| Genre | Panel game |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Syndicates | BBC Radio 4 Extra |
| Hosted by | Nigel Rees |
| Announcer | (Readers) Charlotte Green, Sally Grace, Alison Skilbeck |
| Created by | Nigel Rees |
| Recording studio | BBC Radio Theatre and remotely |
| Original release | 4 January 1976 – present |
| No. of series | 56 as of November 2020 |
| No. of episodes | 499 as of November 2020 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Opening theme | Duddly Dell, written and performed by Dudley Moore |
| Website | Official website |
Quote ... Unquote is a panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4 based on quotations. Every episode since the beginning of the series on 4 January 1976 has been chaired by its deviser, Nigel Rees. The programme broadcast its 56th series in October/November 2020.
Format
The main part of the programme consists of a non-competitive quiz where the chairman asks each of the three panellists (originally four) in turn to identify where a certain quotation, phrase or saying comes from. In between these rounds, the panellists are asked to share some of their favourite quotations on a specified theme. Other parts of the programme are devoted to answering queries from the programme's listeners about the sources of quotations and the origins of everyday phrases and idioms.
Contestants
There have been over 500 guests on the programme, many appearing multiple times. They include: Tom Stoppard, Peter Cook, Peter Ustinov, Ned Sherrin, Judi Dench, Alan Bennett, Denis Healey, David Attenborough, Kingsley Amis, Kenneth Williams, Douglas Adams, John Mortimer, Neil Kinnock, Celia Haddon, Katharine Whitehorn, Julian Mitchell, Malcolm Muggeridge and Lord George-Brown.
Production
The programme uses former BBC staff announcers or actors to read the quotations. Ronald Fletcher[1] was the original reader. In recent years the main male reader has been Peter Jefferson, formerly of Radio 4, who took over from William Franklyn when the actor died in 2006, though Charlotte Green has taken over the role from the beginning of Series 50 in August 2014. Former Radio 3 announcer Patricia Hughes was another regular, starting in 1994.[2]
A number of significant comedy producers have supervised the programme early in their careers, including John Lloyd (deviser of QI), TV executive Geoffrey Perkins, Have I Got News for You producer Harry Thompson and Armando Iannucci.
The programme's theme tune, between which snatches of quotations are inserted at the beginning of each show, is "Duddly Dell", written and performed by Dudley Moore — the B-side of the single "Strictly for the Birds" (1961).
References
- ^ Rees, Nigel (9 February 1996). "Ronald Fletcher obituary". The Independent. London: Newspaper Publishing plc. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^ Rees, Nigel (24 February 2013). "Patricia Hughes obituary". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
External links
- Quote... Unquote at BBC Programmes
