Many a Slip (radio series)

Last updated

Many a Slip
Genre Panel game
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home station
Syndicates
Hosted by
Starring
Created by Ian Messiter
Written byIan Messiter
Produced by
Recording studio Paris Theatre, London
Original release17 March 1964 (1964-03-17) [1]  
4 December 1979 (1979-12-04) [2]
Website www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09tc7w5 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Many a Slip is a British panel game created by Ian Messiter which was broadcast from 1964 to 1979. It was chaired by Roy Plomley, with a musical mistakes round supplied by Steve Race. The title of the show is a reference to the English proverb "There's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip".

Contents

The BBC received requests from school teachers and lecturers for transcripts of Ian Messiter's pieces as a fun way of teaching educational subjects to pupils.[ citation needed ]

Contestants

For the first couple of series, the contestants were Isobel Barnett and Eleanor Summerfield versus Richard Murdoch and Lance Percival. Temporary replacements for Lance Percival in the first series (each for one show) were Kenneth Horne, Terence Alexander and Jon Pertwee.

When the annual radio series returned, magician David Nixon replaced Lance Percival. When Nixon died in 1978, Percival returned to the show,

In the early 1970s, Isobel Barnett and Richard Murdoch were replaced by Katharine Whitehorn and Paul Jennings. The new panellists were replaced after only one series by Tim Rice and Gillian Reynolds who remained until the show ended in 1979.

Over 250 shows were recorded. Roy Plomley was in every show but Steve Race missed a few shows due to illness and was replaced by pianist Alan Paul. Eleanor Summerfield only missed two shows; her temporary replacement was Andrée Melly. The only other stand-in player for one show was Graeme Garden.

Format

In a typical round, Plomley read out a piece of text prepared by Messiter, and contestants buzzed in if they detected an error. Correctly identifying an error scored one point and supplying a correction was worth a second; if a contestant buzzed in when there was no error, two points were awarded to the opposing team. Occasionally a third point was awarded when a contestant spotted a mistake Messiter had not intended.

Mid-way through each show, for one round, Plomley handed over to "our musical mistakes man, Steve Race", who would play short extracts from well-known pieces of music, each preceded by a spoken introduction, while contestants attempted to detect errors in the introduction, the piece, or both. A regular feature was a memory round: Plomley read a short piece, usually of verse or song lyrics, then read it again later on in the show with funny alterations which the teams scored points for correcting. Other regular features were the Many a Slip library with its books of incorrect titles and authors; a murder mystery round with the Many a Slip detective; travelogues of different countries and the Many a Slip chef and his way of cooking with ingredients that no sane chef would use.

For each series, the chairman kept a running total of how many games each team had won and in the last show he announced which team had won the series.

Broadcast information

From its inception in 1964, Many a Slip was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme, with the programme repeated the same week on the BBC Home Service. In July 1969, this changed, with the original broadcast now on BBC Radio 4 and the repeats on BBC Radio 2. Radio 2 stopped broadcasting the weekly repeats in 1970.

The BBC's archive digital radio station, BBC Radio 4 Extra, occasionally broadcasts repeats of the show.

The show was played on Saturday nights on RNZ National (then known as National Radio) in New Zealand in the 1980s.

Other versions and connections to other shows

In the mid-1960s, Many a Slip was tried out on television for one series. Peter Haigh took over as chairman and Steve Race's contribution was replaced by a spot the mistakes in the picture round, but it was deemed too static for TV.[ citation needed ]

Personnel from Many a Slip took part in two special editions of Brain of Britain in which they were pitted against the current year's Brain of Brains. The first, in 1970, featured Eleanor Summerfield, Richard Murdoch and Roy Plomley and was chaired by Franklin Engelmann. [3] The second, in 1976, featured Eleanor Summerfield, David Nixon, Tim Rice and Gillian Reynolds and was chaired by Robert Robinson. [4]

In the first series of Just a Minute after Kenneth Williams died in 1988, for a double recording at the Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street (the home of many Many a Slip recordings), Many a Slip one-time team-mates Richard Murdoch and Lance Percival were reunited to do battle against Clement Freud and Wendy Richard in another of Ian Messiter's panel games. Richard Murdoch remained a regular guest on Just a Minute until he died in 1990.

In the late 1990s, the BBC recorded a pilot of Many a Slip at the Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House. The show's new host was one-time fill-in panellist Graeme Garden. The teams were Helen Lederer and Lorelei King versus Miles Kington and David Stafford. The show had a new musical mistakes man[ specify ] at the piano.

Theme music

The theme music for the series was composed by John Baker at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Related Research Articles

<i>Im Sorry I Havent a Clue</i> BBC radio comedy panel game

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue is a BBC radio comedy panel game. Billed as "the antidote to panel games", it consists of two teams of two comedians being given "silly things to do" by a chairman. The show was launched in April 1972 as a parody of radio and TV panel games, and has been broadcast since on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service, with repeats aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra and, in the 1980s and 1990s, on BBC Radio 2. The 50th series was broadcast in November and December 2007.

<i>Have I Got News for You</i> British television panel show

Have I Got News for You (HIGNFY) is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one always captained by Ian Hislop and one by Paul Merton, each plus a guest panelist, answering questions on various news stories on the week prior to an episode's broadcast. However, the programme's format focuses more on the topical discussions on the subject of the news stories related to questions, and the satirical humour derived from these by the teams. This style of presentation had a profound impact on panel shows in British TV comedy, making it one of the genre's key standard-bearers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Murdoch</span> English actor

Richard Bernard Murdoch was an English actor and entertainer.

