1
00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:06,560
This programme contains very strong
language and adult humour.

2
00:00:06,560 --> 00:00:08,320
I just read, er, in a magazine

3
00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:10,960
the most incredible thing,

4
00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:15,000
that apparently, er, marmalade,
in large doses -

5
00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,160
and when I say large doses, I mean,
you know, small doses -

6
00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:25,000
can be fatal, cos they, er,
seize up the, er, cardiac system

7
00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,640
and give influctions.

8
00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,280
Yeah, well, there's a lot of truth
in that

9
00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,520
cos too much vitamin C
can diminish your sexual potency

10
00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:39,520
and I read that
in the National Star.

11
00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:46,680
And what I think the professor was
making the point of was that, um...

12
00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,760
Are you saying
that food is dangerous?

13
00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,120
Well, let's put it this way.
Not all food is dangerous

14
00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,400
but there are certain kinds of food
that are dangerous.

15
00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:07,640
Sugar, for example.

16
00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:09,920
Especially combined with salt.

17
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,400
If you have a cup of sugar and salt,
I mean,

18
00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,640
you might as well kiss goodbye
to tomorrow cos, um...

19
00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,280
But the point that Dr Slazenger
says is that...

20
00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,440
Because anything you eat is deadly

21
00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:30,560
and the best thing to eat
is nothing.

22
00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:33,840
And I think you have to reach
a slight compromise.

23
00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:40,400
I mean, that makes sense,
doesn't it?

24
00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,040
Peter Cook is widely regarded
as the greatest figure

25
00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:52,840
in modern British comedy.

26
00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,760
Writer, performer,
proprietor of Private Eye magazine

27
00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,840
and The Establishment Club, he
dominated British comedy for decades

28
00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,480
on television, radio, theatre,
print and film.

29
00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,280
Few have had a glimpse
at Peter Cook's private world

30
00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,520
because, after his untimely death -
he was just 57 -

31
00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,400
Peter's grief-stricken wife, Lin,
closed up his Hampstead house,

32
00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,800
leaving it like a time capsule,
full of comedic treasure.

33
00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,960
This front door has remained
firmly locked for two decades.

34
00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,720
Lin has resisted all offers to allow
the cameras in, until now.

35
00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,840
And so it is that we go
through the keyhole.

36
00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:36,000
Past the wall with Peter's
Derek and Clive graffiti on it.

37
00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,880
Past the EL Wisty-inspired
hat stand.

38
00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:40,360
Through the dining room,

39
00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:42,600
where Peter and Dudley recorded
their improvisations

40
00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,160
or stared blankly at the garden
for inspiration.

41
00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,440
Up the precarious stairs - well,
occasionally precarious for Peter.

42
00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,040
To his study and his bookshelves,

43
00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:57,200
which reveal
a very eclectic mind indeed.

44
00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,000
And scattered around the study,
as they have been since he died,

45
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:11,600
are such gems as home videos,
diaries, family snapshots, letters,

46
00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,720
rehearsal tapes and much, much more.

47
00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,400
What follows isn't a biography
of Peter Cook.

48
00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,240
We've all seen
plenty of those before.

49
00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,200
Instead, we're offering a glimpse
of Peter's private world

50
00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,520
and clips from programmes
that have not been broadcast

51
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,200
since their original transmission.

52
00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,560
Many of our best and funniest finds
were domestic audio recordings

53
00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:32,400
made by Peter alone, or with Dudley

54
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,120
and, as you've already seen,
we've animated some of these.

55
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,760
There's no stopping the man!
He's doing ME now! This is...

56
00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:50,600
The first thing
that we almost literally stumbled on

57
00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:52,880
was this suitcase
which contains memories

58
00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,120
of Peter's childhood
and adolescence.

59
00:03:55,120 --> 00:04:00,200
And most interesting is this ancient
16mm home movie, shot in the 1930s.

60
00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,120
Peter was born on 17th November,
1937,

61
00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,440
into a middle-class
civil service family.

62
00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,240
He never made any secret
of his comfortable background,

63
00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:15,720
but these never before broadcast
pictures show that his origins were

64
00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:17,880
very much at the upper end
of the middle class.

65
00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,560
I come from an upper middle class
background

66
00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,760
and I'm not ashamed of it.

67
00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:26,440
A better start in life.
I had a better start in life.

68
00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,960
He was brought up in a big house
with gardeners, nannies...

69
00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:36,440
..and social functions

70
00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,120
that would have impressed
even Lord Peter Wimsey.

71
00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:49,800
Peter was educated at public school,
Radley College,

72
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,080
and in this rare interview
with his mother,

73
00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,440
we discover that the schoolboy Peter
was a million miles

74
00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:56,520
from the man who created
Derek and Clive.

75
00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:58,840
Mrs Cook, Mrs Peter Cook. Yes.

76
00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:02,800
As a little boy,
you say your Peter was interested

77
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:05,000
in snakes and reptiles.
Yes, very much.

78
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,280
And you don't know whether
he's still interested or not.

79
00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:09,800
Does that mean you don't
see him at all? Yes, of course I do,

80
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,680
but I think he's still fond of them
but more distantly.

81
00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,920
We have a picture of him coming up
there. He looks very innocent there.

82
00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:19,840
He doesn't look like the little lad
who later learnt to shock...

83
00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:22,440
I mean, he shocks a lot of people,
your Pete, doesn't he? I know.

84
00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:24,680
He was rather shy and retiring
when he was young.

85
00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,840
When did all this change and why?
I don't know. I don't know at all.

86
00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:31,520
You didn't drop, did you,
or something like that?

87
00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,280
Of course not!
Where did he live as a child?

88
00:05:34,280 --> 00:05:37,600
Well, in Torquay and we were
in West Africa half the time.

89
00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,640
What were you doing there? My
husband was propping up the Empire.

90
00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,400
LAUGHTER

91
00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:46,400
The bit that was left before it...?
Yes. Did it fall over when he left?

92
00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,360
No! Nearly, not quite.

93
00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,600
No, he was a district officer there
and we had to be away rather a lot.

94
00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,920
Yes. So he was with grannies. Right.

95
00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,320
Inside the same suitcase
are school photos,

96
00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,960
a school yearbook that reveals
Peter the academic,

97
00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:04,280
having won three scholarships
in a single year,

98
00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,800
even though he later claimed
to have done no work at all.

99
00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,080
I mean, my last year at Radley
was incredible

100
00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:11,120
cos I passed my exams to Cambridge.

101
00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,840
I was just staying on there because
there was nothing better to do.

102
00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,760
I used to have breakfast in bed,
brought to me, shoes polished,

103
00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,280
study cleaned, everything like that.

104
00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:23,040
And you were allowed
certain privileges.

105
00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:25,200
I used to go to the pictures
a lot in Oxford.

106
00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,120
There was nothing for me to do
academically.

107
00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:28,960
He then spent a year
on the Continent,

108
00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,200
books about Germany and France
reflecting the time he spent abroad,

109
00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,080
studying languages in preparation
for Cambridge University.

110
00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,120
We also found this rather dapper
monogrammed grooming case,

111
00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,760
revealing traces of Brylcreem stuck
to letters to and from the BBC,

112
00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,640
like this one, where Peter attempts
to get work on BBC television.

113
00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,920
"Dear Mr Titheradge, I wanted
to know if it's possible

114
00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,800
"for a spare-time scriptwriter
to write occasional sketches

115
00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:55,480
"for television comedy programmes.

116
00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,280
"I enclose a short sketch
about shirts and this time,

117
00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:01,880
"I've carefully avoided writing with
any particular comedian in mind."

118
00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,120
Also in the case is a hit of 1957,
a record of Peggy Sue,

119
00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,640
a song Peter loved so much
that some years later,

120
00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:12,800
he recorded his own version.

121
00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,720
We found two tapes of this -
one with his vocal only...

122
00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,680
# Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba. #
That's a bit loud.

123
00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:22,200
# If you...

124
00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,040
# If you knew Peggy Sue

125
00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,680
# Then you'd know why I feel blue
about... #

126
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:31,280
And the other one with backtrack,

127
00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:34,320
painstakingly restored here
together for the first time.

128
00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,520
# If you knew Peggy Sue

129
00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:39,920
# Then you'd know why I feel blue

130
00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,360
# About Peggy

131
00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,360
# My Peggy Sue

132
00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,400
# Well, I love you, girl

133
00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,000
# Yes, I love you, Peggy Sue.. #

134
00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,960
Frankly,
we wondered why we bothered.

135
00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,680
Ow, ooh, I'm out of breath. Christ!

136
00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,360
PETER CLEARS HIS THROAT

137
00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,360
Peter and particularly Dudley
railed against the BBC

138
00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:05,840
for having lost most of the episodes
of Not Only... But Also.

139
00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:08,480
There's a whole lot of people
who haven't seen those programmes.

140
00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,640
I think this is one thing Peter
and I both feel badly about,

141
00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,640
that I think the BBC erased
all of our tapes.

142
00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:16,880
Thank you and goodnight!
LAUGHTER

143
00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,680
Have they really? Yeah, I think
they erased the whole bloody lot.

144
00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,920
I can't imagine...
I mean, some idiot...

145
00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,520
But we tracked down the audio
from an obsessive fan

146
00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:26,160
who hotwired his TV set,

147
00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,240
electrocuting himself
in the process,

148
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,480
and recorded them
as they aired in the 1960s.

149
00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,880
And we also tracked down some silent
films from various sources,

150
00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,160
including old film cans
from the trails department

151
00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:41,080
at ABC TV in Australia
and we joined the bits together.

152
00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,720
Now, is this the sort of suit
one can smoke marijuana in?

153
00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:46,560
You're planning to get...

154
00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:49,080
You're planning to be stoned
out your mind, are you, sir?

155
00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:53,280
Well, Basil told me it was going to
be a rave and I want something...

156
00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,160
LAUGHTER DROWNS OUT SPEECH

157
00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:58,560
Er, I wish you wouldn't do that.

158
00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:00,600
LAUGHTER

159
00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,120
Er, I think that's rather nice, sir.
I like it.

160
00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:07,440
Er, the only thing that strikes me
is that it is a trifle effeminate.

161
00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:09,640
Effeminate?
I wouldn't say it was effeminate.

162
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,880
I would say it was effeminate, yes.
I wouldn't say it was effeminate.

163
00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,800
I just said it IS effeminate.
LAUGHTER

164
00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:17,200
It is effeminate.

165
00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,960
Well, you know, sir, we had
Max Schmeling, the boxer, in here

166
00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,160
the other day, sir, and he went away
with a replica of this very suit

167
00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,360
and I wouldn't call HIM
effeminate, would you, sir?

168
00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:27,480
Max Schmeling.
No, I wouldn't call him effeminate.

169
00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,120
I wouldn't call Max Schmeling
effeminate.

170
00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:30,640
I wouldn't call him effeminate, no.

171
00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:33,400
He's not effeminate. He's never been
near a woman in his life.

172
00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:35,840
LAUGHTER

173
00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:37,600
He wouldn't touch one, you know.

174
00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,120
It really worries me,
this effeminate thing,

175
00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,960
because my wife is extremely
effeminate, you know.

176
00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,160
A ghastly business.
I don't know where she picks it up.

177
00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:50,680
She sort of goes flim-flamming about
the place. It's most frustrating.

178
00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:53,120
Yes, well, we don't want people
having difficulty

179
00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,200
trying to distinguish between the
pair of you, do we? Certainly not.

180
00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,840
Would you like one bent at the back,
sir? If you have one, yes.

181
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,960
LAUGHTER

182
00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,080
Do you fancy the thin one? Yeah.

183
00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:05,720
Well, she can be yours
in a matter of moments, Dud. Yeah?

184
00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:07,920
If you just play your cards right.
The thin one?

185
00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:09,920
All you have to do is go up to her,

186
00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:13,720
say something ironic to establish
your amazing masculinity, you see.

187
00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,400
Yeah? Go up. She's fairly thin,
isn't she? Yeah.

188
00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,560
Well, say something ironic, like,
"Hello, fatty."

189
00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:22,680
Being an ironic comment
on the fact she's thin. Yeah.

190
00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:26,840
Then say to her in a rough, brutal
way, like James Cagney used to do,

191
00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,280
go up to her and say, "How about
a bit of passionate love with me?"

192
00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:33,080
Do you think that will work?

193
00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,080
Well, I should think so, yeah. Just
be very masculine, aggressively so.

194
00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,440
I'll try, shall I? Go on.

195
00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:46,040
Hello, fat face! How about... What?

196
00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:47,960
A bit of passionate love with me.

197
00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,000
LAUGHTER

198
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,840
How about a bit of passionate love
with me then?

199
00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:56,760
LAUGHTER

200
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,880
What happened, Dud?
She slapped my face, Pete.

201
00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,280
Well, you're away, aren't you? Am I?

202
00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,440
Physical contact
after such a brief meeting, yes.

203
00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:09,320
That's the way to do it, Dud.

204
00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,280
Now you've got to play it
extremely cool.

205
00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:15,720
Why don't we go upstairs and ignore
them for about ten stops?

206
00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:18,200
Play it cool? Play it cool.
That's the only way to do it, Dud.

207
00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:19,520
All right then.

208
00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:24,080
APPLAUSE

209
00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,280
Do you find in any way
that you've been affected adversely

210
00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,000
by the credit squeeze?

211
00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,320
I know that businessmen
up and down the country

212
00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,800
are being forced to take
drastic slashes.

213
00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,280
LAUGHTER

214
00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,040
We also tracked down
parts of this episode,

215
00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,400
featuring Peter Sellers,
not seen since 1965,

216
00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:48,600
and was considered lost
for 40 years,

217
00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,240
until being rediscovered in the USA

218
00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:52,320
in the Library of Congress's
film stores

219
00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,200
and then returned to the BBC.

220
00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:56,800
It's never been rebroadcast
on television.

221
00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:58,240
Good evening.

222
00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,880
Here in the studio tonight,
we have Mr Danny Gough,

223
00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,120
the boxer who has turned
portrait painter,

224
00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,640
and who is having his first show
in London in Regent Street.

225
00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:08,680
Mr Gough... Mr Gough...

226
00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:12,920
Mr Gough, could I tear you away
for a moment from your...

227
00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,640
Would you like to sit down
for a while?

228
00:12:15,640 --> 00:12:17,520
Robert. Thank you very much.

229
00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:18,920
Good.

230
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,720
Thank you.

231
00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:24,600
LAUGHTER

232
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,480
Er, Mr Gough, I am particularly
interested to know

233
00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,560
what led you to leave the ring

234
00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:33,760
and enter the highly competitive
world of portrait painting.

235
00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,320
Well, it was about two years ago,

236
00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,600
I was, er, fighting Killer Cain

237
00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,160
and I'm afraid I wasn't altogether
in trim, you see.

238
00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:51,640
Oh, I had a few pints
before the night, didn't I?

239
00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,160
And he got in with a left
in the third round.

240
00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,720
Right on the button he got me,
so I went down.

241
00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:01,800
As I was sort of lying there,
wasn't I?

242
00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,560
He was lying there. Yeah.
LAUGHTER

243
00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,520
I was lying there and I saw this,

244
00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,480
this thin trickle of blood
coming out of my left nostril

245
00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:16,720
onto the canvas and suddenly I
become aware of what I had in me.

246
00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,640
LAUGHTER
Er, blood, that is.

247
00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:25,600
No, I mean, no, no... No, not that.

248
00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:28,240
No, it opened up a window
in my mind.

249
00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,640
My vistas was enlarged. I see.
LAUGHTER

250
00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,720
I didn't know that.
Yes, very painful too.

251
00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:36,320
LAUGHTER

252
00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:40,120
And I saw a whole new world
of creativity in front of me

253
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,680
and I've been on the canvas
ever since, ain't I? I see.

254
00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:46,160
Mr Gough, this is your first show
here in London,

255
00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,960
but I think I'm right in saying
that you have had an exhibition

256
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,520
in the provinces before this.
Oh, yeah, yeah.

257
00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,880
You had an exhibition in the
provinces? Yeah, I have, yeah.

258
00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,600
I suppose you could say, you see,

259
00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:01,560
that this show is in the nature
of a sort of comeback for me. I see.

260
00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:04,640
You don't agree, then,
with critics of this kind of work,

261
00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,320
who say that your kind of painting
can damage the brain?

262
00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,160
LAUGHTER

263
00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:14,000
No, I don't, I don't.

264
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,280
No, I definitely don't say that.
You wouldn't agree with that.

265
00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,320
I notice you're wearing
these rather thick pebble glasses.

266
00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,000
Is that in any way connected
with your painting?

267
00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,040
Well, that's because I've got
myoprics of the eyes.

268
00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:27,760
LAUGHTER

269
00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:31,000
I've got myoprics in the eyes here

270
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,600
and they also help to...

271
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:39,240
They also help, you see,
to stop the paint coming in the eye.

272
00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,960
Of course, I believe a lot
of painters have, in fact, suffered

273
00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,680
from this similar disease,
have they not?

274
00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,400
Tintoretto, wasn't it?
LAUGHTER

275
00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,760
I believe Tintoretto was astigmatic.
Ah.

276
00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:54,000
LAUGHTER

277
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,840
Well, we're going to look
very shortly

278
00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:58,200
at one of Mr Gough's
latest paintings.

279
00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,040
By the way, who is this person
here you're painting?

280
00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,280
What are you talking about,
"Who is it?" Who is this person?

281
00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,080
The Archbishop of Canterbury!
"Who is it?"

282
00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:09,080
It's the Archbishop of Canterbury.

283
00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,360
It's the Archbishop of Canterbury,
is it? Yes.

