Episode 6 12 Again

Coming up, three celebs become 12 again.

I got my piano teacher to listen to Eminem,

She was eighty-something.

They sort of pooh-pooh your ideas and brush them aside

and say, "Yes, yes, but we need to be realistic."

Don't be weird with girls.

And we catch up with the almighty Scissor Sisters.

I wasn't too dissimilar from what I am now,

just a big, loudmouth, know-it-all weirdo.

Excited?

He is.

Ever wondered what it would have been like to be 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.

# Girls, girls, girls I just can't say no... #

He's the pop star who knows how to get the whole party jumping.

But in 2004, Conor Maynard was busy with a different sort of bouncing.

When I think back to then, all I can remember

is being in the garden with my brother and my friends,

we were always on the trampoline, and just playing different games.

She's the star of both Waterloo Road and The Impressions Show,

who loves nothing more

than pretending to be some of Britain's best-known stars.

You're an idiot.

Brilliant!

But back in 1984, Debra Stephenson

was already dreaming of being a star herself.

I wanted to do comedy and impressions,

and that's what I was excited about, and school was a major drain on me.

He's a Match of the Day Kickabout presenter

and CBBC's expert on all things football.

Let the games begin.

Thank you, fans.

It's time for this.

But back in 1998, rugby was Ore Oduba's game.

Being one of the largest people on the rugby pitch really helps you,

because people end up running away from you

if you're coming at them at some sort of pace.

All are massive celebs today, but back when they were 12,

they had no idea they'd become some of Britain's best-known faces.

So let's rewind and find out what they were like then.

When I was 12, I was one of the shortest of my friends.

But I did eventually go through a growth spurt,

and I became one of the tall kids.

But I stayed there and everyone else carried on growing.

So I became one of the short kids again!

I had a chubby face, crooked teeth, a few zits...

I looked like a walking disaster, and certainly felt like one.

I was generally round.

Everything about me was round,

Literally. From my belly to my face to my hair.

I was a younger version of this.

My hair was actually pretty much the same.

I kind of wore very baggy clothes,

I was going through the skater phase.

I had all my, kind of, really baggy jeans on,

big, like, clunky shoes.

I always sort of missed the mark in terms of fashion.

My parents were quite keen to keep me as a child

for as long as possible.

I was pretty loud. I was kind of, I suppose the class joker.

I tried paying attention, and sometimes I would go off a bit,

and start messing around with my friends.

I was quite a good boy, quite cheeky,

didn't really get up to much trouble.

But then sometimes what the teachers think is the good guy...

Pulls a couple of tricks out of the bag.

Oh, you sneaky guy!

So that's how our celebs looked when they were 12,

but what did they get up to?

I remember starting secondary school,

and it was so daunting, because it was massive.

We had 1,600 pupils at our school. I just felt completely overwhelmed.

All my reports said, "Debra could have done better."

I used to get lost all the time and have to, like,

pull on a big kid's jumper, "Can you tell me where the office is?"

And they'd lead me to the field.

I'd be standing in the field, like, "I don't think this is the office."

Conor wasn't the only one of our celebs

spending a lot of time outdoors at school.

On the sports field was where I came alive, really.

But then again, everything that I did in sport

was generally for the chubby guy, the guy who filled the most space.

Everything that would stop a ball, basically.

He might have been a big bloke on the sports field,

but Ore also had a more unusual interest at 12.

I did ballet.

Which, being a hockey player,

was a really good way to improve my footwork.

Friends didn't quite see it that way,

and I did get slated a few times for that.

In 2004, future pop star, Conor,

was having a few problems with his stage presence.

I used to have to stand in front of the class and give presentations,

and I started to develop a thing where I used to stand there and sway.

So I could never stand still.

I'd be like, "Yeah, so anyway..."

So that was kind of embarrassing.

That's not embarrassing, Conor. Just ask Ore.

It WAS a boys' school.

But then girls were introduced.

I didn't really know what a girl was.

It must have been really daunting for them,

especially people like me coming up to them and going,

"Hello!

"You're a girl!"

In Hull, Debra was finding it hard to convince her teachers

that her future lay in showbiz.

Academically, I wasn't a good student,

but I had outside interests that were nothing to do with school.

My ambition was to be an impressionist.

And I was really pretty focused.

