34 years on.. we are (still) Family; EXCLUSIVE As a new version hits screens, we catch up with Britain's first reality TV clan.Byline: BY DAMIEN FLETCHER IN 1974, decades before Big Brother, Wife Swap This article is about the television programme. For the subcultural sexual lifestyle, see Swinging. Wife Swap is a reality television programme, produced by UK independent TV production company RDF Media. and The Osbournes, reality TV meant one thing - BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. 1's The Family. Ten million viewers a week were glued to the lives of the Wilkins - Terry, Margaret, their four kids and the lodger An occupant of a portion of a dwelling, such as a hotel or boardinghouse, who has mere use of the premises without actual or exclusive possession thereof. Anyone who lives or stays in part of a building that is operated by another and who does not have control over the rooms therein. living in a cramped flat in Reading. There was lots of drama, notably as Christopher, nine, cried when his mum told him a dustman was his real dad. It also highlights how attitudes have changed. Unwed Marian, 19, outraged millions by living with lodger Tom. Gary, 18, also caused a shock because wife Karen was pregnant when they wed at 16, while Heather, 18, was shunned over mixed-race boyfriend Melvin. As Channel 4 tonight launches its version of the show with a family from Canterbury, Kent, we find out what's happened to the Wilkinses after the cameras stopped rolling 34 years ago. From race hell to beaten wife Heather's story HEATHER Bell had a tough time in 1974 over her romance with mixedrace decorator Melvin. She reveals: "I was protected by Mum but I had trouble at the hair salon A hair salon (also called 'Hairdresser' and 'Hair Parlour')is a place where one goes to get their hair cut, as well as styled, highlighted or coloured. There are many different types of hair salons that one can choose to go to. where I did a Saturday job. "Some old ladies wouldn't let me shampoo their hair because they thought I'd contaminate con·tam·i·nate v. 1. To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture. 2. To expose to or permeate with radioactivity. con·tam·i·nant n. them or something. "I was very stroppy strop·py adj. strop·pi·er, strop·pi·est Chiefly British Easily offended or annoyed; ill-tempered or belligerent. [Perhaps alteration of obstreperous. so they didn't say it to me, they said it to my boss. "I wasn't bothered though. I thought they were ridiculous." Life for Heather, a mum of four, has been far from rosy since the show ended. Her relationship with Melvin ended soon afterwards. Two further relationships ended horribly - one lover beat her while another was jailed for child abuse. Heather has put her troubled times behind her and is now a bornagain Christian who runs two Reading hair salons. But she still shudders at the memory of her violent relationship. She says: "I had my nose smashed, cigarettes stubbed out on me, you name it. "I couldn't go anywhere or do anything because he got jealous. I lived in fear, lived off my nerves. "If I tried to leave he threatened to do things to my family. "One day he beat me up so badly I was scared he would kill me. My neighbour called the police. "He bit my shoulder twice, head-butted me and punched me. He was trying to drag me out of the house. "Police found an axe in his car, so I think he might have taken me to a ditch and killed me. "Mum wanted to kill him. She ran down the hill from her house and went for him with a knife. "The police had to protect him from her. But I told her, 'If you go to prison because of me, how can I live with that?'" Heather, 49, initially had doubts about agreeing to the show but looking back is pleased she did. She says: "Despite early misgivings it was a positive experience, although, like any teenager, sometimes I had bad days and didn't want to take part. "The one downside was how the show would say I was about to leave school with little or no qualifications and would live on a slave wage for the rest of my life, but that never happened. There was a lot of snobbery in those days about being a hairdresser, with people saying it wasn't a proper career. "But I've brought up four children well, so I proved them wrong." The show made stars of her family and they were often mobbed. She still gets recognised more than three decades on. Heather says: "When I'm in the supermarket I'll see people staring. "I'll wonder what's wrong with them until I realise they must have watched the show all those years ago." She concludes: "I don't watch today's reality shows. I don't think many have much to do with reality. It's more like watching rats in a cage." Show was faked to heighten drama Marian's story MARIAN Hodder claims some of the show's most dramatic moments were faked for TV. Viewers saw Christopher, then nine, burst into tears at discovering Terry wasn't his real dad. And the sight of her living in sin with lodger Tom Bernes shocked 70s Britain. But mum-of-three Marian, 54, says: "Some of what you saw