This Is Your Life: Bill Cotton

Bill COTTON CBE (1928-2008)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Bill Cotton, television producer and executive, was surprised by Michael Aspel while on his way to a business conference at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire.

Bill joined BBC Television as an in-house producer of light entertainment in 1956, working on various programmes including his father's Billy Cotton Band Show, and the popular music programme Six-Five Special. In 1970, Bill was promoted to Head of Light Entertainment, responsible for overseeing the production of a whole series of popular and iconic programmes, including The Morecambe and Wise Show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Two Ronnies and Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game.

Bill's success led to a series of further promotions - controller of BBC1 in 1977, deputy managing director of television four years later, and finally Managing Director of Television in 1984, a role he fulfilled until his retirement from the Corporation in 1988.

"How could you? How are you? Funny way to earn a living isn't it?"

programme details...

Edition No: 913
Subject No: 893
Broadcast date: Wed 22 Mar 1995
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Tue 14 Mar 1995
Venue: BBC Television Centre
Series: 35
Edition: 21
Code name: Thread

on the guest list...

Kate - wife
Jane - daughter
Kate - daughter
Lisa - daughter
Tom - grandson
Leo - grandson
Billy Marsh
Ernie Wise
Mike Yarwood
Angela Rippon
Gerry Kunz
Brian Tesler
Russ Conway
David Jacobs
Pete Murray
Sister Damian
Sister Catherine
Jimmy Tarbuck
Sandie Shaw
Terry Wogan
Esther Rantzen
Sue Lawley
Paul Fox
Vera Lynn
Rory - grandson
Harry - grandson
Michael Grade
Cilla Black
Bruce Forsyth

production team...

Researcher: Sue Green
Writer: Roy Bottomley
Director: Brian Klein
Associate Producer: John Graham
Executive Producer: Peter Estall
Producer: Malcolm Morris

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

That's Entertainment

there's no business like it

Birth of Life

the genesis of the programme

Eamonn Remembered

RTE Guide tribute to Eamonn Andrews

Andrews's death casts doubt on his show

The Guardian reports the death of Eamonn Andrews

Screenshots of Bill Cotton This Is Your Life

Bill Cotton recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, Double Bill...

One day in 1995 I drove up to Castle Ashby in the Midlands with John Harris, the chairman of Alba, and his wife, Jacqui.

The growth of Alba has been the most spectacular success story I've been associated with since I left the BBC. I was appointed a non-executive director of a medium-size 'value-for-money' company selling radios and televisions, and it is now a major player in the industry.

As far as I knew that day our journey up the M1 was to attend a sales presentation by Bush, one of Alba's subsidiaries.

We arrived in the castle courtyard and as I stepped out of the car, a band suddenly struck up Somebody Stole My Gal, my father's old signature tune. I thought 'That's a strange tune to open a sales presentation', and found myself confronted by Michael Aspel and his big red book. I'd been well and truly had.

I sat in the This Is Your Life studio humbled and amazed as a stream of show business stars paraded in to say nice things about my influence on their careers, among them Terry Wogan, Russ Conway, Bruce Forsyth, Esther Rantzen, Sue Lawley, Vera Lynn, Ernie Wise, Jimmy Tarbuck, Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black, Mike Yarwood, David Jacobs, Pete Murray and the Two Ronnies [Bigredbook.info editor: The Two Ronnies do not appear in the broadcast version]. And the special studio guests included television executives such as Paul Fox, Brian Tesler, Michael Grade and the great theatrical agent Billy Marsh. My only regret was that among this parade of famous and distinguished guests the producers did not give Kate, the most important person in my life, the opportunity of saying a few words.

I was particularly moved by the presence of Billy Marsh in the studio, frail and in a wheelchair. It must have been one of his last public appearances.

Series 35 subjects