scenes?
No, not really, not when they're done right,
because we talked a lot about our wonderful
intimacy coordinator.
Yeah.
So it's scripted, just like a dramatic scene,
except physically scripted.
So you know where your hands are going to be, you know whose
hands are going to be where, at what point, how
you react to that.
It's literally just choreography, at which point...
Takes the embarrassment out of it, I suppose.
Yeah, it takes the embarrassment out and it also takes the risk
that because you can...
It's like choreographing a fight scene.
You can do damage if you're not careful with your co-stars.
Did you look at that photo when the screen froze of me
on Good Morning Britain?
Did you use that, maybe, as inspiration?
I thought that was your audition.
I was about to call up the producers and say, have you seen that?
We've got an expert!
You could be the intimacy coach.
Couldn't I just!
I'm pretty sure I made that face a couple of times, to be fair.
Right, you can catch up with Rege in Bridgerton,
streaming now on Netflix.
OK, we turn to Siobhan McSweeney, talented actress and now
the new host of The Great Pottery Throwdown.
It is currently showing on Channel 4, Sunday
evenings at 7:45pm.
So tell us all about it, brown eyes.
This is a show about pottery.
It has the same format as Bake Off, except instead of cakes, it's pots.
So it's 12 amateur potters compete to be the last one
standing kind of thing.
And it's one of those weird things.
It is similar to Bake Off.
You have to think, where is the emotional
involvement in that?
But it is weirdly moving because people invest
so much in the pottery.
Yeah.
I didn't know anything about pottery when I started.
Surprise!
Other surprise - I still don't know anything about pottery.
When you think about it, it really is quite extraordinary what they do.
They take a load of muck and they make something very
beautiful that can exist forever.
Archaeologists, what they find is pottery, mostly.
Pottery will last.
No one finds cake!
No one finds cake - not around me, anyway.
I think it's the most wonderful idea for a programme.
And it is that thing.
You touch it, you physically touch it.
They don't like you to touch it.
I got given out to because I, like you...
It's very tactile and when you see it in front of you...
Of course, the contestants are all trying to be
nice and be friendly, but they're also, like,
stop fucking touching my pot!
We've got a clip from this Sunday's Great Pottery Throwdown.
And this is your favourite episode?
It is, actually.
So what are we about to see?
OK, well the big challenge this week is they are making
busts of music legends.
Not musical legends.
So not you.
But other music legends.
And it's really, really brilliant.
I love it because they make a holy show of themselves, actually.
Things don't go as well as you would expect for a group of amateur
potters making busts of people.
We hope Dame Shirley Bassey won't be watching.
Here we go...
Sal's also struggling to capture the glamour of Dame Shirley.
You've really captured the pole out of the top of her head,
that she is notorious for!
So what is this?
This is part of the armature that's holding her up.
So yeah, there's two balloons inside her head.
Two small ones in her neck.
And when I pull out all the balloons I've got a hollow that I can get
in with the air gun.
Are you ready to pop the balloon?
I'm ready to pop the balloon.
Do you want to pop?
I'm really curious about this.
Oh, my god!
I think it might just deflate.
POP.
There you go.
HISSING.
Oh!
Dame Shirley's balloons have been popped.
There's air coming out of her ears!
So the balloons are now deflated.
So she's hollow inside there?
She is very hollow, yeah.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Looking good so far.
Thank you.
It's a different experience to being an actor.
It's very different than this.
So was it a big shock to you or did you find it easy?
No.
I found it really weird.
I still find it really weird.
I mean, essentially it happened for such a weird reason as well.
I and the rest of the girls did Bake Off, the celebrity version of it.
And I had a nervous breakdown on it.
And they thought, I think she'll do well on a pottery show!
It's so intense, isn't it, in that bloody tent for Bake Off?
It's so intense.
Oh, it's dreadful.
I cried!
I've never cried over a cake before.
Oh, my God Almighty.
It's just...
It's really intense.
And who cares?
It's a bloody cake!
It's a sponge.
And you end up having a nervous breakdown.
You cried?
I cried!
I mean, when you watch it on the telly, oh,
get over yourself, why are you crying?
But when you're there, I was like...
BLUBBING: Mine isn't ready.
Mine isn't ready!
You're like, who gives a shit?
I don't want any post-traumatic stress here, but let's
look at your cakes.
So this is your...
What was your cake called?
Irish camping holiday?
Look, yeah, it was.
It was basically...
It was a decorated cake.
Wasn't this for charity?
I mean, roll with the punches!
It was meant to represent the happiest time of my life
and look at the state of it!
Look at that!
So, is that the ocean?
Yes!
And that's the grass?
Yes.
And the yellow bit is the sand.
That's the sand?
And what's the big cack on the top?
It's a tent.
Oh, OK.
It's a chocolate tent.
Why did you choose brown?
I mean, I'm in no mood to criticise!
If you're depressed by your cake, I'm about to cheer you up!
Here's a stick - beat me with it!
Why would you choose brown?
Here's Alan's cake.
