This Is Your Life: Jeremy Guscott

Jeremy GUSCOTT (1965-)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Jeremy Guscott, rugby union player and television presenter, was surprised by Michael Aspel while recording the ITV programme Gladiators at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Jeremy, who was born in Bath, first played rugby at the age of seven. He played with the Bath Rugby Minis, Walcot Juniors and the Bath Youth Team before playing regularly with the Bath first team from age 19. In 1989, he made his international debut against Romania and was part of the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.

He was a crucial figure in the England team Five Nations Renaissance - winning back-to-back grand slams in 1991 and 1992 and representing England at the 1991 World Cup before embarking on his second Lions tour in 1993. In addition, he worked as a male model and television presenter on the programmes Body Heat and Gladiators.

"Blimey! I can't believe it! This is unreal! I wanna swear - but I can't!"

programme details...

Edition No: 974
Subject No: 949
Broadcast date: Mon 1 Sep 1997
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Sun 17 Aug 1997
Venue: unknown
Series: 38
Edition: 1
Code name: Bath

on the guest list...

Mike Catt
Nigel Redman
Lawrence Dallaglio
Nicky Wynn - aunt
Jayne - wife
Fran Cotton
Sally Gunnell
Jonathan Bigg
Susan - mother
Henry - father
Gary - brother
John - uncle
Gareth Chilcott
John Johnston
David Trick
Pete Blackett
Tony Wardle
George Norman
Vivian Taylor - grandmother
Simon Halliday
Rory Underwood
Pat - mother-in-law
Imogen - daughter
Holly - daughter
Saskia - daughter
Orinthia - grandmother
Carlton Dixon

production team...

Researchers: Avril Norton, Clare Thompson
Writer: Joe Steeples
Directors: John Gorman, Steve Docherty, Peter Wisdom
Associate Producer: Liz Rawlings
Executive Producer: John Longley
Series Producer: Jack Crawshaw
Producer: Sue Green

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Up and Under

tackling rugby's top names

Sally Gunnell

Screenshots of Jeremy Guscott This Is Your Life

The People 7 December 1997

"I KICK WOMEN INTO TOUCH WHEN IT COMES TO A GOSSIP!"

Whether he's getting to grips with a Gladiator or tackling an opponent, England rugby star Jeremy Guscott likes to keep in touch. The co-host of ITV's Gladiators works hard and plays hard but he never forgets his friends and family, as he tells LISA BURROW.

They say it's good to talk and Jeremy Guscott should know... one brief phone call changed his life. He was on rugby duty with the British Lions in South Africa when he had a call to say ITV wanted him to help front the new series of Gladiators.

"I really thought it was a wind-up at first," says 32-year-old Jeremy. "But when I realised they were serious I was delighted."

"It was a fantastic opportunity. I can't imagine being involved with anything as big as that again."

Now that he's finished filming the show, Jeremy's looking forward to new projects. And as his work takes him all over the country, he relies on the phone to keep him in touch with home.

Here's his top 10 dialling dates...

1. My brother Gary

Gary is three years younger than me and has been living in Dubai since July. He works for a retail outlet and has just signed a two-year contract out there. His wife Dani and baby daughter Gaby are with him and they're living with Dani's parents at the moment until they can get a place or their own.

It's great to chat to him to find out how he's getting on. He's joined a rugby club out there so I think he's settling in and enjoying himself. I miss him though, because we've got closer as we've got older.

2. My wife Jayne

I'm always phoning Jane to make sure she's all right. We've got three children - Imogen, 5, Holly 2 1/2 and five-month-old Saskia - so Jayne's got her hands full. In August when I was in Birmingham filming Gladiators I kept phoning home but the line was engaged all the time and I couldn't understand why. I didn't realise it at the time but Jayne was contacting everyone for the This Is Your Life programme.

The show went out at the beginning of September and when they sprung it on me it was genuinely a huge shock. I had finished filming one of the Gladiators programmes when Michael Aspel appeared holding that big red book. It was brilliant and there were a lot of surprises - my granny, who I hadn't seen for eight years, came over from Jamaica and my aunt flew in from New Zealand. There was no-one I didn't want to see.

3. My Mum

I phone Mum regularly, usually to ask her and Dad to baby-sit! They live only five minutes away so it's quite easy. We're a close family.

Mum has kept scrapbooks of my career all the way through and they're very proud of what I've achieved. Mum and Dad come to watch me play rugby sometimes and we've enioyed my success together.

4. My agent Maria

I phone Maria daily just to catch up with what's going on. We talk about what we've got planned, what's booked in and what sort of things I'm interested in doing in the future. It's all fairly run-of-the-mill stuff.

5. My doctor

For the past month I've been injured so I have to phone my doctor - an orthopaedic surgeon in Bath - quite a bit. I have a bulging disc in my lower back and I may need an operation at some stage. I phone him to let him know how things are feeling and he rings me to check how I am.

6. My mate Chalk

(real name Tony)

I've known Chalky since I was 12 and we were at school together. We've remained friends ever since. I ring him to catch up and things and to arrange BNOs - Boys' Nights Out.

We tend to go out about once a month and meet up in a pub or after a rugby game if one of us is playing.

7. My mate Pete

I met him through Chalky and we've been friends for about 15 years. He usually comes on the BNOs and he and Chalky were my best men at my wedding in 1990. If I can't get hold of him at home he's usually on his mobile - so he can't escape.

8. My friend Jason - England rugby player

They say women talk on the phone a lot but my England colleague Jason Leonard and I give them a run for their money. We exchange gossip all the time. It's not secretive stuff but we try to catch up on who's up to what and what's happening in Twickenham where Jason lives, that sort of thing.

There are always rumours flying around about which player might be moving to which club and we like to discuss it.

9. My builder Adam

We've just moved house but we're still in Bath. In fact we've moved about a quarter or a mile round the corner from where we were living. We are still in chaos with boxes everywhere and there's loads of stuff to be done. Things are at the planning stage with the builders at the moment.

We're going to have an extension in the summer but in the meantime we're still sorting out things like decorators and electricians. I'm away a fair bit so a lot of decisions have to be made on the phone.

10. Radio 5 Live

I've been working with Radio 5 Live's sports team for a year or so. I'm still learning the ropes so I regularly phone Lyn, the woman who's training me.

I love radio. It's very different from TV - more informal. If you make a mistake on TV it is more obvious and negative than one on radio which just comes across as humorous.

Series 38 subjects