That gave The Independent the whizzo idea of checking out other British child prodigies. It asked how they have fared in adult life.
Among those featured were Charlotte Church, who at the age of 12 had signed a five-album deal with Sony, Heather Ripley, who played Jemima in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and James Harries, a 12-year-old television antiques expert.
The paper delivered the following impressions. Ripley "developed drink and drug problems and became a single mother on benefits." Church had "stormy relationships with unsuitable boyfriends" and was pictured in the News of the World "looking the worse for wear after leaving nightclubs". Harries underwent a sex-change operation and was last heard of hoping "for a career in television".
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