Episode 10 12 Again

Coming up, three celebs become 12 Again.

I did the whole "double denim" thing, which I know you shouldn't do.

Can't get this jumper over my head!

And this, like, big fat pink thing went and released a single!

And we catch up with the star

of The Sarah Jane Adventures, Daniel Anthony.

I'd feel really awkward and start sweating.

Want to find out more?

Well, have you ever wondered what it would have been like

to be best mates with your favourite celebs when they were your age?

What did they get up to?

What were their favourite songs and what TV shows did they watch?

Because despite the glamorous lifestyles they now lead,

once they were a kid with a dream just like you.

This show lets you look back in time with your favourite celebs

as they become 12 Again.

Hi, I'm Tracy!

She may be best known as tearaway Tracy Beaker,

both as a resident and a carer at the Dumping Ground,

but Dani Harmer's behaviour was much better back in 2001.

I don't think I was ever naughty,

I didn't ever play up or disturb anyone in the class.

I just was a bit of a daydreamer, I guess.

Ye-a-a-agh!

He's quite literally the many stars of The Big Impression on TV,

but back in 1976 when Alistair McGowan turned 12,

he was glued to the TV instead.

I watched so much television back then.

My parents used to say, "You'll get square eyes."

Have I got square eyes? No.

Hi there. It's Friday, and I'm Sonali.

A BBC regular, from sporting events to news reports from war zones,

she's ready for any challenge on TV, but back in 1992,

Sonali Shah wasn't that comfortable in front of a camera.

I hated posing for photos.

I hated attention on me,

and so I'm always really like this in photos, pouting and things,

and it makes me look like I was a really grumpy child, and I wasn't.

I just hated photos.

Sonali may have perfected her superstar smile, but let's go back

and find out what they were all like when they were kids.

My style, if you can call it that, was quite unique.

I made some dodgy choices.

I had, like, buck teeth and big hair and, oh,

I just was really funny looking.

Star Trek was very popular in those days.

I had very dark, thick, black hair and I had quite big eyebrows.

I got called Spock.

My mum used to make me have this, like, really thick plait,

and I remember hating having to wear it like that,

but my mum was really strict about it, so I had to just go with it.

My hair, as probably everyone knows, was a really,

really curly afro almost, which you couldn't tame at all,

and I'd like to describe it as a bird's nest.

Bad hair days can be a real pain, but it could be worse.

Poor Alistair had a bad ear day.

My mother would often knit jumpers for me, and they were well-knitted,

but she frequently got the collar size wrong, so I always had these

two cuts on my ears there, where I used to have to wear these jumpers.

And you'd take them off and they'd pull on your ears.

I'd be there for ages undressing, going,

"Grr, can't get this jumper over my head!"

Then I'd always have these two little scabs there.

I just remember wearing my denim hat.

It kind of looked a bit like a bus driver's hat,

and looking back now, it did look absolutely awful,

and I used to wear denim trousers with the denim hat.

I did the "double denim" thing, which I know you shouldn't do.

I had two wardrobes because I had all my Indian stuff in one wardrobe

and then all my English stuff in another wardrobe.

It's like I had two separate lives.

So that's what our celebs were like when they were 12.

But what did they get up to?

When I was 12, I was playing in the school football team

and I used to love it. I used to love the muddy pitches

and icy Saturday mornings and... I used to play in goal,

and the dirtier I got when I came home,

the more happy I was. I used to love it.

I did everything, so, like, I had after school clubs every single day.

I used to do Indian dancing.

I used to play... steel bands, the harmonium.

I used to go to life guarding

and swimming classes on a Friday evening.

Every night there was something.

Er, and don't forget you managed to find time

to appear on Blue Peter as well, Sonali.

All these dancers are from the Saraswati Academy of Indian Dance,

and we're going to do a show at the London Palladium

-on the 25th of February.

-Big theatre.

-All the proceeds will go to Childline.

-Are you nervous?

-A bit.

Live show at the London Palladium too? What a busy girl.

But Sonali wasn't the only person appearing on TV.

The biggest thing that ever happened to me when I was 12

was getting the part of Tracy Beaker.

You never let me eat sweets and the kitchen stunk of wet dog!

I guess I had a completely different childhood to most.

Tracy Beaker calling Justine Littlewood.

Most kids were going to school and maybe going,

hanging out with their mates in the park, whereas I was always working.

It was completely different, but it was really, really enjoyable.

But acting wasn't Dani's only passion at 12.

I do have a secret that some people'd be surprised to know about.

When I was 12, I used to be a cheerleader.

But I had to give it up cos there was no time

and you've got to be 100% committed.

Cheerleading has always been massive in the USA,

but back in 2001 when Dani was 12,

it was just getting big here in the UK.

Today it's huge,

with over a third of schools teaching it in PE lessons.

But Dani certainly isn't the first celeb

to try out for the cheerleading squad.

Yes, ex-US president George W. Bush has even given it a try,

and it obviously did him a lot of good.

I mean, just check out these moves. Magnificent(!)

If a cheerleading US President is a surprise, get a load of Alistair.

I was very good at gymnastics. When we did The Big Impression,

I did a sequence that was called Eastenders The Musical.

I was going down as Dot, doing the singing and dancing and moving.

And I did this wonderful, straight-legged cartwheel

and round-off. And so many people came up to me and said,

"I loved that Eastenders The Musical thing,

"and the way you got that double to do that, it was fantastic."

"That was me." "Yeah, yeah(!)" "No, that was me."

They wouldn't believe it. I was heartbroken.

OK, now we know that our celebs were full of surprises

when they were kids.

Let's hope they had a good taste in music at 12.

When I was 12, I used to love Mariah Carey.

# Dream lover, come rescue me... #

And this was when she was all, kind of, had this curly, big hair

and used to dance around fields. I used to love her.

# ..need you so desperately... #

Mariah may have been huge in 1993, but one pop, erm, thing,

made a massive impact on Sonali that year.

So while I was listening to Mariah Carey,

aliens or something landed in Britain

and the whole country was gripped by this guy called Mr Blobby.

Mr Blobby made his name as a regular character

on a show called Noel's House Party.

-Despite only being able to say one word...

-Blobby, blobby, blobby!

..he became a pop star!

This, like, big fat pink thing went and released a single.

# Blobby, oh, Mr Blobby

# If only you could make us understand

# Oh, Blobby! #

It was the most annoying song.

It was very catchy because it was annoying.

Everyone around me was buying it!

# Blobby, blobby, blobby! #

Yep, this musical masterpiece went on to become

the Christmas number one that year,

even knocking Take That off the top spot.

His video everyone loved,

and Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear was his chauffeur in the video.

It was like this weird thing that gripped the nation.

If it seems strange that Jeremy Clarkson appeared in a pop video,

it's not that uncommon, is it, Sonali?

I was once in a Kula Shaker music video. Govinda.

Ah, the infamous Kula Shaker

with their number, oh, seven, hit song Govinda.

No way, where are ya? Are you, no that's the man.

Wait, are you the star of the...can't seem to...

I can't quite...is...?

Hello? Sonali? Are you, ah! There she is.

It is a very brief appearance.

So that was quite cool.

Well, unfortunately not every video

was as cool as this number...seven smash.

Let me show you a few celebs

making some best-forgotten appearances in videos

before they were famous.

When soft-rock maestro Meat Loaf

somehow got his head stuck in a jukebox,

he called on Angelina Jolie to rescue him

in this video for Rock & Roll Dreams.

Sticking with the dodgy rock theme, here's star of Friends,

Matt LeBlanc, getting sweaty in this Bon Jovi video.

But really, he's got nothing to be embarrassed about.

Because his Friends co-star, Courtney Cox,

had already made this now-infamous appearance

in Bruce Springsteen's video for Dancing In The Dark.

Oh, dear. I bet she wishes she was literally dancing in the dark.

This is so awkward.

Make it stop. Right, let's move on.

Things were a little bit more serious back in 1977.

The UK was going through a musical revolution,

and it wasn't easy listening.

There was a lot of fear in being 12.

I always thought something was going to ruin the world, spoil the world.

And I thought it was punk.

Punk rock was the musical reaction to the turbulent times

of the late '70s, and a rebellion against authority.

Punk was so explosive, it was so different.

It was like the whole world had suddenly changed.

In the UK, the most notorious song of the time

was called God Save The Queen.

# God save the Queen

# We mean it, ma-a-an! #

Even though it was the biggest selling record at the time,

it upset the powers that be, because they thought the song

was attacking the monarchy,

so the charts were fixed in order to keep it off the number one spot.

