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Before he gets here, can I just ask,
how do we actually address him?

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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:04,960
Right, well...
Ah, yes.

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Now that he's been made...
Yes, no, brilliant, Tracey.

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Presumably...
Your Lordship whatever. What?

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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Your Lordship?
Sure.

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He hasn't been made...
KNOCKING

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Oh, right. OK.

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Yeah, hey.
Yeah, so, this is Henry.

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SONG: 'Rappers Delight'

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Get down, ooh!

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# You don't stop the rock it
To the bang-bang boogie,

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00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:22,960
# Say up jump the boogie

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00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:24,960
# To the rhythm of the boogie
The beat... #

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00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:26,960
Hello.

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00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,000
When I think of Lenny Henry,
I actually smile.

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He just makes me smile.

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00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,480
That's a good one, hey-hey!

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I can't imagine anyone saying,
"I don't like Lenny Henry."

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That doesn't seem possible.

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Well, I've sucked on some pretty
wonderful things, Bernie,

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but that takes the biscuit.

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How would I describe Lenny Henry?

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00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:46,960
Tall, Black, and funny.

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00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,960
Lieutenant Uhuru?
Yes, Captain?

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00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:51,960
Brilliant comedian.
Brilliant fundraiser.

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And now, a word from our sponsor.

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Brilliant campaigner.

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He's such a part of our culture
in this country.

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# Walk this way, talk this way... #

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There really is nothing
that he can't do.

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He sets his mind to it
and he just does it.

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SONG: 'Sir Duke'
by Stevie Wonder

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He's a British TV icon,
he's a household name.

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He's up there with Branston Pickle,
you know what I mean?

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He's a very good actor,

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and I think that's what makes some
of his characterisations so good.

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Good morning.
This is Trevor MacDoughnut,

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reporting for News At Ten.

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A world without Lenny
would be much less funny.

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Thank you, thank you very much.

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He was an essential part of Tiswas.

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People loved him,
all ages loved him. Still do.

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More champagne, darling.

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Oh, thank you! Everywhere.

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He is one of a kind,

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he's funny, very emotional,
very caring.

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All hail Lenny Henry!

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It's time to present
the Special Recognition Award,

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00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,960
which this year goes
to a force of nature,

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who has been blazing a trail
for nearly half a century.

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Please give a huge round of applause
to Sir Lenny Henry!

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00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:08,960
APPLAUSE

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I think, in the way that
George Clinton and Bootsy Collins

56
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are funkateers,
I think I'm a workateer.

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I like work.

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My mum did four jobs.

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I saw my mum making cakes,
and dresses,

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and going to the factory and doing
all sorts to put food on the table.

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It's a working-class thing,
you know.

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You snooze, you lose.

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I've been doing this thing
since I was 16.

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Back then, we used to play football
in the park,

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and often I wouldn't get picked,
right.

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Partly because I was crap
at football,

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but mainly because I didn't
look like anybody else in the team,

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so I didn't get to play.

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But here's the thing
about this industry.

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I was allowed to play.

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APPLAUSE

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Thank you to my family, my friends,

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and most of all,
thank you so much, Lisa,

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I love you very much.
I'll cherish this.

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It's great. Peace.
APPLAUSE

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That special recognition
with my missus there,

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and with all those people,
on the telly,

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was a big moment. It was wonderful.

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Because...

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..I never went into it for that.

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I went into it
to make my friends laugh.

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I was kind of like a comedy jukebox
for them.

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They'd sort of go,
"Do Benny Hill, Lenny,"

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and I'd do Benny Hill.

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And my friends thought,
"That's funny."

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# You're a star, you're a star

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# A lame suit
And a new guitar... #

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When I was 16,
I went on New Faces.

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And I won.

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I did an audition.

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I walked out
and I was a bit nervous,

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but I did this to the microphone.

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EXHALES
Like that.

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And for some reason,
they all laughed.

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"Thank you very much."
And they laughed again.

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And then at the end of it all,
they stood up and clapped.

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First standing ovation ever,

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00:03:57,960 --> 00:04:00,800
and I thought, "Ooh, I like this!"

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00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,960
He's a really new, exciting face
to television, just 16 years old.

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00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,960
Enough from me, let him
express himself in three minutes,

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00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,320
as we bring on Mr Lenny Henry!

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I did Max Bygraves.

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00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:16,320
I did Tommy Cooper.

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00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,640
I did Michael Crawford.

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And I just went through it all
like I was presenting a show.

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AS MICHAEL CRAWFORD:
Who saw the Queen on Christmas Day,

107
00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:26,800
then, my darling?

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00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:28,960
That's my baby Jessica, that is.

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LAUGHTER

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Oh, there's a lot of people
out there.

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I went home, and my mum wanted
to know where I'd been

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because I'd bunked off school
all day.

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"Where have you been?"
"I've been to Birmingham."

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00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,480
"Why? "I did an audition."
"Audition for what?"

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Went on like this
for quite some time, then she said,

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"Do it."
"What do you mean?"

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"Do it for me now, the audition."

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And I had to do the whole thing
for her,

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ten minutes on the front doorstep
before I could have my tea.

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It was great.
So I had her acceptance,

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because up till then,
I was a kind of waste of space.

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You know, she thought I was useless,

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and then suddenly I was this kid
who could be on telly.

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# Saturday, Saturday

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# Saturday is Tiswas day... #

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00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:17,960
When I was a kid around that
sort of '70s, '80s time,

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you were either a Swap Shop kid
or a Tiswas kid,

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00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:24,960
and I was very much team Tiswas.

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00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:25,960
Before your very eyes...

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00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,480
I used to get the Tiswas magazine,
that's how much of a fan I was.

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00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:31,480
..the basket will disappear.

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I knew about Tiswas, this mad show
on a Saturday morning on ITV,

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and in '78, I went on.

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00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:38,960
Sim Salabim.

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00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:40,960
Really?
Yeah. Ah-buh-buh-buh.

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There was just something so
extraordinary about that show.

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It was so fresh and anarchic.

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00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:48,640
Shall we bow? Very nice.

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00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:50,960
It felt a bit naughty.

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Tiswas was very alternative.
Tiswas was crazy.

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It was a fantastically important
part of student life.

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And then there was Lenny,
this comic powerhouse,

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who was so brilliant, we loved him.

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SONG: 'Teenage Kicks'
by The Undertones

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00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,960
Tiswas actually established him live
on Saturday mornings

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00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:13,960
for four or five years.

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00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,960
So when he came to things
like Comic Relief,

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he just had no problem with that
at all.

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00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,960
He really blossoms
on live television. He loves it.

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00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:23,960
When Len started
to become successful,

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00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:24,960
we noticed the difference

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00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,960
because it wasn't quite so hard
on a day-to-day basis to live.

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We were really poor.

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And Len was really young.

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Sorry, lads!

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So to take that responsibility on
was huge.

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00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:37,960
Could I have my glasses, please?

158
00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:39,960
I'm afraid I can't read
without them.

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00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,480
He did this impression
of the then very young

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00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,160
and new newscaster on ITN,

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00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:48,960
you know, Trevor McDonald,
who we immediately changed,

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00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:50,960
rather unkindly,
to Trevor MacDoughnut.

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00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,000
British Leyland announced today
that 19,000 brand-new Mini Metros

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00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:56,960
rolled off the assembly line.

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00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,160
A spokesman said somebody forgot
to put the handbrake on.

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00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:01,960
I used to love doing impressions
of Trevor

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00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:04,960
because he was probably the most
famous Black guy on television.

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00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:06,960
To me, Trevor was a god.

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00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:09,960
Now, from whichever planet
you are watching us tonight,

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00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:11,960
from all of us here, good night.

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00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,960
He picks up those wonderful
idiosyncrasies that we all have.

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00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,960
And he exaggerates them brilliantly
in a comic form.

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00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:20,960
In Oxford Street today,

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00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:22,960
a suicidal Japanese fighter pilot
crashed his plane...

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00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:24,960
Lenny?
Pardon?

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00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:25,960
'One day...'

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00:07:25,960 --> 00:07:27,960
he just walked on.

178
00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:31,960
"Hello, Lenny."

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It just blew my mind!

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00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,960
The look on Lenny Henry's face
was just absolutely marvellous.

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00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,960
Well, good morning, Daddy.

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00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,960
It's really nice to see you,
and how is Mummy going on?

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00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:50,480
I've decided to come
to give you a small lesson in...

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00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,960
Some tips.
..in how it's done.

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00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:53,960
Well, that's amazing.

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00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,960
Why don't you sit down there,
Mr MacDoughnut,

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00:07:56,960 --> 00:07:58,960
and let's see
if we can really get it on.

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00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:00,960
I thought, you know,

189
00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,960
letting yourself go for a moment
would do no harm.

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00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:06,960
Reports are coming in
that Mr Albert Shortfuse,

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00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:08,960
who is known as
The Human Cannonball,

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00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:11,000
was still stuck in the barrel
of a cannon

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00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:12,960
at Barnard Circus this morning.

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00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,000
A doctor has tied a rope
around his ankles

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00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,960
and says he's certain
that the man will pull through.

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00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:20,960
'I was very glad that I did it.'

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00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:24,320
I thought it was great to play
a tiny, tiny, tiny part

198
00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:28,960
in the comic life
of this great, great man.

199
00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:31,960
# Saturday is Tiswas day... #

200
00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,960
He wanted to develop, which was one
of the great things about Lenny,

201
00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:37,960
he's always wanting to develop.

202
00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:39,960
It's probably why he's lasted
so long, cos he's always moving on.

203
00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,960
I'm just doing the rapid change
from the doctor David Bellamy

204
00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:44,960
to your old friend and compatriot

205
00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:48,960
Algernon Winston Spencer Churchill
Razzmatazz, right.

206
00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:50,480
Algernon was the first time I went,

207
00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,960
"What about if I didn't do
an impersonation of somebody?"

208
00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,960
Rather than being just
a young kid telling jokes,

209
00:08:56,960 --> 00:08:59,960
it was the very beginning
of him wanting to do characters.

210
00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:01,960
OK, it's great out here!

211
00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,000
The first time I went, "Hello,
my good friends. How are you doing?"

212
00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,960
it felt kind of funny.

213
00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,960
I wouldn't do it now, but it felt
kind of funny, especially for kids.

214
00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:12,960
The good thing about bread
and condensed milk sandwiches

215
00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:14,960
is you can really get into
the dunking in the tea.

216
00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,960
Oh, no, that's revolting!
It's really great.

217
00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:20,960
In fact, I'm dunking for Jamaica!

218
00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,960
As a character, it was just funny,
because he was quite cartoony.

219
00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:26,960
I don't think anybody had seen
anything like that before,

220
00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:28,960
and it was easy to impersonate,

221
00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,000
which I think is why he was
so hugely successful.

222
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:32,960
So, from that point of view,
it was very clever.

223
00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:37,960
I remember a breakthrough thing
where a child this big came up to me

224
00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,960
and said, "Ooooooooo-kay."

225
00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:43,960
And the whole thing was to do it
for as long as you could do it,

226
00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:45,960
so he did a very long O
and he did a very long K,

227
00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:49,960
so this kid went, "Oooooooooooo..."

228
00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:53,480
HOLDS NOTE

229
00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,960
I thought, "Oh, this is bigger than
anything I've ever done before."

230
00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:01,000
From my earliest memory as a child,
Lenny Henry was just there.

231
00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:02,960
I mean,
he was like part of the furniture,

232
00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:05,960
he was part of the family.

233
00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:10,960
I'd grown up watching Dick Emery
and The Two Ronnies, Benny Hill...

234
00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,640
I grew up watching these things.
Morecambe and Wise.

235
00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:16,480
So when Three Of A Kind came along,
it was just characters and sketches.

236
00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:18,960
HE SINGS

237
00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:20,960
Three Of A Kind was a great show.

238
00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:24,960
And it was kind of mainstream
alternative,

239
00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,480
if that makes any sense.
Which, in a way, was Lenny's vibe.

240
00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:30,960
# Who really wants
To sit around in class

241
00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,960
# When you can dance around
And sing about grass? #

242
00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:37,960
I think my generation
and the one that followed

243
00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,960
will always remember him
for the joy he spread.

244
00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,480
# Yeah, it's such a thrill... #

245
00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,960
He was a very happy spirit.

246
00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,960
# Please tell me who's the dad

247
00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:50,960
# It's you, Ron Ron Ron

248
00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:52,960
# No, you, Jon Jon. #

249
00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:54,960
When I got my show...

250
00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:00,960
..we started
with a stand-up routine.

251
00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,480
I kind of, as a punter, understood

252
00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:07,000
that the show would be stand-up
and sketches.

253
00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,960
So that slightly shunted me
into doing stand-up,

254
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:10,960
which I'd never done.

255
00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,320
And it was a joyous feeling
to have this other thing.

256
00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:15,480
Another arrow for my quiver.

257
00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,960
My favourite parties are Jamaican
blues parties, they're the best.

258
00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,160
You know where they are...
Yeah, yeah.

259
00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,000
You know where they are
cos the whole street's shaking.

260
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:25,960
The last two buildings
on the terrace

261
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,960
aren't buildings at all,
they're the bass speakers.

262
00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:30,960
LAUGHTER

263
00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:32,960
The word goes round,

264
00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:34,960
"There's a blues party tonight,
you know, you coming?"

265
00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:36,960
"Yeah, man, but I'll wait
till it warms up."

266
00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:37,960
"All right,
I'll see you on Saturday."

267
00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,960
The Lenny Henry Show ran
for donkey's years.

268
00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:41,960
Kick it!

269
00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,960
He was very, very early
as an example of changing Britain,

270
00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,960
of Britain with an entirely new,
multicultural demographic.

271
00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:50,960
Having a sketch show on the BBC,

272
00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:52,960
as a Black man,
he was the first to do that.

273
00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:54,960
That's who you're listening to,
Delbert Wilkins

274
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,960
on the Brixton Broadcasting
Corporation, the BBC,

275
00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,960
are you feeling totally sponditious?
CROWD: Yeah!