wasn't quite true. "Christopher already knew who his dad was and only cried because he got a bad school report. But I suppose it made good television anyway. "As for me and Tom, he wasn't really just the lodger. "We only ended up back at home because we got kicked out of our sub-let flat." But she says the advice of battleaxe mum Margaret, who died of a heart attack last month, helped them shrug off the barbs barbs the primary, delicate filaments that are given off the shaft of a bird's contour feather. They project from the rachis and bear the barbules. . The hairdresser says: "Mum always said that the people who knew us - our extended family and friends - knew the facts and the truth and that's all that mattered. "You just have to understand it doesn't matter what the world thinks of you." When she and sweetheart Tom tied the knot in 1974, the ceremony drew the sort of attention usually reserved for Royal weddings. She recalls: "We had been filming for months so we were used to all the attention, but nothing prepared me for that day. "I looked out of the lounge window to the church 100 yards away and there was this sea of people swamping the road. "I said to Dad, 'Oh my God, I don't know how we're going to get in there.' "At the church, I had two policemen in front of me, two either side and two behind." But even after the ceremony, the crowds of fans refused to leave. "We had the reception at a pub down the road, but the police complained that there were too many people blocking the main road outside and asked me to do something about it. "I opened the window and everyone was shouting at me to throw my bouquet. "The mob pounced on it and it was ripped to shreds. There's no point being sad so I laughed about it as the crowds dispersed." Such was their fame that they had to cut short their Isle of Wight Noun 1. Isle of Wight - an isle and county of southern England in the English Channel Wight county - (United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government; "the county has a population of 12,345 people" honeymoon after four days when fans there mobbed them as well. But there was no happy ending and the couple divorced in 1981. Marian had two further unhappy marriages before tying the knot with husband No4 Glenn Hodder in 1993 - a toy boy toy boy Noun the much younger male lover of an older woman she stole from her children's 16-year-old babysitter babysitter A person, often an intelligent family member, who stays by the bedside of a Pt requiring mechanical ventilation, and guards for equipment malfunctions or other problems Carol. She recalls: "I didn't think anything of Glenn when she brought him over but it turned out he was very keen on me. "One night he told me he wanted to dump Carol because he fancied someone else. I told him he had to tell her because it wasn't fair. "I knew that Carol was thinking of asking him to move into her flat with her because she couldn't afford to live there. "Then Glenn drops the bombshell bomb·shell n. 1. An explosive bomb. 2. One that is sensationally shocking, surprising, or amazing. bombshell Noun a shocking or unwelcome surprise Noun 1. that the person he was interested in was me. He didn't leave me alone because he knew where I worked, so he would turn up with flowers. "He was pretty romantic and I'm happy I ended up with him." 1974 v 2008 PINT OF MILK 1974...5p 2008...40p AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE 1974...pounds 10,900 2008...pounds 219,000 MOST POPULAR BOYS' NAME 1974...Paul 2008...Jack MOST POPULAR GIRLS' NAME 1974...Sarah 2008...Grace LOAF OF BREAD 1974...14p 2008...pounds TOP OF THE POPS 1974...The Osmonds (below), Love me for a Reason "Love Me for a Reason" was a popular single by The Osmonds and Boyzone. Written by Johnny Bristol and produced by Mike Curb, "Love Me for a Reason" was The Osmonds' last top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching #10, it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Adult 2008...Kings of Leon, Sex on Fire 10million How many people were glued to their TVs for 1974 show CAPTION(S): CLOSE-KNIT Heather, left, and sis Marian; HUGHES CLAN The new family on C4 show; RACE STORM Fella Melvin; THE WAY THEY WERE She gets hitched to Tom in 1974; SON GARY Young dad split from Karen in 1985. Now lives in West Country; BRIDE KAREN Four kids with Gary before late 80s split. Now wed to busman.; TOT SCOTT Torched his parents' home in error. Later worked for IT firm.; LODGER TOM Henpecked hen·peck tr.v. hen·pecked, hen·peck·ing, hen·pecks Informal To dominate or harass (one's husband) with persistent nagging. boyfriend had two children with Marian before divorce; MUM MAGGIE The family matriarch died of heart attack last month aged 73; DAD TERRY Divorced Margaret in 1978. Lives with wife No2 in Bournemouth; MARIAN Mum of three is on husband No4, stolen from kids' babysitter; HEATHER Mother of four now runs two hair salons in hometown Reading; SON CHRIS Has criminal record. Was last seen giving giving out catalogues |
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