Insert Name Here
Insert Name Here is a Television in [the United Kingdom|British] comedy panel game show presented by Sue Perkins. The programme made its debut on BBC Two on 4 January 2016. In each episode two teams of three compete to answer questions about famous people, past and present, who have just one thing in common: they share the same name. The team captains are Josh Widdicombe and Richard Osman. The show was cancelled on 26 February 2020 due to low viewership.
Background
Insert Name Here had four pilots: one called "Britain's Favourite", recorded on the theme of Steves and due to be broadcast in February 2011, but pulled out of the broadcast schedule at short notice; one in July 2012 discussing Davids and called "And You Are..." ; one in March 2013 as "Name Droppers"; and one in April 2015 with its current title.The first series went out on Monday nights in the slot that the final series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks occupied. The Times announced that Perkins's appointment as host made her the first female presenter of a mainstream British comedy TV panel show, a distinction that some commentators had previously assumed would belong to Sandi Toksvig when she began hosting QI later the same year. However, the online column Weaver's Week argued that Sue Barker, Jo Brand, and Gabby Logan had all beaten Perkins to the post, with A Question of Sport, Jo Brand's Hot Potatoes, and I Love [My Country (UK TV series)|I Love My Country], respectively.
A name is picked before the show, and the aim of the game is to find out the best possessor of that name. This may be somebody either using that name or having been born with that name or its variants – for example, Frank discussions would also address Francises, Frankies and Fannys – and the name is divulged at the start of the show.
Round 1
Four owners of that name are listed as characteristics. Four facts are revealed about said owner, and then free discussion takes place. After a few minutes, Sue asks a question about the owner and whoever's guess is closest gets that owner. Three of the owners are discussed in this way.Round 2
The second round involves three owners being laid out and then a related question asked. Whoever gets that question right gets that owner, while whoever doesn't gets a bonus – a comparatively useless owner. Three sets of three are discussed in this way.Round 3
This round is on the buzzer, and a half-finished question is asked. Teams are asked to finish the question. Three of these are asked. Afterwards, the winners are the team with the most owners; the winning team captain gets the privilege of declaring who they think is the best owner. In addition, booby prizes are awarded to both teams.Transmissions
The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the series:| Series | Start date | End date | Christmas Special | Episodes | Names covered |
| 1 | 4 January 2016 | 8 February 2016 | 6 | ||
| 2 | 9 January 2017 | 6 February 2017 | 21 December 2016 | 6 | |
| 3 | 20 November 2017 | 22 January 2018 | 21 December 2017 | 8 | |
| 4 | 2 January 2019 | 27 February 2019 | 19 December 2018 | 8 |
Guest appearances
The following all appeared multiple times as one of the guest panellists on the show:15 appearances
11 appearances
3 appearances
- James Acaster
- Danny Baker
- Nish Kumar
- Gabby Logan
- Stephen Mangan
- Sara Pascoe
- Lucy Porter
- Jon Richardson
- Aisling Bea
- Rob Beckett
- Katy Brand
- Roisin Conaty
- Tom Davis
- Hugh Dennis
- Paul Feig
- Chris Packham
- Adil Ray
Reception
The Times Alex Hardy was more positive, saying that while Sandi Toksvig hugged each of her guests before hosting episodes of The News Quiz, "in the best possible way, this feels like a show where everyone has been hugged. It’s partly that the concept is so loose that the conversation can spin off anywhere. … It's partly that the chemistry really worked, with everyone contributing intelligently and amusingly. It is funny and it is clever, which is pretty close to the panel-show holy grail."