284
00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,480
Of course it's the Archbishop
of Canterbury. Yes, of course it is.

285
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:20,360
And this Late Night Line-Up
from June, 1967,

286
00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:23,600
where Peter discovered
that the then controller of BBC2,

287
00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,040
David Attenborough,
was in the audience,

288
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,040
and Peter acted accordingly.

289
00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:29,960
They must be out of their minds.

290
00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:33,920
But we must proffer
our heartfelt congratulations

291
00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:38,040
to Mr David Attenborough here...
Bless his heart. Bless his heart.

292
00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,560
APPLAUSE
Bless his cotton socks.

293
00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:43,080
..who moved on from the heady world

294
00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,960
of making wonderful
documentary films

295
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,720
about the mating habits
of Armand and Michaela Denis...

296
00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:52,440
LAUGHTER

297
00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,720
And moving over here,
we see David Attenborough.

298
00:15:55,720 --> 00:16:01,240
Now, David, I feel kind of bashful
being confronted

299
00:16:01,240 --> 00:16:05,880
by a person who's surrounded
by red tablecloths, like you are.

300
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,320
But one thing I'd like to ask you,
because I'm on a sort of percentage,

301
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:12,960
is why you smoke Silk Cut
Benson & Hedges cigarettes.

302
00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:15,000
LAUGHTER

303
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:16,800
They're the only ones I could steal.

304
00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:18,560
They're the only ones
he could steal.

305
00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,600
And that's a fact, ladies and
gentlemen, and you can't deny it.

306
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:24,880
BIRDSONG

307
00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,440
We always hoped to find
some forgotten fragments

308
00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,880
of Peter's comedy
during our visit to the house,

309
00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,120
but what we unearthed exceeded
all expectations.

310
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,600
Once we'd reassembled the tapes in
these boxes, dated New York, 1964,

311
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:47,480
and had painstakingly stuck the
edited pieces back together again,

312
00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,600
we realised that we'd struck gold.

313
00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:53,040
This is an entire unknown album
by Peter and Dudley,

314
00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,840
the Dead Sea Tapes,
recorded in New York in late 1963

315
00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:01,880
and edited for release early in
1964, but long thought to be lost.

316
00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:04,520
The recordings were mentioned
in the American press

317
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,200
but Peter and Dudley were worried

318
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:08,400
that they might be prosecuted
for blasphemy,

319
00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,760
which was a serious criminal offence
in those pre-Life Of Brian days.

320
00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,600
So, they decided not to release
the tapes.

321
00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:18,040
Peter Cook later recalled them in
this never before aired interview.

322
00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:22,360
We once, in 1963, when we were
in New York with Beyond The Fringe,

323
00:17:22,360 --> 00:17:24,960
we went into Capitol Studios

324
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,320
and, on the very same basis
as the Derek and Clive records,

325
00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:33,600
we did an adlib session which -
I suppose about five hours of it -

326
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,200
which I called the Dead Sea Tapes.

327
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,680
The Dead Sea Scrolls
had just been discovered

328
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,160
and they are adlibbed things
by people who knew Jesus.

329
00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:45,080
TAPE: As doctors, we think...

330
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,440
Yes, yes.
We think the whole thing...

331
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:50,080
Yes, yes. Was...

332
00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,080
PETER COUGHS
Excuse me.

333
00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,800
PETER COUGHS
..was a little unfair... Yes, yes.

334
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,080
..on the general practitioner.
Yes, yes.

335
00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,880
To say the least, it was
a little unorthodox. Yes, yes, yes.

336
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,560
PETER COUGHS
Blast! I'm sorry.

337
00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,240
We were made to look
absolute idiots.

338
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,600
I mean, it's all very well,
these gratuitous miracles,

339
00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,760
but it's all very well for
the people who were cured, you see.

340
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,080
Yes, yes. But it left the doctors

341
00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:20,440
with a considerable amount
of scrambled eggs on their faces.

342
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,160
Yes, yes, yes. You see,
I went round, for instance,

343
00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:25,920
to see Lazarus's mother... Yes, yes.

344
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,440
..and I explained to her, I said,

345
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,880
"Your son, madam,
is absolutely incurable." Yes, yes.

346
00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:34,560
And the next moment,
this fellow was round,

347
00:18:34,560 --> 00:18:38,800
cured the boy in a flash and left me
looking absolutely ridiculous.

348
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,760
Yes, yes. I mean, I couldn't get
another call for weeks, you see.

349
00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:44,880
Yes, yes. And very soon after that,

350
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,040
I went down with an attack
of the creeping habdabs,

351
00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,040
through getting nothing to eat...

352
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:53,960
PETER COUGHS
..and, er, I...

353
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,320
I tried to get hold of this fellow

354
00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,720
and see if he could work one of his
blasted miracles on me. Yes, yes.

355
00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,720
And, er, you know
what he said to me? Yes, yes.

356
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:09,480
He said, "Physician, heal thyself."
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

357
00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:13,560
I do wish you wouldn't keep on
saying, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes."

358
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:18,720
I'm sorry,
it's an incurable disease I have.

359
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,800
Oh, I see. I'm sorry.

360
00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,920
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

361
00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:26,560
PETER SNEEZES
Blast!

362
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,600
For an agnostic and a sceptic,
if not downright atheist,

363
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,120
Peter's bookshelves are
surprisingly peppered

364
00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:36,360
with volumes on spirituality
and religion,

365
00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:38,960
a subject which perplexed him
throughout his life.

366
00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:43,200
Religion is at the very core of his
most successful film, Bedazzled,

367
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,000
in which he plays an incarnation
of the devil.

368
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,880
What a dreary thing to do.
I hope you're proud of yourself.

369
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,120
It was pride that got me into this.

370
00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,000
I used to be an angel, you know,

371
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:55,600
up in heaven. Oh, yeah.

372
00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,120
You used to be God's favourite,
didn't you? That's right.

373
00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:00,600
"I love Lucifer", it was,
in those days.

374
00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:05,080
With me in the studio is the devil
himself, alias Peter Cook.

375
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:09,480
Evening, fans. What sort of
religious views do you have, if any?

376
00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:13,240
I have very muddled religious views.
I was brought up Church of England,

377
00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,440
I went to a school where I went
to a daily service in a surplice,

378
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:21,120
and so I was fairly inundated
with religion early on.

379
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:23,440
And I'm very confused about it all.

380
00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:28,960
Um, how is it that on every count,
in the 20th century,

381
00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:31,120
the devil is winning hands down?

382
00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:33,160
Is this just the weakness
of the human race?

383
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:35,360
And why are we created
so ill-equipped

384
00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:38,440
to deal with the situation we're
thrust into without being asked?

385
00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,880
And if there IS a God which
I believe in or will believe in,

386
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,760
he's a forgiving
and understanding God

387
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,800
and I shall be able to get away
with what I do in this world.

388
00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,960
Bedazzled in an hilarious retelling
of the Faust myth,

389
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,480
with the devilish Peter
trying to tempt Dudley

390
00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,680
into selling his soul,
while simultaneously playing

391
00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:05,880
pathetic and malicious pranks
on humanity.

392
00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:09,320
THEY BOTH LAUGH

393
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:11,160
Here, that's terrible.

394
00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,840
But, I mean, apart from the way
he moves, what's God really like?

395
00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:19,120
I mean, what colour is he? He's all
colours of the rainbow, many-hued.

396
00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:21,720
But he IS English, isn't he?
Oh, yes, very upper-class.

397
00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:26,640
Course his son had
a lot of problems,

398
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:28,240
having such a famous father.

399
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,680
Yeah, I always feel sorry for Jesus
having his birthday

400
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,360
on Christmas Day, you know,
just one lot of presents.

401
00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,480
This interview,
recorded on the set of Bedazzled,

402
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:42,760
was only ever broadcast once,
half a century ago,

403
00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:44,440
and only in the London area,

404
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,880
so chances are
you've never seen it before.

405
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:48,360
For the filmmaker,

406
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:51,360
heaven comes in all sorts of
different shapes and sizes.

407
00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:53,600
For producer-director Stanley Donen,

408
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,480
who is currently making
his latest comedy, Bedazzled,

409
00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:58,200
in various parts of London,

410
00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:03,360
this is his idea of heaven - the
gardens of Syon Park in Middlesex.

411
00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:07,360
As I said, these are the gardens
and somewhere back there,

412
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:10,120
for the purposes of the story,
is God.

413
00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,080
Well, now today,
I've come to Stanley Donen's heaven

414
00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,040
to meet what must surely be
the most unlikely visitor

415
00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:19,040
ever to come here
and that is the devil himself.

416
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:26,120
Peter Cook, we've seen you playing
the devil many times before

417
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,320
on television and the cinema,
but this, surely,

418
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:30,960
is the first time you've ever PLAYED
the devil, isn't it?

419
00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:32,720
Yes, I've been longing
for the opportunity.

