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
Today (BBC Radio 4) department in 1963, and started to become more news-orientated. The two editions also became longer, and by the end of the 1960s it had become a single programme two hours in length that enveloped the news bulletins and the religious talk that had become "Thought for the Day" in 1970. In May 1977, Radio 4 controller Ian McIntyre cut it to two 25-minute parts, filling the gap with "Up to the Hour". The new format was unpopular with BBC staff, including Peter Donaldson who on at least one occasion openly ridiculed the programme on air. It also provoked comments in