I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue

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BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

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radio comedy Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be con ...

panel game A panel show or panel game is a 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 contestants, such as on ' ...

. 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 of radio and TV panel games, and has been broadcast since 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' ...

and the BBC World Service, with repeats aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra and, in the 1980s and 1990s, on BBC Radio 2. The 50th series was broadcast in November and December 2007. After a period of split chairmanship in the first series,

Humphrey Lyttelton Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton (23 May 1921 – 25 April 2008), also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Having taught himself the trumpet at school, Lyttelton became a professional ...

("Humph") served in this role from the programme's inception until his hospitalisation and subsequent death in 2008, which led to the cancellation of the 51st series. The show recommenced on 15 June 2009 with Lyttelton replaced by three hosts:

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

Jack Dee James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Lead Balloon'' ...

and

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey'' ...

. Dee went on to host all episodes of the 52nd series later that year, and continues in that role. The chairman's script was most recently written by Iain Pattinson, who worked on the show from 1992 until his death in 2021.

History

''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' developed from the long-running radio sketch show ''

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' (often abbreviated as ''ISIRTA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme that originated from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, '' Cambridge Circus''. This is a scripted sketch show. It had a devote ...

'', the writers of which were John Cleese,

Jo Kendall Josephine Mary Kendall ( Robinson, 17 February 1940 – 29 January 2022) was a British actress and writer. She was known for her work on the BBC radio comedy show ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'', which debuted in 1964, and for her role as ...

, David Hatch,

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...

, Tim Brooke-Taylor and especially

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 ...

who suggested the idea of an unscripted show which, it was decided, would take the form of a parody

. A panel game with no competition was not itself a new idea: the BBC had a history of successful quiz shows designed to allow witty celebrities to entertain where winning was not important. Examples include '' Ignorance Is Bliss'', '' Just a Minute'', ''

My Word! ''My Word!'' is a British radio quiz panel game broadcast by the BBC on the Home Service (1956–67) and Radio 4 (1967–88). It was created by Edward J. Mason and Tony Shryane, and featured the humorous writers Frank Muir and Denis Norde ...

'' and '' My Music'' on the radio and ''

Call My Bluff ''Call My Bluff'' is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir. Format The g ...

'' on television. The pilot episode (at that time titled ''I'm Sorry, They're At It Again'') opened with Graeme Garden and Jo Kendall singing the words of " Three Blind Mice" to the tune of " Ol' Man River" followed by Bill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor performing the lyrics of "

Sing a Song of Sixpence "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is an English nursery rhyme, perhaps originating in the 18th century. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 13191. The sixpence in the rhyme is a British coin that was first minted in 1551. Origins The rh ...

" to the melody of " These Foolish Things". Dave Lee, who was bandleader on ''I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again'', was at the piano and a number of rounds were introduced by a short phrase of music. Other rounds included "Dialogue Read in a Specific Accent" and "Songs Sung as Animals". In 1974 Bill Oddie was replaced by

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...

, with Barry Cryer as Graeme Garden's teammate, and Humphrey Lyttelton as chairman, and the personnel remained constant from this point until Rushton's death in 1996, although occasional guest panellists appeared in the 1980s and early 1990s (see below). Since then the panel has featured a variety of guest comedians. The show has over two million listeners on Radio 4 and its recording sessions typically fill 1,500-seat theatres within a week of being advertised. At least one recording for the spring 2006 series filled all its seats within three hours of the free tickets being made available, and the London recording of the autumn series in that year sold out in ten minutes. Although there are twelve ''Clue'' shows broadcast per year these are the result of just six recording sessions, with two programmes being recorded back-to-back. The show was recently voted the second funniest radio programme ever, after '' The Goon Show''. It has a large following among professional comedians such as Armando Iannucci, who turned down opportunities to work on it as he preferred to remain a listener. RobBrydonISIHAC

The official, authorised history of the show and ISIRTA, ''The Clue Bible'' by Jem Roberts, was published by Preface Publishing in October 2009.

Participants

Humphrey Lyttelton and Jon Naismith recording

Chairman

, primarily known as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B ...

and bandleader, and known as Humph to his friends, was invited to be chairman because of the role played by improvisation in both comedy and jazz music. In the first series Lyttelton shared the role of chairman with

Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...

but he made it his own (especially once Cryer replaced Cleese as a regular panellist) and continued as chairman until his death on 25 April 2008. He read the script introducing the programme and segments in an utterly deadpan manner. He claimed the secret was just to read what was in front of him without understanding why it was funny. He adopted the grumpy persona of someone who would really rather be somewhere else, which he attributed to worrying that, surrounded by four professional comedians, he would have nothing worthwhile to chip in. He did occasionally depart from the script, however, often bringing the house down with an ad-lib. He was credited by the regular panellists as being the chief reason for the show's longevity. On 18 April 2008 the producer of ''I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue'', Jon Naismith, announced that, owing to hospitalisation to repair an aortic aneurysm, Humphrey Lyttelton would be unable to record the scheduled shows and that they would have to be postponed. The final show of the 2008 ''Best of'' tour on 22 April would be presented by

. Following Lyttelton's death there was speculation that the series might be cancelled because replacing him would be extremely difficult if not impossible. In a

eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...

in ''

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 ...

'', Barry Cryer did not allude to the future of the programme but said that there's "got to be an agonising reappraisal" and that Lyttelton was the "very hub of the show". Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden all ruled themselves out as hosts: Cryer did not think the programme would work if a panellist became chairman and it "would need somebody of stature to be parachuted in".

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 ...

also ruled himself out, saying "Humph had big shoes to fill and I wouldn't do it." In the ''Clue'' mailout for September 2008 Naismith stated: "Despite the rumours, we've made no decisions about possible replacements for Humph, and are unlikely to make any decisions this year at least. Certainly I don't envisage us selecting anyone on a permanent basis for several series." It was announced that the show would continue recording beginning in 2009. The first new shows would be hosted by rotating guest presenters (similarly to the format of '' Have I Got News for You'') before a permanent replacement host was decided. In the ''Clue'' mailout for February 2009 Naismith announced that

and

would host two shows each, to be recorded in April, May and June 2009 respectively. The programme returned on 15 June 2009, chaired by Fry with the usual panellists and special guest Victoria Wood. Every series since then has been chaired by Dee.

Panellists

The regular panellists for much of the show's history were: *

was a member of the ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' team from which the programme grew and has been a panellist since the first episode. Lyttelton described him as very dry, biding his time before stepping in with a perfect punchline. Garden was absent from January 2016 for the whole of series 65, 66 and 67. On 12 October 2017, Garden announced that he would be rejoining the team, but has only appeared infrequently since then. Following the death of Barry Cryer, Garden is the last surviving original panellist. *

hosted six episodes in the show's first series before moving to a permanent seat on the panel. He was credited by then-chairman Lyttelton as being the show's "bricks and mortar", providing quick-fire one-liners in any situation. There is a running joke in the programme that he is a dirty old man with a drink problem. He died aged 86 in January 2022. * Tim Brooke-Taylor was also part of the ''I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again'' team and was also with the show from the start until his death in April 2020. He was very popular with the crowd and adopted a vulnerable persona. Garden and Brooke-Taylor had previously worked together on television in ''

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television com ...

