| What the Papers Say | |
|---|---|
| Voices of |
|
| Theme music composer | Malcolm Arnold |
| Opening theme | "Allegro non troppo", English Dances Set II, Op 33 (1969–2016) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Running time | 10–20 minutes |
| Production company | Granada Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 5 November 1956 – 1982 |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 1982 – 2 September 1988 |
| Network | BBC 2 |
| Release | May 1990 – 2008 |
| Network | BBC Radio 4 |
| Release | April 2010 – 27 March 2016 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
What The Papers Say is a British radio and television series. It consists of quotations from headlines and comment pages in the previous week's newspapers, read in a variety of voices and accents by actors. The quotes are linked by a script read by a studio presenter, usually a prominent journalist. The show did not have a regular host, and was intended as a wry look at how British broadsheets and tabloids covered the week's news stories. The programme was most recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
What The Papers Say originally ran for many years on television – its first incarnation (1956–2008) was the second longest-running programme on British television after Panorama.[1] Having begun in 1956 on Granada Television and ITV, the television series moved to Channel 4 and then to BBC2 before being discontinued in 2008. The programme was revived on Radio 4 in the run-up to the 2010 general election,[2] and continued until 27 March 2016, when it was announced that that was its last Radio 4 episode.[3]
The programme's format was the same for both television and radio. On TV, while quotes were being read, they would appear on-screen as newspaper cuttings under the relevant newspaper's masthead, and the presenter would read a script from the auto-prompt operator.