Ian Hendry – This Is Your Life (1978)

Recorded: 8th March, 1978.
Broadcast: 15th March, 1978 (8.30pm)

After many years of being hidden away in storage and then transported to Australia by my sister, Karen (thankfully, as I feared all copies had been ‘lost’ in the passage of time), an extract from my Grandfather’s (James ‘Jim” Hendry) original camera script is now available below.

The extract includes the seating plan, cast and crew, as well as the original script used by host, Eamonn Andrews and guest Patrick Macnee, at the very start of the show. Both were dressed as ‘John Steed’, the part made famous of course by Patrick in The Avengers and The New Avengers. The whole programme, taken from the original Thames Television tapes can be seen in the video below.

The show ran for just under 30 minutes and so a tightly scripted programme was required to keep everything on track. The extract below, however, clearly states where a reaction was expected by Ian which should help confirm the fact that the surprised guest is really not in on the ‘secret’. In fact, in his book Send In The Clowns, The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry. Gabriel discusses some of the practices by which Thames Television ensured anonymity of the person to be featured in the show.

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Ian Hendry This Is Your Life (1978) – The Full Original Programme

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A copy of my original This Is Your Life Autograph Book given to all the children on the show, with originals autographs can be seen below:

Original This Is Your Life Autograph Book

And stills captured from the show can be seen here:

Stills From The Show

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Full Cast:

Host:

Eamonn Andrews

Featured:

Ian Hendry

Guests:

Tommy Cooper
Maurice Denham
Ian Ferguson
Ronald Fraser
Anouska Hempel
Patrick Macnee
Neil McCarthy
Patrick Pile
Valentina Poliakoff
Murray Robb
June Ritchie
Heather Sears
Wanda Ventham

Family:

Sandra (Sandy) Hendry
Sally Hendry
Corrie Hendry
Emma Hendry
James (Jim) Hendry
Enid Hendry
Donald Hendry
Valerie Hendry
Karen Hendry
Susan Hendry
Neil Hendry

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Well this is quite possibly the last post of 2013, so just to wish you all:

‘A Very Happy Christmas And A Healthy And Prosperous New Year!

Neil Hendry
Editor, Official Website of Ian Hendry

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Further Reading

A detailed account of the life and work of Ian Hendry in the new biography:

Read:  ‘Send in the Clowns – The Yo Yo Life Of Ian Hendry’ by Gabriel Hershman

Comment and Share Please! We love to read all your comments and appreciate it when you take time to share the articles. It really helps a site like ours in the search engines too! Please share and comment on this article using the form below:

Official Website of Ian Hendry – Homepage