WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.279 Okay, so let's just dive straight into this because 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:06.339 the resume we are looking at today is honestly 00:00:06.339 --> 00:00:09.740 kind of baffling. It really is a completely chaotic. 00:00:10.490 --> 00:00:13.169 list of achievements chaotic is the perfect word 00:00:13.169 --> 00:00:15.130 i mean if you saw this on linkedin without a 00:00:15.130 --> 00:00:17.589 name attached you would assume there was some 00:00:17.589 --> 00:00:20.089 sort of glitch in the simulation absolutely we're 00:00:20.089 --> 00:00:21.769 talking about someone who went from being a blue 00:00:21.769 --> 00:00:25.429 coat at a holiday camp to selling 20 million 00:00:25.429 --> 00:00:29.210 records globally then pivoting to perform at 00:00:29.210 --> 00:00:31.870 the royal academy of music and then this is the 00:00:31.870 --> 00:00:33.969 wildest part right and then becoming an elected 00:00:33.969 --> 00:00:36.810 town counselor in wales it's just a completely 00:00:36.810 --> 00:00:39.490 unique arc i mean it's this fascinating study 00:00:40.009 --> 00:00:42.850 in reinvention and resilience. Yeah, and honestly, 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:44.869 the weird intersection of high camp celebrity 00:00:44.869 --> 00:00:47.509 and serious civic booty. So our mission for you 00:00:47.509 --> 00:00:49.609 today is to do a deep dive into the life and 00:00:49.609 --> 00:00:52.549 career of Ian H. Watkins. Yes. But wait, before 00:00:52.549 --> 00:00:55.369 we go even one step further, pun intended, we 00:00:55.369 --> 00:00:57.310 need to clear up something absolutely massive. 00:00:57.469 --> 00:01:00.429 Yes, this is crucial. The source material puts 00:01:00.429 --> 00:01:03.070 this right at the top for a very good reason. 00:01:03.210 --> 00:01:06.590 We are talking about Ian H. Watkins. From the 00:01:06.590 --> 00:01:09.670 pop group steps. We are definitely not talking 00:01:09.670 --> 00:01:12.310 about the former Lost Prophets singer Ian Watkins. 00:01:12.450 --> 00:01:14.709 Exactly. They have the exact same name. They're 00:01:14.709 --> 00:01:17.489 both Welsh and they were famous in roughly the 00:01:17.489 --> 00:01:19.310 same era. But they're two completely different 00:01:19.310 --> 00:01:22.510 human beings. The other Ian Watkins is a convicted 00:01:22.510 --> 00:01:25.969 sex offender. Right. And as we'll explore later 00:01:25.969 --> 00:01:29.909 on, that confusion has caused. H, some really 00:01:29.909 --> 00:01:32.650 serious nightmares. But for this deep dive, just 00:01:32.650 --> 00:01:35.810 remember, we are talking about the tragedy dance 00:01:35.810 --> 00:01:39.430 moves today, not true crime. Exactly. And actually, 00:01:39.489 --> 00:01:42.489 that nickname, the H, is a big part of how people 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:44.469 distinguish him. Do you know what it actually 00:01:44.469 --> 00:01:46.629 stands for? I do. It stands for hyperactive. 00:01:46.670 --> 00:01:48.549 Which is just so fitting. I mean, if you've ever 00:01:48.549 --> 00:01:51.090 seen him perform in the late 90s, it feels incredibly 00:01:51.090 --> 00:01:53.709 accurate. It really does. And that hyperactive 00:01:53.709 --> 00:01:55.549 energy is sort of the through line for his whole 00:01:55.549 --> 00:01:58.290 life. Yeah. So we're basically tracking how this 00:01:58.290 --> 00:02:01.810 energetic kid from the Ronda Valley navigated 00:02:01.810 --> 00:02:04.530 the explosion of bubblegum pop, the sort of brutality 00:02:04.530 --> 00:02:07.549 of reality TV, and ended up sitting on the Cowbridge 00:02:07.549 --> 00:02:10.650 with Landbleithian Town Council. It's a wild 00:02:10.650 --> 00:02:13.569 ride. So let's rewind a bit. Before the arenas 00:02:13.569 --> 00:02:15.669 and the sequins, where does it actually start? 00:02:15.789 --> 00:02:17.830 Because the source mentions he wasn't just plucked 00:02:17.830 --> 00:02:19.830 from obscurity, right? Right. He was already 00:02:19.830 --> 00:02:22.110 in the entertainment grind. Yeah. He paid his 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:25.210 dues in the classic British holiday camp tradition. 00:02:25.289 --> 00:02:28.409 Which is iconic. Totally. He started as a blue 00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:31.229 coat at Potten's and then later moved on to being 00:02:31.229 --> 00:02:33.969 a red coat at Butlin's. Which, for anyone listening 00:02:33.969 --> 00:02:37.400 outside the UK, is basically... boot camp for 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:39.560 entertainers oh it's grueling you have to do 00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:42.419 everything you sing you dance you host bingo 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:44.759 you basically have to keep the kids from crying 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:47.560 all day exactly It teaches you how to work a 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:49.860 crowd no matter how tough or tired that crowd 00:02:49.860 --> 00:02:52.199 is. You're just on from the moment you wake up. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:54.800 And that training clearly paid off because in 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:58.840 May 1997, he joined Steps. Yes. And I think it's 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:00.599 really easy to look back at Steps now with a 00:03:00.599 --> 00:03:02.180 bit of irony, but we have to look at the numbers 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:04.479 here because they were an absolute juggernaut. 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:06.120 They really were. I was looking at these stats 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:09.439 in the source. 14 consecutive top five singles 00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:13.219 in the UK. 14. That is a staggering level of 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:15.610 consistency. It really is. I mean, that puts 00:03:15.610 --> 00:03:18.409 them in Beatles or ABA territory in terms of 00:03:18.409 --> 00:03:20.750 chart dominance. They had two number one singles, 00:03:20.930 --> 00:03:23.849 two number one albums, and they sold over 20 00:03:23.849 --> 00:03:27.569 million records worldwide. Wow. They even got 00:03:27.569 --> 00:03:30.370 a Brit Award nomination in 1999. And it wasn't 00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:32.349 just a UK thing either. They had hits all over 00:03:32.349 --> 00:03:34.759 Europe. But then as boy bands and girl bands 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:38.639 tend to do, they split up in 2001. Right. And 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:40.580 usually that's where the story ends or at least 00:03:40.580 --> 00:03:43.219 fades away. But H didn't stop at all. No, he 00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:46.719 pivoted almost immediately. He formed the duo 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.580 H and Claire with Claire Richards, who was also 00:03:49.580 --> 00:03:51.759 in Steps. Right. And they managed three singles 00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:54.159 and an album. But what I find really fascinating 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.300 is what happened after that duo ended. Yeah, 00:03:57.360 --> 00:03:59.599 this surprised me. He didn't just coast on his 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:01.919 fame. He went back to school. He went to the 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:04.939 Royal Academy of Music. Exactly. He took a musical 00:04:04.939 --> 00:04:07.319 theater course. Think about that for a second. 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:09.699 He's already sold 20 million records. He could 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:11.539 have just done the reality TV circuit immediately 00:04:11.539 --> 00:04:14.460 and made a living. He could have, but he was 00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:17.120 actively seeking credibility and formal training. 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:20.000 He wasn't content just being the guy from Steps. 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:22.939 And if you look at his theater credits, he really 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:25.180 put that training to use. He wasn't just doing 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.540 little stunt casting cameos. No, he took the 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:31.050 title role in Joseph. and the amazing Technicolor 00:04:31.050 --> 00:04:33.870 Dreamcoat. Which is a huge role. And he showed 00:04:33.870 --> 00:04:36.310 real range, too. He played the child catcher 00:04:36.310 --> 00:04:37.970 in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I think that is a 00:04:37.970 --> 00:04:40.709 genuinely creepy role. It is. It's pure villainy. 00:04:40.709 --> 00:04:43.029 It's a very long way from singing 5, 6, 7, 8. 00:04:43.149 --> 00:04:45.009 For sure. It showed casting directors that he 00:04:45.009 --> 00:04:47.589 wasn't just a smiling pop star. He could actually 00:04:47.589 --> 00:04:50.810 act. He also did the West End version of Fame 00:04:50.810 --> 00:04:54.050 in 2007. And of course, the absolute British 00:04:54.050 --> 00:04:56.129 staple, which is pantomime. Oh, you have to do 00:04:56.129 --> 00:04:58.310 panto. He's played Buttons and Cinderella multiple 00:04:58.310 --> 00:05:01.089 times, Muddles and Beauty and the Beast, Prince 00:05:01.089 --> 00:05:03.189 Charming and Snow White. Which is smart because 00:05:03.189 --> 00:05:05.029 it keeps you in the public eye, right? It maintains 00:05:05.029 --> 00:05:06.889 that direct connection with a family audience. 