276
00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:03,960
He's a massive trailblazer,
a massive pioneer.

277
00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,160
When I first come here,
people told me

278
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,160
the only way to get a job
in Hengland

279
00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:09,960
was with the old school tie.

280
00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,960
So I wore my old school tie
for three years,

281
00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:13,960
not a damn thing happened.

282
00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:16,960
I just had all these characters
that were based on real people.

283
00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,960
My mum, my dad, my uncle,
the guy who delivers bread.

284
00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:22,480
So, Deakus came from out of that.

285
00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,960
And I thought, he can talk
about the Windrush thing.

286
00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,960
And Delbert could talk about,
"The riots in Brixton, you get me?"

287
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,960
I used to drive a BMW convertible,
the car was wicked,

288
00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:34,960
I converted it myself, ha-ha-ha-ha!

289
00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:36,960
Imitation leopard-skin seats.

290
00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:38,960
Those imitation leopards
are a bugger to catch,

291
00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:39,960
you know what I mean?

292
00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:41,960
It's nice when something
goes into the zeitgeist

293
00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:43,960
and people are talking about it.

294
00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,960
And, you know,
for a brief minute there,

295
00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:48,640
The Lenny Henry Show
and Three Of A Kind

296
00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:51,160
were things where kids would do
the characters in the playground.

297
00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:52,960
I'll check you later.

298
00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:53,960
That is a thing to cherish.

299
00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,960
# When I was a little girl

300
00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:07,960
# I had a ragdoll

301
00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,960
# Only doll I ever owned

302
00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,480
# It gets stronger... #

303
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,960
'In my act,
I always did a bit about music.

304
00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:17,960
'I loved getting funky on stage.'

305
00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,320
So, anything I could do,

306
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,960
where I could be Stevie Wonder
or Earth, Wind and Fire, or Prince,

307
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:23,960
that was a thing for me.

308
00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,960
Say, aren't you famous?

309
00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:33,960
Yeah, I'm pretty famous.

310
00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,960
In fact, I guess you could say
I'm pretty AND famous.

311
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:40,160
I used to do
Buck Cherry on Three Of A Kind.

312
00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,800
I did Eddie Grunt.
I did Break Wind and Fire.

313
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,960
And that gave me a taste
for doing parodies.

314
00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:51,640
So, I always wanted to do
that stuff.

315
00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:53,960
Right now, we just forget
being serious for one moment

316
00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:55,960
about the things
that bother the world,

317
00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:57,160
and we get serious about love.

318
00:13:57,160 --> 00:13:59,320
Because you're gonna hear
the finest pop music,

319
00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:00,960
the finest soul sound,

320
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,960
from just about the sexiest guy
you're ever gonna see on any stage,

321
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:05,960
please welcome the main man,

322
00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:09,960
get sexy
for Theophilus P Wildebeeste!

323
00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,960
Theophilus P Wildebeeste
was a straight-up parody

324
00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,960
of alpha male singers

325
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:22,960
who were selling their sexuality
as a thing.

326
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:27,320
It was raw charisma, raw sexuality.

327
00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,320
But, also, bit dodgy.

328
00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:32,160
My name is Theophilus P Wildebeeste,

329
00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,960
I am the most fertile man
in the universe.

330
00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:35,960
So, I thought,

331
00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:40,960
that's a thing to talk about,
let's make a sexist soul singer.

332
00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:42,000
And that was the joke.

333
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,960
I'm going to come amongst you.

334
00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:45,960
That doesn't mean I'm gonna
spontaneously explode

335
00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:47,480
or something like that,

336
00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:49,960
it just means I'm gonna step down
into the audience

337
00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:51,960
and rap with the ladies,
cos that's the kind of guy I am.

338
00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:54,960
Certain things you could
get away with, like, 20 years ago,

339
00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:56,960
you would absolutely not
be able to get away with now,

340
00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:58,960
but the character was just so funny
at the time,

341
00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:00,800
and completely outrageous.

342
00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,960
You got any African in you?

343
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,960
Would you like some?
LAUGHTER

344
00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:07,960
It's a joke, goddamn...!

345
00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,960
I'm sorry, baby.
It's a joke, goddamnit.

346
00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:12,960
It was funny, but it was also sexy.

347
00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:14,160
Hey.

348
00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,960
You know, at the absolute core
of comedy is truth.

349
00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:21,960
# I'm a soul singer, baby... #

350
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,480
If you're going to play
a sex bomb soul singer,

351
00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,960
you've got to be able to be
a sex bomb soul singer.

352
00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:30,960
And, of course, Lenny could do it.

353
00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:32,640
I'm from Philadelphia, PA.

354
00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:34,000
The PA stands
for personal appliance,

355
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:35,960
and I'm wearing it right now.

356
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,960
He was satirising something
that he could actually do.

357
00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:45,640
Honest Jon's.

358
00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:47,960
Hello!

359
00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:49,960
Hey.
You all right?

360
00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:51,960
'Music is a big part of my life.'

361
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:54,960
So I had that in my DNA
from the beginning.

362
00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:55,960
Ooh, what's that?

363
00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,960
Doo-wop from the 50s, from Jamaica.
Absolutely brilliant.

364
00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:00,960
Jamaican doo-wop?
Yep. Absolutely brilliant.

365
00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:02,640
Don't... Get out, really?

366
00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,480
From a label called
Death Is Not The End.

367
00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,960
Well, great, you couldn't stick
some of it on, could you?

368
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,960
Yeah.
MUSIC STARTS

369
00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,960
This is Jamaican doo-wop? Ha-ha!

370
00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,000
MUSIC PLAYS

371
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:19,960
Beautiful.

372
00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:22,960
LENNY SINGS ALONG

373
00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:24,960
# Now I know the meaning... #

374
00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:27,960
# Doo do-do. #

375
00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,960
I don't think I've got this one.
Lord Beginner. The Mighty Terror.

376
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:32,960
All these calypso names are great.
Yeah, exactly.

377
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:34,960
And there's some categories there

378
00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:36,960
that people have probably
never heard of.

379
00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:39,960
Palm Wine, Mento, Joropo.

380
00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:41,960
This is my dream come true.

381
00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,960
When I go to places,
or off on holiday or something,

382
00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:46,960
I always aim for a place like this.

383
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:48,960
Because it's great.
Look, comics, records,

384
00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:50,960
what could be better than this?

385
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,960
OK, I'll take those three.
Er, 62 altogether.

386
00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:58,960
You know, my mum used to feed
100 people with £60.

387
00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,960
Thank you very much.
Not even a pound off!

388
00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,320
See ya! I will be back.

389
00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:11,960
If I had my way, I'd have my band
up here, my fantasy band, yeah?

390
00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,960
On guitar, Prince.

391
00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,960
On bass guitar,

392
00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:17,960
Prince.

393
00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:19,960
Keyboard, Prince.

394
00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,960
I love Prince, he's a genius.
And he's little, isn't he?

395
00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:24,960
What is he, nine inches tall?

