ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE JANUARY 6, 1977
THE Morecambe and Wise Christmas Day Show, helped by the sight of Angela Rippon’s legs, scored the biggest TV audience of 1976 — a massive 27 million viewers. It gave the BBC a clean sweep of Christmas Day audiences, claiming a 73 to 27 victory over ITV.
JANUARY 6, 1987
GOLDEN-VOICED schoolboy Aled Jones ended his glittering career yesterday — to concentrate on his O-levels. The world’s most famous choirboy can still sing as sweetly as ever, but from now on it will be only in the bath or over his homework. ‘His voice has not broken yet, but it could go any day,’ manager Lydia Colley said.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
ROWAN ATKINSON, 66. The star of Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder and Love Actually is estimated to be worth around £100 million, with a car collection that includes an Aston Martin DB2 and a 1939 BMW 328. He sold his McLaren F1 for £8 million in 2015 after crashing it twice. His most famous creation, Mr Bean, is more than 30 years old, yet has over 100 million followers on Facebook — more than Taylor Swift. IRINA SHAYK, 35. The daughter of a coal miner father and music teacher mother, who was born in the former USSR, achieved supermodel status after being the first Russian to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimwear issue in 2011. She is often seen scantily clad, but says: ‘I turned down Playboy. Yes, I am a lingerie model, but I have class.’
BORN ON THIS DAY
ANTHONY MINGHELLA (1954-2008). The filmmaker from the Isle of Wight won a best director Oscar for The English Patient and also made The Talented Mr Ripley and Truly, Madly, Deeply. His parents ran an ice- cream factory, but he was a trained pianist who went on to direct several operas. He also wrote the script for the first episode of Inspector Morse. SANDY DENNY (1947-1978) Described as ‘ the preeminent British folk rock singer’, the Londoner abandoned nursing for music in her teens, and won fame with Fairport Convention and as a solo artist. She is the only guest vocalist to sing on a Led Zeppelin album.
ON JANUARY 6…
IN 1929, Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin her work among India’s poorest people. IN 1979, the Village People scored their only UK No 1 single with Y.M.C.A.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Weepers (c. mid-19th century) A) The black crepe veils of a widow. B) Blunt-edged swords for performers. C) White clouds. Answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED Like a ripe apple:
meaning that one has only to be patient and then one will get what one wants; it comes from Mahatma Gandhi talking about India gaining independence, when he said: ‘Independence will fall to us one day like a ripe apple.’
QUOTE FOR TODAY
HOW can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? Charles de Gaulle, French statesman (1890-1970)
JOKE OF THE DAY
What do you call a floating dog? A good buoy. Guess The Definition answer: A.