Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Actor best known for playing Dirty Den, the volatile landlord of an East End pub in the soap EastEnders.
On the island
Eight records
Terry's Theme (From Limelight)
every August Bank holiday, when we used to have a proper August Bank holiday, my father's firm ... Boots the Chemist used to have a sports day at New Eltham and my father used to organise it and that was the first record that was played ... and as I have a great admiration and respect for my dad I think it's a really nice one to kick off with.
This is a great memory from the first holiday I remember was a place called Jaywick. It was terrible, but when you've got four kids and that was I think the best that my parents could come up with and at least we got to the seaside. And it was one of those places where there was more sand in the bath afterwards than there was on the beach. But this was a record that was played continuously all the time. It's Slim Whitman Rosemary.
I've gone for Danny Boy ... the reason I've chosen this is because my mother's brother, his name was John, but he always answered to the name of Danny. And he was a great influence on me and helped me in the early part of my life and in the later part of my life. And unfortunately he died a couple of years ago and I think this would be a wonderful memory of him.
The Test Pilot SketchFavourite
Tony Hancock and Kenneth Williams
This is Tony Hancock and Kenneth Williams. It's the test pilot sketch from Hancock's Half Hour. I just think two of the greatest comedians, sadly both departed from a great era of BBC radio comedy.
This is Buddy Holly singing Heartbeat. I think it's the first record I ever bought and this has great childhood memories.
This is happy memories of drama school and living in a house in Chelsea. We had a party tape and this was one of the ones that always used to be great fun and people used to love hearing and it's Love Walked In.
This is another one from my dinner party tape. In fact, Love Walked In and this one were a couple I tried to sing for auditions. I didn't get the job in musical so obviously I didn't sing them very well and this is the object of my affection and it's sung by Pinkie Common.
This is great, it's Cole Porter, every time we say goodbye, but I think it's sung by probably the best white group in England at the moment. Simply Red and it's a nice one to finish on.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:01How are you coping with life without Den? Is it a relief to be rid of him?
quite a relief. It's nice to be able to ... not suffer the trials and tribulations of going to Elstry every day, and also the treadmill of doing a soap opera. Which is practically seven days a week, really, isn't it? Six days basically working and one day learning your lines and therefore you don't spend much time with the wife and family.
Presenter asks
2:02How do you contemplate being cast away on a desert island? I presume you know a bit about loneliness.
I should imagine that one would revert to childhood, really. When you're a kid it's a great thing to be locked in a room with all your toys and I think that uh stuck on a desert island with with these records would be the equivalent of being locked in a room with all your toys, really. Unsack my thumb, basically.
Presenter asks
10:33Can we talk about the background to that crime? Why were you in such desperate need of money? Why did you go out to find it?
Unfortunately, just recently it's become a fact that there is a lot of bullying going on in the army. ... there was this sort of resentment that I was an NCO and one night an incident happened that ... There was a lot of what we call bed barring where they take these metal bed ends off and smashed some unfortunate chap across the head. Well, the chap that they were going to do that night wasn't in, and I was. ... an incident happened where I was burnt with a steam iron. And I think I went slightly strange and a few things happened that led to me being in this predicament ... And there's no justification for what I did ... it was just a tragic and unfortunate chapter in my life ... But the true story will never come out and that's maybe a good thing because it would then open up a whole can of worms which should be left buried really.
The keepsakes
The book
Daniel Defoe
Very evocative for me is … Robinson Crusoe, and I think that you could live out your childhood fantasies
The luxury
I'd like to take a metal detector … So I could fill my days up just going around listening for treasure
Presenter asks
13:03How did you take it when you were sentenced to life? You had no idea how long that could mean.
Mm. Yeah, it was quite shocked that the actual verdict was ... I felt at the time, as severe as it was, but at the same time, I think my parents and my family took it worse. I can become detached about things so I can actually shut myself off and overcome it. ... I had to survive and my way of surviving is to shut up shop, really, and just go through with a purpose.
Presenter asks
15:37It was while you were in prison that you took up drama. How did that happen?
There was a drama group there, they used to put shows on and I went one night to see it ... I have to tell this tacky story ... and that night it happened to be a play on I think it was called Norman. ... and the play was going through and suddenly the chap with the dose walked on stage ... and so I thought, Oh, I could do better than this ... So I applied to join the drama group ... I've got to make the tea. And one night the leading actor was off having his electric shock treatment. And they asked me to read ... and I went back the next night to making the tea, and suddenly a voice said, Where's Leslie? ... So I'm making the tea. I said we know you're playing Tommy. ... and we then rehearsed and learnt all the lines and the women's parts as well and then two weeks before we actually went on ... they brought the actresses in who were professional actresses from the outside. ... seemed to be a great success.
“I had to survive and my way of surviving is to shut up shop, really, and just go through with a purpose.”
“I remember the first day of coming out, going into a shop. And someone said, Can I help you? And I said, Yes, and I grabbed something off the shelf and paid for it and I was till the cat food and I thought I haven't got a cat really, have I? ... I was all wasted thirty-nine p on tinner cat food that I didn't really need.”
“Unfortunately, because I am a persona and personas only get asked to play personas, there is going to be a lot of that criticism. But if it's what the public wants, then I'll give it to them.”
“Yeah, the Tony Hancock and Kenneth Williams test pilot, I think that would make me laugh. When things were depressed and ships had gone past and hadn't heard my plaintiff little pleas, I could put that on and think Yeah, well everything's all right with the world. Still something to laugh about.”