Episode Transcript
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0:00
Hello! Is it me you're looking for? I
0:02
bet it is. It's Angela Scanlan here on
0:04
the Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose. Today,
0:06
Show Chef Martha is bringing the sweet stuff
0:08
with the strawberry mallow mousse which looks divine
0:11
and apparently tastes divine too, which is important
0:13
for food. And we'll be revisiting some of
0:15
Graham's interviews over the years with the Knights
0:17
of the Realm today. Keep
0:19
your ear out for Sir Brian May
0:21
and Sir David Suchet. Yes, let's
0:23
get that moose on the move, shall we? I think
0:25
I need a sugar high. Show Chef
0:28
Martha, we're over to you. This looks
0:31
delicious. And I know
0:33
you're on the home stretch and I
0:35
don't know whether there's marshmallow in this,
0:38
but it's called a strawberry mallow mousse.
0:40
Oh yes. My pregnancy craving was marshmallows.
0:42
Oh really? Anything gelatin based. Obviously there
0:44
was some, you know, cow
0:48
need. I
0:50
don't drink milk very much, so maybe
0:53
I needed that side. In the gelatin.
0:55
The Harrybose. The marshmallows. I love that.
0:57
I know that. Interesting. Anything
1:01
that was gelatin based. Yum.
1:04
Have you had any weird cravings? Nothing
1:06
super weird. I just had a lot of things
1:08
that I went off a bit, which was a
1:10
bit annoying to be honest. Like things I normally
1:12
love like croissants and pastries. I was like,
1:14
no, I don't want to. But
1:17
I feel like it's kind of coming in slightly now.
1:19
Now I'm reaching the end, they're coming back a bit.
1:21
I'm like, no, I love tea. Don't make
1:24
me not like tea. I love tea.
1:27
Don't ruin it. Okay, what's not to
1:29
love? Right, so talk us through this.
1:31
It's beautiful looking. It's very pink. It
1:34
got a lot of comments of, oh,
1:36
is that Angel Delight? When
1:39
I was wheeling it through the studio. So
1:42
it's a strawberry mallow mousse and then it's
1:45
got these milk chocolate. They're described as mendians,
1:47
which isn't actually a word I've heard before.
1:49
It's not actually a word at all, but
1:51
it's fine. I might be pronouncing it completely
1:53
incorrect. I'm gonna go with a medall. Or
1:55
like a medallion is a better word. Little
1:57
circles of chocolate. Little chocolate butter. So
2:01
it's a strawberry mousse
2:03
and the reason that it's mallow is that instead
2:05
of having to use gelatin leaves or powdered gelatin
2:07
we're using marshmallows as the base of the mousse
2:09
to get it to set which means it would
2:11
actually be a really lovely thing to make with
2:13
kids or if people listening are thinking
2:15
I haven't got a Mother's Day dessert for this evening
2:17
and I want one you can
2:19
do quickly. Easily. Quickly, easily. Stick
2:21
it in the fridge three hours later you could
2:23
be diving in to a bouncy mousse. That
2:27
sounds glorious. Well Marta
2:29
you've exceeded yourself. I
2:31
did think it might be a bit sickly sweet because it is
2:33
a little sickly looking. Anything
2:36
pale pink I think does evoke that feeling
2:38
of oh my goodness it's going to be
2:40
so sweet isn't it? It's on the edge.
