A Day in the Life of Millie Inbetween Millie Inbetween

Hello! Yes, it is Millie Inbetween, but not as you know it.

Cos I'm here.

I've left the CBBC office to come and give you guys the skinny

on everything you need to know about one of your favourite shows.

For 12 weeks this summer, Millie has been doing it all again.

Along with a team of 58 people,

she's hard at work filming Series Two.

And guess what?

She's invited me to come along and see how they do it.

We'll meet the cast.

It's really all glamour.

-We'll meet the crew.

-Action!

We're going to see what happens

when things don't quite go according to plan

and we're going to spend a whole day with Millie behind the scenes.

Ah!

SHE YAWNS Oh, sorry.

I am literally never awake this early.

Anyway, this hotel is home away from home for Millie Innes

when she is filming.

Yes, that's right, her name actually is Millie,

and she's about to begin her working day.

PHONE RINGS

Hello.

Good morning, Millie. It's that time again.

-OK. Bye.

-Bye.

We asked what you wanted to know about Millie Inbetween

and you've sent us literally hundreds of questions.

So, now that she's had a chance to wake up,

I think it's time we got some answers.

AmethystBrainyCat, along with others, wanted to know,

"When did you decide to become an actor?"

It all started for me when I was about three and, erm,

one day I was sitting on the sofa,

watching Tracey Beaker on the TV, sandwiched in between my mum and dad

and I said, "I'm going to be in a show like that."

Millie actually got the chance to work with her childhood heroine

Dani Harmer when she was only nine.

On my first day of Dani's House, I was freaking out.

I was so excited cos I'd watched the show for years.

Like, little nine-year-old me was all excited.

I kind of got over being a bit starstruck

after about the first week and then we all just became a massive family.

Working with the person who'd first inspired her

was a big deal for Millie,

but there was more inspiration to come.

I think the most inspirational person I've worked with would

have to be Jason Isaacs,

who's known for Harry Potter and Peter Pan and stuff.

I was in Case Histories with him,

and it's a series based on books by Kate Atkinson. It's a BBC drama.

So he taught me loads, and a lot of my work ethic now is to do with him.

I always have to remember that when I'm filming it is a job,

it's not a hobby.

It is fun, but we always have to get the scenes done.

BlushHappyFarmer wanted to know,

"Who looks after you when you're away filming?"

Jacqui Green is my chaperone and tutor.

She's basically the person that looks after me and is there for me.

24/7, when I'm on set, she's like my second mum

when I'm away filming.

The role of a chaperone, really, is to make sure

that the children are looked after properly.

That includes where they're staying,

how many hours they work,

to make sure that they get their adequate tuition

and that they're very happy.

The studio is just a short walk from Millie's hotel.

It's still really early.

They haven't even had their breakfast yet,

but Millie and Co aren't the only early birds.

The make-up and wardrobe teams have to get the cast ready

for the first scene of the day.

Right, has anyone noticed

there isn't actually any wardrobes in here?

Like, seriously, not even one.

And I need to shave, cos I'm a real man.

So, I do that, then I get changed into my costume,

have some breakfast,

go on set and produce the magic.

It's all go, getting bed heads tamed before the actors hit

the studio floor.

The make-up department.

The perfect opportunity to gather some more intel

and get the answers to some of your questions.

Lots of you asked,

"What's the best thing about being an actor?"

The best things about being an actor

are being able to play a character

and truly lose yourself through performing

and getting to meet and work with such wonderful people.

It's honestly the only job I could see myself doing

and I love it with all my heart.

Another popular question was,

"Is Millie like her character?"

Some nights when I look at the scenes for the next day,

I see a scene and I understand where Millie's coming from completely,

whether it's a piece to MillieCam or she's just in a scene by herself,

or if it's a scene with Lauren, in particular,

I find that really easy to play because I know what Millie's feeling

or how to understand what she's saying.

And she's got a new necklace, which is, like, my favourite thing

in the whole wide world!

It says "Millie" with wee glasses on!

While the cast are getting their cossies and make-up on,

there's loads more going on behind the scenes.

Let's take a trip to the engine room to meet the people

who keep this show on the road.

Round here, they're called production.

There's so much organisation behind a show like this,

and here is where it all happens.

Whether you need cast, crew, equipment, scripts,

transport, they'll sort it.

And if the director absolutely has to have a pink elephant,

then production will do their very best to find one.

If there's a pink elephant with an agent,

then we get into negotiation

and then we have to work out how much the pink elephant costs

and exactly how we're going to get it into the studio.

Seriously, though, it takes so much organisation

to get this show into production and keep it running smoothly.

There is nothing left to chance.

All over the studio complex, the team is working to a carefully

worked-out timetable so everything will be ready

when the actors arrive on the studio floor.

And today, I get to join them.

Come on. We've just got time for a sneaky peak

on set before the cameras roll.

Even though it might look it, none of this is real.

Somebody had to imagine Millie's world

and then create it completely from scratch.

OK, so welcome to Millie's mum's house.

And this is actually the set of the upstairs bit

and this is Millie's bedroom

that she shares with Lauren, of course,

and it's amazing.

It actually just looks like any teenager's bedroom.

Millie's diary.

I don't know if I'm allowed to touch this, but I've just gone for it.

Shouldn't look at that. It's probably private!

I like that we've got a fictional band up on the wall there

called The Temper Hearts.

Unless they're a real band and I'm not cool enough to know them.

Maybe they are.

The attention to detail in these sets

are absolutely incredible. There is just so much stuff.

Something which I really love is the photos all around the set.

That's baby Lauren, which is actually baby Tallulah from

when she was really, really little.

How cute is her hair?

OK, let's, er, have a look at what's downstairs.

Nothing!

There's nothing down here. It's just set.

Right, guys, just give me a second cos I just need to use the toilet.

All right? I'll be two... What? Don't use the toilet?

What? It's not real?

Ha-ha!

That could have been embarrassing!

OK, guys. Eight o'clock. Thank you. Everyone on the floor, please.

Dario, send me the cast straight away.

And now it's time for me to go to set.

Morning, everybody.

OK? How are you doing?

Ever wondered what someone means

when they say they're calling the shots?

Well, you're about to find out.

Dez the director is breaking the scene down.

He explains what each shot will be, what the actors are doing,

and what the crew should prepare for.

You just appear right in shot, yeah?

It should be wide enough to see her go to the bed.

Everyone then gets a chance to rehearse

before the cameras roll for real.

Go out with you, loser.

OK, so, Millie for mics, please. Thank you very much.

Let's set for that now, please. Thank you.

..rest of the script, and, again,

get right in before you go "A date?"

You're still saying it on the move.

-It's a cut point.

-Thank you.

Now the director has given his feedback,

let's see how the take goes.

OK, take one. First scene of the day.

And action!

Ooh! Double chin prop! What's the matter?

If you must know, it's Fran.

She set me up on a date.

On a date?! With a boy?

The director keeps a careful eye on every aspect of the scene

and if anything isn't right,

they have to do it all over again.

And you're welcome.

OK, I'm going to cut and go one more time, please.

In dramas, like Millie Inbetween,

the actors have to do the scene over and over and over again.

That's to make sure that it is perfect.

CeriseWizzingRose asked, "Is the director very strict?"

I think the director has to be, to get everything done,

to get all the scenes done by the end of the day,

but Dez isn't too strict.

-Sh!

-Only sometimes.

-Don't say that.

-No, he's not.

Don't say that. I am strict. I am strict.

-Yeah, you are.

-I'm strict in a nice way.

In a not a strict way.

THEY LAUGH

Right, thank you. Here we go, then. Action!

I wonder what Jake's doing today. I might give him a call.

Cut! Thank you. Much better.

That went well, but do you know what?

It doesn't always go that smoothly.

I'll get Mike and Craig out of the way

and then we can get Miss Knope out of here.

THEY LAUGH

-Do you know what? I think I'm going to go for a walk.

-Fine.

Totally missed me.

THEY LAUGH

I shall have to shatter it with the power of my mouth.

LAUGHING

CRASHING

That didn't go as planned.

I'm just going to scout out over here.

You know, just check it out a little.

Whatever, Mill.

Can you just stop giving me that attitude, please?

Here, I got you these.

Sorry.

Ninja!

They didn't work.

-Chrissie!

-Hello, Justin!

-MUFFLED:

-What are you doing here? Sorry!

Well, they do say you should never speak with your mouth full!

Another popular question was,

"What's the best thing about being on Millie Inbetween?"

The best thing about being an actor on Millie Inbetween

would probably be everyone on the set.

Everyone's just really amazing.

Right, guys, nice and quiet now.

My special starter, tower of salad!

Being able to see yourself on TV, it's kind of like,

"Wow, I did that."

It's a lot of hard work, but it's fun at the same time.

Like the experience and the people who you meet -

Millie, Mya, Tallulah.

All the crew on this know each other really well

and, obviously, for most of the cast it's the second year running,

so, like, I go and see films with Theo and Hannah,

or I've gone bowling with Jeremy,

or, you know, we've had a few nights

round at Richard's and that sort of thing,

where we've all had food together.

OK, time for some Millie Inbetween stats.

How many lights do you think there are between Mum's house

and Dad's flat?

68 plus 12,

that's 100 and 2 over there.

Do you know what? It's 200.

I didn't really count them all. The lighting director told me.

How many cups of tea and coffee will the crew drink during the shoot?

There'll be 8,640. You're welcome!

Do you know how many breakfasts

and lunches will be eaten during Series Two?

Yes, Lauren. Yes, I do. Looked into that for you.

-Great!

-Turns out it's, er, 5,759.

-Wow.

-Lunch!

I'm about to make that 5,760.

That's lunch, then, and you so don't want to see Theo eating!

Believe me!

So, let's look instead at something that happened earlier this week

when Millie Inbetween went on location.

Everything from the studio had to be carefully transported here -

lights, cameras, monitors, make-up,

costume props and sound equipment.

It's died!

Cut.

The crew faced many challenges while filming an episode in the woods.

-Forget it!

-Craig, if you fall down and break both your legs,

don't you come running to me!

Just look at what they had to do to get one simple shot

of Theo up a tree!

Stand by.

Action!

You sort it out!

Isn't that an ants' nest up there?

Whah!

-Got ya!

-Cut!

Let's go back to the studio for another one of your questions.

So, loads of you guys wanted to know what I do

when I'm not in front of the camera.

Well, you'll never guess where I'm going next.

This is my school away from school.

So, I don't get let off easy when I'm away filming.

I need to keep up with my schoolwork.

Let's go over again, Robert Louis Stephenson.

Millie's chaperone, Jacqui, has two jobs on this show.

She's also the on-set tutor for all of the younger actors,

making sure they keep up with the schoolwork, too.

Children can be on set for 9½ hours.

4½ hours of that can be in front of camera.

And then we have to give them three hours' tuition every single day.

At a film set, it's really not a holiday.

They have to cover their English, their maths, their science,

their geography, history...

everything that they're doing at school they also do here.

So, when they go back,

they just slot in and become a part of their school again.

And speaking of learning things,

there are a few tips I want to pick up from Richard,

who plays Millie's on-screen dad.

So, Richard, I've heard that you're a bit of an air-guitar hero?

Air guitar King of Rock!

Really? Can I be the Queen of Rock?

-Do you want the secrets?

-I want all the secrets!

-Step this way.

-Yes!

-We're going to do The Windmill. Feet apart.

-OK.

You need a bit of space, you don't take someone out behind you!

Don't want to do that.

-And, round! Whoa, whoa, whoa!

-Yes! Yes!

-Good girl.

-Yeah, like it!

Second move, The Caveman. The Cavewoman!

You get one down on the guitar, and whey!

After three. One, two, three...

Whey!

And finally, Queen of Rock, I salute you, The Hop. Are you ready?

The Hop? OK!

-That's the Windmill, a Caveman, and out.

-Right, OK.

-One, two three!

-Windmill!

-Caveman!

-Caveman!

And Hop!

Whey!

CHEERING

So, a lot of our fans want to know what age we all were

when we started acting.

So, what age were you?

I was about 16 when it first occurred to me that it was

something that I wanted to do.

I had a very good drama teacher at school who really helped me develop

and I went to drama school at 18, came out when I was 21,

and worked ever since. And that was about two years ago!

SHE GASPS

THEY LAUGH

-How old are you?

-I was two.

-No, how old are you now?

-Oh, I'm 12.

I was 12.

My first big thing was with the National Youth Music Theatre.

I did a few years with them and loved it, so have very much

come from a theatre background and I just loved it.

12 years old. What were you doing at two - Pampers ads?

-No, I was doing...

-That's not acting!

..Absolutely Fabulous!

You're not acting at two! You're just running around!

THEY LAUGH

We all want to know, who is the funniest person on set?

Hello, hello.

I'm number one. Cos I've got watermelons on my shirt.

Canals.

They float my boat!

SHE LAUGHS

Nailed it.

HE LAUGHS

Come on! That was comedy gold!

I don't know! Who's the funniest?

Just speak your mind. Just say the truth!

All right, Theo. He's the funniest.

Do-do-do-do-do-do do!

It was great, should have been there!

I think that Craig is one of the funniest characters

in the series, absolutely!

Craig takes after Mike, so...

He takes after Mike, yeah, all of bit of that...

Very slow, and then a bit manic at times.

-Oh, oh, I've done some sketches for the kids' outfits!

-Oh, lovely!

We set up so we sit in the same way,

we move the same way just to show we've got that father-and-son type.

We actually put a lot of work... We do, we actually do, don't we?

HE SIGHS

But, sometimes, it's funny when it's not meant to be.

Action!

-No way!

-Shh!

-LOUD THUD

-Argh!

Well, I'm not at one with schools.

Every time I go in one, I feel reminded of a...

And I'm not at one with...

SHE LAUGHS

Not at one with your lines, either!

Let me bring up my tactical teacher spreadsheet.

You have a teacher spreadsheet?

THEY LAUGH

And, action!

Yeah, sorry?

SHE LAUGHS

Action!

I mean, how could you mess it up?

I did. I mean, it's unbelievable.

Dad used to think it was cute.

Why are you putting ketchup on a cracker?

LAUGHTER

Are you sure?

Look, he even has a thing.

Can't go from...something!

It was! You was the one that wouldn't let me have it.

That's so appalling, why is she even talking to me like I'm not...

It's not "you was", it's "you were"!

THEY LAUGH

How am I raising you?

I'm sorry!

Oh!

Oh, I am sorry - I'm just not used to getting up that early.

Anyway, if they were a real family,

this is where they'd watch TV together.

Imagine if they were real,

and Millie Inbetween was still on the TV.

SHE YAWNS

You know, and they're all sat around, like, watching it...

Oh, this sofa is comfy.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow,

the Whittle family is watching its favourite show.

And tonight it's all about young love.

Oh, can we watch this? I quite like this show.

Nice pigtails!

Shut up! No-one can ever see this!

This is, er, this is Justin.

He's my new mate.

Oh, he looks like a young Michael Bubbles!

He's got lovely hair!

Do you think I'd suit a fringe?

Nice to meet you all.

Oh, rabbit in the headlights. There she goes again!

Will someone please just tell her that boys are not the answer?

Well, that depends on the question.

You see, there's nothing wrong with the concept of boyfriends.

They were very big in the '60s!

Boyfriends?

Yeah, I had lots and lots!

She means fringes.

Oh!

Craig would be much your style. I mean, look at his room!

So, here I've got my bed...

Yeah, the whole looking-like-a-bed thing was a giveaway.

I just kind of lay here and...sleep.

-Are those plates...

-Hairy?

BOTH: Urgh!

Oh, they should open up some windows, let some fresh air in,

sitting around on your face pads all day.

Can't be hygienic!

That boy needs a healthy hobby.

Like cross-country running!

Or hill-walking!

BOTH: Or...bell-ringing!

Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding!

What a family!

Ding, dong, ding, dong!

Lauren?

Lauren?

-Hi?

-Lauren?

-Lauren.

-Lauren.

No, you're Lauren!

We need the sofa for the next scene.

Well, that was a weird dream. I am so tired!

But look at all this lot, they're still working.

It's very busy, there's still lots to do today.

But I did manage to grab chat with Millie and Mya between scenes.

So, guys, how's today going? It looks amazing.

Today's been really good, yeah.

It's been quite busy for me,

because this morning I ran four scenes back-to-back,

and there was blocking and it was all very hectic, but we got it done.

And what's it like for you two? Cos, obviously, in the first series

you two were brand-new, didn't know each other well. What's it like now?

-We are besties!

-We are best friends!

-This is just so sweet, I love it!

-Yeah!

Loads of you wanted to know what these young actors miss

when they're away filming.

I miss everyone that I know.

Like my friends, and my family.

Oh, and my dog. She counts as my family, though.

I think the person in my family that I miss the most is my

little brother, Oscar, who's two.

Because whenever I go home he's always saying, "My-My, I love you",

and, like, he's just so cute and I miss him so much.

It's been a really, really long day,

but, finally, they are shooting their last scene.

And...action!

Don't take it now, we're eating.

OpalCrazySilkworm, and loads of others,

asked the cast what advice they would give

for young aspiring actors.

The thing that you need to have is a passion and a stubbornness

and the desire just to go and do it.

I think the reason that we don't see enough representation

of different backgrounds and that sort of thing in the industry

is that kids are told that you're not going to make enough money.

And that's a stupid reason not to take up acting,

so, I would recommend it.

I think if it's something that you want to do,

let your passion for it show.

Join the clubs that you can.

Even if it's, like, you know,

you're just doing, like, theatre down the road, who cares?

You're doing something that you love and as long as you're happy,

that's good.

I wouldn't be anything without all the experiences that I'd had

in all those theatre groups - those are where you practice

and learn and you're doing it, essentially,

because you enjoy it, rather than just wanting to become famous.

Whatever dream you have...

do your dream.

Memorise it, and do it.

Thank you, guys. That's a wrap, everyone. Thank you very much.

We'll see you all again tomorrow morning. Thank you.

It's hard work making Millie Inbetween,

but it's also a lot of fun.

That's horrible!

But, for Millie Innes, the day is not quite done.

She's got to learn ten pages of script,

so that she's ready to do it all again tomorrow.

I think Millie Inbetween connects with millions of people,

and I have people messaging me saying,

this is exactly like my family,

or, my mum and dad are going through the same thing.

Real life is full of a mixture of tears and laughter

and that's what we're trying to represent on this show.

In no way is this show kind of dumbed down for kids.

You have all that emotional stuff, as well as all this comedy,

it's a really, really nice balance.

Final question from AmethystSewingClownfish,

"Where do you see yourself in ten years' time?"

I'm obviously wanting to take time out for school and exams,

and if I want to go to university, or drama school,

or whatever it is I find myself doing,

I think I will always go back to acting,

no matter what I do in between.

I really love it and I wouldn't change it for the world.

You've all seen what it takes to make Millie Inbetween,

but this episode couldn't have happened without all of you lot.

So, for sending in your brilliant questions,

thank you to LimeKitePrimrose, ScarletFizzySatsuma,

PurpleTalkativeMango, LilacCrispyZook...

Do you know what? There's loads of you, just read it for yourself!

You have made this episode of Millie Inbetween extra special,

and I hope we've shown you guys a little bit about what

it's like behind the scenes.

Now, I've had the best day ever, but, I must admit,

I am more tired than I think I've ever been in my entire life.

So, I think that's a wrap. Roll the credits!