Have I Got News for You Angus Deayton as chairman, with Ian Hislop, the editor of "Private Eye", and comedian Paul Merton as team captains. Each captain was accompanied by a guest, usually a politician, journalist or comedian, or somebody particularly relevant to recent news. Merton took a break from "Have I Got News for You" during the 11th series in 1996, making only one appearance as a guest on Hislop's team. He was variously replaced as opposing team captain by Clive Anderson, Alan Davies and Eddie Izzard (with another two episodes featuring an equal-billing double act as the opponents of Hislop's team). Merton later explained
Have I Got News for You "Radio Times" that female politicians were "too modest" to present the show. Merton said, "The producers always ask more women than men. More women say no... right from the early days, that’s been the case", while Hislop added, "And everyone you think should have been asked has been. Really, they really have... On the whole, women are slightly more reticent and think, maybe modestly, 'I can’t do that'." The quotes triggered a backlash with several female comedians challenging the show's producers to embrace gender equality, while Conservative MP Anna Soubry volunteered to appear as host. Four VHS videos were released,