Episode 11 12 Again

Coming up, three celebs become 12 again.

Everybody would be singing that in the playground.

She looked in my eyes and went, "Your pupils are really dilated!"

Accept your nerd status.

Plus, we find out what X Factor winner Matt Cardle

was like when he was 12.

It's just freaky and very awkward.

Want to know more?

# Oo-wee Chirpa-chirpa-cheep-cheep. #

I do now.

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.

# It's a new day new start, new scene... #

If you get detention, this is a guy you definitely want to see at 4pm.

And back in 1990, Ben Smith knew exactly what he wanted to be.

I always just wanted to be famous.

Always have that feeling I could do something special people would love.

I always felt I was going to be an entertainer.

Come on, Gaby, here we go.

She's one of the UK's leading TV and sports presenters,

who on a Saturday likes to give you the final score.

Hello. Welcome to Final Score.

Europe has interfered a little bit with the Saturday line-up.

But back in 1985,

Gabby Logan was sporting her own talent as a gymnast.

I think I probably was unusual in my focus,

and when I decided I wanted to do something,

whether I was doing gymnastics, I wanted to be in the national squad,

that was what I put my energy and endeavours into.

It's funky, it's new, it's different.

He is the cheekiest dragon there is in the den.

You are totally barking mad.

But back in 1972, Theo Paphitis was, well, pretty much the same.

I was cheeky, I was naughty, adventurous.

I was just a 12-year-old little boy,

um...wondering what it was all about.

All are massive celebs today, but it wasn't always that way.

So let's rewind and find out everything

about what they were like when they were kids.

I was quite chubby.

People called me "Care Bear". Girls would "like" you

in the same way they like, you know, a teddy bear.

Because I did gymnastics, I was always very lean

and I didn't really develop shape so much at that age.

My hair - first of all, it was plenty.

Secondly, and sadly,

it was always cut by my mother.

My main clothing was tracksuits and leotards. I would rather spend money

on an amazing leotard than have money

on a piece of clothing that I really, really wanted.

I was a hairy kid.

I was so horrified by it,

I used my sister's cream on my right leg that would remove hair.

As soon as I did it, I instinctively knew it was such a bad mistake

and actually, I didn't do the other leg

but then I was faced with the dilemma

of having one hairy leg and one smooth bald leg.

Some of my friends at school had started to wear a bra.

And...really nervous and embarrassed about it

and didn't want to talk to my mum about it.

We were on a family holiday

and she let my dad take me for a walk on the beach

and discuss the fact that they had discussed with each other

that I needed to wear a bra.

I don't think there could be

a more embarrassing conversation between father and daughter.

Eh, no, I think you're right there, Gaby.

So, other than being horrifically embarrassed by their dads

and having one bald leg, what else did they get up to as kids?

Home consisted of getting your own dinner

and cleaning the house and getting the washing done,

and the ironing done, because mum would be at work

and as a kid, you deal with it, you get on with it,

and that's exactly what I did.

I was a bit of a nerd.

But I loved drama.

I think it helped me, like, sort of come out of my shell.

If I was playing a character that I perceived to be cooler

or more interesting than me personally, as a real human being,

I think it helped me, you know, build in confidence a little bit.

Whilst Ben was finding his confidence,

Gabby was doing anything she could to get some attention in class.

I remember tying myself to my chair with my school tie

or getting someone to do it, and then I'd move around the classroom

-so when the teacher turned, I was in a different place.

-OK...

I also had a bit of a penchant at this point

for putting Tipp-ex all over my tongue, and when the teacher turned,

showing my classmates, who burst out laughing.

then the teacher would turn and I'd put my tongue back in my mouth.

Don't try it at home. Don't put Tipp-ex on your tongue.

It doesn't work. It doesn't taste good.

Right, I'm glad you said that, Mrs Troublemaker.

Let me reiterate, do not try that at home unless you're very stupid.

In London, however, school for multi-millionaire Theo

wasn't so easy.

For me, 12 was a really uncertain time.

I really didn't know where I was going.

School was terrible,

and the basic reason was, I couldn't cope with the work.

I discovered much later that I was dyslexic.

But the one thing that came really easy at school was numbers.

I would be at the bottom of every subject at school,

except when it came to numbers, I'd be in the top class.

