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Question Time

A humble spear-carrier, yesterdayUNCOUTH VERSION of Radio 4’s Any Questions, only with pictures. Invented to stop ROBIN DAY moaning about how the BBC weren’t giving him any work, and to fill a hole in the schedules when the BBC Governors nixed the idea of Parky going five nights a week (and thank fuck they did). Early editions had Sir Robin hunched over a beige desk flanked on either side by two captains of industry/trade union leaders. Well-spoken audience members in frocks and suits read “questions” off cards about collective bargaining. Nobody watched. Then some politicos started turning up, figuring it was a chance for a bit of after-hours ego-exercise, and more than a dozen people realised the show existed. Sir Robin ruled it like a personal fiefdom until 1989, when he quit (in a huff, naturally) to be replaced by multi-trillionaire signing PETER “Er…” SISSONS, who was useless and was soon replaced by DAVID DIMBLEBY. Latterday policy of having a) celebrities b) competition-winning students and c) Eddie Izzard on the panel likely to have Sir Robin spinning in his humble spear-carrier grave.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Adrian

    September 14, 2009 at 9:31 am

    “Yes – the gentleman with the red tie at the back..”

    I can’t believe the BBC thought viewers would switch off and go to bed just because some bloke on TV told them to..

  2. Applemask

    September 14, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Not “some bloke”, Sir Robin Motherfucking Day. He tells you to sleep well, you sleep like a damn BABY.

  3. Des Elmes

    October 5, 2011 at 9:22 pm

    “Peter Sissons, who was useless and was soon replaced by David Dimbleby.”

    I wouldn’t say he was “soon” replaced – he actually presented the show for four-and-a-half years, until the end of 1993.

    And, like Sir Robin, he quit when tensions with the production team became just too much…

    Dimbleby took over after a battle with Jeremy Paxman – each hosting a pilot show with different panels and different audiences.

    According to reliable sources, Paxo lost after he “chewed up his audience, and chewed up his panel”.

    However, many believe today that he would have made a better presenter.

    I don’t think they should say “would have”, though – after all, Dimbles is no spring chicken…

  4. Tom Ronson

    March 31, 2022 at 2:54 am

    Fiona Bruce is great, isn’t she?

  5. Glenn Aylett

    October 30, 2022 at 11:58 am

    The only time Kenny Everett became a topic on the programme, when some Welsh socialist in the audience who sounded a bit like Neil Kinnock was enraged by Everett turning up at an election rally for the Conservatives and making a joke about kicking Michael Foot’s stick away and bombing Russia. Perhaps the questioner should have realised it was Kenny Everett having a laugh and that he wasn’t really going to start a nuclear war.

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