Big Red Book

Celebrating television's This Is Your Life

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THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Kitty Wilson, foster carer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews, along with a group of her former foster children and several friends and helpers, at London's Liverpool Street Station.

Kitty, who was born in Deal, Kent, initially worked for the charity Dr Barnardo's, caring for severely handicapped young girls at a home in Essex. After seven years with the charity, she volunteered to look after deprived children in Kalimpong, India, setting sail in 1929. However, after just three years in India, doctors advised Kitty to return to the UK due to health issues.

She returned to Dr Barnardo's, and was appointed matron in charge of a centre for girls and young children. After the Second World War, Kitty, now married, set up home in Saffron Walden with her husband to begin looking after children again. On this Mother's Day special edition of This Is Your Life, Kitty is described as 'a mother in a million', having cared for more than 250 foster children over a period spanning more than 60 years.

"What? No! No! I don't believe it!"

programme details...

• Edition No: 621
• Subject No: 615
• Broadcast live: Wed 16 Mar 1983
• Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
• Recorded: Tue 8 Mar 1983
• Venue: Royalty Theatre
• Series: 23
• Edition: 22
• Code name: Mum

on the guest list...

• Lucy - foster daughter
• Stanley - husband
• Molly - sister
• Bill - brother
• Bob - brother
• Catherine Salter
• Eddie Lam
• Cyril Ray
• Sybil - foster daughter
• Freda Owen
• Sarah Ann Kemp
• Pamela Rogers - foster daughter
• Shirley Long - foster daughter
• Dorothy Gibson
• Walter Rogers
• Jonathan Stokes
• Kelly Burnett
• former foster children

production team...

• Researchers: Laura Haydn, Vivien Lind
• Writers: Tom Brennand, Roy Bottomley
• Directors: Paul Stewart Laing, Terry Yarwood
• Producer: Malcolm Morris

A Charitable Life

the unsung heroes

The day we lost The Big Red Book

Further secrets revealed by producer Malcolm Morris

A programme with a life of its own

The Independent profiles the programme's history

Screenshots of Kitty Wilson This Is Your Life

Scriptwriter Roy Bottomley recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, This Is Your Life: The Story of Television's Famous Big Red Book...

A letter from one of her foster children put us on the trail of a special foster mother, Kitty Wilson from Saffron Walden.

At one time she was caring for as many as twenty-seven children. She was invited to London, at our suggestion, by one of her foster daughters for a special Mothers' Day treat.

A crowd of her foster family was at Liverpool Street Station for her first surprise. There were more to come, including a former US Army sergeant, Walter Rogers, who forty years ago had delivered a sleigh filled with teddy bears to Kitty's home: they were presents to the children from GIs at the nearby base who were missing being with their own families that Christmas.

Said Walter: 'The spirit of Christmas is a year-round way of life for Kitty.'

But our planned pick-up of a wonderful 'unknown' – foster mother Kitty Wilson – is perhaps the classic of the 'biter bit' surprise that can sometimes happen. Eamonn lay in wait at Liverpool Street Station. The train came in, Eamonn moved swiftly through the crowds, the hidden cameras following him. Gently he put his hand on the woman's shoulder.

'Hello, Kitty,' he said.

The woman turned and looked at him in total confusion.

Wrong woman.

Producer Malcolm Morris recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, This Is My Life...

This Is Your Life is at its best when doing the life of a non-showbusiness person, and Kitty Wilson was a perfect subject for the programme. Her family had sent us her story and some photographs of her and some of the 50 children she has fostered over the years. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find all those children and have a grand reunion after 30 years?

We agreed, and a few weeks later we found ourselves hiding behind some wide posts in Liverpool Street station. Kitty was coming up to town with a friend to do some Christmas shopping and what she wasn't expecting to see was a photograph of her with all her foster children blown up to twenty feet and strung across the platform.

The train pulled in and Eamonn leapt out at Kitty. 'Ah ha!' he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. 'You're not expecting this,' and he brought the book around from behind his back.

The terror on the poor woman's face said it all. Eamonn looked back at me and I shook my head. She did look like Kitty Wilson, but it wasn't her.

Eamonn withdrew his hand as if from boiling water. 'Ah ha!' he said again and rushed further up the platform to catch the lady in question.

I never did meet the first lady he surprised and I sometimes wonder what she made of it all.