Ian Hislop

Acting

Ian Hislop

Born

1960-07-13 (66)

Place of birth

Mumbles, Swansea, Wales, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

56 titles

Ian David Hislop is a British journalist, satirist, writer, broadcaster, and editor of the magazine Private Eye. He has appeared on many radio and television programmes, and has been a team captain on the BBC quiz show Have I Got News for You since the programme's inception in 1990.

Known for

The One Show poster
4.3

A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.

The One Show

2006

Have I Got News for You poster
7.1

Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.

Have I Got News for You

1990

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

Have I Got a Bit More News for You poster
7.0

Based on the week’s news and fronted by guest hosts, this extended version of the satirical news quiz features more of the stuff that wouldn't fit into the regular programme.

Have I Got a Bit More News for You

—

Question Time poster
5.9

This topical debate series based on Any Questions? typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer pre-selected questions put to them by a carefully selected audience.

Question Time

1979

Omnibus poster
7.2

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Omnibus

1967

Film credits

2010s · 6 titles

Whatever Happened to Spitting Image? poster
NR

Reuniting the founding creative team, this documentary tells the story of the genesis of the satirical puppet show `Spitting Image', with contributions from caricaturists Peter Fluck and Roger Law and TV producer John Lloyd. Spanning the early years of Margaret Thatcher's government to the end of John Major's, the puppets became almost as famous as the politicians they lampooned. In 2000, the puppets were auctioned off at Sotheby's and we find out where they now reside.

Whatever Happened to Spitting Image?

2010

Who Should We Let In? Ian Hislop on the First Great Immigration Row poster
NR

As Brexit Britain prepares to draw up new rules on who is welcome here, Ian Hislop takes an entertaining and provocative look at the decades from the Victorian era to the First World War, when modern Britain introduced its first peacetime restrictions on immigration.

Who Should We Let In? Ian Hislop on the First Great Immigration Row

2017

50 Years of BBC Two Comedy poster
8.0

Documentary charting and celebrating five decades of often groundbreaking, boundary-pushing comedy from BBC Two.

50 Years of BBC Two Comedy

2014

Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History poster
NR

Ian Hislop's sharp, provocative take on 200 years of fake news and its consequences - from Victorians on the moon to 21st-century deepfake, and Hislop as never seen before.

Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History

2019

The Secret Life of Sue Townsend (Aged 68 3/4) poster
7.0

A warm and witty celebration of Sue Townsend's life and writing, the story is told with the help of children from Sue's old school, her friends and family, as well as the comedy and literary stars she inspired - including Stephen Mangan, Ian Hislop, David Nicholls, Isy Suttie and Adrian Scarborough. Drawing on Sue Townsend's own archive of letters and notebooks, the film also features unseen photographs, footage and even her appointment diary, which includes poignant entries about her struggles with ill health, written in a humorous style instantly recognisable from her books.

The Secret Life of Sue Townsend (Aged 68 3/4)

2016

Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good poster
NR

Ian Hislop presents this film about the colourful, seriously wealthy Victorian financiers whose spectacular philanthropy shows that banking wasn't always associated with greed or self-serving financial recklessness. Ian looks at attitudes to money and morality when the London first became the world's financial centre.

Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good

2011

2000s · 8 titles

Best Ever Spitting Image poster
NR

A documentary about Spitting Image (1984) and the impact it had, including clips of the most memorable moments and contributions from many of the cast, crew and some of celebrities portrayed on the show.

Best Ever Spitting Image

2006

Ian Hislop Goes Off The Rails poster
NR

Ian Hislop takes a look at the notorious Beeching Report of 1963, which led to the closure of a third of the nation's railway lines and forced thousands of people onto the road.

Ian Hislop Goes Off The Rails

2008

Have I Got News for You: The Best of the Guest Presenters Volume 2 poster
NR

Over 2½ hours of the award-winning topical news quiz, featuring previously unseen footage. Team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton are joined by a different guest presenter each week.

Have I Got News for You: The Best of the Guest Presenters Volume 2

2005

Ian Hislop's Changing of the Bard poster
NR

Ian Hislop takes an amused look at one of the most peculiar offices in the British establishment, that of Poet Laureate. Its 341-year history produces a gloriously eccentric picture of who we are, how we are ruled, what we want to say about ourselves and just how hard it is to do that in verse.

