''Any Questions?'' is a British topical discussion programme "in which a panel of personalities from the worlds of

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, media, and elsewhere are posed questions by the

audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

". It is typically broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

on Fridays at 20:00 and repeated the following day at 13:10. ''Any Questions?'' is also available on

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

Origins and scheduling

''Any Questions?'' was first broadcast in October 1948, beginning as a fortnightly programme on the

West of England The West of England is an area of South West England around the River Avon. The area has a local government combined authority that consists of the unitary authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The comb ...

Home Service and was originally intended to run for six editions only. It became a weekly programme in September 1949, broadcast live in the West Region on Friday evenings with a national repeat transmission on the Home Service up to six days later. This pattern changed in September 1950 when the live Friday broadcast was switched to the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

(

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

from October 1967), although the discussion still came from venues in the West of England and the programme continued to be repeated later on the Home Service (

from October 1967). On 10 April 1970, the Friday broadcast moved to Radio 4, which has broadcast both the live and the recorded editions of ''Any Questions?'' ever since.

Presenters

''Any Questions?'' was chaired by

Freddie Grisewood Frederick Henry Grisewood OBE (11 April 1888 – 15 November 1972) was a British broadcaster, who had a long and varied career with the BBC. He was perhaps best known for being the host of ''Any Questions?'' from its inception in 1948 until ...

from 1948 to 1967, by David Jacobs from 1967 to 1984, by

John Timpson John Harry Robert Timpson, (2 July 1928 – 19 November 2005) was a British journalist, best known as a radio presenter. Early life Born at Ridgeholme, 53 The Ridgeway, Kenton, Middlesex, he was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, a boys' ...

from 1984 to 1987 and by Jonathan Dimbleby from 1987 to 2019. In March 2019, Dimbleby announced that he would "stand down... at the end of June".

Shaun Ley Shaun Dominic Ley (born 14 June 1969) is a British journalist and newsreader for BBC News. He currently appears regularly on a wide range of BBC programmes from ''HARDTalk'' to BBC Radio 4's ''The World Tonight'' and the BBC World Service's ''Ne ...

, Ritula Shah, Edward Stourton and Julian Worricker served as interim moderators. In October 2019, Chris Mason was announced as Dimbleby's successor. Following Mason's appointment as political editor of

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

in 2022, it was announced that Alex Forsyth would succeed him as regular presenter from November 2022.

Venues

BBC Radio 4 Any Questions Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy

''Any Questions?'' is broadcast from a different location each week. Among others, ''Any Questions?'' has broadcast from

educational institution An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments a ...

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

venues, and religious and government buildings, including: * Rugby's

Ashlawn School Ashlawn School (or simply Ashlawn), is a large partially selective secondary school located in the Hillmorton area of Rugby, Warwickshire, England that specialises in science, computing and leadership. It is one of only five bilateral schools ...

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

* Chichester's Bishop Luffa School * Runcorn's Bolingbroke Academy *

Bridlington Priory Priory Church of St Mary, Bridlington, , commonly known as Bridlington Priory Church is a parish church in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the Diocese of York. It is on the site of an Augustinians, Augustinian priory founded i ...

Brockenhurst College Brockenhurst College is a large tertiary college situated in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. Co-educational since the 1920s, Brockenhurst College accepts students over the age of 16 or year 12 students. The college has over 2,700 full-time students a ...

* Weybridge's Brooklands College * Peterborough's Bushfield Academy * Aberystwyth's Ceredigion Museum *

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

* Crickhowell High School *

Falmouth University Falmouth University is a specialist public university for the creative industries based in Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth and Penryn, Cornwall, Penryn, Cornwall, England. Founded as Falmouth School of Art in 1902, it was later known as Falmouth C ...

Giggleswick School Giggleswick School is a public school (English private boarding and day school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England. Early school In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior and Co ...

* Bath's Hayesfield Girls' School * Cardiff's Hoddinott Hall * London's Lady Margaret School *

Leeds Minster Leeds Minster, also known as the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church), is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architec ...

* Horsforth's

Leeds Trinity University Leeds Trinity University is a public university in Horsforth, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally established to provide qualified teachers to Catholic schools, it gradually expanded and now offers foundation, undergraduate, and postgr ...

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Education ...

* Middlesbrough Town Hall *

Oxford Town Hall Oxford Town Hall is a public building on the street called St Aldate's in central Oxford, England. It is both the seat of Oxford City Council and a venue for public meetings, entertainment and other events. It also includes the Museum of Oxfo ...

Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school. It is co-educational, a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, located in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. Established in 1432, it ...

Sheffield Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, also known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral status when ...

* St John's Wood Church *

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

University of Chester The University of Chester is a public university located in Chester, England. The university originated as the first purpose-built teacher training college in the UK. As a university, it now occupies five campuses, campus sites in and around Ch ...

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

University of Worcester The University of Worcester is a public research university, based in Worcester, England. With a history dating back to 1946, the university began awarding degrees in 1997 and was granted full university status in 2005. History In 1946 an Emerg ...

* Maidstone's Valley Park School * Glasgow's Wellington Church * Westminster Synagogue *

Weston Museum Weston Museum is a museum in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, England. It was established in 1861. It is home to North Somerset Council museum collection with exhibits relating to Weston-super-Mare and the surrounding area from 400 milli ...

