Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Kitty GODFREE (1896-1992)
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Kitty Godfree, former tennis player, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while shopping in a supermarket in the London suburb of East Sheen.
Kitty, who was born in London, began her top-level tennis career at Roehampton in 1919 and was selected shortly after to play for England, winning three Olympic medals at the 1920 Antwerp games and a further two medals at the 1924 Paris games.
As tennis was a strictly amateur game during the 1920s, Kitty worked in the offices of J Lyons and Co. However, she became one of the first tennis stars, winning the Wimbledon singles title twice – in 1924 and 1926 - and the US Championships doubles title three times - in 1923, 1925 and 1927.
"How nice to see you. But this is only fun - I mean you're not really... It isn't real! Oh, aren't you awful!"
programme details...
- Edition No: 735
- Subject No: 729
- Broadcast date: Wed 6 Jan 1988
- Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
- Recorded: Tue 15 Sep 1987
- Venue: Teddington Studios
- Series: 28
- Edition: 5
- Code name: Centre
on the guest list...
- David - son
- Diana - daughter-in-law
- Martin - son
- Helen - daughter-in-law
- Jonathan - grandson
- Catherine - Jonathan's fiancée
- Sarah - granddaughter
- Trevor - Sarah's husband
- Helen Wills Moody - via telephone
- Virginia Wade
- Sophie - granddaughter
- Dan Maskell
- Gwen Simmers
- Phyllis King
- Mary Holford
- Vee Seal
- Angela Buxton
- Christine Truman
- Sue Barker
- Angela Mortimer
- John Barrett
- Jean Borotra - live link
- Lorna Palmer
- Buzzer Hadingham
- Lili de Alvarez Filmed tributes:
- Martina Navratilova
- Chris Evert
- Fred Perry
related appearance...
- Dan Maskell - Apr 1985
production team...
- Researchers: David N Mason, Louise Clover
- Writer: Roy Bottomley
- Directors: Stuart Hall, Terry Yarwood
- Associate Producer: Brian Klein
- Producer: Malcolm Morris
- names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life
Screenshots of Kitty Godfree This Is Your Life
...1920s crowds had flocked to see Kitty Godfree play. Twice she was Wimbledon Champion, and won five Olympic Gold Medals.
A delightful ninety-one-year-old, she was actually cycling to her local supermarket in Richmond, Surrey, when Eamonn Andrews surprised her. (He had had to relearn to ride a bike in order to pull off this dangerous mission, and was nearly knocked spinning by an irate motorist who yelled, 'Why don't you learn to ride the damn thing?')
After that, all ran smoothly. On the evening of 15 September 1987, many tennis greats paid their respects to Kitty, among them Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Fred Perry, Angela Buxton, Christine Truman, Sue Barker, Angela Mortimer and, on a live link from Paris, her great contemporary Jean Borotra: they had been singles champions at Wimbledon in the same year – 1924.
Kitty's victim in her first Wimbledon final (1924), Helen Wills Moody, spoke to her from America, and her second, in 1926, Spain's Lili de Alvarez (now Contessa de la Valdemme) was there.
Kitty did not go home on her bicycle. Nor did Eamonn.
Series 28 subjects
Alan Freeman | Roy Barraclough | Georg Solti | Jimmy Cricket | Kitty Godfree | Tom McClean | Jane Rossington