00:05:07.050 --> 00:05:10.449 But parallel to the stage work, he also became 00:05:10.449 --> 00:05:14.970 this absolute fixture in reality TV. And this 00:05:14.970 --> 00:05:17.610 is where we start to see. the man behind the 00:05:17.610 --> 00:05:21.350 H persona a bit more. His reality resume is honestly 00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:24.290 exhausting just to read. So long. Celebrity Big 00:05:24.290 --> 00:05:26.089 Brother, where he came in fourth place, by the 00:05:26.089 --> 00:05:29.230 way. Celebrity Scissorhands. Bargain Hunt. He 00:05:29.230 --> 00:05:31.449 even learned Welsh in a week for a show called 00:05:31.449 --> 00:05:34.350 Cariad at Eye. That linguistic connection is 00:05:34.350 --> 00:05:37.269 really interesting because he is very proudly 00:05:37.269 --> 00:05:40.209 Welsh. He was born in Winnipeg in Midglemorgan. 00:05:40.449 --> 00:05:42.980 Right. But there's a cameo in that TV list that 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:44.920 I think is just brilliant. He appeared in Skins. 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:48.000 The gritty teen drama. Yes. Playing himself in 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.540 Series 4. That's amazing. It really shows he 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:52.319 has a sense of humor about his own image. He 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:54.339 knows exactly who he is in the cultural landscape. 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:56.720 He isn't fighting the cheesy pop star label. 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:59.480 He's just owning it. That self -awareness is 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:01.120 definitely key. But I want to talk about a specific 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:02.959 date the source mentions because it feels like 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:06.300 a massive turning point. January 3, 2007. Yes, 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:08.509 that was a huge day. Because that was the day 00:06:08.509 --> 00:06:11.370 he entered the celebrity Big Brother house. And 00:06:11.370 --> 00:06:14.290 coincidentally, or I guess probably strategically, 00:06:14.730 --> 00:06:17.790 that was the exact same day he publicly came 00:06:17.790 --> 00:06:20.490 out as gay in an interview with The Sun. Which 00:06:20.490 --> 00:06:23.170 in 2007 was still a much bigger headline for 00:06:23.170 --> 00:06:25.189 a mainstream pop star than it might be today. 00:06:25.550 --> 00:06:28.230 Absolutely. And that interview revealed something 00:06:28.230 --> 00:06:31.449 that completely recontextualized the entire Steps 00:06:31.449 --> 00:06:34.149 era. Right, the manager. Yeah. During his time 00:06:34.149 --> 00:06:35.750 in the band, he was actually in a relationship 00:06:35.750 --> 00:06:38.470 with the group's manager, Tim Byrne. Oh, wow. 00:06:38.610 --> 00:06:40.850 So while they were touring the world and topping 00:06:40.850 --> 00:06:42.810 the charts, there was this whole secret dynamic 00:06:42.810 --> 00:06:45.670 playing out behind the scenes. Exactly. I mean, 00:06:45.670 --> 00:06:47.589 the pressure of maintaining that secret while 00:06:47.589 --> 00:06:50.069 functioning as the heartthrob of a pop group 00:06:50.069 --> 00:06:53.170 must have been immense. Oh, definitely. And once 00:06:53.170 --> 00:06:56.149 he was out, he really started using his platform 00:06:56.149 --> 00:06:59.250 for advocacy. Although it wasn't always a smooth 00:06:59.250 --> 00:07:02.459 journey. There's a really intense moment mentioned 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:05.339 in the source regarding a 2008 documentary. Yeah, 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:07.579 the one he presented for BBC Wales about growing 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:09.740 up gay in Wales. I saw this in the notes. Right. 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:11.819 He actually interviewed Stephen Green. Right. 00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:14.040 The leader of Christian Voice. And just to be 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:17.319 clear for everyone listening. We are strictly 00:07:17.319 --> 00:07:19.519 reporting what is in the source material here. 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:22.199 We aren't taking any sides or endorsing any viewpoints. 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:25.100 Of course. But the source explicitly states that 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:27.920 during this interview, Green compared Watkins 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.639 to the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Which is 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:32.959 just a shocking thing to say to someone's face. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.980 It's horrific. We are just conveying what the 00:07:35.980 --> 00:07:38.759 documentary captured, but it really highlights 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:41.740 the kind of intense hostility he was facing. 