Comic Relief and Prince Stories

Magnum welcomes you to the proem of his new collection Introducing New Magnum' signignature Lppis dash A pistachio coated masterpiece with a vety pistachio gelatto core. Finished with Magnum's signature thick cracking chocolate Magum It designed for pleasure Touching her Touching cheese. Touching sweet sandwich time.. This summer Hllman's mayonnaise make sandwiches taste so good. so good. so good Dish from Wake Tows is a cold glass production. This podcast may contain some strong language and adult themes Welcome to Dish from Wake Trowsamic Grim' Shop. And I'm Angela Hartner. Hi, Angel Harter.' Leny H. How are you. I'm good. I'm good, I'm good. So Lenny Henry joins us on Dish today.. Theyve cross paths with Lenny Henry? Years and years ago. Yeah. I think he did something for Gordon. I don't know what, or maybe it's something for comic relief Well, Seleny is with us today to talk about a Brem new stage show that he's doing. He's going to be tourn across the country to celebrate five decades in the industry. He won a talent show called New Faces at the age of sixteen in nineteen seventy five. That's incredible Yeah. So Lenny's going to be here to talk about that. We also want to talk to him about playing athella. Yes. We want to talk to him about comment relief, of course, and also fifty years. in the industry. It's quite incredible it It really is. So before we get seelenian, should we talk about the star ingredient of what we're gonna to cook for l? We're going to have scallops. Oh, Yeah, have. They don't look great uncooked, They don't look great uncooked. They don't look great by. No, no. you know And we're going to have those with a fantastic pasta dish. Yes. There's a little bit of tomato, a little bit of fresh talliaelli. So yeah, I think they're going to be delicious. And scallops are in season, they're pretty much all year round, I fair. You can have them roasted or you can have them raw like our carpaccio, people love them. They're slightly sweet scallops. so you like a little bit of citrus to counterbalance that. And I think something that goes really well with is a really light curry seasoning, cauliflower goes well with them as well, capapers, all that sort of thing Some people cook them in the shell and they do like cap of butter with some garlic and pancetta. Pas go really well with scallops. They're very versatile. and just get them off the fish counter. You can get them off the fish counter. You know, they come in a shell. when they're super fresh, you you know slice the shell open and then you take them out and you can use all the scallops. So you have the row there, which is basically the orange muscle that's attached to the scallop. A lot of people might throw that away, but you can eat that. It's really delicious. How long dr you can you cook in like that big chunky scallop for? Very small time, couple of minutes.. You don't want them because the the thing about scall is they go rubbery. You overcook them. you don't them. So it's very very hot Quick flash and asset done Well, thank you, Ange. Well, let's get our guest in. let's welcome Celeny Henry H Hi How. H' Angela. How are you?, I'm a fan boy. Well we're fans. We're a big fanboy. Oh things. Yeah, good. All right. Yeah, we're ready. I love what you've done with the place. Do you like it? What? Is' it gorgeous. Do you love it? I love it. Come on in. Come in We'll get you a drink and get something to eat Now Angela, we often joke and it is a joke.es about how long we've been doing this. Yes. Sometimes you're like, Oh, can't believe we've doing it four years when's it going to be over? Again, that's a joke. It's always a joke. And so we've been going on now over four years. And we're joining us today, a man who's been at the top of his game for over fifty Ye an actor, write, comedian, broadcaster and search for inspiration. Salani Henriry R. C G on Yes. Welcome, Soan. much. brought your audience with you. Yes. There's fifteen people on the street. Get in here. Get in now. You don't have to pay anything. get in That's food. That's food. We get in Welcome to dish. Yeahes. It's nice to be here. Yeah. Thanks for coming. I'm like, who's those guys? It's really nice to be here. Thank you for coming on and congratulations on your new theatre show. And your theatre show. Yes, which is still at large which as we said, is celebrating your career. fifty years. And showbers. Yeah. Yeah, it's cebr about my career, but it's also celebrating. when I grew up in Ttaly in the West Midlands, we were Over there was Enoot Powell the Rivers of Blood and over there was Peter Griffiths, who sort of stormed an election with the phrase if you want to end word for a neighbouror vote Labour Sorry to bring you down. but I lived in the middle of that. So I grew up being bullied in racist abused hurold at Mard schoolchool. and this show doing this now in the twenty first century it's It's funny, but it's also extraordinary that we're still going through sexism, racis, homophobia, all of those things. And it makes an observation, not in a big finger wy way that these things are going on and we have to be alert. So it's all being funny, but you've got to be funny in the right way and be talking about things that matter I'm trying to do that.. That's what I's talkking about going of garden centers and my girlfriend being better at cleaning than I am. So I'm talking about all kinds of things I ever thought I' be talking about on stage. Yeah. Becauseuse