Have I Got News for You specials. "List complete up to 14 December 2018" In 1993, in the final episode of series 5, The Rt Hon. Roy Hattersley (then an MP, having recently stepped down as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party) cancelled his appearance on the show at the last minute; the third time he had done so. Unable to find a suitable replacement at such short notice, they decided that Paul's guest would be a tub of lard instead, billed as 'The Right Honourable Tub of Lard MP'. In a 1994 episode, Deayton read out the following: "The BBC are cracking down on references
Have I Got News for You too nice to be in a television studio, but I think the BBC had already bought it, so that's how it became a series." Two series are made every year. At first, the number of episodes per series was inconsistent. However, a pattern soon formed whereby the spring series between April and June comprises eight episodes and the autumn series from October to December contains nine, with a one-week break in the middle to allow the broadcasting of Children in Need. The 39th series, broadcast in early 2010, moved the show to a Thursday night slot. The 40th series remained