Sports Days Special 12 Again

Coming up, 12 Again goes back to the track.

I loved the long jump.

I really liked the throwing events cos I was quite good at that.

We're going to find out what sports day was like

for some of our biggest sports stars and celebs.

That was my one moment to shine.

I'd do every event I possibly could.

For me, it was just a chance to show off, really.

So, are you on your marks and ready to get set, go?

I was kind of like a rubber band.

Like ready to go.

He is!

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like

to be on the same team as your favourite celebs

when they were your age?

What top tunes did they train to?

And what were their favourite TV sports shows?

Because despite the sporting success they've achieved,

once they were a kid, with a dream just like you.

This show finds out what sports days were like for your favourite celebs

as we ask them to become 12 Again.

From Olympic heroes

to football legends,

not to mention actors, musicians and presenters,

they've all donned their kit, done their warm-up exercises

and tried their sporting best.

So let's find out what your favourite stars

remember about their sporting past.

I think, by about 12 years old,

I was doing lots and lots of different things.

When I got onto a playing field or was in a gymnastics club,

I was in my element.

When I was 12, I was a very sporty child.

I absolutely loved every sport going.

I loved going out on my BMX bike after school,

playing football with my mates at lunchtime.

I just remember being really active.

When I was 12, I loved sports.

I spent most weeknights in the gymnasium.

I loved hockey, loved netball, played tennis.

I was never the best at it, but I was in every team.

Generally, when it came to sport,

even though I do say so myself, I was pretty good!

I loved football. Oh, I loved football!

I still love sports, but when I was 12... Wow!

I could not get enough of sports!

I just think back to sports as being cold and muddy and wet,

you know, that was it.

I'm with you on that one, Wazza!

So that's what our celebs thought about sport,

but which ones did they like the best?

I used to love cross country at school cos we used to have to

run into a wood and this massive lap round a lake

and then back round and I remember

I used to just tear it off really quick.

I did everything possible.

Most of the time was taken up with gymnastics.

I'd be doing it probably five days a week

and I'd go every day after school.

Blimey! that looks painful.

I was either encouraged to take part in sports I didn't want to do

or prevented from doing sports I did want to do.

The long jump.

Ridiculous.

I used to jump from the line, you'd run up and jump.

I never used to reach the sand.

I was a rhythmic gymnast,

with the ribbon, the ball, the hoop and the rope.

It was all choreographed to music

and I would run about with my ribbon.

The thing I did want to do but wasn't allowed to do was cricket.

They thought it was too dangerous.

"If somebody bowls the ball down,

"it's going to bounce the height of your head,"

so I had to do the scoring instead,

which was mind-numbing.

We are completely different when it comes to sport.

Yeah. I used to do karate though.

-Under four foot four national karate champion!

-Twice!

Hya!

I hated rugby. Two reasons -

the ball's a weird shape and the blokes are massive.

I was captain of the hockey team and took that way too seriously.

My friends thought it was a bit of a laugh and I felt it was not a laugh

and if they thought it was a laugh, they shouldn't be on the team,

so they didn't last long on the team!

Helen Skelton, you need to calm yourself down, love!

But for young Sarah who was born without

a fully functioning left hand,

it was her determination to succeed that meant

she excelled at sport from an early age.

I was always one of the best netball players in the school.

I played goal attack, so when kids first met me, they'd look at me

and think, "She might not be able to throw and catch the ball properly,"

but actually, I was the best person for catching that lob pass.

You'd keep it away from the defender and then inevitably score a goal.

And scoring goals was also a passion for young footie-mad Fabrice.

At school, I just loved football.

You know, lunchtime, break time, after school.

Fabrice was born in Zaire, in Africa but his father was forced to leave

the country because of his political beliefs during the war in 1994.

His dad was granted asylum in the UK in 1999.

Soon after, Fabrice and his family joined him

and it was his love of football that helped 12-year-old Fabrice

settle into his new home.

Because I was good, everybody kind of noticed me,

so everybody tried to speak to me.

It gave me freedom to go and express myself.

But his passion for footie sometimes got him in trouble.

Each year, I would go through about three pairs of shoes

cos I would play football with my shoes

and my dad became very angry at me.

"I told you! Play with your trainers!"

I forgot. I just got too excited.

And football-obsessed Fabrice

collected more than just tellings off from his dad.

I had quite a lot of stickers, loads of stickers.

I used to have this book where you had to

match every single team with the players in there.

They were my pride and joy. I really enjoyed it.

And whether our celebs loved sport, like young Fabrice, or hated it,

there was always one day each year when there was no escaping it.

Sports day at secondary school, for me,

-was horrendous.

-Brilliant!

Primary school was great.

Do a little sprint with an egg on a spoon. Yeah, I'll do that.

Why was it bad at secondary school?

Because you had to do proper sport.

And while Nixon was running scared, Rhodes was revelling in it.

I loved it! I absolutely loved it!

I really liked the throwing events cos I was quite good at that.

I loved the long jump.

I liked that cos I thought that the sand was really cool,

it made me feel like I was on a beach.

Er, there's no sea, Nina.

I think Fabrice has a better idea of what it was all about.

You get to compete against everybody in your year group

and you should try to figure out who is the best,

who is the fastest, who is the strongest.

For our wannabe Olympians, sports day was their chance to shine.

School sports day, I think, was my one chance to dominate

and try and show off my ability.

I was always faster than everyone else,

so for me it was just a chance to show off really.

And I've never stopped, I just kept running round that track!

I'd do every event I possibly could.

One year, I tried to run in the boys' race.

Unfortunately for me, someone spotted the ponytail

in the middle of the pack of boys and I wasn't allowed to race.

They literally stood in front of me to stop me starting.

I even had the school record for javelin at one point.

I think it was 33 metres.

33 metres?! That's like 33...one metres!

That was my one moment to shine and I used to love sports days.

And for our future Olympic heroes, school domination wasn't enough.

They were already starting to compete at national level.

The highlight of my life when I was 12 was BMX racing.

OK, fact fans, bicycle motocross first became popular in the 1970s

and it involves tanking around a track at top speed.

My mum and dad got me a second-hand bike.

I came second in a national championships that year

and I ended up travelling round the world.

I went to two world championships,

both of which I crashed really badly.

Oh, that looks painful!

But for me it was just the first time in my life as a young boy

that I began to realise what sport was all about,

what nerves were, getting nervous before a race,

what determination was like, knowing if I REALLY tried, I'd do well.

Iwan's right - there's no shortcut to success...

Unless you are that bloke! What are you playing at, mate?!

If it hadn't been for my BMX-ing,

I wouldn't have been a professional athlete. No way.

And while young Iwan was pedalling to the top,

12-year-old Sarah was busy with her backstroke.

As a 12-year-old, I was very much focused on the fact

that I just wanted to be an international athlete.

These days Sarah is best known for her victories in the velodrome,

but she began her Paralympic career in the pool.

I started my professional swimming training at ten.

By the time I was 12, I was training every day

and I just wanted to be an Olympian,

I just wanted to compete for my country and see what it was like

and hopefully win a gold medal. That was my big aim.

I didn't even know the Paralympic Games existed

until 1990, when I was 12.

It was kind of like a light bulb year for me and focused me towards

the chance to compete in the Barcelona Paralympics in '92.

And compete she did, winning two gold, three silver and a bronze.

It's amazing to think, I guess, that as a 12-year-old, I was so driven

to know exactly what I wanted to do.

I was very much focused on being in sport.

And Sarah wasn't the only one - young Louis was just as determined.

When I was 12, I remember looking at some school work.

It said, "When I grow up," and then I had to fill out what the answer was.

I actually put, "I want to be a famous gymnast."

And having been diagnosed with ADHD when he was seven,

sport really helped Louis.

ADHD is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

You suffer with paying attention to things

and also being very hyperactive.

Kind of like...

a rubber band.

Like, ready to go.

Sport gave me a way to channel myself and to control ADHD

and to really focus on, you know, understanding it and dealing with it.

And in 2008, Louis became the first British Gymnast

to win an individual Olympic medal for 100 years. Good work, fella.

So those were the sporting memories of our 12-year-old celebs,

and what tunes inspired them to be champions?

# Don't stop me, don't stop me... #

If you're looking for a band who churns out

sporting anthem after anthem after anthem, it's got to be Queen.

Formed over 40 years ago, in 1971,

stadium-rock superstars Queen led by Freddie Mercury

are one of the biggest-selling bands of all time.

But what are Queen's best sporting anthems?

It would have to be Don't Stop Me Now.

# Don't stop me now

# I'm having such a good time

# I'm having a ball... #

You can do any sport to that song.

# ..If you wanna have a good time Just give me a call... #

Under Pressure.

# Under pressure that burns a building down

# Splits a family in two... #

-Another One Bites The Dust by Queen.

-If you've lost.

-Yeah.

# Another one bites the dust

# And another one gone And another one gone

# Another one bites the dust... #

No matter what you're doing, you can put any Queen track on

and it will help you train and become a champion.

And there's one Queen song

that's become THE sing-a-long soundtrack for sporting success.

# We are the champions, my friend... #

While you're cooling down, you're stretching.

BOTH: # We'll keep on fighting

# Till the end Ba na now

# Bom bom bom bom

# We are the champions... # Higher.

# ..We are the champions

# No time for losers cos we... #

-Basically, they've got all the events covered.

-Yeah!

-Really.

-True.

Don't Stop Me Now while you're doing it.

-Under Pressure while you're getting to the finish line.

-Yeah.

Another One Bites The Dust if you lose

and if you win, We Are The Champions.

Job's a good 'un. Well done, Freddie Mercury.

But sport and music don't always mix.

Sports stars become pop stars. Wow, does that not work!

No it does not, Barney, and here's some proof.

First up, England's catchy 1982 World Cup song.

# We'll get it right

# This time... #

Lovely jumpers, guys, and they were at it again in 1986.

# We've got the whole world at our feet

# There's not a single team that we can't beat... #

But not all the England squad records are bad,

there has been one exception.

-World In Motion.

-It's a good song.

# Got the world in motion

# And I know what we can do... #

Written for England's 1990 World Cup campaign,

World In Motion saw mega Manchester band New Order

team up with the stars of the England squad.

It's a bit like if, say David Beckham decided to hook up with

One Direction or Justin Bieber or someone like that.

It topped the charts

and I think it's one of the coolest records ever.

You've got the England team singing in tune

and it's a good tune and then

what do you do? You introduce a rap star. And who is this rap star?

None other than the legend that is John Barnes.

RAPS: You've got to hold or give

But do it at the right time

You can be slow or fast

But you must get to the line...

Part-time rapper and full-time football legend John Barnes

played for England 79 times, and was one of the biggest names

in the game throughout the '80s and '90s.

It was truly something special, something to behold

and something that we'll all never forget.

# We're singing for England... #

And I think that might be the only one, really,

in the history - ever - of sports stars singing songs that worked.

You could be right, Barney. Check this one out.

Footballers shouldn't sing power ballads.

Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle.

Diamond Lights.

# Eyes that freeze like ice

# Cold electric blue Those diamond lights... #

-What a song that was!

-Was it a song about football?

-No.

-Was it for like a World Cup or anything?

-No, no!

-So these are people who played football...

-Yeah.

-..and just wanted to release a power ballad?

-Yeah.

Sam, it's the cringiest thing you've ever seen.

Hoddle and Waddle were both England football legends

when they launched their short-lived pop career back in 1987.

I just remember their mullets really.

There was some good hair back in the day.

Some good footballers had some good barnets.

Like, it was so bad, it was fantastic.

# ..Diamond, I love you... #

And Chris Waddle, you know the one

-who missed the penalty in the 1990 World Cup?

-No, but carry on.

Well, he did, but Chris Waddle was just swaying from side to side.

Glenn Hoddle sang it all!

# ..Oh, darling... #

Despite the dodgy jackets and questionable hairstyles...

# ..Diamond, Diamond lights... #

..synth-pop ballad Diamond Lights reached the heady heights

of number 12 in the UK singles charts. Back of the net!

Hoddle and Waddle were just childhood heroes,

growing up, on the football pitch.

I ignored the singing part of it.

Still to come, we find out what sporty TV shows our celebs enjoyed.

There'd be these big obstacle courses.

You'd then run back, tag your team, the next person would go.

You can't act that.

-You can't act that.

-But you can.

-You can.

It's a game show, but for all of the family

and chances are, one of you will know the answer.

That's why it's a good show.

But first, what sporting moments had a lasting impact on our stars?

I think just before I was 12, we had the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

The Olympics are always big news and back in 2000, it was Sydney's turn.

I remember watching some of the greats like Alexei Nemov.

Russian gymnastics legend Alexei Nemov was one of the superstars

of his sport for nearly a decade.

Wow!

Alexei Nemov is classed as probably

one of the best all-round gymnasts that ever lived.

-COMMENTATOR:

-Immaculate so far.

He was a very stylish gymnast.

He made it look effortless.

Lovely extension!

And it's very unique to have someone so good at all the apparatus.

A double pike! Super landing!

He was at his peak at the Sydney Olympics,

where he won an impressive haul of two gold, a silver and three bronze.

In total, he won 12 Olympic medals in his career,

making him one of the most successful gymnasts ever.

And his incredible performances were an inspiration

for aspiring young gymnast, Louis.

I was watching Alexei Nemov do things that

I was starting to learn and I could relate and I could think to myself,

"Oh, Mum, look, I'm trying to do that at the minute,"

and it was always at the back of my mind that the Olympic Games

was the ultimate,

it was always the thing that I wanted to go to.

Then you start setting yourself smaller, realistic goals

and obviously, six or seven years down the line,

the Olympic Games became a very real possibility

and that's when long-term goals start becoming more realistic.

And from a Russian legend...

to a battling Brit.

In just under three hours' time, a pair of thick spectacles

should hurtle down a ski slope in Canada.

Eddie Edwards. Eddie The Eagle.

In the 1988 Winter Olympics,

ex-plasterer Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards

shot to fame as an unlikely hero.

He had these big bottle-top glasses,

a little bit geeky if you don't mind me saying,

but Britain loved him!

Eddie started out as a downhill skier,

but switched to ski-jumping

to ensure his place in the Olympic team.

-NEWSREADER:

-He's the only Briton prepared to have a go

at this most dangerous of events.

But because there was no ski slopes, or actual snow,

in Eddie's hometown of Cheltenham,

his training methods were odd to say the least.

He was the first British ski-jumper that we had

and he was the most famous too. Not just because he was the first,

but because he was pretty bad as well!

It was almost like he got on the wrong bus and just turned up.

"I'll have a go. What's the worst that could happen?"

What's the worst that could happen?! Worst that could happen?

I don't know... This?!

-NEWSREADER:

-But he shrugged off his injuries

to take part in these Olympics

and no competitor in Calgary will get more support

than Cheltenham's Eddie Edwards.

And on the big day, the plucky Brit flew as far as he could...

CHEERING

..but sadly finished last.

I think we loved him because he just gave it a go.

He tried his best and did the best that he could do

for our country, so I was behind him.

And the Eagle wasn't the only have-a-go hero in 1988.

Competing at the very same games were the Jamaican bob sleigh team.

Coming from a tropical country not exactly known for its snow,

the fearless foursome were always going to be underdogs.

They even had to borrow a sled to take part.

Then in 2000 there was swimmer Eric "The Eel" Moussambani.

Representing Equatorial Guinea, he'd never actually swum in a proper pool

until two months before the games.

Eric floundered his way to the finish,

but lost out overall.

Nice try, though, Eric.

And arguably the king of have-a-go heroes

is Brit sprinter Derek Redmond in the 1992 Olympics.

Plucky Derek pulled his hamstring in the 400m semifinal,

but he didn't give up and with the help of his dad,

he managed to limp over the line.

-COMMENTATOR:

-He's won nothing but admiration.

His courage made him a national hero just like Eddie four years earlier.

Yep, we love an underdog, and back in 1988 when The Eagle flew home,

he was mobbed by hordes of adoring fans.

He was followed everywhere by a German television crew

who are making a special documentary about him

and the Americans want to make a film about his life story.

Blimey, imagine if he'd actually won!

I think we all love a trier and even if he didn't do very well,

repeatedly, he would still get onto the ski slope

and give it everything he's got.

He's a real ambassador for the sport, for any sport.

And what a great name for somebody who couldn't fly!

Still to come, we get top sporting tips from our celebs...

It's important not to worry if other people say,

"You can't do that cos you've only got one hand," or,

"You'll never be able to do that."

If you believe in something, stick to it.

..and find out what they would say to their 12-year-old selves.

If you'd asked me at 12 years old,

"Do you think you can win an Olympic medal?"

my answer would probably be, "Why not?"

But first, let's find out what sporty TV shows

our stars tuned into when they were kids.

I used to love, LOVE A Question Of Sport.

A Question Of Sport has been on our screens for well over 40 years.

Hello and welcome to A Question Of Sport.

Every week, two teams of top sporting names

mix battle with banter

to see who has the best sporting knowledge.

Oh, look, it's our Sarah!

One of the great things about A Question Of Sport

was that you did get to see the athletes

outside the context of their normal environment.

You got to see them doing silly things or see

if they were any good at answering questions on their own sport.

Which British man won four cycling golds at the 2008 Paralympics?

-Darren Kenny.

-Yes. Well done.

Good work, Sarah.

Sport brings people together, as we know.

You can sit down and watch that show and all have something to answer.

And everyone has their favourite rounds.

My favourite part of the show was the Mystery Guest part.

The Mystery Guest round is where you have to try and guess

the identity of a top sports person from just a few clues.

OK, so who's this?

It's, erm... Oh, I know this one!

-Becky Adlington?

-Let's see.

It's Becky Adlington! I'm very good at this game!

That was pretty fun.

What Happens Next was a classic.

What Happened Next is when they freeze the action

just as something hilarious is about to happen

and you have to guess... what happened next.

OK, Tuffers, for your team, it's ladies' European golf,

but what happened next?

When she drops the ball, she's got to play it from where it lands.

Yeah, so I reckon it bounces up and lands in the buggy

and he drives off with it.

Erm, not quite.

Off he goes. Just watch out for that...

Never mind.

And it's not just the clips that are hilarious.

Over more than 1,000 episodes, the show has proved that

the stars might know loads about sport,

but not a great deal about fashion...

especially in the '80s.

Just look at the panel of A Question Of Sport at that time.

-Just awful.

-Mullet, 'tache, jumper.

Despite the fashion faux pas,

it's now the longest-running TV quiz show in the UK,

so why does Barney think it's still going strong?

It's a game show for all the family and chances are,

one of you will know the answer. That's why it's a good show.

Very good point, Barney, and now from A Question Of Sport

to a questionable sport.

When I was 12, the big TV show

we'd watch on a Saturday was live wrestling.

British wrestling was a hugely popular

TV sport in the 1970s and '80s

and many of its stars became household names.

Giant Haystacks - massive bloke.

Big, massive, long beard. Really big,

he must have been about 40 stone.

Er, 42 stone, to be exact, Mark.

That's 266kg - the weight of two baby elephants.

He was the baddie, by the way, Giant Haystacks.

So you had to have a friendly guy - Big Daddy.

CHEERING

And he had a massive pot belly and I thought, "How can he be a sportsman?

"How do you train for that? Just eat?"

They had really rubbish outfits. Big Daddy had this leotard

with "Big Daddy" written on it,

but then I wouldn't mess with him!

With these larger-than-life blokes in leotards,

the action often seemed more panto than proper sport,

so was it real or rehearsed?

I still don't know if it was real. I think it was real.

If somebody told me wrestling was not real,

I would have gone, "It was real when I saw it on Saturday afternoon..."

-Yeah.

-"..when somebody belly-flopped someone else."

-You can't act that.

-You can't act that.

-But you can.

-You can.

These bonkers on-screen antics

entertained legions of grapple fans for decades,

but the end was nigh and British wrestling

finally disappeared from our screens in 1988.

Maybe they should bring that back.

-No, it's terrible.

-Right.

But I used to love it.

So Mark was giggling at grappling granddads,

but what was Louis watching?

I do remember a few shows on TV.

I think one of them was called 50/50.

50/50 was a kids' game show that ran from 1997 to 2005.

This is 50/50, the show that boldly goes

where no other game show dares to go.

As the title suggests,

50 kids from one school would compete against 50 kids from another

in challenges that involved much messing about on giant inflatables.

There'd be like a relay-type game.

Go!

And there'd be these big obstacle courses

and a ball that you'd have to shoot into a hole

at the end for different points

and you'd then run back, tag your team and the next person would go.

I was always that kid that liked

different things and different activities

and I'd have loved to go on a show like that!

So those were our celebs' sporting TV memories,

but as the final whistle approaches,

what wise sporting words can they offer?

I think sport gives you much more than a cramp.

I think you actually learn how to be part of a team.

You learn how you can focus.

From the age of 12, I think I began to understand

what competition meant to me inside

and how determined and hard-working you've got to be to do well.

And what would they say to their 12-year-old selves?

You ask me at 12 years old,

"Do you think you can win an Olympic medal in gymnastics?"

my answer would probably be, "Why not?"

If I could tell my 12-year-old self now,

"Within 12 years, you'll have an Olympic medal,"

I'd have said, "Don't be so stupid. What's the Olympics?"

If I can go back to being 12 again,

one thing I would change would probably be

wear my trainers more often because I used to ruin a lot of shoes.

I think if you do have an impairment of some description,

or a disability that affects your day-to-day life,

everybody has a way round it

and I think it's important not to worry if other people say,

"You can't do that because you've only got one hand,"

or, "You'll never be able to do that."

If you believe in something, stick to it

because you'll have the last laugh.

I never dreamt I'd become an Olympic athlete when I was 12.

Make sure you enjoy everything that you do

because you only get one chance, whatever age you are,

so you might as well enjoy it

and do whatever you're doing with a smile on your face.

So what have we learnt?

Whatever you do, don't try this at home.

Ouch!

Never let this man drive your buggy.

And what is Sam and Mark's ideal outfit for a Saturday night out?

Mullet, 'tache, jumper.

Strong look, guys.