APPLAUSE.
It was a Rainbow cake.
What is that?
It's the ladder...
He's asleep and it's a Rainbow dream cake,
that's what we were told.
Oh!
He's asleep.
Yes, but it looks like I've fallen off the ladder.
And also, I don't know if you've experienced this,
but everyone who cooks...
Because it's long hours, isn't it?
All the camera crew are there.
It's very hard.
And everyone leaves the cake on the side so the crew can nibble
away and maybe have a slice.
Mine was intact.
They haven't even gone, you know what, I might have a little
bit of a Bungle on top?
No!
It was intact.
Felicity, you have done Strictly, did you ever do Bake Off?
I have not done Bake Off.
And I'm glad I haven't done Bake Off now.
I don't understand cakes.
First of all.
I just don't understand them.
And I don't want to be distraught in a tent,
trying to understand them.
No.
And I knew it would upset me beyond measure because...
I mean, pottery, I don't understand it, I can't do it,
but I'd love to have a go.
Baking is...
I'm a foreigner to baking.
You need to make decisions now because all these calls
are going to start coming.
Celebrity Bake Off, Celebrity Mastermind.
All those calls.
Would the pair of you come on Pottery?
What am I, chopped liver?!
Hey!
Siobhan!
Cooee!
Over here!
My pots are better than my cake - I'm just saying!
Come on!
APPLAUSE.
Siobhan, good luck with the rest of the run.
The Great Pottery Throwdown continues this Sunday on Channel 4
and it's available to stream on All Four.
Now, before we hear tonight's musical performance,
I will need a volunteer to sit in the red chair tonight.
Anyone at all?
I've had such a lovely evening...
Of course, I would love to.
Do take your wine with you.
It's time for music from one of the standout albums of 2020,
What's Your Pleasure.
Performing the new single, Remember Where You Are,
it's Jessie Ware!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.
# The heart of the city is on fire
# Sun on the rise, the highs are gonna fall
# But nothing is different in my arms
# So, darling, remember
# Remember where you are
# Do you remember where we are?
# I'm no enemy of yours, no, no
# When life is hard that's how it goes
# As your destiny unfolds, hold on
# To the picture hung on the wall
# Sweet reminder before the fall
# Remember me, remember me
# Every day you get up
# And look out of the window
# Take a breath of morning air
# And listen to the people out there
# The heart of the city is on fire
# Sun on the rise, the highs are gonna fall
# But nothing is different in my arms
# So, darling, remember
# Remember
# Where you are
# We are the last ones of our kind
# Freedom of our hearts and mind oh, oh
# Every day you get up
# And look out of the window
# Take a breath of morning air
# And listen to the people out there
# As the birds are singing a duet with the morning traffic
# What's the one you're hearing?
# The heart of the city is on fire
# Sun on the rise, the highs are gonna fall
# But nothing is different in my arms
# So, darling, remember
# Remember
# Where you are
# Can we keep moving in the after hours?
# Can we keep loving on the edge of doubt?
# You should let me save the day
# Please and take the pain away
# Why don't you take me, take me home?
# The heart of the city is on fire
# Sun on the rise, the highs are gonna fall
# But nothing is different in my arms
# So darling, remember
# Remember where you are #.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.
Oh!
Gorgeous!
Jessie Ware, everybody!
Come on over, Jessie, and thank you to the backing vocalists.
The movement was beautiful.
Look at you!
She shimmers, she shines.
I can't help you up.
Your chair's over there.
Thank you.
Hi!
Gorgeous.
That was so beautiful.
Thank you, it's such a treat to be here.
Rege, my mum sends her love.
Tell her I send my love right back.
As does the rest of the world!
Thank you.
Now you're leaving the house, that's going to happen a lot.
My cabbie on the way over was the same.
I thought I was safe in the mask.
And I was like, I'm going to have to explain this, it's
got my publicist's name.
He said, oh, no, I recognise you.
Those eyebrows, mate, not a chance!
My wife loves you!
There are several congratulations in order.
Are we talking about that?
Yeah!
I mean, it's kind of hard to miss, right?
I kind of thought if we don't mention it,
people will kind of thing, oh, Jessie Ware...
Lockdown's hit her quite hard!
Yes!
Something's in here.
And it's not a pie!
It's not a pie!
It's not a banana bread.
Congratulations.
That's fantastic.
That is the latest single off What's Your Pleasure,
which I would say is my favourite album of last year.
But you don't really need my endorsement because that track...
Barack O'Bloody Bama!
He said it was one of his top tracks of the year.
I think it was very much Sasha Obama who told him about me,
but that's fine because it made the end of year playlist
and I'm very happy that he even knows my name.
Because this has become a thing now.
This is huge.
So, do you get a call beforehand saying you're going to be on it?
No.
It was a lockdown Friday.
Nothing was going on.
And I got loads of pings on my phone and it was just like,
mazel tov, congratulations, oh, my God!
And then I realised what had happened.
I had to put my glasses on because it's quite small font
and then I realised that I was there somewhere.
