Episode 6 12 Again

Coming up, three celebs become 12 again.

I had a section that said My Future Husband and there was a picture of Aaron Carter.

My dad wouldn't talk to me for a fortnight. I turned down Picasso.

And I ended up going into school stinking of sour milk.

And we catch up with JLS,

who told us what mattered when they were kids.

"It doesn't matter what your name was!"

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.

# Baby, baby We're on the rocket... #

As a pop superstar, her debut single went straight in at number one

and she's been storming the charts ever since.

That's now. But back in 2003,

Pixie Lott's school life was full of glee.

I think I was just very excited about everything,

because I'd just been introduced to a school where you can perform and act

and dance and sing all the time, and I was so excited about writing songs

and making music.

My name's Steve Backshall.

He's the wild man of CBBC, ready to take on the most deadly challenges.

HE LAUGHS

And even back in 1985, Steve Backshall was ready for adventure.

I was a miniature version of what I am now.

A lot of the things that I do now,

in terms of wildlife and the outdoors

and sports and being active, really I was already doing when I was 12.

-FLASH GORDON THEME

-Citizens!

From the King in The Legend Of Dick And Dom to Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon,

he's a living legend in the acting world today.

But back in 1948,

Brian Blessed was far from TV royalty.

I'm a Yorkshire boy, I'm the son of a coal miner.

And 12 years of age, I was a very happy boy.

Today they may all be massive stars,

but what did they look like when they were 12?

I had really long, thick, curly, crazy hair.

I had to get braces on my bottom teeth.

I was a greasy, stinky, spotty little kid.

I was an absolute state.

I was scrawny, wiry,

clear skin with broad shoulders,

deceptively broad shoulders.

I think I was into, like, bright colours.

If I saw a top and it was a really bold colour,

I'd be like, "Wow, it's amazing."

At 12 years old, I wore shorts and T-shirt pretty much all day long.

Um, barefoot almost all the time.

Very rarely wore shoes.

It was an age when you kind of introduced yourself to make-up

and stuff, and once I tried on this new eye shadow

and I went downstairs, we were about to go and visit my grandad,

and my mum made me go and take it off.

So that's what our celebs looked like. But what did they get up to?

First thing in the morning, I'd go out, take the dog for a run,

and then I would milk the goats before going to school.

Goat milking?! So how did that go for a pint-sized action hero?

Most of the time the goat would take exception to it,

boot the pan of milk all over me,

and I'd end up going into school stinking of sour milk.

And that pretty much determined my entire life when I was a kid.

Nice! Goat milk smelling trousers?

I'm glad I didn't have to sit next to you, Steve.

Anyway, in London for Pixie, life was a lot more glamorous.

I was always doing music, dancing, everything,

so I was singing and dancing all the time.

I used to go to recording studios in the evening

and start, like, writing songs,

and that was from the age of 12, so that's when I just started to do all that.

While Pixie was strutting the stage school corridors

and striking deals with agents... I think...

Back in Yorkshire,

Brian was about to meet the most famous artist on the planet.

After the war, there was a huge world peace congress in Sheffield.

And people said, "They've got Picasso here,

"the world's greatest painter."

And I said, "He's not Picasso."

And I got through all the kids to the front,

and there's Picasso, he's talking away about himself.

And I said, "If you're Picasso, draw me something."

And he drew a dove of peace in about 15 seconds.

I said, "That shows you're not Picasso. That's not a dove.

"I'll draw you a dove."

And he said to me, "You know, it is the first time I have a critic."

And I gave him my dove and he accepted it.

And I turned down his dove.

My dad wouldn't talk to me for a fortnight. I turned down Picasso.

I'm not surprised your dad was cross, Brian.

Picasso's paintings have sold for over 100 million.

Brian's paintings so far...haven't.

Picasso is one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century.

Brian...isn't.

Right, time to move on from the visual artists

to the recording artists, and find out what Brian, Steve and Pixie

were listening to when they were 12.

My music heroes were always the big singers, cos when I grew up,

I used to sing their songs and I used to use them as my audition songs.

I loved a lot of Motown that my mum grew me up on, so Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye...

