Silence
prevailed and all eyes were riveted upon the "front
door". Tension mounted as the intro sequence flashed
up on the monitors and then there appeared the third Angel
- the one Shirley and I had travelled all the way down
from Lincoln to see. Charlotte ran through three dummy
intro's, fluffing each try quite spectacularly - with a
large but angelic grin apparently glued to her enchanting
young face. To this day I am sure she muffed the lines
deliberately as they were not shown on the program that
eventually aired! I have the sneakiest suspicion that
Steve One allowed her to do this as a further audience
warmer - or perhaps to put this young star totally at her
ease. There was no hint of annoyance from the Floor
Manager - simply much laughter (from the audience as well)
and a very cheeky "Oh! Sorry - was I supposed to say
that?" from Charl in her usual broad Welsh accent...
Any hint of tension there may have been simply vanished
after this point.
   
The
intro sequence was run again and from here on in it was
"action stations" all the way.
  
From
where we were sitting, Gloria's initial appearance was
masked by the hall wall... but moments later she appeared
and walked briskly to her usual seat making ready to
introduce her special guests for the day.
Gloria:
"Thank you... Thank you, very much. We're absolutely
delighted you've been able to join us this Monday because
we've got a terrific line-up of guests on the show - right
throughout the whole week."
Gloria
continued:
"Later on today, for example, we're all set for a
rendezvous with Gulf war veteran, John Nichol (1) as he
guides us through his action-packed new novel. We slip
into something comfortable with fashion expert Meryl
Thomlin shows us how to dress up that little black number
(2) for Christmas. Then Carmel Kinnear (3), wife of the
much loved and late comic actor, Roy will be talking about
her inspirational work which is providing a special
environment for a group of disabled children. And finally,
as we continue our countdown to Christmas, we find the
number's up for Alan Coxon (4) as he adds a European
flavour to the festive season. So what are you slaving
over that stove with there, Alan?"
Alan:
"Pepperkaker Madam!"
Gloria:
"Oh really - sorry I asked that. What does all of
that mean?"
Alan:
"It's some festive biscuits from around the
world."
Gloria
laughing: "So why didn't you
just say that?"
Alan
- grinning (only slightly) apologetically:
"Well - I did do... but..."
Gloria:
"Anyway, we'll get the pronunciation of that later
on!"
After
the laughter, Gloria continued once again:
"Now the voice of our first guest today will
definitely be heard in many of our homes over the
Christmas period. Because her new album is full of festive
songs and is certain to be filling stocking all around the
country. She's one of our biggest stars these days and in
May was voted Artist of the Year at the Classical Brit
awards. Though she's only fourteen she's met the Pope, the
President of the United States, the Queen, Prince Phillip.
But I do know that her feet are very firmly on the ground
because she still tries to go to school as often as she
can and next year she's got her sights on getting her
GCSE's. However, at the moment in the lead-up to
Christmas, she's aiming right for the top of the album
charts. And I know you're going to give the biggest
welcome this Monday - to Charlotte Church!"
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