Just a Minute: The Very Best of Vintage

A Timeless Collection of Classic Episodes

By: BBC Radio Comedy

Narrated by: Nicholas Parsons, Paul Merton, Ian Messiter, Sue Perkins, Barry Cryer, Derek Nimmo, Graham Norton, Gyles Brandreth, Ian Hislop, Jenny Eclair, Kenneth Williams, Martin Jarvis, Sheila Hancock, Tony Hawks, Various

A bumper collection of vintage episodes of the award-winning panel game.

Just a Minute is BBC Radio 4's longest-running panel show, and a national treasure. Since 1967, it has welcomed an array of stellar guest players to demonstrate their verbal dexterity, wicked wit and brilliant banter, as they attempt to speak for 60 seconds on a given subject without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

This extensive, wide-ranging box set brings together 32 of the finest episodes from the programme's history, including 24 taken from the previously published releases Another Classic Collection; A Further Classic Collection; The Golden Collection; Through the Years and A Vintage Collection; as well as 6 shows from The Classic Collection that have never before been available to download.

Spanning over four decades, from 1973 to 2005, they chart the evolution of the nation's best-loved radio comedy, showcasing some of the best and funniest panellists including Sheila Hancock, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo, Tim Rice, Paul Merton, Tony Hawks, Wendy Richard, Jenny Eclair, Graham Norton and Sue Perkins - and, on one notable occasion, Nicholas Parsons.

Packed with fast-paced, irreverent fun and ferocious competition, this fabulous collection features more than 14 hours of non-stop laughter, as these talented talkers battle it out in a bid to secure that most elusive of prizes - a perfect, uninterrupted minute.

NB: Contains mild innuendo. The humour in these programmes sometimes reflects the era in which they were first broadcast. Due to the archive nature of some of the episodes, the sound quality may vary.

Cast and credits

Devised by Ian Messiter

Produced by Simon Brett, John Lloyd, John Browell, David Hatch, Pete Atkin, Edward Taylor, Anne Jobson, Sarah Smith, Chris Neill and Claire Jones

Featuring Sheila Hancock, Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo, Kenneth Williams, William Rushton, Nicholas Parsons, Magnus Pike, Ray Alan, Tim Rice, Brian Johnston, John Junkin, Gyles Brandreth, Martin Jarvis, Barry Cryer, Ian Hislop, Paul Merton, Richard Murdoch, Wendy Richard, Richard Stilgoe, Tony Hawks, Jeremy Hardy, Jenny Eclair, Kit Hesketh-Harvey, Lee Simpson, Graham Norton, Linda Smith, Steve Frost, Stephen Frost, Sue Perkins, Ross Noble, Fred MacAulay, Maria McErlane and Nick Revell

Chairman: Nicholas Parsons and (on 12 January 1977) Ian Messiter

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:

6 August 1973, 23 December 1975, 15 December 1976, 12 January 1977, 16 March 1977, 20 April 1977, 20 February 1979, 15 January 1980, 12 February 1980, 20 February 1982, 29 October 1983, 28 July 1984, 3 April 1985, 18 January 1986, 18 April 1987, 4 April 1989, 28 April 1990, 23 February 1991, 7 January 1995, 28 January 1995, 11 February 1995, 18 February 1995, 18 January 1999, 1 February 1999, 19 July 1999, 2 August 1999, 25 February 2002, 4 March 2002, 26 January 2004, 31 January 2005, 21 February 2005 and 7 March 2005.

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