I didn't think I was going be doing sted up anymore. I thought I was done after comic relief Unightited by the Queen, the face of Premier inn That's it. I was done. You've done it all. And so it's an extraordinary thing to go back on stage looking at the audienceces going, We thought you were done. It great It's so great. So what I mean, weirdly, you didn't just wake up one way. What's made you suddenly go back on stage? Why have you done it? I've done two shows I did a show called August in England, which is about the Windr Scandal. and it was funny, but it was also moving about the tragedy of it. And what happened was quite a lot of Jamaicans came to see that show because it was in Shepher' Bush and they joined in with the show. Brilliant. So every time I do like a bit and they go, yes, that happened to me as well. Lenny. and many, many nights. Pach Lenny because that is true. So Well, that's funny. The audience were interacting with me. And then I did every brilliant thing whichich Daniel Radcliffe was just nominated for a Tony four at the Soel Place Theatre And again, you know, people came to see that and they wanted me to talk to me as Lenny. not as I'd keep saying, no it's not I'm not. I'm a character in the play. It's not Lenny from Tizwas, it's a character in a play. But they they really enjoyed this show and they loveved that I had this interaction with the audience And I just thought, maybe I should do you stand up again. I always say Tight I always think it's the most terrifying job choice to go and be a stand up and stand on stage and be like H we go. L did because I was very I was kind of shyed. Were you? But I was bullied. and the thing is the comedy The comedy got me out of the big bully thing because suddenly all his kids are going Le Malone,'s funny. I that Yeah. Leave Malone,'s allright and I had this cohort of white kids who surrounded me when I was in school defending me backack off T Tomy Cooper then they'll back off then. got Frank Remston. I'd liter got Frank Remmoston and they'd just parked like the Red Sea and I'd walk through. So the impressions and these new friends who loved me because I was funny, they cenly became my gang and it was so great. It such a relief. Do you remember the first time you were on stage? Do you remember how you felt the first time you were I't know well I didn't know what it was going to be like, but I'd been making my mate. It was like this, so you wouldt have three mates. And if you're the funny one, they were all funny, by the way. I wasn't the only funny one. We would jokes. thingsings we'd seen on Teddy, you know, somebody would recite Monty Python, somebody would do a Dave Allen joke. I'd do Fank Spener or Tommy Cooper, you Eaby, I'd do that. And then what happened was We were in a Queen Mary Ballroom and the DJ said, Hey, anybody want to get up and do something and win a prize? We're all under fifteen. That's what we're all drinking under age in the Queen Mary Ballroom. When you walked in, everybody was doing their homework at the bar with half an h. So we'd all be there. And anybody want to get up and my mate said, You should get up and do something Yeah I said, you said, are you gonna win a btle ofisy' give you twenty five quick. And I went, M right? Yeah? And they encouraged me. They didn't go you' be rubbish. They literally encouraged me to get up. So I got up and I did Elvis Five hundred kids were watching me going ' a black kid doing ellvis on stage? How is this possible? One party in the Kity. And they went nuts. Like they'd never heardard.. You know, I did Jamaican Elvis and it was amazing. They And I knew it had worked because the Saturday after when I was walking down the street did you ever shop with your momum? Yeahatday shopping with your momum carry all the bc coffee bu so much stuff. And this kid of you grad to the cream arey on Sunday, I'm a mom . And somebody else did and said What did you do at any me? I said, No,'shing mom. You please buy some more beef. Ill just let me get home and put these bags down. But it was my mate started to Noticed that I was getting Rpect on the street. Yeah ye. And I went back the week after and I did every impression I could think of with a hat. I got my dad's hat and I just did you won't know them, James Stewart, John Wayer. I did all these impressions with hats. and I got stunning ovation. and I just thought, this is something. Yeah. And so I started to have confidence And DJ God bless DJs and MC's because DJs gave me a chance that nobody else would have given me. DJ said, Let him me get up here and do ten minutes. And I did you imagine that the Glterbury Tent. Yeah. The grind tent Glterbury. We have a guy here going to do Frank Spener no. It wouldn't work. W it? Come on on P read. It just wouldn't happen, would it Andgea's just going to prepare your food. We've got some p. are we Ange? We're about three minutes minutes. Okay, we' got time to do something things in three minutes. We always like to go through your food likes and dislikes at the start of our episodes on dish And We are starting with a Coke zero because we were told not a day drinker. However, the team were very keen to let me know, it's basically five o'clock now. In fact twenty It's twenty past five. Well, I could have a glass of wine. I could have a glass of wine or? S I was like wine. Hell love Sami always intentions. This is what I wanted to talk about with your food likes and dislikes. I love this so much. A confession that