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Celebrating television's This Is Your Life

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THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Alastair Stewart, journalist and newsreader, was surprised by Michael Aspel while filming an episode of the ITV police video programme Police Camera, Action! in Epping Forest in Essex.

Alastair, who was born in Emsworth, Hampshire, studied at the University of Bristol and worked for the National Union of Students before beginning his broadcasting career in 1976 with ITV's Southern Television regional news team. He joined ITN in 1980 as a correspondent and later presented Channel 4 News and ITV's early evening news bulletin. He moved to ITN's flagship News at Ten in 1989, where he covered such world events as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Gulf War, and spent a year as the Washington correspondent.

He regularly presented ITV's national election and budget coverage and commented on numerous state visits and royal weddings. He left ITN in 1992 and became the co-presenter of ITV London's regional news programme London Tonight the year later. In 1994, he also began presenting the debate programme The Sunday Programme on GMTV and Police Camera Action!

"You're joking! That is a fair cop, isn't it?"

programme details...

• Edition No: 1008
• Subject No: 983
• Broadcast date: Mon 2 Nov 1998
• Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
• Recorded: Wed 28 Oct 1998
• Venue: unknown
• Series: 39
• Edition: 9
• Code name: Action

on the guest list...

• Virginia Bottomley
• Peter Bottomley
• Nick Pollard
• Sue Tinson
• David Nicholas
• Sally - wife
• Alexander - son
• Clemmie - daughter
• Fern Britton
• Jimmie - father
• Joan - mother
• Ian - brother
• Steven Scorer
• Paul Boateng
• John Reid
• Charles Clarke
• Robert Vaskeff
• Terry Johnstone
• Canon Alan Sesbutt
• Clark Benson
• Carol Barnes
• Paul Davies
• Nicholas Owen
• Jeremy Thompson
• Mary Nightingale
• Anna Maria Ashe
• Angus Scott
• Trish Williamson
• Gabrielle Penfold
• Freddie - son
• Oscar - son
Filmed tributes:
• Mo Mowlam
• Eldred Pattinson
• Trevor McDonald
• Edward Heath

related appearances...

• Sandy Gall - Mar 1983
• Fern Britton - Feb 2002
• Mo Mowlam - Jan 2003

production team...

• Researcher: Kate Greer
• Writer: Joe Steeples
• 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

News At Ten

reporting the news

Fern Britton

Mo Mowlam

Screenshots of Alastair Stewart This Is Your Life