This Is Your Life: Coming Out From Behind The Sofa With Kenneth Williams

This Is Your Life was an institution. Only the crème de la crème of the entertainment business were to be sprung with the 'big red book' (that included, for a while, non-celebrities who had done extraordinary things in their lives) from the long running TV programme’s host, Eamonn Andrews.

Early in his broadcasting career Andrews was famous for coming up with off-the-cuff linkings which did not work – such as 'speaking of cheese sandwiches, have you come far?'  


Over the course of a short thirty-minutes that week’s ‘victim’ would be presented with a mini-biography of their life.

For me, keeping the secret was the biggest deal. During late December 1970 Carry On scriptwriter Talbot 'Tolly' Rothwell was up for the honour, and it was my dad’s job to make sure his nearest and dearest friends were aware of the impending recording.

The weekend before the surprise (and believe me, in those days it really was a secret) we were at Tolly’s Fulking home for an unseasonally warm get together. Of course, everyone was on egg shells as Tolly’s wife was constantly taking calls from the This Is Your Life production team.

The biggest scare was Tolly’s sudden insistence that he fancied taking part of the following week away. He couldn’t understand why his wife and daughters were so against a late Mediterranean break. 

But, as usual, the women got their way and Tolly vowed to whisk them away come Spring. So, he would be in London, at the allotted time, on the allotted day, and the 'big red book' would reveal the major achievements and events of his life.

Much to my father’s great disappointment he didn’t receive an invite to the recording. Instead we huddled around our small screened black and white television and watched what was to be Tolly’s proudest moment.

Following the airing of the programme Tolly held a thank you shindig in Fulking. It was a ‘bit of a do’ populated by many of the great and good of British Comedy, as well as the scene of my first face-to-face with the Carry On’s formidable producer, Peter Rogers.

A lovely man, as I was to discover over the years, but, to a socially-awkward youngster like myself, he emanated a presence that had me heading for the back of Tolly’s sofa!

At Tolly’s that winter’s evening, it was Kenneth Williams who was able to chop his producer down to my size. Of all the Carry On regulars who were there to raise a glass to Tolly’s success, it seemed that it was Kenneth alone who had the strength of personality to strip Rogers of his apparent air of superiority.

Kenneth would not back down on any topic raised by his employer. As Rogers spouted forth on all manner of topics, Kenneth would respond with a witty anecdote that would show he knew more about the topic than its instigator.

I gradually uncurled from the back of the sofa and was soon joining in the chorus of hilarity being raised from the battle of two such great minds. Rogers was soon crying with laughter, and Kenneth had his nose raised as he drew in the air of victory.  

A Write Carry On (Wholepoint Publications)

available early summer 2012


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Contact the author at editor@brighton.co.uk