Cryer, Barry (2009). Butterfly Brain. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p.100. ISBN 978-0-2978-5911-6 . Retrieved 9 February 2020. It was either David Hatch or Humphrey Barclay, the two producers involved in the planning of the first series, who decided it would be a good idea to put Humph in the role of chairman. Naismith, Jon. "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Mailout 17.10.08". The Official I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Mailing List (Mailing list). Graeme Garden was a member of the I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again team from which the programme grew and has been a panellist since the first episode. Lyttelton described him as very dry, biding his time before stepping in with a perfect punchline. [27] Garden was absent from January 2016 for the whole of series 65, 66 and 67. [28] [29] [30] [31] On 12 October 2017, Garden announced that he would be rejoining the team, [32] but has only appeared infrequently since then. Following the death of Barry Cryer, Garden is the last surviving original panellist.

Lyttelton, Humphrey (17 December 2007). "Peterborough". I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Series 50. Episode 6. Event occurs at 26:40. BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 15 September 2008. And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show. She said to the guy: 'Get out, get into the bathroom!' and he scampered into the bathroom. Her husband entered the room obviously unexpectedly early and saw his wife au naturel or déshabillé. He said: 'What's all this?' Naismith, Jon. "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Mailout 18.4.08". "The Official I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Mailing List" (Mailing list). Many games are played on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, some frequently and dozens less often. A few have been played only once, either because the joke works only once or because they were not particularly successful. Popular games include " One Song to the Tune of Another", " Mornington Crescent", " Sound Charades", "Late Arrivals", "Double Feature", " Cheddar Gorge" and " Uxbridge English Dictionary". "One Song to the Tune of Another" is always introduced using a complex analogy, despite its self-explanatory title, often ending with a joke at the expense of Colin Sell.Under the name Uxbridge English Dictionary, making up daffynitions is a popular game on the BBC Radio 4 comedy quiz show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Musical games often involve incongruities such as singing "One Song to the Tune of Another" or playing a song using only a swanee whistle and a kazoo. In "Just a Minim" – a parody of Radio 4's Just a Minute – panellists must sing a specified song avoiding repetition, deviation, or hesitation: the chosen songs often have extremely repetitive lyrics. According to Tim Brooke-Taylor, twenty per cent of the show is ad-libbed. According to Willie Rushton, it is more like fifty per cent, but he didn't think that a bad thing. [37] Time, destiny, fate and eternity [ edit ] She said: 'Welcome home, darling. I have missed you. You must have jet lag. Come to bed.' He said: 'Oh that's beautiful. I'll just pop in the bathroom.'" During that dispute, the issue of low pay was also raised. Garden recalls a meeting with then BBC director general, Mark Thompson, at which Thompson cried: “Double everyone’s pay!”

In rounds in which the panel must not see what the audience sees, there is the "advanced laser display-board" (in reality, a sign with the answer written on, held by Jon Naismith). These boards are sometimes described in more elaborate terms and as "so generously funded by our hosts". The names and phrases on them are conveyed to "listeners at home" by the "mystery voice", alluding to the 1960s radio programme Twenty Questions.

Like with most jokes, things took a turn for the ridiculous and the punchline always left the audience tearing up with joy. A regular feature on the programme, preceding the game Mornington Crescent, is a fictional letters section which begins with the chairman's comments ("I notice from the sheer weight of this week's postbag, we've received a little over no letters" and "I see from the number of letters raining down on us this week that the Scrabble factory has exploded again"). The invariably single letter each week is from "A Mrs Trellis of North Wales" (one of the many prompts for a cheer from the audience), whose incoherent letters usually mistake the chairman for another Radio 4 presenter or media personality. "Dear Libby" (she writes), "why oh why ... very nearly spells YOYO", or "Dear Mr Titchmarsh, never let them tell you that size isn't important. My aunt told me that, but then all my new wallpaper fell off."