''The News Quiz'' is a British topical

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 ...

broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

History

''The News Quiz'' was first broadcast in 1977 with

Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas’s Hospital ...

as chairman. Subsequently, it was chaired by

Barry Took Barry Took (19 June 192831 March 2002) was an English writer, television presenter and comedian. His decade-and-a-half writing partnership with Marty Feldman led to the television series ''Bootsie and Snudge'', the radio comedy ''Round the Horn ...

from 1979 to 1981,

Simon Hoggart Simon David Hoggart (26 May 1946 – 5 January 2014) was an English journalist and broadcaster. He wrote on politics for ''The Guardian'', and on wine for ''The Spectator''. Until 2006 he presented '' The News Quiz'' on BBC Radio 4. His journal ...

from 1981 to 1986, Barry Took again from 1986 to 1995, and then again by Simon Hoggart from 1996 until March 2006. Hoggart was replaced by

Sandi Toksvig Sandra Birgitte Toksvig (; ; born 3 May 1958) is a Danish-British writer, comedian and broadcaster on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She has written ...

in September 2006, who in turn was replaced by

Miles Jupp Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series ''Balamory''. He also played ...

in September 2015 until his departure at the end of 2019. Three different hosts took the chair in 2020,

Nish Kumar Nishant Kumar (born 1985) is a British stand-up comedian and television presenter. He became known as the host of satirical comedy ''The Mash Report'', now known as ''Late Night Mash''. He has also presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy ...

(series 101),

Angela Barnes Angela Barnes (born 9 November 1976) is an English stand-up comedian, mostly known for her appearances on ''Mock the Week''. Early life Barnes was born in Sidcup, London and brought up in Maidstone, Kent. She went to Invicta Grammar School t ...

(series 102), and

Andy Zaltzman Andrew Zaltzman (born 6 October 1974) is a British comedian and author who largely deals in political and sport-related material. He has worked with John Oliver, with their work together including '' Political Animal'', '' The Department'', ...

(series 103). At the end of series 103 it was announced that Zaltzman would continue as permanent host. The series was created by John Lloyd based on an idea from

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' ...

. Originally ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

'' editor

Richard Ingrams Richard Reid Ingrams (born 19 August 1937 in Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London) is an English journalist, a co-founder and second editor of the British satire, satirical magazine ''Private Eye (magazine), Private Eye'', and founding editor of ' ...

and ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' editor

Alan Coren Alan Coren (27 June 1938 – 18 October 2007) was an English humourist, writer and satirist who was a regular panellist on the BBC radio quiz ''The News Quiz'' and a team captain on BBC television's ''Call My Bluff''. Coren was also a journalis ...

acted as team captains. It was adapted for television in 1981 under the title ''Scoop'', running for two series, and later inspired the television programme '' Have I Got News for You''. In 2012 the BBC piloted an American version hosted by

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis ...

. On 28 June 2013, the ''News Quiz'' paid tribute to Radio 4 announcer Rory Morrison, who used to read the news cuttings on the programme. During series 97, running from August to October 2018, Jupp was absent due to filming commitments overseas, so show regulars Simon Evans, Susan Calman,

Fred MacAulay Frederick MacAulay (born 29 December 1956) is a Scottish comedian. For 18 years, until March 2015, he presented a daily BBC Scotland radio programme '' MacAulay and Co''. He has appeared on numerous TV shows. Background Born in Perth, MacAula ...

, Bridget Christie,

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Saturd ...

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 ...

took turns in the host's seat. Jupp himself chaired the first and last episodes of the series. In May 2019 it was announced that Jupp would leave the show at the end of the 99th series at the end of the month. Series 100 had several hosts:

Phil Wang Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi (born 22 January 1990) is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, '' Daphne Sounds Expensive''. He cur ...

Kiri Pritchard-McLean Kiri Louise Pritchard-McLean (born 1986) is a Welsh comedian and writer. She has performed for several consecutive years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won five Chortle Awards. Career Pritchard-McLean is the director and writer for sketc ...

Zoe Lyons Zoe (also ZOE, Zoë, Zoé, etc.) can refer to: *ζωή (''zōḗ''), the Ancient Greek word for "life" People * Zoe (name), including list of persons and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Zoe'' (film) * ZOE Broadcast ...

Patrick Kielty Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a Northern Irish comedian and television personality. Background Kielty was born in County Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the village of Dundrum. He is one of three sons born to the businessm ...

and

Andrew Maxwell Andrew Maxwell (born 3 December 1974) is an Irish comedian and narrator, known for narrating the MTV reality series '' Ex on the Beach''. Career In 1992, Maxwell tried stand-up comedy for the first time at the Comedy Cellar at The Internation ...

. The hosts for 2020 were

and

. Zaltzman was named as the permanent host at the conclusion of series 103.

Transmission

The programme is usually recorded in front of an audience on Thursday evenings at the

BBC Radio Theatre The BBC Radio Theatre (originally named The Concert Hall) is a theatre situated within the BBC's Broadcasting House complex. It is used for live broadcast and audio recordings. History Originally named The Concert Hall, the theatre was desi ...

Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. It is then edited and broadcast first on Friday evening at 18:30, then repeated at Saturday lunchtime. The final 28 minute show is significantly shorter than the original recording. In 2012 the BBC began making an extended version for

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

. Each week, four panellists appear on the show. They are usually either

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

s or journalists, and sometimes politicians. Journalists predominated in the early years. The ostensible purpose of the show is to test contestants' knowledge of the events of the previous week by asking questions which are usually oblique references to those events. However this has given way to a general free-for-all where panellists chime in with their own humorous and satirical remarks once the question has been answered. The participants frequently wander off topic. The host ends the discussion of each question with a summary of the events it refers to, usually with a scripted comic punchline, before asking the next question. It is not uncommon for the show to get through only two rounds of the panel before the final section is reached. Before the host announces the largely symbolic scores, the panellists read out statements from newspapers and other media which they find amusing.

Personnel

Current host

In 2020,

guest hosted series 103 and at the end of the run was announced as the new permanent host.

Former hosts

(1977–1979) *

(1979–1981 & 1986–1995) *

(1981–1985 & 1996–2006) *

(2006–2015) *

(2015–2019, series 88–99) *

and

(September – October 2019, series 100) *

(2020, series 101) *

(2020, series 102)

Current regular panellists

* Susan Calman * Simon Evans *

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

* Helen Lewis *

Hugo Rifkind Hugo James Rifkind (born 30 March 1977) is a British journalist. A columnist for ''The Times'' since 2005, he began presenting a Saturday morning programme on Times Radio in July 2020. He has been a regular guest on ''The News Quiz'', on BBC Rad ...

Mark Steel Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in ''The Guardian'', ' ...

Francis Wheen Francis James Baird Wheen (born 22 January 1957) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. Early life and education Wheen was born into an army familyNicholas Wro"A life in writing" ''The Guardian'', 29 August 2009 and educated at two ind ...

Former regular panellists

Samira Ahmed Samira Ahmed (born 15 June 1968) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster at the BBC, where she has presented Radio 3's ''Night Waves'' and Radio 4's '' PM'', ''The World Tonight'', '' Sunday'' and '' Front Row'' and has presented the ...

Rebecca Front Rebecca Louise Front (born 16 May 1964) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She won the 2010 BAFTA TV Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for ''The Thick of It'' (2009–2012).Jennifer Lipma"Bafta for Jewish actress Rebecca Front" ...

Jeremy Hardy Jeremy James Hardy (17 July 19611 February 2019) was an English comedian. Born and raised in Hampshire, Hardy studied at the University of Southampton and began his stand-up career in the 1980s, going on to win the Perrier Comedy Award at the Ed ...

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, writer, broadcaster, and editor of the magazine ''Private Eye''. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes and has been a team captain on the BBC quiz sho ...

(also a former host) *

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...

(also a former producer of the programme) *

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

Sue Perkins Susan Elizabeth Perkins (born 22 September 1969) is an English actress, broadcaster, comedian, presenter and writer. Originally coming to prominence through her comedy partnership with Mel Giedroyc in ''Mel and Sue'', she has since become best ...

Carrie Quinlan Carrie Quinlan is a British actress and comedy writer. She is a cast member of '' John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme'' and the youngest child of Mary and Michael Quinlan. History Quinlan attended Nonsuch High School in Surrey and Cherwell ...

