Marcus Berkmann

Question time | 25 January 2018

Marcus Berkmann explains how the Radio 4 staple has survived the slings and arrows of outrageous radio controllers for over 70 years

issue 27 January 2018

Last year was a bit of a year for Radio 4 anniversaries; maybe most notably, Desert Island Discs celebrated 70 years on air. But oddly enough, so did another show. Round Britain Quiz, which you may remember vaguely from your childhood, or possibly your parents’ childhood, also reached 70 in 2017. There have been one or two breaks, but this abstruse and, let’s face it, unashamedly smart show has survived the slings and arrows of outrageous Radio 4 controllers. Every year we fret and worry, hoping beyond hope that it will be recommissioned. Every year, I’m glad to say, it is. I say ‘we’ because, for the past few years, I have been part of the merry crew that makes the programme. It’s one of the very best jobs in the world.

Round Britain Quiz is only round Britain because it has six teams from various parts of the island: North of England, South of England, Midlands, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland.

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