Trivia

* The theme music to "Have I Got News For You" was composed by Big George and has been used to open and close the show throughout its history. In Series 1, the opening theme was a speeded-up version which incorporated other snippets of songs and sounds which related to the images shown on the title sequence. This was ditched for Series 2.

* In Series 15 Episode 4, the closing theme was accompanied by guest Patrick Moore and his xylophone.

* Twice the theme music has been ditched altogether - firstly in Series 14 Episode 6 when Angus had satirised the show as an American sitcom and some cheesy throwaway music replaced the usual theme, and secondly in Series 17 Episode 7, when the theme to "Jim'll Fix It" was played instead, after guest Sir Jimmy Savile had just given his captain Ian a "Jim'll Fix It" badge.

* The opening title sequence is made up of a range of moving cartoon satires depicting long-term events which had a high profile and a topical longevity. These include GM foods, the abolition of hereditary peers, the Millennium Dome, the rise of the European Community, cash bungs in football, oil slicks, the Royal Family, air rage and political sex scandals. The actual events have changed as the years have progressed, though the topicality has been maintained. The final cartoon image of the sequence is adapted to show the programme's title logo.

* At the end of each episode, the credits roll from the rear studio camera as the house lights are dimmed, leaving a blue effect over the studio audience.

* Angus is credited alone, followed by Ian and Paul as captains. The two guests then appear afterwards, usually in alphabetical order. Most appropriate titles have been included in crediting the guests (MP, Sir, Lord, QC etc.) although some have had their titles removed. Bizarrely, the Tub of Lard was credited as the Rt Hon Tub of Lard MP, in order to further satirise its presence in place of Roy Hattersley. The show's other staff are then credited in the usual way, with the production hierarchy at the end. The credits roll from the bottom of the screen to the top.

* When Paul took his break during Series 11, the guest captains did not take his place in the credits and instead appeared with the other guests, meaning that both Angus and Ian were credited alone.

* In Series 14 Episode 6, the closing credits rolled in flamboyant gold lettering and at such high speed that they went through twice which, along with the change in theme tune, further satirised the American sitcom theme which had run through the show.

* Angus sits in the centre chair of the semi-circle, with Ian in the furthest seat to his right and Paul in the furthest seat to his left. The guest for each team sits in the chair between their captain and the host.

* In the Christmas Special 1993, for no stated reason, the two team captains swapped places.

* Paul has also occupied the seat next to Ian in Series 11 Episode 1 when he was taking a break from residency on the show and appeared just once as Ian's guest.

* Twice has a seat been unoccupied. In Series 5 Episode 8, Roy Hattersley MP famously failed to turn up for the show - and not for the first time - so rather than find an emergency late replacement, his place was occupied by the Tub of Lard, which clearly didn't need a seat. Instead it was placed on the desk. This is the only occasion when less than the regulation five people appeared on the show.

* In Series 19 Episode 1, only four people were seated at the desk, though the regulation five people still appeared. Paul's guest was exiled MI5 spy David Shayler, who was legally disallowed from re-entering the UK, so he took part live via satellite from Paris and made his contribution on a widescreen television placed next to his captain on the desk.

* The seating arrangements had to alter slightly when Paul was joined by two guests instead of one in Series 13 Episode 4, when ex-Tory minister Neil Hamilton and his wife Christine both guested on his team. This is the only occasion where more than the regulation five people have been on the show as guests.

* A fifth participant did appear in Series 10, Episode 8 in the shape of Colin the Parrot, who sat on a perch between Paul and guest Mark Little and said nothing until the very end of the show. His name appeared in the credits.

* A fifth person also appeared in Series 17, Episode 2 but not as a guest. She was a blonde woman dressed as a nurse whom Angus, Ian and Paul chased around the studio with the tempo of the tape increased as a punchline to Angus's intro about some viewers preferring the visual Benny Hill style of humour. She was uncredited.

* In front of the semi-circular desk is a sparse area leading all the way up to the cameras and the audience, with a small circular carpet in the middle. Behind Angus and the guests are a selection of memorable newspaper headlines involving celebrities and politicians, and a number of photographs of such personalities, some of which have been deliberately disfigured. These headlines and photos have steadily changed over the years as new stories broke and some personalities were replaced in the limelight by others.

* The electronic scoreboard was introduced in Series 2 Episode 2 and is incorporated within the desk in front of Angus. Beforehand, Angus would merely glance to his left and read the scores from behind the scenes.

* The photographs and headlines turn round at the end of each episode to reveal the show's title.

* Although the size and structure of the studio set has been basically unchanged since Series 2, the participants and the backdrops were much closer to the audience during Series 1. This may have been because the early episodes of the show were filmed in a smaller studio. For possibly the same reason, the five participants sat at a much smaller semi-circular desk in Series 1, bringing them much closer to each other.

* The set changed completely for the General Election special in 1992, when the headlines and photos were replaced by unflattering photos of leading Conservatives on Ian's side, and similarly grotesque images of high-profile Labour politicians on Paul's side. Angus had the 'leading lights' of the Liberal Democrats behind him, one of whom was a sheep. The election slogan of each team's allocated party was placed in front of them on the desk, with an appropriately coloured background. Angus had a yellow background on the front of his desk to represent the Liberal Democrats, but no slogan. Instead, he merely had the words "Er...Um".

* Five years later, for the General Election Special 1997, the set was again subjected to minor alterations. Running the length of the set behind the panellists were three zig-zag lines in blue, red and yellow, indicating the colours of the three main political parties, while the symbols of each party were also used, with the Conservative Party torch placed on the desk in front of Ian and guest Richard Wilson, and the Labour Party rose in front of Paul and guest Nick Ross. In front of Angus was the wide-winged bird used as a symbol by the Liberal Democrats.

* The set also altered for Series 6, Episode 1 when the show was billed as a 'special' on the life and career of Margaret Thatcher. The headlines and photos were replaced by images synonymous with Thatcher's term in power and her personal life.

* The set is usually subject to minor alteration for Christmas specials. In the 1991 episode, the numbering on the scoreboard was encircled in silver tinsel, while in the 1993 episode, small cardboard cut-outs of Angus, Ian and Paul were placed in front of each of them respectively. There were also liberal amounts of holly and fake snow scattered around. In 1994, while the four contestants sat in regular chairs on the normal set, Angus was seated in a huge wooden chair, similar to one seen at the end of a banqueting table. The chair was decorated in Christmas trinkets and candles and was big enough to cover the images and headlines behind him.

1	*Focus on Angus, panned back to show the scoreboard, generally only used when he is announcing the scores.*
2	*Focus on Angus close up.*
3	*Focus on Ian and his guest.*
4	*Focus on Ian close up.*
5	*Focus on Ian's guest close up.*
6	*Focus on Paul and his guest.*
7	*Focus on Paul close up.*
8	*Focus on Paul's guest close up.*
9	*Side camera to show Ian's team and part of the audience, used during applause after a round has been completed.*
10	*Side camera to show Paul's team and part of the audience, used during applause after a round has been completed.*
11	*Back view camera to the viewer's left, only used when a visual aid is involved in a round. This enables the viewer to see Angus hand the item or items to Ian and his guest.*
12	*Back view camera to the viewer's right, only used when a visual aid is involved in a round. This enables the viewer to see Angus hand the item or items to Ian and his guest*
13	Camera at the back of the studio, always used at the beginning and the end of the show, though sometimes used after a joke from Angus has inspired audience applause. During Series 1, the back view camera was slightly to the right hand side of the audience in the eye of the viewer

* A rare side view close up of Angus was used in Series 19, Episode 4, after guest Angela Rippon got out of her seat to smell him in order to test a critic's theory that he always looked 'particularly well-deodorised'. Presumably this unusual angle was used to allow the viewers to decide for themselves whether the critic had a point.

*Though only the images and photos immediately behind the participants are seen on camera, a headline at the very top of the set, above Angus's head, was shown by a roving camera in Series 10, Episode 1, after guest Paula Yates pointed to it in order to help her answer an Odd One Out question.

* Tickets for the show are obtained from the usual postal, telephone or Internet addresses and demand is such that an entire series can be fully booked up weeks before recording is due to begin.

* The audience do not have to pay to be in the studio, as often pointed out by Paul whenever they groan at a bad joke he has just cracked - 'What are you moaning at? You got in for nothing, didn't you?'.

* Rarely have individual audience members been singled out, though it has been known. In Series 6, Episode 6, an audience member laughed a little too forcefully as Angus cracked a one-liner about a woman who injured herself while putting on her underwear, prompting Ian to shout: "There she is!" In Series 10, Episode 1, Paula Yates was asked if she had had her breast implant operation just as she started her relationship with Michael Hutchence, only for a woman to shout 'Yes!' before she could answer. Yates yelled back: "So much for sisterhood!", which prompted more ribbing from Ian. In Series 14 Episode 4, Paul announced that he had just given up smoking and as he continued to joke about this achievement, a member of the audience threw a cigarette which landed on the carpet in front of him and which Paul proceeded to stare at for the rest of the recording. In Series 15, Episode 8, an audience member twice sneezed very loudly, which prompted comments on each occasion from guest, Danny Baker, most notably the first time as he was answering a question on the late Princess Diana, when his reaction was, "oh my God! She's here!" In Series 19, Episode 1, Paul got out of his seat and walked over to shake hands and chat with people on the front row of the audience in order to signify his despair at a tedious and elongated questioning of his guest, ex-MI5 officer David Shayler. One audience member handed Paul a copy of the Daily Mail, with which he returned to his seat and started to read as the show continued.

* The majority of guests have been actors and/or comedians, closely followed by journalists and/or broadcasters and then politicians. Other professions represented include music, literature, public relations, law, medicine, astronomy, catering, nightclubs, spying, police, conjuring, film directing and trade unions. Only two guests have never held down a professional career - notorious environmental protestor Swampy; and 17 year old young Conservative and sixth-former Robert Reed - while it is difficult to establish which industry is represented by the Tub of Lard.

* The guest who has appeared most often is Ken Livingstone, who has appeared six times in a seven year period. Charles Kennedy and Germaine Greer have both appeared five times, as have Clive Anderson, Alan Davies and Eddie Izzard, though all three had stints as guest captains while Paul took his break in Series 11.

* While many guests have appeared on the show more than once, only one has appeared twice in the same series. Frank Skinner was on both Ian and Paul's team in Series 4. Alan Davies appeared twice in Series 11, though was a guest captain on the second occasion.

* When Paul took his sabbatical in Series 11, three of the guest captains (Eddie Izzard, Clive Anderson, Alan Davies) were not given an introduction, but were just mentioned in their companion's intro in the same way as Paul would have been. However, Martin Clunes and John Bird were given introductions as they formed more of a 'guest team' during their Series 11 appearances, in that they were accompanied by their regular performing partners in Neil Morrissey and John Fortune. Although officially they were guest captains as they occupied Paul's seat, they were not elevated to captain status by Angus's intro.

* Among the many high-profile and indiscreet politicians who have guested on the show, two of them were serving political party leaders. SNP chief Alex Salmond was leader of his party for all three of his guestings, and Charles Kennedy had risen to leader of the Liberal Democrats by the time he made his fifth appearance on the show in 2000. Two ex-leaders have also been guests - former Labour Party head Neil Kinnock and ex-Liberal chief Sir David Steel.

* No serving Cabinet minister has ever appeared on the programme. However, former Tory chancellor Nigel Lawson and Transport Secretary Cecil Parkinson have both been ex-Cabinet ministers to appear. Both had quit the Commons and become peers by the time they guested.

* Other peers who have made appearances include Lord Deedes and the Earl of Onslow, a hereditary peer who was the only one referred to by Angus as "my Lord". His real first name was never revealed on the show. Sir David Steel and Roy Hattersley have become peers since appearing, while Steel appeared for a second time after he was elevated to the upper house. His credit was altered accordingly.

* Seven guests are now sadly deceased - actor and comedian Dermot Morgan, TV chef Jennifer Paterson, political broadcaster Vincent Hanna, comedian and satirist Peter Cook, actor and satirist John Wells, TV presenter Paula Yates, and writer and broadcaster John Diamond.

* Various non-British nationalities have been represented on the show:

* The show's oldest guest at the time of recording was Lord Deedes, who was 86 when he appeared in Series 18, Episode 8.

* The show's youngest guest was Robert Reed, who was 17 at the time of his appearance in Series 19, Episode 5.

* A number of extra people appeared in Series 20 Episode 1, when in order to satirise the show's BBC1 debut, a troupe of dancing girls high-kicked their way across the studio to big deal music and flashing lights after Angus had assured viewers in his introduction that the move to the mainstream would
not affect the show's output in any way.

* Angus opens the show with the words "Good evening" followed by a smart comment which refers to an item in the news or a self-deprecation of the programme. He then introduces a set of film clips - usually three, though in early series this was sometimes four - which are all preceded by a punchline. The clips often show a public figure.

* Angus then introduces the guests. This is frequently done with a playful one-liner at the guest's expense, though occasionally his introduction is straight, or sometimes it will poke fun at the team captain. Until Series 5 Episode 6, he always introduced Ian's guest before Paul's, though since Series 17, he has introduced the guests in any order he sees fit, with no set pattern, though Ian's guest is still introduced first more often than Paul's.

* During Series 1, when the show was still finding its feet and new viewers were discovering the show each week, Angus would also introduce the two team captains.

* The rounds are then played (see THE SHOW for full details) with guests being encouraged to crack jokes, exchange banter with each other and discuss anything they see fit while answering the questions. Angus will close each segment with a monologue though will often ditch some or all of his scripted gags (or they are later edited out) if there have been enough laughs already created by the panellists.

* In between each round, Angus will recap the scores using a piece of imagery laden prose, often using the last item discussed as a basis for a series of puns. He will also flippantly 'describe' or 'label' each team with positive or negative expressions, depending on whether they are winning or losing. They are given the same 'label or 'description' if the situation is a tie, which it usually is at the end of the Film Clips round. In Series 1, the structure of the show was subject to alteration each week as the
programme found its feet and tried to find a settled routine, so there were occasions when the scores would not be recapped between rounds. From Series 2 Episode 1 to Series 3 Episode 2, Angus would not recap the score between the Connections and Archive rounds. After recapping the scores, the
audience applauds, allowing the guests to whisper tactics and comments to one another. On rare occasions, due to time reasons, his announcement of the scores between other rounds in later seasons, particularly the Odd One Out round and the Missing Words round, has been edited out.

* After the final round, Angus will 'label' the winning and losing teams (example: 'this week's dog's dinners are... while this week's dog's bollocks are...') and following the applause, he will award 'prizes' (example: 'so a night with Pamela Anderson to our winners; a night with Clive Anderson to our losers') before allowing them to give their suggestions for the Caption Competition, should there be one.

* Angus will then thank the guests before preceding a selection of still photographs - usually three or four - with punchlines and then finally closing the show. He always ends with a simple 'Goodnight' except on some Christmas episodes, when he ends with 'Merry Christmas'. However, in Series 17 Episode 7, Angus ended the show by waving camply at the camera and saying 'see you next week' in the way Sir Jimmy Savile, a guest on the show, used to for his programme 'Jim'll Fix It'.

* In the Christmas special of 1991, a loud bang sounded as Angus delivered his final joke of the show, and a huge crate of fake snow was dropped on him. He still managed to say 'Goodnight', but this was close to inaudible due to the laughing and applauding from the audience.

* Two points are awarded for a correct answer to any question asked during regular rounds, with Angus using his discretion to allocate one point if the guest manages to get part of the answer, such as the right person but wrong reason in the Odd One Out round or an expression synonymous with the correct answer in the Missing Words round.

* In Series 1 and 2, Angus would award extra points for any particularly biting gags or satire aired by the panellists, or any extra information given. He was quite liberal with his allocation of points in the early days, as often he would award extra marks if they managed to mention another news story of the week which was not necessarily under discussion, or even intended to be at any point during the show. All these practices had disappeared by Series 3.

* From Series 17 onwards, a practice of asking questions indirectly related to the story under discussion was introduced to allow the teams to gain extra points.

* In special rounds, Angus will often award one point at a time for correct answers instead of two, depending on the nature or amount of answers required.

* Angus has jokingly threatened to deduct points on numerous occasions in the show's history, usually if a guest seems to know a little too much about a story which takes their answer to the threshold of tedium. However, only twice has Angus actually taken points away. In Series 8 Episode 3, he deducted a point from Paul during the Missing Words round because Paul got the right answer from the excerpt taken from the newly-published Princess Diana biography due to the presence of the author, Andrew Morton, sitting alongside him. The deduction, plus Angus's refusal to give Paul any more points in the round, cost them the game. In Series 18 Episode 6, he penalised Paul and guest Alex Salmond MP for interrupting a question during a special quickfire round with an incorrect answer. No prior warning of this rule had been given, and Paul looked suitably annoyed and puzzled by the decision which eventually cost his team victory in the show.

* In Series 19 Episode 6, Angus awarded a point to Ian's team before any round had been played, due to a letter to that week's episode of the BBC's viewer feedback show "Points Of View" which claimed that money was being won or lost needlessly on wagers made before the show due to the more random practice of allocating points. Ian still lost the game.

* The highest scoring show was the Christmas special of 1991, when Paul and guest Clive Anderson beat Ian and guest Harry Enfield 31-26. However, this was an extended 40-minute show which contained two extra rounds, so the scoring was expected to be higher than average.

* The lowest scoring show was Series 11, Episode 4, when Ian and guest Claire Rayner defeated guest team Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey 8-7.

* Paul wins far more often than Ian and takes the competitive element of the show far more seriously than his opposing team captain, as proved by his occasional outbursts when he loses. In numerous episodes, Paul has gained victory by ditching the humour in the Missing Words round in order to overtake Ian, who often finds himself ahead throughout the show, only to lose in that final round. Ian has lost every series bar one overall.

*On three occasions, the scores have been tied after the final round. In Series 4 Episode 2 both teams were deadlocked at 16 points each after the final round. Angus used the Caption Competition as a tiebreaker, and awarded an extra point and victory to Paul and guest Charles Kennedy after deciding that Paul had come up with the funniest caption. Ian and guest David Baddiel didn't complain. In Series 20 Episode 3 (a whole eight years later, though again featuring Charles Kennedy), a winner was established via a game of 'stone, paper, scissors' between the two team captains. Paul won by choosing scissors ahead of Ian's paper. In Series 20 Episode 7, Angus introduced a spontaneous tiebreaker question "What is the capital of Albania?" after the scores were deadlocked, and Ian's guest Sanjeev Bhaskar was the first to leap in with the answer "Tirana" and win the contest.

* The highest winning margin was 13 points when in the Christmas Special of 1993, Paul and guest Bob Geldof beat Ian and guest Griff Rhys-Jones 23-10. This feat was repeated in Series 12 Episode 7, when Paul and guest Francis Wheen defeated Ian and guest Mark Hurst 19-6. Ian's highest winning margin was eight points, when in Series 10 Episode 7, he and guest Craig Charles beat Paul and guest PJ O'Rourke 13-5.

* As a celebrity-only quiz, the teams are not playing for prizes but for appearance fees, although Angus has occasionally handed out so-called prizes which have a topical edge, either because the show is a Christmas or Election special, or because the prize is relevant to a certain guest, or because it is relevant to an item in the week's news. Prizes have included John Major T-shirts; copies of the 'Have I Got News For You' and 'Paul Merton: The Series' videos; and books about sex, Margaret Thatcher, Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

* A selection of 'special' rounds have been played on a one-off basis for a variety of reasons. They could relate to a major news story which the show's producers feel needs more analysis beyond a mere headline or film clip; or as a tribute to a certain guest; or because it is a quiet news week; or because the whole show is dedicated to one person or event or public issue. The 'special' rounds usually appear in Round Two, instead of the Tabloid Headlines round.

* Angus has used a plethora of public figures as favourite targets in his monologues, even if they have no obvious connection with the news story under discussion. Frank Bough and Sir Jimmy Savile are frequent targets, though he interestingly stayed clear of such jokes when Bough and Savile appeared as guests. Angus often brings Bill Wyman into a joke when a question concerning a large age-gap into a relationship is discussed. Michael Jackson, Camilla Parker-Bowles, Michael Winner and the Duchess of York also get regular verbal hammerings from Angus.

* Ian's favourite victim is Robert Maxwell and went to town on making derisory comments about him following Maxwell's mysterious death and subsequent proof that Ian's suspicions about the newspaper tycoon's honesty - or lack of it - were proved right, even though Maxwell constantly brought legal action against Ian's magazine Private Eye during his lifetime. Ian is also fond of ridiculing Jeffrey Archer, whose colourful, fantasy-ridden life has made him arguably the show's most abused victim. Ian is also renowned for slagging off the state of English cricket and was a biting critic of John Major during his Premiership.

* Paul takes no prisoners with any figure who he believes needs sending up, and for a short while picked on Jason Donovan, following the Australian actor's successful but maligned libel case. However, the joke didn't last long as Donovan soon disappeared from the public eye. Since then, Paul's only reasonably constant victim has been Prince Edward, though he too is happy to join in with the tormenting of Jeffrey Archer.

* All three regulars never tire of ridiculing, humiliating, embarrassing, belittling and insulting each other, albeit in jest.

* Angus has worn a different suit for every episode of the programme, most of which have been sharp and smart enough to pass without comment. He usually wears a necktie on the show, though has twice donned a bow tie for a Christmas show. As an optional extra, he occasionally wears a waistcoat. He has never appeared in anything less formal.