If you ever had chats about careers with teachers etc,

they sort of pooh-pooh your ideas and brush them aside,

and say, "Yes, yes, but we need to be realistic."

Debra's not the only kid in the past

to have been misunderstood by a careers advisor.

It's now less than a year before you're going to be leaving school,

so you've got to begin to think now what you'd like to do for a career.

Back in the 1980s, career advice was a bit different to how it is today.

In some schools, girls were often pushed

towards becoming hairdressers or nurses,

and for boys, well, there was always the Merchant Navy.

You could liken it to being in a mobile floating jail.

But it is relatively well paid.

Has that attracted anybody into the Merchant Navy?

A mobile floating jail?!

Yeah, sounds great, mate!

No need for career advice for Ore back in 1998, however.

He already had his own, erm...

..business?!

When I was 12, I was making bookmarks for people,

and drawing my own images of, like, Andy Cole,

who at the time played for Newcastle,

and try and sell them on for people as bookmarks.

Needless to say, not many of them sold.

Yeah, Ore, I, er...wonder why?

So now we know what our celebs were getting up to at 12,

but what were they listening to?

Probably my favourite artist when I was 12,

when I was in that transition

between primary school and secondary school

was probably Eminem.

# Hi! My name is

# What? My name is

# Who? My name is... #

We all know Eminem.

He's the American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor

who took the world by storm with this single in 1999.

# My name is Slim Shady... #

By the time Conor was 12, Eminem was one of music's biggest stars.

# ..Slim Shady... #

I was a big fan of him.

Obviously there was Toy Soldiers, which came out around then,

that was probably one of my favourites.

Like Toy Soldiers was based on a sample of a song

originally released in 1989 by a female artist called Martika.

# Bit by bit

# Torn apart...#

Conor was such a big fan of Eminem,

he even shared his love of the rapper with an unlikely friend.

# Guess who's back... #

I got my piano teacher to listen to Eminem.

She was eighty-something.

She'd be sitting in her house listening to Eminem, trying to

figure out the piano parts so she could teach me in my next lesson.

Conor's love of Eminem at 12 was to have a major impact

on the music he is now making himself.

# Girls, girls, girls... #

Eminem was quite influential on me. I'd never listened to rap before.

It brought me into all this rap, and I think now,

the music I'm doing myself kind of has a link towards that.

While Conor was all about keeping it real

with the hip hop, back in 2004,

for Ore, it's a slightly different story.

The one song that sticks in my head at the time

was Baby One More Time by a certain Britney Spears.

# My loneliness is killing me... #

When that hit the charts, it was huge.

# ..I still believe... #

# Still believe! #

Baby One More Time was Britney Spears's debut single.

It became one of the biggest-selling tracks ever,

shifting over nine million copies worldwide,

and making Britney a global icon.

# The reason I breathe is you... #

I remember, cos a lot of my friends said they liked the song

because they thought Britney was hot.

I didn't think she was that hot. I just thought it was a banging track.

Britney also had plenty other banging tracks.

And she cored three more Top Five hits in the next 12 months

for songs, Crazy, Sometimes and Born To Make You Happy.

But it was her debut single that really made a big impression

on a young Ore.

To this day, I have Hit Me Baby One More Time on my mp3 player.

Cue something cheesy from Ian in the voiceover.

Me, cheesy?!

Anyway, Ore, I'm more an Oops I Did It Again kind of girl.

OK, let's move swiftly on and find out what music was big

in Debra's world back in 1984.

One of the biggest hits when I was 12 was 19 by Paul Hardcastle.

# 19. #

19 was an anti-war song about the Vietnam War,

and the effect it had on the young American soldiers who fought in it.

It seemed like an ordinary pop song, but was quite poignant.

When you watch the video, there was a lot of footage of the Vietnam War,

and one of the lines spoken in the song

was that the average age

of a soldier going into the Vietnam War was 19.

Which is sort of shocking, you know, you think when you're 12,

you're not that far off 19.

Performed by composer and huge synthesiser fan, Paul Hardcastle,

19 became a worldwide hit

and stayed at Number One in the UK charts for five weeks.

# ..Whose average age was 19... #

It was a record with social history.

And it was actually really interesting.

Even thought the Vietnam War had ended in 1975,

the way the song reflected on the impact of the conflict

was to prove a bit of an eye-opener to a young Debra.

You're starting to kind of become aware, I think, at 12,

of the news stories and what's going on.

I remember feeling that that was really daunting.

Still to come, we catch up with the Scissor Sisters...

I wanted to carry a briefcase to school instead of a backpack.

-SHE LAUGHS

-That's amazing!

..Ore stays up late...

I'd be keeping my eyes open to make sure I could make it

from the start to the finish.

..and Conor reveals the must-watch TV programme from 2004.

If you missed it, you were out of the loop for a week.

You had to wait till next week to have friends again.

But first, let's find out the big news stories

for our celebs when they were 12.

England are preparing for the biggest match of their careers,

tonight's eagerly awaited clash with Argentina.

The big news story for me when I was 12

was all about World Cup 1998 in France.

Yes, back in 1998, England had made it through

to the knockout stages of the World Cup,

and were due to face a tough test against Argentina.

This was a huge game.

But England still had David Beckham. He was my absolute hero.

Ore's hero was to play a huge part in the game,

but it wasn't exactly what anyone had been hoping for.

David Beckham got a red card.

For the most stupid of kicks.

And after that, England's dream sort of went up in tatters.

The crucial moment came just after half time

when David Beckham was sent off for retaliating after being fouled.

England went on to lose the game on penalties.

No change there, then.

And most England fans took their anger out on Beckham.

The midfielder has been branded a "stupid boy"

who let down the rest of the England team.

Everybody hated David Beckham, it was all over the papers,

even in the playgrounds, people would be saying,

"I can't believe he got red-carded."

But Beckham wasn't down for long.

Despite his World Cup misery, he bounced back the very next year

with an amazing trophy-winning feat for his club.

He went on to have another great season for Man United,

and then they went on to win the treble.

And after a glittering career,

David Beckham is now known as one of the world's biggest sporting icons.

I think he very much had the last laugh.

In 2004, Christmas time for Conor was interrupted by the news

of a terrible natural disaster far from home.

More than 8,500 people have been killed in southern Asia

after an undersea earthquake

sent enormous waves rolling across the Indian Ocean.

The big news story when I was 12

was the tsunami hitting Thailand on Boxing Day.

A tsunami is a giant wave,

and this one caused devastation everywhere it hit.

-TRANSLATION:

-After the earthquake, we were sitting at home,

and suddenly a big wave came.

It was so big that people near the sea had no chance of survival.

I saw kind of pictures, and I saw different videos of it.

It was kind of one of the most crazy things I'd ever seen.

I'd never obviously seen...

I didn't know waves could be that towering and big.

It makes you more aware of that kind of thing,

and you see the damage it caused.

That'll probably never leave my head.

Over 200,000 lives were eventually lost,

and thousands of homes were destroyed by the tsunami.

Here in the UK, people were quick to do whatever they could to help.

I remember my school ran a little fundraising thing for them.

We did a whole bunch of things to, kind of, raise money.

Conor's school wasn't the only one to raise money for tsunami victims.

The Disasters Emergency Committee, co-ordinating the fundraising,

says that at one point it was receiving donations

at a rate of £15,000 a minute.

Nearly £400 million was donated throughout the country

to help those affected rebuild their lives.

A tsunami early warning system has also been developed,

which should help the area be better prepared

if it were to ever happen again.

20 years earlier, and Debra was also exposed to a natural disaster

with an awful human cost.

The news story of that time that stands out the most to me,

and that I think was most important to my age group at the time

was the Michael Buerk coverage of the famine in Ethiopia.

It'll be nearly a year

before Ethiopians can expect proper rains again.

By that time, thousands of people, perhaps even millions of people,

may have died.

The widespread famine in the African country of Ethiopia

lasted from 1983 to 1985.

It was caused by a long-lasting drought

which meant it was almost impossible to grow any food.

As a result, around one million people lost their lives.

It was absolutely shocking, the pictures were horrendous.

And I will never forget them.

Michael Buerk's report was so powerful

that people who watched it in the UK were shocked

at the suffering they saw, and were determined to do something to help.

It was something we talked about a lot at school, in assemblies,

and everyone wanted to do something about it.

And of course, Bob Geldof did.

When Bob Geldof saw the TV pictures from Ethiopia,

he decided he had to do something.

And his rock music friends felt the same.

Bob Geldof was the lead singer of a band called the Boomtown Rats.

He came up with the idea

of gathering the biggest pop stars of the Eighties

to record a charity single for the Ethiopian famine.

One thing is sure, all the money will go on aid,

and all the aid will go to dying people.

# Feed the world... #

They called themselves Band Aid,

and their song, Do They Know It's Christmas,

became the Christmas Number One that year.

# Let them know it's Christmas time... #

The song raised over £8 million for Ethiopia.

Band Aid has become another inspiration

for charity efforts like Comic Relief,

which still raises money to help improve life for people in Africa.

# Let them know it's Christmas time... #

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

What would our celebs do if they were 12 again?

I would say do everything you can while you can.

This is the last bit of your childhood, really.

And you've just got to make the most of it.

I remember when I was 12, all the girls and all the guys,

when we were younger, everyone wanted to be older.

Everyone was like, "I wish I was older." Don't!

Before that, it's time to take two minutes with the Scissor Sisters.

# Baby come home to me

# Baby come home to me

# Its a half past quarter to three

# Baby come home to me... #

They formed in New York in the year 2000,

and are now one of the world's most successful bands.

But what were Jake Shears and Ana Matronic like when they were 12?

# I got no doubt that you'll be just fine... #

When I was 12, I was really, um...

..chatty, super-talkative,

I had a very, very weird, dark sense of humour,

kind of a weird kid.

I wasn't too dissimilar from what I am now,

just a big, loudmouth, know-it-all weirdo.

# Wake up in the morning... #

Loudmouth, know-it-all weirdo, fair enough.

But the question is this - were you both such snappy dressers back then?

I really wanted to wear suits, so I was in kind of, pinkish,

I liked pink button-up shirts, I had pink glasses...

Um... You know, comb-over hair.

I wanted to carry a briefcase to school instead of a backpack.

-SHE LAUGHS

-That's amazing!

I liked wearing lots of black.

And very clearly remember lots of band t-shirts.

# But I don't feel like dancin' when the old joanna plays

# My heart could take a chance... #

Since starting the band, they've scored two Number One albums.

But what did they listen to themselves when they were kids?

I remember aged 12, I was super into the Beastie Boys.

# You gotta fight

# For your right

# To party... #

Love the Beastie Boys.

I mean, I've been listening to that stuff since then.

And what was on Jake's stereo back then?

I was just listening to David Bowie.

# Let's dance

# Put on your red shoes and dance the blues. #

I liked things that were like a little bit out of my...

a LOT out of my grasp, that I didn't necessarily understand yet

and when I think about records

like Let's Dance, I just think about that time.

Apart from the Beasties and Bowie,

what else do The Scissor Sisters remember about being 12?

The best thing about being 12 is just feeding your curiosity.

It's a time when your boundaries are expanding, aren't they?

So it's a really exciting time. I guess

I'd say to all those 12-year-olds out there,

-just get into what you're into.

-Mmm.

And don't worry about what anybody else thinks about it.

Sage advice, Ana. Right, back to business.

Let's find out what Conor, Debra and Ore were watching

when they were kids.

# You're the only one... #

When I was 12, the massive TV show

that started in that year was X Factor.

-# So take a look at me now. #

-That's right.

It may be the biggest show on TV now but back when Conor was 12,

the X Factor was brand new.

I remember the winner, Steve Brookstein. I think I was actually

rooting for him, I did want him to win

so I was happy to see that happen.

-Steve!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

It was the first one, so everyone was talking about it.

It was a big talking point at school

so if you missed it, you were out of the loop for a whole week.

You had to wait till the next week to have friends again!

It may have been the first ever X Factor

but it certainly wasn't the first ever big singing competition on TV.

Before the X Factor, there was a show called Pop Idol

which gave us Will Young, Gareth Gates

and even our very own Sam and Mark.

Oh, look at them there. Gorgeous!

And let's not forget Popstars: The Rivals from back in 2002.

If it wasn't for that show,

we wouldn't have the lovely Girls Aloud or even One True Voice.

The less said about that the better, really. Oh.

# As far as the eye can see

# I'm faithful and true... #

-OK, enough of that.

-TUNE STOPS ABRUPTLY

Let's find out what Debra was watching back in 1984.

Saturday Superstore was the big thing.

# Saturday morning Get down to the superstore

# Superstore. #

Saturday Superstore was must-see TV for kids in the mid-'80s.

It was hosted by Radio One DJ Mike Read...

-..and Blue Peter presenter, Sarah Greene.

-Now it's time for Pop Panel.

There were so many different aspects of the show.

You had phone-ins and competitions, you had bands on,

people being interviewed. It was really exciting.

Time for me to open the Saturday Superstore.

Every Saturday, loads of celebs and popstars

would drop in on the superstore.

Janet Jackson's with us this morning. Rolf Harris.

A big welcome to Roald Dahl.

And one week they even managed to get Prime Minister of the time,

Margaret Thatcher, to come in and answer some pretty tricky questions.

-In the event of a nuclear war, where will you be?

-My goodness me!

But for 12-year-old Debra,

it was a regular feature starring other kids

that really made an impression.

One of the things that I remember on there

was Saturday Superstore Superstar competition

which was a talent competition.

I remember thinking, "Oh, I would love to go on there."

# Baby, baby, I'm a crazy girl

# Crazy lady in a crazy world. #

Now, THAT's a pop song! But it was seeing kids appear

on Saturday Superstore that was an inspiration for Debra.

And it wasn't long before she was on TV herself performing

an impression of Margaret Thatcher on a talent show.

-Do you think you'll go on in showbusiness?

-Oh...

-IMITATES MARGARET THATCHER:

-Quite right, Mr Monkhouse.

I intend to go on, and on and on.

APPLAUSE

When Ore was a young lad,

it was a much-loved TV institution which kept him up past his bedtime.

I loved watching football on telly and what you always had to watch

at the end of a week late on a Saturday was Match Of The Day.

MUSIC: Match Of The Day Theme Tune

Match Of The Day has been on TV now for almost 50 years.

Back in 1998, just as it is today,

it was THE programme to keep up with all the action in the Premiership.

All of my friends were watching it, even though it was on at about 10:30

so I'd be staying up, keeping my eyes open

to make sure that I could make it

from the start to the finish of Match Of The Day.

Before Gary Lineker,

it was presented by Des Lynam who was an absolute legend.

The most vital eight days of the Premiership season remain.

He was such a nice guy and he was obviously so knowledgeable.

Zola, not the player he was last season.

When you're thinking about Des Lynam, Gary Lineker,

Mark Lawrenson, Alan Hansen,

they were all like these gods of the football world.

I remember watching it then thinking I wish I could one day meet them.

Luckily for Ore, that dream came true.

Hello, and welcome to Match Of The Day Kickabout.

As presenter of Match Of The Day Kickabout,

he regularly gets to hang out with Gary Lineker.

Come on! Sorry, got a little bit overexcited there.

I still feel like a 12-year-old child going up to Gary Lineker

and going...

-PANTS

-"Hi, Gary! My name is Ore. Agh!"

It was a bit like that the very first time I met him

because he is, let's face it, a bit of a ledge.

It might all be hanging out with football legends,

storming the charts or making us laugh these days

but what do our celebs best remember about being 12?

The best thing about being 12 -

you don't really have too many things to kind of worry about.

You don't have exams and stuff, they come later and you're getting

prepared for that at that point and you're just chilling.

You know, making new friends.

From nine in the morning to five o'clock at night,

everything was with your mates.

We had such a good laugh, we really had such a good laugh.

The best thing about being 12 is the fact that you are still a kid

and yet you're forming some kind of opinions

and feeling a bit grown-up

and you can enjoy feeling a bit grown-up.

I remember when I was 12 and all the guys and girls,

when we were younger, everybody wanted to be older.

Everyone... "I wish I was older." Don't! Don't wish you were older!

It's so cool being that young

and having that kind of freedom to the still be able to mess around.

If I was 12 again, I would say stop worrying about everything

and try to enjoy it.

This is the last bit of your childhood, really.

And you've just got to make the most of it.

Being yourself is a massive part of that age.

A saying that I have is it's better to fail in originality

than it is to succeed in imitation.

I would say, don't worry about girls.

There's no need to worry because, in time,

you'll get to know all about them

so I think I'd tell myself, just chill out.

Don't be weird with girls.

So what have we learned then?

A career in the Merchant Navy isn't for the fainthearted.

You could liken it to being in a mobile floating jail.

Being an England fan was just as disappointing then as it is now.

Come on!

And if you're Prime Minister,

you might want to avoid answering questions on kids' TV.

-In the event of a nuclear war, where will you be?

-Oh, my goodness me!

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