396
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,960
He's like a penis with a quiff,
ladies and gentlemen, he is.

397
00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,160
I met Prince.
I was at an after-party.

398
00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,960
I'm standing by the speakers,
having the best night of my life,

399
00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:37,960
and he walked over and he said,
"You're Lenny, right?"

400
00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:38,960
And I went...

401
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:43,160
And I couldn't speak to him.
I didn't know what to say.

402
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:48,960
But afterwards,
after he'd gone away, I went,

403
00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:49,960
"Argh! Prince just said hello!"

404
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,960
As an expert, Kate, you think
he's got what it takes, don't you,

405
00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:58,160
as a singer?

406
00:17:58,160 --> 00:17:59,960
I think Lenny's
a really good singer,

407
00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:03,960
he's done some singing
on the new album, it's really good.

408
00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,960
Yes, you are on Kate's new album.
Yes.

409
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:08,640
Doing what? How much?
Singing.

410
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:10,960
Just, just...
LAUGHTER

411
00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,960
My elephant impression, Michael.
LAUGHTER

412
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:15,960
HE TRUMPETS

413
00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:17,960
It's a biggie.

414
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,960
Kate Bush had seen me sing, I think,
at Amnesty and Comic Relief,

415
00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,960
mainly doing Theo.
And she said, "Well, you can sing.

416
00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:26,800
"You should come and be
on this track that I'm doing."

417
00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,960
It's called Why Should I Love You?
It's a beautiful song.

418
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:32,800
SONG: 'Why Should I Love You?'
by Kate Bush

419
00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:36,960
I went to her house.

420
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,960
And she had a recording studio
in the back.

421
00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:42,960
While she was setting up,

422
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:44,960
she was smoking fags
and talking about the track.

423
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,960
And I can hear the track,
and it's funky.

424
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,000
And I can hear this guitar,
and I went...

425
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,960
"Oh, this is great.
It sounds like Prince."

426
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:54,800
She went, "Oh, it is Prince."

427
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,960
And I literally almost wet myself.
"What?!"

428
00:18:57,960 --> 00:18:59,960
'WHY SHOULD I LOVE YOU?'
PLAYS

429
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:04,960
Oh, yeah!

430
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:13,960
What in...?

431
00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:17,960
That's Lenny?!

432
00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,160
I feel like a lot of people
don't know that.

433
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,960
That's not public knowledge.

434
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:23,960
Ha-ha, that's cool, man.

435
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,960
Lenny and Prince and Kate Bush.

436
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:28,960
Now that's three of a kind!

437
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:31,960
Everything I'd done before that
was impressions of, you know,

438
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,960
Noddy Holder, and T.Rex,
or whatever.

439
00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,320
So, to be asked to perform
as yourself, to sing as yourself,

440
00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:39,960
is a big deal, because when
you're singing as yourself,

441
00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:40,960
you're kind of naked.

442
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:43,960
I wasn't naked,
but that's what it felt like.

443
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:48,960
He does have this
amazing singing voice.

444
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,320
I remember watching an episode
of The Masked Singer.

445
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,960
# Your lights are on
But you're not home... #

446
00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:59,640
As soon as he opened his mouth,
you knew it was Lenny.

447
00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:00,960
Sing it, y'all!

448
00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,160
# Might as well face it
You're addicted to love... #

449
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:04,800
Come on, Rita!

450
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:06,960
# Might as well face it... #
You got a shoutout!

451
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,960
Davina, come on!

452
00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:10,160
# Might as well... #

453
00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:11,960
The comedian in me was like,

454
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,960
"I'm gonna name someone
who it definitely isn't,

455
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,960
"but at the same time,
the Black community will be like,

456
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:19,960
"Come on, Mo, man."

457
00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:20,960
Who's behind the mask, Mo?

458
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:22,960
Erm, I think it's Ainsley Harriott.

459
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,960
HE LAUGHS

460
00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:26,960
I knew it wasn't Ainsley Harriott!

461
00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,960
CHANTING: Take it off, take it off,
take it off, take it off!

462
00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,960
# Who's that behind the mask? #

463
00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:36,960
It's Sir Lenny Henry, everybody!

464
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,960
I think the Shakespeare thing
really stuck it in for you.

465
00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,960
Well, you gave me that,
because you'd been to see him.

466
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:47,960
And you were great.

467
00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:49,960
Did you ever play
at The Globe yourself?

468
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:51,480
No, I've been to The Globe.

469
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:52,960
LAUGHTER

470
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,960
From Shakespeare to Blob.
It's a huge career arc.

471
00:20:57,640 --> 00:20:58,960
About 2009, 2010,

472
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:00,960
I was starting to think

473
00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,480
that I needed to have more gas
in the tank

474
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:09,640
so that I can...
offer more, contribute more.

475
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,960
Oh, my fair warrior!
Oh, my dear Othello!

476
00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,960
I'd never done Shakespeare.
So, Othello came about

477
00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,960
because I talked to Judi Dench,
Paterson Joseph, Adrian Lester,

478
00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:21,960
and they said, "You can do this.
Why don't you try it?"

479
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,960
If more thou dost perceive,
let me know more.

480
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:26,640
Set thy wife on to observe.

481
00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:28,960
Leave me, Iago.

482
00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:32,960
I loved it. I LOVED it.

483
00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,960
Very quickly,
and seemingly without any struggle,

484
00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:37,960
he was suddenly a classical actor.

485
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,640
It was huge
to actually make that leap

486
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,960
into kind of a completely
different genre,

487
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,800
and to succeed at it.

488
00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,000
I suppose a relatively
late-starting career, really,

489
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,960
but he seems to have caught up
pretty quickly.

490
00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,960
I loved it
when he turned up in Broadchurch.

491
00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,640
If I did this,
why would I call it in?

492
00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,640
It doesn't make any sense.
How stupid would I have to be?

493
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,800
Not stupid, maybe. Desperate.

494
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,960
Check the CCTV. Please.

495
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:12,960
What a show, and when they asked me,
I was like... shocked.

496
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,960
Lenny was such a fantastic addition,

497
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,800
both in terms of the way
he embodied that character

498
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:20,320
and everything that he brought
to it, but just to have him around.

499
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:21,960
It was a treat.

500
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,000
You told them I was violent.

501
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,960
I just rang him every week saying,
"You're guilty, you're guilty,"

502
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:30,960
and he accused me
of being prejudiced.

503
00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:32,960
SONG: 'Doctor Who'

504
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,960
Because I'd done Broadchurch,
I got a part in Doctor Who.

505
00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:39,960
And it was very cool.

506
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:44,960
Sir, it seems we have three
of your motorcycles following us.

507
00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:46,960
What exactly do I pay you for?

508
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:50,960
'I got to wield a gun.

509
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:52,320
'I got to be in a car chase.'

510
00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,000
It was fantastic!

511
00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,160
Lenny's had the impact
of a great popular comedian,

512
00:22:58,160 --> 00:22:59,960
made lots of people happy,

513
00:22:59,960 --> 00:23:02,960
which is a wonderful job
for a human being to do.

