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One question which has become a classic example of its kind was 'How does a fly land on a ceiling? Does it loop the loop, or what?'. Although questions on religion and politics were initially included, these were banned as the programme progressed, following complaints from the Church and
Government. Concern also arose with the BBC itself. One controller, A. P. Ryan, wrote to the Director-General complaining of the programme's political bias. The Controller of Programmes analysed the political attitudes of contributors and calculated a proportion of 25 left-wing and 28 right-wing along with three 'doubtfuls'. He agreed, however, that two of the three regulars, Joad and Huxley, were left-wing. They were also agnostics, a matter of irritation to Dr J. W. Welch, the Director of Religious Broadcasting. In June 1941 the Controller of Programmes instructed the panel to 'avoid all questions involving religion, political philosophy or vague generalities about life'. In June 1942 the Board of Governors reiterated that questions about religion were to be excluded.
55:, it continued for 84 weeks continuously from its initial broadcast and became one of the most popular of informational programmes. Because of its popularity, it was moved to the peak time on Sunday afternoons. It was typically heard by around 29 per cent of the UK population and generated four to five thousand letters each week from the public. During the early war years it helped raise morale, and the verbal sparring between panel members, especially
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Listeners or viewers sent in questions on subjects ranging from practical conundrums to moral dilemmas for the panel members to answer. The panellists were chosen for the unique contributions each could bring to the subject matter—from the most erudite and serious to the most irreverent and comedic.
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The conversation was free-wheeling, unscripted and unrehearsed, relying on the skills of the presenters to fashion cogent responses in the time available. This lent an 'edge-of-the-seat' feel which did much to add to its popularity.
75:, was "the outstanding popular triumph of the war" for BBC radio. The show was one of the most popular radio shows of the time with it receiving 12 million listeners at the height of its popularity.
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radio and later television programme popular in the United
Kingdom during the 1940s and 1950s, on which a panel of experts tried to answer questions sent in by the audience.
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In contrast to the
British programme, the questions for the American spin-off were revealed to the team beforehand so that they could have some time to think about them.
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The B.B.C. Brains Trust
Answering "Any Questions?" Reel 2 (1945)
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Answering "Any Questions?" Reel 1 (1945)
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Professor and host of his own television programme on WTTW,
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The radio programme ended in May 1949 and transferred to
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and for many years after that, a theater critic for
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during the week following the television broadcast.
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389:Northwestern University
203:Anthony Chenevix-Trench
1218:BBC Radio 3 programmes
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255:Anna Neagle
239:C. S. Lewis
211:Margery Fry
135:philosopher
99:BBC Radio 3
1177:Categories
989:Since 2020
952:Episodes:
834:Programmes
699:BBC Online
459:References
295:Jennie Lee
259:Egon Ronay
171:A. J. Ayer
167:Noel Annan
111:A.S. Byatt
67:Asa Briggs
61:Cyril Joad
1147:The Proms
1078:Patterson
1069:Mixing It
982:2015–2019
975:2010–2014
968:2005–2009
961:2000–2004
954:1995–1999
873:Breakfast
495:bbc.co.uk
377:raconteur
247:John Maud
229:, Bishop
153:(retired
147:biologist
580:and the
547:Archived
438:See also
227:Will Hay
918:In Tune
841:Current
706:27 July
679:Discogs
659:Discogs
639:Discogs
592:YouTube
125:Members
31:History
1125:Awards
1024:Former
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