* Ian wears a suit in most episodes and generally wears a shirt and tie with it, though in recent years has experimented with wearing a polo neck top. His only foray into full scale casual wear was in the Christmas Special 1993, when he wore a black shirt bizarrely decorated with red and yellow pencils, though he has fallen into the more generic 'smart casual' category on a few other occasions.

* Paul’s wardrobe is much more varied. While he does occasionally appear in an elegant suit, sometimes with a shirt and tie, he has also famously worn an outfit which made Angus compare him to actor Patrick McGoohan; a Garrick Club tie which earned him criticism from the gentleman's club who claimed he had no right to wear it; a T-shirt which said "TURN OVER AT 11", which referred to his own TV series on Channel 4; a shirt which was decorated with fruit; and in Series 5 Episode 8 he wore a specially made T-shirt which bore the words "I DRINK COOPER'S CREOSOTE", a brand from Paul's own imagination which he had first referred to in Series 5 Episode 2. The T-shirt was later manufactured in bulk and sold to fans at Paul's live shows as part of his official merchandise.

* Only two guests - TV presenter Paula Yates and music guru Jonathan King - have ever worn a form of headgear. Yates appeared in a small silver tiara, while King donned a baseball cap. Paul, however, went through a phase of pulling on a Sooty hat during Series 16, following a mention of his guest appearance on the kids' show.

* Male politicians and peers have generally always chosen to dress stuffily in suits and ties for their appearances, and it wasn't until Series 11 Episode 7 when Conservative MP Rupert Allason broke that trend by wearing a denim shirt without a tie. Since then, Labour MP and ex-minister Peter Kilfoyle has also appeared without a jacket or tie.

* In the early days, the F-word was always bleeped out though has been allowed to stay in more recent years, depending on the time of broadcast or the nature of its use. All three regulars have been permitted uncensored use of the word, but the general consensus is that the word will be drowned out by a bleep. All words regarded as dubious were censored during the repeat broadcast in the early days, as the show went out before the 9pm watershed.

* Ian used the C-word in Series 6 Episode 4 and was, under broadcasting laws, automatically censored by a bleep. Paul was also censored when he repeated the word seconds later.

* Angus has only ever used the F-word in his scripted monologues, and even then only when using a direct quote. He has quoted Kenneth Tynan, Sir Peregrine Worsthorne and Mohamed Al Fayed when using the expletive. When he quoted Tynan he was censored, but the expletive went unbleeped when he quoted Worsthorne and Fayed. He also used the F-word during his introduction for Series 10 Episode 1, which was also censored.

* Ian has used the F-word several times, though only when answering questions in which the word is necessary.

* Paul is more liberal with his use of the word, and in Series 5 managed to get Ian into a debate on who was the last person to say the F-word on television, with each trying to outwit the other.

* Guests are prone to using the F-word too. Hugh Dennis blurted out a semi-frustrated "F***ing bollocks" in Series 8 Episode 8 as a form of revenge for not getting the points he felt his team deserved in a previous round. He was censored. In Series 9 Episode 5, Germaine Greer used the expression "F*** me shoes" when quoting herself from a column she wrote about a fellow feminist, on which she was receiving a hammering from Ian. His initial use of the word during that spat went uncensored, which was the first occasion such an event happened. Greer's subsequent use of the word - and the two occasions when Paul also used it during the same debate - also went without a bleep. In Series 6 Episode 2, Fiona Armstrong came mightily close to using the word when Paul tried to persuade her to do so in order to earn extra points.

* The F-word has appeared on three sets of film clips shown on the programme, with Paul Gascoigne and John Prescott heard using the expletives. The third involved a judge and a taxi driver who both used the word after the judge tried to kick the cabbie.

* The show followed BBC regulations whenever there was mention from Series 16 onwards of allegations surrounding the private life of Peter Mandelson. Though the show satirised the ridiculous ruling by bosses at the BBC to great effect, the censors still bleeped out direct references to Mandelson's sexuality. There appeared to be a relaxation on the blanket ban concerning Mandelson by Series 20 Episode 1, when, during a discussion about Mandelson's housebuying activities. Paul asked: "What's wrong with gay people owning homes?"

* When exiled MI5 spy David Shayler appeared via satellite in Series 19 Episode 1, it was stated by Angus that the secret services would be monitoring the show and some censorship may occur. When Shayler tried to make a comment about Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed, the widescreen TV on which he appeared changed suddenly to footage of a soft porn video. It is difficult to assess whether this was genuine censorship or a joke, but the suspicion strongly favours the latter.