# I bet you wonder how I knew... #

Motown started in Detroit, a city famous for making motorcars.

Hence the name, Motown.

The music is often described as soul music with a pop appeal.

Artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder

played an important role in making black music popular

with white audiences in America.

# Baby, everything is all right... #

And bands like The Jackson 5...

..and The Supremes...

# Baby, maybe... #

..were some of the first ever girl and boy bands.

Which incidentally was Pixie's other love at 12.

# I want it that way... #

Backstreet Boys, who I loved.

# We are two worlds apart... #

I do actually remember, when I was about 12,

because I loved the Backstreet Boys,

there was a boy band member called Nick Carter.

# You say that I want it... #

And then I found out he had a younger brother called Aaron Carter.

# I know a girl who's tough but sweet... #

So he used to be my crush when I was younger.

# She's so fine she can't be beat... #

Like Pixie, Aaron started in show biz young.

Let's hear it for Aaron Carter!

He was lead singer in his first band at seven

and released his first single at ten.

# I've got a crush on you... #

We used to make our own little websites,

you put on your favourite things, and I had a little section that said

My Future Husband, and there was a picture of Aaron Carter.

Er, join the queue, Pixie, because you have got competition.

I just want to cuddle him cos he's so cute.

He's dead little and cute and I want to put him in my cupboard and keep him forever!

Creepy.

Aaron may have been popular when Pixie was 12,

but back in 1948,

Brian was listening to the biggest stars on the planet.

There was always a competition between Crosby and Al Jolson.

Both Al Jolson and Bing Crosby were international superstars.

More than just singers, they were both all-round entertainers.

# Cos I just fell in love with your pretty baby face... #

Al Jolson was the vitality of the age. Bing Crosby was more laid-back.

# I'm dreaming

# Of a white Christmas... #

Although different,

both singers can lay claim to some serious achievements.

Bing Crosby's song White Christmas

is the biggest-selling single of all time.

And Al Jolson's movie The Jazz Singer

was the first full-length talking movie ever.

Al Jolson was a man who gripped people.

Al Jolson had such enormous powers.

Al Jolson, though, is probably most famous for performing

in a style of make-up known as blackface.

# How I love ya How I love ya, my... #

Although not acceptable today, back in the 1940s this style of make-up

for musical performances was considered family entertainment,

with even the BBC's Black & White Minstrel Show running until 1978.

But for Al Jolson, it's just one of the aspects that made him known

as the world's greatest entertainer.

# Baby face. #

Right, time to find out if singers in 1985 were as classic

as Jolson and Crosby.

At 12, I was probably pretty much following the charts,

following what everyone else liked.

It wasn't until my mid-teens that I started

really getting into music and getting into things like The Smiths.

# Stop me, oh, oh, oh, stop me

# Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before... #

Formed in Manchester in 1982, The Smiths are regarded by many

as the most influential British indie band of the 1980s.

But I'll have to stop you there, Steve, as this classic track was released when you were 14.

We need you to tell us what you were actually listening to

when you were 12.

There is one tune from the year that I was 12.

It was by someone called Jennifer Rush,

and it was called The Power Of Love.

# Cos I am your lady

# And you are my man... #

It just makes the hairs go up on the back of my neck

and makes me want to be violently ill.

# The power of love... #

OK, I can see why you mentioned The Smiths now,

but this track, believe it or not, was massive in the UK in 1985.

It just went on forever.

It was never off number one at the Top Of The Pops.

Every week we were coming back and praying, "Please don't let it be Jennifer Rush.

"Please don't let it be Jennifer Rush." And it always was.

Not only was it the biggest-selling song of the year,

it also broke the record for the largest-selling single ever

by a woman.

It also outsold two other tracks in the same year with the same name,

one by Huey Lewis...

# That's the power of love... #

..and also that year's Christmas number one, by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

# The power of love... #

Spoilt for choice,

it was this Power Of Love that really got on Steve's nerves.

# Sometimes I am frightened... #

If I never hear that song again, I will be a very happy man.

# By the power of love. #

All right, Steve, you can take the fingers out your ears now.

Still to come, we catch up with the massive boy band JLS.