'' and Brooke-Taylor in particular would occasionally drop references to that show into some of the games, eliciting cheers from the audience. *

was one of the regular panel members from 1974 until his death in 1996. The other panellists have fond memories of his off-the-wall sense of humour and quick-fire puns. Since Rushton's death his seat has been turned into a permanent guest spot, which was often filled by the late

when on non-broadcast tours. Guests have also appeared when one of the regulars was unavailable.

Producers

The show has had a number of producers over the years: * David Hatch (produced only the pilot episode in 1972) *John Cassels (1972–74) *

Simon Brett Simon Anthony Lee Brett OBE FRSL (born 28 October 1945 in Worcester Park, Surrey, England) is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio. As an author, he is best known for his mystery s ...

(1975–77) * Geoffrey Perkins (1978–81) * Paul Mayhew-Archer (1982–86) *Paul Spencer (1987–89) * Jon Magnusson (1990–91) * Jon Naismith (1991–present)

Musical accompaniment

Early episodes featured Dave Lee, who provided piano accompaniment on ''

''. However, Colin Sell now usually fills this role. He is often the butt of jokes about his musical ability, to which he is unable to respond as he has no microphone. For example: "When music experts hear Colin's compositions, they say he could have been another

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

or anybody else employed by the German State Railway." Guest pianists are called in when Sell has been unable to attend (or the ''ISIHAC'' team have "won the coin toss" as Lyttelton once said on the show), including

Neil Innes Neil James Innes (; 9 December 1944 – 29 December 2019) was an English writer, comedian and musician. He first came to prominence in the pioneering comedy rock group Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later became a frequent collaborator with the M ...

Denis King Denis Andrew King (born 25 July 1939) is an English composer and singer. He is best remembered as a member of a family ensemble, The King Brothers. Early career: the King Brothers King was born in Hornchurch, Essex, England. He began his mus ...

and Matthew Scott. Lyttelton's band also appeared on a couple of Christmas specials. On one occasion when Innes was guesting, Lyttelton outlined the musician's career, concluding that this "has brought him to where he is today: standing in for Colin Sell." In another appearance Innes sang along to his own composition " I'm the Urban Spaceman" during a round of "Pick Up Song". The theme music is called "The Schickel Shamble", by Ron Goodwin, and is from the film ''

Monte Carlo or Bust! ''Monte Carlo or Bust!'' is a 1969 comedy film, also known by its American title, ''Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies''. A co-production of the United Kingdom, France and Italy, the story is based on the Monte Carlo Rally – firs ...

'' It was chosen by David Hatch.

Guests

Guests have included: * Pam Ayres (2018) * Bill Bailey (2002) *

Max Boyce Maxwell Boyce, (born 27 September 1943) is a Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community ...

(1998) * Jo Brand (2009, 2014, 2017, 2019–20, 2022) *

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...

(2016, 2018, 2020–22) *

Marcus Brigstocke Marcus Alexander Brigstocke (born 8 May 1973) is a British comedian, actor and satirist. He has worked in stand-up comedy, television, radio and musical theatre. He has appeared on many BBC television and radio shows. Early life Brigstocke is ...

(2011, 2019–22) *

(2006–07, 2009, 2011–13, 2015, 2018, 2021) * Susan Calman (2014–18) * John Cleese (regular panel member during the first series, 1972) * Denise Coffey (1979, 1981, 1983, 1991, 1997) * Jon Culshaw (2021–22) *

(2004–05, 2007) * Omid Djalili (2014–15, 2021) *

Pippa Evans Pippa Evans (born June 1982) is a British comedian, known for her work in character and improvisational comedy. Early life and education Evans attended Notting Hill and Ealing High School, an independent school for girls, where she was head gi ...

(2016, 2019–22) *

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

(1985) * John Finnemore (2013–14, 2017–18, 2021–22) *

(1986–87, 1989, 1997, 1999–2000, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2019) * Kerry Godliman (2018) *

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 ...

(1999, 2001–02, 2004–07, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2020–22) *

Mike Harding Mike Harding (born 23 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, comedian, author, poet, broadcaster and multi-instrumentalist. Harding has also been a photographer, traveller, filmmaker and playwright. Early life and education Harding's ...

(1984, 1986) *

(1995, 1998–2007, 2009–12, 2015–18) * Tony Hawks (1995, 1997, 1999–2006, 2012–22) *

Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performan ...

(2003, 2005, 2014, 2019–20, 2022) * Milton Jones (2021–22) *

John Junkin John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy. Early life Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, he and h ...

(1975, 1979, 1986) * Phill Jupitus (1999, 2001, 2009–10) * Miles Jupp (2013, 2015–17, 2019–21) *

(regular panel member during the first series, 1972) *

Jonathan Lynn Jonathan Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English stage and film director, producer, writer, and actor. He is known for directing the comedy films such as '' Clue'', '' Nuns on the Run'', ''My Cousin Vinny'', and '' The Whole Nine Yards''. He als ...

(1978) *

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 ...

(1998–99, 2016, 2021–22) *

Lee Mack Lee Gordon McKillop (born 4 August 1968), known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter. He is known for his quick wit, writing and starring in the sitcom '' Not Going Out'', being a team captain on th ...

(2021) *

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...

(1991–92, 1994, 1997–98) * David Mitchell (2009–11, 2013) *

Neil Mullarkey Neil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian. Early life and education From 1972—1979, Mullarkey was educated at Kingston Grammar School, an independent school for boys (now coeducational), in Kingston upon Thames, followed by Rob ...

(2000) *

Ross Noble Ross Markham Noble (born 5 June 1976) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on panel shows such as '' Have I Got News for You' ...

(2003, 2005, 2011–12) *

(regular panel member during the first two series, 1972–73) *

Richard Osman Richard Thomas Osman (born 28 November 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, novelist and comedian. He is the creator and former co-presenter of the BBC One television quiz show '' Pointless''. He has presented the BBC Two quiz sh ...

(2016, 2018–19) * Rachel Parris (2019–22) *

Vicki Pepperdine Vicki Pepperdine (born 1961) is an English comedy actress and writer. She was nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards for co-writing the BBC sitcom '' Getting On'' (2009–12), and was also nominated for a British Comedy Award for her portrayal of D ...

(2021–22) * Caroline Quentin (2018) *

Jan Ravens Janet "Jan" Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on ''Spitting Image'' and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with he ...

(2017, 2021–22) * Linda Smith (2001, 2004) * Bill Tidy (1985, 1989, replacement for Tim Brooke-Taylor for one series in 1991) *

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 ...

