This Week (2003 TV programme)

This Week
The current programme titles
Genre	Current affairs, politics
Presented by	Andrew Neil
Starring	Diane Abbott Michael Portillo
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Running time	45 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	2003 (2003) – present
Related
The Daily Politics

This Week is a current affairs and politics TV programme in the United Kingdom on the BBC, screened on Monday and Thursday evenings, hosted by former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil alongside former Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) and Minister Michael Portillo, and Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Diane Abbott.

The show has a more light-hearted tone than most political programming and prides itself on being "punchy, irreverent, satirical" . This is aided by the fact that neither co-host is constrained by party politics as Abbott is noted for rebelling against the government and Portillo has left the House of Commons. The two are ostensibly an "odd couple" coming from different sides of the political spectrum, however, they have a long-standing friendship dating back to when both attended grammar school in Harrow, even appearing as Macduff and Lady Macduff in a production of Macbeth .

Format

The standard format consists of three segments each with a guest contributor. The first features a serious and/or controversial figure such as Michael Stipe, Robert Winston or Richard Branson who present their "Take Of The Week" in a short film before appearing in the studio to discuss their issue further. The second segment is a light hearted roundup of the week in and around Parliament. Prior to becoming the BBC's Europe Editor in 2005, this was presented by Mark Mardell, it is currently presented by one of a rotation of prominent writers and broadcasters. This is followed by a discussion between the hosts of the issues raised. The final segment is entitled the "Spotlight", often featuring a cultural topic and less focused on Parliament. During this segment there is a final guest related to the topic. Additionally, there is often a quiz in which Neil takes pleasure in demonstrating his co-hosts' ignorance of a range of topics.

The show was introduced in 2003 along with The Daily Politics to replace The Midnight Hour after a change in sitting hours of Parliament.

The show achieved notoriety for its title sequence during the 2005 UK elections which spoofed the recently re-released version of 'Is this the way to Amarillo' and its video featuring comedian Peter Kay.

In 2006, the programme won the Hansard Society Award for Opening Up Politics which was awarded at the Channel 4 Political Awards ceremony.

During the general election campaign of 2010, This Week was broadcast on Monday nights in addition to its usual Thursday night slot, with contributors including Charles Kennedy, Sarah Teather, Lynne Featherstone, Caroline Flint and James Purnell.

A standing reference in the show is around the consumption of alcohol by the hosts, regular and irregular guests. In 2007, the show gained Facebook notoriety in the group 'Everyone on BBC's This Week is drunk'. Even Andrew Neil, himself, is an Officer of the group.

Caroline Flint has been filling as co-host since May 2010 while Diane Abbott seeks nomination in the Labout Party leadership contest.

Recurring jokes

In keeping with its comic style, This Week has several recurring jokes and nicknames. These include, assertions that all the viewers watch the show drinking Blue Nun, David Cameron watches the show in bed wearing his pyjamas, that the cast regularly go to Annabel's nightclub in Berkeley Square after filming is completed and that the show has a budget of almost zero. Also, every episode begins with the words "Ev'ning all" and ends with "That's your lot for this week".

Nicknames

• "Itchy & Scratchy" - Diane Abbott and Michael Portillo
• "Call Me Dave" - Prime Minister David Cameron
• "Nick Cleggover" - Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
• "Vince the Cable" - Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable
• "Boy George" - Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne
• "Her Maj" - Queen Elizabeth II
• "The Great Leader" - Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown
• "Our Dear Leader" - BBC Director-General Mark Thompson

Election song

During general elections, the show starts with the 'election song'. The 2005 election song was "Is this the way to Election Day?" (a spoof of "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield), and for the 2010 election the song was "We're Off to Find a PM" (a spoof of "We're Off to See the Wizard" by Harold Arlen).

External links

• This Week at BBC Online
• This Week at IMDb