Scaife Family Gimme a Break

Do your parents drive you mad with their boring holidays?

Well, hold on to your hats

because this is Gimme A Break, the show where being kitted out,

strapped in and revved up, is all part of being in control.

On Gimme A Break, it's the kids who decide where to go and what to do.

Parents don't get a look-in,

especially when it comes to the holiday rules.

Breaking the rules can only lead to one thing - trouble.

Today I'm in South Yorkshire

and the lucky family who are about to be given a break are the Scaifes.

First up is seven-year-old Molly the Mover.

There's ten-year-old Ally the Artist...

Dad the dozer...

..and Mum, who does just about everything else.

So, why do Molly and Ally deserve to be given a break?

The holidays are boring because

we always, like, go to the beach for about two hours straight.

We do like to relax a bit. The kids have probably exaggerated.

We don't like to be sunbathing on a beach all day.

We like to be out and about.

All Dad does is just sleep and laze around and we always have to, like,

wait till he wakes up at about ten to go and do summat.

We do like to spend a little bit of time relaxing

but that's not really allowed.

So, yeah, they probably say I sleep too much.

SHE SNORES

All over us.

I do try all my jewellery on with my clothes that I'm going to wear,

so it can take me three hours to get ready.

This one in, this one in.

No, that one out, that one out.

It ends up at about nine o'clock at night.

They never want to go to bed on time and we,

as much as we love them dearly, like that last hour,

a bit of peace and quiet between ourselves before we go to bed.

We would like to choose the bedtimes.

Yeah, it's time we got our own back.

It seems to me that the Scaife family holidays

are far too laid back. You need to stop slouching, straighten up

and sort this situation out. Molly and Ally, are you ready

-to be given a break?

-Yes, we are.

-Are you ready to take control of the family holiday?

-BOTH: Yes.

Mum and Dad, are you ready to give up control of your family holiday?

-Yeah.

-A little bit nervous?

-Yeah.

-Mild terror.

It's that time that sends fear through parents' hearts.

It is the Gimme A Break parent promise.

Please, read this aloud with your hand on your heart. Ready, girls?

-BOTH:

-We, the parents of Ally and Molly,

hereby hand over control of the next family break.

There we go, give me five, girls, how do you feel?

-Do you feel excited?

-Yes.

-Do you feel powerful?

-Yes.

-Do you feel strong?

-Yes!

-Mum and Dad...

-THEY CHUCKLE

-..how are you feeling?

-Worried.

-Terrified.

-You guys better keep worrying. Let's go.

While Mum and Dad wave goodbye to being in charge, I say hello

to exactly what sort of break the girls are after.

Tell me what your dream break would involve.

We like doing adventure-like activities.

-Except we don't like heights.

-No heights?

We don't like heights but we like going through mud and stuff.

-You like getting dirty in mud and stuff.

-Yeah.

-What sort of activities do you like to do?

-Swimming, horse riding.

What do you like to do in the water?

Jumping in and going under t'water.

-Going under water as well?

-We like dressing up

and acting out stuff a lot.

-Do I need to make it as unrelaxing for Mum and Dad as possible?

-Yeah.

-Who's in charge?

-We are.

And I'm in charge of organising

two fantastic breaks for the girls to choose from.

First, they need to work out what they are

from a series of cunning clues. I hope they're hungry.

BOTH: "Wear this country's flag with pride,

"then take it in turns to stuff your face."

It looks like Switzerland.

Yeah, I think it's Switzerland.

-Cake.

-Not just cake - Swiss roll.

Shall we eat the clue?

Yes, we shall.

The girls have a pretty good idea

where they're going now, but what will they be doing?

-Toilets!

-Weakest Link.

Weakest Link.

I don't think it is. There's a woman called Anne Robinson.

-What other name could you call a toilet?

-Bog.

Almost there, girls. What about the final clue?

The hat and wigs.

I know you like dressing up. A traditional costume, maybe?

I am definitely going back in time.

I think Switzerland people might dress up like this.

What's that lurking over the hill?

-There's a cow!

-And where do cows live?

On a farm. I always wanted to go on a farm.

Good - cos you're going to be herding cows, then milking 'em.

Time to "moo-ve" on to clues for Break Number 2.

That's the Spanish flag.

Why is there a pan in t'middle?

Es-PAN-a.

Hey! Well done, girls.

Espana is Spanish for Spain.

Next, try and work out what this "ani-MULE" is doing here?

Well, the donkey has been crossed out.

Maybe "no donkey riding".

Oh, look at these right cute shoes.

They're tap-dancing shoes.

Less toe tapping, more clue solving.

-Maybe another meaning for donkey?

-What's another word for donkey?

-Ass.

-You're nearly there.

You'll learn to cook tapas, a traditional Spanish dish.

And the final clue?

"Sounds like this bird knows how to move."

What about YOUR moves, girls?

SPANISH-STYLE MUSIC PLAYS

Oh, he's so cuddly!

Ole.

-Flamenco dancing?

-Flamingo.

That's it. You'll dress up like Spanish divas

and get flamenco lessons.

Time to find out exactly what these breaks are all about.

First of all, talk me through the clues.

T-shirts with a white cross on,

which I thought was a Switzerland flag.

Right, so, tell me about this clue.

There are two toilets and then a picture of Anne Robinson.

-What's another word for a toilet?

-Bog.

When you put all the words together, what do they say? "Two bog Anne."

-Say it really quick.

-Toboggan.

This lovely green hat could be part of a traditional Switzerland outfit.

-Are you ready to see Break Number 1?

-Yeah.

You are going on an Alpine adventure to Switzerland.

The hills will be alive with the sound of Mum and Dad's complaining

when you dress up in traditional Swiss costume

for a mountain farm experience.

Launch yourself down a dry toboggan run and row, row, row your boat

on an Alpine lake, and make your very own chocolate bunnies.

Right. That was your Alpine adventure holiday.

Break Number 1 - what do you think?

-That looked great.

-Perfect.

-Have we started off on a good foot?

-Yeah.

-Everything I wanted - tobogganing, and cooking.

And I've always wanted to be on a farm, so...

Yeah, and there's chocolate making.

-My wonderland.

-Your wonderland.

Shall I book it now or do you want to wait for Break Number 2?

We'll wait for Break Number 2.

-Tell me about the clues you found.

-Go on, Molly.

There was a Spanish flag on the floor...

And it said "Es-pan-a."

So that's Spanish for Spain.

OK, I can reveal on Break Number 2,

you'll be having fun in the Spanish sun.

-Shall we have a look?

-Yeah.

-Come on, then.

From making traditional Spanish finger food

to horse riding on the beach,

there'll be no time for sunbathing or sleeping on this break.

You'll be kitted out in costumes for fabulous flamenco lessons

and make underwater discoveries when you go snorkelling

off the Spanish coast.

-What do you think of that one?

-I think it'll be good because, er,

-none of us can dance.

-None of you dance.

-Canary Islands we've been to,

-but not Spain.

-So it's a country you've never been to before,

but so is Switzerland. It's a very tough decision.

-Yeah.

-Why don't I leave you two to make your minds up?

I'm going skip off and when I come back,

you can tell me what you've decided.

I'll catch you later. See you later, guys.

Why would you want to go to Switzerland?

If we don't go to Switzerland, I know we're never going to actually have

a good chance to do those activities.

But in Spain, there's flamenco dancing.

There's tapas - I've never tried that.

There's also scuba diving and horse riding.

-Shall we get our Joe in again?

-Yeah!

Right. Molly, Ally,

have you decided what break you are going to go for - Break Number 1,

or Break Number 2?

It's... Well we're going on Break Number 1.

-Break Number 1, the Alpine adventure to Switzerland.

-Yes.

I think it's going to be so exciting and I think you made a good choice.

But I'm going to be popping back later on in your break

-to tell you how you can win one last treat. Shall we book it?

-Yeah.

-Are you sure you want Break Number 1?

-Yeah.

Ready, steady, booked.

So, the girls are off to Switzerland on an amazing Alpine adventure.

Will Mum prove she's not a total stick in the mud?

And do the girls get to race home with a final treat?

Before the girls tell Mum and Dad what they're doing,

they'll need to decide what they'll be wearing.

All right, let's get packing.

It is a living nightmare. I don't know what's going off.

That's the worst thing I've ever seen in the history of things.

Disgusting.

I'm a casual type of person.

I don't do dresses or high heels - only for special functions.

I'd like to see them in Switzerland

cos I don't think she'll get to balance.

It's her jewellery box.

I tend to jazz up whatever I'm wearing with a bit of jewellery.

Shall we just like give her a limit?

What about those?

-Er...no.

-I think that's a fair bit of jewellery.

I hate woolly jumpers.

What is that?

-I hate them with a passion.

-That's disgusting!

We are definitely packing that.

THEY SING

I said to Molly she can do her worst.

So she probably will.

I never knew he was a goalie.

There's a flowery shirt in there that's a bit...

-MUM:

-It's awful. Be truthful.

-Oh, we're packing that.

High five.

With just one more sleep before they head off to the Swiss Alps,

the girls need to tell Mum and Dad exactly what sort of break

they're going on.

Hi. We've brought you a present.

Thank you very much.

Alpine adventure in Switzerland. That's great.

I suppose the main thing that's worrying us about

the Alpine adventure will be what they get us to wear.

It feels great to be in charge.

It's the next morning

and the Scaifes arrive at the airport to check in.

-Have a good holiday.

-Thank you, bye.

The journey begins with the girls trying out Gimme A Break fam cam.

What do you think of being in charge of the view from your holiday?

I think it's great.

And on the train to the resort,

there's time for the girls to get used to their new surroundings.

The landscape is lovely.

After a short flight and three hours on the train,

the family arrive at their Alpine apartment.

It's not just a playground for seasoned skiers.

In the summer, the place goes crazy with all sorts of fun activities,

but what will the girls make of their mountain base?

-Wow.

-Oh, this is nice. So which bedroom are you having, kids?

We're going to have that single one, here.

That's the sleeping arrangements sorted.

Time for Mum and Dad to find out what's lurking in their suitcase.

-Right. Are we playing football?

-THE GIRLS GIGGLE

Two shirts I don't really like very much that I haven't worn in years.

Thank you again, kids.

You wore that just last week! Don't mention it. Well!

I've never even seen them.

Tights.

Tights with shorts?!

What am I going to do with them?

Have you brought Mammy's hiking shoes?

-What is this?

-Smell it.

It's the worst jumper

I have ever bought in my life.

-Any time, any time.

-Is this...

-..it?

-..it? All tangled up, lovely.

Thank you. And one earring.

I will be absolutely...

mortified with how I look in those clothes.

We don't right care.

They'll just get stared at, not us.

-It feels fabulous, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

And after a fabulous night's sleep it's the first morning of the break

and the Scaifes have a full day of activities ahead of them.

With Mum's stripy socks and Dad's three ties at the ready,

I need to lay down the law.

'Hello family Scaife. How are you settling in?'

We're enjoying it very much.

'Good stuff. Mum and Dad, have you got your ears pinned back?

'I've got the rules that Ally and Molly want to you stick to

-'whilst you're on break.'

-HE SNORES

'Oh, sorry, I must have nodded off.

'Do I remind you of anyone? Yes, I'm looking at you, Dad.

'Your snoring is getting boring.

'So Rule Number 1 is there will be no napping on this break.

'Mum, don't think you're getting away with it, either.

'Ally and Molly think you spend too much time deciding

what jewellery to wear, so Rule Number 2 is...

'you're only allowed to wear one piece of jewellery per day

'for the entire break.'

Pick wisely - you get either a necklace or earrings.

'Finally, the girls tell me they never stay up as late as they want

'while they're on holiday.

'So Rule Number 3 is,

'you're not allowed to tell the girls when to go to bed.'

Ooh. It's going to be a long break.

'But be warned cos there will be consequences.

'The girls have decided that if you break any of the rules,

'you'll be made to wear a '70s costume and do a funky walk

'down the street. A little bit like this.'

-Worse than this?

-Yes, flares, wigs, make-up.

'I'll be back later on in the break to tell you

'how you can win the final treat.'

We're going to do us very best not to break the rules,

cos the consequences are quite severe.

They always like give us rules on holiday, don't they?

Time to get our own back.

Why don't you start by telling Mum and Dad what they'll be doing first.

We're taking you up to the mountains -

not right to the top, maybe at the middle, mountain biking.

I hope they've got good brakes.

Sorry, Dad,

it's the girls who are in control of the speed on this break.

On your bikes, get set, go.

While everyone takes in the views, Ally and Molly break some news.

You're going down on the lake, boating.

Boating. As long as it's on the lake and not under the lake, I'm fine.

That depends on how steady you steer, Captain.

SHE GIGGLES

It's like watching Cambridge.

I want to get off!

Pull and back, and pull.

Oh, we are more unlikely to be in the water.

-How much fun is this?!

-It's awful.

-Bring your oars in.

-Faster, row, row.

Row, row, row.

ROW.

It sounds like Molly's taken full control of her boat.

Stroke, stroke.

Stroke.

This is embarrassing.

And does Mum have her shipmate's confidence?

I think t'engine's about to die.

Tiring, but fun.

-I enjoyed that.

-Was it good?

-No.

-You didn't enjoy that at all?

-No, it were awful!

-That activity was...

-Brilliant.

Molly's taking on the role of being in control on this holiday

and being in control of me.

So, after day one in the Alps, are the girls tired?

I'll decide when to go to bed and it's going to be very late.

No, they're making the most of the "stay up as late as we want" rule.

It's day two and before the girls get stuck into

more mountain mischief, they need to get to the top of one, first.

We're going to leave the bikes behind

and go up the mountain on a bus.

And I hope you've got a head for heights, Mum and Dad,

because you're going to be spending the day in the clouds, too.

When they finally reach the top, the girls head off for a wander.

Uh-oh, someone is using all this fresh mountain air

as an excuse to grab 40 winks. Ally spotted it, though -

so consider yourself busted, Dad.

It's a '70s costume for you later.

Back to this decade, and it's lunchtime - with a difference.

Ally and Molly are in charge of this Alpine feast.

-DAD: Thank you very much.

-No.

-We're going to order for you.

-Oh, dear.

Dad, I think you can have cheese fondue.

Thank you very much.

Mum, you can have cheese fondue with Alpine bread as well.

Right, thank you.

Some pizza, please.

I think I fancy, actually...

Cheese fondue, with Alpine bread.

So, Molly's gone for the cheesy Swiss dish, but does she know

-what it is?

-What's cheese fondue?

It's like a hot cheese. We dip the bread in it and eat it off skewers.

See? Dads can be useful sometimes, after all.

-That looks nice, very nice.

-Thank you very much.

That looks lovely.

-Mm.

-What does Molly think of this new way of eating?

It's really nice.

Shall we buy one of these for home?

Yes, please.

I feel a dessert coming on.

It's yummy, it's scrummy,

it's white chocolate mountain cake with chocolate brownie trees.

-THEY GASP

-Oh, look at that!

A mountain, with chocolate trees.

There's chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

-There you go, Molly, I've got you a small piece.

-A small piece!

My wonderland. Mm.

-It's chocolate heaven.

-I want to go to this heaven.

A beautiful taste from a beautiful place. Ten out of ten.

I agree with Molly. I'd give the banquet ten out of ten, too.

It's the first time I've been to the top of a mountain.

It's absolutely beautiful, it's blown me away. It's breathtaking.

While Mum catches her breath, the girls have something embarrassing

for Mum and Dad up their sleeves.

We're going to do some traditional farm activities

-like herding cows...

-..and milking cows.

-Oh, dear.

-And we're also going to be wearing traditional Swiss outfits.

-No!

-So you need this.

THEY GIGGLE

-You look good.

-So do you, very stylish.

-Better go find these cows.

-But before you can milk 'em,

you need to round them up.

Dad thinks cows should be seen and not heard.

Cow coming.

Ally avoids the muck. Not sure Mum's going to be so lucky.

The idea was to shoo the cows, not lose a shoe!

Let's see how you get on milking the cows. Molly first.

That was good.

Not sure there's enough for a bowl of "moos-li", but that's a start.

Dad's a natural.

I'm mortified that I had to dress up,

but rather strangely I did enjoy herding the cows.

Dad, don't think it went unnoticed. You were caught sleeping.

There will be consequences.

And that consequence is having to wear these ridiculous '70s clothes.

Mum's decided to join in the embarrassment, too.

# Ah, ah, ah, ah, staying alive... #

Oh!

# Ah, ah, ah, ah... #

-They look like right dweebs.

-They look hilarious.

Honest, I really don't know.

-Do I look good?

-No.

-THEY CHUCKLE

We'll give them thumbs up for being good sports.

Back in their Alpine apartment, the girls reflect

on another fun-packed day...

Day two of activities - so far, so good!

ALL: Bye.

-..and get ready for bed.

-Good night.

The next morning, after the girls come round, it's time

to get things moving with the day's first activity.

So we're going to go on a toboggan right down here.

Great. I'm looking forward to this one.

But before they can come down the mountain, the girls need

to decide how to climb up it.

"Walk this way, or sit and sway.

"You decide how to start the day."

So, will the girls make their parents

take the 45-minute hike up the hill or give everyone

an easy ride and glide up on the chair-lift?

The decision is theirs.

I vote B cos that hill is very, very, very big.

-We should go B, shouldn't we?

-Chair lift. All of us.

So the girls decide to be kind to Mum and Dad

and let them take the weight off, too.

That's amazing.

It's supposed to take 45 minutes or an hour to walk up here.

-MUM:

-We'd have needed oxygen masks, by t'time we got to t'top.

-My ears have popped.

-This is fun, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Before the Scaifes go hurtling down the track,

it's time for a musical interlude.

The Alphorn has been around for 500 years,

so you could say it's as old as the hills.

SHE BLOWS A NOTE

CHEERING

SHE BLOWS A HIGH NOTE

-Yeah. Yeah.

-Good on you, Mum.

HORN IS SILENT

Must try harder, Dad. Time to hold on to your hats,

cos you're about to launch yourself off down this two-mile-long

dry toboggan run.

Are you ready, Ally?

-Oh, that was so cool.

-That were brilliant.

I've never laughed as much in my life.

I give the tobogganing ten out of ten.

It's been by far my favourite experience of the whole holiday.

It's not over yet. Have the girls saved the best till last?

We're going to do traditional chocolate making.

The Swiss have been the masters of chocolate making for over 300 years.

Plastic moulds are painted with melted chocolate

to make these yummy bunnies.

-Gorgeous.

-I think Ally's is very good.

I don't care what it looks like, I just care what it tastes like.

You're a bit messy, Molly.

Don't worry. I can clean it up.

If you close your right eye and your left eye,

that actually looks quite like a rabbit.

What a shame, it's all dripping down.

Once everyone's finished mopping up,

the bunnies chillax in the freezer for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, something needs to be done with all this unused chocolate.

Ten minutes later

and it's time to crack open the moulds and have a taste.

They survived!

-Oh.

-Aww!

Thank you.

LAUGHTER

-It's fine.

-It's all right.

Thank you.

-Who enjoyed that?

-BOTH:

-Me.

My bunny is going to be very, very nice.

Molly thought it were that nice

she's taking most of it home on her clothes.

It's the last day of the break and the only thing left to do

is decide who gets the final souvenir.

This funky set of personalised mountain bike gear is up for grabs.

-'Hi, Ally and Molly.'

-BOTH: Hi, Joe.

'I'm going to ask you three questions about your break.

'All you have to do is answer two correctly to win the treat.

'If you don't, Mum and Dad are going to get their grubby hands on it.

-'And we don't want that to happen, do we?'

-No.

'OK, question number one...

'What was Mum's scariest moment?

Mum got quite excited about the toboggan,

but she were a little bit scared on t'boating cos she kept

nearly crashing into stuff, so...

A - boating.

We're going to say A - boating.

'I hope you're right.'

'My scariest moment was definitely boating.'

Yay!

'Well done. If you get the next question correct

'the mountain bike gear is yours.

'OK, question number two...

'How did Dad react when he first saw the toboggan?'

-He were excited.

-Yeah.

We think it's A - excited.

'Let's see what Dad said.'

-'When I first saw the toboggan run, I was really excited.'

-Yeah!

Well done, girls.

Very nice.

I'm really pleased they picked Switzerland.

It's been a great experience.

I think it might be an end to boring beach holidays.

-I really did enjoy dressing up.

-I give this break ten out of ten.

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