Have i got news for you? The insider perspective…
June 11th, 2008 by Tim Greenhalgh
Last week, I was lucky enough to be one of the chosen few (well around 500) who demonstrated Olympian-grade precision queuing in order to gain access to the filming of “Have I Got News For You” in London.
Even more luckily, I was placed at the far right of the studio for this final episode in the series, which meant I could see only Ian Hislop’s shimmering head occasionally. Watching the show’s progress on monitors (well worth the wait), three things struck me – how good the guest chairman, Jeremy Clarkson, and panel were at their jobs, the complexity of delivering a broadcast-quality show under tight deadlines, and how agile the production team was in refashioning the show for different end users.
Clarkson, Hislop and Paul Merton were relaxed both on and off-camera for the two and a half hours of taping, making life easy for their guests (BBC news presenter Kate Silverton and poet Ian McMillan). I had half-expected tantrums and explosions from the stars and technical crew but it was a really joyful atmosphere. I think that translated across to the TV screen and web the following night, with a speed of production which still amazes me. And it was a revelation to see Clarkson adding the disconnected links, revisions and intros to the extended programme version (More News…) and the webisodes. Add that to the online interview with Clarkson and the caption quiz (The Webaption Challenge – aaargh!) and the multi-platform package is complete. Same show but I would guess very different audiences.
The best gag didn’t make the TV edit –Merton keeping the audience entertained while the Clarkson finished his wrap-up work: “I went into a newsagents’ the other day and asked him “Have you got a copy of psychic news?”… “You tell me,” he said. Yep, I know, it’s all in the timing…
Tags: bbc, have i got news for you, Ian Hislop, Jeremy Clarkson, Paul Merton