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Around six months a year, usually Wednesdays at 7.00 pm on ITV, (1970 to 1987 for argument's sake here), a Thames ident comes into view and the 1950s tune of Gala Performance is heard once more. Eamonn Andrews (who would have been 100 years young in December 2022 had he still lived), is playing Hide and Seek with the Invisible Man in some corner, whispering to the Fourth Wall and carrying what appears to be a photograph album binder thing (i.e. his script) with a famous red cover on it, and gold lettering on with the programme's title, but alas, we don't see the name at the bottom just yet, for the host conveniently covers it up with his hand as he is carrying it. With his best mid-Atlantic Eire twang, he explains to the five million what he is doing there and gives us some clues as to who the "victim" could be. An actor (usually a Redgrave) does a curtain call, and Andrews makes his appearance on stage, as if he is a PC going to arrest the suspect for having such a famous and successful career, sometimes in disguise, although that was mostly during the Aspel era.
Andrews presents the Big Red Book at the subject and says: "tonight (name of star guest), This is Your Life!" The "police station" in question was usually Euston Road (or Teddington, or even a local ITV company studio), where many guests associated with this person are already there waiting his or her arrival. When Jeremy Beadle was a victim, he commented "now I know how they feel", making references and comparisons of being caught by the man with the Big Red Book being similar to being implicated within a practical joke stunt on Beadle's About that he was most famous for at the time.
Andrews introduces the star guest's wife or husband who greet each other as if they haven't seen each other for years. The seats are arranged in such a way that family and relatives sit on the star guest's side while colleagues and famous faces they have worked and associated with are on the other. One by one during the next 23 minutes, others are introduced, some all in one go (where the Danny la Rue one in 1984 went on for ages). It was live in the early days, but that changed due to profanity from the boxer Alan Minter. Some have been on twice, while Petula Clark had been on three times. Danny Blanchflower and Bill Oddie originally turned it down, and so did Richard Gordon of the "Doctor" books, but two of them had changed their mind. Perhaps had Gordon agreed to do it from the word "go", then there wouldn't have been an edition to fill a spare slot in 1974 when Eamonn was the guest, and forgotten magician David Nixon was holding the famous book instead? (Nixon had been a guest himself early on that series). Andrews was the subject of the very first British edition for the BBC back in 1955 when American founder Ralph Edwards told "his" life, before literally passing the book (and the baton) to him.
I know that some viewers tuned in for the first three minutes and stayed tuned depending on who the subject would be that week. For those who read autobiographies (which is what I assume that the programme is aimed at, not to mention those who are curious about those in the public eye), I believe that this is what sort of people who used to watch the series back in the day. There are also those who would have made great subjects but were never featured such as Sir Bruce Forsyth. On the other hand, it's probably a good thing that it isn't on anymore for it would have been hijacked by Reality TV stars and BBC Three stalwarts. Rylan Clark-Neal featuring on there, or even presenting it? Um... It was nice that the show didn't just feature celebrities but those with claims to fame such as Falklands veteran Simon Weston, and the British Schindler - Nicholas Winton. I would have assumed that Captain Sir Tom Moore would have made an ideal subject had he been a familiar person when it was originally on.
But what is great is at the end of the episode, where the presenter hands the red book prop to the star guest, emphasising the name of the programme: This is "Your" Life this week, not mine. Cue the guests, family and colleagues surrounding the star at the end as the credits go up, and by the end, Andrews or Aspel would be nowhere to be seen, pure class. The host is purely incidental to the show and is only there to read the contents of the book - it was the star guest that counted at the end of the day. Even if it did come back, who would appear on it? Exactly.