you made in the nineteen eighties where you told us that you were in the eighties a quote KFC lunatic E E night after a gig G the shepherds was round about, Sall we? Yes, all right, then we go in. And it was always ribs and Chicken breasts. So there'd be three ribs, three chicken breasts, and then we just we wouldn't even go home. We'd just sit outside KFC, like reprobates eating this thing. It was so delicious. I loved it. I remember when it opened on a retail because I grew up in Oldham And when KFC opened on the retail park near my house, I must have been like eleven or something. I made my dad take me to the opening night and was like really excited. KFC. Yeah, I wore Tuxedo, top hat. I walked that red carpet. And I remember going and I remember my dad going Dgusted. I loved it. It was delicious. Did you ever have a KFC phase andge? You know, when you've drunk too much, we've all been there. We've I was going back to work that night and I had to go back to service Yeah. but I still felt so rough. So I bought a KFC, I got a black cab back and I thought I'm lating in the black cab and as I'm meating he go All right, An I said, Oh God, he goes, Gordon's not gonna like that, is he An. And I went, I'm so hungover. Please if he gets in your cab, don't ever tell him the story. But yeah, we loved your list. Your absolute loves, one dish in particular, you said but to chicken specifically from the standard Indian restaurant in Westbourne Grove. I used to live around the corner from. and we used to I lived in Hammersmith and on a Friday night I would always order the curry. I don't know if you do this, but I always order too much So even if there was just three of us, I'd order enough for the Royal Scotts dragoon guysards. I literally ordered Indian food the way my mum used to cook meals for everybody Yeah. Ebody everyverybody in is stet but and e this. Well wt jins our way tomorrow. So I had always ordered too much and it was always delight and the butter of chicken was like it just melted in your mouth. It was so delicious It was wonderful love a good Cory.. You were today keen on having something with scallops today Big scallops fan Yeah, it's the one seafood I can eat. I don't like anything with antenna. I love that being a point. So I don't like antenna. I don't like lobster or prawns or anything like that. You're also not a fan of slimy food Brains? What Oh, you know I had that? Ps No. Aful. No. A final thing that stood out from your list is that you aren't a cake master. Oh you would like some tips today 'causeuse me and my brother had a hotcross bun off during the lockdown. And we made hotcross buns every Saturday for quite a long time. mine will always like cricket balls. My brother would go, Lynn, I'm going send you a picture. and then he would send me the picture of his hotcross buns and they were always soft and perfect and succulent And I was so jealous. And my mother in law did in with me one day and because she was a proper chef. She could cook. And then she was watching me do it. and at the end she said, You really no good at this, are you? No Thanks, Doris. Thanks, Doris. But I'd love to learn what it is, Is it the yeast? it Is it the ratio between yeast and flour? Is it What flour am I using? Am I using the wrong? It's more scientific when you make pastry, especially bread. so it's making sure you've weighed everything properly and then allowing, I think it to rise and it also it sounds silly, but your yeast can be stale If it's an old packet of dried yeast that maybe it's been in the cupboard for a bit or something, we've all got it. Well the thing is you see, my mother used to do cooking and baking and everything. and I remember interviewing it before she passed away. I said, Mom, how'd you do how'd you do the Saturday shoup? She said, Well I get some m, I get some herbs and I dash it teine you was I just dash it tea. And then I get some flour and a dash it tea. And then I get some carrot and a dash it tea. And so I think that's how I was cooking the hot crust buns. Yeah I was just doing this. then I was just dashhing it tea. Thinking that was gonna work And he doesn't raise handser is up there go and it's like silence. I'm like, oh That's probably why it did my. She did it like my grandmother. they all call it your mant dash my Aloco. Whenever by the eye. She adjust it by the eye. And whenever she taught me anything I' go hold on a minute and I'd literally take everything weigh it And then but she still for all her life, never we a thing whenever she made and your mum's the same because it worked. But she took from memory and I used to love watching my mom because she did exactly what you're doing, which is everything was by feel, by shed doing her hand. she would just pinch, she would do all of those things. and it was always Delious good. Always. Did you pick anything up from your mum's cooking that you've carried on that you do do? Well, I don't know if this is right, Angeler, but when my momum wass making the Christmas cake She would wait until the oven was on fire and b out And then she would cut the crust of the burn away and inside was the most perfect cake you've ever eaten wow. It was much of burn on it. Oh I don't quite know what she was thinking. Love that. I think rum might have been involved. Yeah, it might have been involved. might have been involved I want to talk to you about the good cooking credentials because you did good cookery school. I did a weekend the mananoir, I didn't if that counts Blc said Raymond Blanc said, you should come and check this out, come and have a go. And for my birthday, I was brought a week of cooking every day with Clive at Raymond Blanc's cookery school. And it was amazing. There were all these old ladies and me. I was the only black person there And I was the youngest person there by a country mile. And the funniest thing was every time Clive said, Hey, and the thing about this is, you can make this two days before and then I'll go. You can make this one night before.. And it was great and we did fish and we did meat and we did We did bedge and we did all, we went out into the country garden. Cry garden is a whole thing. Nice. So I'm growing things now. I'm growing but I' of S just I'm doingu. Just start doing lettuce. Lisa does it all. Lisa's my partner. We're doing lettuce, we're doing carrots, we're doing radishes, we're doing all kinds of stuff. I'm loving the thing of going out and just picking carrots. Yeah not onions and spring onions and going back in and using it It's a really good thing. we should all do it Talk us through how you prepared the scallop and tomato taglateelli. So it's a seared sccallop and tomato Tagiceelle. and it's seared. Seared, like very quickly cooked in a pan. Yeah, exactly, ye. by Sylvana Franco. So you basically grate these large tomatoes, these big vine tomatoes, so you have remove the skin, just grate it so you get all the pulp and the juice In a pan with some sauteed garlic, touch of lemon rind and olive oil and just add your tomatoes and let that cook out for about three, four minutes. That's the sauce Then in a separate pan, sautece your scallops and your pasta is cooking at the same time. And as soon as your pasta's ready as scallops are, add your pasta to your tomato sauce, add your scallops, toss it all together Finish with some basil and serrup. Wow. simimple. Simple. Can you use tinn tomato sauce? it's better to use fresh. It's nice to do fresh, providing they're ri, but you could use tinn tomatoes. You know, you can buy those tins that is just pulp. You could easily do that you did you didn't want to. And also with the basil, add your basil stalks into the sauce as it's cooking. and then a touch of lemon juice just to finish the stalks and then remove them from it 'cause that enhances the flavour. I've overcooked your pasta a little bit. It's broken. sorry en sorry. He's glueen free, you see, sir. I love this show. It is perfect.. This is the best one of these I've done ye And then why do these work so well, And where all these flavour out the tomato? I think the tomatoes, you've got the acidity, which cs through the sort of sweetness of the basil and the scallops, because scallops are actually sweet. And I think it works because it's a really quick dish. You know, scallops don't need long to cook And this sauce is a really you don't want a sauce that's taken twenty five minutes. you know, you want something can be done really quickly, really easily done. And I think scallops don't need too many flavours balancing against them You just need a few little things. the acid from the lemon and the tomatoes. I I can ask a question. Yeah. When I watch the cookie programs Yeah on television. Yeah. Particularly in a Jamaican household. Yeah. We're always watching going Why they never season the food? Because the judge always go, Well, if I only had done some seasoning, and every Jamaican person in the country is going, season the food you. You have to season the food. The cat and peer something I' bring up the croissant. We say that. But I watch them and they never They don't. I don't know. Do you think it's a panic or something? Panic and they forget, but then some people cook with no seasoning. Who? I don't know, people do.ome people you know, you Normans. All of you have at some stage looked at me when I've seasoned something and gone, I can't believe you put that much salt of you I know yeah. And they're all used to it now. You're one of these merchants? I don't, but I don't do that business, but I d. I. dash it in. You dashing this out. Take a big handfulull a s, dash it Yeah, now and also you can you use this scallop row as well.ee you've got the lovely coral bit there of the scallop, you can eat that as well. There's that road. Yeah, that's the road. It's delicious. Why didn't that mean that's more delicious than the main bit. May ye orange bit. Yeah the orange bit. In Venice I use it with baglely, which is that really thick pasta I do that. But I think it's nice with Italian tent. And there's also a white wine pairing with it. So we' got an Italian fiano Piano di Salento, which has citrus and mineral notes. it sings with seafood. Does that sing with seafood? I can hear it. Does it sing in a way? If it were to sing, How do you think the song? How do you think the song would be amazing T beow It's singing to me. Well, hey it's your career. fifty years l. Cers, Lenny. Ches, chairs. It's an age. Thank you very Lenny. I never it I never thought we would get bless this long. but it's great. Yeah He wasn't a blag. He didn't feel like a blag. I certainly feel like I've worked very hard for quite a long time. And the thing of getting good, I don't know how you felt either of you felt. where you kind of thought, o, I can do this. How long did that take? It took me about eight years to kind of get to a point where I thought, actually I can do this. You know, where I'm not going to let the audience know. Yeah, yeah, sure. you