Have I Got News for You to Ian and Kevin Maxwell, in case programme-makers appear biased in their treatment of these two heartless, scheming bastards." However, the Maxwell brothers were about to go on trial, and on 26 July 1996, the BBC and Hat Trick Productions were fined £10,000 each in the High Court for contempt of court. The risky nature of the joke was readily apparent on the night itself, with Hislop and Merton humorously claiming that Deayton might genuinely have to prepare himself for a spell in prison because of it. In 1996, a book based on the series, "Have I Got 1997 for
Have I Got News for You for You" was moved as a result to 9pm on Friday nights on BBC One, where it has remained since, apart from two series in 2010 when the show was broadcast on Thursday nights. There have been 55 series of the programme broadcast. The UKTV channel Dave carries regular repeats of the show. "Have I Got News for You" began on BBC Two on 28 September 1990 and transferred to BBC One in October 2000. "Myself and Ian, we did a disastrous pilot for it," Paul Merton said nine years later. "It was a beautiful summer's afternoon in 1990. Far