This Is Your Life (British TV series)

The British version of the show was launched in 1955 on the BBC and was first presented by Ralph Edwards to the first "victim", Eamonn Andrews, who was the presenter from the second show.[1] The scriptwriter for the first 35 episodes was Gale Pedrick.[2] In 1958, it was the most popular regular show on the BBC with audiences between 8.75 and 10.5 million.[3] It ended in 1964 when Andrews moved to ABC Television, but it was revived by Thames Television for broadcast on ITV in 1969.

The big red book for fireman Tom Breaks, Mon 26 Mar 1962

The only other occasion during Andrews' presentational run where he was not the presenter was in 1974 when he was the subject a second time, and the show was presented by David Nixon. Michael Aspel (himself, a "victim" in 1980) became presenter after Andrews died in 1987. The show returned to the BBC in 1994 but was still produced independently by Thames Television, by then no longer an ITV contractor. The programme was discontinued again in 2003.

At first, the show was broadcast live; later, programmes were sometimes pre-recorded. Live broadcasts ended in 1983 when boxer Alan Minter could not stop swearing during his appearance.

The show returned in June 2007 on ITV for a one-off-special programme hosted by Sir Trevor McDonald with guest Simon Cowell.[4] The new edition was co-produced by ITV Productions, STV Productions, TIYL Productions, Click TV and Ralph Edwards Productions.

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway featured a return of This Is Your Life to celebrate Ant & Dec's 25 years together, quizzing them on their 25 years as part of "Ant vs Dec" in episode 6 of Series 11. Michael Aspel returned as host alongside Ashley Roberts.

Lynn Redgrave, in December 1996, was caught while taking her bow in her one-woman show on stage at the Haymarket Theatre, the only time the Redgrave clan was seen together on stage at the same time. Bob Hope and Dudley Moore have been the only subjects of two-part editions of the programme, in 1970 and 1987 respectively. Both were broadcast over two weeks. Clive Mantle's profile included a post-credits sequence where he thanked the audience for coming.

Footballer Danny Blanchflower turned down the "red book" in February 1961. Author Richard Gordon (of Doctor in the House fame) was asked in 1974 and, like Bill Oddie (of The Goodies) in 2001, he initially turned it down, but changed his mind and appeared on the show. Actor Richard Beckinsale was a feature on the show at the age of 30, just sixteen months before his death.

Hattie Jacques appeared in 1963 and featured her husband John Le Mesurier who had helped set up the surprise. However, much to her extreme discomfort, she was at the time living separately from Le Mesurier with her lover John Schofield.[5]

Ronnie Barker was planned to be one of the show's subjects and his wife Joy Tubb was helping the producers with the set up and pre-production, but Barker revealed in his autobiography that he had become extremely upset by his wife's obvious secrecy and he even began to suspect she may have been having an extra-marital affair. Barker confronted his wife and she had to explain to him about the programme, leading to its cancellation. Barker took the opportunity to impress upon his wife that he never wanted to be featured on the show, so future attempts to plan an edition around him were thwarted.[6]

Maureen Lipman revealed in her first biographical book that she had made an arrangement with her agent and her husband that she would never participate in the programme should they ever be approached, with her husband Jack Rosenthal also agreeing he'd never be the subject. Both were willing and happy to appear as a guest on other editions featuring their friends. Lipman light heartedly revealed that her refusal to be featured was the thing that upset her mother the most about her career.[7]

Peter Davison was the featured celebrity in March 1982. He later revealed in interviews[8] and his autobiography that the planned finale of his edition was to be the appearance of actress Beryl Reid. Davison's then wife Sandra Dickinson objected and persuaded the producers not to end the show in this way as Davison and Reid barely knew each other, having worked together only once for two days' recording. Reid's inclusion was to maximize publicity for the two episodes of Doctor Who that were airing at the same time as Davison's This Is Your Life. Dickinson won her argument, and although Reid appeared, the edition ended instead with the reunion of Davison and his Guyanese aunt.[9][10]

In May 1971, Googie Withers was the featured guest, but the surprise planned by host Eamonn Andrews did not go according to plan, when Withers arrived in the studio, thinking she was going to be interviewed by Godfrey Winn. When Andrews stepped forward with the red book, Withers asked him why he was working as a floor manager and no longer as a presenter. This was in part due to her living in Australia where the show was not known.[11][12]

In 1996, the Sunday Mirror reported that a planned show for Cockney comedy actor Arthur Mullard was pulled after researchers contacted his eldest son. The same report featured claims that Mullard had terrorised his family and had sexually abused his daughter for many years.[13]

The series originally included non-celebrities who had done extraordinary things in their lives. In later years, following a persistent criticism of only deeming celebrities worthy of being featured on the show, non-celebrities were featured again. These included businesspeople, military personnel, the clergy and those that had performed outstanding community or charity service but who were not well known to the general public. Examples include: paramedic Allan Norman; Group Captain Leonard Cheshire; Cromer lifeboatman Henry "Shrimp" Davies; Colonel Tod Sweeney; Mary Ward, community nurse to the boat people of the canals; Chay Blyth; Sir Nicholas Winton; Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader; and Sir Fitzroy Maclean. The series never profiled serving politicians, although retired politicians were occasionally featured, e.g. Lord Brabourne.

Forty-two celebrities have appeared on the show twice — including Honor Blackman, Dora Bryan, Bob Monkhouse and Eamonn Andrews himself.

David Butler was 17 when he became the youngest ever subject of This Is Your Life (episode aired 5 March 1962).[14] He was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the headmaster's study of Hemel Hempstead Grammar School. David lost both his legs and a hand when, aged 11, he found an unexploded bomb on Ivinghoe Beacon.

When snooker player Stephen Hendry was surprised with the red book in 1990, aged 21, he remarked that he had "hardly had a life". Letters of complaint were published in the TV listings magazine TVTimes after young subjects such as Lulu and Bonnie Langford appeared on the show.

The theme tune used from 1969 was called 'Gala Performance' and was composed by Laurie Johnson for KPM.

• This Is Your Life at IMDb.
• A celebration of This Is Your Life
• Guest and series list (web.archive.org)