have that? I still sometimes have that sometimes. you want you know, probably how you're feeling now doing the tour again is you always think God, you know, you want to make sure everything's right, serervice is right. You must feel it in the morning so I've got to have a good show. I think whenever you're doing it to an audience or to people paying money you feel It' a responsibility, I That's why I feel Yeah. I learned a lot from I worked with John Burton Race at Lautol Long. Oh I did a television show, show called Chef. I saw itf. so ye. Before I started, We did I had this thing where we had to help with prep in the morning And I'll get there at six o'clock. He he said to be here at six. And he made me chop parsley for Endlessly. I was just chopping parceling and he was teaching me how to use a knife. And then that stopped and then it was I had to gut a rabbit. I had to do rabbit.. The whole thing was me just gutting, It's horrible. Yeah. And then there was something else. And then I went to the patisteri. So and it was all about prep. It was all about you need to, if you're going to do it, you need to get everything ready before and I'd never done that before. I was the guy who started cooking and then was in waitroros with a flour hand print on my face because I'd left the meal halfway through cooking to get a vital missing ingredient. So it really taught me about prep and about thinking before and the night before. And then the other thing was working with musicians I had a band called Por White Trash and the Little Big Horns with Adrian Edmonton on guitar andugh Lurry on keyboards and Ben Elton's Bisses on the bass. And I we had to play We're practicing, I want you back home. Yeah. to let him D', don', don't, right? They practiced that. They practiced that for an hour. And they and they were just practicing it becausecause they were enjoying it. So the bass line is quite difficult still have playain that. And they were just and they kept practicing it over and over. And I don't think I sang in a rehearsal session becausecause they just kept playing, playing and playing. And as a comedian, I went, oh These guysese guys really practicing until they get it right. And comics are kind of like, Yeah, I go on and I just do it. And I thought, No I'm going to start. I'm going to start running lines. I'm going to start thinking about the lines and I'm going to prepare it. So like the cooking, like the working with a band, I thought, No, I'm going to go someplace and just practice my lines over and over again. So want to come and state, boom. I can just do it without even thinking. So to be able to play a basseline without even thinking it, it's like hours and hours of practice. And I started to apply that to My st up. Yeah. But it was a game changer. If you want to try this recipe at home, all the ingredients are available of course on waiters dot com for slash dish recipes. You willll find the recipe on there, you'll find the wine pairing, you willll find out how to do what Angela has done for us today When you got into serious acting, how did that, you know, 'cause obviously you went from comedy and to that. What made you do it in life? I'm I just I don't know if this has ever happened to you But I hit a wall,. My mom passed away and then recovering from that took a long time. And I got to the two thousands and I was doing shows and everything, but I wasn't quite enjoying it like I used to I felt like I was just doing it. And I was doing TV shows and stuff I did Mrs. Jonson. I did two I won a golden Rose Montrea doing Len Hryian pieces. I did a few years of that. and then I just sort of stopped doing it. Probably would have carried on if they' asked me BBC didn't want any more shows. And I thought And so I was doing corpor Bookings. Hey, it's the Pumberers Weekely Convention show. I'm your host, Lenny Henry. hereere we are. So I did that for a him Yeah. when I wasn't enjoying him. And then I just got to a point where I thought, there's got to be, you know that thing where your ladder is up against a building, metaphorical ladder. And you get to the top of that building and then you look across and you realize, o, you to you want to be on that building over there. And I realized I'd done all this work as a comedian and a comedy actor. And I thought, well I want to see if people would take me seriously as a proper actor. So I started to seek and desire that. And Barry Rutter from Northern Broadsides came to see me. and I was doing a radio show called What's So Great aboutbout you know, Bob Dylan and the Pogues, Maths, that stuff. And one of the shows was What' So so Great About Shakespeare Yeah. And Barry Rutter came on the radio to do a kind of insert about why Shakespeare should be doing in your own accent. You shouldn shouldn't just do it in a pososth voice. To be or not to be, that's the question. It could be To be or not to be, that's the question. Well, that's just noble in your mind, you can do it in your own accent wherever you're from. And it was a game changer for me because I'd always been scared of Shakespeare, you know, because at my school, Me and Ronnie Barton were made to read out Romeo and Juliet. It was not bi. To be like Romeo, Romeo, where for on that Romo. It was just not good. And so I just thought it was the posost people with tights on with the cucumber down their tights. I just thought it was for them, not for me. And thenut Rutter did Oh for a muse of fire down the phone. And it was brilliant. made the hairs on mineine Ams stunmed up because he was a bloke who's fully invested in it, fully invested in using his normal whole voice And his dad was a fisherman, and he just said, this I can do Shakepeare. Blow winds and crack your cheeks. I can do that. Why shouldn't I be able to do that? Yeah But he made me feel like I could do it too. And when he does it, he plays so he gets up and he moves things around you. You sat here you've got a knife. You don't know where the knife is, you know it's there. and there's two dead burs on the bed you've killed him. it's your bloody fult. You believed Yago, you shouldn't have believed him, your das son. Anyway you're sat there. And he just actcks the whole thing out.. But it just made me. You know when you were playing as a kid, it was like that. was like I'm going to be a fellow with him, and I'm going to have a knife, I'm going gonna kill myself I'll never never be so happy. Anyway, that day, that one day broadcasting house, it just changed my life. I want to do that. And then the year later, there I was walking down the hedgeerow at whatever it's called in Leeds looking at me with me topop off overver the West Yorkshire, I look like a Pony Denzel, Washington. And just me looking at my old Leny Henry is a fellow in I world It was the most exciting thing I've ever done because I just didn't know if it was going to work. It was that thing of you gott to jump. You eith you either stay here and be safe or you jump. And that was my moment to jump. There are many nights when I would wake up at four o'clock in the morning with the glass of red. and my thace glued to the script like that withdraw like that and I just carry on, you know, Id just carry on rning the line. I ran the lines and read the script every day all the way through. And even before I remember going on just before you went on to But I see, I'll be up against a pillar waiting to go on. do we're all doing press upps because it wants to look hench. You do press ups because we do them before then. Got got a bit. I know. You get those guns an. So But before I went on, I'd be up against a pillar, running the l, just making sure you don't do that, but I just want it to be proper on stage And it paid off, you know? Yeah the work And what's great is it pays off. and you don't have to be nervous as long as you've done the work. Yeah. If you haven't done the work, if you're just trying to blag it, it might go wrong halfay through Yeah Yeah. you know to be your Line. You don't want that. You don't want that. G don't want that. you went on to win Best Newcom Award. At fifty. Yeah come on. So pretty. Ccourage you guy. Yeah. you Yeah. Yeah, it was love to win that. Yeah. a stiff competition too. There's so much we want to talk to you about. we've of course gott to talk about comet relief with here Because this started in nineteen eighty five, but the very first Red Nursday was nineteen eighty eight. So we're nearly at forty years of it. Do you remember those early days when it was started out? and did you have any idea that you would be launching something that would be so powerful and still going four decades later? I was with Richard Curtes today actually and we often talk about it We're basically, we're both saying It's extraordinary that it's still going because we didn't think it was going we did the show at the Shastbury Theatre And Richard had just been to Ethiopia because there hadd been a terrible family in there and he just wanted to get a sense of what he could do and everything. And then he came back and he said to me, willill you help me? because I knew people I had my own show. Lenny Henry show. Lenny Lenny, I had that show in the eighties and Delvor Wilkins and Dicakas and stuff. And people knew all it was. And so he said, Will you help me ople I just write not the arrticle News, Nobody knows who I am yet. know Eon for when he's in a funeral. So I just wrote with Richard to everybody in Selber to say, will do you do this show? And quite a lot of people, the older guys, didn't want to do it because They thought Helping people in the thirird worldorld was nailing your colours to the master politically. And they didn't want to do anything that would mess up their brand Iage. But all of us not said yes.. Me, Rick, A Dwn Jen, Nigel, Cliff Richard, He's not one of us lot, but you know what I mean? Just a character. Billy Conlly, Victoria Wood everyverybody said, we'll do it. We did this show at the Saspbare Theatater Stunning success. And that's where I did, you know Romeo and Juliet with Franc Runo, Juliet.. remember Yeah. I haven't seen these since the way in, you knowes We did that and we did Sffulesspee Wild of Beast and we did all and Victory Wood Ga did sex talk and it was a legendary night And the young wom Rick came on into D love me You know, Rick did that. It was just a brilliant night and we raised about three million. then We were at my house getting drunk and I said, It should be a night onon the telly. We should just do our favorite things And it should be all night. And so Richard said, hold my beer. And the next thing you know Red Nursday. We've invented a day that didn't exist before. and we took the first one and we raised fifty million quid. So the British pepublic just did that. And they've had our backs for ever since then, forty years. That always astounds you when you hear about how much money's raised. know? because it always can be in a time of crisis And yet the British public always dig deep and go for it. It incredible Not just the British public. Yeah Everybody who gives their time for free, all the punters, all the DJs, all MCs, all Everybody. We did', you know We did a red hair day and all hairdressers. Anybody who's contributed to comic relief is a legend because we've now raised nearly two billion pounds.raz. So I think that as long as it keeps going, and as long as the younger turns, the younger comedians and actors Take it ones. I think they will Comicy will just keep going. So I'm really proud it's something I feel very proud of. Oh, good, rightight. So I just remember it being such a highlight of my child it was always something that I would always watch. I was like desperate to have a red nose, like desperate to haveone have to w to school and I was always like too little and it'd be sort of falling off and you'd walk to school like that so it'd stay on. I loved it and I'd make everyone shut up and watch it. my sister our Jane always says that I'd always like have it on and I'd sort of do crisps in a bowl. That was a sense ofificcasion. And then if anyone talked to they were' allowed to talk, I'd be like physically turning their heads to like W it. Watch it. my grand's like eighty. I'm like, Watch it. I loved it. I loved it and I'd be like fighting to stay away I try and stay upon. And I'd always fall asleep and then my momum said I'd go to sleep and then wake up and we'd be like, How much did the rise? Like I was obsessed with it. I was obsessed with it. I loved it so much Oh my Godd, we gotta talk about Fs. My name is Prince. I love we have to talk about Fs. Can you tell this B orle? Hell. Oh man. Did you ever see Prince An? Yes, I saw him live twice. Oh, L did you see him? Sow at Wenberley Arena? Yeah. It wass a small. Yeah was it like? Oh Godd, how wass? I would been in secondary school, say between What twenty ten Yeahah, I'm yeah.. Sorry. sorry,. You must have been wow. H R overver. you must have seen him do dirty Mind tour because that's just recent. No. Oh, very sweet. No. must yeah, so secondary school I would have seen him. so that would have been was nince when you're at secondary school Amazing because he was one of the key players. At the same time you saw Bowie, you know, all you know, saw Madonna and I remember seeing Madonna with my sister who was seven years younger than me.. And we were right in the front audience and me having to sort of get her out because I thought, o my Godd, she's going die here because everyone's puttingress front Yeahah all of that thing. But Prince was wearing because now I remember purple rain and it sort of like rained on stage in a weird way. He was great Yeah he had his moments though, didn't he, Prince. There was always I went to see him at the O two or some at Girl's Court O two Wembley. And there was always a moment of Prince concert when he just decided to improvise some james. and that's why he went to get a footlog hot dog causeince Prince can noodle for hours. You' a bit. there's a bit of mostock happening you always want to foot like, yeah, I want to fo. We starts raspberry Bt, we'll go back in. Yeah It was just amazing. And there was one when there was one where he didn't have a record deal because he he hated Warner Brosers because they weren't been imp by his masters. And he did this one show where it was clearly No set. It was like a ghetto set. It was just wearing obviously couldn't afford a costume, was just a white guitar with no pants on. whichich was a great show. He was doing dancing. he was playing extended funk workouts. No I like a bit of a funk workout So ten minutes of funk improvisation because Larry Graham from Graham Central Station Slid the Family Stone was on the base. and it was one of the best nights of my life. And then and then we did comic relief. Top of the pubs. Yeah. And I was the host and you know, they asked me to host p comp. There was like other sueite coming on. I mean it was like literally hosting top of the pubs on my own and Brit cups on. I didn't know I was on. and was when hear it was when he was wearing the thing over his face. Oh yeah. I can't remember what the song was, but he was brilliant. And he did it five times This is he did it once and we all went And then we're moving on? No, we're not moving on because Prince wants to do it again. He run up to the booth, he are like dead. Yeah, let's do one more. And then he'd come back down and then he do it again and then he let me do that. He five times off. It was amazing. Take that once off. They're like, whatever. take that. Robbie's like, I'm off down the pub bit. Literally onick.' just once. But it was great Wing him work and seeing the precision with which he play and also knew where the cameras were. He was amazing. I just he was a real hero of mine and I got to meet him because I did the Leny Henry show and Shaka Khan was on. Yes. Shakak Khan. And she said, my birthday party on Thursday. Having a party. wantan to come And I was like, not sure, Chucky, you know I mean, There things I need to be doing he said, Prin is coming on. And it was in this club, right? And it was like the club was like Clamyia with a bar. And then literally you went in and it was so sticky carpet, you know horrible. But it was this really funky club Im downstairs They all these black Briditish funk soul divvers. Yeah. Misha Parris Caren Wheeler from soul to soul and Jackie Graham. And they were all trying to because Prince was there and they're all trying to h you know. This thing is in literally Beverly Knight popped alung and Mich Brs went. And the ambulance was there in seconds. so I wentn up stairs because I didn't want to listen to the Dvers anymore. But Prince was up there and he knew who I was You' ly right. Oh my days. luckily I was wearing the tenor pants. so a wind sat next to him and we just talked for about an hour and It was a while. I can't remember what we talked. It's like me to the royal family, but I literally couldn't Remember what we talks about. But didn't you do you ended up on a track with him? Yeah, did did because I was doing Theophilis, P Wilderies he. I did his on comment relief and also on ammnesty and Kate Bush was there both times. And she just said, you want to come and make a recle with me? like So I was a massive fan. Yes. went to our house and she made me scrambled eggs and we chated about it. And they said, you wantan to go in the studio? And I said, yes, and I put the cans on. and I he this heard this guitar and this vocal thing. I thought well, that's Kate. And I heard the guitar of it That's Pince. Yeah. And I said, Is this prrince? And went, Yeah, it is. ye. It's good it. And I went, is it good? He wasn't even there, and I wentar myself again. And I just fit in between her and Prince and again. It was one of the best days of my life It was wonderful Well, Lenny, we've not had time to do the entire life story. you can experience Len It would take years, darling. You can see Lenny on the stage still at large on tour across the UK until November time. So make sure you get a ticket, go see Sir Lenny Henry live. Lenny, are you ready for the fast food quiz Yes, I'm ready. Okay, it's quick fire.ick Here we go. Lenny Henry, what is the best way to eat eggs? Oh I think sccrambled. but if you're brave, just suck it out. Oh, never had that before. Just do that. let's go Rockol. We're not seen rockoly. Rck. eggs bang Throw up when nobody's looking.ook. Wh is your favourite sandwich Pyin? Well, I like a bacon and egg sandwich. nice. And I do like tuna mayo actually, with crunchy red pepper. Oh yeah. What is your favourite form of potato? I like baking. I like the roasties But I'm a big fan of the fondant potatoes. Oh, cooked in butter. I want to learn how to do that All right. If only there was a great teacher around. I can teach you. What's your favourite herb? I like the guy in peaches and herbs. He's good. He's very, very goode love him. He's really be good. And ply the lion. Oh I'm a dog called Dil. and D Dill the dog. My name is Dill I'm Dill the Dg. What dog called Dil? I like that sure. What is the best crisp in your opinion? Well, come on. I a lot ready salted, but I'm a secret fan of the chicken roast chicken flavor. Favourite chocolate bar. Well it used to be old Jamaica I still Old Jamaica was rum raisin and chocolate. No And when you're sixteen, that is the bomb. Of course. I used to eat that all the time and then I'd be on the roof restant all night. We'd be able to part play and I'd just be over there I' goal, I'll play seententy forward I'll do anything. What's your favourite beverage? I was a Roman coat boy then Well I just dis come to Jen and Tony, No no contest. That's it. Pig Gbbler. Came with Thrones G gobler. a dog next to me eating your car For the show question, Seleny Henry, for your chance to win this Waitress' Goody bag here. h on we got to do. you give me a goody bag for. Yeah you go. win the goody bag. I win the good I didn't finish my day now. All you gott to do is answer this question to win the Waitress Goody bag.. We w to take a look back what with you celebrating five decades in entertainment. We w to look back at five decades kitchen gadgets. Makes sense. We' dish. Please, with justification, tell us your favorite and least favourite The gadgets are The toasty maker from the nineteen seventies, the salad spinner of the nineteen eighties, the George Foreman Grill of the nineteen nineties, two thousand's the Nutri Bullet, twenty ten's the air fryer Least favourite and most favourite, please, Lenny. Can I e the list again please, sorry Selessess.iless, letless. I have no idea about the toasty maker. Oh I love to. Did you like a toast toaster? love a toast to mako? It toast. keeps going on me about an air fryer. Yeah. Everybody in the world have a Nutrure bullet. No then did everybody put it to one side because they had they a blender. I was heavily influenced by neutral bullets. I saw the advert one night, I had jet lag and I was in LA and I saw it and I was like, I'm getting that. Did you still use on the tellle? Do I still use it? No. My bo Exactly. Do I have one? Yes. I think I've gotaction Yeah to change the lives. We're going to have a neutr bullet. It cans be fresh every morning,oothie whatever lender. We did it once got Blender. we as b. Yeah, we got excited. Even though we haven't got one, the air fryer seems to be changing my time for. Uncle learn, you got to get an air fryer is brilliant. You put everything in there, including your feet and it Can you just cook everything in here The Nutro put it sort of rubbish here for, I think there's the future, but I'm resisting it. Okay. There we go. Lanny Lny G bies yours, Lanny And it's yours. Can I say this has been joyous? Oh lovely. thank you very very much. It a pleasure you must do some chicky next time, Angela, because come. How must seasoning food? old do your seasoning food? Y' dash your teeen. Raluse for se Hello Very very much. That so fun