2:42
But it's delicious, it's so light and it's
2:44
quite like playful. I feel like kids particularly
2:46
would absolutely love this. I feel
2:48
exactly the same and it's actually got quite
2:50
a lot of strawberries in so the way
2:53
you taste it. It's healthy guys. It's practically
2:55
kale. It's basically so healthy. Look
2:57
there's no sugar there's no, no not that
2:59
there's plenty of sugar. But you start
3:01
with strawberries you want a whole 230 gram pack, chop them
3:03
up and put them into a saucepan with a little bit
3:05
of water and then just a little bit of sugar and
3:08
some vanilla extract. Simmer that for about
3:10
five minutes until they become a bit pulpy and they start
3:12
to mush down a little bit. Then
3:14
we are blending that with a hand blender until
3:16
it's really nice and smooth. Take it off the heat
3:18
and in goes all of your pink and white marshmallows. So
3:20
you can use the pink ones as well for this kind
3:22
of mousse because you want that lovely pink
3:25
rosy colour. Stir that
3:27
until the marshmallows have all melted then set that
3:29
to one side and let it cool down to
3:31
room temperature and then all you need to do
3:33
is whip up a pot of double cream and
3:35
then fold those two mixtures together. Put it into
3:37
little individual glasses and then into the fridge for
3:39
about three hours just to set and firm up
3:41
and you get this kind of marshmallow fluff kind of
3:44
texture from it. Then whilst that's setting
3:46
you can make these little chocolate, posh chocolate
3:48
buttons by melting
3:50
some milk chocolate or you could use dark chocolate if you
3:52
prefer that kind of slightly more grown up taste.
3:54
And then we are going to top those
3:57
with little bits of pistachio and little bits
3:59
of marshmallow. and I've gone with some
4:01
freeze dried raspberry pieces as well. Oh,
4:03
I see. Just adds a bit of sparkle.
4:05
And a bit of tartness to cut through
4:07
as well. Exactly. That's amazing. That's
4:10
amazing. Yeah. Fabulous.
4:12
It's absolutely gorgeous. And
4:15
kind of feel proof, I say. Yeah. I
4:17
mean, apart from the blending, I feel like that's the
4:19
only part that's a bit like, okay, I need to
4:22
get my blender out. But everything else is nice and
4:24
simple. And yeah, people worry about moose.
4:26
They think, oh, it's not gonna set properly. But
4:28
the good thing about marshmallows is it will
4:30
just go back to that marshmallowy texture once it gets back
4:32
down to the right temperature. Fantastic.
4:35
And if you wanna see those, if
4:37
you wanna see that recipe and all of
4:39
the rest, waitrose.com/show chef is where you'll get
4:41
them all. And at Virgin Radio UK, you'll
4:43
see them come to life. Because I mean,
4:45
to be fair, that is a work of
4:47
art. Before I let you go, Martha,
4:50
how was the baby shower yesterday? Oh, it was
4:52
lovely, thank you. Yeah, it was really special, really
4:54
nice. Nice to have my mum down, my sister
4:56
and everyone. Lovely. Well,
4:59
enjoy it all. Lots of moose, yeah? Bouncy
5:01
into that moose. Or dive into that
5:03
bouncy moose, more like. Get
5:11
in the moose. And also in my
5:13
head, I'm like, I don't know whether, am I
5:15
like saying goodbye to you? No, I'm back
5:17
next week. Fine, okay, great. Oh,
5:19
I thought you were gonna say, okay, that's
5:22
what you said. Okay, TBC, so yeah, okay,
5:24
cool. Right. You
5:26
can do that. Yeah,
5:28
okay. Perfect.
5:32
Okay, well, we'll see you next week. Hopefully,
5:35
yeah. Okay, good cross. So about next week,
5:37
yeah? You will be, you'll be here with bells on.
5:39
Or dragon bells behind you. Angela
5:42
Scanlon on the Graham Norton radio show.
5:44
Virgin Radio. Yes, Gump, we'll be hearing
5:47
from Graham Norton and the wonderful Sir
5:49
David Suchet. But first, let's hear from
5:51
another legend, this time, a rock, Sir
5:54
Brian May. Queen guitarist, astronomer and knight
5:56
of the realm, Sir Brian May. Good
5:58
afternoon, Brian. Hello, good. I am. How
6:01
are you doing? I'm really well. How's
6:03
the sur fitting? Does it feel odd
6:05
or is it kind of sitting nicely?
6:08
It's bedding in quite well, thank you. I
6:10
like the sound of it. It's really surprising.
