This Is Your Life article

The seven ages of Eamonn

In 'As You Like It', Shakespeare divided man's life into seven ages. Here and on page 71, as Eamonn Andrews returns in a new series of This Is Your Life on ITV, we look at the seven ages of Eamonn - from a charming childhood snapshot to an artist's impression of how he'll look in the future, as television's elder statesman.

The inquisitive toddler. Eamonn as a two-year-old digging 'gold' in a neighbour's garden in Dublin. A lot later on, he found it – but not in a garden!

A big moment in any young Catholic boy's life. Aged about 10, Eamonn is seen here wearing his confirmation suit. 'You always got a new suit and new cap for confirmation,' he recalls

Young man-about-town. In his early 20s, here's Eamonn at a Dublin dinner-dance – 'the big social event'. With him is his friend Joe Breen (with Eileen, later Joe's wife) and next to Eamonn is Angela, his date for the evening. 'The thing with dinner-dances,' remembers Eamonn, 'was to get a ticket, hire a suit, and get a partner who would go Dutch'

More serious stuff here, as Eamonn, in his late 20s, poses with a pipe. 'I was probably feeling my way as a playwright when this was taken. I'd just written a play called "The Moon is Black", which was staged at the Peacock Theatre, Dublin'

The television personality. Eamonn had become a institution with 'Sports Report' on Saturday radio, which he hosted for 12 years. His easy manner then brought him TV stardom as chairman of the BBC's 'What's My Line?'

The mature husband. Married to Grainne for more than 30 years, Eamonn, now 60, has three adopted children – Emma, 21, Fergal, 18, and Niamh, 15. 'My favourite hobby is cooking,' he says. 'I experiment and suffer a few disasters.'

And so we have come full circle, it seems – well almost. As our artist suggests, Eamonn will probably never grow old. Although a lot has happened to the young would-be gold prospector, it's pretty certain that he'll remain young at heart.

The twilight years? Artist Reg Fortis looks into the future and sees Eamonn moving gracefully into his 80s. The face is fuller and lined, the hair receding, but the ageing Eamonn is robust, worldly, and still has the jauntiness of his younger days.