I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - Radio 4 Panel Show - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. Image shows from L to R: Graeme Garden, Barry Cryer. Copyright: BBC

Genre

Panel Show

Broadcast

1972 - 2025

Channel

BBC Radio 4

Episodes

554 (82 series), plus 13 highlights specials

Stars

Humphrey Lyttelton, Stephen Fry, Jack Dee, Rob Brydon, Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, William Rushton and more

Writers

Iain Pattinson, Fraser Steele and Steven Dick

Producers

Jon Naismith, Geoffrey Perkins, John Cassels, Simon Brett, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Paul Spencer and Jon Magnusson

Companies

This show started out as a spin-off from the BBC radio series I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again. The idea being that I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue was an unscripted version of the original.

ISIHAC is a parody of the traditional panel show, with games designed to humiliate and confuse. Points come for show's lovely (and fictitious) scorer Samantha.

Games include the self-explanatory "One Song to the Tune of Another"; mad word game "Cheddar Gorge"; "Sound Charades" (a game based on the TV show Give Us a Clue which differs in just three ways); "Word for Word", the opposite of word association; and the game based on the London Underground that is almost impossible to play - "Mornington Crescent".

Legendary host Humphrey Lyttelton presided over the first 50 series. In the series that followed the host's death the role of chairman was handed over to Stephen Fry, Jack Dee and Rob Brydon. The trio took it in turns to present the show. Jack Dee's episodes were generally the best received by the audience, and thus Dee has been installed as the new host.

The most regular players of the game are Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, as well as the late Tim Brooke-Taylor and Willie Rushton.

More about I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue

Catch-up

Additional details

Tagline

The antidote to panel games

Also known as

Production

Studio

Soundtrack

Theme tune is "The Schickel Shamble" by Ron Goodwin, from the film Monte Carlo or Bust. Colin Sell on the piano provides additional music in the show.

Broadcast details

First broadcast

Tuesday 11th April 1972 at 12:55pm on BBC Radio 4

Most recent repeats

View all 785 repeats

Recording details