Have I Got News For You

Prescott has news for you: He's a quiz show knockout

John Prescott has laughed off some gentle mocking over his peerage on the quiz show Have I Got News for You.

John Prescott to chair Have I Got News for You

John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, is to make his debut as guest host on Have I Got News For You, it was announced on Friday.

Why HIGNFY hits the target even after 20 years

When they first appeared on BBC2's risky new show Have I Got News For You, Ian Hislop and Paul Merton, aged 29 and 32 respectively, were young, dangerous, and at the cutting edge of television satire.

Incredibly, this is the 20th anniversary and the 39th series of the BBC's flagship entertainment programme - the only entertainment programme that is consistently and genuinely entertaining. Paul Merton's unstoppable flow of surreal invention never seems to dry up, while Ian Hislop must be one of the few people on the planet who can appear on television suffering from a burst appendix and still manage to be funny. With an election looming, the big challenge of the new series - according to Richard Wilson, head of comedy at the production company Hat Trick - will be "to take the spectacularly dull things that politicians say and get laughs out of them". The host tonight is Lee Mack, with Alexander Armstrong and Jo Brand booked to appear later in the run.

On a Thursday? Are schedulers messing with our minds? Is this an April fool? Since time immemorial Have I Got News for You has been a fixture of Friday nights, like crowds outside pubs and kebabs on the pavement. It boots us into the weekend with a flurry of vicious wit, surreal satire and cheap jokes at the expense of John Prescott's figure. It's our pressure valve on the end of the working week, allowing the nation to let off steam and laugh at our betters, while wondering where Paul Merton gets his I'm-wearing-this-for-a-joke shirts and noting the steady advance of Ian Hislop's chins. To plant it on a Thursday seems like sacrilege, until you remember that tomorrow is Good Friday, so the weekend sort of starts here. Let's hope series 39, which starts with Lee Mack at the helm, can keep up the standards.

It's series 39 of the topical panel game and tonight's headline is: HIGNFY has transferred from its traditional Friday night to a new Thursday night slot.

HIGNFY might be billed as the comedy quiz that grills celebrity contestants on the week's top news stories, but we all know it's an excuse for team captains Paul Merton and Ian Hislop to make jokes at the expense of everyone else on the show. Stepping up this week are Nigel Farage MEP, former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, and Scottish comedian Kevin Bridges.

Bridges is likely to give as good has he gets. But Farage may find that political barracking is no preparation for the heckling he could get from the HIGNFY team.

Have I Got a Hilarious Twitter Feed For You

Yes - yes I do. Follow @realHIGNFY on Twitter for weekly topical-ish gags from the team and even the chance to participate in exclusive online Missing Word Rounds. Probably.

Has 'Have I Got News for You' had its day?

As the long-running topical panel show returns to BBC One for its 39th series, we debate whether its past its best.

BBC in new racism row

The BBC is at the centre of a new race row after a presenter on Have I Got News For You described the Queen and her husband as "that Greek twit and his Kraut wife".

Women have always been under-represented on Have I Got News For You (last weeks appearance by frock-wearing artist Grayson Perry notwithstanding). So its great to see the comedienne and actress, and the tallest woman in comedy, Miranda Hart taking her first spin in the presenters chair.

Already a familiar face from comedies like Angelos, Hyperdrive and playing the cleaning lady in Not Going Out, Miranda is now going to have her very own sitcom based on her Radio 2 series. It will be starting soon on BBC2.

Shes been on Have I Got News For You's panel before, so has no trouble holding her own against captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton.