I warn you now, this is long! and some of it is a bit rambly, but it does all have a point.
how it started:
I woke up to a message flashing on my phone - through twitter.
Now, I rarely use twitter and it's been a good long time since I've had anyone contact me through it, so that for a start was strange.
Then I read the message:
"hi BabyBunting! would really like to chat about a reunion with a famous duo you once met" and then a bbc contact email.
Now there's only one famous duo I've ever met, so it didn't take long to work out who she was talking about. But the main question was - was this for real?
So off I went onto good old Google and checked out this person who claimed to be a researcher for The One Show. Everything seemed legit. Still wasn't 100% believing though (this will be a reoccurring theme throughout!). So i fired off a vague "how can i help?" email to see what the deal was, we're going away in July so I had a feeling knowing what my luck is like that it would happen while we were away. A few minutes later an email pinged back, Ant and Dec were going to be on The One Show that Thursday and they'd love to reunite us live on the show!
I mulled it over for a little while - a reunion with Ant and Dec! after 18 years! (saying "mulled" would imply I was calm, I can assure you I was anything but! I think I was actually shaking at this point)
It had always been in the back of my mind that one day this might happen, but nearly 20 years later I really thought the chances of anything like this happening were pretty minuscule. Their career was going from strength to strength and the palaver which was Beat The Barber seemed buried in the past, forgotten by all but my friends who would occasionally bring it up for embarrassments sake.
I was 13 when it all happened, they were 20 - now I'm 32 and they're 38, and while they have quite literally written a book on their lives to date, mine has been much less remarkable. (married, kids, uni... the usual)
I went on the show simply because my best friend asked me to- as a rather humongous favour! She had originally been meant to be the contestant but the afternoon before the show was due to be filmed, her mum changed her mind. I can still recall walking in the door from school at 4:45 to the ringing phone and Ayse was on the other end "Laur, I need your help!". Once I ran it by my parents and we agreed it would be ok we contacted the researcher and consent forms from the BBC were motorbiked round to the house. I left school at lunch the next day and the rest... well... the rest is history! but I was already looking to get my hair cut at some point, and to be quite honest- not being at all into computer games, I think I would have rather had the haircut over the PlayStation anyway! lol As I said, I really went onto the show as a favour, not because I particularly wanted the prize!
I knew by the 2nd strip being removed from the "baldy board" I had no idea who it was, so I had time to come to terms with my 'fate'.
A big deal was made of it at the time, a big deal I never really understood - it's just hair after all, it's not like they tattooed a swear word on my forehead! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
I really do hope they know I never ever held any negative feelings towards them because of it, I've always backed them up and set the story straight when people complained - I went on the CBBC Broom cupboard, Bite Back, Points of View and even had a wee section in Live & Kicking Magazine desperately trying to clear their names.(my dad still grumbles that his only TV appearance ever was on Bite Back defending Ant and Dec!! lol)
Once every now and again someone would catch something on TV where 'the incident' got shown ("Ant and Dec: where did it all go right" usually), and I was mentioned in their book, but generally speaking it was something I kept to myself, not because I was ashamed, but because I'm really quite an introvert and I feel uncomfortable with that level of attention... and also let's face it, it's not exactly something which comes up in your every day conversation! If people ask about it, I'll happily tell - but I don't go out of my way to bring up the topic. Not even my kids knew about it!
I seem to recall the contract (which I can't find) actually saying they could shave my head, but I think considering I had so much hair to lose compared to the boys who had taken part, they took pity on me.
But back to the present day- as loyal a fan I am, part of me was actually pretty hesitant in going ahead with it.
I've had a rough time over the past few years, and right now I'm still not in the best place. I weigh more right now than i've ever weighed in my entire life (including when I was pregnant!)- due to the depression I'm still dealing with after losing mum to cancer 2 years ago, the stress of doing my MSc at uni, and PCOS -a hormonal condition which amongst other things means I put on weight really really easily and getting rid of it again is a chore and a half (I mean it took me 2 years of strict diet and fitness classes 4 times a week just to lose 2 dress sizes!). I also unfortunately now have some issues with my joints and so I've not been able to be as involved in fitness as I used to be, but losing weight through diet alone is a very long and very slow road when you have PCOS- it is coming off, just rather slowly. Needless to say, my perceptions of my own body image aren't that great just now to say the least.
So a very real thought going through my head was "do I really want them seeing me like this?"
But then the logical part of my brain kicked in. This could possibly be my one and only chance, was I really going to pass it up just because I'm carrying a few extra lbs than I want to? I knew deep down I would regret it if I passed this opportunity up.
While for the past many years I haven't followed their every move, like I did when I was 13, I've always been a fan of the boys - and I still proudly say "I liked them before it was cool to like them!"- them getting to #1 with Rhumble had me sitting there going "funny, you lot all made fun of me for buying this the first time around!".
I've been trying to think of a less-cheesy way to put it.... but I've always been proud of them ... in almost in a familial kinda way I guess - they have been a part of my life for the better part of 20 years after all! (I still can't go and get my hair cut without being teased thanks to them lol, and I'm STILL having to defend their actions from the show some 18 years later...) ... for how well they've done, their determination, and the fact that fame hasn't changed them at all... I still consider them 'my boys' (after having to be so fiercely defensive of them back in the 90s) and when I look at them, I still see those teenagers from Byker Grove.... not 2 of the most popular TV presenters in the UK. And having 2 step-sons of my own who are 17 and 19 makes me even prouder, I can't imagine my boys dealing with what they did at the same age....
And I'll always be proud that I played a small part in them getting to be where they are now. Watching them on the TV, knowing the 13 year old me was part of the journey that led them to where they are now... yeah, I'm proud.
Anyway.... back to the present. It was also incredibly unreal timing - I had been growing my hair since before mum passed away 2 years ago and I was looking to get it cut that very week prior to going on holiday, but something made me hold off booking the appointment. I came so close on numerous occasions to booking it, but something made me stop.
I was also supposed to be meeting with one of my uni lecturers on Thursday, but something made me hold off confirming my attendance...
There was no way I could have known this was going to happen - I don't go out of my way to keep up with their schedule (i can barely keep up with my own!), so it is a little freaky.
So after I'd given myself a slap around the face, regulated my breathing and stopped pacing the room going "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" I emailed Becky (the researcher) back with my contact details and happened to mention I'd been thinking of them recently as I had been growing my hair and was about to get it all cut off again to send to a cancer charity who make wigs for people undergoing chemo (I've done this a few times now- but this would be the first time since losing mum to cancer, so it definitely had more significance to it. I've stuck a few photos at the bottom to illustrate).
So the lovely Becky called and we had a nice natter about what had happened 18 years ago and what the plan was for thursday, I said yes I'd be delighted to come - she said I wasn't to contact the lads in any way, I was going to be a super secret special guest! Ant and Dec had no idea! We discussed travel and said we'd be in contact again. 5 minutes later the phone rang again - Becky had just been speaking to the producer and "if it's ok with you, we'd love to recreate beat the barber!" I just laughed, agreed and said I hoped they wouldn't get complaints this time!
So yes, while I was going to get my hair cut regardless of the show, it was actually the BBC's idea to recreate Beat The Barber!
I posted up on my facebook about going to be reunited with Ant and Dec, and instantly all the reactions (from those who knew) was "don't let them near your hair again!" - I never said a word about that, that remained top secret.
Fortunately my husband can work from home (his boss said it was the most unusual reason for a work from home day request he's ever received!), so childcare was sorted - and I spent Wednesday driving through the day heading down to London. My god that was the longest drive ever! I've done that journey many times but the drive down has never felt so long! My stomach was doing backflips throughout and there were a couple of points I very nearly turned the car around. The anxiety and nerves were killing me!
I'd arranged so that my best friend, Ayse, could come. She was the one who was meant to be the contestant on the show originally but had to pull out last minute - so really all of this is her fault anyway, and she's got a good way of helping me deal with my anxiety levels -which I think were just about at an all time high right then.
There was still a part of me which thought this was all just one big wind up, even after official BBC forms got sent through an official BBC email, I still wasn't 100% convinced.
So I arrived in London (after a very long 404mile drive!), managed to catch the end of The One Show when they announced that tomorrow's guests would be Ant and Dec - well ok that alleviated some of my suspicion, this was the first it was announced they'd be on the show, so how would you know unless you really did work for the BBC? yes I'm suspicious as hell!
I was still thinking "I am gonna look one almighty twat if this does turn out to have been a prank!"
Thursday arrived and my God I was so nervous I felt sick. And I'll be honest, I did have a good number of those "I can't do this! I'm going to cancel!" moments! Ayse came over and we headed up to London on the train. We stopped for a coffee as we'd arrived early to avoid rush-hour, and then made our way over to the studio.
I would like say that right from the off, everyone at the BBC was lovely! Even the security guards! Everyone was so pleasant, cheerful and friendly (not something you come across much in London!) and we got directed where to go (passing a life-sized T.A.R.D.I.S and Dalek on the way which, as a Whovian, made me squeal with delight!) and collected our visitors passes which were sitting there ready and waiting for us.
that's when I started to really believe it was all happening, this wasn't a big elaborate prank, the BBC were expecting me! this was actually really happening!
