Catherine Cookson: This Is Your Life! And how her big day on TV unfolded

When the ‘man with the red book’, Eamonn Andrews, bagged Catherine for her life story, it meant South Shields General Hospital was the scene for one of the tributes.

They were pals in the laundry

Catherine had a pal called Anne Robson who was filmed in 1982 in Shields.

Anne and Catherine had worked in the laundry together - back in the days when it was known as Harton Workhouse, decades before.

Mrs Robson told the Gazette all about her experience of being on This Is Your Life.

She said in 1982: “I was very nervous, having to appear before the cameras, but everyone seems to think I did all right.

A quiet Christmas in 1982

“Considering Catherine has not been too well, she looked very fair indeed.”

By the 1980s, Catherine was living in Hexham with husband Tom.

The Gazette caught up with her and she told us she intended to spend Christmas as “quietly as possible”.

She said: “Tom is a marvellous cook. He takes care of everything.”

A best seller and a worldwide hit

Catherine was born in Tyne Dock in 1906 and began writing in the 1940s while she was living in the South of England.

She eventually wrote almost 100 books and became a best seller worldwide.

Catherine died in Newcastle in 1998 aged 91. Share your memories of her by emailing [email protected]