This Is Your Life: Marti Caine 1

Marti CAINE (1945-1995)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Marti Caine, comedienne and entertainer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while interviewing housewives about men for a Yorkshire Television programme in Sheffield city centre.

Marti, who was born in Sheffield, worked evenings on the Yorkshire working men's club circuit as a cabaret singer for many years while doing various jobs by day, including running a cafe.

After winning the ITV talent show New Faces in 1975, Marti appeared at the London Palladium and guest-starred on several other television shows before, in 1979, she landed her own BBC television series.

Marti Caine was a subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions - surprised again by Michael Aspel in October 1994 at Woburn Golf Club.

"Oh, and I stop in every Wednesday to see if I'm on!"

programme details...

Edition No: 485
Subject No: 483
Broadcast date: Wed 22 Mar 1978
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Wed 15 Mar 1978
Venue: Yorkshire Television, Leeds
Series: 18
Edition: 18
Code name: Tomato

on the guest list...

Malcolm Stringer - husband
Lee - son
Max - son
Ivy - mother-in-law
Leonard - father-in-law
May Woollen
Sally Carmichael
Eileen Hodgson
Denise Ellis
Janet Andrews
Bill Lowe
Norma Brackenbrough
Syd Little
Eddie Large
Jimmy Nichol
Bobby Knutt
Sacha Distel - live link
Adrienne Van Meilo

production team...

Researchers: Debbie Gaunt, Marilyn Gaunt
Writers: Tom Brennand, Roy Bottomley
Directors: Royston Mayoh, Terry Yarwood
Producer: Jack Crawshaw

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Marti Caine

second tribute

That's Entertainment

there's no business like it

Life Second Time Around

surprised again!

Sacha Distel

Screenshots of Marti Caine This Is Your Life

Marti Caine recalls her experience of This Is Your Life in her autobiography, A Coward's Chronicles...

They got me in 1979 when Eamonn Andrews hosted the show.

I had absolutely no idea and put Malc's brief disappearances and inexplicable whispered phone calls down to the fact he was being unfaithful to his mistress.

I had secretly harboured a vague desire to be a subject (Vague desire? You used to stay in every Wednesday to see if it was you!), and was delighted by the accolade.

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...

We travelled to Sheffield to surprise home-town girl Marti Caine. She was in the city centre interviewing women on the subject of men for Yorkshire Television when a coach rolled up. On board was a party of family and friends. And we learned from them that slim-line Marti had once come third in the Junior Miss Great Britain contest – when she had a forty-inch bust.

She was christened Lynn Denise Shepherd and, no, she didn't steal her name from Michael Caine. She was glancing through a gardening catalogue and stole it from 'tomato cane'.

On a live link from London, Sacha Distel paid Marti his compliments. He knew what the show was all about because we had surprised him back in 1971 when he flew in from Paris to top the bill at the Talk of the Town.

Series 18 subjects