If I Ruled the World (game show)

If I Ruled the World
Genre Gameshow comedy
Created by Richard Osman
Presented by Clive Anderson
Starring Graeme Garden
Jeremy Hardy
Theme music composer Dave Hewson
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 14
Production company(s) Hat Trick Productions
Release
Original network BBC Two
Original release 27 February 1998 (1998-02-27) – 29 March 1999 (1999-03-29)
Chronology
Related shows Parlamentet

If I Ruled the World is a television show aired in the United Kingdom in 1998 and 1999. It was a comedy panel game show, similar to Have I Got News for You but focused on parodying the behaviour of politicians. Rounds included answering questions without using the words 'Yes' or 'No', and finding reasons to disagree with policies proposed by the other team, no matter how sensible. The winning team was chosen each week by a vote of the studio audience. The show was named after the 1960s theatre song "If I Ruled the World".

The show was presented by Clive Anderson. Team captains Graeme Garden and Jeremy Hardy were the Blue and Red Party Leaders, with Anderson quipping that there was no more of an official political difference between these two teams than existed between Britain's major parties of the time. "I was supposed to be a Labour politician, and Graeme was supposed to be a Tory, but we didn't have to stay completely in character if we wanted to sort of shamelessly do gags,"[1] recounts Hardy, who affected the far more absurdly right-wing of the two characters, a extremely wealthy aristocrat disdainful toward the voters and infrequently heard to advocate a coup.

Repeat guests included Rebecca Front, Andy Hamilton, Tony Hawks, Fred MacAulay and Pauline McLynn, with Hawks deputizing for Jeremy during his one absence. Other guests included frequent Hardy collaborators Mark Steel, Gordon Kennedy and Linda Smith, and also journalists John Sergeant and Janet Street Porter. Maureen Lipman was advertised to appear in the fourth episode[2] although McLynn appeared in her stead. The series was produced by Anne Marie Thorogood and Richard Osman for Hat Trick Productions.

Rounds

Several rounds were played throughout the programme's run:

Discontinuation

The decision to discontinue the show was that of BBC2 controller Jane Root, who (based on interviews with Garden and Hardy) "allegedly accepted it was a great show, but [felt it] didn't fit ... the direction BBC2 should be headed," and is also widely credited with the decision that Garden's most well-known program, The Goodies, "would never be repeated on the BBC."[3]

Episode list

Fourteen episodes of the series were broadcast in all, airing weekly from 27 February to 3 April 1998 and from 8 February to 29 March 1999. [2]

The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows:

     – indicates Graeme's team won.
     – indicates Jeremy's team won.

Series 1

Episode First broadcast Graeme's guest Jeremy's guest Votes (%)
1x01 27 February 1998 Maria McErlane Tony Hawks 75–25
1x02 6 March 1998 Fred MacAulay Rebecca Front 56–44
1x03 13 March 1998 Greg Proops Tim Brooke-Taylor 52–48
1x04 20 March 1998 Gordon Kennedy Pauline McLynn 57–43
1x05 27 March 1998 Andy Hamilton Richard Wilson 45-55
1x06 3 April 1998 Mark Steel Doon Mackichan 71–29

Series 2

Episode First broadcast Graeme's guest Jeremy's guest Votes (%)
2x01 Feb 8, 1999 Tony Hawks Rebecca Front 65–35
2x02 Feb 15, 1999 Griff Rhys Jones Will Self 51-49
2x03 Feb 22, 1999 John Thomson Linda Smith 51–49
2x04 Mar 1, 1999 Pauline McLynn Hugh Dennis 60–40
2x05 Mar 8, 1999 Janet Street-Porter Tony Hawks 78–22
2x06 Mar 15, 1999 Fred MacAulay Rebecca Front 51–49
2x07 Mar 22, 1999 Sue Perkins Tony Hawks,[fn 1] Hugh Dennis 51–49
2x08 Mar 29, 1999 John Sergeant/Andy Hamilton Andy Hamilton/John Sergeant[fn 2] TBC

International editions

Notes

  1. Hawks replaced Jeremy Hardy as team captain for this episode.
  2. Radio Times lists these as the two guests, although it does not specify team assignments, and gives erroneous guest listings for several other episodes.

References

  1. Roberts, Jem. "The Fully Authorized History of "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue": The Clue Bible" (Random House) p. 351
  2. 1 2 "Research: BBC GenomeBeta - Radio Times 1923-2009". Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  3. Roberts, p. 352
  4. "Peter Kær tilbage med program på TV3".

External links

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