Recent additions...
Les Dawson – comedian and recipient of two Big Red Books - from 1971 and 1992
Sheila Hancock – actress, surprised - appropriately - on stage in 1976
John Thaw – actor, currently starring in ITV's The Sweeney, surprised in 1981
Alan Mullery – footballer, associated with Fulham FC - surprised in 1976
Mary O'Hara – the Irish soprano and harpist's edition from 1978
Ted Willis – writer -famous for TV's Dixon of Dock Green surprised in 1959
THIS IS YOUR LIFE...
... a simple premise for a television show. A surprise encounter and an unexpected reunion. The host reveals the life story of the unsuspecting ‘subject’ with the help of a Big Red Book and a gathering of family and friends.
That formula became one of the most popular programmes on British television ever, running almost 50 years, producing over 1000 editions, and, in the process, becoming a British institution.
At the peak of its popularity, in the 1970s and 80s, millions of television viewers regularly tuned in every Wednesday at 7pm with excited anticipation of whose name would be embossed on that week’s Big Red Book...
This website is a celebration of the show and the lives it honoured. Open the Big Red Book to reveal a record of every UK edition from 1955-2003 and learn about the series, the subjects and the sets as we turn back the pages of one of the best loved television treasures of all time.
So, as the man said ...
“if you look at that screen over there...”
