Interview: Jeremy Kyle

 

How much did you know about military life before you did the series?

My dad did National Service but he worked for the Royal Family for 40 years for the Queen Mother, so I guess the whole military thing was always something I sort of knew about. I’ve always been massively supportive of the armed forces, so when the chance came to do the series I jumped at it. There are men and women out there fighting and I think the programme is a bit of an insight to what they actually have to go through.

What knowledge of military driving did you have beforehand?

None at all! But the best thing about doing the whole series, apart from meeting everybody and building those relationships, was actually testing myself and managing to actually do it all.

How good a driver are you?

I do like driving but I don’t get a chance to do as much as I did with the cast. It’s like a Boy’s Own adventure -driving loads of Landrovers and tanks up and down huge mountains and water crossings. The main thing is the night drives because you think ‘oh my god’ but it’s brilliant. It was a really good experience and what a way to do it, with a great bunch of people.

What was the most hair-raising experience you had during filming?

The night driving was quite hair-raising, but there were other things as well. I drove a sixty foot lorry, the massive great tank that carries fuel or water, up the knife-edge. You drive up this thing and all you can see at the top is sky, then it all creeps forward and you think you’re going back but it’s all swinging forward. That was an ‘oh my god’ moment. The husky at night was extraordinary as well. It was all a great experience even just driving the quad bikes through the mud.

You followed new recruits through their 12 week training. What was the best part for you?

Watching the development was extraordinary. Bearing in mind that they’d already had 23 weeks basic training, so they had a basic knowledge of what the army was about. A lot of kids that age that I speak to are causing trouble or have a problem with their life, whereas these kids at their age voluntarily walked into an army recruitment office and then signed up for something that ultimately could end up with them in Afghanistan.

The most amazing thing about watching them develop and the whole experience is the fact that this organisation is like a family and people are supported to find out something about themselves that perhaps they didn’t think existed. Yes they are pushed to the limits but they are supported massively. If they fail a test the instructors don’t have a go at them, they encourage them, and they’re probably doing the test again a few days later.

Take Connie for example- when she walked through the door you wouldn’t have thought she could carry a pint of water and now she’s driving vehicles for the British Army. Her parents are hugely proud and she’s been deployed. So it’s a fascinating experience and I missed it when I finished filming.

Now you’ve filmed the series, do you think you could have gone into the army?

Because of what I do, people say to me ‘shouldn’t we have national service?’ But the army don’t want that, they want people who want to do it and who obviously think it’s important. People think the army is really strict and disciplined – yes it is but what’s extraordinary is seeing these kids develop with that discipline and find out what skills are being encouraged. You look at that and think, I wish I’d have done that at 18. I think you would be far more prepared and far more ready for life, far more organised. That’s just my personal opinion but yes I wish I had done it.

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