6:12
You call me sub-prior. Yeah, it's nice. It's
6:14
like getting a star at school. You get
6:17
the gold star and say, you've done quite
6:19
well. But
6:21
I kind of feel like it's a
6:23
responsibility to behave even more decently than
6:25
I have been trying to up to
6:27
now. You know what I'm saying? Oh,
6:30
you've led a faultless life, Brian. Well,
6:33
not exactly. But
6:36
you try to be an example and
6:38
try to use what power that you've
6:40
got for good, right? You're not resting
6:42
on your laurels. You are very busy
6:44
man. Let's start with the Starfleet project.
6:47
So a lot of people won't know
6:50
about this. It's 40 years since you
6:52
went off to LA and recorded this
6:54
music. Tell
6:57
us kind of how that happened and what you were up to. Well,
6:59
we were taking a little bit of a break
7:02
from Queen because although we're very grateful for
7:04
what has happened, we've established ourselves around the
7:06
world. But we're slightly getting on each other's
7:08
nerves, I guess. And you
7:10
get a time when you just know you've got to take a break
7:12
and breathe some air. And I
7:15
woke up one morning in LA, which is one of my favorite
7:17
places in the world. And I feel kind of more alive in
7:19
LA. I don't know how you feel. But
7:21
I just got on the phone and talked to a few
7:23
mates and said, how about going in the studio and just
7:25
doing something for the fun of it? Not because we want
7:27
to make a record, just because we want to play together.
7:30
Because all of us in our separate
7:32
groups, and I'm talking about Ed Van
7:34
Halen from the Van Halen group, who's
7:36
amazing, incredible, beautiful player, sadly gone now
7:38
from us. Alan
7:41
Grazer from Ario Speedwagon, also an amazing drummer
7:43
from an amazing group. And
7:45
Fred Mandel, keyboard player who worked with Queen,
7:47
a little bit on radio Gaga and stuff.
7:51
And delightful Phil Chen, Caribbean
7:53
Cockney, who played
7:55
a lot of Rod Stewart records. So we're all different
7:57
people in different groups, and we very seldom get out
7:59
of it. The of our place where we
8:01
play in as a sudden as it'll is
8:03
just going so we did that's that's the
8:06
long story cut. So we went for two
8:08
days with a little bit of a plan
8:10
for me. a little bit of a template.
8:12
I had this song which was the scene
8:14
tune of them have a science fiction tv
8:16
series for kids on Saturday mornings. Good Starfleet
8:19
My little five year old boy to me
8:21
at the time say you know dad is
8:23
really nice in on us In I could
8:25
do that. I could play that song as
8:27
opposed to like was full grown Fh for.
8:30
So we go in there. We do it
8:32
this nineteen eighty three and in the end
8:34
we did put it out and it did
8:36
quite well but it's kind of. It's a
8:38
long time ago so good people haven't heard
8:40
it these days. I wanted to put it
8:42
out there and take you to New Generation.
8:44
It's a box set of all the stuff
8:46
we did or that's the crucial thing. What
8:48
I did at the time was put out
8:50
the a kind of the results but this
8:52
time on putting out every take of every
8:54
so he does so it's like a glimpse
8:56
backstage into the studios at the time you
8:58
can years locking about. Making. Mistakes and just
9:01
just a general vibe of people
9:03
discovering each other. It was a
9:05
great a great moment in my
9:07
life and how did the rest
9:09
of and react when this music
9:11
came As I don't care less
9:13
money as a society. We're
9:17
we're doing our own thing, you know, and so
9:19
we do. We generally do can have disappeared to
9:21
the four corners of the As and just get
9:23
on with stuff. and it was great because we
9:25
were all refresh when we came back to be
9:27
in Queen again. And in Are you coming back
9:29
sometime? Nothing. It's us have one vision
9:31
time and down. And. And
9:34
lies I know as a starting oh say it
9:36
was. It was a good time for me to
9:38
get out land and just get refreshed. Two sons
9:40
in a different place with different air to breathe.
