Stephen Fry and Clive Anderson have been ruled out as replacements for Angus Deayton on Have I Got News For You.
The pair were said to be among the frontrunners to take over the high-profile post when the long-running satirical series returns on BBC1 next year.
But Jimmy Mulville, the joint managing director of the company that makes the show, said suggestions that either of them were being approached for the job were "complete fiction".
And he said only one of the six stand-in guests who have so far presented the show would even be considered for the post.
"These stories that we were approaching Stephen Fry or Clive Anderson were complete fiction," he said. "So much that has been in the press has been wrong.
"We will continue to look for people next year. We will draw up lists. First time round, we held auditions in a room above a pub. This time, it's a bit like looking for Scarlet O'Hara.
"It won't be a complete unknown. But it may be a journalist whom we all know but who hasn't done TV before, or an actor who is not an A-lister."
Mr Mulville, the joint managing director of Hat Trick Productions, said agents were approaching him "all the time" about the role.
"I went to a party the other day, and somebody came up to me and offered themselves as a replacement for Angus," he told the Independent.
"But of the guest presenters I would say there's maybe only one person that we've had on that I would be interested in having on again."
Anne Robinson has been the most popular of the stand-in presenters so far, with 7.3 million viewers. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, who presented the show last week, was second highest with an audience of 6.8 million.
Least popular was the Spectator editor and Tory MP, Boris Johnson, who managed just 5.7 million. Other temporary hosts have included Liza Tarbuck, John Sergeant and Paul Merton. Jeremy Clarkson will present this Friday's show.
Viewers would like to see Deayton return full-time, according to a poll earlier this month. The presenter, sacked in the wake of tabloid revelations about his private life, was the choice of almost half of 1,000 people surveyed by website Yahoo!.
Fry and Anderson were the public's second and third favourites. The Weakest Link presenter Robinson failed to land a single vote.
