Watch an emotional Olivia Newton-John relive her huge success on This Is Your Life

15 August 2022, 09:41

Olivia Newton-John had a stellar career in film and music. Picture: TCN

By Thomas Curtis-Horsfall

This Is Your Life is still one of the most iconic televisions programmes today.

Here in the UK, it was hosted by Michael Aspel from 1987-2003 and was immensely popular during the 1990s.

The television series would surprise guests in a random location, and take them to a studio to relive their achievements and successes.

Regularly in shock, the subjects of the show would entire the series' television studio to a packed crowd of their nearest and dearest.

Famously, if the guests found out about their appearance beforehand, the show would be cancelled.

That way, it'd ensure the reaction of the guest that episode would be authentic, and it was generally a bombshell to whoever would be appearing.

This was exactly the case when Olivia Newton-John was invited on to the Australian edition of the show in 1995.

Olivia Newton-John - This Is Your Life (1 of 4)

Olivia Newton-John - This is Your Life (2 of 4)

Entering the studio to an enormous crowd, it was befitting for one of the greatest musical talents to ever come out of Australia.

And those that worked with her recognised that she was a trailblazer for artists down under to get noticed in the UK and the USA.

One of the first instances of Olivia becoming popular outside of her home country was when she appeared as the United Kingdom's Eurovision representative in 1974.

She was born in the UK before moving to Australia, and sang 'Long Live Love' at the competition held in Brighton that year.

Though her performance was praised, she eventually lost out to ABBA with 'Waterloo', and there's no shame in that.

TIYL's host, journalist Mike Munro, then moves on to her breakthrough hit: 'I Honestly Love You'.

It was a huge landmark in Olivia's pop career, winning her a Grammy Award for both Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female in 1975.

And she treats the lucky audience to a uniquely heartfelt performance of one of her signature songs.

Olivia Newton-John - This is My Life (3 of 4)

Once her performance comes to a close, Munro then brings up the moment that made Olivia a household name: when she starred as Sandy in Grease.

With songs like Oscar-nominated 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' and 'You're the One That I Want', she lent her voice to some of the most iconic songs of the decade.

But in her role as Sandy, she also became one-half of the most adored on-screen romances in musical history, alongside Danny Zuko played by none other than John Travolta.

"I cannot imagine life without you. And I have a feeling you can&squot;t imagine life without me either" John told Olivia. — "I cannot imagine life without you. And I have a feeling you can't imagine life without me either" John told Olivia. Picture: TCN

And to her shock, her co-star and dear friend Travolta recorded a deeply personal message for her appearance on the television show.

Olivia is trying to hold back the tears as her long-time friend appears on the screen saying: "This girl belongs in the movie Grease as Sandy."

"I promised you that you'd be great in it, and I came through with my promise" he playfully teases, taking credit for her casting.

After showing clips of their performance together, John truly pulls on Olivia's and the audience's heartstrings when he declares:

"I cannot imagine life without you. And I have a feeling you can't imagine life without me either."

"I think we're stuck with each other, well, for a very long time. And I love you, and congratulations on This Is Your Life" he continues before ending with:

"Love you honey."

It's an incredibly sweet moment between the two that created a bond that could never be broken, and a beautiful tribute to Olivia's remarkable career in film and music.