9:42
And was there ever a sense but you wouldn't
9:45
come back? You know did did. Did you need
9:47
to leave each other in order to miss each
9:49
other? like when you when you said on the
9:51
brake were some of you thinking me a break
9:53
Ahmed? I'm back. Allow anything. Have moments sitting in
9:55
a god. I can't deal with this anymore. That
9:58
must be better on the grass is green. But
10:00
I think we added a good consciousness
10:02
of the site that together as a
10:05
band we had a lot more power
10:07
then separately and we had something amazing
10:09
going on. I think we were conscious
10:11
of that even though it was painful
10:13
and pretty. Pretty. Gruesome
10:15
at times. You know we really got under
10:17
each other's skins. At times it was hard,
10:19
but that's it's. like a marriage. You know
10:21
you, You know you can. I love each
10:24
other, but you actually. As
10:26
comes as well, I kill each other
10:28
at w as we're going to play
10:30
a batista feats of what you gonna
10:32
use Eerie mastered some tracks is that
10:35
right? Well. As he did a lot
10:37
more than that. This on my remixed everything because
10:39
I didn't like the sound of the original makes
10:41
it was done in a hurry so I've done
10:43
it very much state of the art and we
10:46
transmittal the original analog types of course they were
10:48
in those days there's no digital is no mobile
10:50
phones, there was no internet as hard to imagine
10:52
this and and game but what haven't done is
10:54
choosing to haven't gotten mean a don't in there
10:56
and put things on a grid or whatever is
10:59
or still live in. Dangerous because I wanted people
11:01
to hear the chemistry, the process, that the the
11:03
business of light trying this and it doesn't work
11:05
then try. Something else that days all on
11:07
that you can hear is all in
11:09
the book says he is sitting in
11:12
this beautiful studio. the record flawed as
11:14
it was in those days in Los
11:16
Angeles. nineteen Eighty Three with me at
11:18
Van Halen, Aggressor and the guys and
11:20
this is what happens. I there is
11:22
such energy and attentive. just young man
11:24
reveling in their own concept happened to
11:26
brilliant. A must bring out by back
11:29
such happy memories. A really does bring
11:31
us down. Seats on A is amazing
11:33
it was. It was so full of
11:35
joy and. Adrenalin. We just enjoy doing
11:37
his company each other's company and yet brief.
11:39
Is it all by a going to cause
11:42
that that magnificent salaries? Not me That said
11:44
sign Island doing is incredibly lucky did for
11:46
Michael Jackson. Beat it. He just came in
11:48
and I've wanted to give him that platform
11:51
to just let rip very seldom that he
11:53
stepped outside the group to do that south
11:55
feel. Very honored that this this happened at
11:57
all or that whole that gets a big.
12:00
That all of a material add
12:02
that is out now. We should
12:04
also say you have a a
12:06
exhorted acted exhibition. Am a proud
12:08
gallery in London. It's running till
12:10
the twenty third of September and
12:13
it's we will rock you in
12:15
three d So what do people
12:17
see when they get to The
12:19
Brow Gallery? Will. Is a lot of
12:21
they see some history of three the as well
12:23
I'm going back to the eighteen sixties and they
12:25
say queen They see queen in three the because
12:27
I took my sweetie camera with me on tour
12:29
all the time that we would have emerged glory days.
12:32
one of the and I still do. As
12:35
a three day is something magnificent. I'm an Evangelist,
12:37
I just think everything should be in three. D
12:39
is why would you not do that? She's in
12:41
make a beautiful three dimensional image as opposed to
12:44
a flat image that you put on the will.
12:46
Why wouldn't you do it all the time? So
12:48
go there and get immersed in three days stuff.
12:51
And you will see Yes you'll also see
12:53
we were out few in the current. the
12:55
we were of you looking like live in
12:57
Three D like you could touch him on
12:59
stage. Oh luckily you can go see the
13:01
real thing You can dance is just up
13:03
the road as we were sitting in a
13:05
trellis of the have you been Grammys not
13:07
You Gotta come in I'd have of course
13:09
I I've gotta beat it's a love it
13:11
sounds like the perfect day as but tell
13:13
me this will be burning Are they seeing
13:15
Three D Treaty photographs? That's right,
13:17
Three photographs. Yeah. Stunning. The Victorian Way which
13:19
hasn't actually been better to you know it's
13:21
it's up like Avatar, but you know better.