There was a real buzz in the air amongst the BBC staff. I along with 4 members of the cast of Byker Grove were there as secret special guests and it was evident the whole crew were very excited about it. There were lots of "we're delighted you could come!" and "we're all really looking forward to this!" type comments.
They hurried me down into the basement of the BBC where make-up gets done, they wanted me in and out and as far away as possible so we wouldn't run into the boys (I very much doubt they would have recognised me anyway, but that's by the by). Upon entering make-up there was the lovely Alex Jones, who I didn't actually recognise at first - there was just so much I was trying to take in! She was so nice - we chatted for a while while she was getting her hair done, then Matt Baker came in and we chatted for a bit too. He was super excited for recreating Beat The Barber, he was literally bouncing! They were saying how ironic it was that despite the fact I technically lost the game, in a way I won too as I'm the only contestant anyone remembers! and all because I didn't know who a bald Jimmy Hill was... I just laughed and said "to be fair, apart from he's something to do with football, I still don't know who he is!"
And man, everyone on TV has such white teeth! I mean really really white!
I also met Michael Douglas who would be cutting my hair and we discussed what was going to happen and how. Basically the questions were deliberately made so hard there'd be no way I'd get them right, a section of hair would get cut off per wrong question - in 2 or 3 sections depending on how much time there was. Everyone was buzzing about recreating that moment, springing this surprise on the duo who have become renowned for their pranking. It was when I was getting my make-up done that I also met Becky, the researcher - she too was giddy with excitement!
I was miked up (though had to hide it after rehearsal till I was about to be revealed) then we ran a quick rehearsal - that was a strange experience, everything would be going along then all of a sudden everyone would stop, evidently listening to a voice in their ear piece/headset and would then go again. It was almost like the 'rise of the cybermen' episode of Doctor Who, when every time a transmission came through everyone just stopped dead in their tracks. It was kinda freaky!
I was also surprised at how small the studio really is! I mean it's not much bigger than my living room!
Interspersed between the silence and the rehearsing Matt and Alex were doing impressions of various celebs, I think in an attempt to help me relax, bless them for trying but I fear I was too far gone by that point. I was doing all I could to not pass out from the anxiety and nerves! I can recall Alex holding my hand rather tightly at one point. I think my mantra for the day was "breathe, Laurie, breathe!"
Sitting in that barber chair, it really did feel like I was 13 again. And while this time I knew I was going to be going away without my hair, I was a tiny bit nervous that Ant and Dec didn't.
We were then scurried away to the other end of the BBC building where we were joined by the cast of Byker Grove.
It was strange to realise that we spent so many years during our teens doing all we could to meet them, now we were having to hide from them! I t was all just a little bit nuts!
We had a quick drink and were then scurried back to the studio before Ant and Dec arrived to do their rehearsal.
We were hidden behind some big movable TV board-type-things with some other production crew. We could hear when Ant and Dec arrived, but had to stay hidden out of sight so we never actually saw them until the programme commenced airing. In fact I was so well hidden I didn't see them until they saw me!
When the show was about to air, I was hidden at the back of the audience with a production crew member's lanyard on to try and make me look as inconspicuous as possible. The lads were brought on and ... well the rest you saw on TV! I didn't actually know I was going to be going and sitting next to them on the sofas until the show was airing (which was actually probably a good call coz if I'd known I probably would have freaked out even more!)
(I should note that most of my memories from this point are from what I've seen on the TV, I was so nervous I really cannot remember much at all about the whole experience. I can recall hiding behind a camera while my beat the barber clip was showing, them saying my name, feeling a hand on my hair (that turned out to be Dec), the texture of the fabric on the sofa, peering over onto Dec's world cup wall card thing, Alex gripping onto my shoulders during the game and her loudly whispering "quite a long way", but that's about it.)
Then came my bit. I actually thought I was going to pass out, be sick, or totally freeze (or any combination of the 3!) I was so nervous. I had no idea how they were going to react, afterall, it had been 18 years. I knew they remembered the Beat the Barber incident, as they talk about it in their book, but I really didn't know quite how fondly they hold that memory.
But the looks on their faces when I was revealed were absolutely priceless and instantly alleviated my concerns, and I immediately relaxed. It's still a very strange and surreal thought that I caused those reactions in two of Britain's national treasures!
So we did the sofa mini interview thing (I'm still not sure why I said the Beat the Barber experience was "terrifying"- it wasn't. The being on stage in front of lots of people was, the thought about it being on TV was, but the actual game show and getting my hair cut wasn't), they went off and potted golf balls into Simon Cowell's chin-high trousers and I was moved to the other end of the studio where Michael, his scissors and the chair were waiting for me, they did their bit with the Byker Grove cast and then it was back to me. By this point I was a lot more relaxed and was able to enjoy the experience a bit more, although everyone was behind me so all I saw was the reactions of the crew.
