Just a Minute appeared on the panel, and others have acted as chairman including Sir Clement Freud, Geraldine Jones, Andrée Melly "as our contribution to the women's liberation movement", and Kenneth Williams. Ian Messiter was chairman on one occasion in 1977, when Freud arrived late and Nicholas Parsons took his place on the panel. Parsons had appeared on every show, either as chairman or panelist, until Series 81 Episode 4 when he was absent for the first time in the show's 51 year history. That show, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 18:30hrs on the 4th June 2018, was hosted by Gyles Brandreth
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