13:23
And so the camera you were on tour
13:26
with Alex have that technology hasn't changed that,
13:28
that that technology still the same? Well, it
13:30
hasn't changed that much since the eighteen fifty
13:32
just been refined a little bit. But basically
13:34
it's about getting a list I to see
13:37
something different from. You're right I so you
13:39
use some kind of device to make that
13:41
happen and they and you get this incredible
13:43
reconstruction which happens in your brain. Will you
13:45
see the universe. In a real way
13:48
when real. That's so. I love it. I've
13:50
always been kind of their an advocate of
13:52
it. Ever since I've got a card in
13:54
a Weetabix package We showed me his radio,
13:56
couple hippopotamus. An epic
13:59
abyss. I'm sure Brian a lot of
14:01
people have asked you about this Then have you
14:03
been to see the Aba voyeurs? the the kind
14:05
of of whatever that is unknown whether normal you
14:08
holograms. No I haven't yet
14:10
but I definitely would like to yeah on it
14:12
and I still have. I been a good sign
14:14
or that that as tunes me is there and
14:16
he could really in this in their century and
14:18
I had that yeah I'd love to see and
14:20
I will see it. Disney guns it. We've messed
14:22
with stuff like that for Queen we've talked about
14:24
and looked at very seriously holograms to Freddie and
14:26
stuff but somehow it so far we haven't done
14:28
it because I think the emphasis with us is
14:30
always been live so we have a little bit
14:32
of stuff of for the you know I I
14:34
don't if you. Will. But I do
14:36
love of my life generally and Freddie comes in
14:38
and joins me at the end when we do
14:41
our live shows. But it's not a hologram, is
14:43
just kind of old school technology which we kind
14:45
of like. Nevertheless, I can't wait to see the
14:47
everything and I'm sure they've done a brilliant job.
14:51
I think it might give you ideas
14:53
brian because it it does feel like
14:55
it's a very seriously would you say
14:57
is a great scaling like think we
14:59
might ice It'll be interesting to see
15:01
who does it next because clearly you
15:03
know who's gonna be a big legacy
15:05
band like Queen or like Bowery. somebody
15:07
else is gonna have to to do
15:09
it next I don't I don't know
15:11
who's a Queen would seem prime candidate
15:13
sports with with your back catalogue when
15:15
when we were in recent bombing and
15:17
says with the thing is I guess
15:19
we we are still alive band. And
15:21
I think that's the emphasis on us in
15:23
a ever don't want to go and play
15:25
live anymore. But and and actually they never
15:28
did that. Most playing live lawyer wonderful, banned
15:30
in the studio. but for us to lie
15:32
thing is it. and I think if we
15:34
had too much holograms a certain people would
15:36
stop realizing that with us it's live and
15:38
dangerous. Know back in July snowflakes nothing we'd
15:41
love to be long as incisors disease. I
15:43
think that's our emphasis with a time Be
15:45
not A when we're old or gone. Yes,
15:47
you're making. Everything about us isn't as a
15:49
on here. I want to play. Live Right!
15:51
I want to be a hologram be me
15:53
at but of people can see Black Guy
15:55
they can hear all the music in. We
15:57
Will Rock You! There's a new production of.
16:00
The Coliseum that's paying all the trace
16:02
of the August. And so Ben Elton
16:04
is in this production. He is the
16:06
writer and producer and creator is in
16:08
each year for a limited period. Own
16:10
company be done this. Doing eight shows
16:12
a week when he's put his whole
16:14
life on hoses. Go in there and.
