''The Unbelievable Truth'' is a

BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

comedy

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 ' ...

devised by

Graeme Garden David Graeme Garden OBE (born 18 February 1943) is a Scottish comedian, actor, author, artist and television presenter, best known as a member of The Goodies and a regular panellist on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''. Early life and education ...

and

Jon Naismith Jon Naismith (born 1965)England and Wales, Birth Index 1916-2005 is a producer mainly known for his work on BBC Radio, primarily comedy, including ''You'll Have Had Your Tea'', '' The Unbelievable Truth'' and ''About a Dog''. Since 1991 he has be ...

. The game is chaired by David Mitchell and is described in the programme's introduction as 'the panel game built on truth and lies.' The object of the game is for each panellist to deliver a short lecture about a given subject, which should be completely false save for five true statements which they must attempt to smuggle past the other players. The first series began broadcasting in 2007, and the 28th series began airing in April 2022.

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

's'' Elisabeth Mahoney reviewed the programme positively: 'From the first moments of its plinky plonky theme tune, The Unbelievable Truth is a delight'. ''The Guardian's''

Zoe Williams Zoe Abigail Williams (born 7 August 1973) is a Welsh columnist, journalist, and author. Early life Zoe Abigail Williams was born on 7 August 1973 in Hounslow, West London, England. Williams was educated at the independent Godolphin and Latymer ...

, however, was critical of the programme, writing: The Unbelievable Truth'', for instance, should never have been recommissioned. It's only funny when

Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedy writer, and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts durin ...

is speaking. They could more profitably devise a show that was just Clive Anderson, speaking. Its failures as a quiz are admirably demonstrated by the fact that the scoring is now inverse to the drollery, so that Clive scores no points at all, and

Lucy Porter Lucy Donna Porter (born 27 January 1973) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel sh ...

sometimes wins. I don't care about scoring when it's like ''

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a pa ...

'' and it's meant to mean nothing, but they can't all be spoof game-shows. Some of them have to be actual games that work.' The BBC received "almost 50" complaints about insensitivity after David Mitchell opened a fourth series episode with the joke: "There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that the last line in

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

reads: 'Today is my birthday; dad bought me a drum kit'." It won the "Best Radio Panel Show" award at the

British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide or BCG (formerly the British Sitcom Guide or BSG) is a British website covering all forms of British comedy, across all media. At the time of writing, BCG has published guides to more than 7,000 individual British comedie ...

's 2011 and 2016 awards.

Episodes

Winners are highlighted in bold.

Series 1

Series 2

2008 Christmas Special

Series 3

Series 4

2009 New Year's / QI Special

Series 5

Series 6

Series 7

Series 8

Series 9

Series 10

Series 11

Series 12

Series 13

Series 14

Series 15

Series 16

Series 17

Series 18

Series 19

Series 20

Series 21

Series 22

Series 23

Series 24

Series 24 was recorded during the

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

, with each panelist performing at home.

Series 25

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

Series 26

Series 27

Series 28

International versions

Members from the Australian comedy group

The Chaser The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedy group, best known for their television programmes and satirical news masthead. The group take their name from their satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste. Th ...

, including

Craig Reucassel Craig Bruce Reucassel is an Australian television and radio comedian. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. He hosted the Australian version of ''Balls of Steel'', which premiered in April 2011. Since 2013, Reucassel ...

Andrew Hansen Andrew John Hansen (born 18 September 1974) is an Australian comedian, musician and author, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, Hansen's television work includes co-writing and starring in A ...

and

Julian Morrow Julian Francis Xavier Morrow (born 1975) is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser. As a member of The Chaser, he has appeared on several ABC Television ...

, have produced a TV series based on the British series.

References

Notes

General * Specific

External links

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