Have I Got News for You

For the American spin-off of this show, see Have I Got News for You (American game show).
Have I Got News for You
Also known as
  • HIGNFY
  • Have I Got a Little Bit More News for You
  • Have I Got a Bit More News for You
  • Have I Got Old News for You
  • Have I Got a Bit More Old News for You
GenreComedy panel game
Political satire
Created by
Presented by
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series67
No. of episodes600 (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations
Running time
  • 29 minutes
  • 42 minutes (extended)
Production companyHat Trick Productions[2]
Original release
Network
Release28 September 1990 (1990-09-28) –
present
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Have I Got News for You (HIGNFY) is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990.[3] The programme focuses on two teams, one usually captained by Ian Hislop and one by Paul Merton, each plus a guest panelist, answering questions on various news stories on the week prior to an episode's broadcast. However, the programme's format focuses more on the topical discussions on the subject of the news stories related to questions, and the satirical humour derived from these by the teams. This style of presentation had a profound impact on panel shows in British TV comedy, making it one of the genre's key standard-bearers.

The programme aired on BBC Two for its first ten years, before moving to BBC One in 2000. While the standard episodes are broadcast on Fridays, since 2003 extended versions of each episode, initially titled Have I Got a Little Bit More News for You and later simply Have I Got a Bit More News for You, have been broadcast, originally the following Saturdays on BBC Two, later moved to Mondays on BBC One and returned to BBC Two in 2021. Repeats of older episodes are named Have I Got Old News for You or Have I Got a Bit More Old News for You.

Until 2002, Have I Got News for You was hosted by Angus Deayton, who was sacked following reports in national newspapers of several scandals about his private life.[4] Since then, the programme has been hosted by a different celebrity each week; many of them add their own comedy.

The programme has gained widespread acclaim for its contribution to British television and comedy, receiving multiple awards at the British Comedy Awards including Best New Comedy Programme in 1991,[5] Best Entertainment Series in 1992,[6] Best Comedy Gameshow in 1999[7] and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.[8] It also received the 2016 BAFTA Television Award for Comedy and Comedy Entertainment Programme.[9]

  1. ^ "Have I Got News For You Audience Tickets". Hat Trick Productions. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Hat Trick Productions - Have I Got News for You".
  3. ^ Have I Got News for You? Radio Times entry at the BBC Genome Project
  4. ^ "Was the BBC right to sack Angus Deayton?". BBC News. 4 November 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  5. ^ "1991 Winners". The British Comedy Academy. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  6. ^ "1992 Winners". The British Comedy Academy. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  7. ^ "1999 Winners". The British Comedy Academy. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  8. ^ "2011 Winners". The British Comedy Academy. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  9. ^ "2016 Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Awards. Retrieved 1 May 2024.