This Is Your Life: Johnny Speight

Johnny SPEIGHT (1920-1998)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Johnny Speight, television scriptwriter, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Thames Television's Euston Road Studios, having been led to believe he was there to take part in a talk about football.

Johnny, who was born in Canning Town, east London, left school at 14 and, following a series of jobs, which included factory worker, milkman, insurance agent and a stint in the Territorial Army, he began writing, initially contributing material to television comedy shows, starting in 1955 with Great Scott – It's Maynard! After writing a radio series for comedian Frankie Howerd, he became part of the team of writers on the BBC television comedy series Sykes and a... starring Eric Sykes.

In 1958, he created the iconic working class tramp figure played by Arthur Haynes in the comedian's long-running and top-rated ITV comedy series. Then in 1965, Johnny wrote a pilot for BBC television, which developed into the sitcom Till Death Us Do Part, and gave birth to his most famous creation, the controversial bigot Alf Garnett, played by Warren Mitchell.

"What? You're joking - no, oh come on, oh come on!"

programme details...

Edition No: 280
Subject No: 282
Broadcast date: Wed 13 May 1970
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Recorded: Thu 30 Apr 1970
Venue: Euston Road Studios
Series: 10
Edition: 24

on the guest list...

Dandy Nichols
Billy Brown
George Young
Johnny Lindford
Stan Clements
John - father
Richard - brother
Connie - wife
Sid Thompson
Phil de Graaf
H G Smith
Eric Sykes
Nicholas Parsons
Alan Rudkin
Ian St John
Frankie Howard
Warren Mitchell
Richard - son
Francis - son
Samantha - daughter

production team...

Researcher: Bob Bryan
Writer: John Sandilands
Director: Margery Baker
Producer: Robert Tyrrell

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

The Written Word

putting pen to paper

John Sandilands

Daily Telegraph obituary for the former This Is Your Life scriptwriter

Screenshots of Johnny Speight This Is Your Life

Mark Ward recalls this edition of This Is Your Life in his book, A Family At War: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Till Death Us Do Part...

Speight received another accolade on 30 April 1970 when Eamonn Andrews surprised him with the big red book of This Is Your Life as he was attending a discussion on the forthcoming World Cup. Amongst those paying tribute on the programme, Eric Sykes praised Speight's abilities and Dandy Nichols, complete with handbag, talked about being lumbered with the 'silly moo' tag. Warren Mitchell appeared on screen in a message (delivered in funny foreigner accent) from down under, where he was again performing as Alf in cabaret and helping to promote the Till Death Us Do Part feature film. The final guest in a particularly chaotic programme was eternal scene-stealer Frankie Howerd, who characteristically dithered so much that he caused Andrews to joke that they might as well leave the other 25 guests outside now they had run out of time. Throughout, Speight was so emotional he was barely coherent.

Series 10 subjects