Editing British sitcom (section)

===''Yes Minister''===
Starring [[Paul Eddington]], with [[Nigel Hawthorne]] and [[Derek Fowlds]] in the supporting roles, ''[[Yes Minister]]''  which ran for 21 episodes on BBC2 (1980–1984), and its sequel ''Yes, Prime Minister'' (1986–88), which ran for 16 episodes, were political [[satire]]s.  Established Shakespearean actor Hawthorne picked up four [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTA TV Awards]] for [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance|Best Light Entertainment Performance]] for his role. Created by [[Antony Jay]] and [[Jonathan Lynn]],<ref name="SAJ"/> the series received several BAFTAs and in 2004 was voted sixth in the ''Britain's Best Sitcom'' poll. Writer [[Michael Dobbs]] said Jay and Lynn "really got to the heart of so much of what goes on in Whitehall and Westminster".<ref name="SAJ"/> As the series revolved around the inner workings of central government, most of the scenes take place privately in offices and exclusive [[Gentlemen's club|members' clubs]]. Lynn said that "there was not a single scene set in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] because government does not take place in the House of Commons. Some politics and much theatre takes place there. Government happens in private. As in all public performances, the real work is done in rehearsal, behind closed doors. Then the public and the House are shown what the government wishes them to see."<ref name="lynnweb">{{cite web|title=Yes Minister Questions & Answers |work=Jonathan Lynn Official Website |url=http://www.jonathanlynn.com/tv/yes_minister_series/yes_minister_qa.htm |access-date=6 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119211928/http://www.jonathanlynn.com/tv/yes_minister_series/yes_minister_qa.htm |archive-date=19 November 2014 }}</ref> Lynn and Jay explained: "After we wrote the episode, we would show it to some secret sources, always including somebody who was an expert on the subject in question. They would usually give us extra information which, because it was true, was usually funnier than anything we might have thought up."<ref name="lynnweb"/> In a 2004 BBC programme paying tribute to the series, it was revealed that Jay and Lynn had drawn on information provided by two insiders from the governments of [[Harold Wilson]] and [[James Callaghan]], namely [[Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender|Marcia Falkender]] and [[Bernard Donoughue, Baron Donoughue|Bernard Donoughue]].<ref>Jonathan Lynn Comedy Rules: From the Cambridge Footlights to Yes, Prime Minister. Faber & Faber, 18 August 2011 {{ISBN|9780571277971}}</ref> The series was the favourite television programme of the then [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]], [[Margaret Thatcher]].<ref name="cockerell">{{cite book |last=Cockerell |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Cockerell |title= Live from Number 10: The Inside Story of Prime Ministers and Television |year=1988 |publisher= Faber and Faber|location= London|isbn= 0-571-14757-7|page=288}}</ref><ref name="SAJ"/> In 2012, Prime Minister [[David Cameron]] admitted that "I can tell you, as prime minister, it is true to life."<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/apr/12/david-cameron-yes-minister-true
|title=David Cameron: Yes Minister is true to life
|last=Jones
|first=Sam
|date=12 April 2012
|work=The Guardian
|publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited
|access-date=3 January 2022}}</ref>