TV dance nights at Flicks were major hits with Michaela

MICHAELA Strachan has told how she couldn’t stop giggling when she watched a re-run of The Hitman and Her from Flicks nightclub in Brechin.

From 1988 to 1992, Michaela starred as “Her” in the cult ITV late-night clubbing show during a presenting career that began on TV-am and The Wide Awake Club.

The Hitman was Pete Waterman, then seeing incredible levels of success as one third of the music production and songwriting partnership, Stock Aitken Waterman.

Flicks opened 35 years ago on December 20 1985. Its name and recognisable cinema ticket logo was a nod to the building’s former life as the old King’s Theatre.

It had a strong business relationship with Pete and hosted a number of his charttoppers including Jason Donovan, Bananarama and Rick Astley.

Steve Wright was a regular DJ and the late EastEnders star Leslie Grantham and glamour model Samantha Fox were among the special guests.

The Hitman and Her was filmed live from its dancefloor four times including a show 30 years ago at which Pete and Michaela dressed as pop duo Bros.

“I watched the Brechin show back from the summer of 1990 and I was giggling away with my headphones on,” said Michaela.

“My partner kept looking at me and I said: ‘Look at this bit!’.

“Because he’s South African he doesn’t really realise what the late 80s and early 90s was like in the UK but I was wetting myself at some of the stuff.

“It was such a bizarre idea, yet it has become so cult and I find it extraordinary how many people seem to remember it and how many people watched it considering it went out in the middle of the night.

“The wildlife stuff has now taken over but I’m always surprised by the amount of people who say they remember me from the Hitman and Her and remember the show in a really fond way.

“Flicks was extremely friendly and welcoming. They absolutely loved us being there in Brechin.

“I think it’s quite sad that there just aren’t those sort of clubs like Flicks any more. Now it’s all bars with some music and a bit of a dance floor.

“When I was watching the Brechin show we were reading out letters and there was one from abroad that said: ‘We love the show so much because we hear the new dance tracks that are coming out’.

“I think it was an avenue for that sort of music that nobody else really had because there were very few outlets for dance music that were being played on TV.”

Flicks was famed for its laser light show and drew clubbers from across the UK with the promise of seeing that generation’s biggest singers, soap stars and personalities.

Michaela said: “When I watched the Brechin episode it was two hours of people dancing, with people talking in between.

“The bits that made me laugh was a segment called Step Back in Time where we would dress up and, of course, our budget was never big.

“In Brechin we were doing Bros and both me and Pete were dressed up as Matt and Luke Goss with blonde wigs and leather jackets.

“We were so irreverent, and back then you got away with it because there was no social media back in those days.

“Now as a celebrity you are so self-conscious about anything you say or do just in case someone takes it the wrong way and your whole career is over.”

The 54-year-old presenter, who is now best known for hosting nature programmes, said the show was originally to be called The Hitman and Michaela.

“It was all really bizarre,” she said. “Pete Waterman worked with a guy called Nick Wilson who was the producer of children’s entertainment at TV-am and created the Wide Awake Club.

“He went on to set up his own company and Pete Waterman wanted him to try this late-night show and they were looking for someone to do it with him.

“Nick thought I would be great but at the time I was still working for TV-am on the Wide Awake Club and Michaela on Sunday which started at 7am.

“We had to get permission from TV-am to do this show which would go out in the middle of the night on the same channel.

“By the time they came to advertise the show I still hadn’t had my contract signed which is why it ended up as The Hitman and Her rather than The Hitman and Michaela.

“The Hitman and Her is a much better title.”

Michaela almost didn’t make the show’s pilot episode when she injured her ankle while she was out running with the dog.

“I went to the physio and he said I should be walking in a couple of weeks,” she said.

“I said: ‘I’m doing a pilot for a new music and dancing show and not only have I got to be walking I’ve got to be dancing on it.

“I managed to make the pilot and although it was a bonkers