Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
As This Is Your Life entered its sixth decade on British television, the programme continued to make history and set milestones in this, its 40th series.
Michael Aspel hosted a star-studded celebration of a thousand editions, which included an audience packed with former subjects, some very special guests and plenty of classic clips - most of which had been unseen since their original broadcast.
Among the subjects honoured in this series was Britain's oldest working man, whose life spanned the entire 20th century.
The most northerly recording location in the programme's history took place this series when the production team travelled to Lerwick on the Shetland Islands to honour Britain's most decorated serving lifeboatman.
The series included two extra editions - both unusually broadcast on a Saturday evening, in addition to the usual weekly programmes broadcast on a Monday - and each billed in Radio Times as a This Is Your Life special. The first featured a 1980s pop star turned soap actor, and the second, shown later in the series, honoured an actor whose wife was, for a brief period, a researcher for This Is Your Life.
related pages...
a celebration of a thousand editions
the show's fifty year history
The Guardian questions the future of This Is Your Life
Biggest night of all for the big red book
Press coverage for The Night of 1000 Lives
Radio Times interviews Michael Aspel
10 Things You Didn't Know About... Michael Aspel
Coventry Evening Telegraph feature
| Roger BLACK | Athlete | 1 November 1999 |
| Hewitt CLARK | Lifeboat coxswain | 8 November 1999 |
| Martin KEMP | Actor and musician | 13 November 1999 |
| Denise WELCH | Actress | 15 November 1999 |
| Rudolph WALKER | Actor | 22 November 1999 |
| Martin JARVIS | Actor | 29 November 1999 |
| Stuart HALL | Broadcaster | 6 December 1999 |
| Rita TUSHINGHAM | Actress | 13 December 1999 |
| Len VALE-ONSLOW | Motorcycle manufacturer and enthusiast | 20 December 1999 |
| The Night of 1000 Lives | A celebration of a thousand editions | 15 January 2000 |
| Dale WINTON | Radio DJ and television personality | 17 January 2000 |
| Ian WRIGHT | Television personality and former footballer | 24 January 2000 |
| Marguerite PATTEN | Home economist, food writer and broadcaster | 31 January 2000 |
| Eddie JORDAN | Founder of Jordan Grand Prix | 7 February 2000 |
| Dave Lee TRAVIS | Radio and television presenter and disc jockey | 14 February 2000 |
| Harry HILL | Comedian | 21 February 2000 |
| David VINE | Television sports presenter | 28 February 2000 |
| John CRAVEN | Television presenter | 6 March 2000 |
| Richard DUNWOODY | Jockey | 13 March 2000 |
| Tom BAKER | Actor | 18 March 2000 |
| Laurie HOLLOWAY | Pianist and composer | 20 March 2000 |
| Kay MELLOR | Actress and scriptwriter | 27 March 2000 |
| Mark WINGETT | Actor | 3 April 2000 |
| Christopher TIMOTHY | Actor | 10 April 2000 |
| SUGGS | Singer-songwriter and musician | 17 April 2000 |
| Jason LEONARD | Rugby union player | 8 May 2000 |
| Desmond WILCOX | Journalist and filmmaker | 15 May 2000 |
| Roger KENDALL | Firefighter | 22 May 2000 |
| Daniel O'DONNELL | Singer | 29 May 2000 |
Broadcast details
Thames Television production for BBC28 editions | 1 special edition | 28 x 30 minutes | 1 x 80 minutes
Monday | 7.00pm x 8 | 8.30pm x 18
Saturday | 6.45pm x 1 | 8.55 pm x 1 | 9.45pm x 1
No editions broadcast on 27 December 1999, 3 January 2000 and 10 January 2000 due to the Christmas and New Year schedules
No edition broadcast on 24 April 2000 due to Easter Monday Bank Holiday schedule
No edition broadcast on 1 May 2000 due to May Day Bank Holiday schedule
Production team
In Association with Ralph Edwards Productions And TIYL ProductionsProducer: Sue Green | Series Producer: Jack Crawshaw
Executive Producer: John Longley | Associate Producer: Helen Gordon-Smith
Directors: John Gorman, Steve Docherty | Location Directors: Steve Docherty, Peter Wisdom, Robin Bextor
Writers: Ian Brown, Joe Steeples
Researchers: Ruth Malone, Kate Greer, Jo Grant, Steve Lappin, Emma Dooley, Sue Venables, Liz Rawlings, Paul Broadbent
Programme Associates: Ian Brown, Joe Steeples | Production Assistants: Irene Maxwell-Clark, Liz Fleming
Production Manager: Dawn Gray | Programme Co-ordinators: Fiona Hurd, Deborah Armstrong
Music Composed by: Laurie Johnson | Production Designers: Martin Collins, Simon Jago | Archive Research: Helen Bennitt
Resource Managers/Co-ordinators: Cherry Allen, Paul Thackray, Tony Smith, Paul Flanaghan, Dave Griffiths, Richard Gordon, Richard Morgan
Lighting Directors: John Pomphrey, Ron Irvine, John Watt
Sound Supervisors: Peter Willcocks, Mick Wild, John Downes, Adrian Smith, Jack Krawczyk, Paul Gartrell, Andy Terry, Dave Thompson,
Paul Crichton, Mike McCarthy, Robert Edwards
Senior Cameraman: Chas Watts, Brian Jobson, Roy Easton, Tony Freeman
Vision Mixers: Carole Chessun, Glynis Bennett, Ian Blease, Tracy Bateman, Alison Jones, Carol Abbott
Videotape Editors: Steve Murray, Paul Richmond, Jeff May, Graham Hutchings, Mark Sangster
Production Team: Sara-Jane Gottlieb, Alex Renton, Roger Read, Emma Dooley, Sophie Gratton, Doug Ingram, Sue Davies, Paul Broadbent