420
00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:34,800
My wife has always said
that I AM the devil.

421
00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:36,480
She thinks I'm an emissary
of the devil.

422
00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:39,400
At last I've got the opportunity
to play myself. Very nice, too.

423
00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:42,560
What's the devil doing in heaven?
Well, he always was in heaven.

424
00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:45,240
Lucifer was God's favourite angel
in the old days,

425
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:46,720
sat around, adoring God.

426
00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:49,560
But after a while, he got fed up
with it and wanted to be like God

427
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,600
and was cast out, I thought rather
harshly, for the sin of pride,

428
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,160
which we all have,
to a great extent - certainly I do.

429
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,200
And now, after thousands and
thousands of years of tempting,

430
00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,200
doing his job,
making the world miserable,

431
00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,800
he's fed up with it and he wants
to go back to heaven again

432
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,200
and sit in the garden, have a nice
time and praise the Lord again.

433
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,200
Who, specifically,
do you tempt in this film?

434
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,440
Oh, in this film,
my main tempting activities

435
00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:13,160
are centred round Dudley Moore,

436
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,240
who is not a difficult figure
to tempt, as you can well imagine.

437
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,520
Having already succumbed
to every temptation

438
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:23,440
in the history of mankind,
he's well at home doing this.

439
00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:26,080
This sounds, to me,
very much like the Faust theme.

440
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:27,520
I'd have thought that by now,

441
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:31,120
we'd had every conceivable variation
on that particular theme.

442
00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:34,720
It's your 20th-century Faust
we're doing. Well, I don't know.

443
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,880
I think it's a fascinating theme.
That's why it's been done so often.

444
00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,400
Um, I've never seen it done funnily.

445
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,160
They're all sort of rather serious
things about scholars,

446
00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,400
you know, wishing to find
the secret of life and so on.

447
00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,560
This is very much a comedy version.

448
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:49,520
I don't think we've had
a Faust theme

449
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:51,840
with Raquel Welch in it before,
playing Lust.

450
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,000
I don't think we've had
a Faust theme

451
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,080
with a cast of a thousand nuns.

452
00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:58,920
And, in many ways, I think
it's very different from any other.

453
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:01,360
Yes. I certainly hope so.
I'd like to ask you about this

454
00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:04,360
because, in many of your TV
sketches, heaven and, in fact, nuns,

455
00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:06,600
seem to feature pretty prominently.

456
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:08,960
What is it about these two things
that, you know,

457
00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:10,960
to you, make them good comedy
material?

458
00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,880
Well, I'm hoping to get to heaven
and find out as much about it.

459
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,200
I think, um, religion is,

460
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,920
for me, one of the most fascinating
subjects. I explore it in...

461
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:26,880
I'm not a very religious person
but I'm very interested in it

462
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,840
and I don't think it's ever been
treated in a really funny way -

463
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,520
not a disrespectful way,
but just exploring the funny things

464
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,600
that happen to people
in a religious context...

465
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,880
PLANE FLIES OVERHEAD
..such as this bleeding plane

466
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:39,960
going over now. Yes.
Is that sent by the devil

467
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,160
or is it part of God's plan to drown
out the interview? Nobody knows.

468
00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:50,160
Um, I think this sort of voice
would be good, do you? Yes.

469
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,760
God bless him. What the bloody hell
do we say at this point?

470
00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:56,240
Um, improvise. Improvise.

471
00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,200
Improvise only is what you do.
Improvise.

472
00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,960
Hello,
this the Queen of England speaking.

473
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,720
I'd like you all to go
and see the new film Bedazzled,

474
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:06,960
produced and directed
by Stanley Donen,

475
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,560
starring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore
and Raquel Welch as Lust.

476
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,880
Pete, that didn't sound very much
like the Queen of England, you know.

477
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,280
I thought it was a very good
imitation. No, very poor.

478
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,400
Go and see Bedazzled,
there's good subjects.

479
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,160
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore can be
blamed for everything else.

480
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,320
Including this commercial.
Oh, whoops.

481
00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:29,120
PETER BLOWS HIS NOSE
Don't blow your nose on air.

482
00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:32,840
But Peter's projects didn't always
meet with universal success,

483
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:36,560
as this next tape we discovered
in his desk drawer reminds us.

484
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,840
APPLAUSE
Thank you.

485
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,120
Thank you.

486
00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:46,720
In February, 1971,
Peter briefly hosted a chat show

487
00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:49,440
for BBC television,
entitled Where Do I Sit?

488
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:52,600
It was anarchic and unpredictable
and, while some viewers loved it,

489
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:56,080
others hated it and BBC management
soon became very nervous.

490
00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:57,840
APPLAUSE

491
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,080
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,

492
00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,920
and welcome to the most relaxed show
on British television.

493
00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:06,280
After three editions,
the show was axed

494
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,560
and no tapes were thought
to have survived,

495
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,800
but we tracked down
Peter's audio cassettes

496
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:12,640
of some of the short-lived series.

497
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:14,480
Here is the opening
of the second show,

498
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,480
with Peter happily reading out
some of the no-nonsense abuse

499
00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:19,480
he'd received after the first show.

500
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,240
Last week,
we did the first show and we had

501
00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:25,600
a record number of enquiries,
as you could politely call it,

502
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,560
to the duty officer of the BBC,
including my own enquiry.

503
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,160
I'd like to read a few of them.

504
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:35,120
"I like his programmes, but not him.
He is hopeless."

505
00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:36,840
LAUGHTER

506
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:40,000
"This is the biggest load of
organised crap I have ever seen.

507
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,240
"Never mind my name."

508
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,880
LAUGHTER

509
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:45,680
Be in touch, never mind my name,

510
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,320
because I never knew the crap
was organised!

511
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:52,080
And this is an especially good one.
"I would love to get at him..."

512
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:56,000
Wahey! "I would love to get at him.
LAUGHTER

513
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,320
"It is so easy to mock
and pick on people."

514
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,920
We also found this
from the first show -

515
00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,960
Peter's rendition
of the Elvis Presley classic...

516
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:07,800
# Well, bless my soul, what's
wrong with me? # ..All Shook Up.

517
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,280
# I'm itching like a man
on a fuzzy tree

518
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:13,320
# My friends say I'm actin'
wild as a bug

519
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,800
# I'm in love, I'm all shook up

520
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,720
# Mm-hmm-hmm

521
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:19,520
# Mmm

522
00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:21,560
# Yeah, yeah, yeah... #

523
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:25,720
You hosted a chat show once,
many moons ago. Yes, I did, yes.

524
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:29,600
I was wondering if you got
any public reaction to it at all.

525
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:32,760
Yes, the public reaction
was that I should desist...

526
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,160
LAUGHTER

527
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,520
..from hosting a chat show.

528
00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:41,960
Um, one of the main problems
I found, as an interviewer,

529
00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:46,000
was an inability to hear
what the other person was saying.

530
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,280
And if I did,
no interest in it whatsoever either.

531
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,240
This extract of him phoning
a viewer live,

532
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,160
who had complained about the show,

533
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:56,680
suggests that it was simply
years ahead of its time,

534
00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,800
with Peter's anarchic approach
being far too dangerous and edgy

535
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:02,200
for the BBC in the early 1970s.

536
00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:05,200
You were watching last week,
weren't you? 'Yes.'

537
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,160
And you disliked it very much.

538
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,520
'Yeah, I thought you were
a colossal bore.'

539
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,480
Yeah?
LAUGHTER

540
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,600
'It's all right. I probably am
myself.' You probably are yourself?

541
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,760
'Yeah, oh, definitely.'
It's nice to talk to you.

542
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,520
Somebody, in a letter to me
the other week, said I was pissed.

543
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,480
You sound a bit gone yourself.
'Yeah.'

544
00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:24,520
All right. 'You're right, I do.'

545
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,800
OK, bye-bye. Nice to talk to you.
'Yeah, nice to talk to you.'

546
00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,920
What a hypocrite!
LAUGHTER

547
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:33,800
Nice to talk to me?! Why does he say
it's nice to talk to me?

548
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:35,800
He hates me!
LAUGHTER

549
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:37,760
Two weeks after it began,

550
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:41,280
Peter's ground-breaking and anarchic
show was unceremoniously axed

551
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,080
and was replaced
in the schedules by...

552
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:46,600
MUSIC: Theme to Parkinson

553
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:50,040
Some say that Peter Cook's greatest
creation is EL Wistey.

554
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,160
Some say it was Pete and Dud.

555
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,920
But for a generation
of comedy writers and performers,

556
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,520
Derek and Clive was the equivalent
of punk rock -

557
00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,640
iconoclastic, deliberately offensive
and very funny.

558
00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,040
For those of you who are offended
by very, very bad language,

559
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,120
you may wish to press
the mute button

560
00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,560
or leave the house
for the next couple of minutes

561
00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:12,480
or sing aloud an improving hymn.

562
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:15,600
I wrote to whatever the fucking name
is of the head of the fucking BBC.

