Robbie Williams interviewed in BBC boy band documentary from Louis Theroux
By Charlotte McLaughlin, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter
Louis Theroux will delve into the boy band groups of the 1990s and 2000s in a new BBC documentary.
The documentarian, 54, will executively produce Boybands Forever for BBC Two with his wife Nancy Strang and through his company Mindhouse Productions.
Across the three hour-long episodes, former Take That singer Robbie Williams, ex Westlife star Brian McFadden, who has gone on to front Boyzlife with Boyzone singer Keith Duffy, and members of other pop groups such as East 17, Blue, Five, 911 and Damage will speak about their experiences of early fame.
Theroux said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled about this series. An epic story featuring a cast of stars and star-makers, spanning three decades, it involves some of the icons of modern British pop.
“We see them through them their highs and lows, hearing from the key players, as we chart the golden years of boybands.
“How they came together, the experience of sudden fame, the opportunity and temptations that came their way, conflicts within the groups, between the groups, and between the boys and their managers.
“It’s a gripping fable about getting everything you dreamed of, and it not being what you imagined, centred on a generation of young men, and their managers, who were wildly successful and also immensely vulnerable, having the times of their lives and also in some cases cracking up.
“Those boys we all watched singing and dancing in tight formation – Take That, East 17, Westlife, Blue, Five, Damage, 911 and so many others – are now middle-aged men who have the time and the maturity to look back and reflect on what they went through.
“It’s taken us more than a year to make the series. Now I’m just excited for people to see it.”
📢 New series Boybands Forever examines the inside story of boyband mania during the 90s and 00s
"It’s a gripping fable about getting everything you dreamed of, and it not being what you imagined" - Louis Theroux, Executive Producer
More ➡️ https://t.co/1R0Fp1yyHx pic.twitter.com/h4HajdExPM— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) August 29, 2024
The series also hears from boy band industry figures including Simon Cowell, Take That creator Nigel Martin-Smith, Irish manager of Westlife Louis Walsh, as well as Blue, Five and 911 managers.
Jonathan Rothery, head of BBC popular music TV, said: “It feels like yesterday but the Brit boy band era began 35 years ago, and what a fascinating moment in time and pop culture it was.
“The series will take us on a trip down memory lane but will also enlighten us, that behind the singing, dancing, double denim and bright smiles were a heck of a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”
The news follows the release of popular Netflix show Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, and the continued touring success of Westlife, and Take That.
Boybands Forever is set to be broadcast in autumn 2024.
