1986: IAN HISLOP and NED SHERRIN on SATIRE | Late Night Line-Up I Classic BBC Clips | BBC Archive

Joan Bakewell hosts a discussion on the state of television satire in the post Spitting Image era. Her guests are Ned Sherrin, who produced the seminal 1960s TV satire That Was The Week That Was, and Ian Hislop, the editor of Private Eye and a scriptwriter on Spitting Image.
Originally broadcast 6 November, 1986.
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[@tobytheone8596]

I remember Ian Hislop saying that in Peter Cook's time at Private Eye, whenever he was in court for libel he would look up at the public gallery and there would be Peter waving a cheque book at him with a huge grin on his face.

[@gallitron7803]

Ian was 26 here and had recently became editor of PE in 1986.

[@slartibartfast7921]

That’s insane. His speech patterns and mannerisms are identical now as they were then.

[@michaelt8682]

looks about 48

[@IAmSoMuchBetterThanYou]

@@michaelt8682 And acts about 48!

[@andymacfaul2852]

“It ended with Paula Yates saying ‘talk clean to me’ “ 😂

[@chap666ish]

I thought that line was funny too.

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

Joan Bakewell. Classy. Hislop. Never young. Sherrin. Drawling and pompous. Very entertaining chat.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

I'm now 46 and still not as mature as Ian was here at 26.

[@andydixon2980]

Ha ha I'm 48 and look up to the young Hislop(intellectually).

[@associatedblacksheepandmisfits]

Nice to have a realistic satirist still. Thanks Ian.

[@reverendroar]

Ian looks like such a hipster in 1986! And in many ways he’s still got it in style!

[@migrated2023]

Totally dapper that Mr Hislop chap , still styling it today .

[@danmayberry1185]

Fascinating how this chat evolves over time. Ian became adept at legal hearings and still champions free press/speech, in tune with Rowan A. and the Pythons before him. Stewart Lee, Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle, et al pushed the envelope with varying success, but did move the posts. Meanwhile in America, Malcolm Muggeridge Has Risen.

[@beingsshepherd]

Do they call for the ban on RT to be lifted? Assange, Graham Phillips, anti-vaccine voices?

[@markiliff]

2:00 "Ian, you were very small then"

[@lizaluk]

Grateful to all the relevant

[@maxresdefault_]

This is so timeless

[@StratsRUs]

When Ian was in Bronski Beat.

[@robinvanags912]

'Late Night Line-Up' returned in 1986 as part of the 50th anniversary of BBC Television.

[@kingofpointless]

Makes sense that Ian wrote for Spitting Image, seeing as he's dressed as Brains from Thunderbirds (another TV puppet) here.

[@alanbeaumont4848]

He nicked Ben Elton's suit. Ben was supposed to be the third panel member but was found in his underwear trussed up in the green room.

[@clavichord]

Well, those glasses were in fashion in the 80s

[@kingofpointless]

@@clavichord Well, Thunderbirds was set in the future.

[@nickbarton3191]

more like Ben Elton

[@regplasma7906]

Nice to see Jimmy Somerville doing some early satire.

[@ladyflimflam]

Ian in full Jimmy Sommerville cosplay here

[@mark-shane]

Ned Sherrin was great

[@RatelHBadger]

Pompous and arrogant. You can say "we were of a different time and place" all you like but everything else that comes from your mouth is dripping in condescension and derision. He is saying of Hislops' comedy, you aren't as good as me, in far too many words, that the man responsible for writing the KZbin closed captions has given up and moved to Kettering, he got the point after the first mouthful.

[@markiliff]

*grate

[@kenpudsey6435]

Ian hasnt changed much at all has he?..he was still as sharp as a knife even back then..a great bloke!

[@davidgraham8058]

He’s a bit of a silly ideologue now. He’s not a satirist, he just bleats out his propaganda. It’s been years since he made an anti-Labour joke and he adores Keir Starmer for some reason.

[@kenpudsey6435]

@davidgraham8058 I must admit (I thought it was just me) that he has become very left leaning in his political views..he never really said what his politics were..beforehand everybody was in his crossbars,but now it's changed.

[@johnking5174]

@@kenpudsey6435 When you have had a hard right conservative government in power under the moron Johnson, the pathetic Truss and up to now the weak as bath water Sunak, of course your attitude changes. People's politics are not set in stone. I myself float between Labour, Lib Dem and Green Party in my politics, never resting on one party. I am a mixture of Blair, Brown and Kinnock Labour politics. So of course he has changed. The days were people blindly followed one party for all of their lives is long gone.

[@rgarlinyc]

One thing that distinguishes a free society from a restrictive one is that the latter forbids satire - take present day Russia or China as example. Thank G_d for people like Ian Hislop (who looks 12 yrs old here, by the way), who's still active and pointed today!