563
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,040
"Dear Cunt."
Yeah, that's right. That's it, yeah.

564
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,160
I put, "Cunt, London" -
I knew that would find him.

565
00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:21,760
"Cunt, London. TV Centre."

566
00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,320
Not even "TV Centre".
I don't have to put TV...

567
00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,160
"Cunt, London" and it reaches
the Director General of the BBC,

568
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:30,440
you can be certain of that. Yeah.
So, I said to him, "Dear Cunt..."

569
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,280
Yeah. "Your fucking crew came round
my fucking place last night

570
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:36,400
"and tried to film me
fucking masturbating

571
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:38,600
"and I did it perfectly well
the first take

572
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,120
"and they said they'd got
a fucking hair in the gate

573
00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:42,920
"and I'm paying 25 quid
a fucking year

574
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:44,880
"to have a fucking colour licence

575
00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:46,720
"and this is the fucking service
I get?"

576
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,280
And I said, "If we have any more
Joyce Grenfell repeats,

577
00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:51,120
"I'll come round
to the TV Centre..."

578
00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,960
"Beat you to death with a horn!"
"Beat you to death with my horn!"

579
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,440
I'll get my fucking horn out

580
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:57,480
and beat the whole fucking
TV Centre down.

581
00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,720
I'll fucking raze it with my knob.
And what reply did I get?

582
00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:06,840
Cunts. Oh!

583
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:18,200
See? So, I sent round, "Bear it in
mind" - get the sarcasm of that.

584
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:21,000
Yeah, what cunts. The subtle sarcasm
of it. "Bear it in mind."

585
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:23,080
Bear it up your arse, mate.

586
00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:24,680
One of the boxes we discovered

587
00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:27,520
contained another cassette
of a home recording made by Peter,

588
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:29,320
seemingly post Pete and Dud,

589
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,800
and more like a prototype version
of Derek and Clive,

590
00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:34,440
cranking up the bad language
and markedly far beyond

591
00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:37,960
what was acceptable by British
broadcasters in the early '70s.

592
00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,320
And even today,
it's still pretty close to the bone.

593
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:43,160
Well, anyway, have you got anything
in the pipeline

594
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,160
as regards a job at all?

595
00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,400
Well, as I said, I've been
down the labour exchange.

596
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,960
There's nothing much good going.
I've had one offer.

597
00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:53,440
Yeah, what's that?
One fucking offer. Eating shit.

598
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,160
How does that appeal to you?

599
00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:01,640
Well, you know, I think,
at a pinch, I'll take it. Yeah?

600
00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,880
At least it's regular.
Yeah, yeah, you're right there.

601
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,480
CHUCKLING

602
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,320
After years of Pete and Dud being
acceptable family entertainment,

603
00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:13,480
they finally broke free
of those restrictions,

604
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,080
revelling in their own
transgressions.

605
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:20,760
Here is a never released extract
from Derek and Clive.

606
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,400
Oh, I had a terrible time
during the war, you know.

607
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,000
Hold on. Ah!

608
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:26,400
You all right there?

609
00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:28,880
HE CHUCKLES

610
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:35,120
Oh, yeah. I had a dreadful time
during the war, you know.

611
00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:40,200
Yeah? Yeah, I was in,
I was in espionage.

612
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:42,480
Espininage? No, espionage.

613
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,840
Oh, espionage.
I was an undercover agent

614
00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:50,280
for the British government.
DUDLEY BELCHES: Oh, yeah.

615
00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:55,040
And I had to infiltrate
behind the German lines

616
00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,560
and get into Hitler's household.
DUDLEY CLEARS HIS THROAT

617
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,400
Yeah, oh, yeah. I had to get
into his arsehole - that was worse!

618
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:03,440
No, did...? Yeah.

619
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:06,720
No, cos that is amazing
I never met you,

620
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:11,240
cos my job was to pose as his
toothbrush, you see. Oh, really?

621
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,640
I was Hitler's toothbrush.
You were Hitler's toothbrush?

622
00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:17,840
Yes, throughout the war, you know,
every morning, every night,

623
00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,200
I used to be put inside his mouth
and I sort of spied...

624
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,920
After these were filmed
and the records released,

625
00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,080
the Home Secretary himself
received calls

626
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:29,480
for the pair to be prosecuted
for obscenity.

627
00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,120
The mighty combination of
the West Yorkshire and Wolverhampton

628
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,200
obscene publication police squads

629
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,480
called for Peter and Dudley
to be arrested.

630
00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:38,160
Oh, and the BBC banned it too.

631
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,800
Oh, and so did Mary Whitehouse,
in her own sweet way.

632
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,200
Not too long after the dust
had settled over Derek and Clive,

633
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,720
Peter met the woman who would be
his wife for the rest of his life.

634
00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,520
Lin told us about her own background
before she met Peter.

635
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:57,640
My dad was a professional gambler.
Is that a good start?

636
00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:59,560
It's a good start. Wonderful!

637
00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:01,960
Better than most interviews!

638
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:03,920
I've never heard of one of them.

639
00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:06,160
LAUGHTER

640
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:09,520
I'd love to tell the story
of how I met.

641
00:33:09,520 --> 00:33:14,400
I happened to be a guest one weekend
at a country house, Stocks in Tring.

642
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,600
At Stocks, there's a games room
and late one evening,

643
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,680
I was playing backgammon
with one of the other guests,

644
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:22,600
when Peter stumbled in...

645
00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:29,680
..very drunk and came straight
to where I was playing backgammon,

646
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:31,960
moved the pieces about,

647
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,600
asking at the same time,
"Who's winning?"

648
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:40,720
I bought my first home
in Hampstead in the '70s,

649
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,160
about four years before I met Peter.

650
00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:45,280
I'm quite proud to say
that that was my home,

651
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:48,000
that nobody can think that
I was after Peter for his money.

652
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:52,040
And Peter was walking right past the
entrance with an armful of books.

653
00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,640
This time he talked to me
as though I was an old friend,

654
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:01,800
invited me to see his house,
which was close to mine,

655
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:04,440
and when I went in,
I had such a shock.

656
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,760
I have never seen a house like his.

657
00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:15,120
It was...unbelievable.

658
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,720
I went, "Oh, a terrible mess,"

659
00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:20,720
Er...

660
00:34:20,720 --> 00:34:27,600
And, er, I had such a shock
because the kitchen sink was full,

661
00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:31,080
the sideboards were all covered
with things,

662
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:34,760
you could not get into
the utility room

663
00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,640
and upstairs,
there were plates on the floor,

664
00:34:37,640 --> 00:34:41,160
the books were all this way
and that way

665
00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:46,280
and when he showed me the upstairs,
the cupboard doors were open,

666
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:49,760
the drawers were pulled out,
there were clothes on the floor...

667
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,680
And I just said to him,
"If a burglar broke in,

668
00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:58,080
"he would think your house
has already been done."

669
00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,200
INTERVIEWER CHUCKLES

670
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:02,040
So...

671
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:06,080
If he wanted a snack, he would
just open a can of baked beans

672
00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:09,080
with mash that he made -
instant mash.

673
00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:13,040
They tasted good. I'm eating
that now. My daughter loves it too.

674
00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:17,440
Our friendship gradually developed
into a relationship

675
00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:21,240
and, some years later,
led to us getting married.

676
00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:24,000
I never asked him
to divorce his wife,

677
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,400
although I left him several times.

678
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:30,280
It was his choice when he decided
that he loved me enough

679
00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:32,800
and cared for me enough
to want to be married.

680
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,680
We always kept our own houses.

681
00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,600
Sometimes we lived at Peter's house,
sometimes in mine

682
00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:41,160
and that seemed to work for us,

683
00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,360
because we were friends
for a year and a half

684
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:45,200
before we were a relationship.

685
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,080
Previous biographies of Peter
have characterised him

686
00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:56,720
as a tortured genius

687
00:35:56,720 --> 00:35:59,000
and the latter part of his life
as a massive decline.

688
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,720
It's a cliche we all like to hear
about comedians,

689
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:04,520
but the reality is, of course,
more nuanced.

690
00:36:04,520 --> 00:36:08,160
True, Peter was sometimes
a distant and selfish drunk.

691
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:11,840
And out of the blue, I asked him,
"Why do you drink so much?"

692
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,840
And his answer was
the last thing I expected.

693
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:19,160
He just said, "Despair, really."

694
00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:22,560
But what's not known is that
he had long periods off the booze,

695
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:27,240
once up to seven months, and he
attended the local AA in Hampstead.

696
00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:29,080
During these bouts of sobriety,

697
00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:31,840
he showed Lin his tender
and romantic side,

698
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,800
as clearly demonstrated
by these hand-written notes,

699
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:36,600
which he regularly left for her.

700
00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:41,960
He was very romantic and tender,

701
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:45,000
different from the cynical
and shocking person.

702
00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,520
He used to leave notes for me all
around the house, like these ones.

