Can you believe it’s been 50 years since Young Talent Time burst onto the Aussie TV stage and earnt its place in our pop culture history?! The Water Cooler jumped at the chance to speak with the legend that is Johnny Young and take a stroll down memory lane.
First of all, this is the greatest thing to happen in 2021. Second, how does it feel to be celebrating 50 years after the launch of YTT?
It’s amazing because I never believed in the beginning that we would last longer than 13 weeks. Young Talent Time started with a bang against the football and within weeks we knew we were on to a winner. We just kept working on it and the years rolled on and then it was 18 years later, which is an incredible achievement.
YTT launched some of the biggest names in entertainment, who could you tell was a star from the very beginning?
Tina Arena had such an outstanding voice. She was only nine years old when she came and sang for the audition and I remember thinking, “Wow, this girl is incredible”.
But I tried to keep my cool with that because we were listening upstairs in the control room and then I went downstairs and said, “Oh yes that was very good, we just need some practice!”.
What’s your fondest memory of your time on YYT?
I think the first show was my fondest memory. It was black and white, we had a lovely team of kids made up of Debbie, Phillip, Vicki, Rod, Jamie and Jane. It was small budget, we had to carry the set onto the stage but we had great music and wonderful performances from the kids and I’ll never forget that first day.
The show was only meant to be 13 episodes and then went on to do over 800 episodes. What made the show so successful?
I think because we took it seriously. We had a comradery that we still have to this day. And it wasn’t just the Young Talent kids, it was all the staff and all the crew. Everyone was incredibly supportive and dedicated to the show and that was the reason for its success.
With such a huge following, do you still get stopped by fans when you’re out and about?
People recognise me and they can’t think of my name so they start to sing, “Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you…”.
I still sing it and I still get a great response from people.
What can viewers expect from the reunion special?
We, of course, have clips and wonderful memories from the show but the beautiful part of it is that you will hear a little bit more about how we put it together and what we did to make it successful.
We never had time to stop, we just kept doing it and doing it, and the years rolled by. And that’s why it’s called “Unmasked” because it gives you some insight into behind the scenes.
YTT Unmasked.
Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Of Young Talent Time.
Sunday 26 September, 8.30pm On 10 And 10 Play On Demand.
