A Very Courageous Decision

The BBC satirical sitcom Yes, Minister was not only one of the most successful and fondly remembered television comedies of the 1980s, it was also a slyly radical critique of the politics of its day. At a time when Thatcherite ideas were challenging vested interests in government, industry and society, the depiction of the hapless and self-deluding minister, Jim Hacker, and the wily civil servant, Sir Humphrey, seemed, to many, to sum up an Establishment out for little more than its own gain. Now, acclaimed entertainment historian Graham McCann goes behind the scenes to reveal the curious origins of Margaret Thatcher’s favourite television show.