Punk was more than just music.

It was a musical movement that had its own fashion too.

# We're so pretty, oh so pretty... #

Everyone was wearing safety-pins all over their clothes

and through their noses.

Like hoodies today, punks had a terrible reputation in the '70s.

And spent a fortune on hair gel.

I still look back on it and think it was more creative

and more interesting and more heartfelt and more poetic

and more political than anything now.

Fear ye not, Alistair. Punk did not die.

Its legacy lives on and has influenced

just about everything Dani Harmer listened to in 2001.

When I was 12, the sort of music I liked was, kind of, skatery punk.

My favourites were Blink 182.

# All the small things

# True care, truth brings... #

Sum 41.

# I don't want to waste my time

# Become another casualty of society... #

Oh yeah, safety pins or not,

playing guitars really loud is always a good thing.

But Dani was about to discover the greatest song ever!

I remember watching Tribute by Tenacious D.

# This is the greatest and best song in the world... #

I'd never heard of it before. Is this a story or is this a song?

And are they being serious or are they joking?

I just couldn't get my head round it.

It was all these things.

Jack Black's rock ballad told the story of two musicians

challenged to duel by an evil demon.

# Play the best song in the world

# Or I'll eat your souls. #

It was absolute genius. It had everything in there.

It had amazing lyrics, it was really, really funny, great tune,

and also you had Dave Grohl in there from the Foo Fighters being a devil.

Like, it had everything!

# And we played the first thing that came to our heads

# It just so happened to be

# The best song in the world

# It was the best song in the world... #

Jack Black went on to appear in School of Rock,

and became the international megastar

and rock legend we know today.

It was just absolutely brilliant

and I'm still a massive fan of Tenacious D now.

-# Ah, be, zoo-goo-gum-bee-goo-be

-Ah, ah

# Flee-goo-gee-goo Flee-goo-gee-goo... #

If you thought that was great and hey, you're only human,

wait till you see what's still to come.

We catch up with Sarah Jane Adventurer Daniel Anthony.

I used to write the lyrics down and then rewind it and rap along.

And we find out what TV our celebs were tuned into when they were 12.

She was doing what I wanted to do.

She was on telly all the time, she was presenting.

I'd liked to have met him, cos he inspired me.

I have never been paintballing, and it's Byker Grove's fault.

But first, let's see what big news stories

had an impact on our celebrities when they were 12.

I remember when I was 12, everyone had real money issues.

There was a big recession going on. Stock markets were crashing.

I remember, it was a really tough time for everyone money-wise.

Crisis, as Britain's money loses its value in foreign countries.

Just like today, the early '90s saw Britain facing hard times,

but the biggest issue back then wasn't the collapse of the banks,

it was a problem with the pound itself.

Our currency, the pound, has plunged in value overseas.

It'll buy far less around the world than 24 hours ago.

The Government was forced to leave the Exchange Rate Mechanism,

the system that controls much of Europe's money.

The day became known as Black Wednesday.

It was a low point for Britain,

already struggling through a financial crisis.

Britain's businesses haven't been doing very well.

Other countries have avoided buying British,

as they get more for their money elsewhere.

It wasn't just businesses affected. Everybody's spending power fell.

My family were building their home. We were trying to sell our house.

I remember everyone talking about money a lot

and how our house wasn't going to sell for very much

and we couldn't buy what we wanted.

Everyone was going through it at school.

Every kid was going through this big recession.

It made us all worry,

but I don't think we quite got what was going on.

1992 may have seen a very Black Wednesday but in 1977,

Alistair had more to celebrate

on one special Friday than just the end of the school week.

At this very moment, there's tremendous excitement at Wimbledon

with a real chance there'll be an all British final in the women's singles.

1977 was a very special year at Wimbledon.

Although the final didn't end up all British, we still won it.

The biggest thing I can remember as a news story in 1977

was Virginia Wade winning Wimbledon.

That year's tournament had seen Sue Barker just miss out on the final.

Her opponent, Betty Stove from the Netherlands, went head to head

with Virginia Wade.

I was a huge tennis fan,

but this match was going to start when we were at school.

I was thinking, "I can't see this final."

Our games teacher said, "The school is going to watch this match."

