This Is Your Life: Rita Tushingham

Rita TUSHINGHAM (1942-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Rita Tushingham, actress, was surprised by Michael Aspel during a meeting with producer Bill Kenwright at his offices in Little Venice, London.

Rita, who was born in Liverpool and attended the Sheila Elliot Clarke School for acting and dancing as a child, got her first job at the Liverpool Playhouse after leaving school at 16, where she worked backstage and played small parts. In 1960 she answered an ad for 'an ugly girl' to play Jo in the film adaptation of the groundbreaking stage play A Taste of Honey and won the part. Filming began on her 19th birthday, and the film won critical acclaim, several awards, and received a Royal Premiere.

Rita went on to appear in the films The Girl with Green Eyes and The Knock, then in 1965, she appeared in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago, which confirmed her as an international star. Her other films included The Bed Sitting Room in 1969 and Straight on Till Morning in 1972, while she later became a familiar face on television in the BBC sitcoms No Strings and Bread.

"Where did you come from?"

programme details...

Edition No: 1033
Subject No: 1008
Broadcast date: Mon 13 Dec 1999
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Fri 23 Jul 1999
Venue: Teddington Studios
Series: 40
Edition: 8
Code name: Honey

on the guest list...

Aisha - daughter
Hans-Heinrich Ziemann - partner
Angharad Rees
Phil Cornwell
Hugo Speer
Richard Lester
Bill Kenwright
Horst Königstein
Dodonna - daughter
Colin - brother
Peter - brother
Enid - mother
Hazel Allen
Dora Bryan
Paul Danquah
Desmond Davis
Edna O'Brien
Spike Milligan
Jean Boht
Nick Conway
Carla Lane
Alun Armstrong
Trevor Baxter
Delia Corrie
George Pensotti
Michael Malnick
Brenda Kaye
Caroline Blakiston
Benjamin Whitrow
Lynn Redgrave
Keith Barron
Sean Maguire

production team...

Researcher: Steven Lappin
Writer: Ian Brown
Director: John Gorman
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...

An Actor's Life For Me

spotlight on the stars

The Night of 1000 Lives

a celebration of a thousand editions

Dora Bryan

Spike Milligan

Screenshots of Rita Tushingham This Is Your Life

Gary Wharton recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, Rita Tushingham, Profile...

And to round off a productive year, broadcast on 13 December, saw Rita the recipient of a This Is Your Life celebration.

Now hosted by Michael Aspel, who had interviewed her way back in 1969, many names from her acting past including Jean Boht, Dora Bryan, Carla Lane, Edna O'Brien and directors that she had worked with such as close friend and director Richard Lester, Desmond Davis, Horst Königstein and family members.

Series 40 subjects