Just a Minute, BBC, I’ve had flu
Radio host Nicholas Parsons has branded the BBC “ridiculous” for disguising why he missed his f i r st broadcast of Just A Minute after 51 years in the chair.
The corporation said the 94-year- old presenter had taken a couple of days off. In fact, he had flu.
Parsons has chaired the show, in which panellists have to speak for one minute wi t hout he s i t a t ion , deviation or repetition, since its inception in 1967.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I had flu. They wanted to say for some reason, the BBC gave out, that I had taken a couple of days off, which is ridiculous.
“In our profession, you don’t take days off. You are terrified someone is going to take the job from you.”
He added: “I’m completely recovered. This happened about a month ago.”
Regular contestant Gyles Brandreth filled in during Parsons’ absence.
Fans raised concerns on social media but the BBC’s head of radio comedy, Julia McKenzie, assured listeners that Parsons was just enjoying some time off.
She tweeted: “Just to reassure those listening – the apocalypse is not upon us – @ GylesB1 k indly stepped in to give Nicholas Parsons a couple of days off.”
Parsons told Today he would continue to host the panel game “as long as I have got the energy to do it”.