Episodes are usually set to around 30 minutes in length and are edited from the footage taken from a longer recording session the day before an episode is broadcast. The time frame given is used to allow the programme to retain the topical elements that an episode will feature, while allowing for any potentially defamatory material to be cut by the BBC's team of lawyers to avoid legal issues. The focus on each episode is on four panellists – the show's two regulars, and two guests – split between two teams, answering questions related to topical items in the news that occurred within the previous week, but the format often forgoes this aspect and the scoring system in favour of the panellists' witty exchanges, jokes, and satirical discussions on the question's relevant news item. Each episode consists of a general format that is largely unchanged since the programme first premiered. All begin with an introduction by the host, who gives out a set of satirical, fictional comedic news stories that are often accompanied with a photograph or video clip from news programmes or general public recordings to provide the joke, followed by introductions of the episode's guest panellists. After this, the episode focuses on four rounds that generally follow the same arrangement: • Round 1 – dubbed "The Bigger News Stories of the Week" – begins after the introductions and sees each team being shown a collection of video clips – all featuring no sounds – consisting of news reports, archive footage and dramatised scenes, and must detail the news story that they have relevance to. The item in question tends to be a major news story, and avoids any notable pieces that consist of tragic events such as terrorist attacks that would be deemed offensive to use for comedic purposes. The round usually includes additional questions and sometimes a bonus round for comedic purposes. On some occasions the round has had some deviations in arrangement, such as a team being given a series of audio clips with no pictures and identifying the news item it was focused on. • Round 2 focuses on discussions and questions on other news items. Between 1990 and 2004, the questions focused on newspaper headlines that panellists had to identify the story it was linked to. After 2004, the round focused on images that would be revealed to panellists in different manners, which they had to reveal the story about – in this arrangement, the programme frequently made use of props and graphic effects to reveal such images, with the round being labelled per the manner the picture was revealed, and include: "
Jigsaw of News" – image revealed in jigsaw pieces; the "
One-Armed Bandit of News" – picture revealed on slot machine reels, with the host pulling a lever to spin them; and the "
Strengthometer of News" – host uses a mallet to hit a high striker pad, with the meter stopping at an image that is then enlarged. • Round 3 focuses on panellists given four personalities, characters and/or objects, in which they must define the link that connects three of these, and point out the item that is the odd one out in this regard. The number of "odd one outs" that are given in the round vary depending on what production staff arrange, but usually consist of a single question. • Round 4 focuses on a headline from newspapers and a guest publication, in which a choice selection of words is blanked out, and the panellists must suggest what these could be. More often than not, the panellists never give the right answer, and the round is mainly focused on what comedic line could be spun from the headline, based on what words are left visible. For example, a comedian could fill in the blank for the following – "Church may be forced to sell _____" – with something that would be considered highly unlikely and bizarre to read about. After the rounds are completed, the host then gives out the scores, denoting which team is the winner. If time permits, the episode may feature a bonus round called the "Caption Competition", in which panellists are given a single or two pictures to make amusing captions to. The episode always concludes with the host making an additional set of satirical, fictional comedic news stories, accompanied by a picture to provide the joke; in rare cases, a video clip is used. A repeat with a running time of 40 minutes, titled
Have I Got a Bit More News for You, is aired on the following Monday, which features additional content not shown in the original episode, often including scenes and outtakes made during the recording which are shown before the opening titles or after the end credits. This practice ended with season 70 in October 2025.
Participants The format of
Have I Got News for You is derived from the comedy that can be generated by each guest that participates in the programme, whether as a panellist or as a host. Although the show features a variety of comedians, it has also included politicians, television personalities, actors and news media personalities, several of whom have appeared more than once.
Alexander Armstrong has appeared most often, mainly as guest host and also as a panellist, while
Andy Hamilton has appeared most often as a guest panellist. On rare occasions, the programme has had a participant cancel or otherwise be unable to appear. Production staff try to find a replacement, but this is often challenging at short notice. For an episode in 1993, nobody could find a suitable replacement for
Roy Hattersley (then an MP, having recently stepped down as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party) after he pulled out at the last minute; he had cancelled on two prior occasions. He was replaced by a tub of
lard; the programme's host compared Hattersley to the tub of lard, claiming that "they possessed the same qualities and were liable to give similar performances". In 2019, panellist
Johnny Mercer stated Ian Hislop was paid £20,000 per episode. Guests are paid varying amounts to appear on the show. Jacob Rees-Mogg's Parliamentary register of interests showed him earning £1,500 for a claimed four hours' work, while Nick Clegg was paid £15,000 to host an episode.
Theme tune The show's theme tune was composed by session musician and radio DJ,
Big George "on a train on the way to the recording studio" and was recorded in ten minutes. It replaced at short notice one written for initial planned host, John Lloyd. ==Episodes==