Just a Minute usually by mistake or for laughs. The game rewards those who make entertaining challenges, even if they do not speak for very long. If successful, last-second challenges can be especially rewarding, as they allow one to speak for a short time but earn two points—one for the challenge and one for being the last speaker. The game is then scored and a winner declared, but the attraction of the show lies less in the contest than in the humour and banter among participants and the chairman. Nicholas Parsons has chaired the show since its inception. On nine occasions he has
Just a Minute to its "insanely basic" format, stating, "It's so blank that it can be filled by people as diverse as Paul Merton and Graham Norton, who don't have to adapt their style of humour to the show at all." Throughout its half-century history, the show has, in addition to its popularity in the UK, developed an international following through its broadcast on the BBC World Service and, more recently, on the internet. The idea for the game came to Ian Messiter as he rode on the top of a number 13 bus. He recalled Percival Parry Jones, a history master from