[@fioredeutchmark]

So by that measure the UK with its thought police charging people for jokes on twitter would be about the same. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones 👍🏻

[@daniellamcgee4251]

@@fioredeutchmark There is a difference between discriminatory hate speech against people in the current minority, and satire against public figures who have public responsibilities and need to be held accountable for their actions. Jokes that 'punch down' to further support, condone, normalise and pile on to the already existing discrimination that significantly impacts on people's daily lives, and human rights, is just abuse by people who can't handle people being different to them. Making jokes, and laughing with people is one thing, derisive hate speech that is only funny to people who enjoy being bullies to feel better about themselves, is another matter .That is why discriminatory hate speech dressed up as a joke is a human rights issue for the intended target, and protecting human rights is a matter for the court. It seems to me that it is the people of privilege, by virtue of not being in a minority group, who don't understand the impacts of hate speech and discrimination, are the people who want their right to tell a discriminatory and hateful joke protected. Boo hoo! I can't tell a joke for attention and validation of my insecurities, that perpetuates daily damage in a person's life! I hope that clarifies why some jokes need to be removed from social media to protect human rights, and why it is a legal issue. Being able to freely criticise institutions that have control and influence over your life is about your right to free speech, which is also protected by the law in many countries.

[@deepzepp4176]

@@daniellamcgee4251 “punching down” lol. What a load of tripe.

[@regidon6816]

"a free society" tell tht to andrew tate hahahahahahaha

[@beingsshepherd]

@@daniellamcgee4251 What do you make of the _South Park_ cartoon? The apotheosis of mean-spirited punching down, inexplicably championed and defended by progressive liberals the world over.

[@berbababy]

How hot was Joan Bakewell???!

[@alanbeaumont4848]

Slightly surprised to see Have I got News for you have a mild pop at the Royals recently. BBC is now more nervous about satire because of 'balance'.

[@beingsshepherd]

oO(What _balance?_ They incessantly bash Russia round the clock.)

[@simonvaughan6017]

Basically, nine minutes of Ned Sherrin needling Ian Hislop.

[@deepzepp4176]

Hislop grew into his face, eventually.

[@RatelHBadger]

And his glasses

[@grahammansfield3528]

When TV was respectful to the intelligence of the viewer.

[@vomgrady]

Malcolm Gladwell did a very good podcast (Revisionist History) about satire and whether it is actually affective politically.

[@petergivenbless900]

On the concern around shocking people; you can be outrageous as possible so long as it is funny (there's the rub)!

[@StratsRUs]

Nazis loved comedy

[@petergivenbless900]

@@StratsRUs I hope that's not a syllogism!

[@maryfromthedairy2132]

Ian has always been middle aged.

[@halfabeet]

boy there's a lot of passive-aggressiveness there

[@tjfSIM]

Yeh a lot of tension between Hislop and Sherrin. I think a lot of that was because Hislop didn’t like being patronised and interrupted by Sherrin.

[@StillAliveAndKicking_]

I predict that young man will do quite well for himself. God how TV has changed, this really is high BBC, two public school types, one state school woman affecting the required posh accent. I prefer the modern world.

[@silversteel6312]

Ned was working on The A-Team in his bedroom before attending this interview with Ian.

[@nickbarton3191]

Ian looks like Ben Elton here.

[@RatelHBadger]

Imagine the pair of them working together, the sacred cows they would have slain in the conservative establishment of the 80's.

[@changelocation]

Born old lan.

[@mccobsta]

When did Ian have hair

[@R_Jackson]

There are pictures of him at Ardingly with a blond bob, like an angel in a stained-glass window, it's astonishing!

[@richardmattocks]

The 80’s… when they wanted to shock and offend and people loved it…. Now it’s all just so safe.

[@timg5tm941]

Sherrin was pretty defensive here.

[@deputyvanhalen6386]

Truman Capote and a young James Whale!🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@MatthewLenton]

Where are we heading? Where people are offended by the mildest thing possible

[@daniellamcgee4251]

I agree that in some cases the pendulum has swung too far, but it is a vast improvement on previously, when there was no understanding at all that what is mildly offensive to one person, can be damaging to another. It is only the target of the joke who is in the position to say if it's mildly, or deeply offensive and damaging. Unless it's blatant discriminatory hate speech, in which case it is obviously a human rights issue, which has legal protection. Generally, it is the people with no lived experience of the content of the joke/ comment who do not understand, and therefore minimise, the impacts on the target of the joke/ comment, who does have lived experience and suffers for it. Minimising people's experiences is either done in ignorance, or is blatant maniputive gas-lighting, with the purpose of having power and control over another person.

[@gcooper642]

@@daniellamcgee4251 hear hear. Well said

[@daniellamcgee4251]

@@gcooper642 Why, thank you G Cooper!

[@sratus]

@@daniellamcgee4251 Well explained

[@davedogge2280]

Is edgy satire these days, say when Joan enters a women's feminist meeting and says: "My name is Bakewell, it's a surname not a command my husband gives me."...??

[@daniellamcgee4251]

No, not in 2022. In 1922, yes, definitely.

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

No. Satire tends to be funnier.

[@davedogge2280]

@@hawsrulebegin7768 because 'Iron Woman' is not a superhero. It's a command !

[@antman5474]

How dull was that?

[@wendyhill3856]

Cannot bear Hislop !

[@growlerthe2nd712]

Why ?

[@jainee4507]

I always found Ian to be an odious man.