Hackers And Humphreys All.txt
Hackers And Humphreys All
BBC Radio 4
2016-01-09
Shaun Ley explores the links between real politics and the satire of Yes Prime Minister.
Yes Prime Minister made its television debut on the same day that Michael Heseltine quit the cabinet. In a celebration of thirty years of one of Britain's best loved sitcoms, BBC Radio 4 Extra explores the relationship between the real world of Whitehall and this timeless satire.
In new and exclusive interviews, Sir Antony Jay, a former political speech writer, and Jonathan Lynn, now a Hollywood film director, who between them wrote every word, share the secrets of Yes Prime Minister's success. Shaun Ley hears about the sources who blabbed, how New Labour ministers were influenced by Jim Hacker's serial defeats at the hands of Sir Humphrey, and visits the very heart of the British government, the Cabinet Room, to find out how true to life some of the plotlines really were.
A three hour special programme, featuring four classic TV episodes of Yes Prime Minister:
01 - The National Education Service, 1988-01-21
When the Department of Education and Science stands in the way of reform, Hacker decides to abolish it.
02 - The Grand Design, 1986-01-09
With his finger now on the nuclear button, Hacker plans his first act as Prime Minister to be a radical new defence policy.
03 - The Key, 1986-01-30
The PM decides to clip Sir Humphrey's wings when he engages in a territorial battle with Hacker's political advisor.
04 - A Diplomatic Incident, 1987-12-17
The death of Hacker's predecessor provides a chance for some negotiations with the French over the Channel Tunnel at his state funeral.
These are sound-recordings of the original tv-broadcast, so on occasion there may be lapses in sound where visual content is more dominant.
Contributors include: Sir Anthony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, Sir Richard Mottram, Edwina Currie, Lord Bernard Donoughue, Lord Peter Hennessey, Graham McCann and Tony Blair.
Producer: Adam Bowen for BBC News - Westminster
I have edited the three hour programme into five separate parts: the interviews and the four episodes.
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