Captain Tom Moore: Remembering his vintage Blankety Blank appearance with Terry Wogan

Veteran appeared on the BBC show in 1983

Fans of Captain Tom Moore are paying tribute after he died on Tuesday (2 February), aged 100.

The Second World War veteran, who won national praise for his fundraising mission for the NHS, was admitted to Bedford hospital on 31 January, a week after he tested positive for Covid-19, following treatment for pneumonia.

Last year, Captain Tom set an initial goal of raising £1,000 by his 100th birthday in April 2020 by walking around his garden in Maston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, with a walking frame.

He went on to raise around £33 million for the NHS, breaking two Guinness world records. He was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth and became the oldest artist to claim a UK No 1 single for his cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with Michael Ball and the NHS Voices of Care choir.

Since the news of his death, many are reflecting on his fascinating life, which happens to include a charming appearance on the BBC quiz show, Blankety Blank.

Captain Tom’s role as a contestant on the show in 1983 is arguably the closest he came to fame prior to his fundraising campaign last year.

Archive footage unearthed by the BBC shows Captain Tom taking part in a special episode of the Terry Wogan-fronted series, which aired on Christmas Day, 1983.

The clip, which was shown on BBC Breakfast last year, sees Wogan ask the then-63-year-old where he is from, prompting him to reply: “Tipps End.”

Wogan quips “Same to you!” as the audience laughs, before Captain Tom replies: “It’s a good place.”

The late TV presenter then asks him whether he has “family or anybody you’d rather not be watching this?”

He then tells Wogan he has “two girls, coming up 16, coming up 14,” leading Wogan to suggest that they are “too old for this rubbish”.

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The rest of the clip sees Captain Moore take part in the classic game show, attempting to fill in the blanks and match up with a celebrity panellist’s answer in order to win points.

Celebrities to appear in the same Christmas episode include The Sky At Night presenter Patrick Moore, actors Roy Kinnear, Sabina Franlyn, Beryl Reid and Ruth Madoc, and comedian Freddie Starr.

Captain Tom Moore on Blankety Blank

(BBC)

Captain Tom’s daughters, Hannah and Lucy, said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our dear father, Captain Sir Tom Moore.

“We are so grateful that we were with him during the last hours of his life; Hannah, Benjie and Georgia by his bedside and Lucy on FaceTime. We spent hours chatting to him, reminiscing about our childhood and our wonderful mother. We shared laughter and tears together.

“The last year of our father’s life was nothing short of remarkable. He was rejuvenated and experienced things he'd only ever dreamed of.”