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How Drop the Dead Donkey broke the news – and its cast
The comedy almost known as Dead Belgians Don’t Count was a unique mix of office humour and topical jokes. But staying current came at a cost
Neil Pearson and Stephen Tompkinson in Drop The Dead Donkey
Credit: Paramount
When Drop the Dead Donkey became a comedy hit for Channel 4, some hacks claimed the title as a well-worn journalistic phrase. It was in fact made up by creators and writers Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, inspired by a gloriously cynical snippet overheard in the BBC newsroom.
Shadowing the newsroom as research for their new script, they observed the editorial team putting together the evening bulletin – an increasingly furious process of shifting news items around, and bumping them up and down the running order.