Sara Cox

The new BBC documentary dives into the ‘truth of being a young woman thrust into the spotlight’

Perrie Edwards is set to reveal what it’s really like being part of a girl band.

After the success of last year’s Boybands Forever, BBC Two is launching its female equivalent, Girlbands Forever. The three-part documentary will explore ‘girl band fever throughout the 90s and beyond,’ featuring personal contributions from the Little Mix star, along with singers from Atomic Kitten, Sugababes and All Saints.

A preview for the upcoming programme provides a taste of what audiences can anticipate, with interview clips from some of the celebrity participants scheduled to appear. It delves into the nostalgic 90s and noughties period when ‘girl band fever’ was rampant, reports OK!

Presenter Sara Cox describes the period as an “era of young women suddenly having a voice,” before noting: “But it was a small window”.

The brief 25-second trailer also shows Perrie discussing the backstage challenges of Little Mix, who rose to stardom after triumphing on The X Factor. She disclosed: “We battled the social media trolls together.”

The girl group entered the limelight during the early 2010s, so their journey provides a unique viewpoint on the difficulties female bands encountered in the social media era.

According to the BBC, audiences can anticipate hearing from Heidi Range (Sugababes), Kelle Bryan (Eternal), Kerry Katona (Atomic Kitten), Melanie Blatt (All Saints), Perrie and Su-Elise Nash (Mis-Teeq).

The programme will also feature chats with industry names such as Andy McCluskey, Clara Amfo, Darcus Beese OBE, Lucie Cave, MNEK, Nicki Chapman, Pete Tong, Pete Waterman, Scott Mills and Tulisa.

Girlbands Forever is a product of Louis Theroux’s production house, Mindhouse. Ahead of the show’s debut, Louis expressed: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be part of making this wonderful series.

“I well remember when the Spice Girls, Eternal and All Saints burst on the scene in the 90s. It was a special time in pop music and British culture generally.”

He added: “Then in their wake came a parade of girl bands, made up of girls who were all in different ways beautiful, talented and often very funny.

“Going back and rediscovering all that music and those videos and the interviews they did has been an absolute pleasure.”

Girlbands Forever debuts on BBC Two and iPlayer on November 1.

The Eurovision Song Contest’s grand final is just over two weeks away and the BBC have confirmed their broadcasting but it features a major twist on the big day

The Eurovision Grand Final date has been confirmed and the BBC are pulling out all the stops with their broadcasting schedule. Fans across the world will tune in to see who’ll be crowned the winner on Saturday, May 17. Remember Monday are this year’s entry and they’re hoping to walk away with the crown after competing in Switzerland.

This year, Scott Mills, Rylan Clark, Sara Cox and Richie Anderson will bringing all the latest information for those tuning in across the United Kingdom. Although the contest will air from Tuesday, May 13 with each country competing in the semi-finals, there will be a big change on BBC One on the night of the final.

In the lead up, the BBC will air a schedule of focused Eurovision content throughout the day. Presenters will be chatting to listeners, with Scott and Rylan chatting to guests. But that’s not all, Drag Race and Strictly Come Dancing legend Michelle Visage will be leading an Ultimate 21st Century Eurovision Song – sharing the Top 40 Eurovision entries between 2000 and 2024, voted for by the public.

It doesn’t stop there though. For the first time ever, Eurovision will be going inter-galactic, with a special episode of Doctor Who. The sci-fi programme will air The Interstellar Song Contest just before the grand final. During the special episode, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) will travel to the 803rd contest, which is co-hosted by Rylan.

Planets from across the universe will compete for the top prize, with Graham Norton also making an appearance alongside Freddie Fox, Kadiff Kirwin, Charlie Condou and Miriam-Teak Lee. The episode, written by Juno Dawson is the sixth episode of the second series.

Speaking about the big day, Syeda Irtizaali, Interim Director of Unscripted at the BBC said: “The BBC is the home of Eurovision in the UK and 2025 is set to continue that trend as we celebrate the contest on all our platforms, from TV, radio and online.

“We have Scott Mills’ Radio 2 Breakfast show coming to audiences live every morning from the Eurovision host city, Basel, for a week; A show stopping exclusive performance from the UK’s act, Remember Monday, on The One Show; A Doctor Who x Eurovision crossover and a one- off special on BBC One and iPlayer, When Graham Met Remember Monday.

“We really are pulling out all the stops this year to surprise and delight audiences with all things Eurovision. So, get in the party mood as the BBC’s Eurovision content offering this year is not to be missed this May!” Speaking about taking the Doctor Who special job, Rylan said: “As a massive Whovian, getting the call to be in Doctor Who was a call I’ve always dreamed of getting.

“The episode is all my favourite things about the show with an added song contest set in space. It really is a dream come true. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. It is going to be out of this world.”

Remember Monday will be performing What The Hell Happened? are guaranteed a place in the grand final due to being from one of the ‘Big Five’ alongside Spain, Germany, France and Italy.

Doctor Who – The Interstellar Song Contest will air on Saturday, May 17. With the Eurovision Song Contest airing just after.

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