Not only was Wimbledon celebrating 100 years of the tournament,

it was also the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

Winning the title that year made it even more special.

I thought it was just fantastic.

It was so wonderful to be out there and to be relaxed

and be at the centre of all that fantastic atmosphere.

It was an amazing moment.

I'm grateful to our games teacher for saying, "Watch this."

It may have been a time of celebration for Britain in 1977,

but when Dani was 12 in 2002, the nation was in mourning.

Buckingham Palace announced

that the Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep.

One of the biggest stories that happened when I was 12

was the Queen Mother dying.

The Queen Mother died at 3:15pm with friends and family around her.

I just remember the news being really sad. She was such a lovely lady.

In 1936, Elizabeth and her husband Albert became King and Queen

and were on the throne throughout the Second World War.

In 1952, their eldest daughter became Queen

and Elizabeth took up the full time job of being the Queen Mother.

When she celebrated her 100th birthday,

she even received the traditional card from Buckingham Palace.

When you're 12, you think anyone past the age of 20 is really old.

You can't even think about being 100.

And to die at 101... Wow, that is such a massive age!

When the Queen Mother died in 2002,

there was a public outpouring of grief.

I remember there being flowers everywhere.

Everyone was talking about it. It was just really sad news.

Still to come, we ask the all-important question,

what would our celebs do if they were 12 again?

I'd say, "Don't worry if you don't think you don't know yourself."

Just try not to grow up too quickly.

Enjoy being 12 because it doesn't last.

If someone's taking a photograph of you, smile.

Before that, it's time to take two minutes with actor Daniel Anthony.

-Ready?

-Always.

Daniel may be best known as Clyde Langer

from the Sarah Jane Adventures, but what was he like when was 12?

I was really small. My blazer was a Small. It was still too big for me!

Socially, I was terrible. I couldn't speak to people.

I'd feel really awkward and start sweating.

So my Mum's best friend's daughter went to a club on a Saturday

and Mum thought, send him there and it'll bring him out of his shell.

I was there for like two months and I was chatting to everyone

and having a laugh. It definitely helped me.

Acting not only helped Daniel overcome his lack of confidence,

but it also won him

a starring role in London's West End as Simba in the Lion King.

I just went with it. All my mates at school were really supportive.

They came to see it.

It was really nice, like a big eye-opener for me.

It was then I realised that's what I wanted to do.

That's what I wanted to pursue as a career.

Even away from the stage, Daniel enjoyed performing.

I used to listen to Will Smith,

write the lyrics down and then rewind it and rap along.

# Wild Wild West, Jim West, Desperado...

# Rough rider, no you don't want nada

# None of this, six gunnin' this, brother runnin' this

# Buffalo soldier, look it's like I told ya. #

If I could go back to being 12 again,

knowing what I know now, I'd say to work a lot harder at school.

Wise, wise words, Daniel.

# Wild, Wild West. #

Right, let's find out what Dani, Alistair and Sonali

were watching when they were 12.

The big soap when I was 12 was Byker Grove.

# Byker Grove! #

Byker Grove was a drama set in a youth club

and was the Tracey Beaker of its time.

I used to go to youth club and really connected with the show.

I used to play sports and loved Byker Grove cos they did the same.

I bet your youth club didn't have Ant and Dec!

-So, we're all agreed on Sunday.

-You bet.

-Going to crush them and burn them to the ground.

-Easy there, Terminator.

Yep, THE Ant and Dec!

Apart from having the most famous presenting duo in the country

as members, Byker Grove also tackled some pretty serious issues.

The most shocking episode has got to be that paintballing incident.

The incident is one of the most memorable moments from the show.

The kids had a paintballing match with a rival youth club.

You know this paintballing? Do you reckon it'll be OK?

-Not chickening out on us, are you?

-Eh?! Nah!

At the time, paintballing was just getting big in the UK.

When the episode climaxed with PJ, AKA Ant, getting shot in the eyes

with paint, it was an image that has stuck with millions of people.

We all knew it was going to happen, you can see as the episode goes on.

Warning, look away now,

if you don't like seeing Ant with paint in his eyes. It's horrid.

-There it is.

-I was totally traumatised.

I have never been paintballing and it's Byker Grove's fault.

