Episode 8 12 Again

Coming up, our celebs become 12 Again.

I was laughing so hard I sneezed,

and this really large bogey came out of my nose.

Because I kind of liked grungy music,

people were a bit surprised, because I didn't dress like that at all.

Some of the things I heard at 12 were,

"Close those cab doors."

And we catch up with Charlie from Lonsdale Boys Club to find

out what he was like at 12.

I'd go over to the girls and be like, "Boys, this is how we do it."

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 go back in time with your favourite celebs,

as they become 12 Again.

MUSIC: "Fires" by Ronan Keating

As both solo artist and member of legendary man band Boyzone,

he's been a bedroom pin-up for almost 20 years.

But back in 1989, Ronan Keating was only just getting in the zone

when it came to girls.

I was a bit of a shy kid, wouldn't really talk to girls very much...

That changed as I got older.

She's the Countdown presenter who loves nothing more than

a good conundrum.

And the target, 441.

But back in 1998, it wasn't just words

and numbers that kept Rachel Riley busy.

My favourite subjects at school were art and PE.

I was quite artistic, and I loved running around.

I was good at maths, and I was the only person in the school that

won a prize for mathematics, so... I was very proud.

MUSIC: "Modern Day Delilah" by Kiss

With nearly 40 years' experience to their name,

Kiss are giants of rock and roll.

Best known for hits like "Crazy Crazy Nights".

MUSIC: "Crazy Crazy Nights" by Kiss

"God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You".

MUSIC: God Gave Rock 'N' Roll to You II" by Kiss

And their legendary stage make-up.

They are one of the loudest bands in the business.

And back in the early 1960s, Paul Stanley

and Gene Simmons had already begun to make themselves heard.

When I was 12 years old, I was trying to find myself -

that's when my journey began.

I remember being very arrogant, and delusional,

and full of myself.

And, kids, nothing's changed.

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

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

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

When I was 12, I had a really bad haircut.

I cut my hair really short and absolutely hated it and,

looking back at the photos, I can kind of see why.

My mum was a hairdresser, so I was quite aware of my hair.

I had the kind of blond quiff.

My nickname was Tintin when I was a kid.

I was very funny looking. I had much shorter hair,

and my ears were sticking out like so.

In fact, some of the things I heard at 12 were, "Close those cab doors."

I was short, a little chunky, I had a big rear end on me,

and...not the best-looking guy by far.

I felt really awkward and I was really moody.

I hated my dad's camera, so every photo and video,

I'm just looking really annoyed that he was taking it in the first place.

The American school that I went to was populated by 7,000 other kids,

so obviously the older kids were bigger,

sort of more experienced, and sometimes you got picked on.

You just have to survive and just keep moving on.

I was a talker in school, so I used to get caught,

and my voice broke really early.

The other kids would be talking like this

and I was talking like that, so the teacher knew straightaway.

It was like, "Keating!" I always got caught.

Serves you right, Ronan.

So, that's what our celebs were like, but what did they get up to?

Cos I was quite a good hurdler...

my PE teacher made me show the rest of the girls how to hurdle,

and I went over the hurdle and, in the hurdling position,

just stacked it, took the hurdle out, landed in the hurdle position

and slid all the way to the next hurdle -

with all my class watching. I used to fall over constantly when I was 12.

Over in New York where Kiss grew up,

the kids enjoyed their own unique way of passing the time.

In New York City, the school that I went to was right next door to

the apartment building I was in.

You'd play in the school yard, you'd ride your bike.

We played stickball,

which is kind of baseball for people who don't have an area to play.

You just have a stick, sometimes a broomstick, actually, and a ball,

and you hit the ball and you run around the bases,

which are in the street.

New York in the '60s was quite different to the glamorous

city we think of today.

Many people were without jobs and crime was a big problem,

but Paul remembers his childhood there very fondly.

There's a whole set of myths as to New York being dangerous.

Certainly, at that point, I didn't find it to be so,

but life is what you make it.

New York was also to play an unexpected

part in the life of 12-year-old Ronan, when his four older

brothers and sisters emigrated there in the late 1980s.

There was no employment in Ireland at the time for my brothers

and sisters, for people their age,

so there was this huge movement to New York for the Irish.

A severe recession in Ireland in the 1980s meant that there was

not many jobs for people living there.

I'd prefer not to leave, but when there are no jobs,

you can't do an awful lot. It seems the easiest way out.

Lots of Irish people left their country

and went to America in search of work.

It wasn't a new thing for Irish people to seek fresh

opportunities in America, though.

In fact, such large numbers have emigrated since the mid 17th century

that today, over 10% of the US population has Irish ancestry.

For Ronan, though, the departure of his brothers

and sisters would have a massive impact on his life at home.

From being in a crazy, energetic household to, all of a sudden,

Christmas dinner, sitting at the table,

and you're the only kid - it's pretty tough. It's pretty tough.

But it isn't just those from Ireland that the United States has

opened its doors to in the past.

Gene's family moved there in the 1950s from Israel.

We were immigrants, came to America when I was eight years of age,

and were lucky to have a country that welcomed us with open arms

and gave us every opportunity that native-born sons had,

and for that I'll always be eternally grateful to the country.

Back when Ronan was 12,

he would have been eternally grateful for a tissue.

I remember one time, embarrassing, I remember I was laughing so hard

I sneezed, and this really large bogey came out of my nose, and it

was about this long, and I grabbed it and pulled it out of my nose.

And it was the most awful thing ever,

because at that age you start to understand things a little more.

You start to discover girls, maybe,

and something like that happens - it's not cool.

Yeah. Most definitely not cool, Mr Keating.

So now we know what our celebs were up to when they were 12,

but what were they listening to?

I remember there was this one Green Day song called

"Good Riddance", which everyone knows as "Time Of Your Life".

MUSIC: "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" by Green Day

It was just a lovely song and it was acoustic,

and it was the main guy just playing guitar in a room, looking sad, and

even people who don't like Green Day, I think most people like that song.

Rachel's favourite song was very different to the music that

made Green Day famous.

MUSIC: "Basket Case" by Green Day

Back in the early '90s they were just as big as they are today,

and were the most popular band of a new wave of American punk

rock that included bands like The Offspring...

MUSIC: "Come Out And Play" by The Offspring

..Rancid...

MUSIC: "Time Bomb" by Rancid

..and NOFX.

MUSIC: "Leave It Alone" by NOFX

It was the musical movement that provided one of the soundtracks

and looks to the '90s, but while Rachel was a fan of the bands,

she wasn't going to take on the clothes.

Because I kind of liked grungy music,

people were a bit surprised, because I didn't dress like that at all.

I used to get these awful jeans and jumpers

and think they were the best thing ever,

so I was very high street in the way I dressed,

but I just liked the music.

Despite growing up in America, for Gene and Paul, it would be the

most famous British band ever that would shape their musical tastes.

The band that changed everything for me were The Beatles.

MUSIC: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles

The Beatles were this magical group of four guys,

who looked like they came from the same family.

They dressed the same.

They had this hairstyle that nobody had seen before that,

and they led a generation. They were much more than music.

In the early 1960s, The Beatles led the charge of bands that

featured in what became known in America as "The British Invasion".

MUSIC: "The Last Time" by The Rolling Stones

Along with The Beatles,

other British bands that enjoyed major success in the US

included The Rolling Stones,

The Kinks

and The Who.

MUSIC: "Please Please Me" by The Beatles

England for us was, in a sense, the holy land.

It was where all the great music

and all the great bands that we looked up to came from.

This era of British music had a massive impact on America in the

decade that followed, and inspired many bands, including Kiss, to form.

The Beatles was the spark that led to the fire that became who

we are as performers.

We took what The Beatles and all the other British bands did,

took bits and pieces, and made it our own.

For Ronan, the late '80s were a time for picking up some early

pointers from one of the decade's biggest boy bands.

"When Will I Be Famous" was the big Bros single at the time.

MUSIC: "When Will I Be Famous" by Bros

Bros were made up of twin brothers Matt and Luke Goss.

There was also the other one. I think his name's Craig.

No-one noticed him.

Bros was short for "brothers" because Matt and Luke were, eh,

you know, brothers.

And it also rhymed with Goss, which is their surname.

Yeah, it's brilliant, isn't it?

They were the biggest pop band in the world.

They were huge everywhere.