Desert Island Discs is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.

<i>The News Quiz</i> British topical radio panel show

The News Quiz is a British topical panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 1977. The show, created by John Lloyd from an idea by Nicholas Parsons, has seen several hosts, including Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Sandi Toksvig, and Miles Jupp. Andy Zaltzman was announced as the permanent host after series 103. The show involves four panellists, often comedians or journalists, who answer questions about events of the previous week, often leading to humorous and satirical exchanges. The show was adapted for television in 1981 and has also inspired other shows.

<i>QI</i> British comedy panel game television quiz show

QI is a British comedy panel game quiz show for television created and co-produced by John Lloyd. The series currently airs on BBC Two and is presented by Sandi Toksvig. It features permanent panellist Alan Davies and three guest panellists per episode; the panellists are mostly comedians. The series was presented by Stephen Fry from its beginning in 2003 until 2016.

Round Britain Quiz is a panel game that has been broadcast on BBC Radio since 1947, making it the oldest quiz still broadcast on British radio. It was based on a format called Transatlantic Quiz, a contest between American and British teams on which Alistair Cooke was an early participant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lance Percival</span> British actor and comedian (1933–2015)

John Lancelot Blades Percival, known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to improvise comic calypsos about current news stories. He later became successful as an after-dinner speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roy Plomley</span> British radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist

Francis Roy Plomley, was an English radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist. He is best remembered for devising the BBC Radio series Desert Island Discs, which he hosted from its inception in 1942 until his death.

<i>Brain of Britain</i> Radio show

Brain of Britain is a BBC radio general knowledge quiz, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Eclair</span> English comedian, novelist, and actress (born 1960)

Jenny Eclair is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in Grumpy Old Women between 2004 and 2007 and in Loose Women in 2011 and 2012.

<i>Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh</i> BBC radio comedy show

Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh was a comedy show broadcast from 1944 to 1950 and 1951 to 1954 by BBC Radio and in 1950–51 by Radio Luxembourg. It was written by and starred Richard Murdoch and Kenneth Horne as officers in a fictional RAF station coping with red tape and the inconveniences and incongruities of life in the Second World War. After the war the station became a country club and finally the show became the chronicle of a newspaper, The Weekly Bind.

Ian Cassan Messiter was an English BBC Radio producer and the creator of a number of panel games, including Just a Minute, Dealing With Daniels and Many a Slip. Messiter brought the successful twenty questions format to BBC Radio and was programme associate for Family Fortunes.

<i>Fighting Talk</i> UK radio program

Fighting Talk is a topical sports show broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live during the English football season. The show is broadcast on Saturday mornings for an hour between 1100 and 1200 and is currently presented by Rick Edwards. This show is a similar format to the ESPN show Around the Horn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Summerfield</span> British actress (1921–2001)

Eleanor Audrey Summerfield was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in Laughter in Paradise (1951), Final Appointment (1954), Odongo (1956), Dentist in the Chair (1960), On the Fiddle (1961), The Running Man (1963) and Some Will, Some Won't (1970).

Counterpoint is a BBC Radio 4 quiz. Described in the show's introduction as "The general knowledge music quiz", the questions are about music, from classical, jazz, pop, musicals, and all other forms of music. It was originally hosted by Ned Sherrin (1986–2006). In the chair for the 2007 series was Edward Seckerson with Paul Gambaccini taking over in 2008, following the death of Ned Sherrin in 2007. Russell Davies took over temporarily in 2013 following allegations made against Gambaccini, who returned to the show in November 2014 after being cleared of the allegations.

Does The Team Think? was a radio panel game broadcast originally on the BBC Light Programme from 1957 to 1976, and revived, again on Radio 2, with a new cast, in 2007. It also broadcast as a TV programme.

Are You an Egghead? is a BBC quiz show that was presented by Dermot Murnaghan. It is a spin-off from the quiz show Eggheads, with its goal to find a further Egghead to complement the existing team. The first series was aired weekdays from 20 October to 2 December 2008 and was won by Barry Simmons. The second and final series was aired from 12 October to 23 November 2009 and was won by Pat Gibson. A similar show, Make Me an Egghead, aired in 2016.

<i>Just a Minute</i> British radio panel game (since 1967)

Just a Minute is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game, hosted by Sue Perkins since 2021. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Perkins assumed the host's chair permanently, starting with the 87th series. Just a Minute was first transmitted on Radio 4 on 22 December 1967, three months after the station's launch. The programme won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award in 2003.

The Write Stuff, "Radio 4's game of literary correctness", was a lighthearted quiz about literature on BBC Radio 4, taking a humorous look at famous literary figures, which ran from 1998 to 2014. It was chaired and written by James Walton. The two teams were captained by novelist Sebastian Faulks and journalist John Walsh, with Beth Chalmers reading literary extracts.

References

  1. "Many a Slip". Radio Times . Vol. 162, no. 2105 (London ed.). BBC Publications. 12 March 1964. p. 35. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  2. "Many a Slip". Radio Times . Vol. 225, no. 2925 (London ed.). BBC Magazines. 29 November 1979. p. 63. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. "Brain of Britain". Radio Times . Vol. 188, no. 2435 (London & South East ed.). BBC Magazines. 9 July 1970. p. 21. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  4. "Brain of Britain meets Many a Slip". Radio Times . Vol. 214, no. 2771 (London ed.). BBC Magazines. 16 December 1976. p. 57. Retrieved 17 February 2020.

Sources