The moment Lena Zavaroni’s father learns truth about her diagnosis

A compelling new documentary charts the rise to fame of the little girl from the Isle of Bute who captured the nation’s heart after appearing on Opportunity Knocks at the age of 10 to sing Ma! (He’s Making Eyes At Me).

It would prove to be a springboard for success, leading to performances on Top of the Pops and the Royal Variety Show, a chart-topping debut album, sharing a stage with Frank Sinatra, performing for the US President, and an embarking on a world tour.

Lena Zavaroni had a voice that defied her years (Image: STAX) However, her enormous talent became overshadowed by a well-publicised battle with the eating disorder and depression that culminated in her living on benefits. 

She died in 1999 at the age of 35 after after undergoing a leucotomy (in effect a lobotomy), which was intended to resolve her depression and anxiety stemming from her eating disorder.

In the documentary, Lena’s father Victor recalls the moment a doctor told him that his daughter had the illness that was known as the ‘slimmer’s disease’ at that time.

The 84-year-old said he was shocked at her appearance when she returned home for a holiday to Bute.

There is an unsettling moment in the documentary where Lena’s father is told by the interviewer that her illness was actually diagnosed in London when she was 13  and living with agent Dorothy Solomon – and they were not told.

Lena Zavaroni with her father Victor (Image: Victor Zavaroni)

Asked if they should have been made aware, he replies: “Yes, if that’s what happened. We should have been told.”

“I was reassured by [the programme makers] that it comes across that the Solomons are the ones to blame,” said Lena’s first cousin Margaret Zavaroni in an interview with The Herald.

“My uncle Victor called me last week when I was Tenerife and he doesn’t call me on holiday unless something is really bugging him,” she said.

“He phoned me and said that he didn’t know that the Solomons knew that she had a problem like anorexia before he did. 

“We were a close family – still are. We always talked about different things that were happening with Lena, nothing was held back.

‘She was taken to London alone too young’ Margaret Zavaroni (Image: Specky Productions)

“That’s how I know that we wouldn’t have known what was going on because Lena was out of sight when she was in London. Her family wasn’t with her so nobody really knew what was going on.

“She was nine years of age when she was taken away from her family. They should have taken the parents with  her but there was no rules and regulations then .

“We didn’t have mobile phones to record how she looked,” added her cousin, 70, who is older by 10years.

Lena’s talent brought her into contact with megastars including Frank Sinatra (Image: STAX) However, she said the family didn’t want to lay the blame on any one person for any failings in her care while she was apart from them.

 “She was told to lose so many pounds because the television would make her look 20 pounds more than what she was,” said her cousin, who is also a talented singer. “Telling a child that? It’s going to hurt you when you are a young child.”

The documentary includes footages of Terry Wogan telling the then-older Lena, “we want to see you back to your chunky best”. Victor and Hilda Zavaroni  later moved to London to be with their daughter. 

While the documentary is entitled The Forgotten Child Star, her cousin says she believes she is remembered fondly in her home country.

“Scotland did love Lena,” she said. “Everybody talks about her, it doesn’t matter where they come from – from Stornoway to Glasgow.”

The programme ends poignantly with a clip of her father watching her sing Going Nowhere on a BBC show and declaring it her best performance.

“It’s a beautiful song and she sings it with so much feeling,” said her cousin.

“It was a mature woman’s voice, like Celine Dion in a wee girl. It’s so sad that she’s gone.”

She believes that had she overcome her illness she would have gone on to act. 

“We would have got more out of her when was still alive if she didn’t have that illness,” she said.

“I think she would have gone on to be an actress starring in films because she was full of confidence. If you gave her a script for anything she would just look at the paper and that would be it. She would put her own mark on it.

“The stage was her place – she just came alive. She was a beautiful looking girl.

“I would like her to be remembered for her absolutely brilliant talent.”

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This documentary also features insights from record producer Tommy Scott, classmates Bonnie Langford and Lisa Maxwell, friend Carmen Cori, and fellow child star Neil Reid. Lena’s mother Hilda died in 1989 of a tranquiliser overdose at the age of 47.

Lena was also the host of a British television variety series produced by the BBC, which was broadcast from 1980 to 1982, and the documentary questions if more should have done more for her welfare while she was there.

A spokesperson for the corporation said “The BBC today is very different from that of the 1970s and 80s and we would not expect the experiences in the film to be repeated today.”

Dorothy Solomon, Lena’s agent, was not well enough to take part in the documentary.

Lena Zavaroni: The Forgotten Child Star will air on BBC Scotland at 9pm on Sunday, October 6.