00:07:42.019 --> 00:07:44.180 It really does. It wasn't just sparkles and dance 00:07:44.180 --> 00:07:46.740 routines for him. He was actually in the trenches 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:49.720 of the culture war, trying to explore his own 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:52.189 identity and community. And speaking of breaking 00:07:52.189 --> 00:07:54.689 barriers, we have to fast forward a bit to 2020, 00:07:55.110 --> 00:07:57.790 Dancing on Ice. Oh, this was a genuine first, 00:07:57.850 --> 00:08:00.250 a real television milestone. Yeah, he competed 00:08:00.250 --> 00:08:03.129 in the 12th series, and he was the first celebrity 00:08:03.129 --> 00:08:05.470 in the entire history of the show to compete 00:08:05.470 --> 00:08:07.430 in a same -sex couple. He was paired with the 00:08:07.430 --> 00:08:09.810 professional skater Matt Evers. That's just a 00:08:09.810 --> 00:08:13.089 huge milestone for primetime family television. 00:08:13.430 --> 00:08:16.550 It really is. It normalizes seeing two men dancing 00:08:16.550 --> 00:08:19.870 together in a romantic or artistic context on 00:08:19.870 --> 00:08:23.079 a massive... mainstream platform, it connects 00:08:23.079 --> 00:08:25.300 right back to that idea of him always pushing 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.220 forward from the holiday camps to making history 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:30.959 on ITV. Now, we've talked a lot about the highs, 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:34.539 the fame, the barriers broken, but we really 00:08:34.539 --> 00:08:37.039 have to address the dark side that we teased 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.299 in the intro. And this goes back to the name 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:42.059 confusion. This is a seriously concerning issue, 00:08:42.139 --> 00:08:44.179 and it touches on something we all have to deal 00:08:44.179 --> 00:08:47.120 with now, which is digital identity. Right. In 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:50.000 November 2013, reports started coming out that 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.480 H was receiving awful hate mail on Twitter. Because 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:55.539 people thought he was the other Ian Watkins. 00:08:55.720 --> 00:08:58.240 Correct. The Lost Prophets singer had pleaded 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:00.799 guilty to horrific sex offenses involving children. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.820 Awful. And because they share a name and a nationality, 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:07.419 the internet mob, who as we know often do not 00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:10.220 check their facts, just came after H. And it 00:09:10.220 --> 00:09:12.759 wasn't just random anonymous trolls either, right? 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:15.990 Major media outlets messed this up. This is the 00:09:15.990 --> 00:09:18.350 part that is truly frightening. E! Entertainment 00:09:18.350 --> 00:09:21.830 Television actually used a photo of H to illustrate 00:09:21.830 --> 00:09:24.870 a story about the criminal. No, that is just 00:09:24.870 --> 00:09:28.309 massive negligence. Yes. They actually had to 00:09:28.309 --> 00:09:30.529 issue a public apology in court over it. I can't 00:09:30.529 --> 00:09:32.990 even imagine. But the damage goes so much deeper 00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:36.009 than just one TV segment. Watkins actually had 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:39.190 to pursue legal action regarding Google News. 00:09:39.429 --> 00:09:42.629 Because of the search algorithm? Exactly. When 00:09:42.629 --> 00:09:45.190 you search for the crimes, his image was appearing 00:09:45.190 --> 00:09:47.889 right next to the stories. Oh, my God. Imagine 00:09:47.889 --> 00:09:50.570 the impact of that. Yeah. You are a children's 00:09:50.570 --> 00:09:53.809 entertainer, a pop star, and your face is being 00:09:53.809 --> 00:09:56.529 algorithmically associated with heinous crimes. 00:09:56.809 --> 00:09:59.169 That is terrifying. It's like a dystopian nightmare. 00:09:59.509 --> 00:10:01.509 You can have all the money and fame in the world, 00:10:01.529 --> 00:10:03.309 but the machine just decides you're a criminal 00:10:03.309 --> 00:10:05.990 because you share a name. It shows exactly how 00:10:05.990 --> 00:10:08.909 fragile our reputations are in the age of automation. 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:12.039 And yet in true British fashion, it even became 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.419 a joke. Well, you know, satire is a way of processing 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:18.259 trauma, I suppose. The comedic musical act Kunt 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:20.980 and the gang actually released a song in 2015 00:10:20.980 --> 00:10:24.019 called The Wrong Ian Watkins. That's incredible. 