Just a Minute
Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game, hosted by Sue Perkins since 2021. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Perkins assumed the host's chair permanently, starting with the 87th series. Just a Minute was first transmitted on Radio 4 on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003.
Nicholas Parsons hosted the show for almost 52 years | |
| Genre | Panel game |
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| Running time | 30 minutes (6:30 pm – 7:00 pm) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Syndicates | |
| Hosted by |
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| Starring |
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| Created by | Ian Messiter |
| Produced by | See list of producers |
| Recording studio | BBC Radio Theatre |
| Remote studios | Various, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
| Original release | 22 December 1967 – present |
| No. of series | 92 (as of January 2024) |
| No. of episodes | 981 |
| Opening theme | The Minute Waltz by Frédéric Chopin |
| Website | www |
The object of the game is for panellists to talk for sixty seconds on a given subject, "without hesitation, repetition or deviation". The comedy comes from attempts to keep within these rules and the banter among the participants. In 2011, comedy writer David Quantick ascribed Just a Minute's success to its "insanely basic" format, stating, "It's so blank that it can be filled by people as diverse as Paul Merton and Graham Norton, who don't have to adapt their style of humour to the show at all."
Throughout its half-century history, the show has, in addition to its popularity in the UK, developed an international following through its broadcast on the BBC World Service and, more recently, on the internet. The format has also occasionally been adapted for television.