A year after the death of Nicholas Parsons Just a Minute returns to BBC Radio 4

More than year after the death of its inimitable host, Nicholas Parsons, the BBCs’s longest running radio panel game Just a Minute is back on Radio 4 this evening (Monday 22nd February).
The big question for producers was how do you follow a unique talent like Nicholas Parsons who died last January at the grand old age of 96.
Still working until weeks before his death, he had been at the helm of the show for more than 50 years. Could it be that he really was irreplaceable
Nicholas, a seasoned actor, comedian, broadcaster and presenter, would have laughed at such a notion but it must have crossed the minds of those tasked with deciding whether Just a Minute could have a successful future.
It was a similar problem to that  faced when that  other long-running show I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue had to continue without Humphrey Lyttelton, no one is irreplaceable.
They may be brilliant, inspired and unique but there is always someone else who can bring a different talent to the role.
Well we shall find out this evening when Paul Merton hosts the return of show challenges guests Sheila Hancock, Gyles Brandreth, Tony Hawks and Pippa Evans to talk for a minute without hesitation, deviation, or repetition. All have played the game many times before and Sheila Hancock even appeared in the very first episode back in 1967. We look forward to it.