1987: How to Grow a WORLD CHAMPION LEEK | Forty Minutes | Classic BBC Documentary | BBC Archive

Now spring is here, they're planting out championship leeks throughout Durham and Northumberland. It's a sport in which competition is keen and sabotage is a real threat. And there is one event every leek man dreams of winning - The World Open Leek Championship. Harry Bone, a retired shipbuilder, was last year's champion but he's a relative newcomer to leeks. Can he and his wife Joan retain the title? Joe Jones is 72, the grand old man of leek growing. Two years ago his crop failed. Will his old-fashioned methods help him regain the trophy? Bob Bell, once a pitman, has never won the show, but this year he expects great things from his WRSL (World Record Super-Leek). While his wife Betty goes on holiday to Spain, Bob patiently watches his leek beds. Will this be Bob's big year? On the big day there are disasters and triumphs. And the drama does not end there.... Clip taken from Forty Minutes: The Mighty Leek, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 9 April, 1987. 00:00 Introduction 00:21 Harry Bone - reigning Leek Champion 02:46 Bob Bell - Guinness World Record leek 04:38 Joe Jones - former World Champion leek grower 05:55 Competitive leek growing - Three things to know 07:30 Seven weeks before the world championship 11:25 Leek grower's origin stories 14:26 Guarding against leek sabotage 15:07 The pressure of elite-level leek growing 20:06 Billy Rutherford's honest leek playlist 21:30 Digging up the leeks 28:00 The show - 1986 World Open Leek Championship 30:24 Bill Clyde judges the leeks 34:00 The new champion is crowned 35:11 Credits You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults. Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?... You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive