Nigel Hawthorne

Sitcom scene seemingly predicts PM's virus reaction

A scene from British sitcom Yes, Prime Minister has gone viral for predicting Boris Johnson's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Looking back on Yes Minister as it turns 40

It was 40 years ago tomorrow that the first episode of Yes Minister was broadcast on BBC 2.

Yes Minister: political comedy MPs voted the greatest

The consummate political satire might be about to celebrate its 40th anniversary but, in many ways, it has barely aged at all.

Yes Minister shows some things never change

The BBC sitcom is 36 years old and yet it remains, as recent events have shown, bang on the money. Here's some proof that, in politics and the media, some things never change.

Brexit vote makes Yes Minister clip go viral

In the episode "The Writing on the Wall", Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby patiently explains to minister Jim Hacker precisely why Britain has such a vexed relationship with the EU. "Minister, Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least the last five hundred years: to create a disunited Europe," he says.

The revived Yes, Prime Minister, returning after a 24-year absence, at least came in on the perfect political cue. "Dealing with Europe isn't about achieving success," David Haig's exasperated PM tells the head of his Policy Unit, "it's about concealing failure." But that kind of timing isn't what comedy is about and in two ways this was a beat or two off. For one thing, you just can't pretend that The Thick of It never happened, as this seemed to do in featuring a scene of political advisers wincing as their boss flounders through an interview. For another, Henry Goodman can't quite expunge the memory of Nigel Hawthorne's silky perfection. Further consultation required.

Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's Eighties comedy series Yes, Minister - and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister - set the bar for political comedy very high. Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne were immaculate in their roles as cabinet minister/PM Jim Hacker and his permanent secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby, and provided an almost impossible act to follow. This updated remake, which went to G.O.L.D. when the BBC refused to commit, follows the recent stage production and has a workmanlike David Haig, Henry Goodman and Chris Larkin in the roles of the PM, Sir Humphrey and private secretary Bernard Woolley. The satire is gentle and perceptive as they tackle coalition issues, the Euro crisis and a European summit. But, given that the foul-mouthed The Thick of It has transformed the way we approach political humour, it lacks bite and the studio laughter is very tacky.

Yes, Prime Minister is back as a West End show

Whitehall's most adversarial couple, the Rt Honourable Jim Hacker MP and Sir Humphrey, his Permanent Secretary, immortalised by Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne, are back - this time on the stage, thanks to their original creators Jonathan Lynn and Sir Antony Jay.

With his hangdog expression and fruity Edinburgh burr Alastair Sim created numerous whimsical characters during a career on stage and screen that spanned more than 40 years - perhaps none more memorable than the creepily convincing Miss Fritton, headmistress in the St Trinian's films. This 1997 profile celebrates his achievements and speaks to his widow Naomi Plaskitt (Sim died in 1976), as well as hearing from friends, co-stars and admirers, including George Cole, Stephen Fry, Ian McKellen, Patricia Routledge and Nigel Hawthorne.