So apart from stupidly taking their masks off during paintball matches,

here's another thing you probably didn't know about Ant and Dec.

-He can't see!

-Of course he can see, he just can't sing!

Which is a problem cos he and Dec

still managed a brief pop career in the early '90s.

# I'm Ant, I'm Declan, a duo, a twosome

# So many lyrics, we're fighting to use 'em

# Let's get ready to rumble... #

While Ant and Dec were exploring the outer realms of musical decency,

Alistair was watching a show

where everyone pushed themselves to the limit.

I used to love watching Record Breakers.

Record Breakers ran for 29 years, from 1972 to 2001,

becoming one of the longest running shows in Britain.

# That you're a record breaker... #

Each week would see new world records broken,

often by the star of the show.

Hello and welcome to the Record Breakers. THUNDER

Roy Castle was wonderful. He was such a great entertainer.

# I'm singing in the rain... #

He broke a lot of records on there.

He did something where he broke the number of successive taps.

There was a counter. Flashing red. Counting the number of taps.

22, 23, 24. That's fantastic! That's enough. You've shattered it.

That was 24, which is 1,440 taps in a minute.

You are a record breaker!

As well as breaking world records, Roy Castle loved to tap!

He even preferred it to just walking down corridors.

I wonder where he's going.

They broke the record for the number of people tap dancing.

He's on his way to break another tap dancing world record.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Are you part of the biggest tap dancing troupe in the world?

-I am.

In one of the show's most elaborate stunts, 500 tap dancers took over

the BBC Television Centre in this musical extravaganza.

From tap dancing to tiddly winks, Roy Castle inspired

a generation and will be remembered by many for one word.

# Dedication

# Dedication, that's what you need... #

I never met Roy Castle.

He died before I was doing anything in the public eye.

He really inspired me.

# If you wanna be a record breaker! #

Whilst Alistair was dedicated to kids' TV when he was 12,

in 2002, Dani was loving a show that was shown on a Saturday.

That show was called the Saturday Show.

I remember it being absolutely hilarious.

Hello and good morning!

It's our favourite day of the week, our favourite show.

The Saturday Show was presented by Simon Grant and Fearne Cotton,

-and was a mix of celebs, games and gunge.

-Oh, no!

-Have you got the prize?

-No!

But it wasn't the gunge that kept Dani glued to the show.

Fearne Cotton was a big idol for me

when I was 12 because she was doing what I wanted to do.

She was presenting. And she was really cool and relaxed

and so natural in front of the camera.

She had a way of gripping you into the programme.

We've got one our loudest people ever in the studio today.

I got asked to go on there as a guest, which was so cool.

It's Dani Harmer!

-Are you well?

-I'm fine, thank you.

I do remember being really nervous cos it was my first live TV.

"Just calm down, don't say anything ridiculous, don't fall over

"and you'll be fine."

Absolutely fine?! I think you blocked this from your memory.

SHE SCREAMS

Dani may have blocked being gunged

on the Saturday Show from her memory,

but what do our three celebs remember most about being 12?

Probably the best thing was the lack of responsibility

and the amount of opportunity.

You've joined high school, so you're finding all these new friends.

That's what I really enjoyed about it. Just doing a bit of everything.

I think being 12 was probably one of the best years of my life,

because of Tracy Beaker.

If that didn't happen, I wouldn't be here now.

It's definitely a big year of my life.

It was a funny age, at the same time.

You weren't really a young kid any more,

but you weren't quite a teenager.

It's one of them awkward years

when you're sort of still finding out who you are.

If I was to speak to 12-year-old self, I'd say,

"If someone's taking a photograph of you, smile!"

I'd say, "Don't worry if you don't think you don't know yourself."

I think a lot of people from that age onwards start to think,

"What do I want?

"I don't know who I am. I don't know what I want." Just try it.

Just try not to grow up too quickly. Enjoy being 12.

It doesn't last at all.

In the blink of an eye, you're an adult with bills

and boring stuff like that, so just enjoy being young.

What an amazing time in your life.

I think probably one of the best times of your life.

If only we could all be 12 again!

Yes, Sonali, but you'd have to smile a little bit more!

So what have we learnt?

If you get invited on stage by your favourite pop star at a concert,

dance good.

If you become a pop star, dance good!

And if you become a world leader, never dance. What is he doing?

Will someone stop him?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd