This week finally saw the release of the first season of Channel 4's classic newsroom topical sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey. Co-writer, co-creator and comedy god Andy Hamilton kindly took time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions from us mere mortals.

DVD Reviewer: Who came up with the original structure of DTDD? And was it always intended to be topical gags wrapped around a more traditional plotline?

Andy Hamilton: Well it was either me or Guy Jenkin and the honest truth is that our brains are now so addled that we can’t remember. All we can remember is wanting to do a character based comedy set in a workplace, because, at that time, no comedies were situated in the world of work.
Then we thought we’d try to let the characters sometimes talk about topics the audience might be talking about down the pub (we always aim at an audience composed of drunks). From that notion, somehow, stemmed the idea of setting it in a TV newsroom.
The structure grew through a period of trial and error re-writes and experience. It was tightly structured, really, but the sprinkling of topical dialogue gave it a feel of having been done on the hoof.

DVD Reviewer: How much of the success of DTDD do you think was down to the casting? And how much of it was down to Neil Pearson’s hair?

Andy Hamilton: 97.8% of its success was down to casting. 1.1% down to Neil’s hair. 1.1% to novelty value.

DVD Reviewer: Why did Haydn Gwynne leave in a later series? And did it turn out to be a help or a hindrance to the writing?

Andy Hamilton: Well Haydn left because of those two perpetual troublemakers, circumstances and timing. There was no split or anything like that. It was a shame because she’d done a brilliant job of bringing the character of Alex alive, but I suppose it did provide a fresh writing impetus to have a new character that we could start bouncing around and interacting with the established cast. Ingrid Lacey, who played Helen, is a great person to have around, even if she is part German.

DVD Reviewer: Since the original series, has much in the world of politics changed? Are there more or less targets to ridicule these days?

Andy Hamilton: Nothing changes, it just gets worse. The targets get more ridiculous, but also more serious. In 1990 we thought Ronald Reagan was as stupid as any world leader we could ever get – now he looks like a genius.

DVD Reviewer: Do you think it is the sign of a healthy democracy where out elected representatives are regularly the butt of jokes?

Andy Hamilton: Yes I do think it’s a sign of a democracy, but how healthy it is I wouldn’t like to say. But, basically, if anyone ever becomes so important that you’re not allowed to make jokes about them then we’ll know we’re in a lot of trouble.

DVD Reviewer: Particularly with radio programmes like The Million Pound Radio Show, recent events such as the Iraq war seems to make them as topical as the day they were originally broadcast. Are we going round in circles or is this just a freak twist of fate?

Andy Hamilton: No, it’s circles. We just keep making the same mistakes on in different ways. The Million Pound Radio Show saw several wars come and go. Perhaps it was causing them, I don’t know. When we stopped making if for a while, the wars stopped for a while, so we did the right thing for world peace.
I don’t believe in ‘freak twists of fate’ unless I am trying to explain why I’m late coming home.

DVD Reviewer: If Dr Who can make a welcomed return, do you think DTDD will ever see a revival?

Andy Hamilton: Who knows? All I can say it that DTDD would not come back with an actor who smiles manically every nine seconds.

DVD Reviewer: On ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t Got a Clue’, what does the ‘delightful Samantha’ look like… and how special is the laser scoreboard?

Andy Hamilton: Samantha is impossible to describe. Similarly, it’s pointless trying to explain the technological complexity of the laser scoreboard, because it involves quantum mechanics of such a high level of theoretical improbability that it raises serious questions about the measurable nature of reality.

DVD Reviewer: Which do you prefer and why: ‘The News Quiz’ or ‘Have I got News For You’?

Andy Hamilton: ‘The News Quiz’, because I get to muck about with Linda Smith and I don’t have to look smart.

DVD Reviewer: Do you think that it’s still possible to write satirical comedy which would actually make politicians worry about the after-effects of people seeing it? (referring to ‘TW3’, the program which was pulled by the BBC after the Tories put pressure on the governors because they thought it was too strong an influence… they still lost to Harold Wilson).

Andy Hamilton: I would love to imagine that politicians can be shaken out of their complacency by some devastatingly pungent joke but somehow I don’t think that has ever happened in the entire history of the world.
As for ‘TW3’, I think they were always going to lose that election, probably from the moment Christina Keeler said hello to Profumo.

DVD Reviewer: Do you think that satire becomes ‘tired’ if there are no obvious targets?

Andy Hamilton: I think satire probably gets more tired when the targets become too obvious. After 2 million years of Thatcherism, all the topical comedians seemed to have punched themselves to a stand still.

DVD Reviewer: How did you get the idea for Harry’s Game? And will there be any more?

Andy Hamilton: There are 4 more, coming out in September. And there’ll be more after that, don’t know quite when though.
The idea of being Satan and going round tormenting and persecuting people came to me with frightening ease, probably from a part of my personality that is best left unexplored.

DVD Reviewer: As one of the most powerful and respected men in British comedy, how often are you recognised?

Andy Hamilton: I am not recognised 89.6% of the time. However, I do sometimes get stopped on the street by people who are invariably very friendly. They don’t always say “You are one of the most powerful and respected men in British comedy”. Usually, they say things like “I imagined you as taller”. I’m less keen on the occasional van driver types who shout things like “Oi! Satan!”, as this sometimes generates concern among passers by.

DVD Reviewer: Which shows are you enjoying on TV at the moment?

Andy Hamilton: I think I like ‘House’ (I’ve only seen 1 episode). I quite like ‘Scrubs’. I like ‘Help’. I would be prepared to watch a second series of ‘Celebrity Love Island’, provided it involved tsunami.

DVD Reviewer: Is there anything you wish you had written?

Andy Hamilton: Yes, ‘I Claudius’.

DVD Reviewer: Have things become easier for new talented young writers to get their work onto TV or radio?

Andy Hamilton: Afraid not. It’s getting harder. And I’m not saying that to discourage younger writers who have hair and teeth and things. But it might get easier again, these things go in cycles.

Drop the Dead Donkey: Series One is on sale now, and Series Two arrives this coming August.