Sorry, Mum, sorry, Dad.

I'm not apologising, my mum should never have been cutting my hair.

Send me to the barber's!

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

And suddenly, someone had got what?

Television?

I was watching a lot of Nickelodeon.

I can remember the first time I met Michaela, and I was dumbstruck.

I had no idea what to say to her.

But first, it's time to see what big moments had an impact on our celebs

when they were 12.

And for Brian, 1948 saw the return

of a long-overdue sporting competition.

The Olympics excited us.

The whole concept meant an awful lot to us,

because we'd missed out on the Olympics because of the war.

After a 12-year gap because of World War II,

London was the host of the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin.

And so in 1948, there was an excitement everywhere.

RADIO ANNOUNCER: In Britain, here at least was a proper setting

for the 14th Olympiad of this restless modern era.

Even though times were tough due to post-war rationing

and a hard financial climate,

85,000 spectators gathered in Wembley Stadium

for the opening ceremony,

including the Royal family.

I proclaim open...

the Olympic Games of London.

Great Britain won a total of 23 medals,

including one for the Games' most historical event.

In those days, the marathon, which of course celebrated the victory

of the Athenians over the Persians,

that man ran 26 miles from Marathon to Athens,

was the great one to win.

And in 1948, we got the silver medal. We almost won it.

While the country was celebrating sporting triumph at home in 1948,

when Pixie was 12, Britain was facing conflict in the Middle East.

NEWSREADER: America starts the war against Saddam Hussein.

Missiles hit Baghdad in southern Iraq.

The big thing that happened when I was 12, in 2003, was the Iraq War.

The USA along with its allies, including Britain,

feared that Iraq's leader, Saddam Hussein, was hiding

weapons of mass destruction.

Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours.

Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict,

commenced at a time of our choosing.

Saddam Hussein didn't surrender.

And war began on the 19th of March.

The purpose of the war was to disarm Iraq of those weapons,

but also to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism,

and free the Iraqi people from dictatorship.

The invasion of Iraq was very unpopular globally,

especially when no weapons of mass destruction were found.

And most people thought the troops should have been withdrawn.

This massive anti-war demonstration is just getting under way here.

There's been one of the biggest demonstrations in decades.

People have taken to the streets today to protest

against war in Iraq.

But the Iraqi people were happy

when Saddam Hussein was removed from power.

NEWSREADER: They're celebrating in the streets of Baghdad,

and they're showing their hatred of the Iraqi leader for the first time.

With Saddam Hussein gone, the troops left Iraq

and the war officially ended on 18 December, 2011.

When Steve was 12 in 1986, Europe was confronted by an unseen danger.

Good evening. The Soviet Union admitted this evening

that there's been an accident at one of its nuclear power stations,

and it said there'd been casualties.

It's believed to be the first time Moscow has admitted such an incident,

and the way in which the news was given suggests it's a serious one.

When the reactor exploded at Chernobyl,

this was something that just seemed totally unreal.

On the morning of 26 April, 1986,

a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl Power Station in Ukraine exploded.

It was the worst nuclear accident in history.

All of our fears kind of came to realisation.

The explosion and fire at the Chernobyl plant released

large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere.

Nuclear fallout was found in nearly every country

in the northern hemisphere,

including parts of the UK.

As a kid, in my young mind,

it was a real dark, brooding cloud over most of my teens.

The overall effects of the disaster are difficult to measure,

but there's been an increase in serious diseases

amongst those living in the most contaminated areas near Chernobyl,

and the disaster made nuclear power very unpopular with many.

The nearby town of Pripyat was evacuated to try and limit

the amount of people who would get sick from the radiation.

And the town is exactly the same today

as it was when everyone left it.

A 30km exclusion zone still circles the power plant,

and a big concrete shelter covers the reactor that exploded

on that day.

Still to come...

We ask the all-important question,

what would our celebs do if they were 12 again?

Follow your dreams. There is no-one like you!

Make sure that you do whatever makes yourself happy.

Be proud of who you are, because it's really important

and it's really good.

Before that, it's time to take two minutes with JLS

and find out what they were like as kids.

# All that I do is to make you proud... #

I was short when I was 12, boy.

I was so short.

Look how tall everyone is. I don't know if you can see that. But...

You're actually a whole head shorter than everybody!

-No, I'm like a whole half a body shorter.

-That's hilarious.

And being vertically challenged wasn't the only issue

the boys faced at 12.

Why is it, though, that your mum

-used to think she could cut your hair?

-I know! I used to hate it...

Why is that?

-I did!

-My mum used to cut my hair all the time.

She used to put the most craziest lines in my hair, like,

all zigzags going around my head, and like the bowl-cut,

where she'd just do, like, skin there and a number two on top.

I hated it. That's the one thing that I just...

Sorry, Mum, sorry, Dad.

No, I'm not apologising,

my mum should never have been cutting my hair. Send me to the barber's!

They may have been strangers to the barber's at 12,

but they were no strangers to adventure.

When I was 12 years old, I was very adventurous.

-Wild?

-Yeah, I was like, you know...

-Still wild?

-Still wild, still trying to find my fashion.

Still doing things outside of the box.

-Ritse, you're still trying to find your fashion now.

-Whatever!

Nothing's changed from you being 12!

So, JLS weren't exactly fashion icons,

but what were they watching when they were kids?

-Wrestling. Absolutely. Definitely.

-It was all about wrestling.

It was just about The Rock.

Yo, this is The Rock, kicking it with the Refugee Camp

and you're 'bout to smell what The Rock is cooking.

Everyone knows The Rock.

He's considered to be the most electrifying

wrestler in sports entertainment.

But did you know that back in 2000,

his famous catchphrase had its own song?

# It doesn't matter! #

-# I sold like 17 million records

-It doesn't matter how many records you sold! #

Ritse, what was your name when you was little?

It doesn't matter what your name was!

Let's go back to what really does matter - the JLS interview,

and it's confession time.

I ain't going to be afraid to admit it, me and my friend Chris,

we sang two songs in school, we did like a talent show.

One song was Spice Girls - Wannabe.

# If you wanna be my lover... #

-And the other song was Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl.

-What?!

Yeah. I can't remember if I was Peter Andre or Bubbler Ranx.

All right, Marvin, not the coolest confession from being 12.

Come on, JB, any advice that doesn't involve

going swimming in your jeans?

I'd tell my 12-year-old self to keep playing my instruments

and keep doing my languages.

Because in ten years, you're going to be travelling the world.

I would have told my 12-year-old self, "Why did it take you so long to kiss a girl?"

Hey, don't be picking on Oritse, he's just being honest!

Now it's time to get back to business and find out

what Pixie, Brian and Steve were wild about watching

when they were 12.

One of the programmes I remember most vividly from 12 years old

was The Really Wild Show.

The Really Wild Show was the Deadly 60 of its day,

and for kids like Steve who were nuts about nature,

it was must-see TV.

Chris Packham was on it...

He's on my nose, he's not doing me any harm at all.

..and Terry Nutkins was on it...

Isn't that incredible?

-..and Michaela Strachan.

-Sorry I'm late, chaps.

Bit of bother with the law.

They seemed to me to be omnipotent, they seemed to know everything.

It is actually completely harmless.

It's just pretending to be a dangerous snake.

So, you're a fraud.

When it came to wildlife, they were just popping with information and facts.

And that was something that I thought, "Yeah, I'd really like to be like that."

This capuchin, for instance, can't actually smile,

and in the animal kingdom, apart from us,

there's only one animal that can. And that's the chimpanzee.

The things that always hit home most about wildlife programmes

when you're a kid are the moments when the animal turns round and bites you.

They don't half like to peck!

That happened quite regularly on Really Wild Show.

As a lifelong fan, Steve's dream came true in 2004

when he joined the team.

Hello, and welcome to a very special Really Wild Show.

I ended up working on The Really Wild Show. I ended up presenting it.

Which was just the most extraordinary thing.

I can remember the first time I met Michaela, and I was dumbstruck.

I had no idea what to say to her.

I hear you've been practising your reading on a very attractive bird.

Michaela, what are you like?!

Oh, that type of bird!

-Hello, darling.

-BIRD SQUAWKS

So while Steve wasn't having much luck with the birds...

literally...

I haven't seen what's out there.

..Pixie was more interested in watching comedy kids' TV

from the USA.

I was watching a lot of Nickelodeon,

so it was all, like, Keenan And Kel, which I still love.

And now it's time for Keenan from Keenan And Kel.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Just like today, when Pixie was 12, Nickelodeon shows were huge.

But instead of iCarly and Victorious,

Keenan And Kel was the must-watch show

and they often appeared on the big CBBC programmes of the day,

even if they couldn't pronounce the names of British towns.

OK, I got joke number four, it's from Paul from... Shingford?

-That's Chingford.

-Chingford! Chingford, OK, OK.

Never mind, Keenan, I often say "Shing-ford" wrong too.

Whilst Pixie was all about

kids' TV channels in the noughties,

Brian's family back in the '40s didn't even have television.

We had a wooden radio,

and you had the Home Service,

lots of serious programmes and scientific programmes,

and then the BBC Light Programme shared with them drama.

And you would get The War Of The Worlds.

The War Of The Worlds was written by HG Wells over a century ago,

and is the story of an alien invasion of planet Earth.

As one of the most popular sci-fi stories ever written,

it's been retold many times,

even as a Hollywood blockbuster starring Tom Cruise.

But back in 1948, Brian heard it on the radio.

VOICE ON RADIO: We now know that in the early years of the 20th century,

this world was being watched closely by intelligences

greater than man.

I found it magical.

It's the best science fiction ever written.

Brian was blown away by what he heard on the radio.

But in America, when the story was broadcast in 1938,

-everyone thought it was real.

-RADIO ANNOUNCER: Scouting planes report three Martian machines visible

above treetops moving north towards Somerville

with population fleeing ahead of them.

Many Americans thought the planet was actually under attack

by Martians.

Even the armed forces were put on alert.

The United States Navy was in New York Harbour,

and the boys, the sailors, were all on shore leave.

And they were all recalled that night for active duty,

in order to defend America against the Martians.

I don't know, alien attacks? That's a crazy idea.

But then again, Brian had some crazy ideas of his own.

I remember once saying to my dad, "Dad, Dad, wouldn't it be marvellous

"if we could actually see The War Of The Worlds?"

And my dad said, "I don't know it'll ever happen, lad."

And then that amazing thing happened.

Suddenly someone had got what?

Television?

Yep, TV became a reality.

Even if the Martians didn't.

So those were the TV memories of our three celebs.

But what do they remember most about being 12?

The best thing to me about being 12 was freedom,

was the fact that for every weekend and long periods of holidays,

I would just go out and enjoy being outside.

I was doing what I loved every day - music, dancing, drama.

I was with all of my best friends.

We were always happy, always hyper, always running around.

I was just really excited for life,

and I hope that that will always stay with me.

The best thing about being 12 was having brilliant teachers,

who embraced my imagination and encouraged me to grow,

and to let me fulfil my dreams.

I remember learning about rejection and going to auditions

and not getting the part or not looking right for something,

or getting something and then it being taken away from you,

and loads of things like that. And I think it's good to learn at that age,

because then, you know, you're all set up for when you're older.

If I was 12 again now, I would go running out of the house,

go straight down, see the goats, chase the peacocks,

just live a day exactly as it was when I was 12.

If I had to say anything to my 12-year-old self,

I would say to just make sure you enjoy yourself,

make sure that you do whatever makes yourself happy.

Be proud of who you are, because it's really important

and it's really good.

I think the most important thing, 12-year-olds, is to really, you know, follow your dreams.

There is no-one like you!

You have got something that nobody else has got.

You've got to use that gift, and don't let anybody put you off.

Don't let the so-and-sos grind you down.

Yeah, and if Picasso offers you a picture, take it!

So what have we learnt?

If you value your hearing, never share an elevator with this woman.

# I am your lady... #

Beware obsessive pop fans!

He's dead little and cute

and I want to put him in my cupboard and keep him forever!

And surprisingly, WWE wrestlers are keen chefs!

You're 'bout to smell what The Rock is cooking!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd