Val Meets... The VIPS
Encyclopedia
Val Meets... The VIPS was a UK TV series broadcast over three seasons from 1973-1974 on BBC1, hosted by Valerie Singleton. There were eighteen editions, broadcast in three series of six episodes. The format for the programme was that Singleton would interview one celebrity guest, who would also face questioning from the audience of children assembled in the studio. Guests came from different areas of public life, including politics, explorers, sports, pop music and entertainment. Each programme had the subtitle Val Meets... Guest Name i.e. Val Meets... Morecambe & Wise. Possibly the most famous edition of the show was when the then Secretary of State for Education and Science in the British Government, Margaret Thatcher
appeared on the programme. When asked by a child in the audience if she wanted to be Prime Minister
, Thatcher responded that she did not have enough experience and that she did not think there would be a woman Prime Minister in her lifetime. Two years later, she was elected leader of the British Conservative Party and became Prime Minister in May 1979. All three series were produced by Jill Roach.
A later show, In The Limelight With Lesley, which ran on BBC1 in 1980, was almost identical in format, but presented by Lesley Judd
. This latter series was produced by Sarah Hellings, who went on to direct many BBC dramas, including Doctor Who
. Margaret Thatcher was also a guest on this series and was shown the clip from her appearance on Val Meets... Margaret Thatcher and asked to comment on her earlier remarks.
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
appeared on the programme. When asked by a child in the audience if she wanted to be Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, Thatcher responded that she did not have enough experience and that she did not think there would be a woman Prime Minister in her lifetime. Two years later, she was elected leader of the British Conservative Party and became Prime Minister in May 1979. All three series were produced by Jill Roach.
A later show, In The Limelight With Lesley, which ran on BBC1 in 1980, was almost identical in format, but presented by Lesley Judd
Lesley Judd
Lesley Judd is an English dancer and TV presenter, best known as a long-serving host of the BBC children's programme Blue Peter. She was educated at the independent Royal Ballet School...
. This latter series was produced by Sarah Hellings, who went on to direct many BBC dramas, including Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. Margaret Thatcher was also a guest on this series and was shown the clip from her appearance on Val Meets... Margaret Thatcher and asked to comment on her earlier remarks.
Series 1
Val Meets... The VIPS - Series 1 Guests:- Morecambe & Wise (21 February 1973)
- Graham HillGraham HillNorman Graham Hill was a British racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion. He is the only driver to win the Triple Crown of Motorsport — the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 and Formula One World Championship.Graham Hill and his son Damon are the only father and son pair both to...
(28 February 1973) - Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
(7 March 1973) - Petula ClarkPetula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
(14 March 1973) - Gordon BanksGordon BanksGordon Banks, OBE is a retired English football goalkeeper. The IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin and ahead of Dino Zoff ....
(21 March 1973) - Chris BoningtonChris BoningtonSir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL is a British mountaineer.His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest and the first ascent of the south face of Annapurna.-Early life and expeditions:Educated at University College School in...
(28 March 1973)
Series 2
Val Meets... The VIPS - Series 2 Guests:- Mary PetersMary Peters (athlete)Dame Mary Elizabeth Peters, DBE, DL is a former British athlete, competing mainly in the pentathlon and shot put.-Biography:Mary Peters was born in Halewood, Lancashire, but moved to Ballymena at age eleven...
(23 April 1974) - Kevin KeeganKevin KeeganJoseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
(30 April 1974) - Les GrayLes GrayThomas Leslie "Les" Gray was an English singer best known for his work with the band Mud. Gray was also known for his distinctive vocal impersonation of Elvis Presley.-Early life and career:...
(7 May 1974) - Thor HeyerdahlThor HeyerdahlThor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer with a background in zoology and geography. He became notable for his Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he sailed by raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands...
(14 May 1974) - Michael CrawfordMichael CrawfordMichael Crawford OBE is an English actor and singer. He has garnered great critical acclaim and won numerous awards during his career, which covers radio, television, film, and stagework on both London's West End and on Broadway in New York City...
(21 May 1974) - Lord Vic FeatherVic FeatherVictor Grayson Hardie Feather, Baron Feather was General Secretary of the Trade Union Congress in Great Britain from 1969 to 1973....
(28 May 1974)
Series 3
Val Meets... The VIPS - Series 3 Guests:- Mike YarwoodMike YarwoodMike Yarwood, OBE is an English impressionist and comedian. He was one of Britain's top-rated entertainers, regularly appearing on television from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. He left Bredbury Secondary Modern School in 1956 and worked as a messenger and then salesman at a garment warehouse...
(15 November 1974) - Susan HampshireSusan HampshireSusan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, OBE is an English actress, best-known for her many television and film roles.-Early life:Susan Hampshire was born in Kensington, London, the youngest of four children. She had two sisters and one brother...
(22 November 1974) - Jack CharltonJack CharltonJohn "Jack" Charlton, OBE, DL is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and was part of the England team who won the 1966 World Cup...
(29 November 1974) - Lyn PaulLyn PaulLyn Paul is an English pop singer and actress. She came to fame as a member of the international chart-topping pop group The New Seekers in the early 1970s...
(6 December 1974) - Barry SheeneBarry SheeneBarry Stephen Frank Sheene MBE was a British World Champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.-Early life:...
(13 December 1974) - Chay BlythChay BlythSir Charles Blyth, CBE, BEM , known as Chay Blyth, is a Scottish yachtsman and rower. He was the first person to sail non-stop westwards around the world , on a 59-foot boat called British Steel.- Early life:...
(21 December 1974)
In The Limelight With Lesley
In The Limelight With Lesley - Series 1 Guests:- David AttenboroughDavid AttenboroughSir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
(9 May 1980) - Gina Swainson (16 May 1980)
- Brian JacksBrian JacksBrian Jacks is a British judoka who won Britain's first medal at a world championship, taking a bronze in Salt Lake City in 1967, and gained a second bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics.-Superstars:...
(23 May 1980) - Christopher TimothyChristopher TimothyChristopher Timothy is a Welsh actor, television director and writer. Timothy is possibly best known today for his role as James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small; more recently he has starred as Dr. Brendan 'Mac' McGuire in the British television drama Doctors...
(30 May 1980) - Margaret ThatcherMargaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
(6 June 1980)