Jeremy Hardy
Jeremy Hardy

Jeremy Hardy

  • English
  • Writer and stand-up comedian

Press clippings Page 6

I wasn't planning to review this show but things changed for reasons you will soon discover.

The long running satirical panel game, currently hosted by Sandi Toksvig, has been running since 1977, and last week saw the start of its 74th series. This week's guests included regular performers Jeremy Hardy and Susan Calman, semi-regular Will Smith, and journalist Matthew Parris.

There were some topics that you would expect to be covered, such as the royal wedding, super injunctions and Libya, but then it came to the subject of tuition fees, and how most universities are raising them to extortionate rates.

Among those are my old university, Teesside University in Middlesbrough, which this week announced it was planning to put up its fees of £8,500. As you would expect, they took the mickey out of the region. Parris said that what was actually going on was that they were actually selling the whole university for £8,500.

Smith said that £8,500 tuition fees were a status thing, but argued that if this was the reason that they should just change the name to "Oxbridge University of the North" or "Hogwarts".

It cost the university £20,000 to change its logo and the name of the establishment to "Teesside University" from "University of Teesside", so £8,500 is nothing, really. Toksvig at the end claimed that if anyone was offended, the £8,500 includes, "a whole row of terrace houses."

To be honest with you, I was shocked when I heard them talking about Teesside in such a fashion, because I am amazed that anyone on BBC Radio 4 has even heard of Teesside.

I didn't mind The News Quiz mocking my old university, though. I'm just glad it got the publicity, even if it was not the most glowing publicity. To be honest, when I heard that the fees were going up, I was on Twitter arguing the raise was impossible; because no-one in Teesside has £8,500. (It's true - I'm currently writing this on a Windows 98 in a skip near a Starbucks, leeching onto the Wi-Fi).

The News Quiz show is still entertaining after so many years, and because it is on at 6.30pm, it mocks the news two-and-a-half hours before Have I Got News for You does. Well worth a listen.

Ian Wolf, Giggle Beats, 26th April 2011

The News Quiz: Are men the problem in football?

This week's News Quiz lineup features Jeremy Hardy, Sue Perkins, Paul Sinha and Carrie Quinlan alongside presenter Sandi Toksvig. Tonight, the panel tackles Sky Sports' own goal, and asks, 'Are men the problem in football?'

Jaine Sykes, BBC Comedy, 28th January 2011

News Quiz: Why will there be no end of the peer show?

It's Friday, so here's a little treat from tonight's News Quiz, featuring Sue Perkins, Mark Steel, Jeremy Hardy and Hugo Rifkind.

Jaine Sykes, BBC Comedy, 21st January 2011

News Quiz: the clink is going to shrink

Here's an advance dose of tonight's News Quiz, featuring Susan Calman, Jeremy Hardy, Henning Wehn and Sue Perkins. After Justice Secretary Ken Clarke announced the closure of three "outdated and expensive" prisons, Sandi Toksvig asks German stand-up Henning Wehn for an analysis.

Jon Aird, BBC Comedy, 14th January 2011

Whoever thought that watching one person give a lift to another person would be so entertaining? This week Robert Llewellyn gives a ride to Jeremy Hardy and Rob Brydon, and the continuing theme through both interviews is taking the mickey out of Tony Blair.

Sky, 18th November 2010

Going Off Air with The News Quiz

And so, the last News Quiz of the series is in the bag, with the usual funnies from our esteemed panel of Andy Hamilton, Miles Jupp, Phill Jupitus and Jeremy Hardy.

Jon Aird, BBC Comedy, 12th November 2010

The News Quiz Benefit

This week's News Quiz lineup consists of Andy Hamilton, Miles Jupp, Sue Perkins and Jeremy Hardy. But as we had a picture of most of them last week, instead here's Sandi with one of our excellent script writers - Simon Littlefield.

David Thair, BBC Comedy, 8th October 2010

Britain's Next Top News Quiz

Tonight's News Quiz on Radio 4 sees the esteemed panel of Francis Wheen and Jeremy Hardy slogging it out against Sue Perkins and Andy Hamilton to win points from Sandi Toksvig by answering questions about topical events. Who will win? We literally don't know*. (*We literally do. The show was recorded on Thursday night. We're just not telling.)

David Thair, BBC Comedy, 1st October 2010

You never know, it might get witty this time. The venerable topical comment panel show returns for another season. Sandi Toksvig chairs, Jeremy Hardy, Sue Perkins and brilliant Andy Hamilton are among the guests. But is the nation in the mood for comedians taking pot shots? I doubt it. These are hard times and likely to get harder. That's why the gloriously spiky surrealism of Jon Holmes's Listen Against in this slot on Tuesdays is such a tonic. If News Quiz wants to be more than a habit it had better shape up. Radio 4's new Controller is listening.

Gillian Reynolds, The Telegraph, 24th September 2010

Comedian Ava Vidal looks at how devolution has changed the way we laugh at our politicians. Now that power has moved from Westminster to Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, she explores whether comedy has followed it and whether politicians are viewed in any way differently in each place. And as Westminster adapts to a new government, is the content of political comedy there due for a change too? Is there such a thing as national political satire anymore? Including contributions from political comedian Jeremy Hardy, producer Bill Dare and comedy club manager Tommy Sheppard.

Radio Times, 17th July 2010

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