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Thursday, October 1, 2009

Having kids = red faces

I was reminded yesterday of the power of children to cause embarrassment to their parents. Walking home from school with a good friend and her children, my children and Mr T we were chatting to the kids;
'Does Mummy shout a lot?' my friend asked Heather after I had given them the umpteetnh warning about running off and threatened to really shout...
'No!' she replied
Does Daddy?'
'Yes, and sometimes he even argues with Mummy,' she volunteered, oh dear...
'Who wins?'
'Mummy' (good girl!)
'Who' in charge?'
'Mummy.'
Enough to cause most of us to blush bright red.

It is funny how children see the world and view their own capabilities and we often hear if children ruled the world...
It may interest you to know that a new TV show is giving children the chance to do just that, well sort of, hidden cameras filmed children doing grown up jobs and starts this week, the host Chris Tarrant allowed himself to be interviewed by some of the children featured in the show.

Children asked Chris the questions. This is what happened...

What happens in the programme? (Aiden, 11 3/4 )
Tarrant Lets The Kids Loose is a hidden camera show where children as young as four are left in charge of very grown-up jobs, like running a beauty parlour, being in charge of a library for the day, running a garden centre, running a hairdressers including cutting peoples’ hair, and being a DJ for the day! The kids have no idea they’re being filmed, and even though they don’t realise it, they’re surrounded by up to 14 hidden cameras and microphones, and there are security men hidden in disguise everywhere. Mum and dad are watching through a secret control room.

The way the kids handle these difficult situations is absolutely brilliant. They then come into the studio thinking they’re just going for a day watching a TV show and only when they see the film with them in it they realise that they are the stars of the show.

Is it true you were on telly once and threw custard pies on peoples’ faces? (Ingmar, 11)
Yes, that was absolutely true! I did a show called Tiswas in the 1970s with people like Lenny Henry, Sally James and a spitting dog called Spit. We used to drench each other, the audience and all the children with custard. I absolutely loved it. We had no idea what we were doing. Lots of people used to write that we were changing the face of television, but really we were a bunch of people from Birmingham having a laugh.

Why do you like working with children so much? (Martha, 4)
The kids on Tiswas were a wild bunch that’s for sure! But it was a great morning we had once a week. The new show, Tarrant Lets The Kids Loose, is a real pleasure to work on, but obviously, with kids involved, it’s very difficult to guarantee what’s going to happen! They say the first thing that comes into their heads.

Who do you like best, children or adults? (Ingmar, 11)
Children, but I couldn’t eat a whole one!

When you were my age, what did you want to do? (Casper, 8)
I always wanted to be a water bailiff, so I could be paid to go fishing all day. My granddad took me fishing when I was four, and my dad took me too. I live about five miles away from the River Kennet, so I can go fishing now whenever I like. I would have also loved to have been captain of the England cricket team.

What's your favourite bit about being on TV? (Caitlin, 6 1/2)
Michael Aspel used to say it was always the car ride home! The trouble is that now people just want to be on telly to be famous. I’ve been doing it for so long that it’s not really a big deal anymore. I thoroughly enjoy it though, and I’ve done a lot of shows I’m very proud of and I’ve made a lot of really good mates. I can’t actually do anything else!

What school did you go to, and did you like it? (Aiden, 11 3/4)
I went to a very nice little school in Reading called The IX (nine) School, which was named because it was number nine in the road. Then I went to boarding school, at the King’s School in Worcester, where I wasn’t at all happy.

When you do Millionaire, is it your money that you give away? (Casper, 8)
Absolutely not! If it was my money I’d make the questions impossible to answer!

What TV programme do you most want to host? (Aiden, 11 3/4 )
To be honest, I think I’ve hosted every show that I really had any ambition to do. I still love doing Millionaire after 11 years and still get a great buzz out of it. And I’m really enjoying letting the kids loose too.

What car have you got? (Aiden, 11 3/4)
I’ve got a Land Cruiser, which I fill up with kids, fishing tackle and dogs, and a Mercedes Sports.

What's your favourite colour? (Caitlin, 6 1/2 )
Khaki, because my dad, who was my best friend, was a soldier and fought in World War II.

Do you watch Ben 10 and if you do who is you favourite character? (Harry, 5)
No I haven’t seen it, and my kids are much too old to watch it. But a lot of friends of mine with young children say they absolutely love it.

Tarrant Lets The Kids Loose is brand new to Watch, showing every week from Sunday 4th October 2009 at 6pm.

It sounds like fun and there are some You Tube clips as well;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCcepVVPd-A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=021OYAI_9m4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yon6QDWdSOY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l-M1TgYaXQ

Out of the mouths of babes...

1 comment:

Maria said...

I haven't seen that show nor it's Indian counterpart. But no doubt, it will come soon!