This Is Your Life: Graham Gooch

Graham GOOCH (1953-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Graham Gooch, cricketer, was surprised by Michael Aspel at a gathering of the England Cricket Team in the Excelsior Hotel at Heathrow Airport on the eve of their tour of Australia.

Graham, who was born in Leytonstone, London and trained as a toolmaker, joined Essex County Cricket Club in 1973, and made his debut in Test cricket in 1975 at the age of 21 against the touring Australia side. He went on to captain both Essex and England.

He became one of the most successful international batsmen of his generation and is described as the "greatest scoring machine in the history of test cricket".

"Oh dear! I thought they all looked a bit made up at home!"

programme details...

Edition No: 786
Subject No: 775
Broadcast date: Wed 24 Oct 1990
Broadcast time: 6.50-7.20pm
Recorded: Wed 17 Oct 1990
Venue: Teddington Studios
Series: 31
Edition: 2
Code name: Country

on the guest list...

Micky Stewart
members and officials of the England cricket team
Alec Stewart
Rory Bremner
Brian Johnston
Brenda - wife
Rose - mother
Alf - father
Douglas Kemp
Graham Hammond
John Emburey
Brenda - sister
Ian Lowe
Sharon Lowe
Keith Fletcher
Grace - aunt
Allan Lamb
Geoffrey Boycott
Hannah - daughter
Megan - daughter
Sally - daughter
Gladys - mother-in-law
Bill Morris
Ian Botham
Trevor Brooking
Allan Border
Jeff Thompson

production team...

Researcher: Ian Brown
Writer: Norman Giller
Directors: Brian Klein, Terry Yarwood
Associate Producer: John Graham
Producer: Malcolm Morris

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Life Before Wicket

bowling up the cricketers

Ian Botham

Brian Johnston

Alec Stewart

Screenshots of Graham Gooch This Is Your Life

Graham Gooch recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography...

For the 1990/91 tour to Australia, we were due to fly from Heathrow on a Thursday in the middle of October, but we were told to assemble at the Excelsior Hotel near the airport early the evening before. I took a bit of hump at that, losing my last evening with the kids at home because Micky Stewart and Ted Dexter wanted an inaugural team meeting to get the tour off on the right foot. So I hugged and kissed the kids and my Dad drove me down to the hotel. At once I saw Allan Lamb in the bar and, as he was never the promptest of people, I was pleased that my vice-captain was out to show me up for punctuality. Dad stayed for one drink, then we went along the corridor into one of the hotel meeting-rooms and before I could wonder why everyone in the team was looking so dolled-up and smart in their ties and blazers, Michael Aspel jumped out and said, 'Graham Gooch - This is Your Life!'

So that was why Brenda and the kids at home hadn't seemed too worried that I was leaving for four-and-a-half months. And why Brenda's mum was there with a brand-new hair-do and dress.

I was whisked down by a chauffeur to the ITV studios at Teddington, with everyone following behind. John Emburey did the honours, so did Lamb and the three B's - Boycott, Border, and Botham. There were faces from the distant past - my old teacher Douglas Kemp, my schoolfriend Graham Hammond, and 'uncle' Bill Morris from the Ilford indoor school, who had come down specially from Kilmarnock. It was a grand evening, and really good of the team to give up their last night at home to come and wish me well.

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...

Ian Botham spoke to Graham Gooch from location on Ian's charity fund-raising walk from Aberdeen to Ipswich after we had surprised the England captain at the Excelsior Hotel at Heathrow with the Test side before flying out to Australia, on 17 October 1990. Aussie skipper Allan Border and bowler Jeff Thomson – a former Essex team mate – greeted from Australia.

That summer, Graham had slogged his way into the record books against the Indian tourists: Sunday Express sports columnist Norman Giller, who wrote the script (as he sometimes does), described him as 'the greatest scoring machine in the history of Test cricket'. Said manager Mickey Stewart: 'He helped pump back the pride into English cricket.'

Producer Malcolm Morris recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, This Is My Life...

It had taken over six months to research and set up our Life on England cricketer Graham Gooch, but we managed all the hurdles of his changing schedules and overseas trips to finally get him to meet up with some friends for an evening meal in a Surrey hotel before going off for another bash at the Australians in Sydney.

The problem was that we had set up in the reception area of the hotel which had, for some strange reason, very limited electrical facilities for our equipment. We have, of course, special generating equipment of our own but it is very cumbersome and would be easily spotted by Graham. Our technical manager Nigel Spong made an extensive survey of the hotel and was sure that by plugging in some lights in one area and running other cables through into the main kitchen he could run two cameras and our recording machines from their kitchen plugs. I was not convinced, but he made some tests and, sure enough, everything worked.

Graham was on time. His car was spotted by our lookout, who telephoned us to say that he was about ten minutes away. Allowing for him to park, we had fifteen minutes. All was well. Our two cameras were hidden by two six foot potted plants and all our cables were hidden. We had also hidden all of the England cricket team, who were pleased to be able to put something over on Graham for all their own reasons.

Nobody, however, could know which entrance Graham would choose. We tried to persuade the hotel to close the alternative doors but the hotel manager would not even think of it. I was hidden behind an Evening Standard at the front reception and Michael was positioned up on the mezzanine floor so he could get to Graham whichever way he came in.

'This is going well,' I foolishly thought. Then the lights went out, along with the power for our tape machines. Apparently, the hotel electrics could cope with our power requirements, but only just. With five minutes to go, someone in the main kitchen switched on a food processor and that was a few watts too far!

Nigel Spong was into the kitchen like a flash, but he did not know where the fuse boxes were. He asked the staff, who were Italian and Spanish, but his gestures were not understood. He opened every door he could find including the hotel deep freeze until he found the box.

Two bits of fuse wire and Thames Television's biggest programme for over fifteen million people was ready to roll again. Michael leapt into action as the lights came back on and Graham Gooch was well and truly 'bowled'.

Series 31 subjects