As Theo found school life a struggle at 12,

for Ben, a family event had a big impact on his home life.

My parents getting divorced,

it has such an amazing, fundamental impact on any child.

Arguments and unpleasantness, that is not nice for little kids,

so when they actually separated,

all of a sudden, yeah, it's sad for a marriage to come to an end,

but it's peace, it's peace. It's peace when I go to visit my dad.

There's peace at home with my mum,

so the whole idea that a family is

a mum, a dad and a son and a daughter and a dog is nonsense.

If they love you and look after you

and there's love and warmth within that house, then that is a family.

OK, let's find out what music

our celebs were listening to when they were kids.

# Change this lonely life... #

A big song at that time was

Foreigner's I Want To Know What Love Is.

# I want to know what love is

# I want you to show me... #

Oof! It makes me feel all tingly thinking about it now.

Me too, Gabby.

Foreigner were a band made up of both British and American musicians

so I guess they were technically foreign to each other.

In the '80s, they were one of many bands who ROCKED - but softly.

Men could wear really tight trousers

and really tight vests and leather jackets and long hair...

Hit it, CC.

..and yet, were seen as being kind of these models of masculinity

and what I've just described doesn't sound like that, but they were.

Indeed they were, Gabby.

The '80s were all about rock.

Rock and men, and some of them happened to wear a lot of make-up.

Nothing wrong with that, but some of them took it a little too far.

Exhibit A...

# We're not gonna take it! #

But it wasn't just their looks that made them big.

Their songs were also massive, almost as big as their hair.

# Might as well jump. Jump!

# Might as well jump... #

And bands like Van Halen, Bon Jovi

and Whitesnake ruled the world with their big singalong anthems.

There's something quite soothing about soft rock.

A lot of people pretend they don't like it,

but deep down, they have a little soft spot for a bit of soft rock.

Let's leave Gabby loving the soft rock

and find out what Ben was listening to in the early '90s.

I was listening to stuff like hip-hop music.

A Tribe Called Quest had a song called Can I Kick It?

-# Can I kick it?

-Yes, you can

-# Can I kick it?

-Yes, you can... #

Everything about it just made you smile.

It had a really summery vibe to it.

It just spoke to you in a way, it really spoke to you.

This song was one of the big summer hits of the early '90s.

A Tribe Called Quest and other hip-hop groups like De La Soul

were part of a new jazzy version of rap...

# Mirror, mirror on the wall... #

..which was much more positive than the gangsta rap

which had been coming out of America before then.

The summer of 1990, it was the first time I remember

really hearing the basis of hip-hop beats in pop music.

However, one song from Ben's record collection isn't quite as cool.

One of the first seven-inches I ever bought was this one - Turtle Power.

# They didn't say we'd be there in half an hour

# Cos they displayed turtle power

# T-U-R-T-L-E power...

# T-U-R-T-L-E power... #

If you're wondering what the heck these guys are,

they're mutated turtles who would run around New York eating pizza

and beating up bad guys,

led by a mutated rat.

Sounds odd, but this song was from the biggest movie of 1990.

The Turtles and the rat ruled.

In the same way that A Tribe Called Quest, the guys rapping on it

sounded like excitable kids, just like we were...

# Cos they possess turtle power...

..Turtle Power sounded like it was sung by your supply teacher,

trying to rap, you know, and it was just really bad.

# T-U-R-T-L-E power... #

So whilst then was harnessing his turtle power in the early '90s...

Who was Theo's pop idol in the early '70s?

There were no MP3 downloads in those days

and my first ever purchased 45

at the age of 12, and it was a song called

Chirpa Chirpa Cheep Cheep by Middle Of The Road.

# Where's your momma gone?

# Where's your momma gone?

I don't want to say Middle Of The Road made a song

that was very "middle of the road". Let's just say

it won't get a Lifetime Achievement Brit Award any time soon.

# Last night I heard my momma singing a song

# Oo-wee, chirpa-chirpa cheep cheep. #

It was horrendous. It was terrible.

But anyway, I'd play it for hours and hours and hours.

So, did Theo's taste in music get any better?

I soon moved onto the scene, and the scene in those days was

platform shoes, lairy clothing,

Elton John.

# And I think it's going to be a long long time... #

Crocodile Rock was, by a long chalk,

the most energetic of Elton John's records.

# Crocodile rockin' is something shocking

# When your feet just can't keep still... #

And everybody would be singing that in the playground.

And he was really, really cool.

# La... #

Reginald Kenneth Dwight, otherwise known as Elton John,

hit the charts in 1970 and has stayed there for over 40 years.

He has many famous songs

and you'll have definitely heard his music in films like The Lion King.

# In the circle

# The circle of life... #

Having sold more than 250 million records,

he's actually one of the most successful artists of all time.

Still to come, we catch up with the one and only Matt Cardle

and find out what he remembers about being 12.

I was always preparing for some kind of attack.

And we find out what TV our celebrities were watching

when they were kids.

I would see things to aspire to. People to aspire to.

Essentially, what it was was really quite dangerous obstacles

that you wouldn't want to run over, let alone ride a motorbike over.

My mum just got hold of my head and looked at my eyes and she went,

"Your pupils are really dilated!"

But first, let's see what new stories

had a big impact on our celebs when they were 12.

The release of the political prisoner Nelson Mandela was a big one.

After 27 years in South African jails, Nelson Mandela is a free man.

In 1964 in South Africa,

Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment

for his protests against the government.

Everybody knew that he'd been in there for ages

and that he was a nice guy, you know,

essentially, like someone telling you, "Morgan Freeman's in jail,"

and you'd just be like, "He must be innocent."

At the time, South Africa was run under a system called apartheid,

which discriminated against black people.

For nearly 50 years, they were forced by law

to live totally separate lives to those who were white,

and treated very unfairly.

My mum did explain it to me,

the fact that I had a white father and a black mother.

She explained to me that if we lived in South Africa,

none of the three of us could live together.

We'd all be living in different situations,

because I was light brown, she was dark brown and he was white,

and that, to me, was just insanity.

Black people couldn't go to white areas unless they had permission,

and could be arrested if they didn't have a type of passport

showing they were allowed to go there. Life was very hard for them.

She said, the man who is fighting against that, Nelson Mandela,

he's been put in prison because the people that want life to be that way

don't want anyone to fight against it,

so then, you know, you knew that was wrong as well

and you knew this guy was a hero for fighting against it.

You rooted for that guy.

Lots of people across the world

agreed that Nelson Mandela should be freed,

and in 1990, after 27 years in prison, he was finally released.

At 2.15 our time, he walked from the gates of Victor-Verster prison,

hand in hand with his wife Winnie.

When Mandela was released, naturally, you felt the ripples around the world

and amongst black families and mixed-race families too in the UK,

it meant something, no question, so we were happy.

In the name of peace,

democracy and freedom for all...

Soon after his release, black people were given the right to vote

and Nelson Mandela was elected the first black president

of South Africa, in the country's first democratic election.

Nelson Mandela will always be known for helping to end apartheid

and has become a symbol for peace and equality for all.

In the early 1970s, when Theo was 12, there was a huge news story

that shocked the United States and the world.

The big news story when I was 12 was Watergate.

This was one of the biggest American political scandals ever.

It led to the president, Richard Nixon, resigning from office.

This is the only time that has ever happened.

The scandal was called Watergate.

I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter,

I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

To find out what the opposition party were planning

for the election, the offices at the Watergate Hotel

were broken into and their telephones were bugged

so their phone calls could be secretly recorded.

This was an abuse of their privacy and against the law.

The president, Richard Nixon, denied knowing anything of the crime.

People have got to know whether or not their president's a crook.

Well, I'm not a crook.

Until evidence proved that he did, despite him trying to cover it up.

But I know what I meant, and I know also what I did.

Nixon stood down as president and brought huge shame

on his political party and himself for lying.

The leader of the free world, as the president of the United States

is sometimes known as, is untrustworthy.

Was huge news.

The story was so huge the effects are still heard today.

When there's a scandal, newspapers put 'gate' at the end of the word.

For example:

Now you know!

In 1985, a football disaster had a very personal impact on Gabby

and her family.

A big story when I was 12 was the Bradford Fire.

The fire broke out in the main stand

at Bradford's Valley Parade ground

halfway through today's match against Lincoln City.

The stand was soon ablaze from end to end.

My dad was coaching at Bradford at the time.

Should have been a really amazing day.

They'd won the league

and it was going to be the big party for the player's families.

I was sat a few rows away from where the fire actually started

in the same stand, the stand that burnt down.

Once the fire had started, it took just four minutes

for the flames to engulf the entire stand at the stadium.

Everybody was starting to panic.

It was the scene of a major disaster

and nobody was quite ready for this, what was going on.

And then my dad appeared.

He had blood cos he'd had to jump out of a window

cos people wouldn't leave part of the building

he was trying to get them out of.

It was just a horrible period of our lives

as a collective, and even as children

we could sense that this was something

that my dad was really struggling with.

56 people lost their lives, and over 250 were injured

in one of the worst disasters in the history of British football.

Since the fire in 1985, new safety laws have been introduced.

Old wooden stadiums have been rebuilt

and a smoking ban is in place at all grounds across the nation.

Still to come: We ask the all-important question,

what would our celebs do if they were 12 again?

Have those experiences,

cos that's what's going to make you the person you'll eventually become.

One of the best things about being 12 is what's coming.

Accept the fact that you are a geek and get on with it.

Before that, it's time to discover what Matt Cardle was like at 12.

# You need somebody who likes themselves... #

He's an X Factor winner who's gone on to be a successful solo artist.

But what did Matt get up to when he was 12?

We had one den.

It was probably one of the best ones I've ever seen.

It had an underground bit, an overground bit,

a tree house looking out bit.

I was always preparing for some kind of attack.

Very wise, Matt.

Always expect the unexpected.

But what about school life?

At school, if you like the teacher

then you get on well with the subject, cos you listen,

which is why I got on so well with music, because Adrian

was just so, like, inspirational and fun to be around.

You had so much respect for him that you'd sit there and listen to him

and he inspires you to pick up guitars and instruments and stuff.

He's on a first name basis with the teacher?

But I wonder how he got on with the ladies.

I remember we'd just watched Dirty Dancing and then had a little kiss.

# I'm a shooting star... #

It's never nice, is it? It's just freaky and very awkward.

Like the first time every time.

Speak for yourself, Matt!

When you got over being freaked out about your first kiss,

what was the best thing about being 12?

Playing guitar and finding something that I knew

I was going to be doing for the rest of my life.

Finding something in life that is that special...

was the best thing for me.

See you later, mate. Bye!

Lovely man.

Right, time to get back to our three celebs,

and find out what Ben, Gabby and Theo were watching

when they were 12.

Television was important. It was an important way of seeing the world.

And the best show ever was Michael Parkinson.

The Parkinson show began in 1971 and was a huge success on the BBC.

I think they like you.

It was a show to watch as host, Michael Parkinson,

interviewed every kind of celebrity you can imagine from the time.

George Best.

It was the first British chat show of its kind,

a bit like the Jonathan Ross Show today.

That was your window into the celebrity world.

-What was the first time that you met then?

-What? Him and I?

Yesterday morning, wasn't it?

I would see things to aspire to, people to aspire to.

Have your little jokes.

Lives that people led, that you could only dream about.

And one interview with a boxing legend left a massive impression

on a young Theo Paphitis.

The great Muhammad Ali.

Now Ali lands to the right, what a beautiful swing

And the punchless Frazier clean out of the ring!

To actually see him not in the ring

but talking to Michael Parkinson was tremendous.

Frazier's still rising, but the referee wears a frown,

for he can't start counting until Frazier comes down.

And on the flip side, you have Rod Hull and Emu

attacking poor Parky.

And Emu, basically, was a big bird

that he had his hand up his bum and pretended it was real.

It's not that convincing.

In 2007, after 26 years of interviewing

the world's most famous celebs,

the Michael Parkinson Show came to an end.

Good night.

Let's fast forward to the 1980s and find out what Gaby was watching.

Grange Hill was a children's programme that I really loved.

Grange Hill was one of the most successful kids dramas of all time.

What is it you got? Three CSEs at what grade?

Yeah, well, at least I'm not wasting my time with resits.

And it was well known for tackling cutting edge gritty storylines.

There were stories about love.

If you want to go out with me, that's fine too.

Families having a bit of discord...

I've got to know you're where you say you are,

otherwise something terrible might happen

and no-one would realise you were missing.

One of the big campaigns that they got involved with,

was a drugs campaign called, Just Say No.

