This Is Your Life: Phillip Schofield

Phillip SCHOFIELD (1962-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Phillip Schofield, television presenter, was surprised by Michael Aspel at the curtain call of the musical Doctor Dolittle at the Hammersmith Apollo in London.

Phillip, who was born in Oldham, worked as a bookings clerk for BBC Radio until 1981, when he moved with his family to New Zealand, where he made his television debut as a presenter on the youth music programme Shazam in April 1982. After returning to the UK in 1985, he became the first in-vision continuity presenter for BBC Children's Television, presenting his links from the 'broom cupboard' with the help of the puppet Gordon the Gopher.

In 1987, he co-presented the Saturday morning children's programme Going Live before leaving the BBC in 1993 to join ITV, where he presented such programmes as Talking Telephone Numbers, Schofield's Quest, and Schofield's TV Gold. In 1991, he starred in London's West End as the lead in the musical Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, followed by the title role in Doctor Dolittle in 1998.

"I don't believe it! Well I never thought I'd see that! That's amazing - my mum will be pleased!"

programme details...

Edition No: 1007
Subject No: 982
Broadcast date: Mon 26 Oct 1998
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Sat 17 Oct 1998
Venue: unknown
Series: 39
Edition: 8
Code name: Pip

on the guest list...

Judi Spiers
Philippa Forrester
Steve Wright
Trevor Neal
Simon Hickson
Patty - grandmother
Hilda - grandmother
Stephanie - wife
Anthea Turner
Emma Forbes
Caron Keating
Pat - mother
Brian - father
Tim - brother
Louise Tucker
Nicky Tucker
Alan Freeman
Ruth Cowling
Gary Moyes
Bruce Connock
David Rodgers
Alastair McLachlan
Peter Grattan
Peter Powell
Russ Lindsay
Diane - aunt
Mike Smith
Sarah Greene
David Grindrod
Mike Dixon
Linzi Hateley
cast members from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Evie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse
message from HRH Prince Charles
Molly - daughter
Ruby - daughter
cast members from Dr Dolittle
Gordon the Gopher

production team...

Researcher: Jo Grant
Writer: Ian Brown
Directors: John Gorman, Peter Wisdom
Associate Producer: Helen Gordon-Smith
Executive Producer: John Longley
Series Producer: Jack Crawshaw
Producer: Sue Green

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Presenting Life

celebrating the hosts

The Night of 1000 Lives

a celebration of a thousand editions

Alan Freeman

Screenshots of Phillip Schofield This Is Your Life

Phillip Schofield recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, Life's What You Make It...

For someone who is pretty good at spotting the unusual, thankfully, one evening I missed a huge set of clues. If I had questioned what I'd seen, I would have wrecked a very elaborate surprise and an incredibly well-kept secret. As usual, for the finale of every Doctor Dolittle show, I ran down the side of the building on my way to board the giant lunar moth. My route took me out of the stage door to the front of the theatre to a door that was specially opened so I could fly through it. I had to then run up the stairs of the theatre to another door that opened on to the roof, then I'd run across the roof (in all weathers) and down a set of steps into an old room that used to house one of the big spotlights. Now, one side of the room had been cut out and it acted as a kind of garage. Way above the heads of the audience and unseen, it housed the moth, hidden behind black cloths and ready for its descent to the stage. So that was the route.

Rewind to the start of that journey, to the moment I left the stage door and ran down the road beside the theatre. The secret clue I had missed were two unmarked TV vans, one of which had its doors open. If I hadn't been running at a sprint, and if I'd been more attentive, I'd have noticed the camera kit inside and, before the final bows, I'd almost certainly have asked backstage why the TV crews were here. And where were they?

Mercifully, none of that happened and, until Michael Aspel arrived onstage beside me, I was unaware that Tonight, Phillip Schofield, This Is Your Life...

I was totally lost for words. In conjunction with James Grant, Steph had played a blinder. I didn't realise that she, my mum, dad and Tim were standing at the back of the auditorium, ready for the moment when Michael surprised me. They then sped off to Television Centre to meet me when I arrived after getting changed.

Most of the people there that night are mentioned in this book. They're the most special people in my life. How lucky I am to have a recording of pretty much the whole family, as well as friends I hadn't seen for so long: John and Mac from OBs; Louise Tucker, who I'd worn Hai Karate talc to impress, and failed; Bruce Connock, my careers adviser, who had sent me to watch the news at the BBC in Plymouth; Peter Grattan, my producer from New Zealand; David Rodgers, star of West Country TV and radio, who had become a life-long friend at Hospital Radio Plymouth. Paul Smith, my Broom Cupboard producer and master of the Gopher was there (Gordon also made an appearance). The cast of Joseph appeared and, obviously, Pete, Russ, Paul and Darren.

Then came Sarah Greene and Mike Smith, Caron Keating, Anthea Turner and Emma Forbes, followed by some of the friends I'd made at Radio 1, including Steve Wright and the man whose first ever Roadshow I'd watched when I was eleven, Alan Freeman. Steph was beautiful beside me and the best moment by far was when the doors opened and my two gorgeous little girls walked out, holding the hands of my dresser Angie White and the Dolittle cast.

I've always thought how lucky I was to have had my career celebrated in that way and, on reflection, it came early. The producers told me after the show that they had wanted to feature someone younger than the usual recipients of the big red book but who had still achieved enough to fill a show and had a family that spanned the generations. For me, it meant that I had two of my grandparents, my parents and my children all on one VHS. It is a beautiful living, breathing memento.

Series 39 subjects