More than 40 years after the first contestant tried to talk without "repetition, hesitation or deviation", the BBC is considering a radical rule change to BBC Radio 4's Just A Minute. The possible overhaul was prompted by a listener who complained to BBC Radio 4's Feedback that too many unnecessary interruptions were spoiling the flow of the game. Just A Minute fan Rupert Read suggested that illegitimate interruptions should be discouraged by deducting a point from the offender's score.
The Just A Minute chairman, Nicholas Parsons, admitted the show was much more competitive, with more interruptions than in years gone by, but told Feedback that was half the fun. "There's an old saying, if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But he said he would put the idea to the show's producers and contestants. "Sometimes when there is a tedious interruption, we manage to get a lot of fun out of that. But I agree that it doesn't help the show overall and I shall put this proposition to the producer and Malcolm Messiter [the son of the creator Ian Messiter] and others and see what comes up. I will see what the consensus is. It's very much a team game." Parsons went on to say ... Peeep! Our 60 seconds is up. Point to Monkey!