* Linda Smith *

(later a host) *

(also a former host)

BBC newsreaders

The News Quiz also features considerable comedic input from regular BBC newsreaders (or "hacks-neutral", as Alan Coren referred to them). The current regulars are: *

Corrie Corfield Coriona Kear Ware Corfield is a radio broadcaster and producer known especially for her newsreading and continuity announcements on BBC Radio 4. Early life and education She was born 1961 in Oxford. Raised near Stratford-upon-Avon, Corfield w ...

* Caroline Nicholls *

Susan Rae Susan Scott Rae (born 2 June 1956)Jonathan Rhys-Evan"The Accent's on Success" ''Glasgow Herald'', 18 April 1984 is a Scottish newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 Extra. Rae was born and raised in Dund ...

Neil Sleat Neil Sleat is a newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4. Career After joining the BBC as a trainee engineer, working as a studio manager and then an announcer/newsreader on the BBC World Service, he joined Radio 4 as an announcer/n ...

* Kathy Clugston * Alan Smith *

Zeb Soanes Zebedee Soanes (born 24 June 1976) is a British radio presenter who presents the weekday evening music show ''Smooth Classics at Seven'' on Classic FM. He was previously a newsreader and continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extr ...

* Diana Speed And former regulars include: *

Chris Aldridge Chris Aldridge is a continuity announcer and newsreader for BBC Radio 4. Biography He grew up in Horsham, West Sussex. After one term studying medicine at London Hospital Medical College, Aldridge studied mathematics at Bedford College (Unive ...

* Carolyn Brown *

Harriet Cass Harriet R M Cass (born 4 February 1952) is a freelance broadcaster, best known for her work on BBC Radio 4 as a senior announcer, with responsibility for newsreading and continuity. Born in London NW10, at the Central Middlesex Hospital, the four ...

Peter Donaldson Peter Ian Donaldson (23 August 1945 – 2 November 2015) was an English newsreader on BBC Radio 4. Early life Donaldson was born in Cairo, Egypt, and moved to Cyprus in 1952 at the time of the overthrow of King Farouk. He was a frequen ...

Charlotte Green Charlotte Green (born 4 May 1956) is a British radio broadcaster and a former continuity announcer and news reader for BBC Radio 4. After 1988 she specialised in news reading, including reading the news on Radio 4 breakfast ''Today'' programme ...

* Rory Morrison *

Brian Perkins Brian Perkins (born 11 September 1943 in Wanganui, New Zealand) is a former senior newsreader on BBC Radio 4. Career He first started working in 1962 in Christchurch on radio stations of the New Zealand Broadcasting Service (NZBS), and its suc ...

Corrie Corfield appeared as a panellist once when Sandi Toksvig was unable to attend. As a current BBC newsreader she was bound by the BBC's code of practice for newsreaders, which prevented her from making any opinionated comments on-air (When asked, "What do you think of

Bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

, Corrie?", she responded, "He's an American.")

also appeared as a guest, in an episode broadcast in September 1999.

Producers

* Gwyn Rhys Davies *Suzy Grant * Victoria Lloyd *Richard Morris * Joe Nunnery *Paul Sheehan * Lyndsay Fenner * Sam Michell *

Sam Bryant Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

* Ed Morrish * Katie Tyrrell * Simon Nicholls *

Lucy Armitage Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

* Jon Rolph * Aled Evans *

Harry Thompson Harry William Thompson (6 February 1960 – 7 November 2005) was an English radio and television producer, comedy writer, novelist and biographer. He was the creator of the dark humour television series '' Monkey Dust'', screened between 2003 ...

* John Lloyd * Louise Coats

Scriptwriters

Each week, the chair's script is written by three main writers, with material contributed by one or two additional writers. Current regular writers include: *

Benjamin Partridge Benjamin Partridge (born 1986) is a Welsh comedy writer, performer and producer. He created the '' Beef And Dairy Network Podcast''. Career Partridge's professional writing career began when he was awarded the BBC Radio Comedy Writers Bursary i ...

* Alice Fraser * Madeleine Brettingham * Laura Major * Mike Shephard *

Robin Morgan Robin Morgan (born January 29, 1941) is an American poet, writer, activist, journalist, lecturer and former child actor. Since the early 1960s, she has been a key radical feminist member of the American Women's Movement, and a leader in the ...

