Paul Merton on the birth of Have I Got News for You

In an extract from his new autobiography, the comedian remembers the beginning of the iconic panel show.

Why do they do it? MPs who appear on BBC's Have I Got News For You, I mean.

Conservative Peter Bone was the latest to enter the lion's den and receive a mauling, with an old headline dragged up accusing him of being "Britain's meanest boss" for paying a trainee 87p an hour, and then just as predictably contrasted with another story that he employs his wife as one of the best-paid secretaries in the House of Commons.

It all made for toe-curling viewing as he floundered. But he's hardly alone - off the top of my head I can recall fellow Tory MP Michael Fabricant, former UKIP member Godfrey Bloom (the one who said women who didn't clean behind the fridge were "sluts") and Labour's then defence secretary Bob Ainsworth all making similar gruesome appearances. In every case, vanity triumphs over caution. Boris and Nigel Farage are the only two politicians who can remotely pull off such stunts.

One further point: the Beeb's decision to run its other comedy quiz Would I Lie To You? directly before HIGNFY is a particularly cruel piece of scheduling. The former show, thanks to team captains Lee Mack and David Mitchell and host Rob Brydon, is as sharp as a tack and laugh out loud; messrs Hislop and Merton's effort, by contrast, now looks creaking and dated.

Paul Merton: Ann Widdecombe was HIGNFY's worst host

Paul Merton believes that former conservative politician Ann Widdecombe got cocky when hosting the topical quiz.

Radio Times review

Where were the court jesters when we needed them? Through the heavy developments of the past few months, we could have done with a few satirical sideswipes from the Have I Got News for You panel to lighten the load. There's nothing like a barb from Ian Hislop or a childish quip from Paul Merton to put recent events in perspective.

Now at least, they're back for a new run, and in the hot seat once again is the unflappable Jennifer Saunders as guest host. Even better, the great Armando Iannucci joins one of the teams, not least to offer a Scottish point of view, while excellent actress and stand-up Sara Pascoe makes her debut.

After 47 seasons of HIGNFY, how has satire changed?

Have I Got News for You has run for 47 seasons - can satire in Britain survive for its 48th?

Paul Daniels talks about Have I Got News For You

"Why did you go on it?" I asked. "Because I couldn't figure out," explained Paul Daniels, "why my very funny friends weren't funny when they were on it.

BBC clears HIGNFY of offending Prince Harry

A report has cleared the satirical quiz show Have I Got News For You of offending Prince Harry, on the basis that it is a 'tradition' to poke fun at the royals.

HIGNFY tops Friday ratings for third week

The BBC One panel show, which was hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, was Friday's highest-rated show outside of soaps, attracting 4.46 million (20.6%) viewers at 9pm.

Ian Hislop: There aren't enough happy women on shows

Ian Hislop has said that a large part of the problem with getting more women on panel shows is that they simply don't want to take part because of the format.

Have I Got News for You returns to top Friday ratings

Have I Got News For You was Friday's (April 4) highest rated primetime show outside of soaps.