This Is Your Life: Virginia Wade

Virginia WADE MBE (1945-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Virginia Wade, tennis player, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while receiving a special Jubilee presentation from broadcaster Angela Rippon at the National Sports Stadium at London's Crystal Palace.

Virginia, whose family emigrated to South Africa when she was a baby, first played tennis at the age of 7, and won her first tournament aged 10. After the family moved back to England, Virginia joined the tennis team of Wimbledon County Girls' Grammar School, and studied at the University of Sussex. She turned professional in 1968, and in the same year won her first major international tournament at the U.S Open. Her second major championship win came in 1972 at the Australian Open.

Virginia won the Wimbledon Ladies Singles Title in 1977 - her sixteenth year at the tournament, in the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Wimbledon Championships, and the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen attended the championships for the first time in a quarter-century to watch the final – and presented Virginia with her trophy.

"Gee... how did you sneak up on me? Can I look at it?"

programme details...

Edition No: 470
Subject No: 466
Broadcast live: Wed 7 Dec 1977
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Venue: Euston Road Studios
Series: 18
Edition: 3
Code name: Sixteen

on the guest list...

Canon Eustace Wade - father
Joan - mother
Judy - sister
Chris - brother
Sebastian - nephew
Timmy - nephew
Norman Brinker
Cindy Brinker
Gertrude Filmer
Marjorie Hazell
Winnie Shaw
Bob Howe
Veronica Burton
Nell Truman
Joyce Williams
Christine Truman
Sue Mappin
Lesley Charles
Billie Jean King - live link
Dan Maskell
Francoise Durr
Jim Filmer
Elizabeth - niece
Nicky - nephew
Katarina - niece
Charles - nephew
pupils and staff of Tunbridge Wells Grammar School
Lord Briggs

production team...

Researcher: Deborah 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...

World of Sport

serving up tennis and golf

The deuce of a job getting Ginny's jigsaw to fit

TV Times feature on Virginia Wade

Angela Rippon

Screenshots of Virginia Wade This Is Your Life

Virginia Wade recalls her experience of This Is Your Life in her autobiography, Courting Triumph...

After the Colgate championships, 1977 was rounded off from a tennis point of view by one final tournament in London; just in time for all the pre-Christmas parties. I was voted sportsperson of the year in every presentation that was made; the Daily Express, the Tennis Writers, the Sportswriters' Association and the BBC.

It seemed as if Wimbledon had only happened the day before and yet it gave me the feeling of being recognised as myself, not just as Virginia Wade the tennis player.

The essence of this and something I'll never quite get over, was being the subject of This is Your Life. Even as Eamonn Andrews with his red book filtered into my unsuspecting line of vision, it never entered my mind that there would actually be a show that night. I started to leave to get into tennis clothes for my scheduled practice session and refused to go. Then as the meaning of the event dawned on me and as every single person seemed to be in on it (except me) I changed my attitude. How they ever kept me from discovering it I'll never know. It was the best-kept secret since Jack Benny's age.

I was more nervous about the programme than I've ever been for any tennis match and then I proceeded to weep through the entire show.

All my family filed on. I thought Christopher was in Sweden where he lives. Then Auntie Gertie and Uncle Jim Filmer appeared from Queenstown, South Africa. We used to spend all our Christmas holidays on their farm there, and I'd seen them only once on one of my tennis trips to South Africa. Next on was Norman Brinker (Maureen Connolly's husband) and their daughter Cindy, my headmistress from Tunbridge Wells, then Frankie Durr and on and on. My eyes got bigger and bigger with surprise and tears of emotion. The others were all rehearsed and reacted as if television were their daily profession.

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...

Virginia Wade had lost in no fewer than four Wimbledon semi-finals before winning the Ladies Championship against Bette Stove in HM the Queen's Jubilee Year, 1977. Rarely had the nation appreciated a sporting victory more deeply. 'Ginny' had been carried on a wave of emotional support.

But where was she? Where would she be next? Being a professional tennis player means living out of suitcases as well as tennis bags. By the time the Life was back on air for the 1977 season (ours, that is) we thought we had the elusive champion committed to New York. Researchers flew in to Manhattan to arrange a likely pick-up and the opportunity to present the programme in New York, where Virginia had many friends.

All was going so well that the senior researcher took an evening off to go to the movies, to see Star Wars. There were so many special effects noises going on during the film, it took her a while to realise one of the signals was coming from her own bleeper.

The call was to say that Virginia had suddenly decided to fly to London to receive an award at the National Sports Stadium at Crystal Palace (she had been voted Player of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year following her Wimbledon triumph).

So it was that Angela Rippon announced another award on the night of 7 December 1977 – the Big Red Book. And there was Eamonn Andrews at Crystal Palace.

Billie Jean King, six times Wimbledon Champion, added her tribute, as did Dan Maskell (another Life subject) when he quoted that favourite line of Kipling's inscribed above the entrance to the centre court: 'If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat these two imposters just the same...'

Said Dan: 'Virginia is the living proof.'

Virginia Wade, Eamonn Andrews and Angela Rippon

Series 18 subjects