This Is Your Life: Terry Biddlecombe

Terry BIDDLECOMBE (1941-2014)

THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Terry Biddlecombe, jockey, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the Savoy Turkish Baths in London, having been led to believe he was there to take part in a film about weight loss.

Terry, who was born into a horse racing family in Gloucester, began his racing career at age 17 when he stepped in to cover for his injured brother, an amateur jockey. Terry had his first win as an amateur in March 1958 and turned professional in February 1960. He was Champion Jockey in 1965, 1966 and 1969, with 114, 102 and 77 winners, respectively.

His major wins include the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Irish Sweeps Hurdle and the Welsh Grand National. In 1972, he finished second in the Grand National, and between 1972 and 1974, he rode many times for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. He retired from competitive racing after a 16-year career with over 900 winners in 1974.

"You look different!"

programme details...

Edition No: 383
Subject No: 384
Broadcast live: Wed 17 Apr 1974
Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
Repeated: Wed 10 Apr 1974
Venue: Euston Road Studios
Series: 14
Edition: 23

on the guest list...

Macer Gifford
Michael Scudamore
Tim Brookshaw
Bridget - wife
Tony - brother
Walter - father
Nancy - mother
Fred Winter
Dave Dick
Josh Gifford
Bob Davies - brother-in-law
Sue - sister
Bill Wilson
Fred Rimell
Pat Taaffe
Jo Ballinger
letter from Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
Frankie Vaughan
Stella
David
Billy Marsh
Laura - daughter

production team...

Researcher: Nina Burr
Writer: Frank Hayes
Director: Peter Webb
Producer: Malcolm Morris

names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

related pages...

Equestrian Life

from racing to show jumping

Billy Marsh

Frankie Vaughan

Screenshots of Terry Biddlecombe This Is Your Life

Terry Biddlecombe recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, Winner's Disclosure...

When I woke up the next morning the world had gone - vanished. I mooned about the place, doing the horses and not really thinking very clearly. With Bridget heavily pregnant, I was kept pretty busy but the sense of anticlimax was dreadful.

The racing fraternity had seen to it that my final goodbyes had not been said at Cheltenham for on 25 March the World Sporting Club invited me to be Guest of Honour at a Grand Dinner and Boxing Evening at Grosvenor House, to mark my retirement.

What an evening that was! Chaired by Lord Oaksey, who said so many nice things about me that I almost regretted the occasions I had ribbed him on the racecourse, I was presented with a superb onyx-based chandelier on behalf of the Directors of the World Sporting Club.

It is at this point that I should like to pay tribute to the late Jack Solomons who did so much for racing. Evenings such as this one were frequently laid on by him for jockeys who had won big races, or become champions, and they were all at his own expense. He was a great old friend, much missed by those of us in racing who appreciated his generosity, and also by the boxing fraternity. Jack loved his boxers.

On 16 April 1974 I attended a luncheon in Birmingham for the presentation of the Midlands Sportsmen of the Year Awards. I drove up with Bill Smith, and Ken White acted as chauffeur to Fred Rimell, who was to receive an award also. We all had a very good time, and Bill and I drove back, feeling very merry, to Corse Lawn.

It was a great afternoon and we decided to back a pony that Bridget had bred. We tacked it up, Bill got into the saddle and the pony bucked him off. It galloped all over the place, breaking the tack, and Bridget was furious. When we got back to the house she told us that we were not going to have any dinner that night and, feeling like two naughty schoolboys, we went off to have a few jars and a Chinese meal in Tewkesbury. When we returned the house was quiet, Bridget and Laura were asleep, and we slunk off to bed. The next morning I felt a bit guilty, and to make amends I decided to chain harrow the two paddocks close to the house. I was not feeling very well after our night out and had just finished the harrowing when Bridget called out to me that I had to catch a train to London. I suddenly remembered a telephone call from the BBC some weeks before when I had been asked to take part in a weight-watching programme entitled 'Fit not Fat'. I had accepted a fee with expenses, but had forgotten all about it until this moment.

When I went into the house, I noticed my clothes laid out neatly on the bed, with a matching tie. Bridget had never done this for me in her life, and after the previous day's misdemeanours, it was even more puzzling. Anyway, I changed, caught the train to London, and met the BBC representative and an attractive model, as had been arranged, at the Hilton Hotel. I was told that I could eat and drink as much as I liked before going to the Savoy Baths to see how much I could lose, before returning for another tuck-in at the hotel. I thought this was a splendid idea and proceeded to eat everything in sight accompanied by plenty of champagne and several Gaelic coffees, with a secretary making a note of everything I ate and drank before we set off for the baths.

The BBC cameramen and producers waiting to film my slimming feat at the baths were all rushing about when we arrived, worrying that the condensation would harm the cameras, and were generally agitated. As soon as the main producer saw me he said, 'Right, come on through here would you, please?' indicating the hot room.

'No,' I replied, firmly, 'we've got to do the job properly, I must go into the steam room first,' which I did, for twenty minutes. They looked very taken aback, but I knew how to waste better than most people and I sat in the steam room feeling really good. When I came out, I was almost rushed into the hot room where I saw four figures with towels over their heads. I said to one of the cameramen nearby, 'What are these bloody fools doing?' and, with that, one of them unwrapped himself and I recognised Eamonn Andrews, clutching a microphone in one hand and a large, red book in the other.

'Terry Biddlecombe, This is Your Life!' he announced looking very flushed. I had been conned into the baths by his team! When the other figures removed the towels from their heads I saw the grinning faces of Scudamore, Macer Gifford and Tim Brookshaw. They were all feeling the heat, especially Eamonn. They had not bargained on my going in the steam room first, and had been forced to wait in the hot room for about half an hour longer than they had anticipated, which I thought was very funny.

After the initial surprise, I said to Michael, 'If I had seen your fucking feet first, I would have known something was up.' Michael was renowned for his peculiar feet, and they could not have belonged to anyone else!

After the initial niceties, Eamonn Andrews said frantically, 'I've got to get out of here, what do I do now?'

'Jump in the cold plunge,' I suggested, which was nothing new to me. It nearly killed Eamonn because the water was freezing, and he was no sooner in than he was out again - gasping!

It was a great evening, and the family had kept the secret for months. When we returned to the studio, Bridget appeared, looking very smug, and I knew then why my clothes had been so carefully laid out! It was a marvellous reunion with the family and old friends: Mother and Dad, Tony, Doc Wilson, Dave Dick, Fred Winter, Fred Rimell, Bob Davies and Sue, Josh Gifford, Pat Taaffe, Joe Ballinger, and a greeting from Frankie Vaughan, who was in Canada at that time, reminding me of our first meeting in the Turkish baths in Torquay.

To crown it all I had a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, wishing me well for the future, which was presented to me by Sir Martin Gilliatt. [Bigredbook.info editor: Sir Martin Gilliatt does not appear on the programme - the letter was read out by Eamonn Andrews]

Series 14 subjects