(1997–2003, 2005, 2010, 2015–16, 2019–20) * Henning Wehn (2021) * Victoria Wood (2009, 2012–13) Raymond Baxter was occasionally drafted to commentate on sessions of

Mornington Crescent Mornington Crescent is a terraced street in Camden Town, Camden, London, England. It was built in the 1820s, on a greenfield site just to the north of central London. Many of the houses were subdivided into flats during the Victorian era, an ...

and also presented the one-off special ''Everyman's Guide to Mornington Crescent''. Both

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

and Alan Titchmarsh took part in "Celebrity What's My Line?". Judi Dench and Michael Gambon performed the Mornington Crescent drama ''The Bromley by Bow Stratagem''. Alan Titchmarsh also played every questioner (that is, famous gardeners) on a 2012 show which featured Victoria Wood. A 2013 episode featured a round of ''Useless Celebrities'', a parody of ''

Pointless Celebrities ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...

'', and featured

as the co-presenter (this was broadcast three years before Osman appeared on the panel). A 2017 episode featured a spoof of '' The Chase'' which featured

Anne Hegerty Anne Solway Hegerty (born 14 July 1958) is an English quizzer and television personality. Since 2010, she has been a "chaser" on the ITV game show '' The Chase'' as "The Governess", and was a contestant on the 2018 series of the ITV reality sh ...

, one of the Chasers from the show. On one occasion Humph announced that they had a very distinguished actor as a guest who would join in the game of Mornington Crescent. When the game started, after great ceremony, the penultimate player, the last of the panellists, won on his first move, thus denying the distinguished guest the opportunity to make a single move. The chairman apologised but explained that this was an unavoidable possibility and the guest left without having uttered a word. The show was allegedly inundated with complaints at the treatment of Sir Alec Guinness as on the actual recording Lyttelton can be heard to say, "Well I'm very sorry about that. Rather unfortunate. We would like to go on and ask you a few things about what you're doing currently, Sir Alec, but we do have to hurry on to the next game." This story became a favourite of Lyttelton's, who claimed in interviews that the "distinguished actor" had never actually been named on the show.

Scorers

Since 18 May 1985 (in the episode in which

made his debut), the show has included a fictional and completely silent scorer "whose job is eased by the fact no points are actually awarded". Usually this is "the lovely Samantha", who sits on Humph's left hand. There is a seat with a microphone next to the Chairman which is "used" by Samantha. During the introductory music, Humphrey Lyttelton would stand up and "help" Samantha into her seat. In practice, the seat and microphone were only used by the producer to welcome the audience, to introduce the participants and to give any other information to the audience such as the expected date of broadcasting, and to supervise re-recordings of fluffs made in the programme. Lyttelton would describe Samantha's social activities, usually in an apology received from the

unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...

who had been detained, often with a "gentleman friend". His comments included sexual innuendo and

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

s, like "Samantha likes nothing better than a little potter in the woodshed in the morning", though many were far more daring and explicit. During early episodes of Samantha's appearance on the show, it was not completely clear that she was a fictional character, garnering complaints about the sexist and humiliating treatment she received. Producer Jon Naismith recalled "when we aismith and Iain Pattinsontook over the show we used to get quite a few letters accusing us of sexist references to Samantha" (the character was named after the

page 3 Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red-top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature, publishi ...

topless model

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from East London. She rose to public attention aged 16, when her mother entered her photographs in an amateur modelling contest run by ''The Sunday Peopl ...

). Samantha's inabilities as score-keeper often form the basis for humour; in a programme from 1997, Humph said: "It's just occurred to me that Samantha hasn't given us the score... since 1981." Samantha has sometimes been replaced by a Swedish stand-in,

Sven Sven (in Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian, also Svend and also in Norwegian most commonly Svein) is a Scandinavian first name which is also used in the Low Countries and German-speaking countries. The name itself is Old ...

, or occasionally another substitute, Monica. When

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

left office in 1990 Lyttelton introduced a scorer named Margaret. In an episode in November 1991 both Samantha and Sven were present but occupied with each other and unable to award points. The programme's scoring is completely non-existent. Most of the show is scripted, but in rounds such as "Sound charades", where one team of panellists have to guess the charade of the other team, the answer may be obvious (usually a pun) but the opposing team are not told the answer. In recording, it has taken them many minutes to come up with the correct answer, most of which has to be edited out before broadcast. In rounds in which the panel must not see what the audience sees, there is the "advanced laser display-board" (in reality, a sign with the answer written on, held by Jon Naismith). These boards are sometimes described in more elaborate terms and as "so generously funded by our hosts". The names and phrases on them are conveyed to "listeners at home" by the "mystery voice", alluding to the 1960s radio programme '' Twenty Questions''.

Correspondence

A regular feature on the programme, preceding the game Mornington Crescent, is a fictional letters section which begins with the chairman's comments ("I notice from the sheer weight of this week's postbag, we've received a little over no letters" and "I see from the number of letters raining down on us this week that the

Scrabble ''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...

factory has exploded again"). The invariably single letter each week is from "A Mrs Trellis of

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

" (one of the many prompts for a cheer from the audience), whose incoherent letters usually mistake the chairman for another Radio 4 presenter or media personality. "Dear Libby" (she writes), "why oh why ... very nearly spells

YOYO A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...

", or "Dear Mr Titchmarsh, never let them tell you that

size Size in general is the magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to linear dimensions ( length, width, height, diameter, perimeter), area, or volume. Size can also be m ...

isn't important. My aunt told me that, but then all my new wallpaper fell off."

Format

Introduction

The chairman introduces the show with remarks such as: and continues by providing a little background material, usually derogatory, about the show's location: Then the teams' introduction: The teams are often mocked at their introduction:

Games

Many games are played on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', some frequently and dozens less often. A few have been played only once, either because the joke works only once or because they were not particularly successful. Popular games include " One Song to the Tune of Another", "

", " Sound Charades", "Late Arrivals", "Double Feature", " Cheddar Gorge" and "

Uxbridge English Dictionary A daffynition (a portmanteau blend of '' daffy'' and ''definition'') is a form of pun involving the reinterpretation of an existing word, on the basis that it sounds like another word (or group of words). Presented in the form of dictionary defin ...

". "One Song to the Tune of Another" is always introduced using a complex analogy, despite its self-explanatory title, often ending with a joke at the expense of Colin Sell. The panellists play as individuals or as two teams. "Celebrity

What's My Line ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

?" completely destroyed the intent of the original — for players to guess the occupation of a third party by asking yes/no questions. The ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' version once employed the famous actress (and fan of the show) Dame Judi Dench in this role and the renowned television gardener Alan Titchmarsh. Each began by performing a mime illustrating their occupation, giving a cryptic clue to the panel (appearing to a radio listener as a short silence punctuated by exclamations from the panel and laughter from the studio audience), before fielding apparently serious questions from the teams (e.g. "Is that your own hair?" or "Do you kill people for money?"), who pretended not to know who they were. Musical games often involve incongruities such as singing "One Song to the Tune of Another" or playing a song using only a swanee whistle and a

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifie ...