MUSIC: "I Owe You Nothing" by Bros

Ronan Keating is bang on the money.

In the late 1980s, Bros were massive.

Between 1987 and 1989, the band had six top five hits and were

so popular that Britain was caught in the grip of full-on Bros mania.

They had a very definitive look and style.

The bomb jackets and the ripped jeans and the hair.

I liked it, it was cool. It was pop culture, it was cool. It was fun.

It's like One Direction today.

There was also another song that Ronan discovered

when he was 12 that would play a big part in his life for years to come.

MUSIC: "Father And Son" by Cat Stevens

"Father and Son" has been with me my whole life -

I clearly remember it at 12.

My brother had it on cassette. We used to play it in the car.

"Father and Son" is a song by singer-songwriter Yusuf Islam,

better known back then as Cat Stevens.

It was originally released in 1970.

MUSIC: "Father and Son" by Boyzone

When Ronan heard it nearly 20 years later,

it soon became a song that would be very important to him.

I'd sang it at the Boyzone audition, then Boyzone covered it.

Then I did a version of it with Cat Stevens.

That really is my song now. It tells so many tales for me.

It's a very important song.

Still to come, we catch up with Charlie from Lonsdale Boys Club.

We'd spend so long getting ready for the discos,

it was quite embarrassing - probably longer than the girls, to be honest.

Rachel gets competitive.

I used to watch it with my little brother.

We used to play against each other.

He now tells his friends that he used to win - but he lies.

And Ronan remembers a TV presenter that could make anything happen.

I actually still use that phrase today.

When we have a big job to do

and we've only got a certain time to do it, you use that phrase,

"This is a Challenge Anneka moment."

But first, the big news stories from when our celebs were 12.

Good evening. The euro came into force at midnight,

not yet as notes and coins in people's pockets, but as the

official single currency that now binds 11 European states together.

When I was 12, it was announced that a lot of countries were going

to get rid of their currencies, so things like the French franc

and the German Deutschmark and the Italian lira were all going,

and they were going to bring in this once currency called the euro.

The euro was introduced on the First of January 1999.

It was the first step towards having just one currency in Europe -

an idea that had first been suggested as far back as the 1920s.

Euro will be a success, a success in terms of growth,

in terms of competitiveness...

People wouldn't start using the new coins

and notes for another three years, but when it finally did hit

the streets, there was a, shall we say, mixed reaction?

I believe, really, that it's actually a good thing for Europe, yes.

I don't like. Nothing. Not at all.

There was quite a lot of debate as to whether

we should go into it as well,

Britain get rid of the pound and adopt the euro.

Although Britain decided not to ditch the pound,

23 European territories now use the euro,

and there are over 900 billion in circulation.

In 1963, a young Kiss were about to witness one of the most

shocking moments of the 20th century.

I remember being in school and, all of a sudden,

there was an announcement made over the PA system

that we were all to go home.

John F Kennedy had been assassinated.

And now, this special programme.

Tonight, less than five hours ago, President Kennedy was

shot down in a Texas street and died almost immediately.

On the 22nd of November 1963, in Dallas, Texas,

the President of the United States of America, John F Kennedy,

was shot and killed,

as he travelled through the city in an open-topped car.

This is a sad time for all people.

We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed.

Kennedy was a young president,

with new ideas on how to unite a country where, in some places,

people were still segregated by the colour of their skin.

When I ran for the Presidency of the United States, I knew this

country faced serious challenges.

When the President was assassinated, his death shocked

and saddened America.

All these amazing things were happening, the civil rights movement,

everybody wanting to be treated equally, with respect and, all

of a sudden, darkness fell over all of this positive,

free flowing of ideas.

And it was a moment of chaos, when we didn't know what to do.

The man charged with the murder was former US Marine Lee Harvey Oswald.

Within days, they were bringing the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald,

out of jail to take him for processing and, live

on television, somebody jumps out of the crowd

and shoots him and kills him.

A day after Oswald's death,

crowds gathered in Washington for the President's funeral.

The crowds that came to mourn the young president are worried

and uncertain of the future. A young man told me that he

thought something bad would come of all this.

The events surrounding the death of John F Kennedy

were to have a long-lasting impact on kids growing

up in America at the time.

It was a shock to a lot of young people,

who were looking up at the world as a very positive place.

And to all of a sudden understand that, like anything,

there's good and there's bad,

but that, ultimately, you'll survive, you'll prevail,

you'll get over the darkness and then there will be light.

In 1989, it was an incredible lone protest in the Chinese

capital of Beijing, which was then known as Peking,

that left a lasting impression on our young Ronan.

The big news story I remember was Tiananmen Square,

students protesting against the Chinese government.

The headlines this evening,

shots have been fired during violent clashes in Peking.

There are unconfirmed reports of casualties.

On the Fourth of June 1989,

one of the most controversial events in Chinese history happened.

Several hundred civilians were shot dead by the army

during a demonstration in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

As you've probably heard, government soldiers fired on students in the

main square, and some reports say that more than 2,000 people died.

Protesters had occupied the square for seven weeks.

They were demanding that the government give Chinese people

free speech and the right to elect their own leaders.

In the teeth of world condemnation,

the Chinese Army has continued its campaign to pacify the capital.

The morning after the massacre, army tanks roamed

the streets in an attempt to regain control of the city.

What happened next was an act of defiance that became

one of the defining images of the 20th century.

Just after midday, the tanks rolled out of the square.

A lone young man stood in front of the first one.

Immediately you go to that image of that man

standing in front of the tank.

It was quite a big deal - it was a massive deal.

That image was frightening and I think it's...

Once it's in there, it's in there for life.

Even today, the ruling Communist Party of China won't allow

discussion of the protests by its people,

and websites with information about the events are blocked.

But throughout the rest of the world, the picture

of the anonymous protester remains instantly recognisable.

I mean, it still, today, is an iconic image. That was horrific -

but incredibly brave and honourable.

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

what would our celebs do if they were 12 again?

I'd tell myself not to worry about bad skin or greasy hair,

and it won't last for ever.

Don't look over your shoulder to figure out if it's OK to be you.

Just be yourself, let everybody else copy you.

Hold on to those years and slow down - they go by so fast.

But before that,

it's time to take two minutes with Charlie from Lonsdale Boys Club.

MUSIC: "Light Me Up" by Lonsdale Boys Club

He's one third of a band who were formed in London in 2010

and are now signed to Gary Barlow's record label.

But what was Charlie from Lonsdale Boys Club like when he was 12?

I was quite an easy-going 12-year-old.

I was having a lot of fun,

just sort of discovering everything, really, girls and the rest of it.

Right, it was all about girls, then. Tell us more, Charlie.

I remember there was lots of parties.

We'd spend so long getting ready for the discos, it's quite embarrassing,

covering ourselves in sprays and hair gel and taking hours

over our clothes - probably longer than the girls, to be honest.

It was all building up to that moment where you could have your slow dance.

-Slow dances, eh?

-HE WOLF-WHISTLES

And when you weren't slow dancing,

what sort of music were you listening to back then?

When I was 12, I came to London for my first gig,

which was a Linkin Park concert.

MUSIC: "In The End" by Linkin Park

My dad took me and some friends and he didn't even come in,

he just sort of let us go and experience it by ourselves.

We found some people in the crowd who lifted us up,

so we were kind of crowd surfing and enjoying the time so...that was cool.

Girls, bands and crowd surfing?

Sounds like it was good back then, but is there anything you'd

do differently, Charlie from Lonsdale Boys Club?

If I could go back to when I was 12 for one day,

I would go to one of the school discos or parties

that I used to go to.

Instead of standing at the back, I'd go over to the girls

and be like, "Boys, this is how we do it."

And just show them what's going on.

Smooth. Bit weird, still smooth, though.

OK. Back to business.

Let's find out what Rachel, Ronan and Kiss were watching

when they were 12.

When I was 12, I used to get home from school,

and then at 4:30 it was Countdown.

We all know Countdown - it's a game show where contestants

have to solve word and number puzzles.

Hi. Welcome.

Now, Carol, we won't bother with our usual highly charged badinage.

OK. See you.

A consonant, please, Carol.

The show was the first ever programme to be

shown on Channel 4, back in 1982.

Bong.

And all those years later, it's still with us.

OK. What's yours, Chris?

-ROUND.

-Daniel?

-And MOUND.

-ROUND and MOUND.

Back when Rachel was tuning in at 12,

the presenters were Richard Whiteley and maths genius Carol Vorderman.

One, two, one, two, please, Carol.

I used to watch it with my little brother, and we were both quite good

at maths and anagrams, so we could play against each other.

10 - 8

10 - 8 = 2

2 x 75

2 x 75 = 150

150 + 7

150 + 7 = 157

We used to love it, especially the numbers round.

We were just waiting for the numbers round,

and we used to play against each other and it was quite competitive.

But...I normally used to win,

but he now tells his friends that he used to win - but he lies.

When Rachel was watching and playing along to Countdown

when she was 12, little did she know that, over ten years later,

she would be stepping into Carol Vorderman's very clever shoes.

Rachel, you can take us all the way.

10 + 7 = 17

In 2009, she landed her dream job

when she took over the show's letter and number duties.

Very good. Well done.

Over the US, early '60s TV for Kiss was all about the chance to

check out the latest bands.

We had a show called Hullabaloo, we had a show called Shindig,

we also had Ed Sullivan -

these shows reflected the music scene,

and every week you could turn it on and perhaps see four

or five of the current bands - many of them coming from England.

During the 1960s, The Ed Sullivan Show was America's biggest

entertainment programme, often getting huge audiences.

When The Beatles appeared in February 1964,

over 70 million people were watching -

that's more than the entire population of the UK.

That's where The Beatles made their debut,

and The Stones and every other band,

so there was a lot of music that was suddenly coming onto television.

It found its way into our living rooms

and changed a generation for ever.

In 1989, it was an exciting family show with an all-action

presenter that was essential viewing when Ronan was a kid.

I remember Challenge Anneka, it was great.

Anneka Rice was a big star back then.

The challenge. "By sunset tonight groom my horse

"and then take a dazzling torchlit photograph."

The Anneka that was being challenged was dads' favourite Anneka Rice.

Does anyone know anything about gardening?

In each episode, the jumpsuit-loving presenter was given a tricky

task to pull off against the clock.

From building football pitches to getting books printed.

Well done, everyone.

With the time ticking away,

Anneka had to persuade people to give

whatever help they could for free.

Hello, is Alan Titchmarsh there?

-Yeah.

-Alan, it's Anneka Rice, here.

She'd scrounge around, get as much people to help as possible, get

as much free stuff as she could, and turn somebody's house into a palace.

It was amazing. It was a great show.

"By two o'clock tomorrow afternoon, organise a children's party." Help.

When she wasn't running around aimlessly,

Anneka pulled off some fantastic feel-good moments

as part of the show.

She even built a kids' playground in just one day!

I actually still use that phrase today.

When we have a big job to do somewhere and we've only got

a certain amount of time to do it, you use that phrase,

"This is a Challenge Anneka moment."

So those were the TV memories of our four celebs.

But what do they most remember about being kids?

12 was a magical time when you can really start

to think about who it is you are

and what it is you're going to do in life.

The best thing about being 12 is that you don't really have

any responsibilities. It was fun. There were no stresses.

You can aspire to things. You can dream,

and those dreams can become the blueprints for your reality.

Life is simple - it's simple and it's brilliant.

Summers are long, the weekends are great and it's a good age.

You haven't worked out how to do your make-up properly,

you haven't worked out what clothes look good,

so you feel a bit awkward.

Every little mistake, every trip on the sidewalk,

you think is witnessed and judged by the world.

The truth is, it doesn't matter.

Tomorrow the sun comes up, everything moves on.

If I were 12 again, I'd tell myself not to worry about bad

skin or greasy hair, and it won't last for ever.

If I could give myself advice, I'd say, "Slow down.

"Hold on to those years and slow down. They go by so fast."

Don't look over your shoulder to figure out if it's OK to be you,

just be yourself, let everybody else copy you.

Be a leader, not a follower.

12 was a good age. I wouldn't mind being 12 again for a while.

So, what have we learned, then?

Back in the early '90s,

you needed very large pockets to keep your phone in.

Hello, is Alan, Alan Titchmarsh there?

10 - 8 = 2

Maths can be entertaining... Sort of.

And someone needs to tell Gene Simmons it's rude to

stick your tongue out.

I won't do it, though. He's quite scary looking.