Yes Minister radio show (1983-1984, United Kingdom)
Episode time
27 minutes
Language
English
Newly re-elected to parliament, MP Jim Hacker is summoned to Downing Street by the Prime Minister. He is informed that he was appointed a cabinet minister for the Department of Administrative Affairs. With head full of lofty ideas and heart full of hope, he wants to be completely different from his predecessors - he wants the government to be open for the public scrutiny and serving the people. His appointed private secretary, Bernard Woolley, is there to help him navigate the troubled waters between the government policies and the British Civil Service administration. The Permanent Secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, is there to stop him from navigating the troubled waters and just follow the steps of the previous ministers, which is "do as you are told".
Radio adaptation of the classic TV sitcom was made with more effort than in the past, the episodes were re-recorded with (mostly) the same cast instead of just using the audio tracks from the TV episodes. The series was centred around the conflict between political will and the brutal reality of administration, represented by the Civil Service. It was brilliantly written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn and the show exposed the subtle ways in which the heartless bureaucracy is stopping the politicians from making a change.
The characters, the plots, the brilliant dialogues and the tricks that still are in use in today politics made the TV series a classic and the radio adaptation was equally entertaining.
Discover more
If you like political fiction, you can test your skills in an online political game called Gubernator. Can you survive in reality where everyone is out to get you? Challenge yourself
add a commentCreators of Yes Minister
screenplay
screenplay
Cast of Yes Minister
as Jim Hacker
as Sir Humphrey Appleby
as Bernard Woolley
as Annie Hacker
as Frank Weisel
as Sir Arnold