703
00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:57,600
He drew a picture with a bubble,
"I love you."

704
00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:01,320
And below it, "Still courting you
after all these years.

705
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:05,080
"Husband who feels so much better
when you are home."

706
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,920
"Your loving husband."
And then lots of crosses.

707
00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,680
"Darling, I love you so much,
sorry I'm so miserable."

708
00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:21,040
And the other one which also means
a lot to me was...

709
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:25,560
"When you smile, my heart leaps.
Please don't ever leave me.

710
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:27,000
"I couldn't bear it."

711
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,480
And now he's left me,
I'm finding it hard to bear as well.

712
00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,480
And for a seemingly cynical man,

713
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,600
he was capable of making
grand romantic gestures.

714
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,880
I was woken up by a call from Peter,

715
00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:43,400
asking me to look out
of the hotel room.

716
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:48,520
And, to my amazement, when I opened
the window and looked out,

717
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:50,280
he had scribbled...

718
00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:55,640
.."PC loves LC"
in huge letters on the sand,

719
00:37:55,640 --> 00:37:59,440
huge letters on the sand.
I couldn't believe my eyes.

720
00:37:59,440 --> 00:38:02,640
Unimaginable that Peter could do
such a thing.

721
00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:05,880
And of course, the rest of the day,
all I had were comments

722
00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:10,320
from the wives about how romantic
Peter was and...

723
00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,120
Nearly all the women were saying

724
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,520
they wished their husband was
like that,

725
00:38:16,520 --> 00:38:20,680
boldly expressing love for the wife
in large letters on the sand.

726
00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:28,280
John Cleese was one of Peter's
closest friends. Probably...

727
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:31,560
John was probably the friend
who loved Peter the most

728
00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:34,400
out of all of Peter's friends,
including Dudley.

729
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:41,760
And one year, John invited a group
of people to his house...

730
00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:46,040
..and surprised everybody by saying

731
00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:49,960
that he was inviting 40 friends
to join him on a trip down the Nile.

732
00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:57,200
BACKGROUND HUBBUB AND CHATTER

733
00:38:57,200 --> 00:38:59,240
This trip was called,
by John Cleese,

734
00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:01,640
the Fish Called Wanda royalties
party cruise,

735
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:04,640
a 15-day journey down the Nile
on the Royal Rhapsody,

736
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,760
given, amazingly generously,
all expenses paid,

737
00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:09,920
by Cleese to 40
of his closest friends,

738
00:39:09,920 --> 00:39:13,480
many from the world of comedy,
including, as seen here,

739
00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:16,920
a 32-year-old Stephen Fry
who, somewhat typically,

740
00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:20,720
chose Billy Bunter On The Nile,
which he read in daily instalments.

741
00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:22,800
"Billy Bunter turned
his big spectacles

742
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:25,880
"on the gesticulating Moustafa
with an alarmed blink."

743
00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:29,600
Interspersed with
a Nile-inspired fashion show...

744
00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:32,000
Peter Cook.
LAUGHTER

745
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:35,640
This is Peter
as the Invisible Sphinx...

746
00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:39,040
..followed by a mock BBC interview

747
00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:42,280
that could never have made it to PM.

748
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:45,120
Excuse me, could I just have
a few words for the benefit...?

749
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:48,160
We're from the BBC and we just
wondered if you would...

750
00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:49,400
LAUGHTER

751
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:55,480
Could you just outline the events
leading up to the present situation?

752
00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:00,440
LAUGHTER

753
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:02,680
Further Billy Bunter readings
by Stephen Fry...

754
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:07,440
"Goading, mocking thief,
I beat with a stick, yes..."

755
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:10,880
Some no-nonsense belly dancing,
or in this case beer-belly dancing.

756
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:12,520
During the trip,

757
00:40:12,520 --> 00:40:16,880
Peter invented a new ball game,
which he took very seriously.

758
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:19,840
CHEERING
No! 1 point.

759
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:23,600
The game is a game of skill,
strength,

760
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:26,680
cunning and not, not decisions.

761
00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:31,400
It's a question of making the balls
- las balones or los bollocos -

762
00:40:31,400 --> 00:40:35,760
los bollocos have to go flying
between the aluminium hoops.

763
00:40:35,760 --> 00:40:38,560
Should they traverse
the aluminium hoops successfully,

764
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:40,840
without touching said hoops,
3 points the score.

765
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:42,640
Are you playing, John?

766
00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:47,080
This is known as a strike,
this is known as a nothing.

767
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,080
I am also known as a nothing,
hence...

768
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:51,160
IN AMERICAN ACCENT:
NBC sportscaster.

769
00:40:51,160 --> 00:40:53,160
This broadcast has been brought
to you

770
00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:55,840
by the Pepsidon Pepsi Cola company,

771
00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:59,400
in association
with the Dallas Memorial Fund.

772
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:02,720
And a championship
between the waiting staff

773
00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:04,280
and the celebrity guests.

774
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:08,080
Yes, yes, yes, yes! No!

775
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,840
More Billy Bunter readings
by Stephen Fry...

776
00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:12,240
"Hassan gave a cough."

777
00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:14,360
HE CLEARS THROAT

778
00:41:14,360 --> 00:41:17,120
Later, Peter found time
to have some fun and games

779
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:20,080
with a loaded gun
belonging to a security guard.

780
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:22,240
This, of course, was back in the day

781
00:41:22,240 --> 00:41:24,520
when you could still joke
about such things.

782
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:27,560
Is it loaded? Yes, it IS loaded.

783
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:37,920
And, for a bribe, Peter persuaded
the security guard to attempt

784
00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:40,840
a half-hearted arrest
on an unruffled John Cleese.

785
00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:47,400
Earlier, we heard an interview

786
00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,160
acclaiming that Peter had
an obsession with nuns.

787
00:41:50,160 --> 00:41:53,480
In many of your TV sketches,
heaven and, in fact, nuns

788
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:55,720
seem to feature pretty prominently.

789
00:41:55,720 --> 00:41:58,080
We were unsure if that were true,

790
00:41:58,080 --> 00:42:00,760
but swayed
when we explored the house.

791
00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,200
From the garden can be seen
the quasi-ecclesiastical windows

792
00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:06,240
and when we went up to the rooftop,

793
00:42:06,240 --> 00:42:09,520
we discovered that his house
directly overlooks a convent.

794
00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:14,800
Looking through the archive,

795
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,120
it's clear that Peter missed
no opportunity

796
00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:20,760
to stick Dudley into a wimple and
a habit, and himself, come to that.

797
00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:27,520
LAUGHTER

798
00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:33,480
LAUGHTER

799
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:38,360
Well, it all began
in the 14th or 15th century.

800
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,280
It had its origins there,
you know, when St Beryl,

801
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,280
who was the daughter of St Vitus,
the well-known dancer...

802
00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,080
LAUGHTER

803
00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:48,320
I'm not aware
that he's obsessed with nuns.

804
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:51,640
How can you ask me that question?
Only in a comedic way. I don't know.

805
00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:53,600
LAUGHTER
# Leap, leap, leap, leap,

806
00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:55,360
# Leap, leap

807
00:42:55,360 --> 00:42:59,280
# Leap in the morning... #
LAUGHTER

808
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:02,800
It could be that they inspired him,
I don't know,

809
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:04,160
but it's not me to say.

810
00:43:04,160 --> 00:43:06,160
Do you leap at all yourself, madam?

811
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:08,520
Well, I love to leap,
as indeed who doesn't?

812
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:10,120
LAUGHTER

813
00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:12,440
When was that sketch done?

814
00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:14,840
He moved here in about 1970.

815
00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:18,200
So that was before he moved here.

816
00:43:18,200 --> 00:43:21,560
Yeah, but he may have moved here
because he was obsessed by nuns.

817
00:43:21,560 --> 00:43:24,920
LAUGHTER

818
00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:32,200
Peter was obsessed by sport
throughout his life.

819
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:36,280
He later codified the rules for that
Nile trip ball game he invented,

820
00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:40,560
which he called los bollocos,
into a very formal detailed document

821
00:43:40,560 --> 00:43:43,720
and on days when he didn't feel
like walking to the golf course,

822
00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:45,480
he invented his own version,

823
00:43:45,480 --> 00:43:47,800
which he played
outside his own front door,

824
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,800
roping in bemused neighbours,
friends and passers-by,

825
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:55,120
and making use of any items
in the street that came to hand.

826
00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:58,600
Once again, our mystery camera
operator - possibly a neighbour -

827
00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:00,800
seemingly suffering
from Meniere's disease,

828
00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,240
was instructed to capture
the vital moments

829
00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:04,880
of this impromptu tournament.

830
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:07,120
There's the par 3,

831
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:09,400
18 Perrins Walk.

832
00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:13,240
Winds left to right
and right to left.

833
00:44:13,240 --> 00:44:14,960
CAMERA OPERATOR LAUGHS

834
00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:25,280
I told you a 2-putter.