* Holton's Wheatley Park School * Wimbledon Synagogue, London – the programme's first ever broadcast from a synagogue, and coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the first

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

service. * Wigan's Winstanley College *

Worthing College Worthing College is one of seven campuses of the Chichester College Group further education provider, together with Brighton MET College, Brinsbury College, Chichester College, Crawley College, Haywards Heath College and Northbrook College. Wort ...

* Sedbury's Wyedean School *

The Bishop's Stortford High School The Bishop's Stortford High School (often abbreviated to TBSHS) is a comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school, with a Mixed-sex education, coeducational sixth form, in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. The school admits b ...

Notable editions

First edition

''Any Questions?'' was first broadcast on 12 October 1948. The first edition was broadcast from the Guildhall in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Demonstrators

During a November 1976 edition broadcast from

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

, "stone-throwing demonstrators" smashed windows. Politician

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell (16 June 19128 February 1998) was a British politician, scholar and writer. He served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South West for the Conservative Party (UK), Conserv ...

, known for the Rivers of Blood speech in which he spoke about mass immigration, was on the panel, and demonstrators decided "to make their views heard".

Prison

In September 1991, ''Any Questions?'' was broadcast from Wayland Prison in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. The audience was made up of prisoners, who had prison officers sitting beside them. After the programme finished, the prisoners —without their officers — "crowded around" presenter Jonathan Dimbleby. One "confronted" Dimbleby, saying: "I want to ask you something, because we're quite cross here." After Dimbleby felt a moment of "alarm", the prisoner continued: "Why do we only hear ''

Test Match Special ''Test Match Special'' (also known as ''TMS'') is a British sports radio programme, originally, as its name implies, dealing exclusively with Test cricket matches, but currently covering any professional cricket. The programme is available on BB ...

'' now on

longwave In radio, longwave (also spelled long wave or long-wave and commonly abbreviated LW) is the part of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave (MW) broadcasting band. The term is historic, dati ...

?" Dimbleby had "no answer" but felt "very relieved".

Stuck in traffic

In March 1993, ''Any Questions?'' broadcast during snowy weather. Then- Conservative Party chairman

Norman Fowler Peter Norman Fowler, Baron Fowler, (born 2 February 1938) is a British politician who served as a member of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major's ministries during the 1980s and 1990s. He held the office of Lord Speaker from 1 September 201 ...

was scheduled as a guest for that day; although he was stuck in traffic, he still managed to call on his mobile phone and take part in the discussion. Presenter Jonathan Dimbleby went to Fowler first as "phone batteries used to run out very quickly". Fowler's first words were: "Good evening Jonathan, I find myself at something of a disadvantage here." Fellow panellist Jack Cunningham, then Labour's

Shadow Foreign Secretary The shadow secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, commonly called the shadow foreign secretary, is a position within the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK official opposition shadow cabinet th ...

, replied: "Of course you are, you are in the Cabinet which is ruining the country!"

60th anniversary

In October 2008, ''Any Questions?'' returned to Winchester for its 60th anniversary edition. On the panel, at the Henry Beaufort School, were: Labour MP

Harriet Harman Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman, (born 30 July 1950), is a British politician and solicitor who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Chair of the Labour Party (UK), Chair of the Labour Pa ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Peter Hennessy,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician

Oliver Letwin Sir Oliver Letwin (born 19 May 1956) is a British politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dorset from 1997 to 2019. Letwin was elected as a member of the Conservative Party, but sat as an independent after having the whip removed in ...

, and Liberal Democrat

Shirley Williams Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby (''née'' Catlin; 27 July 1930 – 12 April 2021) was a British politician and academic. Originally a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), she served in ...

2013 New York special

In April 2013, ''Any Questions?'' presented a "special edition" from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, "to mark the first 100 days of President Obama's second term". On the panel were: Democratic

Member of Congress A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Donna Edwards Donna Fern Edwards (born June 28, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2008 to 2017. The district included most of Prince George's County, as well as part of Anne Arundel County. She is a member of the ...

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

editor-at-large An editor-at-large is a journalist who contributes content to a magazine. They are typically credited in the publication's masthead, even if they technically are not on staff. The responsibilities of the editor-at-large may change project to proj ...

Harry Evans, Republican

Nan Hayworth, and Democratic

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, former

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...

. This edition was broadcast from

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

70th anniversary

In October 2018, ''Any Questions?'' held its 70th anniversary edition at the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. On the panel were: Conservative politician Tom Pursglove,

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is repres ...

MP Danielle Rowley, online

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business in the United Kingdom that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of real estate, properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a Letting agent, letting or manag ...

Akshay Ruparelia, Our Future Our Choice co-founder Lara Spirit, and Rizzle Kicks singer Jordan Stephens. The panel answered questions on

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, mental health and

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

, and housing. The programme's panel and audience were aged 18 to 30.

References

External links

Official website

Best Moments on Any Questions?

Seven Surprising Moments from Any Questions?
{{BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 programmes 1948 establishments in the United Kingdom BBC Home Service programmes BBC Light Programme programmes BBC Radio 2 programmes