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''The Unbelievable Truth'' is a
BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
comedy
panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio broadcasting, radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity conte ...
devised by
Graeme Garden David Graeme Garden OBE (born 18 February 1943) is a Scottish comedian, actor, author, artist and television presenter, best known as a member of The Goodies and a regular panellist on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. Early life and education ...
and
Jon Naismith Jon Naismith (born 1965)England and Wales, Birth Index 1916-2005 is a producer mainly known for his work on BBC Radio, primarily comedy, including ''You'll Have Had Your Tea'', '' The Unbelievable Truth'' and '' About a Dog''. Since 1991 he has b ...
. The game is chaired by David Mitchell and is described in the programme's introduction as 'the panel game built on truth and lies.' The object of the game is for each panellist to deliver a short lecture about a given subject, which should be completely false save for five true statements which they must attempt to smuggle past the other players. The first series began broadcasting in 2007, and the 28th series began airing in April 2022.


Reception

''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
's'' Elisabeth Mahoney reviewed the programme positively: 'From the first moments of its plinky plonky theme tune, The Unbelievable Truth is a delight'. ''The Guardian's''
Zoe Williams Zoe Abigail Williams (born 7 August 1973) is a Welsh columnist, journalist, and author. Early life Zoe Abigail Williams was born on 7 August 1973 in Hounslow, West London, England. Williams was educated at the independent Godolphin and Latymer ...
, however, was critical of the programme, writing: The Unbelievable Truth'', for instance, should never have been recommissioned. It's only funny when
Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedy writer, and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts durin ...
is speaking. They could more profitably devise a show that was just Clive Anderson, speaking. Its failures as a quiz are admirably demonstrated by the fact that the scoring is now inverse to the drollery, so that Clive scores no points at all, and
Lucy Porter Lucy Donna Porter (born 27 January 1973) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel sh ...
sometimes wins. I don't care about scoring when it's like ''
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody ...
'' and it's meant to mean nothing, but they can't all be spoof game-shows. Some of them have to be actual games that work.' The BBC received "almost 50" complaints about insensitivity after David Mitchell opened a fourth series episode with the joke: "There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that the last line in
Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...
's
diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
reads: 'Today is my birthday; dad bought me a drum kit'." It won the "Best Radio Panel Show" award at the
British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide or BCG (formerly the British Sitcom Guide or BSG) is a British website covering all forms of British comedy, across all media. At the time of writing, BCG has published guides to more than 7,000 individual British comedies ...
's 2011 and 2016 awards.


Episodes

Winners are highlighted in bold.


Series 1


Series 2


2008 Christmas Special


Series 3


Series 4


2009 New Year's / QI Special


Series 5


Series 6


Series 7


Series 8


Series 9


Series 10


Series 11


Series 12


Series 13


Series 14


Series 15


Series 16


Series 17


Series 18


Series 19


Series 20


Series 21


Series 22


Series 23


Series 24

Series 24 was recorded during the
COVID-19 lockdown Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
, with each panelist performing at home.


Series 25

Series 25 was also recorded with the panellists performing from home during lockdown. Two episodes featured three teams of two rather than four panellists playing individually (all three teams consisted of married couples).


Series 26


Series 27


Series 28


International versions

Members from the Australian comedy group
The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...
, including
Craig Reucassel Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian television and radio comedian. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. He hosted the Australian version of ''Balls of Steel'', which premiered in April 2011. Since 2013, Reucassel ...
,
Andrew Hansen Andrew John Hansen (born 18 September 1974) is an Australian comedian, musician and author, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and starring in A ...
and
Julian Morrow Julian Francis Xavier Morrow (born 1975) is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, he has appeared on several ABC Television p ...
, have produced a TV series based on the British series.


References


Notes

General * Specific


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unbelievable Truth 2006 radio programme debuts BBC Radio comedy programmes BBC Radio 4 programmes BBC panel games British panel games British radio game shows 2000s British game shows 2010s British game shows Radio programs adapted into television shows Radio game shows with incorrect disambiguation