514
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,960
And now he's added to that,
brilliant, serious actor,

515
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,480
so it's a very rich brew.

516
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,160
I told you to be discreet.

517
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:13,960
We must remove them all immediately.

518
00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:15,800
No.

519
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:17,960
'I love the idea of fantasy
because it's not reality.'

520
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:23,320
I've been reading comics
since I was six or seven.

521
00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,320
That felt like a pretty cool world
to me.

522
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:27,320
A world where you could say,
"Flame on,"

523
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:29,320
and burst into flames
and fly off into the sky.

524
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:30,960
I thought,
"Well, that's a good world."

525
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:32,960
Thief!

526
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:36,960
So I think the reason
I've become really interested

527
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,960
in playing a part in fantasy

528
00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:40,960
is because those things
are possible now

529
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,960
because of visual effects.

530
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:44,960
Leave him.

531
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,960
You wait your turn, Empress,
I shall attend to you soon.

532
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,160
The technology has caught up with
the imagination of those writers.

533
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,960
And I think
that's a wonderful thing.

534
00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:58,960
Len is really nerdy.

535
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,960
That's something that I don't think
people know about him.

536
00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:02,960
Hiya.
Hi.

537
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,960
My brother Paul said
he has this unerring knack

538
00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,960
of finding a comic book store
in any town.

539
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,960
He could be in the Amazon

540
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,960
and he would find a comic book store
to go to.

541
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:19,480
Ohhh!

542
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,480
I don't get it, but, hey,
I mean, if it brings him joy.

543
00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,000
I spend a lot of time
in comic shops.

544
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,960
And it's a kind of weird thing
for a person of my age to admit,

545
00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:31,960
but there's something glorious

546
00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,960
about disappearing into a comic
or a book, you know. It's great.

547
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,960
Once you're in somewhere like this,
or in a record shop or something,

548
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:40,960
your brain sort of goes "eeee",

549
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,960
and all you're doing
is having a joyous experience.

550
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,960
What I realise is that comics
probably inspired me

551
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:49,960
to do everything I've ever done.

552
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:52,960
Thank you.
There you go.

553
00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,960
Very happy,
I can read 'em on the train!

554
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,800
Lenny's one of the most famous
people in the United Kingdom,

555
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:06,960
one of the most recognisable faces.

556
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,960
First the big people, now the stars,

557
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:12,960
eyes open
when they should be sleeping.

558
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:15,320
But now, of course, with
Lord Of The Rings, with The Witcher,

559
00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:16,960
he's known all round the world.

560
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,960
Those big streaming shows
go everywhere.

561
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:20,960
Almost like...

562
00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,960
Like they're watching for something.

563
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:26,960
Watching for what?

564
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:30,960
A tongue-lashing, if you don't mind
your own cartwheels.

565
00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:34,960
It's everything he ever wanted
as a child,

566
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:39,800
he's putting on elf ears
and gigantic feet.

567
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:40,960
He's just in heaven.

568
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:42,960
He's conquered so many other worlds,

569
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,000
he might as well conquer
Middle-earth as well.

570
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,960
SONG: 'U Can't Touch This'
by MC Hammer

571
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:52,960
"The Lenaissance."

572
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:54,960
It's great!

573
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:57,960
I think it's something that I might
have to put on a pair of pants

574
00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,320
or a T-shirt or something.

575
00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:00,960
# Break it down... #

576
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,960
It shows that you can be a certain
age and there's a next step.

577
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,960
This is me finding the next level
of what I want to do.

578
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,960
Are you ready to get deep down
and sexy tonight, Tom?

579
00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:21,960
I'm ready to get deep down and sexy
every night.

580
00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,960
Every night?
Yeah.

581
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,960
Goddamn show-off.

582
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:29,960
Lenny is Mr Comic Relief.

583
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,960
It's time for the moment
you've all been waiting for,

584
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:33,960
no, it's not a toilet break.
Oh, man.

585
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,960
# I can't get enough
Of your love... #

586
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:39,960
He is the co-founder
of Comic Relief,

587
00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:41,320
alongside Richard Curtis.

588
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:42,960
Yeah, boy.

589
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,160
And I think the nation
is so thankful to both of them

590
00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:47,960
for what they started.

591
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:55,320
Richard is very much the leader,
and, erm...

592
00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,960
he's my hero.

593
00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:00,000
NEWSREADER: Dawn.
And as the sun breaks through

594
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,960
the piercing chill of night
on the plain outside Korem,

595
00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:07,960
it lights up a biblical famine,
now, in the 20th century.

596
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,960
He took it upon himself
to go to Ethiopia,

597
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,960
and he met these people who told him
directly what they needed.

598
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:17,960
Came back and said,
"We've got to do something."

599
00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,960
I got in touch with Lenny
right at the beginning

600
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,000
of our intention
to do the Comic Relief stage show.

601
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,640
And he leapt in with more zest
than anyone else

602
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:30,800
and helped me and us
recruit everybody

603
00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:32,480
who was going to be in that show.

604
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:34,800
Lots of people didn't want to do it.

605
00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:36,960
But all the younger ones just went,
"Yeah, we'll do that."

606
00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:38,960
Ladies and gentlemen,

607
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:44,960
a warm West End welcome for the
Frank Bruno Shakespeare Players.

608
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:46,960
APPLAUSE

609
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:56,960
Hello.

610
00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,960
I don't think he had any idea
what he was, as it were,

611
00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:02,000
historically letting himself in for.

612
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,960
He thought he was just going to be,
you know, friendly on one night.

613
00:28:05,960 --> 00:28:09,960
Juliet! Juliet! Juliet!

614
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:11,960
CHEERING

615
00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,800
We raised a lot of money
with that show.

616
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:19,960
It's where Billy Connolly did,
"Jojoba, shampoo."

617
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,960
It's where Rik did, "Do you love me,
do you like my pants?"

618
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,960
It was legendary,
it was a night of nights.

619
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,960
There was a little conversation
on the night after the show,

620
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,960
saying why are we doing a stage show
when all of us are TV people?

621
00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:35,960
We all thought, "This is something
we should do again."

622
00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,960
So now, on BBC One,
we don our red noses

623
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,480
and hand over to Comic Relief.

624
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,000
Lenny was very much head recruiter,
head enthusiast,

625
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,960
and then by agreeing to be one
of the hosts on the night,

626
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:51,960
he kind of also anchored
the entire night

627
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:54,960
and gave us a realistic chance
of pulling off the first show.

628
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:57,960
Keep on ringing
cos there's great things coming up.

629
00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:00,960
Hmm, now there is, however,
a change of play.

630
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,640
I didn't say it, I didn't say it!

631
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:05,960
He hosted for the whole seven hours.

632
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:12,960
It pushed through on his enthusiasm
and his passion and his youth.

633
00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,800
I remember at the end of the night,
I'd lost my voice,

634
00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:18,480
and he felt he'd lost his career.

635
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:20,960
Please, please, please,
ring, ring, ring.

636
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:22,960
You just have this thing
in your body that just goes,

637
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,000
"We're doing it cos of this."
And if you can communicate that,

638
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,640
the British public,
who are brilliant, by the way,

639
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:29,960
go, "Yeah, I'm gonna do that."

