Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
ITV This is Your Life
"ITV This Is Your Life, and what a life; conceived in haste after the biggest debate about broadcasting this country has ever known, and born into a cooly hostile world in which few gave it much chance. But it lived and we're here to tell the tale... not through the eyes of a historian - this is a 21st party"
These were Eamonn Andrews' opening remarks as he presented a special live two-hour edition of This Is Your Life dedicated to ITV itself - celebrating 21 years of independent television. The tribute was broadcast live from the New London Theatre on 22 September 1976 - precisely 21 years to the day from ITV's first evening on air.
programme details...
- Broadcast live: Wed 22 Sep 1976
- Broadcast time: 8.00-10.00pm
- Venue: New London Theatre
- Series: 16
production team...
- Researchers: Valerie Brayden, Helen Dickinson, Maurice Leonard, Alan Stewart, Len Whitcher
- Programme Consultant: Peter Black
- Director: Philip Casson
- Executive Producer: Philip Jones
- Writer and Producer: Andy Allan
related pages...
TV Times highlights a This Is Your Life special
the programme's icon
the show's fifty year history
from Elsie Tanner to Eddie Yates
TV Times 18 September 1976
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Leslie Mitchell launched the show with the exact words he had used 21 years ago |
Eamonn Andrews unfolded the ITV story from the Big Red Book |
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Newsreader Andrew Gardner supplied all the facts and figures |
Hughie Green recalled ITV's popular game shows |
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Robin Day and Chris Chataway discussed the early days of Independent Television News |
Denis Norden presented a look at commercials over the years |
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A look at ITV sitcoms ended with a sketch from the cast of The Army Game |
Cliff Richard discussed the changes to pop music shows |
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Actor Peter McEnery, writer Alun Owen and producer Sydney Newman discussed television drama |
Eamonn talked to David Frost about his often controversial discussion programmes |
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World in Action producer Tim Hewat recalled ITV's factual programming |
Frankie Howerd supplied the laughter |
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Raymond Francis and Eric Lander from No Hiding Place and The Sweeney's John Thaw and Dennis Waterman talked drama |
The current cast of Coronation Street sent their birthday wishes to ITV |
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Past presenters of Sunday Night at the London Palladium - Ted Rogers, Jimmy Tarbuck and Bruce Forsyth reminisced |
The evening was rounded off by Harry Secombe |
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And the Big Red Book was presented to the Director of Programmes at ATV, and influential ITV producer, Bill Ward |