General Questions

What is the proudest moment of your life?

Oh, undoubtably, receiving my OBE. I had the most amazing day. I went to the palace with my lady friends, and I received my OBE. Then they caught me outside the palace for "This is Your Life". They took me off for some grub, and then I went into the studio up in Wembley, or thereabouts, and all my friends, people I hadn't seen for years turned up. It was absolutely awesome. Then we had a fantastic party in the aerie. Now can you ask for anything better than that? That was my day. It really was. And I went there in a Rolls Royce, which we hired, and I was wearing my best suit. Oh, it was... oh.

What was it like to meet the Queen?

Oh, she's wonderful. The royal family and Prince Phillip. In fact I actually presented prices for him on one occasion. The royal family, believe me. Princess Ann including, and Charles they're charming. They really are. If fact Prince Edward actually came into this studio one day when he had his own film company. And I thought, "Oh God!" you know. And I thought it was going to be a bit embarrassing, but no, it was Trev and Ed. I mean, I never thought I would be so comfortable. You know you realize; I suppose you're brought up thinking the Queen, the King.... you know. But no, alright you show respect, of course you do. But I never felt humbled. I never felt embarrassed. Quite the contrary, I thought they were super.

How were you presented with the red book for the show This Is Your Life?

That was actually so clever. So see, what happened is they caught me outside the palace after I'd received my O.B.E., and there was a camera there, and they said, "Trevor, we'd just like to ask you what it's like to receive an O.B.E.?" And I'm standing there in camera, and Michael Aspel came along with the red book, you see, and so he caught me at Canada Gate outside the palace, and said, "This is an invention of our own. Trevor Bayliss, This is Your Life." And I went, "Ooooohhhh!" And I thought it was such an honor, such a privilege. Such a thrill. I mean to be singled out like that, and for them to spend all that money bringing all your mates and all your pals together on a set. Oh! They actually put my mate, Johnny Pugh, who owns a circus called Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers in America. They actually put the entire circus troupe up, on camera, for me to see them working out, building a pyramid, the sort of a pyramid that I would have appeared in, with him, as a lad. And then he turned up on the set on the show, and as he came into the doorway, he put his hand in a straddle position, like that, because I used to do a back somersault. Or he'd either do a back somersault off my hands, or I'd do one off his. It was what they called a walk up: you put your foot in, you just throw a back somersault. We used to do that all the time. Whereas, you and I, we shake hands, we'd do a back somersault. That was part of us, and so of course when he turned up on the set he went, "Come on, Trev!" I didn't do it, believe me, but it just took me down memory lane. We were such show-offs, as to be unreal, but what fun it was. That was marvellous, it really was.

What was it like to meet Nelson Mandela?

He is an extraordinary man. Lovely, lovely man, you know.