Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
the producers who steered the programme's success
the studio look and locations
the genesis of the programme
Leicester Mercury 17 July 1958
SOMEWHERE in Britain a dozen or more people are in for the shock of their lives - and they don't know it. They are going about their everyday affairs blissfully unaware of the fact that sometime before Christmas they will endure an evening of memories - some happy, others painful - an evening compounded of the two sure-fire ingredients of show business, laughter and tears.
The sleuths of "This Is Your Life" are on the trail again. The series which provoked more comment than almost any other in the short history of television returns in the autumn, and already the first names have been discussed and agreed. Relatives and intimate friends of the "subjects" are being sworn to secrecy in various parts of the country.
Producer Leslie Jackson is already lying awake at nights thinking up ingenious methods of getting his uninvited guests to the place appointed without letting the studio cat out of the bag.
I know something about this obstinately popular series, having written a considerable number of the programmes in times gone by, and I would say the only method of getting the "lives" along without exposing the team to heart-failure would be hypnotise them and then produce them through a trap-door at the psychological moment.
GREAT STRAIN
The strain of producing "This Is Your Life" is unbelievable. It must be quite the most exacting assignment in television today.
When I visited the Television Centre this week the producer was away on the job himself - testing the worth of certain stories. He was two hundred miles away, but I will observe security and not say towards which point of the compass he drove off.
I've never forgotten that the very first programme I wrote was to have introduced Stanley Matthews and that the story was "broken" in the national Press and a substitute had to be found at twenty-four hours notice. I take it as a compliment that the staff has been trebled since my departure.
The Advertiser 18 July 1958
Reports GALE PEDRICK the man who wrote the scripts for many of the earlier shows in this series
SOMEWHERE in Britain a dozen or more people are in for the shock of their lives - and they don't know it.
They are going about their everyday affairs blissfully unaware of the fact that some time before Christmas they will endure an evening of memories - some happy, others painful - an evening compounded of the two sure-fire ingredients of show business: laughter and tears.
This is one way of telling you the sleuths of "This Is Your Life" are on the trail again. The series that provoked more comment than almost any other in the short history of television returns in the autumn, and already the first names have been discussed and agreed.
Relatives and intimate friends of the "subjects" are being sworn to secrecy in various parts of the country.
Producer Leslie Jackson - "Jacko" to all the other inhabitants of Britain's television village - is already lying awake at nights thinking up ingenious methods of getting his uninvited guests to the place appointed without letting the studio cat out of the bag.
I know something about this obstinately popular series, having written a considerable number of the programmes in times gone by, and I would say that the only method of getting the "lives" along without exposing the team to heart-failure would be to hypnotise them and then produce them through a trap-door at the psychological moment.
The strain of producing "This Is Your Life" is unbelievable; it must be quite the most exacting assignment in television today. But on the whole the enterprising "Jacko" and his team appear to thrive on it.
When I visited the Television Centre this week the producer was away on the job himself - testing the worth of certain stories. He was 200 miles away, but I will observe security and not say towards which point of the compass he drove.
I've never forgotten that the very first programme I wrote was to have introduced Stanley Matthews and that the story was "broken" in the national Press and a substitute had to be found at 24 hours' notice.
I take it as a compliment that the staff has been trebled since my departure.
The lads have also been promoted from a shabby Hammersmith villa with its pervading aroma of tom-cat, cabbage and kippers, to the Television Centre itself.
True, some of the investigators are housed in the caravans on the perimeter of the car park, but they are the nomads of British television and are quite happy to have the impression that they are on the move even when they are staying still.
Caption: The subject's life-story is skilfully unfolded for the edification of the viewing public. In this picture, the "victim" is Ted Ray; as usual, Eamonn Andrews is the man who says: "This Is Your Life."