Post by Taxigirl on Oct 25, 2003 9:49:47 GMT
THE BIG RED BOOK has finally closed on This Is Your Life. The BBC is dropping the TV show almost 50 years after it first came to the airwaves.
Born in 1955, of American parentage - it was inspired by a US radio show - This Is Your Life was originally fronted by the amply chinned Irishman Eamonn Andrews.
An intrusive child, This Is Your Life's format was to pick on a celebrity and subject them to an impromptu retrospective of their life, in front of a studio audience and millions of viewers.
The element of surprise was crucial to the set-up, with Andrews going to great lengths to disguise himself and sidle up to the unsuspecting star, before retrieving the trademark book.
Once in the studio, disembodied voices were the prelude to long-long friends appearing. Invariably, tears of joy were shed.
Difficult birth
Breech born - the initial show came out the wrong way round when, prior to broadcast, a newspaper named Stanley Matthews as the first guest - it went on to great things.
At its height, it commanded audiences of 20 million and counted Muhammad Ali, Joan Collins and Shirley Bassey among its guests.
Inevitably, though, not everyone warmed to its slightly clumsy nature. Footballer Danny Blanchflower and actor Richard Gordon spurned the proffered book while comedian Ronnie Barker never got that far.
His wife's hushed phone calls to the programme's researchers led him to believe she was having an affair. When he uncovered the truth the show was cancelled.
In later years, then fronted by Michael Aspel, poor health put This Is Your Life in seemingly terminal decline. Its last outing attracted just 3.5 million viewers.
Rumours of a resuscitation persist, however, with the show's guardian, Talkback Thames, touting for another channel to broadcast it.
No flowers.