Ian Hislop's Changing of the Bard

2009

Peter Cook: At a Slight Angle to the Universe poster
NR

TV documentary tracing the life of the comedian and satirist from his school days, through the Cambridge Footlights, to Beyond the Fringe and his partnership with Dudley Moore. With contributions from Cook's school friends Peter Rabey and Jonathan Harlow; Cook's first wife Wendy Cook; Cambridge University friends Tim Harrold and Roger Law; Adrian Slade (ex-president of Cambridge Footlights); Jonathan Miller; Sir David Frost; Ned Sherrin; John Bassett (creator, Beyond The Fringe); Willie Donaldson (producer, Beyond The Fringe); John Cleese; Eric Idle; Michael Parkinson; Brenda Vaccaro; John Fortune; Nicholas Luard (co-owner with Cook of The Establishment club); actress Gaye Brown; Christopher Booker; Ian Hislop; Victor Lownes and Michael Bawtree (friends of Cook); Joe McGrath; Dick Clement; Mel Smith; Clive Anderson; tv producer and executive Paul Jackson; Harry Enfield, radio presenter Clive Bull, and archival interview footage of both Cook and Dudley Moore.

Peter Cook: At a Slight Angle to the Universe

2002

Have I Got News for You: The Best of the Guest Presenters poster
NR

More than 160 minutes of the best moments from the top TV comedy news quiz, with a different guest presenter in the chair each week. Includes the uproarious episode hosted by Boris Johnson together with specially extended versions of the shows presented by Martin Clunes, William Hague, and Bruce Forsyth.

Have I Got News for You: The Best of the Guest Presenters

2003

Scouting for Boys poster
NR

Lord Baden-Powell's 1908 handbook Scouting for Boys is one of the most influential and best-selling books of all time. In the 20th century, only the Bible, the Koran and the Thoughts of Chairman Mao sold more. But they had fewer jokes, no pictures and were useless at important stuff like tying knots. In this entertaining and affectionate film, Ian Hislop uncovers the story behind the book which kick-started the Scout Movement - a work which is very eccentric, very Edwardian and very English. Hislop discovers that the book is also very radical and addresses a variety of modern issues, such as citizenship, disaffected youth and social responsibility. He explores the maverick brilliance of Baden-Powell, a national celebrity after his heroism in the Boer War, and considers the book's candid focus on health and well-being.

Scouting for Boys

2007

The Very Best of 'Have I Got News for You' poster
9.0

Compilation of classic moments and unseen outtakes from the first 23 series (1990-2002) of the popular BBC comedy show.

The Very Best of 'Have I Got News for You'

2002

Series credits

The One Show poster
4.3

A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.

The One Show

2006

The One Show poster
4.3

A topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One.

The One Show

2006

Have I Got News for You poster
7.1

Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.

Have I Got News for You

1990

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

Have I Got a Bit More News for You poster
7.0

Based on the week’s news and fronted by guest hosts, this extended version of the satirical news quiz features more of the stuff that wouldn't fit into the regular programme.

Have I Got a Bit More News for You

—

Question Time poster
5.9

This topical debate series based on Any Questions? typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties as well as other public figures who answer pre-selected questions put to them by a carefully selected audience.

Question Time

1979

Omnibus poster
7.2

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

Omnibus

1967

Parkinson poster
NR

Michael Parkinson returns for a second run of his iconic talk show.

Parkinson

1998

Who Do You Think You Are? poster
7.0

A British genealogy documentary series in which celebrities trace their ancestry, discovering secrets and surprises from their past.

Who Do You Think You Are?

2004

Room 101 poster
6.6

Fast-moving game show meets talk show, which sees Frank Skinner refereeing three celebrities each week as they compete to banish their top peeve or worst nightmare to the depths of Room 101.

Room 101

1994

Parkinson poster
7.0

The final incarnation of Michael Parkinson's iconic talk show featuring an array of celebrities from every sphere.