16:17
Of. The so beloved it's be an artist
16:19
on stage and he's is incredible. He's a
16:22
major cause nobody can interpret his group to
16:24
eat and and I'm the shows twice as
16:26
long been in I. Assessed
16:29
as a bombshell team gets incentive
16:31
a scammer on the Graham Norton
16:33
radio show that enraged yeah Audrey
16:35
My second guess of the day
16:37
he is Sir David Sucess at
16:40
Freshly Nice. It's fairly freshly yes
16:42
one it was announced to and
16:44
two years ago but I was
16:46
only recently own. About two weeks
16:48
ago actually dubbed of of congratulate sent
16:50
you very much of a summary of
16:53
what a thrill Yeah I'm I'm I'm
16:55
am so thrilled and a it all
16:57
the cliches of their i'm Honored and
16:59
Humbled and that it's it's great to
17:02
be and you know what I'm thrilled
17:04
about It's a Night bachelor which goose
17:06
right to the Middle Ages and and
17:08
to the medieval knights. Or
17:12
thing it's not, it's not an
17:14
odor of the British, and like
17:16
the Edwardian or Victorian, This goes
17:18
right away. Cannot I think that's wonderful?
17:20
Exhibit appeals to a romantic. it's you
17:22
worked your way through the ranks because
17:24
you were what you you are an
17:26
M B first for know before his
17:28
which I was and I was an
17:30
Ob. Then I got the C B
17:32
and now I got the can. Be
17:34
said. Oh lovely. I'm very
17:37
lucky fact that. Oh
17:39
congratulations I got a very famous Add as
17:41
much right now is a is is a
17:44
departure for yourself. Have you ever been in
17:46
a musical before know this is an absolute
17:48
says. I'm not going to say my actual
17:51
age on are over the yeah but at
17:53
at a certain age to have a first
17:55
is a great treat. The police at what
17:57
is the great though he's going to. The
18:00
good old are you counting on? You know
18:02
everything's happened but know there were still you
18:04
said Yes I'm still new things and I'm
18:06
gonna be in this Carla night that the
18:08
kids can hold Sebrae the twenty eighth of
18:11
a musical meme. I was actually a few
18:13
years ago in to to run a that
18:15
it never move cause I'm cove it came
18:17
up and all the rest of it on
18:19
Wicked A put this on like can it's
18:21
not going to be a full see at
18:24
a performance. We're going to have scripts but
18:26
a lot of it never got the most
18:28
fantastic thing as we got Johnno in Jones.
18:30
We go cylinder Schoenmaker Louise Dim
18:32
and some so with I mean
18:35
absolute of Hunt Unit the great
18:37
leading singers from Phantom of the
18:39
Oppressed, Les Miz of Wicked at
18:41
It. We got top line singers.
18:45
Who again to. Really? Tell
18:47
us the story about the Italian
18:49
Civil War and Sashes Im south
18:52
renewed. Les Miz was the French
18:54
Revolution. Know now we've got this.
18:56
Fantastic musicals a great effect, eclectic
18:59
music itself, talking about the Spanish
19:01
Civil War and to Minnesotans and
19:04
meme as central character. And see
19:06
leaves is when she comes to
19:08
the ice sheet. As a fictional
19:11
character, she leaves Italy children to
19:13
come to the Reds as nightclub
19:15
in London. And Charing Cross
19:17
Road at said assembly relation.
19:20
I'm deb. At that
19:22
time it's announced that war it
19:24
were with with Mister Miscellany. Has
19:27
joined the Nazis and suddenly all
19:29
the Italians in London get arrested
19:31
and put in internment camps. I
19:34
think this is a bit of
19:36
history that we know very well
19:38
about. We know about this with
19:40
forgetting way that we know about
19:42
the Nazis we know about as
19:44
the at what happened and the
19:46
Russian Revolution. We know about the
19:48
French revolution. Who knows about the
19:50
Italian revolution? It's been a
19:52
great privilege to me to actually read
19:54
up and learn about it's and to
19:57
actually play and the at the only
19:59
character that. The existed Alfredo for
20:01
Saute who was a who owned
20:03
this great newspaper la Stampa and
20:05
was forced to sell it off
20:07
way back before the war in
20:09
the in the mid twenties because
20:11
it was antifascist and you are
20:13
you know rate the stories or
20:15
I do. yes I'm I'd know
20:17
rate. I only come into the
20:19
story as character at the very
20:21
beginning and the very end thought
20:23
throughout the evening because it is
20:25
a dollar tight performance. I'm new
20:27
rating little bits that that you
20:29
don't. See or explaining bits that
20:31
you do. See if it was
20:33
fully say he has he was.
