Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Comedy
    Comedy TV Shows - 1980s 3 Mins Read

    Yes, Minister

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    1 9 8 0 – 1 9 8 2 (UK)
    21 x 30 minute episodes

    Yes, Minister ran from 1980 until 1982, with a total of 21 episodes. Paul Eddington starred as Jim Hacker, PC, MP, BDc (Econ), newly-appointed Minister of Administrative Affairs.

    Hacker represents an unspecified political party but is clearly a moderate, either centre-right (most likely) or centre-left.

    yes_minister_5

    He enters office with enthusiasm and ambition, determined to make his mark upon public life, but soon comes to realise that his hands are tied by complex bureaucratic regulations that seem both indecipherable and insurmountable.

    His Private Secretary, the pedantic Bernard Woolley, does his best to steer Hacker through the minefield, but whatever progress the two of them make is usually revealed as a dead-end.

    This is because, keeping one or more steps ahead of Hacker, is his Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby KCB, MVO, MA (Oxon), a silky-smooth senior civil servant with a treasure trove of baffling phrases, paradoxical reasoning and enigmatic explanations. In Sir Humphrey’s hands, Hacker is merely the ball in a Machiavellian game of political ping-pong.

    Appleby was committed to seeing that his ministerial charge never meddled too much in the business of the department, and that the real power remained securely in the hands of the civil service.

    If Hacker inquired too closely as to why he was not going to get his way about something, Sir Humphrey was more than able to throw up a smokescreen of obfuscation and technical jargon, which usually discouraged further questioning.

    This classic sitcom exposed the machinations of senior politicians and civil servants in Great Britain, and such was the standard of scripts and performance ( and the accuracy of the satire) that the programme became required viewing for politicians, journalists, and the general public alike.

    yes_minister_1

    The idea for the series was developed by writer Antony Jay and former Doctor in the House star Jonathan Lynn while both were on the payroll of the video production company set up by John Cleese in the mid-1970s.

    The BBC bought the rights to the pilot episode and work on a full series finally got under way in 1979. From 1986, there was a 16-episode sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, with Hacker promoted to PM and Sir Humphrey elevated to Cabinet Secretary.

    Harold Wilson‘s one-time secretary, Lady Marcia Falkender, was involved with the show, providing behind-the-scenes insight into the operations of Whitehall.

    yesminister_836Amongst the show’s many devotees was one Margaret Hilda Thatcher, who named it as her favourite programme.

    Sixteen episodes of Yes, Minister were re-recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio 4, with all the principal cast reprising their roles.

    There were two series of eight episodes apiece, airing 18 October to 7 December 1983 and 8 October to 27 November 1984.

    In 1997, Derek Fowlds stepped back into the role of Bernard Woolley to read Antony Jay’s How To Beat Sir Humphrey: Every Citizen’s Guide To Fighting Officialdom, broadcast in three daily parts by Radio 4 from 29 September to 1 October.

    Rt Hon James Hacker MP 
    Paul Eddington
    Sir Humphrey Appleby 

    Nigel Hawthorne
    Bernard Woolley 

    Derek Fowlds
    Annie Hacker 

    Diana Hoddinott 
    Sir Arnold Robinson 

    John Nettleton 
    Sir Frederick (‘Jumbo’)

    John Savident 
    Frank Weisel 

    Neil Fitzwilliam
    Lucy Hacker 

    Gerry Cowper

    Related Posts

    • Further Adventures of Lucky Jim, The
      Further Adventures of Lucky Jim, The
      1 9 6 7 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes 1 9 8 2 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes Based on…
    • Games, The
      Games, The
      1 9 9 8 (Australia) 13 x 30 minute episodes 2 0 0 0 (Australia) 13 x 30 minute episodes…
    • Governor and JJ, The
      Governor and JJ, The
      1 9 6 9 - 1 9 7 0 (USA) 39 x 30 minute episodes Set in an unnamed Midwestern state, The…
    • Men Of Affairs
      Men Of Affairs
      1 9 7 3 - 1 9 7 4 (UK) 17 x 30 minute episodes Harlech Television produced this Saturday night…
    • Faces of Jim
      Faces of Jim
      1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 3 (UK) 7 x 30 minute episodes (Seven Faces of Jim) 6 x…
    • Wodehouse Playhouse
      Wodehouse Playhouse
      1 9 7 5 - 1 9 7 8 (UK) 13 x 35 minute episodes 7 x 30 minute episodes This…
    • Top Secret Life Of Edgar Briggs, The
      Top Secret Life Of Edgar Briggs, The
      1 9 7 4 (UK) 13 x 30 minute episodes David Jason starred as the hapless and equally hopeless (but fiercely…
    • Nice Day at the Office, A
      Nice Day at the Office, A
      1 9 7 2 (Australia) 7 x 30 minute episodes This Australian comedy series in seven half-hour episodes presented life in…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleIt’s A Square World
    Next Article Flip Wilson Show, The

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Casanova
      1 9 7 1 (UK) 6 x 50 minute episodes This six-part study of the […]
    • Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest
      1 9 8 5 – 1 9 8 7 (UK) 13 x 30 minute episodes This […]
    • North to Alaska (1960)
      Sam McCord (John  Wayne) and George Pratt (Stewart Granger in […]
    • Spanish Gold
      Barratt produced this small rectangular red packet, which was […]
    • Anwar Sadat
      1 9 1 8 – 1 9 8 1 Egyptian politician, and president from […]
    • Dean Martin
      Dean Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti in Steubenville, Ohio in […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.