. In "Just a Minim" – a parody of Radio 4's '' Just a Minute'' – panellists must sing a specified song avoiding repetition, deviation, or hesitation: the chosen songs often have extremely repetitive lyrics. Humour is derived from wordplay such as puns or mockery of styles of speech. For example, in a round based on suggesting television programmes from biblical times: *'' They Think It's All Jehovah'' *'' I Love Lucifer'' *'' The Exodus Files'' In "

" the panellists contribute humorous redefinitions of words; "Puny: the Roman Catholic equivalent of tennis elbow". More puns are found in the "Arrivals at the Ball" section, of the form "Mr and Mrs X and their son (or daughter)...." the child's name forming a pun, preferably laboured and feeble. This grew out of the "drama" section of later shows in the ''I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again'' series, for example, at the Criminals' Ball, "Mr and Mrs Knee, and their Swedish son, Lars Knee". According to Tim Brooke-Taylor, twenty per cent of the show is ad-libbed. According to Willie Rushton, it is more like fifty per cent, but he didn't think that a bad thing.Views From The Boundary, Brian Johnston

Time, destiny, fate and eternity

The show draws to a close with the chairman imparting some final words of wisdom intended to evoke time, destiny, fate and eternity, undercut with silliness. For example: "...And so, as the hunter of time blasts the moose of eternity, and the dairy counter worker of fate sighs and grabs her mop..." Lyttelton's final sign-off on the show, shortly before his death in April 2008, was:

Humour

Most of the humour is detached from the real world.

Steve Punt Stephen Mark Punt (born 15 September 1962)Mr Stephen Mark Punt
company-director-c ...

cites it as one of his favourite radio shows because "there's no points being made or targets being attacked." Contemporary references occasionally made by participants are usually asides. The show does occasionally comment on the outside world, though from an innocent perspective. The game "Complete George Bush Quotes" was once played, in which the teams had to supply endings for phrases that George Bush had begun (see Bushism), the teams complaining that they couldn't be any funnier than the original; similar rounds with guessing or completing quotes of other well-known public figures and personalities have also been played.

Self-deprecation Self-deprecation is the act of reprimanding oneself by belittling, undervaluing, disparaging oneself, or being excessively modest. It can be used as a way to make complaints, express modesty, invoke optimal reactions or add humour. It may also be u ...

forms a big part of the show's humour. It frequently pokes fun at itself and its supposed low quality. For example, Lyttelton was heard to exclaim at the end of a round: *"

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his car ...

said that life was a choice between suffering and boredom. He never said anything about having to put up with both at the same time." *"I'm often prone to bouts of misplaced optimism. This round's going to be a hum-dinger!" *"All good things must come to an end, so let's carry on." *An introduction to "Sound Charades", a round based on ''

Give Us a Clue ''Give Us a Clue'' is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1984, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two ...

'', went: "In the TV version the teams were not allowed to speak, making the games both silent and hilarious. Our version differs in just two ways." The regular panellists are represented by the chairman to be unfunny, struggling comedians who have been doing the same act for many years. The supposed personalities of the panellists as demonstrated by the chairman, fictitious but drawn from their public personas, is also a recurring theme. Barry Cryer was often represented as a tight-fisted alcoholic who could not wait to get to the pub (but who never bought a

round of drinks A round of drinks is a set of alcoholic beverages purchased by one person in a group for that complete group. The purchaser buys the round of drinks as a single order at the bar. In many places it is customary for people to take turns buying rou ...

), while Tim Brooke-Taylor was often represented as willing to take any small performance job in his quiet career and always campaigning for repeats of ''

'' (something which Brooke-Taylor himself played upon in many rounds). The late Humphrey Lyttelton often delivered mock comments of how boring and low quality the show was and, particularly in his later years on the show, preferring to doze off rather than listen to the rounds. Pianist Colin Sell, meanwhile, is often the butt of jokes regarding his supposedly terrible musical skills (despite in reality being an accomplished musician). According to Willie Rushton, "The show gets quite filthy at times, but the audience love it." After fifty years on the air, one of the most important aspects of the show is its huge stock of

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

s which, if not always funny in themselves, can elicit huge anticipatory laughter from the studio audience. The mere mention of

Lionel Blair Lionel Blair (born Henry Lionel Ogus; 12 December 1928 – 4 November 2021) was a Canadian-born British actor, choreographer, tap dancer, and television presenter. From the late 1960s until the early 1980s, he made regular appearances as a danc ...

will often bring roars of laughter in anticipation of an outrageous double-entendre based on his supposed homosexuality (he was not gay); Similarly, particular mention of points scorer Samantha or her occasional replacement Sven (neither of whom actually exists) will typically bring anticipatory laughter in anticipation of a sexual double-entendre. In the "Film Club" round, any reference by Graeme Garden to ''

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia ''Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia'' () is a 1974 Mexican-American neo-Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, co-written by Peckinpah and Gordon Dawson from a story by Peckinpah and Frank Kowalski, and starring Warren Oates and Isela Vega, w ...

'' is sure to cause a similar response. The game "Wobbling Bunnies" was introduced several times by Humph, often with eager anticipation by the panel and audience, but time pressures always meant the game was never actually played. Graeme Garden and Barry Cryer frequently played the characters of two Scots, Hamish and Dougal, whose skits usually began with the phrase "You'll have had your tea?", as a stereotypical Scots

miser A miser is a person who is reluctant to spend, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts and some necessities, in order to hoard money or other possessions. Although the word is sometimes used loosely to characterise anyone who ...

when receiving a guest never offers any food or drink. The characters were developed into their own Radio 4 show, ''

Hamish and Dougal Hamish and Dougal are two characters from the long-running BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', played by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, who later went on to have their own Radio 4 series, ''You'll Have Had Your ...

''. Another long-running gag involves one of the panellists putting forward a challenge of "hesitation" when another panellist leaves a long pause in the middle of speaking, a reference to Radio 4's other long-running panel show '' Just a Minute''. (Likewise, occasionally on ''Just a Minute'', a panellist will make a challenge of "Mornington Crescent".) Chairman Humphrey Lyttelton frequently poked fun at ''Just a Minute'' and its chairman Nicholas Parsons. Lyttelton's successor, Jack Dee, has continued with and expanded upon this, mimicking Parsons by constantly emphasising the long experience of some panellists, and the fact that the programme can be heard all over the world.

Awards

The programme has won the Gold Sony Radio Comedy Award three times: * 1995: featuring Humphrey Lyttelton, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Willie Rushton * 2002: featuring the usual cast and Jeremy Hardy. * 2004: ''I'm Sorry I Haven't A Christmas Carol'', featuring the usual cast with Stephen Fry, Andy Hamilton, Jeremy Hardy, Tony Hawks, Sandi Toksvig and Linda Smith. Other awards: * 1995: Best Radio Comedy, British Comedy Award * 1997: Radio Programme of the Year, British Press Guild * 1997: Radio Programme of the Year, Voice of the Viewer and Listener * 2003: Radio Programme of the Year, Voice of the Viewer and Listener * 2003: Radio Programme of the Year, Television and Radio Industries Club * 2003: Best Comedy, Spoken Word Award * 2005: Radio Programme of the Year, Television and Radio Industries Club In 2020 the programme was voted the greatest radio comedy of all time by a panel convened by '' Radio Times''.

Broadcast list

''Clue'' has been broadcast since 11 April 1972 on

with new series rotating with the other Monday night comedy staples such as '' The Unbelievable Truth'', ''

The Museum Of Curiosity ''The Museum of Curiosity'' is a comedy talk show on BBC Radio 4 that was first broadcast on 20 February 2008. It is hosted by John Lloyd (Professor of Ignorance at the University of Buckingham, and later at Solent University). He acts as th ...

'' and '' Just a Minute''. *1st Series (1972) – 11 April–4 July '13 episodes''(Introduction of 'Word for Word' and 'One Song to the Tune of Another') *2nd Series (1973) – 30 April–23 July '13 episodes''(Including the first appearances of 'Sound Charades', a version of 'New Definitions' and the use of 'The Antidote to Panel games') *3rd Series (1974) – 28 August–2 October '6 episodes''(Willie Rushton's first appearances) *4th Series (1975) – 29 July–16 September '8 episodes''(Colin Sell's first appearance, Graeme mentions ' Gordon Bennett' for the first time as a late arrival and the name 'Pick-Up Song' is used but a different game.) *5th Series (1977) – 6 March–10 April '6 episodes''(The first series in which 'Good News, Bad News' was played and 'Pick-Up Song' in its recognisable format.) *6th Series (1978) – 22 August–24 October '10 episodes''(The first time 'Mornington Crescent' is played.) *7th Series (1979) – 16 July–17 September '10 episodes''*Christmas Special (1979) – 24 December *Christmas Special (1980) – 24 December *8th Series (1981) – 22 August–24 October '10 episodes''*Christmas Special (1981) – 24 December *9th Series (1982) – 20 March–27 March '2 episodes'' 10 April-22 May '8 episodes''(The first playing of 'Just a Minim'.) *10th Series (1983) – 26 February–30 April '10 episodes''*11th Series (1984) – 7 April–9 June '10 episodes''*12th Series (1985) – 4 May–6 July '10 episodes''(Kenny Everett replaces Graeme for two shows and Samantha makes her first appearance.) *13th Series (1986) – 26 July–27 September '10 episodes''(Willie predicts his own death in 1996.) *Christmas Special (1986) – 25 December *14th Series (1987) – 17 August–19 October '10 episodes''*15th Series (1989) – 7 January–11 March '10 episodes''*16th Series (Spring 1990) – 5 February–12 March '6 episodes''*17th Series (Autumn 1990) – 17 November–22 December '6 episodes''(The first time a letter sent in by Mrs Trellis from North Wales is read out.) *18th Series (Summer 1991) – 22 June–27 July '6 episodes''(Bill Tidy replaces Tim and Humph asks 'what do points mean?' for the first time.) *19th Series (Autumn 1991) – 19 October–7 December '8 episodes''(Sven makes his first appearance standing in for Samantha.) *20th Series (Summer 1992) – 23 May–27 June '6 episodes''(The first time a show ends with a 'film club'.) *21st Series (Autumn 1992) – 14 November–19 December '6 episodes'' 26 December (The first time 'Swanee-Kazoo' is played.) *22nd Series (1993) – 6 November–11 December '6 episodes''*Christmas Special (1993) – 25 December *23rd Series (Summer 1994) – 28 May–2 July '6 episodes''*24th Series (Autumn 1994) – 5 November–10 December '6 episodes''*25th Series (Summer 1995) – 27 May–1 July '6 episodes''*26th Series (Autumn 1995) – 11 November–16 December '6 episodes''*Christmas Special (1995) – 25 December (Hamish and Dougal make their first appearance.) *27th Series (Summer 1996) – 1 June–6 July '6 episodes''*28th Series (Autumn 1996) – 9 November–14 December '6 episodes''(Willie records his last show.) *29th Series (Summer 1997) – 7 June–12 July '6 episodes''*30th Series (Autumn 1997) – 8 November–13 December '6 episodes'' 25 December 'Compilation''*Compilations (1998) – 6 April–20 April '3 episodes''*31st Series (Summer 1998) – 27 April–1 June '6 episodes''*32nd Series (Autumn 1998) – 30 November–4 January 1999 '6 episodes''*Christmas Special (1998) – 25 December *Special (1999) – 11 January 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Desert Island''*33rd Series (Summer 1999) – 24 May–28 June '6 episodes''*34th Series (Autumn 1999) – 8 November–13 December '6 episodes''*Christmas Special (1999) – 25 December *35th Series (Summer 2000) – 22 May–26 June '6 episodes''*36th Series (Autumn 2000) – 13 November–18 December '6 episodes''*37th Series (Summer 2001) – 28 May–2 July '6 episodes''(The first time 'Uxbridge English Dictionary' is played, as 'New Meanings'.) *38th Series (Autumn 2001) – 12 November–17 December '6 episodes''*Christmas Special (2001) – 24 December *Special (2002) – 13 April '30th Anniversary Special''*39th Series (Summer 2002) – 20 May–24 June '6 episodes''*40th Series (Autumn 2002) – 18 November–23 December '6 episodes''*41st Series (Summer 2003) – 26 May–30 June '6 episodes''*42nd Series (Autumn 2003) – 17 November–22 December '6 episodes'' 22 December 'Compilation'' 25 December 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Christmas Carol''*43rd Series – (Summer 2004) – 31 May–5 July '6 episodes''*44th Series – (Winter 2004) – 6 December 2004 – 17 January 2005 '6 episodes'' 27 December 'Compilation''*45th Series – (Summer 2005) – 30 May–4 July '6 episodes''*Special (2005) – 1 September 'Edinburgh Festival Special''*46th Series – (Autumn 2005) – 14 November–26 December '6 episodes'' 12 December 'Repeat of Edinburgh Festival Special''*Special (2005) – 24 December 'In Search of Mornington Crescent''*47th Series (2006) – 22 May-26 June '6 episodes''*48th Series (2006) – 13 November–18 December '6 episodes''*49th Series (2007) – 4 June–9 July '6 episodes''*50th Series (2007) – 12 November–17 December '6 episodes'' 24 December 'compilation'' 25 December 'Humph In Wonderland''*51st Series (2009) – 15 June–20 July '6 episodes''*52nd Series (2009) – 16 November–21 December '6 episodes''*53rd Series (2010) – 21 June–26 July '6 episodes''*54th Series (2010–2011) – 27 December–31 January '6 episodes''*55th Series (2011) – 27 June–1 August '6 episodes''*56th Series (2011) – 14 November–19 December '6 episodes''*57th Series (2012) – 25 June–30 July '6 episodes''*58th Series (2012) – 12 November–24 December '6 episodes and one Christmas special''*59th Series (2013) – 1 July–5 August '6 episodes''*60th Series (2013) – 11 November–16 December '6 episodes''*61st Series (2014) – 30 June–4 August '6 episodes''*62nd Series (2014) – 17 November–22 December '6 episodes''*63rd Series (2015) – 13 July–17 August '6 episodes''*64th Series (2015–2016) 30 November–4 January '6 episodes''*65th Series (2016) – 27 June–1 August '6 episodes''*66th Series (2016) – 14 November–19 December '6 episodes''*67th Series (2017) – 26 June–31 July '6 episodes''*68th Series (2017) – 13 November–18 December '6 episodes''*69th Series (2018) – 25 June–30 July '6 episodes''*70th Series (2018) – 12 November–17 December '6 episodes''*71st Series (2019) – 24 June–29 July '6 episodes''*72nd Series (2019) – 11 November–16 December '6 episodes''*73rd Series (2020) – 11 November–18 November '2 episodes''(Recording in March curtailed due to COVID-19 pandemic. Tim Brooke-Taylor records his final show) *74th Series (2020) – 25 November–29 December '4 episodes''(Recorded from panellists' homes to make up a full 6-episode series) *75th Series (2021) – 14 June–19 July '6 episodes''*76th Series (2021-2022) – 29 November–3 January '6 episodes''*77th Series (2022) – 11 July–15 August '6 episodes'' Excluding compilations and repeats, this totals 521 episodes (up to series 77). Some early episodes of the series, including the first, were wiped in the late 1970s. Following the BBC's Treasure Hunt appeal for missing material in 2002, several shows were recovered from off-air recordings made by listeners. Ultimately, a complete archive (barring the opening music in places) was assembled, though the quality was somewhat poor for early episodes.

Tours

2007

In 2007, ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: The Official Stage Tour'' visited nine locations across England. While the broadcast shows are recorded on location, this was the first ISIHAC touring stage show in the show's 35-year history. It was a ''

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' show, featuring favourite rounds from the previous 35 years, and the guest panellist was Jeremy Hardy. The shows were not recorded for broadcast on Radio 4, although it was suggested that they may be recorded for release as part of the BBC Radio Collection. Dates * Tuesday 28 August 2007 –

Bristol Hippodrome The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as re ...

* Thursday 30 August 2007 –

Leeds Grand Theatre The Grand Theatre, also known as Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, is a theatre and opera house in Briggate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It seats approximately 1,500 people. Building It was designed by James ...

* Sunday 9 September 2007 –

Theatre Royal, Nottingham The Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England, is a theatre venue in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council as part of a complex that also includes the city's Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal attracts major ...

* Monday 10 September 2007 –

Derngate Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter, Northampton, Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre and Derngate Theatre. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened i ...

, Northampton * Monday 17 September 2007 – Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells * Tuesday 18 September 2007 –

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...

* Wednesday 19 September 2007 –

* Tuesday 25 September 2007 – Ipswich Regent * Wednesday 26 September 2007 – New Theatre Oxford * Friday 5 October 2007 –

The Hexagon The Hexagon is a multi-purpose theatre and arts venue in Reading, Berkshire, England. Built in 1977 in the shape of an elongated hexagon, the theatre is operated by Reading Borough Council under the name "Reading Arts and Venues" along with S ...

, Reading (as part of the Reading Comedy Festival) * Monday 8 October 2007 –

Brighton Dome The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England, that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre (formerly the Pavilion Theatre). All three venues are linked to the rest of the Royal Pavilion Estate by a tunnel t ...

(as part of the Brighton Comedy Festival)

2008

In 2008, ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue: The Official Stage Tour'' embarked on another ''best of'' tour, with the intention of visiting many parts of the UK that were missed in the autumn 2007 dates. Dates * Monday 21 January 2008 – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre * Wednesday 23 January 2008 – The Anvil, Basingstoke * Sunday 24 February 2008 –

Cambridge Corn Exchange Cambridge Corn Exchange is a concert venue located in Cambridge, England with a capacity up to 1,681 people. Construction The site, on the corner of Wheeler Street and Corn Exchange Street, was earmarked for a new Corn Exchange in 1868 to repl ...

* Monday 10 March 2008 –

Buxton Opera House Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musicals ...

* Friday 14 March 2008 – Wales Millennium Centre,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

* Sunday 16 March 2008 –

Theatre Royal, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Plymouth, is a theatre venue in Plymouth, Devon. It consists of a 1,300-seat main auditorium, The Lyric, which regularly hosts large-scale musicals, opera and ballet; a 200-seat studio, The Drum; and a 50-seat studio, The Lab. O ...

* Thursday 27 March 2008 – Congress Theatre,

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

* Sunday 30 March 2008 –

Edinburgh Festival Theatre The Edinburgh Festival Theatre (originally Empire Palace Theatre and later shortened to Empire Theatre) is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, larg ...

* Thursday 3 April 2008 – Hammersmith Apollo, London * Sunday 6 April 2008 – The Lowry, Salford * Saturday 12 April 2008 – Harrogate International Centre * Tuesday 22 April 2008 – Pavilion Theatre (Bournemouth) (Due to

's hospitalisation, the show was presented by

) The show at the Lowry in Salford was filmed and broadcast on BBC Four on 13 September 2008. Although some unaired pilots had previously been made, this was the first time ISIHAC has been shown on television. An extended version was released on DVD on 10 November 2008.

2009

The regular panellists decided to continue the annual stage tour despite Lyttelton's death, with Jack Dee (one of the 51st series' hosts) as chairman for the tour shows. Jeremy Hardy remained as the guest participant. Dates *Wednesday 22 July 2009 – The Orchard Theatre, Dartford (Cancelled due to power cut) *Thursday 23 July 2009 –

New Victoria Theatre The New Victoria Theatre in Woking, England opened in June 1992. The main theatre seats approximately 1,300 people, making it one of the largest receiving house theatres outside London. In addition to the main theatre the complex also conta ...

, Woking *Saturday 25 July 2009 – The Sands Centre, Carlisle *Friday 18 September 2009 –

Manchester Opera House The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of the mai ...

*Sunday 20 September 2009 –

*Monday 21 September 2009 – Portsmouth Guildhall *Tuesday 22 September 2009 –

*Wednesday 23 September 2009 –

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall Nottingham Royal Concert Hall is a concert hall in the English city of Nottingham. It is owned by Nottingham City Council and is part of a complex that also includes the city's Theatre Royal. The Royal Concert Hall's striking modern architectur ...