835
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:29,400
He's mad!

836
00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:34,240
CAMERA OPERATOR LAUGHS

837
00:44:34,240 --> 00:44:36,480
Did it go in? Ooh... Wow!

838
00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:46,320
Peter's early brilliance
and youthful good looks

839
00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:48,960
entranced even the most famous woman
in the world

840
00:44:48,960 --> 00:44:51,040
in that fateful year of 1963.

841
00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:54,720
A note from Jackie Kennedy to
Adlai Stevenson has been discovered,

842
00:44:54,720 --> 00:44:57,520
thanking him for her
Beyond The Fringe tickets.

843
00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:01,040
In it, she praises the show, saying
that it "ran the gamut - comedy,

844
00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:03,400
"drama and, for me,
abandoned delight.

845
00:45:03,400 --> 00:45:06,240
"The gayest, happiest evening
imaginable."

846
00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:08,480
The story wasn't known at the time,

847
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,480
but Jackie Kennedy allegedly joined
a long list of Peter's lovers

848
00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:13,360
during his twenties.

849
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:17,120
When we weren't filming Lin,
but running an audio recording,

850
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:20,880
we asked her if she could confirm if
Peter had had the rumoured affair.

851
00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:24,320
Our question reduced Lin
to an uncharacteristic whisper.

852
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:31,880
I know they met when Peter was
performing in New York with Dudley.

853
00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:35,760
At one time when I went to listen
to Alan Bennett at the Southbank,

854
00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:39,880
I was amazed, as probably was
the rest of the audience,

855
00:45:39,880 --> 00:45:42,800
when Alan said he was sure
there was something

856
00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:45,040
between Jackie Kennedy and Peter

857
00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:48,480
because he saw Jackie tenderly
stroking Peter's hand

858
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:51,320
at some event or other.

859
00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:53,760
And I remember being told that...

860
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:59,280
..President had wanted them to go
to the White House to perform,

861
00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:02,760
but the agent and the other three
were very excited and happy

862
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:04,360
and went and told Peter that

863
00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:07,000
"President wants us
to go to the White House."

864
00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:14,320
To their dismay, what Peter said
was, "I'm not an effing cabaret,"

865
00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:16,680
and he refused to go.

866
00:46:16,680 --> 00:46:19,080
So the President had to go
to the theatre

867
00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:21,360
to see the show like everybody else.

868
00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:26,760
Apart from that, Mrs President,
how did you enjoy the show?

869
00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:34,640
Throughout the decades, Peter's
house was a regular drop-in

870
00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:37,200
for a wide range of celebrities,

871
00:46:37,200 --> 00:46:40,080
including the occasional
Rolling Stone.

872
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:43,120
I know he was close
to the Stones, I mean,

873
00:46:43,120 --> 00:46:47,200
particularly Ronnie Wood
and Keith Richards

874
00:46:47,200 --> 00:46:50,240
and I think they were
very fond of him too,

875
00:46:50,240 --> 00:46:52,640
because I remember Keith telling me

876
00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:56,040
that when they were fed up
or unhappy on tour,

877
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:58,600
they would always play
Derek and Clive.

878
00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:01,600
We're doing reactions now,
very close.

879
00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,400
Lovely map of Nigeria.
Isn't that good?

880
00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:07,680
Some of it's very accurate,
actually. I never knew that river.

881
00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:10,080
Bizarrely, the Stones were
particularly interested

882
00:47:10,080 --> 00:47:13,320
in cartography, in particular
Peter's map of Nigeria,

883
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:15,440
that's still on the wall
to this day.

884
00:47:20,240 --> 00:47:23,640
Use of my freeze-frame button
even reveals Ian Dury,

885
00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:25,600
who was a huge Peter Cook fan.

886
00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:34,680
Send in the next auditioner,
would you?

887
00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:37,320
As this programme is called
The Undiscovered Peter Cook,

888
00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:39,760
we were reluctant to show
Peter's most famous sketch,

889
00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:42,680
written when he was still a student,
about a one-legged man

890
00:47:42,680 --> 00:47:44,680
auditioning for Tarzan,
but here it is,

891
00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:46,440
though as you've never seen it
before.

892
00:47:46,440 --> 00:47:49,640
HE SPEAKS IN HUNGARIAN

893
00:47:56,880 --> 00:47:59,200
HE SPEAKS IN HUNGARIAN

894
00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:01,520
LAUGHTER

895
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:03,760
As you can see from this tape
sent to Peter

896
00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:05,800
by a producer
from Hungarian television

897
00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:09,360
the actor wearing the wooden leg,
seemingly taken from a table,

898
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:11,520
has missed the entire point
of the sketch.

899
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:14,760
So, sadly, the famous line, "I've
nothing against your right leg.

900
00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:18,000
"Unfortunately, neither have you,"
makes no sense whatsoever.

901
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:19,840
But with typical generosity,

902
00:48:19,840 --> 00:48:21,960
Peter encouraged
his Hungarian proteges

903
00:48:21,960 --> 00:48:24,400
and was personally presented
with a video of the show,

904
00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:26,320
autographed by the entire cast,

905
00:48:26,320 --> 00:48:29,160
and he even took the producer
out for lunch in London.

906
00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:38,520
The comedian and satirist Peter Cook
has died in hospital. He was 57.

907
00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:49,760
Peter died early in the morning
and when I left the hospital...

908
00:48:51,000 --> 00:48:53,080
..the whole world seemed
very strange.

909
00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:56,400
I got a cab and I came home...

910
00:48:59,000 --> 00:49:06,000
..pulled all the blinds down at his
house and went back to my own home.

911
00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:12,480
I was in such a state of shock.
I probably was like a zombie.

912
00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:19,160
You know, after Peter died,
I just did not know what to do,

913
00:49:19,160 --> 00:49:25,240
how to arrange a funeral
or memorial services or anything.

914
00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,480
A few months after his death,

915
00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:30,960
Lin Cook arranged a memorial service
for Peter

916
00:49:30,960 --> 00:49:32,840
at his local church in Hampstead.

917
00:49:32,840 --> 00:49:35,560
The BBC suggested
a somewhat grander venue.

918
00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:38,480
I did speak to the person - I forget
his name - at the BBC,

919
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:42,720
who told me Peter could have
the memorial service

920
00:49:42,720 --> 00:49:46,000
at Westminster Abbey, and I said,
"No, no, no,"

921
00:49:46,000 --> 00:49:48,520
because that wouldn't be Peter,

922
00:49:48,520 --> 00:49:53,040
because Hampstead was like
his beloved territory.

923
00:49:54,240 --> 00:49:56,880
So it was, that on May 1, 1995,

924
00:49:56,880 --> 00:49:59,560
mostly everyone involved
in British comedy at the time

925
00:49:59,560 --> 00:50:01,800
turned up to show their respects.

926
00:50:01,800 --> 00:50:04,000
And seemingly,
everyone from British sport too.

927
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:05,840
Oh, and Dave Allen.

928
00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:11,920
Lin insisted that only her stills
photographer could cover the events

929
00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:14,480
from inside the church
but, thankfully for us,

930
00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:18,640
the photographer failed to follow
orders and so it is that we have

931
00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:22,000
a somewhat nervously shot video
of the memorial.

932
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:24,120
To my dismay and annoyance,

933
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:28,800
they later told me that they had
also made a video of the guests,

934
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:33,760
so for years, I've kept both
the recording and the video

935
00:50:33,760 --> 00:50:38,800
put away somewhere in the house and
this video has never been seen ever.

936
00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:41,120
I don't think I've ever seen it
myself too.

937
00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:43,920
There were moving tributes
from Eleanor Bron,

938
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:47,560
Richard Ingrams, John Cleese
and, of course, Dudley.

939
00:50:48,960 --> 00:50:50,920
Dudley was, of course,
a central figure

940
00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:53,480
and he told some very funny stories
about Peter.

941
00:50:53,480 --> 00:50:55,960
"I met my wife during the war.

942
00:50:57,480 --> 00:51:01,360
"She blew in through the window on
a piece of shrapnel and became..."

943
00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:04,280
LAUGHTER

944
00:51:08,600 --> 00:51:10,960
"..became buried in the sofa."

945
00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:13,720
LAUGHTER

946
00:51:13,720 --> 00:51:16,520
"One thing led to my mother..."

947
00:51:16,520 --> 00:51:19,520
LAUGHTER

948
00:51:20,720 --> 00:51:23,440
"..and we were married
within the hour."

949
00:51:23,440 --> 00:51:26,640
LAUGHTER

950
00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:30,400
I laughed for a week when
he spontaneously came out with that.

951
00:51:30,400 --> 00:51:33,680
Peter Cook was tone deaf.

952
00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:36,240
LAUGHTER

953
00:51:36,240 --> 00:51:40,440
He didn't display an overt sympathy
for things musical,

954
00:51:40,440 --> 00:51:42,240
except for Elvis Presley...

