British Comedy Guide
Have I Got News For You. Image shows left to right: Ian Hislop, Paul Merton. Credit: Matt Crockett
Have I Got News For You

Have I Got News For You

  • TV panel show
  • BBC One / BBC Two
  • 1990 - 2024
  • 610 episodes (68 series)

Long-running topical panel game with a strong political slant, featuring team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. Also features Angus Deayton.

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Series 57, Episode 4

Have I Got News For You. Image shows from L to R: Ian Hislop, Zoe Lyons, David Tennant, Johnny Mercer, Paul Merton
David Tennant guest hosts, with Ian Hislop and Paul Merton joined by MP Johnny Mercer and comedian Zoe Lyons.

Further details

David Tennant steered this week's edition of the programme through the biggest stories of the week, covering the announcement of Donald Trump's state visit to the UK in June, the 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg's speech to MPs, Ann Widdecombe joining The Brexit Party and a British donkey that is about to become the world's tallest donkey.

During the episode, Johnny Mercer MP alleged that the Deputy Chief Whip had tried to dig up dirt on him, to put pressure on him to vote for Theresa May's Brexit deal in January.

"The Deputy Chief Whip has decided to go and ask friends of mine that I served with in the military whether or not things in my book were correct. When I confronted him about it he claimed that was his job to 'kick the tyres'" Mercer explained, continuing, "When I spoke to my friend he hadn't done anything like that at all - he'd tried to get some dirt and blackmail me to vote for the Prime Minister's deal in January."

"So that's why they did it - to try and force your vote?" host David Tennant looked to clarify.

"Yeh. Nice place, politics. Why did I sign up?" Mercer sighed.

"Why did you?!" joked Paul Merton.

Ian Hislop was also quick to take Mercer to task during the episode about this week's reports about his private salary from Crucial Academy being funded by a company that marketed a failed bond scheme that lost savers £236m. As he has done this week, Mercer defended his position saying he had done nothing wrong, and that the BBC had reported the story incorrectly.

"What bit did the BBC get wrong?" Ian Hislop questioned.

"So I run a company that trains veterans to go into cyber employment and, four companies away from that, is a company that's gone bust." Mercer began to explain. "Yeh, it's not many companies. It's quite a big company. Four people being arrested. Big story." Hislop responded.

"It's a big story but it's got nothing to do with me" Mercer replied. "How does training veterans make enough money to earn you £85,000?" Hislop probed. "Because if you train them in cyber security and they have specialist skills they go into FTSE 100 companies and earn quite a lot of money in cyber security. I look like a right bastard don't I doing this whole veterans employment thing?" Mercer asked, sarcastically.

"No it's not the veterans bit, it's the £85,000 for a four-hour job. Why don't you do it for free?" Hislop queried, continuing, "The people who have lost money out of this company are very cross with you."

"No money went from that company into Crucial Academy" reiterated Mercer. "This is one for Judge Rinder, I think" Paul Merton chipped in, to laughs from the audience.

Notes

The teams drew, 5 points each.

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 26th April 2019
Time
9pm
Channel
BBC One
Length
30 minutes
Recorded
  • Thursday 25th April 2019, 19:00 at Elstree Film Studios

Cast & crew

Cast
Ian Hislop Team Captain
Paul Merton Team Captain
Guest cast
David Tennant Host / Presenter
Johnny Mercer (as Johnny Mercer MP) Guest
Zoe Lyons Guest
Writing team
Pete Sinclair Writer (Additional Material)
Colin Swash Writer (Additional Material)
Rob Colley Writer (Additional Material)
Ged Parsons Writer (Additional Material)
Kevin Day Writer (Additional Material)
Shaun Pye Writer (Additional Material)
Christine Rose Writer (Additional Material)
Production team
Paul Wheeler Director
Jo Bunting Series Producer
Mike Rayment Producer
Richard Wilson Executive Producer
Pinki Chambers Executive Producer
Simon Brook Editor
Jon Ellis Editor
Todd Dalton Editor
Rich Ellis (as Richard Ellis) Editor
Laura Saimre Editor
Jonathan Paul Green Production Designer
Mikki Rain Production Designer
Hugo Keating Production Designer
Karen Jackson Costume Designer
Peter Raby Lighting Designer
George Webley (as Big George) Composer

Press

Johnny Mercer's faces Ian Hislop ire on HIGNFY

The MPs appearance on the BBC comedy show comes just days after a BBC news report into his high-paying second job.

Simon Rushton, i Newspaper, 26th April 2019

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