FILMING The Hit List in Glasgow’s Pacific Quay brought about special memories for Marvin and Rochelle Humes - by giving the pair a chance to reminisce about their pop heyday.
The couple recently took up residency at the BBC Studios in the city to film the third series of the popular music quiz show - and it seemed the location - opposite the Scottish Event Campus which houses the Hydro and Armadillo - took them a trip down memory lane.
“This part of Glasgow is very special to us,” explained Marvin who first shot to fame in the boyband JLS while his wife Rochelle performed in the girl group The Saturdays.
He continued: “We used to stay in a hotel.
“I think it used to be called The City Inn, opposite the new Radisson.
“It brings back so many memories of being with the boys, touring on the X Factor tours, our own tours then coming to watch Rochy with the girls.
“I remember the MOBO awards being here one year and us winning.
“This whole little area here has been a massive part of our careers growing up.
“It is almost like this little pocket of Glasgow that has been very good to us over the years.”
The series - the first to be filmed at the BBC Scotland studios since the start of the coronavirus pandemic - invites contestants to identify huge music hits over the years for a chance to win £10,000.
The show was actually created from a game the couple played at home, Beat the Intro as the pair explained.
“It is a show that is spawned from a game we play at home.
“We have always played songs, pressed pause and you had to shout out the artist and the title,” said 35-year-old Marvin.
“We used to call it Beat the Intro,” added Rochelle.
Marvin continued: “It is a game we have played with our families and our friends.
“It was a show we wanted to do, it's something we are very passionate about.
“We are in our third series now which is amazing.
“You know it has been received very well, people at home can play along, it spans all ages.
“We have introduced a round this year where it is five seconds of five songs from five decades that were all top five hits.”
Rochelle added: “So they should be pretty obvious.”
This year is due to be another huge one for the couple who married in 2012. Rochelle, 31, is expecting their third child, a boy, due next month. The couple are already parents to Alia, 7, and Valentina, 3.
While Marvin was preparing for the return of JLS after six years. The band were due to play Glasgow’s Hydro this year but the show has been postponed until July 6 and 7.
“We are in the studio right now and working on new music.
“We are really excited. By June, who knows, JLS fans might have new music,” teased Marvin who admitted he can’t wait for the Scottish leg of the tour for one special reason.
“I am Scottish,” he boasted before Rochelle teased, “Here we go.”
He added: “My nan (Patricia Hughes) was born in Dundee so I would always clutch on that straw when I come up here.
“Being that I am Scottish I would get the biggest cheer.
“I would always use that line playing Glasgow or Edinburgh, Aberdeen, wherever we used to play.
“She was born in Dundee. I would clutch on that and have the Scottish flag when I was on stage. I used to sing, ‘oh ye cannae shove yer granny aff a bus’.”
Rochelle added: “Scotland has always been a great place for us. The crowd here are amazing.
“When me and the girls were touring here, we would always choose to start the tour or end the tour in Glasgow.
“That was always our thing because it would either kick us off the best start or we would finish off with the best finish.”
Filming 14 episodes of the show over five days is a tough gig for anyone but doing pregnant is bound to test - although Rochelle admits she has taken the job in her stride.
She said: “I am only pregnant it can happen. Yeah I am tired but it is all good.
“I love it (the show). It would be different if I didn’t love the show but we enjoy it so much.”
Marvin added: “It is tough when you are not pregnant.”
Rochelle continued: “I am feeling it I am not going to lie to you.
“I can’t stand around in heels like I used to but I bloomin’ well am, I am doing it.
“The team here kindly bought me a foot spa so we are doing three episodes a day and in between shows I am like putting my foot in some salts.
“It is what it is.”
Catch The Hit List on BBC One on Saturday at 6.15pm.
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