640
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,960
"I want to help that kid,
I want to help that family."

641
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:34,960
When I was asked to be involved
in Comic Relief,

642
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:36,960
long after Lenny had
been part of it, of course.

643
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:37,960
Let's go!

644
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:39,960
There's a sense
of national service there,

645
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,960
there's a sense of being called
to be part of something

646
00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:45,480
that feels noble and that
you want to do your best for.

647
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:46,960
Are you ready, guys?

648
00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,960
ALL: Release the noses!

649
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:57,960
I think Lenny embodies the kind of
complex mixture of Comic Relief

650
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:02,800
which is joy, celebration,
wild live stuff.

651
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:03,960
Welcome to Comic Relief!

652
00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:08,960
But then, as it were, the change
of gear, which is so tricky.

653
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,960
If this was happening to a neighbour
of yours, you'd bust a gut to help.

654
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,960
If you knew somebody, you know,
on your doorstep,

655
00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:16,960
who'd walked 11 days
cos they were starving

656
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:18,960
and they needed a quid for food,

657
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:20,960
you'd say, "Have a bloody quid,"
you know?

658
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,800
Actually, "Here, have five."

659
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:26,960
The point is, forget geography,
these are your neighbours,

660
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,160
this is your doorstep.

661
00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:29,960
Please help.

662
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:31,960
There's an authenticity to him,

663
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,000
there's something specifically human

664
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,640
that means he has become symbolic

665
00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:39,960
of everything that Comic Relief
stands for.

666
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:43,960
I can't really imagine Comic Relief
having thrived without him.

667
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,960
You can't stop people
like Lenny Henry.

668
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,960
You gotta watch out for people
who are incentivised

669
00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:53,960
to make better things happen
in the world,

670
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,960
cos once they start,
they just can't stop.

671
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,960
It is now my pleasure

672
00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:03,640
to announce the total raised
by Comic Relief and Sport Relief

673
00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:05,960
since we first started is...

674
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:09,960
over a billion pounds!
CHEERING

675
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:13,960
It's, in fact, gone up to one
and a half billion since then,

676
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:15,960
and it's interesting to think

677
00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,960
just how many of those millions
Lenny is responsible for,

678
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:20,960
cos it's a lot.

679
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,960
# So if you've got a quid

680
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,960
# Just give it to a kid... #

681
00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:31,960
The British public deserve
a big communal medal

682
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:36,800
because they've been
step by step with us since we began.

683
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,000
And, you know, a billion and a half
pounds later, they're still there.

684
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:44,960
# Another Red Nose Day of fun! #

685
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,960
In the '50s, my parents emigrated
from Jamaica to Dudley.

686
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,800
What was my dad thinking?
"Bloody blue sky all the time."

687
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:56,800
LAUGHTER

688
00:31:56,800 --> 00:31:58,960
"All this joyous reggae music.

689
00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,960
"Where can a man get
some Des O'Connor?"

690
00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:04,960
Somebody once said to me,
it might have been Max Bygraves,

691
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,800
"Present a moving target."

692
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,640
Never stay in one place
for too long. So, don't get stuck.

693
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:12,960
I love the idea
of creating new work,

694
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,960
and making things happen,
in an inclusive and an equal way.

695
00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:18,960
So, Three Little Birds
is kind of that.

696
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:23,640
# Three little birds
Sat on my window

697
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,000
# And they told me
I don't need to worry... #

698
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:31,160
Three Little Birds
is a drama series set in the 1950s,

699
00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:32,960
and it's about three Black women
from Jamaica

700
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:36,960
coming to Britain
ten years after Windrush.

701
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:38,960
This isn't my mum's story,
by the way, it's fictional,

702
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:41,960
but it is inspired by my mum
and sort of everybody's story.

703
00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:44,960
You thought she was quietly
in the background this morning

704
00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:46,800
watching you at home,
but in fact, from Dudley,

705
00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:48,160
come in, your mother, Mrs Henry!

706
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,000
My mum was always very funny
about the Windrush.

707
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:53,960
She came over in '57 and she said,

708
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,960
"Well, there was no camera crew for
me. Nobody sang a calypso for me."

709
00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:58,960
Oh, no.

710
00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,960
My mum was 30-something
when she came here,

711
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:03,800
and had a lot of experiences

712
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:05,960
of people saying
horrible things to her,

713
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,960
and having to survive.
And although this isn't her story,

714
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:12,960
the people I've talked to,
the stories are pretty much similar,

715
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:14,960
you know.
Yeah.

716
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:16,000
You come here, you feel the cold.

717
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,960
I don't think my dad
took his pyjamas off

718
00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,160
for the whole time he was here,

719
00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:24,960
he had his pyjamas on
all the time he was in England.

720
00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,960
Back in the day when I used
to go in the make-up chair,

721
00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:29,960
I'd be there for like five minutes.
Yeah.

722
00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,960
Now it's like,
"Sit your backside down,

723
00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:35,960
"this is going to be
a long day for you."

724
00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:36,960
OK, here we go.

725
00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,960
To do your first series
that you made up

726
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,960
is an incredibly privileged thing
to be able to do.

727
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:44,960
And action.

728
00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,960
It's very emotional
because it wasn't there before.

729
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,160
This is something
you put into the world.

730
00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:54,960
If you've made something happen,
it's a big thing.

731
00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,960
Your church need you.

732
00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,960
Rainy season soon come.

733
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,960
Rainy season.
Mrs Benson, you remember last year,

734
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:07,960
the only way you could reach church
was by canoe.

735
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:10,960
One of the reasons I wanted
to do Three Little Birds

736
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:16,960
is the pride I have in my family
is huge.

737
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,960
They literally did see
the signs in the window that said,

738
00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:20,960
"No Blacks, no Irish, no dogs."

739
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:22,960
My brothers were attacked
on the street

740
00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,960
when they were going home from work,
or whatever,

741
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,320
by Teddy Boys, and stuff.

742
00:34:28,320 --> 00:34:30,960
The fact that we survived
all of that,

743
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:34,960
the racism, the bullying,
the name calling,

744
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,960
and basically "hintegrated",
as my mum used to say...

745
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:42,480
The fact that we got through that
is a miracle.

746
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,960
I'd like to go for this
straightaway, please, if possible.

747
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:47,960
I wanted to salute them

748
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:51,960
because they taught me how to
be better and how to overcome that.

749
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,640
Here we go, for a take.

750
00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:56,960
And action!

751
00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:00,960
I live in the country now.

752
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:02,640
AUDIENCE: Ooh!

753
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:04,960
I'm the only Black guy
within a hundred miles.

754
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:08,000
Anything to do with Blackness,
I'm the expert.

755
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:09,960
I get geezers
knocking on my front door.

756
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,960
"Lenny, my daughter's going
to Senegal for her gap year.

757
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:14,960
"Do you know anybody
she can stay with?"

758
00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,960
Lenny has great things to say

759
00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:19,960
about the way our society
could be much better,

760
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:23,000
could be much more diverse,
could be much more inclusive.

