This Is Your Life: Freddie Mills

Freddie MILLS (1919-1965)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Freddie Mills, boxer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews in the foyer of London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

Freddie began fighting in fairground booths in his home town of Bournemouth, and at venues on the south coast of England, and had his first official boxing match in 1936. He excelled as a light-heavyweight boxer, and was the World Light Heavyweight Champion from 1948 to 1950, and has been described as Britain’s biggest boxing idol of the post-war period.

After retiring from boxing, Freddie took up acting and played character roles in a number of films. He was also a presenter on the BBC television music show, Six-Five Special in 1957, and later ran a successful London nightclub.

He was a close friend of Eamonn and played an important part in the first edition of This Is Your Life on British television.

"No, you're joking... is this on the level?"

programme details...

Edition No: 145
Subject No: 145
Broadcast date: Mon 2 Jan 1961
Broadcast time: 7.30-8.00pm
Recorded: Mon 17 Oct 1960 9.00pm
Venue: BBC Television Theatre
Series: 6
Edition: 16

on the guest list...

Miss B Blissett
Jack Turner
Mrs Mills - mother
Charlie Mills - brother
Gipsy Daniels
Bob Turner
Bill Hood
Ted Broadribb
Chrissie Mills - wife
Jack Solomans
Nat Sellers
Gus Lesnevich
Inga Lesnevich
Susan Mills - daughter
Gillian Davis
Linda Brickwood
Morise Vinson
Jackie White
Ann Poulter
Helen Pini
Dickie Henderson
Alderman George Haskett (not shown in final broadcast)

production team...

Researcher: John Sandilands
Writer: Peter Moore
Director: Michael Goodwin
Producer: T Leslie Jackson

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Life In The Ring

from flyweight to heavyweight

Eamonn Andrews

a brief biography

Eamonn Looks Back

first-hand recollections

Birth of Life

the genesis of the programme

These Were Your Lives

a review of the first series

Timeline

the show's fifty year history

This Is Your Life

Radio Times marks the 200th edition

Stanley Matthews should have been on the first This Is Your Life

Look and Learn magazine feature

Somewhere, Someone - This Is Your Life

Talk of Thames feature on the programme's 1969 relaunch

BBC harks back to a previous life

The Guardian reports on the return to the BBC

Dickie Henderson

Screenshots of Freddie Mills This Is Your Life

In his biography of Freddie Mills, writer Jack Birtley briefly mentions this particular edition of This Is Your Life...

By now he had become the close friend of many leading entertainers and when he was featured in television's This Is Your Life programme, a few of them did the familiar walk into the studio to shake Freddie by the hand and tell a funny story from the past.

Gus Lesnevich was brought over from America for the screening, with brother Charlie and Lottie included as well.

One of those invited to take part was Dickie Henderson, who first met Mills while he was guesting on an Arthur Askey series called Before Your Very Eyes.

Series 6 subjects