Seven years ago, millions of television viewers saw ten young people go through the Alpha course in a ten-part series on ITV presented by Sir David Frost called Alpha: Will it Change their Lives?.

At the end of the course, some declared they had become committed Christians, while others said they had embarked on a ‘journey of faith’ or had simply changed some of their attitudes to life.
But what has happened to the ten of them? How are they getting on seven years later?

That is what Sir David Frost endeavoured to find out in a new ITV series Alpha: Did it Change their Lives?, which was broadcast in December.
And if he wanted to find evidence of lives that had changed for the long term, he was not disappointed.

Three of the ten remain committed churchgoers and several of the others describe themselves as having some kind of faith. All say they are grateful to have had the experience.

Builder Tony Bolt, who was not a churchgoer and close to separating from his live-in girlfriend and mother of his son when he came on the course, described how his life had been transformed.

He is now married to his girlfriend, Ronnie, and they have another son Daniel. He said, ‘Jesus changed my life. Alpha was the tool, the vehicle, that got me on the road to finding Jesus.’

Lola Grange, who came on the course with ‘loads and loads of questions’, became a regular churchgoer. She said, ‘Did it change my life? Being a Christian changes your life rather than Alpha, but Alpha was the beginning of that. The big difference is you’ve got God and Jesus working alongside you, to help you.’

Harry and Lucinda Powell, who came on Alpha as an engaged couple, spoke of how special their eventual wedding ceremony had been as a result.
Lucinda said, ‘I think the Alpha course made the whole wedding much more special and meaningful, rather than just being something that you go through the motions of.’

Gillian Lindsay came on the course thinking that ‘God was some angry man up there with a stick... I was really scared.’ And now?

She said, ‘I believe my life changed at the weekend. I’ve become a committed Christian and I go to church. I pray every day and read the Bible.’

Others spoke of the impact the course had made upon them.

Minnie Mallinckrodt said, ‘I wouldn’t say Alpha’s changed my life, but it’s made me more open to understanding spirituality.’

James Bann said, ‘I think Alpha did change my life. I think it’s opened my eyes a litte bit to being more tolerant of other people.’

Sir David concluded the three-part series, saying, ‘Did it change their lives? Well, in the case of four of the 10 clearly the answer is no. For another three it’s a partial, modified yes but for three of them, Lola, Tony and Gillian the answer is an emphatic yes.

‘Well, Billy Graham always used to say that if one in three of the people who came forward at his rallies stayed with Christianity that was all he could hope for. So in that sense after seven years Alpha stands in very good company indeed. Goodbye for now.’