20:36
If it ever gets fucked up
20:38
that in the west end does
20:40
your character disappear? I think I
20:42
think he probably might assessed at
20:44
as I said she probably might
20:46
split tab. It's it's just wonderful.
20:48
You know what you get to
20:50
stays you going to rehearsal room
20:53
and certainly instead of my normal
20:55
peers I'm listening to the most
20:57
think Red Bulls singers I ate
20:59
it takes. My breath away. And
21:01
the ensembles that dancing. And they've
21:03
learned dances in three or four
21:05
days that I would take months
21:07
to learn. It really is. It's
21:10
wonderful. They are like. Different.
21:12
Creatures Musical theater people aren't there yet.
21:14
It's just that what they can do
21:16
and make it look so easy. Oh
21:18
absolutely. I mean it as I think
21:20
one dancers learned in about three hours
21:22
while and this so disciplined and so
21:25
committed it's one smell. It says in
21:27
a middle brief here that as it
21:29
did them the club's she goes to
21:31
the Renders nightclubs is A is a
21:33
jazz clubs with them I think a
21:35
maybe was a different A taunt me
21:37
different Meme is a musical spice all
21:39
bit on Facebook and it sounded quite.
21:42
operatic desk while the great
21:44
thing about the show and
21:46
i must say that the
21:48
the numbers since we've got
21:50
to the like operetta we
21:52
have jazz we have of
21:54
but it's not modern modern
21:56
music but it's that they're
21:58
all mix and match It's
22:00
not just one style. I think that's one of
22:02
the great great pluses for the
22:05
for this particular musical and on When
22:07
we do it on February the 28th got the whole BBC
22:10
Orchestra and you're
22:12
raising money for charity. Yes for the
22:14
Prince's Trust, which is fantastic So
22:17
that is me with a musical at the Cadogan Hall
22:19
28th of February And
22:21
as you say, I mean the amazing cast be
22:24
the full BBC Orchestra that will I mean
22:26
you're not gonna hear Even if it gets
22:28
transferred to the West End, you're never gonna hear it like
22:30
this again No, and I gotta be very careful because not
22:32
being in it, but narrating I might lose my place because
22:35
I'm Very
22:39
good So
22:41
what's the idea so he played in Perth as
22:43
a Did a role
22:45
as a full show and it was very
22:47
very successful and I think you know if
22:50
this gets picked up And
22:52
there's no reason why it shouldn't and it and I'm in
22:54
the rehearsal So I'm not saying this just as I mean
22:57
it really deserves to be picked up this
22:59
could have a run like lame is because
23:01
it's that sort of passion and and
23:05
In an area of revolution and resistance
23:08
in a period of history. It's great
23:10
It's really great and how are you
23:12
feeling about work because what happened to
23:14
you in lockdown? Were you were you
23:16
doing any filming or no? I I
23:18
like most of my profession Was
23:21
appearing on shows remotely? But
23:24
not doing much work. I did the odd
23:27
voice, you know very remote Yeah,
23:29
yeah. No, it's a tough two years for
23:31
everybody in my business and Recently,
23:33
I've had the privilege of traveling
23:35
around doing my one-man show David
23:37
Suchet Poirot and more and a
23:40
retrospective about my career Which we
23:42
took to 24 different regions in
23:44
the UK to try and encourage
23:46
people back to the theater And
23:49
we've been doing that was nearly four
23:51
months that I did from September to
23:53
just recently now And was it was
23:55
that your decision to sort of say
23:58
bye-bye Poirot or had it could
24:00
have run its course or how did it happen?
24:02
A very interesting question, Graham. I was actually offered
24:05
to continue doing Poirot, but not
24:07
stories by Agatha Christie. And I
24:09
had to think about that for
24:12
a long time. And
24:14
you know what? I was Agatha
24:17
Christie's Poirot. And I thought to myself, 25 years,
24:21
let's quit while you're ahead. Yeah. And
24:23
also that thing is, you could have said yes, and some of
24:25
them could have been great, but you might have got a, you
24:27
know, you could have done guarantee they'd be. There's no guarantee. And
24:31
if it started to go sour, that
24:33
would have been dreadful. And it was a hard
24:36
decision, difficult one, but I know it was the
24:38
right one. And it is weird,
24:40
because I imagine you living in Poirot's
24:42
beautiful Art Deco apartment. Yes, they do.
24:44
I was once, I hadn't said
24:47
this before, but I was once asked to advertise a
24:49
studio in that
24:51
block of flats, dressed as Poirot. I
24:54
was, and I did. He's
24:59
not proud. No, no, no, he'll do anything
25:01
for money. It's good, honest work. And
25:05
do you miss it now? Because, you know, because
25:08
that character is not going anywhere, someone else, I
25:10
mean, I know Kenneth Branagh's doing the films, but
25:12
someone else is going to do the TV. What
25:15
is that going to be like when you see it?
25:17
Well, it's, well, yeah. And I
25:19
haven't seen any of Ken's actually, by the
25:21
way, but it's very different. Let's put it that way.
25:23
Yes. Well, and it should
25:25
be, you know, this character is going to
25:27
go on and on. He's one of the
25:29
most famous literary characters. So, you
25:32
know, we go right back to the 20th, well,
25:34
not the 30s and 40s,
25:36
Charles Lawton, and people played him.
25:38
And Poirot will continue because
25:40
he's just one of those characters, like James
25:42
Bond. He will go on and on and
25:44
on. And I'm
25:47
looking forward to
25:49
seeing new Poirots on television.
25:51
I am. I'm
25:53
looking forward to that character carrying on. You
25:55
know, I was for now, and
25:59
there will be others. in the future and that's
26:01
right, that's good. I
26:04
suppose it is odd, you know, I think
26:06
the BBC just said they're making another Great
26:08
Expectations and you think, really? Yes, I know.
26:10
As you get older you kind
26:12
of think, didn't they just make that? Yeah, but
26:15
you see in the classical theatre, how many times
26:17
have I, I was 13 years with the Royal
26:19
Shakespeare Theatre, how many times have those plays been
26:21
on? And there's always a new take, new director
26:24
and it's good, we need
26:26
to see these. And I read that, that you were in
26:29
the National Theatre, or the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for 13
26:31
years, was that typical back then that people would
26:33
stay for that long? I was
26:35
one of the last of the boys, if
26:37
you like, that started as a spear carrier
26:39
and ended up playing roles like Iago, Shylock,
26:42
Bolingbroke and all the rest of it. And
26:44
it was a 13 years, it
26:46
doesn't happen anymore. And
26:48
I imagine at the time it flew by, you
26:50
weren't conscious of the fact that, oh, I've been
26:53
here forever. No, in fact, when I first courted
26:55
my wife, Sheila, who had the first date, we
26:57
said, what's your ambition? It was to be a
26:59
member of the National, one of the National Theatre
27:01
companies. And there I was, 13 years. Then
27:04
all of a sudden television came up, film
27:06
came up and moved on. But I loved
27:08
it. I had the most wonderful time. And
27:10
now musicals. And now musicals. Finally. Finally.
27:14
He's arrived. In the world of musicals. We've
27:18
been amongst royalty really this weekend and
27:20
I will be back with you next
27:23
weekend here on the Graham Norton Radio
27:25
Show with Waitrose with more highlights from
27:27
Graham and some lovely grub, I hope,
27:29
from show chef Martha. She always delivers,
27:31
doesn't she? And it's free. I'll come
27:33
back again. In the
27:36
meantime, make sure you're up to date with
27:38
us on all of the socials. At Virgin
27:40
Radio UK is where you find us. If
27:42
you're a YouTube bunny, search Virgin Radio for
27:45
all of the full interviews. See you soon.
27:47
Angela Scanlon on the Graham Norton Radio
27:49
Show. Virgin Radio.
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