You were there!
I mean, it's the coolest thing.
Yeah, it was a big coup.
It was great.
The other thing we need to mention is touring dates.
Because, God love you, like Dave Grohl there,
you are one of these people who keep planning the tour.
So when is it now?
So, it's moved to December.
And actually, look, it's sensible to do that.
It's realistic.
And I think that for this record, it's a sexy dance record.
I need people to be up close and personal,
sweating next to each other, kissing strangers.
I want all that so we're going to have the biggest party in December.
I mean...
Jessie Ware, she's made a baby, she's made an album
and you've written a book!
I know, yes.
Oh, for God's sake!
I've done nothing.
Have you seen my radishes?!
Yeah!
So, overachiever, yes.
What's the book called?
It's called Omelette?
It's called Omelette and it's a food memoir.
Apparently there is a genre called "foodoir", but I don't know
how I feel about that.
I feel like it maybe tempts people to think that there's going to be
a murder in it or something.
I don't know.
So there is no murdering, there's memories from childhood,
all revolving around food and drink.
Sounds good, right?
Listen, good luck with that, good luck with the tour,
good luck with the single and thank you so much for that
gorgeous performance.
Jessie Ware, everybody!
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.
That is nearly it.
Before we go, just time for a quick visit to the big red chair.
Alan is all set.
There he is.
He's ready, he's ready!
OK, let's find out who's going to be trying to keep you in that chair.
Hello.
Hi!
What's your name?
Francesca.
And where are you, Francesca?
I'm in North Finchley in London.
I don't like the colour of your curtains.
They're not mine, I'm in a house-share.
Don't blame me!
Right back atcha!
They're not my choice!
What do you do in North Finchley?
I'm an actor and I also work in a local pub.
OK, so nothing.
Unemployed!
I've been there - it gets better!
Thank you.
Please put me on Bridgerton, I'd love to be on it.
Yeah, yeah!
All right, off you go with your story - and remember,
you're trying to keep Alan in the chair.
OK, good luck, everyone.
Off you go...
OK, so a few years ago I was working in Sheffield in a theatre
and we have this bar and restaurant where the audience and cast would
come before and after the show.
And one night this famous person had been to see the show and came
into the bar afterwards, where I served them.
And I was making their drink.
I think it was like a gin and tonic.
And as I was making their drinks, these two cast members came over
and started asking for their photos and that kind of thing.
So I put the drinks on the bar, they turn around, pick
up their drinks and then walk over to their table without paying.
Now, you're probably wondering who this famous person is.
It was Graham Norton...
I knew it would be me!
LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE.
I knew it was going to be me!
I never pay for drinks!
How dare she ask me for money!
I'm supporting live theatre.
It was an accident.
I'm so sorry, Alan.
Are you OK?
Can you warn me the next time you've been tight?
Can you just warn me?
LAUGHTER.
I feel bad.
No, I'm sure I paid eventually.
Somebody did!
Who's up next?
Hello!
Hi!
Hi, what's your name?
My name's Sue and I'm from Oxfordshire.
And who is your dog?
Heidi.
Let me get her.
Heidi, here!
There she is.
Sorry!
No, she's not keen on those treats, is she?
No, she isn't!
All right, you're telling a story...
Oh, now Heidi wants them.
Off you go with your story.
Well, a few years ago I went into London.
I was on the train, it was a really hot day and I got to the other end.
It was so hot I thought, God, this jacket is too hot.
I thought, I've got nowhere to put it so I just tied a big knot
on the back of my bag and then as I was going through the day
I just kept checking that the knot was there,
to check my jacket was still there.
On the way home on the train, just about to get off,
where you're all waiting for the electric doors to open,
we're all close to each other.
And I thought, gosh, my jacket, and I reached around
and thought, my knot feels a little bit different.
And then I realised I was grabbing this man's testicles.
"I'm so sorry!"
"I didn't mean to touch your balls!"
And at this point I got the attention of everybody
in the carriage.
And he then said to me...
I said, "I'm so sorry."
And he said, "That's all right, I was having
a bad day up until then."
Aww!
Shall she walk?
Yes, you can walk, you can walk!
Well done!
Oh, hello!
And it was Graham Norton's testicles!
LAUGHTER.
All right, that is all we've got time for.
If you'd like to have a go in that red chair yourself
and tell your story, you can.
Just contact us via our website at this very address.
Please say thank you to all of my guests...
Jessie Ware!
APPLAUSE.
Siobhan McSweeney!
APPLAUSE.
Dave Grohl!
APPLAUSE.
Alan Carr!
APPLAUSE.
Rege-Jean Page!
APPLAUSE.
And Felicity Kendal!
APPLAUSE.
Join me next week with singer Arlo Parks, comedians
Marcus Brigstocke and Rachel Parris, Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik,
and three Hollywood Brits.
Adrian Lester, Sienna Miller and Daniel Kaluuya.
I'll see you then.
Goodnight, everybody.
Bye-bye!