| Genre | Panel game |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Starring | Nigel Rees |
| Creators | Nigel Rees |
| Producers | Simon Mayhew-Archer (Series 47- ) |
| Narrated by | (Readers) Peter Jefferson |
| Air dates | since 1976 |
| No. of episodes | 446 so far |
| Opening theme | Duddly Dell, written and performed by Dudley Moore |
| Website | Quote... Unquote |
Quote... Unquote is a long-running panel game broadcast on BBC Radio 4 based on quotations. Every episode since the beginning of the series in 1976 has been chaired by its deviser, Nigel Rees. In July 2011, the programme began a new series, being broadcast at 1.30pm on Mondays, repeated on Saturdays at 11.00pm. Guests who appeared in this latest series include Ardal O'Hanlon, Michael Grade, Siân Phillips and Martin Jarvis.
The main part of the programme consists of a non-competitive quiz where the chairman asks each of the four panellists in turn to identify where a certain quotation, phrase or saying comes from. In between these rounds, the panellists are asked to share some of their favourite quotations on a specified theme. Other parts of the programme are devoted to answering listeners' queries about the sources of quotations and the origins of everyday phrases and idioms.
The programme uses voice-over artists to read the quotations. In recent years the main reader has been Peter Jefferson, who took over from William Franklyn when he died in 2006.
A number of notable comedy stars have produced the programme, including John Lloyd (Blackadder producer and deviser of QI), TV executive Geoffrey Perkins, Have I Got News for You producer Harry Thompson and satirist Armando Iannucci.
The programme's theme tune, between which snatches of quotations are inserted at the beginning of each show, is called "Duddly Dell", written and performed by Dudley Moore — the B-side of the single "Strictly for the Birds" (1961).
The title sequence includes quotations cut into the music. For example:
"Friends, Romans, and Countrymen"
"Lend me your ears"
"They were all of them fond of quotations." (all from The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll)
Or:
"A day like today, I mean, it's not a day for sort of soundbites, really" (Tony Blair)
"But I feel the hand of history upon our shoulder" (Tony Blair)
"Thank you. May I quote you on that?" (Kenneth Williams from the revue Pieces of Eight)