Trivia

The show was designed by ITV as an answer to the popular BBC series Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979).

Rik Mayall was initially approached to appear, but he dropped out.

The same cast was then used for the sketch show Alfresco (1983), albeit with Paul Shearer replaced by Robbie Coltrane. The series effectively worked as a pilot for Alfresco (1983), and several sketches from the former were reproduced in the latter.

Tony Slattery was supposed to join the cast, but he accepted an offer from Chris Tarrant to join Saturday Stayback (1983).

This was the first collaboration between Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.