Talent Show Stars 12 Again

Coming up, some of Britain's biggest talent show stars become 12 again.

How do they get changed so quickly?

Hair done, nails done, everything done.

Yeah! This is my dish! I made this!

I so desperately wanted to be on it, though.

I so wanted to be on it.

-We got no points that year.

-Nil points.

# Cos it's late and your mama don't know. #

What to know more? Well...

Have you ever wondered what life was like

for some of 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.

These stars went head to head

in one the most dramatic talent show finales ever!

But what did Ashleigh and Pudsey

and the guys from The Mend like doing when they were 12?

I had dog posters and dog pillows and dog bags.

I used to run round the house, doing backflips and somersaults

and think I was Spiderman.

And I still do it, but only at weekends.

He's one of the judges

on one of CBBC's most prestigious talent shows.

You've got me hooked. You're like a little Buzz Lightyear!

But back in 1995, what was dancing star Turbo like?

Was a good kid or was I naughty? I was a bit of both.

These guys sang their way to stardom

on one of the biggest talent shows on TV.

# Ain't no other man on the planet does what you're doing... #

# Even if you're perfect... #

# Now all my queens, if you're with me, put your right hand up... #

But back when they were 12,

Misha B, Union J and Amelia Lily weren't always little stars.

I was quite mischievous.

I loved doing what I wanted to do.

This boost of energy just came out of me

and I just knew that I wanted to be on a stage all the time.

My hobbies - I guess I loved eating. That was a hobby.

They're all living in the limelight today,

but it wasn't always that way,

so let's rewind and find out what they were like when they were 12.

When I was 12, I was very bubbly. They used to call me Motormouth.

Motormouth Misha, because I talked so much.

I was quite outgoing. I was really talkative as well.

I'd literally talk to anyone about anything.

I think I got on people's nerves sometimes, I talked so much.

I can remember being really shy,

but all of a sudden I'd get hyper spells where I'd just go crazy

and jump around and get told off.

-Not much has changed, then!

-No.

My personality was a little bit cheeky.

I liked to laugh, so I always used to crack the jokes.

I was kind of like a quiet kid, but I always loved to have fun

and wanted to go out and enjoy myself.

Ah, happy days. And when they were 12, were they fashionistas,

or more fashion faux-pas?

I discovered gel for the first time when I was 12.

Do you remember gelling your hair for the first time?

And there used to be that old Michael Owen quiff, the huge

gelled-up...and then nothing here, so this was like a fluff ball,

and then just a greasy quiff!

I was quite small.

I've grown quite quick in a short space of time.

-I also think I was quite cute.

-You can't say that about yourself!

I can say that, because I'm not cute any more.

You know what I mean, I'm living in the past.

I was a bit of a tomboy.

When it came to my image and stuff,

I used to like wearing baggy clothes, like dungarees. Surprise, surprise!

Bullying was a big thing for me at school.

I was the only kid in the school with dreads.

I was sitting on the bus and somebody actually tied my dreads

to the seat of the bus, where the bell was, and I had no idea.

So I got up to get off at my stop and then got pulled

back down again by my own dreads!

But I went through it. And look at me now.

Fashion for me when I was about 12 was all over the place.

My Nana was a bit of a country music fan,

so she got me into it and I started wearing cowboy boots and cowboy hats,

thinking I was from Tennessee.

But I think it's great, going through all those fashion disasters

or whatever you want to call them, to figure out who you are as a person.

Yee ha! Take that, Amelia,

there's nothing wrong with a bit of individuality.

And what fun stuff did our talent show stars get involved in

when they were kids?

When I was 12, I actually did a swimathon for charity.

I did 3.5 miles, and literally, I did breaststroke

the whole way, and my hands were stuck like that when I came out.

Stuck.

I was 11 when I got Pudsey.

I cried then. I cry a lot. I am an emotional person.

You've got tears in your eyes!

I've trained dogs my whole life,

so we started training straightaway,

doing the basics first of all, but nothing like he knows now.

You look after him properly.

I always wanted to be a jockey,

so if I wasn't playing with my friends, I was with the ponies.

-Can you please call them horses?