*Friday 25 September 2009 – St George's Hall, Bradford *Saturday 26 September 2009 –

Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham Everyman Theatre is a theatre based in Regent Street, Cheltenham. There are two auditoria in the building - the 675 seat main auditorium and the 60 seat Studio Theatre, originally named The Ralph Richardson Studio after Ralph Richardson. History ...

*Sunday 27 September 2009 –

New Wimbledon Theatre The New Wimbledon Theatre is situated on the Broadway, Wimbledon, London, in the London Borough of Merton. It is a Grade II listed Edwardian theatre built by the theatre lover and entrepreneur, J. B. Mulholland. Built on the site of a large hous ...

*Monday 28 September 2009 –

Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...

*Tuesday 29 September 2009 – Southport Theatre *Wednesday 30 September 2009 – Grand Opera House (York) *Saturday 3 October 2009 –

, Northampton *Sunday 4 October 2009 – The Anvil, Basingstoke *Monday 5 October 2009 – Princess Theatre, Torquay *Tuesday 6 October 2009 – Congress Theatre, Eastbourne *Wednesday 7 October 2009 – De Montfort Hall, Leicester

2010

Another set of tour dates, with Jack Dee as chairman and Jeremy Hardy as guest panellist, took place in 2010. Dates *Sunday 14 November 2010 – New Theatre,

*Monday 15 November 2010 – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre *Tuesday 16 November 2010 – Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells *Thursday 18 November 2010 –

, Reading *Monday 6 December 2010 –

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

*Wednesday 8 December 2010 –

Newcastle City Hall The Newcastle City Hall (currently known as O2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is a concert hall located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has hosted many popular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as stan ...

*Sunday 12 December 2010 – Ipswich Regent *Monday 13 December 2010 – New Theatre Oxford

2011 and 2012

The show did not tour between 2011 and 2013, but there were a couple of one-off shows performed during this time with Dee as chairman and Hardy as guest panellist. Dates *Sunday 11 September 2011 – The Lowry, Salford *Monday 5 March 2012 – New Theatre Oxford

2014

The touring show resumed in 2014, again with Dee in the chair and Hardy as the guest panellist. Dates *Saturday 18 January 2014 –

*Sunday 19 January 2014 –

, Reading *Monday 20 January 2014 – Wales Millennium Centre,

*Thursday 30 January 2014 –

King's Theatre, Glasgow The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. ...

*Monday 10 February 2014 – Ipswich Regent *Tuesday 11 February 2014 – Congress Theatre, Eastbourne *Thursday 13 February 2014 – Fairfield Halls,

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

*Tuesday 25 February 2014 –

*Saturday 31 March 2014 –

Sheffield City Hall Sheffield City Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England in Barker's Pool, one of the city's central squares. It was built and is owned by Sheffield City Council but is now managed by the Sheffield City Trust, under a 99-year l ...

*Sunday 1 April 2014 – Palace Theatre, Manchester *Sunday 27 April 2014 –

*Monday 28 April 2014 –

*Saturday 17 May 2014 – Colston Hall,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

*Monday 19 May 2014 –

*Saturday 2 June 2014 –

2015

The sixth tour took place in 2015, again with Dee in the chair and Hardy as the guest panellist.

deputised for Dee on some dates. Dates *Thursday 8 January 2015 – Sunderland Empire *Friday 9 January 2015 – St George's Hall, Bradford *Saturday 10 January 2015 –

Barbican Centre, York York Barbican is an indoor entertainment venue located in York, England. Named after the nearby barbican attached to Walmgate Bar, the venue hosts a busy calendar of live music, comedy and sports, as well as business events and conferences. It ...

*Sunday 11 January 2015 – Liverpool Empire *Thursday 15 January 2015 – G Live, Guildford *Friday 16 January 2015 –

Watford Colosseum Watford Colosseum is an entertainment venue in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. Established in 1938, as the Assembly Rooms for Watford Town Hall, the complex was extended in 2011 with improvements which included new meeting spaces, a new restauran ...

*Saturday 17 January 2015 – Royal Hall, Harrogate *Sunday 18 January 2015 – The Lowry, Salford *Wednesday 28 January 2015 – Kings Theatre, Southsea *Thursday 29 January 2015 – Pavilion Theatre (Bournemouth) *Saturday 21 February 2015 – The Centaur, Cheltenham *Sunday 22 February 2015 – Butterworth Hall, Warwick Arts Centre,

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

*Thursday 5 March 2015 – The Waterfront,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

*Saturday 7 March 2015 – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham *Sunday 8 March 2015 –

Preston Guild Hall Preston Guild Hall is an entertainment venue in Preston, Lancashire, England. History The Guild Hall was commissioned to replace the town's Public Hall. The new building, which was designed by Robert Matthew, Johnson Marshall, was due to be rea ...

*Monday 16 March 2015 – Mayflower Theatre,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

*Sunday 9 August 2015 – Edinburgh Playhouse (as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

2016

The seventh tour took place in 2016, again with Dee in the chair. Graeme Garden was absent from this tour so Jeremy Hardy took his place, with Miles Jupp as the guest panellist. Dates *Monday 4 January 2016 –

Marlowe Theatre The Marlowe Theatre is a 1,200-seat theatre in Canterbury named after playwright Christopher Marlowe, who was born and attended school in the city. It was named a Stage Awards, 2022 UK Theatre of the Year. The Marlowe Trust, a not for profi ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

*Tuesday 5 January 2016 –

Theatre Royal, Norwich The Theatre Royal is an art-deco theatre in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is one of the country's oldest established theatres. It hosts a large range of touring productions. The theatre had a £10m refurbishment in 2007, designed by Tim Foster ...

*Monday 18 January 2016 –

Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes Theatre is a large theatre in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It opened on 4 October 1999, 25 years after the campaign for a new theatre first started. Designed by architects Blonski-Heard with Kut Nadiadi and Robert Doe, the thea ...

*Tuesday 19 January 2016 –

, Northampton *Monday 25 January 2016 – Victoria Theatre, Halifax *Friday 29 January 2016 – Wycombe Swan *Saturday 30 January 2016 –

*Sunday 31 January 2016 –

, Reading *Monday 1 February 2016 –

Cliffs Pavilion Cliffs Pavilion is a theatre and concert venue on Station Road in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, a town within the city of Southend-on-Sea. It seats 1,630 and offers an assortment of variety acts. Building Work began on the original Cliff ...

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

*Saturday 6 February 2016 –

Plymouth Pavilions Plymouth Pavilions is an entertainment and sports complex in Plymouth, Devon, England. It has an ice rink and indoor arena. The arena is used as an entertainment venue and also for corporate hire. The Pavilions is built on the site of the form ...

