Have I Got News For You hit by government threats over ‘enormous bias’, says Ian Hislop

Show has been a mainstay of British television for its irreverent approach to news

Current affairs comedy programme Have I Got News For You has been hit by government threats over the years accusing it of “enormous bias”, says Ian Hislop.

The panel show, which has been running since 1990, features Hislop and the comedian Paul Merton as they captain two teams to answer questions on topical news stories. The satirical BBC series was considered innovative when it first debuted, and its success led to various imitations of its format.

However, comedian and Private Eye editor Hislop has revealed that it has not always been smooth sailing for the team, as their irreverent approach has led to warnings and complaints by successive governments over the years.

“Most of the threats over the years have been that various governments have leant on the BBC and told them this programme is appallingly leftwing or appallingly rightwing, depending which government it is,” he told The Guardian.

“They’ve managed to find enormous bias against themselves when they’re in office. That has always struck me as the more likely end.”

Hislop finds this a marker of the show’s health.

“There aren’t many other comedy shows left like ours,” he continued. “We’re the last bed by the door. I expect it’s just a matter of time.”

Commenting on the topics covered by the programme and the juxtaposition of Hislop’s and Merton’s style, he said: “Most comedy in Britain is about class. We think we’re obsessed by sex. We’re not really.”

Merton and Hislop have presented the show since its inception in the Nineties (BBC/Have I Got News For You)

He continued, “The pairing of Paul – who’s still cross that people went to Oxbridge – and me was a very good bit of casting because it meant there are two completely different styles. I care about the news. He doesn’t. That dynamic was very clever. Paul thought I was a stuffed shirt and I thought he was an oik.”

Meanwhile, Merton said he hoped to bring an element of “anarchy” to the panel.

“I wore a T-shirt because everybody wore suits and ties,” he said. “I thought we looked like a parole board, and it needed an element of anarchy. I also wanted some rudeness.”

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He added that he would continue working on the show until the end of time, “The news agenda always changes... But we’ll keep going until the sun explodes and consumes the Earth, which will be the top story the following week.”