Editing Have I Got News for You (section)

==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2019}}
[[Image:HIGNFY Studio 2019.jpg|thumb|right|The ''Have I Got News for You'' studio]]
''Have I Got News for You'' was initially conceived as a pilot for the [[BBC]] called ''John Lloyd's Newsround''. The BBC had commissioned Hat Trick Productions to make a television show which was like a more topical version of Hat Trick's ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (British TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]'' (developed by future ''[[Mock the Week]]'' creators Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson), but it was decided that the show would follow a template more in keeping with [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4's]] ''[[The News Quiz]]''. Hat Trick hired a producer with a track record in radio comedy, [[John Lloyd (producer)|John Lloyd]], and filmed a pilot with a title which aped long-running [[CBBC (TV channel)|Children's BBC]] programme ''[[John Craven|John Craven's]] [[Newsround]]''.

After filming the pilot, John Lloyd decided not to proceed as chairman, and the job fell to comedian [[Angus Deayton]], after try-outs with future ''News Quiz'' host [[Sandi Toksvig]] and a pre-fame [[Chris Evans (presenter)|Chris Evans]] in the main role.<ref>''What's Funny About...''Series 2 Episode 2 of 6 on BBC Radio 4 from 29 September 2021/BBC Radio 4 Extra 30 September 2021: Ian Hislop & Jimmy Mulville on ''Have I Got News For You'' with TV veterans Peter Fincham and Jon Plowman.</ref> The team captains – [[Ian Hislop]], editor of ''[[Private Eye]]'' and a staff writer for ''[[Spitting Image]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/ian-hislop-my-20-years-at-the-eye-421312.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220509/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/ian-hislop-my-20-years-at-the-eye-421312.html |archive-date=9 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Ian Hislop: My 20 Years at the Eye |newspaper=Independent |date=2007 |access-date=2 March 2017}}</ref> and [[Paul Merton]], comedian and ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (British TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]'' cast member – returned from the pilot.

Since its first broadcast on 28 September 1990, the BBC has commissioned two series each year, the number of episodes being divided between the Spring series, broadcast from April to June, and the Autumn series, shown from October to December. The Autumn series takes a week's break to make room for the [[Children in Need]] special.
For the first ten years of its existence, the programme was shown on [[BBC Two]]. Hislop has been the longest-serving member of the three on the programme since its premiere. He has not missed a single episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/comedy/2017-10-06/have-i-got-news-for-you-15-facts/|title=15 fascinating facts about Have I Got News for You|date=6 October 2017|website=Radio Times|access-date=7 November 2021}}</ref> Merton took a break during the 11th series in 1996, saying he had become "very tired" of the show and thought it had become "stuck in a rut". In his absence, his role was assigned to a guest team captain each episode, with Merton himself returning for one episode as a guest on Hislop's team. Merton returned for the following series as team captain, deeming that his absence had given the programme the "shot in the arm" it needed and that it had been "better ever since".<ref group=note>''The Very Best of Have I Got News for You'' (2002): DVD commentary</ref>

By 2000, the BBC made a decision to relocate its late evening news bulletin from nine o'clock to ten o'clock, after [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] moved their long-running ten o'clock bulletin to eleven o'clock. The resulting move caused a gap in its schedule that needed filling; ''Have I Got News for You'' was moved to [[BBC One]] and given access to a broader audience in October that year. In 2002, Deayton was caught using illegal drugs and soliciting sex with a prostitute – a fact that he was ridiculed for on the programme,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2005881.stm |title=Deayton in the lion's den |work=BBC News |date=24 May 2002 |access-date=28 April 2010}}</ref> after it became headlines – putting his private life under scrutiny by news media outlets.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1998242.stm |title=Deayton 'feels a fool' over reports |work=BBC News |date=20 May 2002 |access-date=28 April 2010}}</ref> Further scandal effectively forced the BBC to terminate Deayton's contract with them two episodes into the programme's 24th series.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2373711.stm |title=Quiz host Deayton fired by BBC |work=BBC News |date=30 October 2002 |access-date=28 April 2010}}</ref>

At short notice, Merton hosted the first episode after Deayton's departure,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2384165.stm |title=Show goes on after Deayton exit |work=BBC News |date=1 November 2002 |access-date=28 April 2010}}</ref> with a series of guest hosts appearing for the remainder of the series, including [[Anne Robinson]], [[Boris Johnson]], and [[Jeremy Clarkson]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2002/12_december/07/news_clarkson.shtml |work=BBC Press Office |title=HIGNFY Jeremy Clarkson |publisher=BBC |date=7 December 2002 |access-date=15 March 2014}}</ref> Despite an initial search for a permanent successor to Deayton, having a different guest host each week proved successful, with average audience figures increasing from 6 million to 7 million,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2984669.stm |title=TV quiz denies Clunes is new host |work=BBC News |date=29 April 2003 |access-date=28 April 2010}}</ref> leading to it becoming a permanent feature in the programme's format in June 2003.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Jason |last1=Deans |first2=Chris |last2=Tryhorn |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jun/10/broadcasting.bbc |title=Forsyth boost for BBC news quiz |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=10 June 2003 |access-date=15 June 2014}}</ref>

Between 1990 and its spring season in 2018, the programme was recorded at [[The London Studios]], the former home of [[London Weekend Television]]; it briefly was recorded at [[BBC Television Centre]] for a [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 Election]] special, the Friday after the elections were completed. From the 2018 autumn series, recording was conducted at [[Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)|Elstree Studios]],<ref name="SRO Audiences">{{cite web|url=https://www.sroaudiences.com/ |title=HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU - Free audience tickets: SRO Audiences : the tv audience company |publisher=SRO Audiences |date=2018-05-18 |access-date=2018-05-18}}</ref> although the onset of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom]] in 2020 impacted production of series during that time. The spring series saw Hislop, Merton, and the celebrities for each episode filming episodes virtually from their own homes, against a superimposed CGI recreation of the studio. 

The 2020 autumn, 2021 spring, and 2021 autumn series were filmed at [[Riverside Studios]] in London under safety measures to prevent the spread of infection, which included socially distancing panellists and host with screens while on set. Initially audience numbers were reduced – half those attending each recording being allowed in the studio, and the other half watching the recording in the studio's cinema – but upon the British government implementing a second lockdown, all remaining episodes in the series were recorded with a virtual audience. After the easing of restrictions filming continued to take place at Riverside Studios.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sroaudiences.com/shows.asp |title=Sro audiences |website=www.sroaudiences.com |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924012349/https://www.sroaudiences.com/shows.asp |archive-date=24 September 2021 |url-status=dead}}</ref>