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Prop Watch: This is your... big red book

This is your... big red book

It's arguably the most famous hardback on the box, but when This Is Your Life began in 1954 [Bigredbook.info editor: actually, it was 1955!] the colour of the book was different each week.

Viewers were none the wiser since the show was in black and white, so the book always looked grey.

When the show went colour in 1969 it was decided that the book should be bright red.

Today's book is almost 13 inches long, one and a half inches wide and two and a half inches thick, specially hand-crafted from top quality bison-grain and pigskin leather, with gold-leafed embossed lettering.

So what's inside the famous book?

"During the show Michael Aspel is reading the story links from inside the red book," says a spokesperson for the show.

"But afterwards all the photographs taken during the show get put into the book before it's given to that week's guest."

This Is Your Life - Article: Prop Watch: This is your...big red book