Have I Got News for You: Difference between revisions

Apart from Merton, there are twelve other people who have appeared as a panellist after being a guest host: [[Clive Anderson]], [[Gyles Brandreth]], [[Marcus Brigstocke]], [[Jimmy Carr]], [[Jeremy Clarkson]] (who subsequently appeared as a guest host again), [[Alan Johnson]], [[Charles Kennedy]], [[Richard Madeley]], [[Richard Osman]], [[Robert Peston]], [[John Prescott]] and [[Liza Tarbuck]]. The only guests to have also worked on the production off camera are [[Kevin Day]] and [[John O'Farrell (author)|John O'Farrell]] who have both had stints on the writing team.

 

{{Main|List of Have I Got News for You presenters}}

 

[[Alexander Armstrong]] holds the record for both most appearances as guest presenter, as well as most guest appearances in total, having appeared 30 times in the central chair. He has never appeared in any other role. [[Andy Hamilton]] holds the record for appearances as a guest panellist, with 20.

 

Many guests have appeared on the programme multiple times. The list below includes guests who have appeared as presenter or panelist, and does not include the two video-exclusive releases, ''Have I Got Unbroadcastable News for You'' and ''The Official Pirate Video'', nor the various [[Comic Relief]] specials.

 

[[Norman Tebbit]] wrote an article in ''[[Daily Mail|The Mail on Sunday]]'' criticising the whole programme: 'Well, of course ''Have I Got News for You'' is all edited. These people, they couldn't improvise live. You put them on a stage, they wouldn't be able to improvise.' Merton said of this: "Well, when Norman Tebbit said I couldn't improvise, I was... [''blows out cheeks and then goes silent'']."<ref>Quote taken from a show on Merton's "and this is me PAUL MERTON" tour of 1999, as featured in ''[[The South Bank Show]]'' on 26 September 1999</ref>

 

The main section of the show comprises several rounds, although, as noted above, this is liable to change. Since the show originally aired, several rounds have been dropped from the original format, but a typical show will usually consist of the following:

* Round 1 is the "Film Round". Silent video clips, usually from news reports, are played to the teams. Two points are awarded for correctly identifying the story – but as the round covers the major stories of the week, the quiz aspect is downplayed here in favour of discussion and banter. The host will still ask questions to highlight details of a story, but no further points are awarded for the answers.