955
00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:48,120
..he might have mentioned, whom he
would imitate at the drop of a hat.

956
00:51:49,560 --> 00:51:52,120
I, therefore, agonised
over what to play

957
00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:55,080
until the mists were cleared
by one of my confreres

958
00:51:55,080 --> 00:51:58,680
who, during a phone call, mentioned
the fact that I had to call it.

959
00:51:58,680 --> 00:52:00,760
It seems as appropriate as anything,

960
00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:04,040
since the title comes from
one of Peter's concepts -

961
00:52:04,040 --> 00:52:08,760
that of a blind man reading
on the TV from Braille.

962
00:52:08,760 --> 00:52:11,520
LAUGHTER

963
00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:17,600
"Good evening" -
one of his favourite utterances -

964
00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:20,000
"I am blond."

965
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:22,680
LAUGHTER

966
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:28,040
"And I'm reading to you
through the miracle of broil."

967
00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:31,040
LAUGHTER

968
00:52:33,720 --> 00:52:35,960
"I'm sorry, I'll feel that again."

969
00:52:35,960 --> 00:52:38,600
LAUGHTER

970
00:52:39,840 --> 00:52:41,600
Three Blond Mice.

971
00:52:41,600 --> 00:52:44,320
Dudley didn't yet know it, but he
was already in the early stages

972
00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:46,520
of the progressive
supranuclear palsy

973
00:52:46,520 --> 00:52:48,360
that would eventually kill him.

974
00:52:48,360 --> 00:52:51,600
DUDLEY PLAYS PIANO

975
00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:11,640
I think this might be
the last photograph

976
00:53:11,640 --> 00:53:14,560
that was ever taken
of Peter and Dudley together.

977
00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:22,600
I took it. So much
that's in the press is wrong.

978
00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:26,000
People make assumptions about Peter,
about me,

979
00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:31,000
and Dudley too, of course,
but they do not know us at all.

980
00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:35,160
And it's totally untrue
that Peter didn't get on.

981
00:53:35,160 --> 00:53:37,080
They were good friends.

982
00:53:37,080 --> 00:53:39,320
They always had
a special friendship,

983
00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:42,440
so they were close towards the end
and they often met up.

984
00:53:42,440 --> 00:53:44,800
He was always in touch with Peter.

985
00:53:49,840 --> 00:53:54,120
Even Peter's memorial service was
not free from religious controversy,

986
00:53:54,120 --> 00:53:56,120
Lin wanted a choir from Radley

987
00:53:56,120 --> 00:53:59,440
to sing Peter's favourite
Elvis Presley hit, Love Me Tender,

988
00:53:59,440 --> 00:54:01,840
but the vicar was having none of it.

989
00:54:01,840 --> 00:54:03,960
I went to see the local vicar.

990
00:54:03,960 --> 00:54:07,400
After I'd found out about
how a memorial service should be

991
00:54:07,400 --> 00:54:10,640
and what's what, and seen
a couple of order of service,

992
00:54:10,640 --> 00:54:12,680
I then had some idea.

993
00:54:12,680 --> 00:54:16,200
So, off I went to the vicar
and said,

994
00:54:16,200 --> 00:54:18,440
"I would like the Radley boys choir

995
00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:21,400
"to sing at Peter's memorial
service

996
00:54:21,400 --> 00:54:24,840
"and it's an Elvis song,
Love Me tender."

997
00:54:24,840 --> 00:54:28,680
Vicar said,
"No, no, no, couldn't have that,

998
00:54:28,680 --> 00:54:31,480
"and it has to be the church choir."

999
00:54:31,480 --> 00:54:34,840
To which I promptly said,
"Well, if I can't have that,

1000
00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:37,760
"I'll have to hold
the memorial service elsewhere,

1001
00:54:37,760 --> 00:54:39,960
"because I've set my heart on that."

1002
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:43,520
And the result? Lin Cook 1,
the Church of England 0.

1003
00:54:45,640 --> 00:54:48,400
So, he then agreed.

1004
00:54:48,400 --> 00:54:52,440
# ..Belong, and we'll never...

1005
00:54:52,440 --> 00:54:55,640
And the boys sang it so beautifully.

1006
00:54:55,640 --> 00:54:58,200
# Love me tender

1007
00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:01,160
# Love me true

1008
00:55:01,160 --> 00:55:06,720
# All my dreams fulfilled...#

1009
00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:12,000
CHURCH ORGAN MUSIC

1010
00:55:15,160 --> 00:55:17,960
After the service, one of Peter's
oldest friends, David Frost,

1011
00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:21,120
explained how important
Lin had been to Peter's life

1012
00:55:21,120 --> 00:55:23,560
and further confirmed
that there was never any enmity

1013
00:55:23,560 --> 00:55:25,120
between the two men.

1014
00:55:25,120 --> 00:55:29,560
Who are we talking for? This is
for Lin. This is for Lin? Yeah.

1015
00:55:31,480 --> 00:55:35,520
Lin, that was a wonderful service
you organised.

1016
00:55:37,160 --> 00:55:40,120
You were so wonderful for Peter

1017
00:55:40,120 --> 00:55:44,280
and we were celebrating today,
weren't we, as well as grieving?

1018
00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:47,960
Celebrating... People talk about
"His life's work" about people

1019
00:55:47,960 --> 00:55:51,920
and in Peter's case, it was his
life's work and his life's play too,

1020
00:55:51,920 --> 00:55:54,440
cos of that laughter
he brought to us all and...

1021
00:55:55,800 --> 00:55:57,600
He was the first time in my life

1022
00:55:57,600 --> 00:56:00,480
that I was conscious of meeting
a genius. That was up at Cambridge.

1023
00:56:00,480 --> 00:56:02,360
And he stayed that way -
of course he did.

1024
00:56:02,360 --> 00:56:05,880
Once you're a genius,
always a genius. So original.

1025
00:56:05,880 --> 00:56:07,920
We'll miss his originality and...

1026
00:56:09,040 --> 00:56:12,000
..you'll miss so much more,
of course,

1027
00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:15,720
but join us in the celebrations
as well, if you can,

1028
00:56:15,720 --> 00:56:20,240
because all the people here today
love him

1029
00:56:20,240 --> 00:56:23,840
and they love you and they love
what you did for him.

1030
00:56:27,320 --> 00:56:31,360
One other thing, David.
A last word to Peter, you know.

1031
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:35,680
A last thing you would say to Peter.

1032
00:56:37,280 --> 00:56:41,600
That's looking at me. What would be
my last words to Peter?

1033
00:56:41,600 --> 00:56:45,680
Well, I guess, thank you
for saving me from drowning.

1034
00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:50,120
Why do you say that? It's...

1035
00:56:50,120 --> 00:56:53,600
Well, it was part of the service
today and it really did happen.

1036
00:56:53,600 --> 00:56:56,240
And, of course, you're grateful.

1037
00:56:56,240 --> 00:56:58,480
Grateful to him for a lot else too.

1038
00:56:58,480 --> 00:57:01,160
And Dame Edna turned up in drag.

1039
00:57:02,840 --> 00:57:06,480
Er, I've got
lots of memories of Peter.

1040
00:57:06,480 --> 00:57:09,000
He was such a help to me
in my early days

1041
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:14,720
and though I saw little of him
in the last years,

1042
00:57:14,720 --> 00:57:17,800
we always met as old friends.

1043
00:57:17,800 --> 00:57:21,400
And, um, his...

1044
00:57:21,400 --> 00:57:24,640
It's quite impossible for me
to think of him as dead

1045
00:57:24,640 --> 00:57:27,880
because he's a perpetual spirit.

1046
00:57:34,520 --> 00:57:36,360
# Now's the time to say goodbye

1047
00:57:40,680 --> 00:57:43,080
# Now's the time to yield a sigh

1048
00:57:45,120 --> 00:57:47,960
# Now's the time to wend
our wa-a-a-y

1049
00:57:49,360 --> 00:57:51,320
# Until we meet again

1050
00:57:53,640 --> 00:57:56,080
# Some sunny day

1051
00:58:00,480 --> 00:58:03,120
# Goodbye, goodbye... #

1052
00:58:03,120 --> 00:58:05,520
I do not think anyone can understand

1053
00:58:05,520 --> 00:58:08,480
what made Peter the comedy genius
that he was.

1054
00:58:09,720 --> 00:58:13,520
For me, he was someone special,
who I got to understand and love.

1055
00:58:13,520 --> 00:58:17,000
He turned my life upside down
when he came into it...

1056
00:58:19,160 --> 00:58:20,960
..shattered it when he left.

1057
00:58:23,920 --> 00:58:28,400
I still miss his energy, his warmth,
his company and his love.

1058
00:58:28,400 --> 00:58:30,760
# We're leaving you with goodbye

1059
00:58:30,760 --> 00:58:33,200
# Goodbye

1060
00:58:33,200 --> 00:58:38,400
# We wish you all goodbye. #