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Yes Minister. Image shows from L to R: James Hacker (Paul Eddington), Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne), Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds). Copyright: BBC.

Yes Minister

BBC Two sitcom about the inner workings of government. 23 episodes (3 series), 1980 - 1984. Stars Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne, Derek Fowlds, Diana Hoddinott and others.

Series 2, Episode 1 is repeated on Gold tomorrow at 7:10am

Series 1, Episode 5 - The Writing On The Wall

Jim's latest drive to slim down the Civil Service has won favour with both the PM and Cabinet colleagues, but Sir Humphrey is bitterly opposed to the plans. However, the pair are forced to put the disagreement aside when it becomes apparent that they could both be adversely affected.

Broadcast details

Date
Monday 24th March 1980
Time
9pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

  1. Tuesday 14th June 2011 at 8:00pm on Gold
  2. Friday 7th October 2011 at 10:40am on Gold
  3. Friday 7th October 2011 at 5:20pm on Gold
  4. Tuesday 24th April 2012 at 11:40pm on Gold
  5. Wednesday 25th April 2012 at 1:35am on Gold
  6. Wednesday 22nd August 2012 at 12:20pm on Gold
  7. Wednesday 22nd August 2012 at 7:00pm on Gold
  8. Tuesday 8th January 2013 at 8:20pm on Gold
  9. Friday 7th June 2013 at 7:00am on Gold
  10. Friday 7th June 2013 at 6:20pm on Gold
  11. Sunday 21st July 2013 at 9:00am on Gold
  12. Tuesday 26th November 2013 at 12:05pm on Gold
  13. Wednesday 27th November 2013 at 8:30am on Gold
  14. Saturday 8th February 2014 at 11:00pm on Gold
  15. Sunday 9th February 2014 at 2:00am on Gold
  16. Thursday 10th April 2014 at 6:15am on Gold
  17. Thursday 10th April 2014 at 11:15am on Gold
  18. Saturday 4th October 2014 at 7:00pm on Gold
  19. Sunday 5th October 2014 at 7:00am on Gold
  20. Wednesday 18th March 2015 at 7:00am on Gold
  21. Wednesday 18th March 2015 at 3:20pm on Gold
  22. Thursday 4th June 2015 at 4:45pm on BBC2
  23. Thursday 25th June 2015 at 12:00am on Gold
  24. Thursday 25th June 2015 at 2:40am on Gold
  25. Wednesday 9th March 2016 at 10:40pm on Yesterday
  26. Tuesday 26th July 2016 at 10:00pm on Yesterday
  27. Wednesday 27th July 2016 at 8:45pm on Yesterday
  28. Monday 29th August 2016 at 2:45pm on BBC2
  29. Tuesday 31st January 2017 at 3:00pm on Yesterday
  30. Tuesday 31st January 2017 at 9:00pm on Yesterday
  31. Sunday 12th March 2017 at 10:40pm on Yesterday
  32. Monday 13th March 2017 at 9:40pm on Yesterday
  33. Friday 13th October 2017 at 7:10am on Gold

Cast & crew

Regular cast
Paul Eddington James Hacker (Minister for Administrative Affairs)
Nigel Hawthorne Sir Humphrey Appleby (Permanent Secretary)
Derek Fowlds Bernard Woolley (Principal Private Secretary)
Neil Fitzwilliam Frank Weisel (Political Advisor)
Guest cast
Tenniel Evans Martin (Foreign Secretary)
John Savident Sir 'Jumbo' Frederick
Daniel Moynihan Daniel Hughes (Prime Minister's Senior Policy Adviser)
Writing team
Antony Jay Writer
Jonathan Lynn Writer
Production team
Sydney Lotterby Director
Sydney Lotterby Producer
Tom Yardley-Jones Production Designer
Ronnie Hazlehurst Composer
Neil Pittaway Editor

Press

Brexit vote makes Yes Minister clip go viral

In the episode "The Writing on the Wall", Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby patiently explains to minister Jim Hacker precisely why Britain has such a vexed relationship with the EU. "Minister, Britain has had the same foreign policy objective for at least the last five hundred years: to create a disunited Europe," he says.

James Gill, Radio Times, 24th June 2016

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