I would welcome it if it did come back, however. Growing up, it felt like ITV was the home of the show, and so when he went (back) to the BBC where it came from originally, it did feel like a bit of a demotion, but on the other hand, I think that Andrews was the better host than Aspel. I think that Big Red Book.info is a great website about the show and who appeared on it as star guests. Des O'Connor was the first Thames TV star guest in November 1969, and the first one who to be made in colour, but then again, he was number one in the British charts when Thames first went on the air at the end of July 1968. I was thanks to Eamonn joining Thames on Day One who host their evening news programme Today (think of Bill Grundy interviewing the Sex Pistols eight years later), that he was already at the station to present the series once again.
And in the monochrome days of the show, when it was on the BBC for the first time, the colour of the book was a colour other than red - who would have thought of it at the time?
Andrews presents the Big Red Book at the subject and says: "tonight (name of star guest), This is Your Life!" The "police station" in question was usually Euston Road (or Teddington, or even a local ITV company studio), where many guests associated with this person are already there waiting his or her arrival. When Jeremy Beadle was a victim, he commented "now I know how they feel", making references and comparisons of being caught by the man with the Big Red Book being similar to being implicated within a practical joke stunt on Beadle's About that he was most famous for at the time.
Andrews introduces the star guest's wife or husband who greet each other as if they haven't seen each other for years. The seats are arranged in such a way that family and relatives sit on the star guest's side while colleagues and famous faces they have worked and associated with are on the other. One by one during the next 23 minutes, others are introduced, some all in one go (where the Danny la Rue one in 1984 went on for ages). It was live in the early days, but that changed due to profanity from the boxer Alan Minter. Some have been on twice, while Petula Clark had been on three times. Danny Blanchflower and Bill Oddie originally turned it down, and so did Richard Gordon of the "Doctor" books, but two of them had changed their mind. Perhaps had Gordon agreed to do it from the word "go", then there wouldn't have been an edition to fill a spare slot in 1974 when Eamonn was the guest, and forgotten magician David Nixon was holding the famous book instead? (Nixon had been a guest himself early on that series). Andrews was the subject of the very first British edition for the BBC back in 1955 when American founder Ralph Edwards told "his" life, before literally passing the book (and the baton) to him.
I know that some viewers tuned in for the first three minutes and stayed tuned depending on who the subject would be that week. For those who read autobiographies (which is what I assume that the programme is aimed at, not to mention those who are curious about those in the public eye), I believe that this is what sort of people who used to watch the series back in the day. There are also those who would have made great subjects but were never featured such as Sir Bruce Forsyth. On the other hand, it's probably a good thing that it isn't on anymore for it would have been hijacked by Reality TV stars and BBC Three stalwarts. Rylan Clark-Neal featuring on there, or even presenting it? Um... It was nice that the show didn't just feature celebrities but those with claims to fame such as Falklands veteran Simon Weston, and the British Schindler - Nicholas Winton. I would have assumed that Captain Sir Tom Moore would have made an ideal subject had he been a familiar person when it was originally on.
But what is great is at the end of the episode, where the presenter hands the red book prop to the star guest, emphasising the name of the programme: This is "Your" Life this week, not mine. Cue the guests, family and colleagues surrounding the star at the end as the credits go up, and by the end, Andrews or Aspel would be nowhere to be seen, pure class. The host is purely incidental to the show and is only there to read the contents of the book - it was the star guest that counted at the end of the day. Even if it did come back, who would appear on it? Exactly.
I would welcome it if it did come back, however. Growing up, it felt like ITV was the home of the show, and so when he went (back) to the BBC where it came from originally, it did feel like a bit of a demotion, but on the other hand, I think that Andrews was the better host than Aspel. I think that Big Red Book.info is a great website about the show and who appeared on it as star guests. Des O'Connor was the first Thames TV star guest in November 1969, and the first one who to be made in colour, but then again, he was number one in the British charts when Thames first went on the air at the end of July 1968. I was thanks to Eamonn joining Thames on Day One who host their evening news programme Today (think of Bill Grundy interviewing the Sex Pistols eight years later), that he was already at the station to present the series once again.
And in the monochrome days of the show, when it was on the BBC for the first time, the colour of the book was a colour other than red - who would have thought of it at the time?
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