Roly, is it all right if I go through the back room?

I've dropped the paper with the bloke's phone number on it.

In 1986, one of Grange Hill's most controversial storylines

focused on a very topical issue, Zammo's drug addiction.

Listen, have you got any money?

No, well, only a couple of quid.

-I need 50.

-What on earth for?

And as part of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness

of drug-related issues, the show released a single, Just Say No.

-Just say no.

-# Just say no. #

The campaign was great, but it left some mums a little paranoid.

# All you've got to do is be yourself. #

I remember kissing my mum goodbye for school

and she got hold of my head, looked at my eyes and went,

"Your pupils are really dilated."

Then I remember reading a check list in the paper.

"If your child becomes withdrawn,

"if your child becomes moody or irrational

"and has dilated pupils..."

My mum was obviously trying to make sure her kids were all right.

The song peaked at number five in the charts

and raised over £100,000 to help the fight against drug use.

Where's he been all summer? Probably bombed out of his lungs.

-I spent most of it at Narcotics Anonymous.

-Well you were lucky.

Yeah, I know.

So that is what Gaby was watching in the '80s.

Let's find out what Ben was watching in the 90s.

One of my favourite TV shows as a kid was a show called Kick Start.

# Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do. #

You'd tune in, turn that up get the cushion,

throw it in front of the TV, elbows on the cushion,

that far away from the screen, just soaking it up, wishing I was there.

Junior Kick Start began in 1979 and ran for over 10 years.

Essentially, what it was, was kids competing against each other

in time trials on motorbikes.

Each week, six kids would set off on their motorbikes

on the very hard obstacle course and it was against the clock.

Whoa, he's struggling there.

-They'd then attempt the same course in the opposite direction.

-Oh, no!

It was the only show where you got penalised for putting your foot down

to stop yourself getting hurt.

Riding across dangerous obstacles.

Obstacles that you wouldn't really want to run over,

let alone ride a motorbike over.

Whoa!

They almost all looked like they had been built by a couple of layabouts.

Whoa!

Do you two know how to strap a six by four plank of wood

and some bollards together?

-"Yeah, we'll give it a go."

-He really flew out of that one.

The course designed to catch out the very best.

And in 1986, one boy found the course just a bit too much.

He's only 10, riding a Honda 50.

And yes, he's 10.

This is the one that really caused the problems and it's caught him too.

It's the blind leading the blind.

The first guy comes in, you just see him fall into the pit.

Oh, dear, the St John's ambulance man tried to get there in a hurry.

And he's down.

The second guy edges his way in carefully,

I won't make the same mistakes.

He gets closer to the kid, knees go, buckles over backwards.

I'm sorry, this is a bit like the Keystone Cops down there.

I was very impressed by all the kids on that.

I hope they've managed to continue their life

without any life-threatening injuries.

And don't worry, you can rest assured that the good men

from the St John's ambulance went on to help other boys ride another day.

I'm sure you'll agree, a marvellous competition.

Till the next time from Easton Neston, goodbye.

So those were the TV memories of our three celebs,

but what do they remember most about being 12?

One of the best things about being 12,

is what's coming

and that feeling that you're on the edge of adulthood,

the edge of change.

On the one hand, while I was quite fearful for that,

there was also excitement around the corner, a lot of possibility.

You weren't a teenager, yet, and you weren't a little boy anymore.

The best thing, looking back, is just that sense of freedom

and endless possibility.

That's a special thing that I wish I could bottle, you know?

I would tell my 12-year-old self,

to not worry about the changes that would come into her body,

that she didn't need to worry about boys,

they weren't so mysterious.

You find out who you are through the hardships.

That's the way life is.

It's hard to recognise that when you're going through them

but ultimately, you'll look back and say,

"Yes, that bit of my life was not pleasant, but I learnt from it."

Undoubtedly, the best thing about being 12,

is looking forward to the unknown.

Have those experiences, because that is what's going to make you

the person you'll eventually become.

Embrace your differences, embrace what's strange about you

and all the things you feel insecure about.

Accept your nerd status, that's what I always say to myself.

Accept the fact that you're a geek and get on with it.

So, what have we learned?

It's acceptable for men to wear make up within reason.

Never invite emus onto chat shows.

And next time you fall off your bike,

make sure these two blokes aren't there to help.

Boof!