Ant: "the last time we did this on the BBC, we had to leave the BBC"
The first stupidly hard question was asked (how many miles between newcastle and london - amazingly I was only 13 miles out!), and the first section was removed. Alex and Matt's reactions really make me chuckle as prior to the show starting they were so excited for this moment, they evidently felt a little different once the moment actually arrived! once the first section was off, that was it - no turning back!
But I really hoped this showed them, and the general public, that there were no negative feelings about it all - the fact I was willing to recreate it, I couldn't have been *that* traumatised the first time around, could I?
After the cameras stopped Michael instant piped up with "that'll be £150 please", everyone laughed and I replied that it was still cheaper than our last trip to the vet - to which I heard one of the lads- i think it was Ant reply "yeah tell me about it"
Everyone behind me came around to the front and everyone just stared at me - I felt somewhat like an exhibit at the zoo! I really didn't know what to say, simply because I didn't feel it was the big deal everyone else was making it out to be- I'd just had my hair cut! Someone took a photo of all of us (not sure who), and then the crowd dispersed.
We already knew that Ant and Dec weren't going to be able to stay for very long (from the timestamps on my photos I don't think they were able to hang around any more than about 8 minutes), but we got the chance to have a very quick chat ("I can't believe that just happened, again!" was the main theme), got autographs and a picture.
And yes they really are as lovely in real life as they are on TV and I'm delighted to say they've not changed at all since really making it big. While standing there chatting to them, I completely forgot how famous they are now, there's no high and mighty attitudes, they are so down to earth and very easy to talk to.
It was just such a wonderful experience all in all - just a little bummed they had to dash off so quickly, it would have been nice to have a proper catch-up and find out how they felt about the whole ordeal back in 1996. It was all over and done with in the blink of an eye.
Ayse got to tell them how we came to be friends because of them, that my dad taught her science and it was just a random comment one day in class after christmas about me driving him mad listening to "PJ and bloody Duncan" that sparked our friendship - 20 years later we're still best mates.
I was then whisked away back down to the basement and the delightfully funny Michael finished up my hair
Everyone left quite quickly after the show ended. I never got chance to get a photo with Matt and Alex which I didn't realise until a few hours later, but oh well - I've got the video!
I got back to dad's eventually at gone midnight after going out with Ayse for dinner, needless to say I was feeling a little tired by then! But wow, what a day!!! I also savoured the amazing make-up for as long as possible, I am pretty rubbish when it comes to make-up and always end up looking like a hooker when i try to do anything dramatic
So far I'm loving having short hair again:
- It's so much lighter - no more headaches! (which i was having on nearly a daily basis) honestly, until you've had hair down to your bum you've really no idea quite how heavy it is, even when dry! imagine how heavy it was when wet!
- I use so much less hair products
- I dont need to use a bath sheet sized towel to wrap my hair up after washing it (yet more weight)
- It dries in minutes rather than hours
- I don't look like i've been dragged through a hedge backwards when I've woken in the morning.
- I'm sure my hubby will be delighted that my long hair wont be clogging up the drains anymore!
and I've been told numerous times how much younger I look with it short :)
will I grow it back? Most probably. I grew over 50cm in just over 2 years, and if it's something I can do to give people with cancer a bit of dignity back while they're fighting that awful disease, then I'll happily do it again.
Public reaction so far I'm glad (and relieved!) to say seems to have been pretty positive. I've seen a couple of comments on twitter from people who have evidently completely missed the reason for recreating Beat The Barber and said that if I wanted a haircut I should have just asked for one - but other than that the comments have generally fallen into one of 2 categories:
"omg no not again! that poor girl"
and
"good for her for donating her hair"
I even saw a comment which said "this is the best thing i've seen on TV in years, this is better than Big Brother!". That made me laugh.
So, yeah... I'm still really coming to terms with it all - it all happened so quickly and it was all so surreal that it's really hard to convince myself it really happened.
I've likened it to just walking down the street and someone coming up to you, slapping you around the face and then running away. That's how quickly it feels like it happened. I've got the short hair, the video and the photos to prove it happened - but my brain is still trying to process exactly how and why it happened!
and whenever anyone asks me about that day, I always start with this one phrase:
"It was all just a little bit nuts!"
mum - I did this for you. Love you and miss you more every day xxxx
as mentioned above - here are a few pics to show this isn't the first time I've cut lots off in a oner! (but this time was by far the most!)
2009:
2011: (sorry not the best pic (I was a tad tipsy!) but best I could find to illustrate length!)