761
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,480
"Come this way, I'll teach you
to play basketball as well."

762
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:28,320
And because he made his name

763
00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:30,960
as somebody who was
a great entertainer,

764
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:32,960
when he talks, people listen.

765
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:35,960
More Black people on British
television, that's what I say.

766
00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:38,960
APPLAUSE
There's got to be more.

767
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:41,960
Me, Trevor McDonald, Gary Wilmot,
the whole cast of Desmonds,

768
00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:44,960
and the Black guy in the Budweiser
advert who says "serious",

769
00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:45,960
it's not enough.

770
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:47,960
I had this whole eight-minute,

771
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,960
nine-minute routine
about Black people on television.

772
00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:51,960
"Why aren't there more of us?"

773
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:56,640
And that bit developed
into a kind of thought process.

774
00:35:56,640 --> 00:36:00,640
It stopped being about jokes and
it became a thing that I did think.

775
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:02,960
Why is it when I go filming,

776
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:04,960
there's no people of colour
behind the camera?

777
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:06,960
Why is it when I go into a meeting,

778
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:08,960
there's never anybody
that looks like me?

779
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:11,960
So the why became really important.

780
00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:16,160
That was the TV, reflecting society

781
00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:18,960
Not much diversity

782
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:20,960
LGBTQ-BAME.

783
00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:23,960
I think Lenny's just trying
to make sure

784
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:27,960
that everyone feels that there is
a place for them at this table.

785
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:31,640
All I can do is tip my dreads
to him.

786
00:36:31,640 --> 00:36:34,000
So, yay, Lenny.

787
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,960
Let me have Tomorrow,
E-flat major, yeah.

788
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:41,640
The ripple effect of Lenny Henry
will go on and on,

789
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:45,960
and it doesn't go unnoticed
by millions and millions of people.

790
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,960
# The sun'll come out tomorrow

791
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:56,000
# You bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow

792
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:57,960
# There'll be su... #
Next!

793
00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:05,160
Is there something wrong?

794
00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:07,640
No, no, it's fine, absolutely fine.

795
00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:10,960
No, but we are looking
for an eight-year-old girl,

796
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:12,960
about so high with curly red hair.

797
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:15,960
Thank you.
Can we see the next one, please?

798
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:20,000
I know what this is.

799
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:22,960
It's cos I'm a Black man, innit?

800
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:24,960
LAUGHTER

801
00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:31,320
I believe Lenny sees in his mirror
someone who can do anything.

802
00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:34,640
# Tomorrow, tomorrow

803
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:37,960
# I'll love you tomorrow... #

804
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:39,960
I think Lenny is about
building a legacy.

805
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:41,960
He recognises his success,

806
00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:44,960
at the same time recognising
the work that needs to be done.

807
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:50,960
I'm absolutely knackered.

808
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:54,960
I've just arrived
at Television Centre.

809
00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:58,960
And we're going to record an episode
of The Graham Norton Show.

810
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:02,960
This is too small.

811
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:03,960
Damn.

812
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:06,960
I know, I'd be on Graham Norton
like this.

813
00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:12,320
Oh, that's nice.
This is it? Yeah.

814
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:14,960
Right, so it's this
and this and that.

815
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,960
If I knew there was a period of time
in my life

816
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:19,960
where some clothes would show up
and I'd try them all on,

817
00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:24,160
I would have exploded when I was 14
if I knew this was going to happen.

818
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:28,960
"You what? A nice lady shows up
and you try everything on."

819
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,960
HE SNORES

820
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:36,960
Hello! Good evening!

821
00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:40,320
You're all so welcome to the show,
yes!

822
00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:42,960
These are the things
I say to myself before I go on,

823
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:44,480
"You like an audience.

824
00:38:44,480 --> 00:38:47,960
"You like Graham.
You like being out. Enjoy yourself."

825
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,960
He's a BAFTA-winning actor,
author, campaigner,

826
00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:52,480
and founding member of Comic Relief,

827
00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:54,960
please welcome the great
Sir Lenny Henry!

828
00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,160
APPLAUSE

829
00:38:57,160 --> 00:38:58,960
Whoa, so sharp.
Thanks.

830
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:00,960
You look so dapper.

831
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:02,960
Gorgeous, have a seat, do!

832
00:39:02,960 --> 00:39:07,960
Now, Lenny Henry,
not just an actor, an author, too.

833
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:11,160
And we've got Lenny's children's
novel to talk about tonight.

834
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,960
It's called The Book Of Legends.

835
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,960
Essentially,
for a kid who loves books,

836
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,960
it's a book
about the magic of books.

837
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:21,000
Yeah, it's a book about stories.

838
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:22,960
The reason I wrote this book was

839
00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:25,960
it was either go into the jungle
with Matt Hancock...

840
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:27,640
LAUGHTER

841
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:29,960
..or write a goddamn book!

842
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:34,960
So I wanted to write a book
for somebody that looked like me,

843
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,960
who was about eight or 12, who just
liked the idea of adventure,

844
00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,480
but didn't see themselves
in stories.

845
00:39:40,480 --> 00:39:43,960
And it's also a great defender
of libraries and access to books.

846
00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,960
Yeah, cos my Auntie Pearl
wanted me to read when I was eight.

847
00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:51,480
And so she took me to Dudley Library
and signed me up.

848
00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:53,960
Dedicated to Dudley Library.
Anyone from Dudley here?

849
00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:55,960
Are you from Dudley?
Yes!

850
00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:58,960
Can I have a lift home?
LAUGHTER

851
00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:05,960
SONG: 'Express Yourself'
by Charles Wright

852
00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:09,960
Everybody say cheese!

853
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,960
Cheese!

854
00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:14,960
I'm next to the Mayor,
this is the Mayor.

855
00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:16,960
Got dem gold chains on.

856
00:40:16,960 --> 00:40:19,960
# Express yourself... #
It's World Book Day today.

857
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:22,960
We're doing a big school event
for all the kids in this area,

858
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:24,160
which is Wimbledon.

859
00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:27,800
And it's very exciting, I wish
I'd combed my hair for that picture.

860
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:29,960
Quite often, people from
a working-class background,

861
00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:32,960
or people of colour, go,
"Oh, well, that's not for me

862
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:34,800
"cos I don't see myself doing that."

863
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:37,960
I swear if I'd met
a Black Director of Photography

864
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:38,960
when I was at school,

865
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:41,000
I'd be a Director of Photography
now,

866
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:43,960
because these things inspire you
to do those things.

867
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:46,960
Sahana, hello, how are you?

868
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:48,320
Fine, thank you, how are you?

869
00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:51,960
I'm very well.
What lovely manners you have.

870
00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:52,960
Thank you.

871
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:54,960
The book is about two Black kids
going off on a quest!

872
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:57,960
Meeting magical creatures,
having magical adventures!

873
00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,960
And I just thought it was time
to do something

874
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:04,960
where a kid, like me, but this big,
could go, "I'm in that book!"

875
00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:08,160
Your name is Dejean?

876
00:41:08,160 --> 00:41:10,960
It's a very cool name.
Thank you.

877
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,960
I'm going to change my name
to Dejean. Dejean Henry.

878
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:20,160
Put your hands together,
bring on Sir Lenny Henry!

879
00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:21,960
APPLAUSE

880
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:26,960
My favourite thing is to just
improvise and mess around,

881
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:28,960
as far as kids are concerned.

882
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:31,960
CHEERING STOPS

883
00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:33,960
CHEERING

884
00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:34,960
STOPS

885
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:36,320
BRIEF CHEER

886
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:40,960
CHEERING

887
00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:42,960
Would you like to hear some jokes?

888
00:41:42,960 --> 00:41:45,960
ALL: Yeah!

889
00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:48,800
Why did the man fall in the well?

890
00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:50,960
Because he could not see that well.

891
00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:52,960
LAUGHTER

892
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:57,960
When children laugh, it's one
of the best noises in the world.

893
00:41:57,960 --> 00:41:59,960
Who wants to come
and make a character with me?

894
00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:02,800
When they get you, and they
understand what you're up to,

895
00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:04,960
and they start giggling, it's great.

896
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:06,960
What's your name, my friend?
Wesley.

897
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:08,960
Where you from?
Earth.

898
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:10,960
LAUGHTER

899
00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:12,960
Game recognises game.

900
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:13,960
Cos I was a funny kid,

901
00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:15,960
so when you see another kid
being funny, you go, "Oh, yeah,"

902
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:19,160
you can see that look on their face.
"Can't wait to tell him this joke."

903
00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:21,960
Could you narrow it down
a little bit, Wesley?

904
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:24,960
Europe.

905
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:26,960
LAUGHTER

906
00:42:26,960 --> 00:42:30,480
I can see this is
going to take a long time.

907
00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:32,960
Does anybody else have some jokes?

908
00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,640
OK, this kid down here really
wants to tell a joke.

909
00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:36,960
What's your name?
Buddy.

910
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,480
And what's your joke, please,
Buddy?

911
00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:41,960
What do you call a donkey
with three legs?

912
00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:43,960
I don't know.
A wonky.

913
00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:48,160
Give him a round of applause,
ladies and gentlemen!

914
00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:49,960
Will you proceed to read?

915
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,480
CHEERING

916
00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:55,160
Art is really important,
art is about problem-solving,

917
00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:56,960
and seeing things in another way,

918
00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:59,160
and putting yourself
in someone else's shoes.

919
00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:01,960
Thank you very much,
you've been lovely, see ya!

920
00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:08,160
So I say, "Open more libraries, and
send more cool people to schools,

921
00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:10,960
"and let's see what happens
with the next generation."

922
00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:12,960
Because I bet it would be cool.

923
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:21,320
Sir Lenworth Henry, for services
to drama and to charity.

924
00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:24,960
WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Do I need to
call him Sir? That just tickles me.

925
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:29,960
Cos I'm sure there are lots
of Black sirs, but I only know one.

926
00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:31,800
I started 40 years ago
Time sure flies

927
00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:33,000
On Tiswas, man was flinging
Custard pies

928
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:34,960
Mad show from another age

929
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:36,960
Dashing buckets of water at
Kids in a cage

930
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:38,960
Played Othello, that made the news

931
00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:40,960
Then I played
Antipholus of Syracuse

932
00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:42,960
Who? Ne'r mind, then they said
I had to meet the Queen

933
00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:44,960
Got out my tuxedo, gave it a
Clean

934
00:43:44,960 --> 00:43:46,480
So I'm leaning on a cushion
Getting bored

935
00:43:46,480 --> 00:43:48,960
The Queen's coming at me
With a big old sword

936
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:50,000
I'm like, I've reached
The end of my time

937
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:51,960
Gonna be another victim of
Knife crime

938
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:53,960
I thought I'm never gonna
See my family again

939
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:55,960
She taps me on the shoulder
Arise, Sir Len

940
00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:57,800
I was gobsmacked
Felt like I was in a play

941
00:43:57,800 --> 00:43:58,960
I said, "Thank you very much"
She said...

942
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:02,960
"Ooooooooo-kayyyy".

943
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:06,960
In our family,
we call him the golden child

944
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:08,960
because he's achieved so much.

945
00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:12,960
But to see him get his knighthood,
it's like, "Oh, my God."

946
00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:14,960
It was extraordinary.

947
00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:19,960
My heart was bursting out
of my chest with joy and pride.

948
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:25,960
Ooooh.

949
00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:29,640
If I could use a word to summarise
his achievements...

950
00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:31,960
Generous. He gives his time.

951
00:44:31,960 --> 00:44:33,960
Whether it's trying
to push through diversity,

952
00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:35,960
whether it's Comic Relief,

953
00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:37,960
he's a generous guy, man.

954
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:40,960
I think he has made the world
a better place for a lot of people.

955
00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,960
As an entertainer,
his contribution is obvious.

956
00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:46,320
He's entertained
an enormous number of people,

957
00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:47,960
spread an incredible amount of love.

958
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:49,960
As a Black entertainer,

959
00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:54,640
I'd say he's been instrumental
in changing the face of Britain.

960
00:44:54,640 --> 00:44:57,960
Thank you very much, thank you!

961
00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:01,960
Wow, when I think about growing up
and seeing Lenny on television,

962
00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:05,960
I could get quite emotional
about it, I really could,

963
00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:07,960
because there just
wasn't anybody there,

964
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:10,320
you know, it was...

965
00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:13,960
He was everything. He is everything.

966
00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:15,960
Lenny, I'm so thankful to you

967
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:19,800
because you showed me
and so many other people

968
00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:20,960
that it's possible.

969
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:21,960
I'd like to hug you now.

970
00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:26,000
I love the fact that he would
do anything for his family.

971
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,960
I love you, man.
I love you, too.

972
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,960
If I phone and say, "Can you come?"
he will drop everything,

973
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:33,960
and for me, that's priceless.

974
00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:36,000
It's very hard to quantify joy,
isn't it?

975
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:39,000
All we know is that without it,
we'd be in trouble.

976
00:45:39,000 --> 00:45:41,960
And Lenny has contributed
a great deal of joy.

977
00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:48,960
He has raised a million laughs,

978
00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:50,960
probably saved a million lives.

979
00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:53,960
It seems to me like the world
would be very different

980
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:56,960
for a lot of people without Lenny,

981
00:45:56,960 --> 00:46:00,960
and that's not something you could
probably say of many entertainers.

982
00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:06,320
If you want to see what
a superhero actually looks like,

983
00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:08,960
look at Sir Lenny Henry.

984
00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:10,960
Subtitles by accessibility@itv.com

985
00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:13,960
SONG: 'Three Little Birds'

986
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:16,960
# Don't worry

987
00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:19,960
# Bout a thing

988
00:46:23,960 --> 00:46:26,320
# Gonna be all right

989
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:29,960
# Worry

990
00:46:29,960 --> 00:46:32,960
# Bout a thing

991
00:46:34,640 --> 00:46:35,960
# Cos every little thing

992
00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:38,960
# Gonna be all right... #