A Very Courageous Decision

The Behind-The-Scenes Storyâ Of One Of The Most Successful And Admired Sitcoms Of The 1980Sin 1977 The Bbc Commissionedâ A New Satiricalâ Sitcom Set In Whitehall. Production Ofâ Its Firstâ Series Was Stalled, However, By Theâ Death Throesâ Ofâ Jim Callaghan'S Labour Government Andâ The 'Winter Of Discontent'; Auntieâ Being Unwilling To Broadcast Such An Overtly Politicalâ Comedy Until After The General Electionâ Of 1979. That Yes Minister Should Have Been Delayed By Theâ Veryâ Events That Helped Bring Margaret Thatcher To Power Is, Perhaps, Fitting. Overâ Three Series From 1980 - And Two More As Yes, Prime Minister Until 1988 - Theâ Showâ Mercilesslyâ Lampoonedâ Theâ Vanity, Self-Interest And Incompetenceâ Of Our So-Called Public Servants, Makingâ Itsâ Hapless Minister Jim Hacker Andâ His Scheming Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Two Of The Most Memorableâ Characters British Comedy Has Ever Produced. The New Prime Minister Professed It Her Favouriteâ Television Programme - A 'Textbook' On The Stateâ In Inactionâ - And Millions Of British Viewers Agreed. In The Years Sinceâ Yes Ministerâ Hasâ Become Aâ National Treasure: Sirâ Humphrey'Sâ Slippery Circumlocutionsâ Haveâ Enteredâ The Lexicon, Regularly Quoted By Political Commentators, Andâ The Series' Cynical Vision Ofâ Government Seems As Credible Now As It Did Thirty Years Ago.Much Of This Success Can Be Credited To Its Writers, Antony Jayâ And Jonathan Lynn, Whoâ Drew On Their Contacts In Westminster Toâ Reworkâ Genuine Political Folly As Situation Comedy. Storylinesâ Thatâ Seemed Absurdâ To Theâ Public Were Often Rooted Inâ Actual Events - So Much So That Theyâ Occasionally Attracted Theâ Scrutiny Of Whitehall Mandarins.  In A Very Courageous Decision Acclaimed Entertainment Historian Graham Mccannâ Goes In Searchâ Ofâ Theâ Real Political Fiascosâ That Inspired Yes Minister. Drawing On Fresh Interviews With Cast, Crew, Politiciansâ Andâ Admirers, Heâ Reveals Howâ A Subversive Satire Captured Theâ Mood Of Its Time To Become One Of Theâ Most Cherished Sitcomsâ Of Thatcher'S Britain.