This Is Your Life: Kay Mellor

Kay MELLOR (1951-2022)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Kay Mellor, actress and scriptwriter, was surprised by Michael Aspel outside the Ivy restaurant in London's West End following a lunch meeting discussing her new play with producer David Pugh.

Kay, who was born in Leeds, studied drama at Bretton Hall College before helping to form a small theatre group, the Yorkshire Theatre Company. A regular acting role in the television soap opera Albion Market led to Kay being offered the chance to write scripts for the soap, and she was later made script associate. She went on to provide scripts for the ITV soap opera Coronation Street and the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside and co-devise the ITV children's drama Children's Ward.

She wrote and directed the successful stage play A Passionate Woman in 1992, which played in the West End and had several worldwide productions. Kay appeared in her own adaptation of Jane Eyre in 1997 and wrote many highly acclaimed and popular television drama serials, including Band of Gold and Playing the Field for BBC One and Fat Friends for ITV.

"Hello. Oh you're joking! Is this a dream? I should put something decent on!"

programme details...

Edition No: 1046
Subject No: 1021
Broadcast date: Mon 27 Mar 2000
Broadcast time: 8.30-9.00pm
Recorded: Mon 20 Mar 2000
Venue: BBC Television Centre
Series: 40
Edition: 21
Code name: Drama

on the guest list...

Anthony - husband
Yvonne Francas - daughter
Gaynor Faye - daughter
Lorraine Ashbourne
Melanie Hill
Ralph Ineson
Tim Dantay
Rowena Cooper
Marsha Thomason
Adele McCormack
Ricky Tomlinson
Elizabeth Spriggs
Dinah - mother
Robert - brother
Philip - brother
Linda Neary
Paul Clements
David Liddiment
John McArdle
Anne Reid
Stephanie Cole
Gwen Taylor
Cathy Tyson
Grace - granddaughter
Elliot - grandson
Jason - nephew
Brenda Blethyn
Barbara Dickson
Ray Winstone

production team...

Researcher: Kate Greer
Writer: Ian Brown
Director: John Gorman
Associate Producer: Helen Gordon-Smith
Executive Producer: John Longley
Series Producer: Jack Crawshaw
Producer: Sue Green

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

putting pen to paper

Screenshots of Kay Mellor This Is Your Life

Kay Mellor recalls her experience of This Is Your Life in this exclusive contribution to the BigRedBook website...

On the day of my This Is Your Life surprise, I was travelling down to London to have a lunch at the Ivy with David Pugh to discuss my next play. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever that anything was planned for me, however, I did think it was strange that David Pugh kept looking at his watch as it was so unlike him! I remember thinking "he must have to be somewhere". I also remember having my whole family round at my house for supper on the Sunday evening before going down to London, and thinking that everyone looked really attractive – of course, they'd all had their hair done, been on sunbeds etc and were looking very glam knowing they were going to be on television. Of course I still had no idea.

My reaction on seeing Michael Aspel as I emerged from the Ivy was that I turned to David and said "there must be somebody famous in the Ivy" – I didn't think for one minute that Michael was there for me!

After the surprise, I just wanted to have a drink. I was so shocked and the producer/researcher took me to The Langham for a glass of champagne. I don't normally drink very much but I think after the shock I needed something to calm my nerves.

The memories that I have of the recording are just that there were all these lovely people from my past coming out of the doors, and it was the most fantastic feeling to be surrounded by that much love and by all the people that were important in my life. I think every guest that came through the door was special in their own way – seeing my college lecturer, Paul Clements, was the biggest surprise of all. He was the person that told me I was a writer.

My over-riding memory of the after-show party is that my grandchildren were asleep under the table! As I looked round the room I saw all my friends and family members laughing and smiling, drinking and eating. It was like the biggest party I could ever throw and someone else had organised it all and paid for it! I will remember it all my life.

I was always a great admirer of This is Your Life - it always caught me emotionally. I'd watched Eamonn Andrews when I was young and then Michael Aspel take over seamlessly. I hope people enjoyed my This Is Your Life as much as I'd enjoyed everybody else's.

I was amazed how many people had watched my This Is Your Life. Wherever I went, it seemed people had watched it and had something to say - how my mum had made them laugh, and how it touched them. It's funny, but being on This Is Your Life was the first time I realised that people knew me or had heard of me. It was a sort of milestone in my career and when I look back it was a truly positive experience for me, and I will always have a record of my life up to that date. I'd like to extend a huge thank you to all those who contributed, researched and produced my particular This Is Your Life.

Series 40 subjects