Parkinson

2004

Years and Years poster
7.5

As Britain is rocked by unstable political, economic and technological advances, members of the Lyons family converge on one crucial night in 2019. Over the next 15 years, the twists and turns of their everyday lives are explored as we find out if this ordinary family could change the world.

Years and Years

2019

Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story poster
6.8

Jimmy Savile was one of the United Kingdom’s most beloved TV personalities. Shortly after his death in 2011, an investigation prompted more than 450 horrific allegations of sexual assault and abuse, with victims as young as 5.

Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story

2022

A House Through Time poster
6.4

David Olusoga tells the story of those who lived in one house, from the time it was built until now. Searching through city archives, scouring records, and tracking down their living descendants, presenter David Olusoga tells the untold stories of the people who once lived in the house and gains a unique insight into the making of modern Britain.

A House Through Time

2018

Peston poster
NR

Join Robert Peston for a late-night political magazine show featuring big interviews with the country's leading politicians, topical guests, and the best politial gossip.

Peston

2018

The Island poster
8.3

Based on the best-selling English novel The Island by Victoria Hislop, the series takes place on the island of Spinalonga, off the coast of Crete, and in the village of Plaka which lies within swimming distance across it. The series premiered on 11 October 2010 to record ratings and critical acclaim. It is the most expensive Greek television production ever with a budget of €4 million.

The Island

2010

Tate Britain's Great Art Walks poster
NR

Danny Baker, Simon Callow, Richard E Grant, Cerys Matthews, Miriam Margolyes and Michael Sheen follow in the footsteps of their favourite British artists.

Tate Britain's Great Art Walks

2017

No artwork available
NR

Emma Freud invites celebrity guests to unlock the film and video vaults.

Plunder

1990

Great Railway Journeys poster
7.0

Great Railway Journeys, originally titled Great Railway Journeys of the World, is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figure from the arts or media, would make a journey by train, usually through a country or to a destination to which they had a personal connection. There were four series broadcast on BBC Two between 1980 and 1999, with the shorter series title being used for all but the first. In 2010 a similar series also aired on BBC Two, Great British Railway Journeys.

Great Railway Journeys

1980

What's the Monarchy For? poster
NR

David Dimbleby examines the power, wealth and survival of the institution at the heart of our national life: the monarchy.

What's the Monarchy For?

2025

Ian Hislop's Olden Days poster
6.0

Ian Hislop explores the British obsession with the past. He reveals how and why, throughout our history, we have continually plundered 'the olden days' to make sense of and shape the present.

Ian Hislop's Olden Days

2014

No artwork available
NR

Ian Hislop rescues the reputation of the maverick 'Do-Gooders' who he believes fixed the 19th century's version of 'broken Britain' in this new history series. Irresistibly easy to mock, these busy bodies are highly unfashionable today. But they are heroes to Ian - extraordinary men and women who precipitated the most remarkable period of social change in British history and, Ian argues, left us with a nation worth living in. And yet unlike notable Victorian royals, inventors, politicians and generals, many of them have been all but forgotten.

Ian Hislop's Age Of The Do-Gooders

2010

Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip poster
NR

Ian Hislop asks when and why we British have bottled up or let out our feelings and how this has affected our history.

Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip

2012

Ian Hislop's Trains That Changed the World poster
6.0

How four iconic British-built trains revolutionised rail travel and inspired incredible railway projects the world over.

Ian Hislop's Trains That Changed the World

2021

No artwork available
7.0

Loose Talk was a British youth-oriented chat show that ran for two series on Channel 4 in 1983. It was presented by Steve Taylor, along with a different guest presenter each week. It was notable for giving Ian Hislop his first break in television, however he regretted the experience as he picked it as one of his pet hates for the comedy show Room 101 in 1994. In an infamous clip, he provoked a confrontation with a 'tired and emotional' Tom Waits on the show, whilst an alarmed Steve Taylor looked on, apparently unable to control the argument. Jonathan Ross worked as a researcher for the show and Eighties pop-soul singer Sade made her first ever television appearance on it.

