
On January 8 2017, Dame Shirley Bassey reached her milestone 80th birthday. In celebration of her phenomenal career, BBC One invited viewers to join Dame Shirley for a special night of entertainment celebrating the global icon.
The television event was hosted by her great friend and one of her biggest fans, comedian David Walliams.
The one-off special featured a lavish mix of entertainment, comedy, surprises and of course live music, with the Dame thrilling viewers as she performed some of her biggest and best-loved classics backed by a live studio orchestra.
In addition, host Walliams interviewed Dame Shirley in a candid walk through her career, from little known stories, to highlights from her incredible music career to date. He spoke to her about how the little girl from Tiger Bay grew up to became one of the most celebrated and iconic voices of the past sixty years. Thanks to hard graft and her spectacular talent, she went from a teenager singing in rowdy working men’s clubs, to signing her first artist contract at age 16, to breaking America before the Beatles, and performing for royalty.
The celebration wa produced by King Bert Productions for BBC One. The executive producers are Jo Sargent and Lisa Clark; the producers are Steve Lappin and Madeline Addy and the director is Steve Smith.
The hour-long BBC tribute marking Dame Shirley’s special milestone is now online in full. Watch it below: