Just a Minute : Best of 2018: 4 Episodes of the Much-loved BBC Radio Comedy Game

Four of the funniest recent episodes from the much-loved BBC Radio 4 panel game chaired by Nicholas Parsons

Among the talented and humorous players in this sparkling quartet are Paul Merton, Gyles Brandreth, Jo Caulfield, Julian Clary, Stephen Fry, Jan Ravens, Rebecca Front, Marcus Brigstocke, Sheila Hancock, Fern Britton and Graham Norton.

Did Nicholas know Boudicca? What dish was to be served after the Royal Wedding? When did Gyles meet Fanny Cradock, and is he really getting married in the morning? What does Sheila know of George Orwell, and what are her views on ripped jeans? Should Paul be challenged for being out of tune?

Answers to these and many more tantalising questions can be answered, without hesitation, deviation or repetition, after listening to this quartet of instalments!

Duration: 2 hours approx.

Stephen Fry (Reader)
Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie (which he co-wrote with Laurie) and Jeeves and Wooster, and was unforgettable as General Melchett in Blackadder. He has hosted over 180 episodes of QI, and has narrated all seven of the Harry Potter novels for the audiobook recordings. He is the bestselling author of four novels - The Stars' Tennis Balls, Making History, The Hippopotamus and The Liar - as well as three volumes of autobiography - Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me. Mythos and Heroes, his retelling of the Greek myths, are both Sunday Times bestsellers.

Julian Clary (Reader)
Julian Clary is one of Britain's most loved entertainers. His memoir A Young Man's Passage was a Sunday Times bestseller. Murder Most Fab is his first novel. He lives in Camden and Kent.

Paul Merton (Reader)
Paul Merton was born in 1957, long before such things were fashionable. He spent his first eight years living within cheering distance of Fulham Football ground at Craven Cottage although he can’t remember any cheering. Upon leaving school with two ropey A Levels and a CSE Grade 5 Maths, Paul enlisted in the Civil Service where he survived for two and a half years. He made his stand-up debut at London’s Comedy Store in 1982 where his policeman on acid routine regularly stopped the show. In 1985 he joined the Comedy Store Players, an improvised comedy group which led, in 1988, to him appearing on Whose Line is it Anyway? for the first few series before he couldn’t stick it anymore.

He has appeared on Have I Got News For You as a team captain since 1990 and is also proud of his other long running gig, Radio 4’s Just a Minute. Other TV highlights include his eponymous surreal sketch series from 1991-3; interviewing Spike Milligan in what was to be his last major television appearance as host of Room 101; and making several programmes about early cinema, including The Birth Of Hollywood which he co-wrote with his wife, Suki Webster.

He still performs with the Comedy Stores Players every Sunday.

Nicholas Parsons (Reader)
Nicholas Parsons was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, in 1923 and moved to London with his family at the age of eight. His career in entertainment spanned eight decades and, in 2004, he was awarded an OBE for his services to drama and broadcasting. He died in January 2020 after a short illness.

Marcus Brigstocke (Reader)
Since winning the BBC New Comedian of 1996, Marcus Brigstocke has emerged as a major talent in comedy, writing and acting. Most recently, he has shelved his stand-up microphone to play both King Arthur in Spamalot and Mr Perks in the award-winning production of The Railway Children at Waterloo station.

Gyles Brandreth (Reader)
Gyles Brandreth is a writer, performer, former MP and Government Whip, now Chancellor of the University of Chester and probably best known these days as a reporter on BBC1's The One Show and as a regular on Radio 4's Just a Minute. On TV he has featured on Have I Got News For You, QI, Room 101, Countdown, and This is Your Life. As a journalist he writes for the Telegraph and Daily Mail and is a columnist for The Oldie. The founder of the National Scrabble Championships, his books about words and language include four best-sellers, The Joy of Lex, Word Play, Have You Eaten Grandma? and Dancing by the Light of the Moon.

Fern Britton (Reader)
A broadcasting legend and national treasure, Fern Britton has been on our screens for more than 40 years and won numerous TV awards – she was a presenter on Ready Steady Cook between 1994-2000 and on This Morning between 1999-2009. Since then, Fern has discovered the joy of writing novels and is a highly acclaimed Sunday Times bestselling author, with 10 fiction books and a memoir to her name. Fern’s books are cherished for their warmth, with and wisdom and have won her legions of fans. She has four children and lives in Cornwall with her three cats and her daughter, Winnie.