* Max Davis * Sarah Morgan * Gabby Hutchinson Crouch * Catherine Brinkworth * Kat Sadler * Simon Alcock Former regular writers include: *

James Kettle James Kettle (born 19 September 2001) is a British slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2019. He won a silver medal in the C1 team event at the 2023 World Championships in London. He also won a bronze medal in the ...

Simon Littlefield Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

* Rhodri Crooks * Lucy Clarke *

Gareth Gwynn Gareth Gwynn is a comedy writer, performer and radio presenter. He is the co-writer of the television sitcoms ''Bull'' and ''Tourist Trap'' and the radio sitcoms ''Ankle Tag'', '' Passing On'' and '' Social Club FM.'' Career Writing Gwynn began h ...

* John-Luke Roberts * Jon Hunter * Andy Wolton * James Sherwood * Stephen Carlin * George Poles * Paul McKenzie * Dave Cohen * Tom Jamieson *

Nev Fountain Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain (born 12 August 1969), is an English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme '' Dead Ringers''. Early life A native of Stamford, F ...

Debbie Barham Deborah Ann "Debbie" Barham (20 November 1976 – 20 April 2003) was an English comedy writer who died at the age of 26 of heart failure brought on as a result of anorexia. As well as writing for TV and radio, Barham wrote columns for newspa ...

Iain Pattinson Iain Pattinson (2 January 1953 – 14 February 2021) was a British scriptwriter. His work included writing the chairman's script for the long-running BBC Radio 4 panel game ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', delivered by the programme's veteran cha ...

(1990s)

Music

The opening title music is an arrangement of ''

The Typewriter "The Typewriter" is a short composition of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which features an actual typewriter as a percussion instrument. Composition Anderson completed "The Typewriter" on October 9, 1950 in Woodbury, Connect ...

'', by

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ) (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as ...

played by The James Shepherd Versatile Brass. For the programme the original recording (on Decca records SB 314) has been increased in speed and pitch by about 33%.

Cultural references

BBC MindGames Magazine ''BBC MindGames'' was a British magazine devoted to puzzles, brainteasers and articles concerning the mind. It was published every four weeks. Its name was taken from the BBC Four show, ''Mind Games''. History and profile The magazine was laun ...

regularly featured several BBC-linked puzzles, including ''The News Quiz'', a series of questions about the last month's more unlikely news. Issue 5 (November 2006) also included an interview with

Audiobook releases

Entire series from series 87 onwards have been released on audio CD and made available for download. The following compilations have also been released by BBC Audio. * Simon Hoggart's Pick of The News Quiz: Volume 1 (6 Nov 2000) * Simon Hoggart's Pick of The News Quiz: Volume 2 (23 Sep 2002) * The News Quiz: The First 25 Years (1 Jul 2003) * The News Quiz: The Very Best Of 2004 (1 Nov 2004) * The News Quiz: The Best of 2005 (18 Oct 2005) * The News Quiz: Hold The Front Page (2 Oct 2006) * The News Quiz: Stop Press! (1 Oct 2007) * The News Quiz: "Read All About It!" (27 Nov 2008) * The News Quiz: Soundbites (13 Nov 2014) * The News Quiz: The Best Of 2015 (5 Nov 2015) * The News Quiz: A Vintage Collection 1977–2002 (3 Aug 2017) * The News Quiz: The Best Of 2017 (2 Nov 2017) * The News Quiz: The Best Of 2018 (1 Nov 2018) * The News Quiz: Classic Collection (audio download only, 15 Aug 2019) * The News Quiz: The Best Of 2019 (7 Nov 2019)

Podcast

As of 28 September 2007, ''The News Quiz'' became downloadable as part of the "Friday Night Comedy" podcast feed for Radio 4. The podcast switches between ''The News Quiz'' and ''

The Now Show ''The Now Show'' is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the week's news. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The show used to feature regular appearances by J ...

'', depending on which show is being transmitted. During Miles Jupp's tenure, an extended version of the show entitled The News Quiz Extra featuring an additional 10–15 minutes of material was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in the week following the standard Radio 4 broadcast. This version was also made available as a podcast.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:News Quiz 1977 radio programme debuts Audio podcasts BBC Radio 4 programmes BBC Radio comedy programmes British panel games British satirical radio programmes Comedy and humor podcasts British radio game shows 1970s British game shows 1980s British game shows 1990s British game shows 2000s British game shows 2010s British game shows BBC panel games Satirical radio programmes 2007 podcast debuts