Loose Talk

1983

No artwork available
8.0

Not Forgotten is a British television documentary series made by Wall to Wall for Channel 4. The series examines the impact on British society of the First World War. It is written and presented by Ian Hislop. The series' tie-in website was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Interactivity in 2006. The original series comprised four episodes, broadcast in November and December 2005: ⁕Commemoration, examining the movement for war memorials following the First World War, and the continuation of this tradition for subsequent conflicts. ⁕Class, looking at the way the British class system was reflected and challenged by the creation of a mass army. ⁕Women, discussing how women's roles and expectations in society changed as a result of the war. ⁕Survivors, examining how society dealt with those who returned from the war injured and disabled. A tie-in book, Not Forgotten, written by Neil Oliver, was published by Hodder & Stoughton. Three additional episodes were subsequently produced: ⁕Shot at Dawn, examining the stories of men shot for desertion and cowardice. ⁕The Men Who Wouldn't Fight, challenging the stigma attached to conscientious objectors. This episode featured, amongst others, the story of Ronald Skirth, who became a conscientious objector while serving in the Royal Artillery.

Not Forgotten

2005

Behind the camera

A Bunch of Amateurs poster
5.8

Jefferson Steel, a washed-up Hollywood action star, is desperate to revive his flagging career. When his sleazy agent signs him up for what he believes is a high-profile Royal Shakespeare Company production of King Lear at Stratford upon Avon, Steel thinks he has finally landed the plum role he has been waiting for. However, he soon discovers that he has been tricked into joining an amateur dramatics group for a charity production.

A Bunch of Amateurs

2008

Spitting Image: The Ronnie & Nancy Show poster
8.0

As First Lady Nancy Reagan holds an celebrity-filled anniversary party at the White House, President Ronald Reagan's aides desperately attempt to prevent an unprovoked nuclear attack he accidentally ordered.

Spitting Image: The Ronnie & Nancy Show

1988

Spitting Image: The Sound of Maggie poster
NR

The Sound of Maggie! was a special episode of Spitting Image featuring numerous parodies of songs from both musicals and films, sung by the puppet cast of the show.

Spitting Image: The Sound of Maggie

1989

The Wipers Times poster
6.3

When Captain Fred Roberts discovered a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium in 1916, he decided to publish a satirical magazine called The Wipers Times - "Wipers" being army slang for Ypres. Full of gallows humour, The Wipers Times was poignant, subversive and very funny. Produced literally under enemy fire and defying both authority and gas attacks, the magazine proved a huge success with the troops on the western front. It was, above all, a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. In his spare time, Roberts also managed to win the Military Cross for gallantry.

The Wipers Times

2013

Spitting Image: Bumbledown – The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan poster
8.0

Please join us now as we pass through history's golden years to illuminate the illustrious life of actor, lifeguard, underpants salesman, GE spokesman, husband of Jane Wyman, friend of Frank Sinatra, Governor of California and finally President of the United States: Ronald Wilson Reagan. Let the real truth be told.

Spitting Image: Bumbledown – The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan

1988

Spitting Image: The 1987 Movie Awards poster
6.0

Woody Allen writes more movies about life, Hoffman, De Niro and Pacino have an identity crisis, Spielberg struggles under the weight of all his money, and refusal to take him as a serious actor pushes Leonard Nimoy over the edge.

Spitting Image: The 1987 Movie Awards

1987

Spitting Image: Down And Out In The White House poster
9.0

A secret cabal of celebrities plots to dominate the US government by running Sylvester Stallone as President.

Spitting Image: Down And Out In The White House

1986

Spitting Image: A Non-Denominational Holiday Special poster
NR

Christmas Special featuring a fancy dress party at Number Ten, another boring Perry Como Special, various spoofs of classic Christmas pop songs, as well as "The Snow Man in the Kalahari" and "Temporary Postman Pratt".

Spitting Image: A Non-Denominational Holiday Special

1987

Spitting Image: Election Special '87 poster
NR

Alastair Burnet announces the predicted results of the general election. Then he announces that the polls are now closed, shortly to be followed by the hospitals, the schools, and the BBC.

Spitting Image: Election Special '87

1987

Gobble poster
8.0

As Christmas celebrations get under way, Britain is rocked by a deadly new food scare - "mad turkey disease".

Gobble

1997