This Is Your Life is a British biographical television series, based on the 1952 American series. In the show, the host surprises a special guest, before taking them through their life in a studio, with the assistance of the 'big red book'. Both celebrities and non-celebrities were featured on the show. The show was originally broadcast live, and over its run it alternated between being broadcast on the BBC and on ITV.

It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987. Michael Aspel then took up the role of host until the show ended in 2003. It briefly returned in 2007 as a one-off special presented by Trevor McDonald.

The surprise element was an important part of the show; if the guest heard about the project beforehand, it would be cancelled.

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

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 subject 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.

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

Notable guests Hattie Jacques appeared in 1963, with her husband John Le Mesurier who had helped set up the surprise; however, she was at the time living with her lover John Schofield while Le Mesurier lived in a separate room in the same house.

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 upset by his wife's obvious secrecy and even began to suspect she might 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.Barker, Ronnie. It's Hello From Him. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; First edition (1 November 1988).

Maureen Lipman revealed in her first autobiographical 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 would 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.Lipman, Maureen. How Was It For You? Sphere; New edition (16 October 1986).

Christopher Lee was the subject of the show in April1974. He was surprised by Eamonn Andrews during a fencing match that was being filmed for the children's TV series Magpie.

Peter Davison was the featured celebrity in March 1982. He later revealed in interviewsArchived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: and his autobiography that the planned finale of his edition was to be the appearance of actress Beryl Reid, but 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 maximise publicity for the two episodes of Doctor Who that the BBC 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.Davison, Peter. 'Is There Life Outside The Box?' John Blake Publishing Ltd (6 October 2016).

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.McFarlane, Brian. 'Double-Act: The Remarkable Lives and Careers of Googie Withers and John McCallum'. Monash University Publishing (2006). ASIN: B01K05T4YWArchived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:

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.

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

Tottenham Hotspur and Northern Ireland football legend Danny Blanchflower became the first person to refuse to appear on the television show on February 6, 1961. Host Eamonn Andrews attempted to surprise Blanchflower with the famous big red book under the guise of recording a sports segment. When Andrews announced the famous line, "Tonight, Danny Blanchflower, This Is Your Life," the Spurs captain famously replied, "Oh no it's not," and walked away. Because he declined on the spot and it was a live programme, the BBC had to quickly substitute a different pre-planned emergency episode featuring Somerset doctor Robert Fawcus. Blanchflower later stated he never regretted his split-second decision to walk away from the cameras.

Theme music The theme tune used from 1969 onwards was called "Gala Performance", and was composed by Laurie Johnson for KPM.

Transmissions BBC Series Start date End date Episodes Presenter 1 29 July 1955 6 May 1956 15 Eamonn Andrews 2 1 October 1956 27 May 1957 19 3 30 September 1957 5 May 1958 31 4 29 September 1958 11 May 1959 33 5 31 August 1959 28 March 1960 31 6 19 September 1960 8 May 1961 34 7 2 October 1961 7 May 1962 32 8 2 October 1962 14 May 1963 31 9 3 October 1963 30 April 1964 30

ITV Series Start date End date Episodes Presenter 10 19 November 1969 27 May 1970 26 Eamonn Andrews 11 18 November 1970 12 May 1971 26 12 17 November 1971 10 May 1972 26 13 15 November 1972 9 May 1973 26 14 21 November 1973 15 May 1974 27 15 10 October 1974 7 May 1975 27 16 12 November 1975 5 May 1976 26 17 27 October 1976 27 April 1977 27 18 23 November 1977 31 May 1978 27 19 25 October 1978 3 May 1979 27 2028 November 1979 21 May 1980 26 21 15 October 1980 15 April 1981 26 22 13 October 1981 31 March 1982 26 23 20 October 1982 13 April 1983 26 24 26 October 1983 18 April 1984 26 25 7 November 1984 8 May 1985 27 26 16 October 1985 30 April 1986 26 27 15 October 1986 8 April 1987 26 28 14 October 1987 20 January 1988 7 29 19 October 1988 1 March 1989 20 Michael Aspel 30 25 October 1989 7 May 1990 27 31 17 October 1990 17 April 1991 26 32 16 October 1991 15 April 1992 26 33 30 September 1992 21 April 1993 30 34 12 January 1994 20 July 1994 26

BBC1 Series Start date End date Episodes Presenter 35 2 November 1994 17 May 1995 28 Michael Aspel 36 6 September 1995 6 March 1996 27 37 20 September 1996 24 March 1997 26 38 1 September 1997 23 February 1998 26 397 September 1998 1 March 1999 26 40 1 November 1999 29 May 2000 28 41 9 November 2000 7 June 2001 26 42 17 October 2001 23 May 2002 26 43 2 January 2003 8 August 2003 25

Special Special No. Air date Guest Presenter 1 2 June 2007 Simon Cowell Sir Trevor McDonald

References

External links . Guest and series list (web.archive.org)