-No, because they were ponies.

-Ponies are smaller ones.

-Oh, I didn't know that.

-I thought pony was a breed of horse.

-No, you get ponies and then horses.

Aren't ponies girl horses?

-No, ponies, they're fillies, that's called a filly.

-A who?

-A filly?

-A filly.

-Yeah, they're young horses.

-No, that's called a foal.

Will everybody stop horsing about?!

I want to know what our celebs' ambitions were when they were kids.

I knew that when I was 12 I wanted

to pursue a career in something to do with music.

I just didn't know how or when.

I started writing poems when I was about nine

and I started taking it seriously when I was about 12.

Then I kind of led onto the rapping and then the music.

I used to try and get in school plays and stuff,

but I used to get the role of the cucumber at the back.

"You can be the cucumber."

"Why? I want to be the lead singer."

But they'd always put me at the back.

I wanted to be a singer and a dancer, so I did drama classes

and was in the choir. I just spent a lot of time

working on this career now.

I think that's what's helped me get to where I am now,

it's working hard from a young age.

I wanted to be a chef in school.

We had food technology,

and I would get excited about food technology,

because I wanted to prove to my teacher that not only

can I do what you can do, but I can do it better.

Everyone else's pasta bake looked the same, but mine was different.

I had breadcrumbs on the top, a bit of parsley in the middle.

People were like, "That looks nice!"

I'm like, "Yeah! This is my dish! I made this!"

I always had one ambition, to be on a stage,

so one day I picked up a guitar and said to my brother,

can you teach me four chords?

And he did and I wrote my first song.

I'm so grateful, and the fact I had this ambition

starting from nine years of age,

as cheesy as it sounds, dreams can come true.

Amelia, you're such an inspiration. I'm off to get dreaming.

But before that, let's find out what chart-topping tracks

our stars were listening to when they were kids.

My favourite tune of all time is Black Eyed Peas, Where Is The Love?

# What's wrong with the world, mama?

# People living like they ain't got no mamas... #

I'd bang that on and it brings me back to chilling with my mates

and listening to the Black Eyed Peas.

Back in 2003, the Black Eyed Peas featured none other than

The Voice's cooler than cool talent judge, Mr will.i.am.

Their smash hit, Where Is The Love,

questions some of the big problems in the world,

like racism, terrorism and greed.

# It only generates hate,

# And when you hate you're bound to get irate. #

The video to that, it has a little question mark,

and I used to stamp it everywhere, like where is the love?

-And I used to write that everywhere.

-He did it with a Biro.

Like that - exclamation mark, question mark,

-exclamation mark, question mark.

-Yeah. It looked awful.

-That is genius.

-# And you turn the other cheek

# Father, father, father, help us Need some guidance from above

# People got me, got me questioning

# Where is the love?

# Where is the love? Where is the love?

# Where is the love? Where is the love, the love, the love? #

A lot of loves.

A lot of love indeed, Jay,

and what was making 12-year-old Amelia Lily feel the love

back in 2007?

One of the big hits for me when I was 12 was Taylor Swift's Our Song.

# I was riding shotgun with my hair undone

# In the front seat of his car... #

That, for me, was the song of the year.

# The other on my heart... #

She kind of reminded me of myself. She had long, blonde hair - I did.

She was in these pretty little dresses

and I always liked to wear pretty dresses.

# And he said...

# Our song is a slam of screen doors

# Sneaking out late tapping on his window

# When we're on the phone and you talk real slow

# Cos it's late and your mama don't know. #

Ooooh. Lovely. Now, although Our Song never charted in the UK,

it was ma-hoo-sive in the US of A

and handed 18-year-old Taylor Swift the record of youngest ever artist

to write and record a number-one hit in the US Country Charts.

I really took an inspiring message from her

and I really felt like I connected with her music, when I was 12.

'She really opened my eyes about how amazing country music is as well'

and I don't think it's appreciated that much in this country.

But in America, obviously, it's a massive deal over there.

But she's brought it over here.

She's done her work, so, go on, Taylor.

# Our song... #

There are songs that I listen to

that a lot of people wouldn't expect me to listen to at the age of 12.

But I did not care.

Right now, you're going to find out secrets.

I loved, and up to now, I still love it,

Lighthouse Family, Ocean Drive.

# Say it's true, pink and blue... #

If you want to know a bit about '90s middle-of-the-road pop

then look no further than The Lighthouse Family.

And Tunde Baiyewu's distinctive vocals

took young Turbo on a laidback ride down Ocean Drive.

'To be honest, when I was young, I didn't know what he was saying.'

HE MIMICS TUNDE'S SINGING

All that. Huh? I don't know. Was he singing, I don't know?

# When the clouds arrive, we'll live on... #

# Ocean Drive... # Like, that bit... happy.

I'm happy that you're happy.

And let's see what tracks were making Ashleigh happy

back when she was 12.

One particular song that I really, really liked when I was 12

was Mika's Grace Kelly.

# I could be brown, I could be blue,

# I could be violet sky, I could be anything,

# I could be anything you like... #

Mika was a professionally-trained opera singer

before he rocketed to fame with four Top Ten hits in 2007.

Everything about him was different. His voice was different.

-He was just really refreshing.

-Kerching!

Well, now we know what Ashleigh liked,

it'd be rude not to ask what music floats Pudsey's boat?

Pudsey absolutely loves upbeat songs.

He loved Gangnam Style.

Hey? Who doesn't?

# Hey, sexy lady... #

He loved that one, because it's so upbeat,

he loves a good dance, a good dance.

# Sexy lady Whup, whup, whup

# Oppa Gangnam Style #

That's one talented pooch!

Still to come... We find out what our talented stars

were watching on telly when they were kids.

Everyone in the sort of dog world watched it.

Kids have got to be as close to their dreams as possible.

All this in here, is just from one baby elephant.

Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be...

Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Michael Jackson.

But first, let's see what big news stories

had an impact on our celebrities, when they were 12.

The London bombings was when I was 12. Do you remember them?

Hi there, there's just one story in the news today.

A series of bomb explosions in central London.

On 7th July 2005, without any warning,

London was brought to a standstill

when four bombers struck during rush hour.

There were four bombs that went off, on three Tubes and one bus.

It was a massive wake-up call for everyone.

Move away from the area, move away from the area, please.

'It was like a Thursday, it happened,

'I remember having to get the Tube and it was all disrupted'

and it really, like, it did affect everyone, didn't it?

The police were now facing the reality.

A co-ordinated, calculated terrorist outrage.

The bombs were planted by terrorists who supported Al Qaeda,

a worldwide extremist group who believe they are fighting a holy war

or jihad against enemies of Islam.

Their aim was to attack and disrupt the London transport system

and affect people's lives so their extremist beliefs would be heard.

World leaders who'd gathered for a summit in Scotland

stood in a sombre line whilst the Prime Minister at the time,

Tony Blair, delivered a defiant speech to the nation.

The terrorists will not succeed.

'Today's bombings will not weaken our resolve'

to uphold the most deeply held principles of our societies.

Sadly, 52 people died in the attacks

and more than 770 people were injured.

Today, 52 steel pillars stand in Hyde Park

as a memorial to those who lost their lives that day.

In 2003, The Mend remember the UK

delivering a rather disastrous performance

at the Eurovision Song Contest.

British entry Jemini had their cheesy pop grins

wiped off their faces as they scored

the dreaded nil points.

-We got no points that year.

-Nil points.

Nil points, as they were saying.

The Eurovision Song Contest has been on the telly every year since 1956.

'Tonight, London and the BBC plays host

'to the representatives of 13 nations

'on the occasion of the Eurovision Song Contest.'

# La, la, la, la, la, la... #

It was created to reunite European countries

after the Second World War

and over the years it's been... er, entertaining?

You are more than welcome to Latvia and the Eurovision Song Contest 2003.

You pick an individual or group to represent your country

and each country votes on points.

-Iceland, 5 points.

-Whoever wins is the greatest.

Eurovision Song Contest champion.

The UK has been one of the most successful

countries in the competition, winning an amazing five times.

But in 2003, over

150 million viewers were subjected to this.

# Love, love is not enough

# I need your trust

# But you don't try any more... #

A horrendously out of tune performance

by Liverpudlians Gemma Abbey and Chris Cromby

which failed to impress any of the European judges.

TERRY WOGAN: I hate to say it but the United Kingdom got zip!

I think they had a not bad song, great clothes and everything

but I think, on the night, the nerves got to those guys

and the singing was really not very good.

Jemini claimed that their poor performance was due to

faulty sound equipment which meant they couldn't monitor

whether they were in tune or not.

And after the worst performance in the UK's Eurovision history,

a surprisingly confident Jemini returned home to face the music.

We know we're good enough. The single's out,

there will be a second single, the album and just carry on.

There was no album.

They were immediately dropped by their record company

and unfortunately were never heard of again.

From a national disaster to a national hero. In 2005

Misha B remembers a brilliant British sporting achievement.

The biggest news story when I was 12 was Ellen MacArthur.

the first woman to sail single-handedly around the world.

Hello. This is Newsround.

Ellen MacArthur is getting used to life back on dry land after

her record-breaking voyage.

The 28-yr-old yachtswoman smashed the record for sailing

single-handedly around the world, breaking the previous

record by 33 hours. At sea for 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes

and 33 seconds, she overcame treacherous storms,

lack of sleep and relentless isolation

during the 27,348-mile journey.

I can't even get through on the phone to anybody right now.

The generator stopped working ten times this morning.

I've got a leak above my bunk so my bunk's soaked.

And I think that's about it so not a great Christmas.

The thought of it alone puts fear in my heart. Imagine, on her own!

She only had the sea as her friend.

Props, I love that.

On her return,

Ellen MacArthur enjoyed a hero's welcome from thousands

of people who went to greet her as she sailed her giant trimaran

into Falmouth Harbour, escorted by a huge flotilla of boats.

I think it was a really inspirational

and empowering moment for women and the UK.

Ellen broke five other records on the trip,

setting record times to the Equator, the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin

in Australia, Cape Horn and back again to the Equator.

It was such a huge achievement that she was even honoured by the Queen.

She was the youngest person to become a dame.

That in itself is inspirational.

Still to come... We ask our celebs that all-important question.

What was the best thing about being 12?

You can get away with anything when you're 12 and I loved it.

Everything I used to do, I would do it again and double the load.

Don't take yourself too seriously and dream big.

Before that, it's time to get back to our talented celebs.

And find out what they were watching on the telly when they were 12.

Crufts is a talent show for dogs.

It was displaying both handler and dogs' talents.

Crufts is one of the largest dog events in the world.

It was set up in Victorian times by dog biscuit salesman

Charles Cruft, hence the name!

I competed at Crufts since I was about eight.

I was never actually on it but I so desperately wanted to be on it.

I so wanted to be on it. Everyone in the dog world watched it.

Over an intense four days of dog-eat-dog competition,

judges decide who is the best of breed, the most agile,

and ultimately the best in show!

But one of the most entertaining rounds to watch are the skills

which made Ashleigh and Pudsey famous,

called the musical canine freestyle competition.

As a viewer, a lot of people thought, "That looks so easy.

"I could do that."

It's actually one of the hardest things because,

at the end of the day, these little things have brains of their own.

If they don't want to do anything, then they could easily say,

no, I'm not doing that.

Ooh! That is a PAW performance.

I love that adrenaline, getting really nervous and thinking,

"What's going to happen? What's going to happen?

And it's not just the trainers who find it nerve-racking.

Isn't that right, Pudsey?

PUDSEY GROWLS

You're right, mate. It is RUFF!

Right, let's rewind to the 1990s

and find out which kids' show Turbo dreamt of being on.

My favourite show when I was 12 was Live & Kicking.

Live & Kicking was on BBC One every Saturday morning

and was must-see TV for kids.

There was a particular section in Live & Kicking

that I remember called Cloud 9.

Presented by Zoe Ball, Cloud 9 was set

in a pink fluffy corner of the Live & Kicking studio.

Kids were secretly nominated by their friends

and family to experience a lifelong dream.

We're going to send a white stretch American limousine to your house.

What was special about Cloud 9 for me was kids got to

be as close to their dreams as possible.

Things that they never thought could happen happened.

If they wanted to meet one of their favourite football stars,

they get the opportunity to do that.

-Do you like doing commercial things?

-Yeah. It's nice to meet the fans.

It was about being close to your dreams.

You get to go on stage and sing with their favourite singers.

And whilst some kids wanted to meet their superstar heroes...

..others were quite happy simply reaching for a pooper scooper.

All this was just from one baby elephant overnight.

Loved it.

Now our celebs have all appeared on a variety of different

talent shows, but there was one talent show in particular

these guys all loved watching on Saturday nights when they were kids.

Massive talent show when I was 12 was Stars In Their Eyes.

-Stars In Their Eyes...

-Stars In Their Eyes.

I used to watch Stars In Their Eyes.

It was average people coming onto the show and it gave them

the chance to be the singer that they wanted to be.

Stars in Their Eyes was one of the biggest TV talent

shows on Saturday night. It ran for 16 years from 1990 until 2006.

Contestants were given the chance to appear as their favourite famous

singer, a bit like karaoke, but in fancy dress and on the telly!

# Think you're going to keep me iced, you don't

# Think I'm going to spend your cash, I won't... #

It was a hugely popular show with millions of viewers

tuning in every week to hear its famous catchphrase.

Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be...

Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Jennifer Lopez.

Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Geri Halliwell.

-Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Gary Barlow.

-Gary Barlow!

When I was a little kid, I always thought,

"How do they get changed so quickly?"

Bill Lawrence is Gary Barlow.

Is that Gary Barlow? Oh, no. Bill's just put a white shirt on.

I just remember the doors opening

and seeing the transformation from them

looking like everyday people to looking like these major pop stars.

Hair done, nails done, everything did!

Contestants sang their hearts out each week, competing to give

the best impersonation of their favourite pop idols with their

ultimate goal to become Stars In Their Eyes Champion of the year!

# One dream, one soul

# One prize, one goal... #

Although Stars In Their eyes gave ordinary folk the chance

to appear like superstars,

some of those ordinary folk would eventually make it to the big time.

Aston was on Stars In Their Eyes as a kid.

Please welcome Aston Merrygold.

Yes, you heard him.

JLS's pint-sized pop primadonna Aston

was indeed an very young contestant on a kids-only version of the show.

Who are you going to be?

Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be Michael Jackson.

Yeah, he did Michael Jackson, Rockin' Robin.

# Rockin' robin... #

You need to do a backflip. Do a backflip.

-And did Rockin' Robin rock enough to win?

-And the winner is...

-..Eva Cassidy.

-Should have done a backflip.

So those were the TV memories of our celebs,

but what do they remember most about being 12?

The best thing about being 12 was having fun.

You can get away with anything when you're 12.

I loved it.

I think it's a hard age to be because you're always

worried about what people think.

As you get older, you lose it.

You think, this is how I am.

And I'm happy with it.

What would I do if I was 12 again? Everything!

Everything I used to do, I would do it again and double the load.

You're at that age where you're changing and really quickly.

I went from being a boy to starting to slowly turn into a man, maybe.

I loved being a 12-year-old boy.

My advice to 12-year-olds - have fun,

don't take yourself too seriously and dream big.

You are you and people will like you for being yourself.

If you want to do something, just put your all into it.

Don't hold back, just work at it.

If you want to be different, if you want to be unique,

if you want to stand out from the crowd, do it.

Don't be afraid.

I would tell a kid who's having hard times to keep fighting through it.

Literally, keep pushing through it.

It's hard. It's tough but don't ever tell yourself to give up.

If I could be 12 again, I'd just enjoy it

and not worry about anything and not worry about getting older either.

I want to stay 12.

I loved being 12.

So, what've we learnt then?

If you need any advice about ponies,

don't ask a boy band.

-Aren't ponies girl horses?

-No, that's a filly. That's called a filly.

Really?

Never sack your stylist the night before a big gig.

And if you want any tips on how to dance Gangnam Style,

just speak to Pudsey!

Couldn't have put it better myself.