00:10:24.139 --> 00:10:26.240 You really have to laugh or you'll cry. Exactly. 00:10:26.679 --> 00:10:28.779 But he didn't let that destroy him. He just kept 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:30.940 working. And not just in entertainment either. 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:33.000 Which brings us to the most recent and probably 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:35.720 most surprising chapter of all. Counselor H. 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:38.919 I absolutely love this part. This brings the 00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:42.539 story to May 2023. He was actually elected as 00:10:42.539 --> 00:10:45.700 an independent town councilor for Cowbridge with 00:10:45.700 --> 00:10:48.480 Landlethian Town Council. It's just a brilliant 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:50.360 image, isn't it? You've got the guy who's saying 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:53.460 five, six, seven, eight, now sitting in meetings 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:57.080 debating zoning laws and bin collections. It 00:10:57.080 --> 00:10:59.000 sounds like a sitcom pitch, but it's real. It 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:01.100 is real. And it's actually quite consistent with 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:02.740 his character when you think about it. Yeah. 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:06.279 He's always been deeply. about community, whether 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.440 that's the LGBTQ community or his local Welsh 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:11.039 community. That makes a lot of sense. Plus, he's 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:13.440 a father now, too. The source notes he has twin 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.879 sons born via surrogate. in 2016. So he's settled 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:18.980 down. He's investing in his home and his local 00:11:18.980 --> 00:11:21.320 area. But he's still dealing with public pranks. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:23.700 Did you see the Joe Lycett story from the notes? 00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:26.740 Oh, the statue prank. Yes. In 2024, the comedian 00:11:26.740 --> 00:11:29.259 Joe Lycett created this whole fake news story 00:11:29.259 --> 00:11:31.279 that H was going to be honored with an eight 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:33.759 foot statue in Cowbridge. As part of his show, 00:11:33.860 --> 00:11:35.860 Late Night Lycett. It's just another example 00:11:35.860 --> 00:11:39.580 of how he is this permanent fixture in the pop 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:42.440 culture consciousness. He's totally game for 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:46.080 a laugh, but he's also doing. the serious civic 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.299 work behind the scenes. It's just amazing that 00:11:48.299 --> 00:11:50.679 the Steps brand itself has survived all of this 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:53.289 too. Because we skipped over a big chunk of their 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:55.590 later career. They didn't just fade away after 00:11:55.590 --> 00:11:57.870 the 90s. No, they didn't. And there's a really 00:11:57.870 --> 00:12:00.169 good business lesson here. They identified a 00:12:00.169 --> 00:12:03.129 specific gap in the market. Yeah, when they reunited 00:12:03.129 --> 00:12:06.830 in 2011 for that Sky Living documentary, Steps 00:12:06.830 --> 00:12:08.990 Reunion. Right. Their album, The Ultimate Collection, 00:12:09.210 --> 00:12:11.129 went straight to number one. Lisa Scott Lee had 00:12:11.129 --> 00:12:12.950 a really insightful quote about this in the source 00:12:12.950 --> 00:12:15.230 material, right? She did. She noted that at the 00:12:15.230 --> 00:12:17.090 time they were in a recession and Steps music 00:12:17.090 --> 00:12:19.730 was, quote, lighthearted and fun, so there was 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:22.200 a real place for it. People needed the escapism. 00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:25.279 Exactly. They understood their exact value proposition 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.360 and they just kept going. They released Tears 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:31.000 on the Dance Floor in 2017 and What the Future 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.559 Holds in 2020. And these weren't just nostalgia 00:12:33.559 --> 00:12:35.960 cash grabs either. They were charting albums. 00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:38.799 What the Future Holds was huge. They even had 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:41.549 a track written by Sia. Yes. What the future 00:12:41.549 --> 00:12:43.889 holds, the lead single. I mean, think about that. 00:12:44.009 --> 00:12:45.769 Sia is one of the biggest songwriters in the 00:12:45.769 --> 00:12:48.230 world, and she's writing for Steps in 2020. And 00:12:48.230 --> 00:12:50.610 let's not forget the track Heartbreak in the 00:12:50.610 --> 00:12:54.320 City featuring Michelle Visage. Exactly. They 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.460 kept evolving their sound just enough to stay 00:12:56.460 --> 00:12:58.679 relevant while still giving the hardcore fans 00:12:58.679 --> 00:13:00.940 exactly what they wanted. So what does this all 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:03.100 actually mean for us? We have a guy who starts 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:05.620 his career at Butlins, completely conquers the 00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:08.100 global pop world, goes back to get trained at 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:11.080 the Royal Academy, becomes a reality TV staple, 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.779 fights a massive horrifying case of mistaken 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:17.500 identity, comes out and breaks barriers on primetime 00:13:17.500 --> 00:13:20.620 TV, and is now serving his local community in 00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:22.940 Cowbridge. When you lay the whole timeline out 00:13:22.940 --> 00:13:25.639 like that. It is fundamentally a story of incredible 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.399 tenacity. Yeah. He navigates high camp celebrity. 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:30.679 I mean, you really cannot get more camp than 00:13:30.679 --> 00:13:33.919 steps in Panama. But he balances it all with 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.059 very serious personal boundaries and civic responsibility. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.620 He really managed to grow up in public, which 00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:43.200 is notoriously hard to do. And he managed to 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:46.120 separate himself from a namesake that could have 00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:49.100 easily ended his career. That's the real resilience 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:52.159 part, isn't it? It is. He totally reclaimed his 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:54.960 own narrative. He didn't let the search algorithm 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.080 or the Twitter trolls define who he was. He defined 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:01.980 himself as a father, an actor, a singer. and 00:14:01.980 --> 00:14:03.860 a town counselor. It really makes you wonder, 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:06.100 though, doesn't it? In a world where Google can 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:08.240 just accidentally ruin your entire reputation 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:10.139 because you happen to share a name with someone 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:13.299 terrible, how much control do we actually have? 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:15.899 That is the truly provocative question here. 00:14:16.139 --> 00:14:18.279 We all like to think we own our own identity, 00:14:18.419 --> 00:14:20.679 but in the digital age, we are often just data 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:23.740 points to a machine. Right. E &H Watkins had 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:26.059 the financial resources and the public platform 00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:29.240 to fight back and correct the record. But for 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:32.000 an ordinary person listening to this, that kind 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:35.500 of digital myth identification could be completely 00:14:35.500 --> 00:14:37.759 unrecoverable. That is a very sobering thought 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.720 to end on. So I guess the next time you're scrolling 00:14:39.720 --> 00:14:41.679 through Twitter or X or whatever it's called 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.299 this week, maybe double check your sources before 00:14:44.299 --> 00:14:46.600 you tweet at someone. Please do. It really matters. 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:48.980 Thanks for listening to this deep dive into the 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:51.480 fascinating life of H. We'll catch you on the 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:51.899 next one.