News and current affairs hit Sunday lunchtimes in 1972 as Peter Jay (Economics Editor for The Times) began presenting London Weekend’s Weekend World, a mix of interviews with politicians and analyses of social and economic trends.
Originally modelled on the US programme 60 Minutes featuring several stories each week, the show gradually developed into a Sunday politics programme that featured a forensic interview with a major political figure.
Brian Walden (pictured above) took over in 1977 and, being a former Labour MP, added an authority to the proceedings – even if he couldn’t sound his r’s.
In 1986, Matthew Parris, another former MP (this time a Conservative), took over for the programmes last two years.
The theme music used throughout the series was from Nantucket Sleighride, written and recorded by the prog-rock group Mountain.