*Monday 8 February 2016 –

, Woking

2017

The eighth tour took place in 2017, again with Dee in the chair. Garden was again absent so Hardy took his place once more, with Tony Hawks as the guest panellist. Dates *Saturday 7 January 2017 – The Sands Centre, Carlisle *Sunday 8 January 2017 –

The Spa, Scarborough Scarborough Spa is a Grade II* listed building in South Bay, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a venue for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment, live music and events on the Yorkshire Coast. Originally built around the source of Sc ...

*Wednesday 18 January 2017 –

*Thursday 19 January 2017 – New Theatre Oxford *Friday 20 January 2017 – The Anvil, Basingstoke *Monday 23 January 2017 – De Montfort Hall, Leicester *Tuesday 24 January 2017 – Venue Cymru, Llandudno *Friday 3 February 2017 – Charter Hall,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

*Saturday 4 February 2017 – Winter Gardens,

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

*Thursday 23 February 2017 – Southport Theatre *Friday 24 February 2017 –

The Sage The Sage is a forthcoming indoor arena and conference centre in Gateshead, United Kingdom due to open in Autumn 2024. The site is located between the existing Sage Gateshead venue and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art on Gateshead Quaysid ...

, Gateshead *Sunday 26 February 2017 – Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells *Monday 27 February 2017 – Colston Hall,

*Tuesday 28 February 2017 – City Hall,

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

*Sunday 23 July 2017 – The Lowry, Salford

2019

A one-off special stage show was advertised as in January 2019 to take place the following February. Following the death of regular guest

, the special show became a tribute to him, with Cryer, Garden and Brooke-Taylor joined by several guests –

, Tony Hawks, David Mitchell,

and

. *Sunday 24 February 2019 – New Theatre Oxford

2020

A ninth tour was announced in October 2019 to take place in early 2020. Jack Dee, Colin Sell and Tim Brooke-Taylor were joined by Tony Hawks and Miles Jupp on the panel, with the fourth spot rotating between

and John Finnemore.

also appeared in place of Jupp on some dates, and

made a special appearance at the Watford Colosseum show. *Sunday 5 January 2020 – Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (Rory Bremner as guest panellist) *Monday 6 January 2020 – St. David's Hall, Cardiff (Bremner as guest panellist) *Tuesday 7 January 2020 – Bristol Hippodrome (Bremner as guest panellist) *Sunday 12 January 2020 – New Wimbledon Theatre (Richard Osman as guest panellist) *Monday 13 January 2020 – The Alexandra, Birmingham (Bremner as guest panellist) *Tuesday 14 January 2020 – Sheffield City Hall (Bremner as guest panellist) *Wednesday 15 January 2020 –

Hull City Hall Hull City Hall is a civic building located in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Located in Queen Victoria Square in the city centre, it is a Grade II* listed building. History The hall, which was designed by Hull's City arc ...

(Bremner as guest panellist) *Friday 17 January 2020 – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (Osman as guest panellist) *Saturday 18 January 2020 – Sunderland Empire (Osman as guest panellist) *Sunday 19 January 2020 – Bridgewater Hall, Manchester (Osman as guest panellist) *Monday 20 January 2020 – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre (Marcus Brigstocke and John Finnemore as guest panellists) *Thursday 23 January 2020 – Lighthouse, Poole (Brigstocke and Finnemore as guest panellists) *Friday 24 January 2020 – Assembly Hall,

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

(Osman as guest panellist) *Monday 27 January 2020 – St. George's Hall, Bradford (Osman as guest panellist) *Tuesday 28 January 2020 – Harrogate Convention Centre (Brigstocke and Osman as guest panellists) *Friday 31 January 2020 – Watford Colosseum (Osman as guest panellist and Cryer makes an appearance) *Saturday 1 February 2020 – Ipswich Regent (Osman as guest panellist) *Sunday 2 February 2020 – Congress Theatre, Eastbourne (Osman as guest panellist)

2022

A tenth tour was announced in November 2021 to take place in early 2022. All dates feature Tony Hawks and

versus Miles Jupp and

on the panel, with the exception of the Stockton date which featured

in place of Bremner, and the Cambridge date, where Brigstocke replaced Jupp at the last minute. *Wednesday 2 February 2022 – G Live, Guildford *Thursday 17 February 2022 – Stockton Globe *Thursday 24 February 2022 – Charter Hall, Colchester *Friday 25 February 2022 –

*Saturday 26 February 2022 – Wycombe Swan *Monday 28 February 2022 –

*Monday 7 March 2022 –

Hall for Cornwall Hall for Cornwall, known as Truro City Hall until 1997, is an events venue in Boscawen Street in Truro, Cornwall, England. The building, which was previously the headquarters of Truro City Council, is a Grade II* listed building. History The f ...

, Truro *Tuesday 8 March 2022 – Exeter Northcott Theatre *Wednesday 9 March 2022 – Kings Theatre, Southsea A further six dates were announced in October 2022 for the end of the year, featuring Bremner, Brigstocke, Evans and Jupp: *Sunday 20 November 2022 –

*Monday 21 November 2022 – St George's Hall, Bradford *Saturday 3 December 2022 – Bournemouth International Centre *Monday 5 December 2022 –

*Tuesday 6 December 2022 – Congress Theatre, Eastbourne *Wednesday 7 December 2022 – Assembly Hall, Worthing

''BBC Audiobook'' releases

*Volume 1 () *Volume 2 () *Volume 3 () *Volume 4 () *Volume 5 () *Volume 6 () *Volume 7 () *Volume 8 () *Volume 9 () *Volume 10 () *Volume 11 () *Volume 12 () *Volume 13 () *Volume 14 () *Volume 15 () *Collection 1 () 'Vols 1–3''*Collection 2 () 'Vols 4–6''*Collection 3 () 'Vols 7–9''*Anniversary Special () 'Collection of Three programmes: ''"30th Anniversary Special", "Sorry I Haven't A Desert Island", ''and the first episode broadcast (11 April 1972)''*I'm Sorry I Haven't A Christmas Clue () *Live 1 () *Live 2 () *''In Search of Mornington Crescent'' () *''I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue: Humph in Wonderland'' ()

WTBS recordings

Episodes of ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' were included in the package of programmes held in 20 underground radio stations of the BBC's

Wartime Broadcasting Service The Wartime Broadcasting Service is a service of the BBC that is intended to broadcast in the United Kingdom either after a nuclear attack or if conventional bombing destroyed regular BBC facilities in a conventional war. It is unclear if the ...

(WTBS), designed to provide public information and morale-boosting broadcasts for 100 days after a nuclear attack.

References

External links

* * * (Previous website) *
The officially unofficial ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' website
featuring background information and news.
The ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' Info Site
featuring lists of episodes and games (with quotes) * 353 episodes. {{Authority control 1972 radio programme debuts 1970s British game shows 1980s British game shows 1990s British game shows 2000s British game shows 2010s British game shows 2020s British game shows BBC panel games BBC Radio 4 programmes BBC Radio comedy programmes British panel games Improvisational television series