Welcome to Just a Minute! A Celebration of Britain’s Best-Loved Radio Comedy

Includes contributions from Graham Norton, Sue Perkins, Jenny Eclair and Gyles Brandreth.

As its nine hundredth episode approaches, Just a Minute has consistently entertained BBC Radio 4 listeners since its first broadcast in December 1967. Inspired by a punishment handed out at school, the show’s creator Ian Messiter devised a deceptively simple and versatile set of rules that has allowed the game to adapt and thrive as each new era of comedy entertainers emerges.

Over forty-seven consecutive years, fans have laughed along with Kenneth Williams’ outrageously funny ‘battles’ with Sheila Hancock, Paul Merton’s imaginative flights of fancy, Clement Freud’s acerbic wit, Julian Clary’s flagrant innuendos, Graham Norton’s celebrity ‘gossip’, Jenny Eclair’s brutal honesty, Gyles Brandreth’s extravagant monologues and Sue Perkins’ infectious enthusiasm to name only a handful of the more than two hundred star entertainers who have braved the Just a Minute panel.

In this official celebration, chairman Nicholas Parsons, the only person to have appeared in every programme, recalls the very best, occasionally awkward and often hilarious, moments from the last six decades. Magical minutes, verbal dexterity, sharp one-liners and witty challenges can all be marvelled at once again as Nicholas tells the Just a Minute story from its inauspicious pilot episode, through television and stage versions, and on to the present day, without hesitation, repetition or deviation…

‘A joyous compendium of facts, fun and stories. This hilarious and informative guide is destined to become the companion to radio’s most enduring panel game’ PAUL MERTON

In this first ever official companion, chairman Nicholas Parsons tells the fascinating story of the much-loved panel game and Graham Norton, Sue Perkins, Jenny Eclair and Gyles Brandreth share their memories of the show.

Over the decades, the greats of British comedy have entertained Just a Minute listeners with performances that have come to define our comic heritage – from Kenneth Williams’ outrageously funny ‘battles’ with Sheila Hancock, Clement Freud’s acerbic wit and Derek Nimmo’s tall tales to Paul Merton’s imaginative flights of fancy, Julian Clary’s flagrant innuendos and Pam Ayres’ poetic humour. Welcome to Just a Minute! is an entertaining journey through British comedy history and a master class in comic timing, verbal dexterity and sharp one-liners.