This Week was a late night political discussion program aired on BBC One just after Question Time. It was hosted by Andrew Neil and featured a group of recurring guests explaining their interpretations of recent events through pre-filmed cutaway segments.
This Week contained examples of:
- In-Series Nickname: The recurring guests had dedicated Twitter tags:
- Alan Johnson is #sadmanontheleft
- Liz Kendall is #fourpercent note
- Michael Portillo is #choochoo note
- Jacob Rees-Mogg is #sadmaninasuit note
- Long Runner: The series first aired in January 2003 and concluded July 2019.
- Put on a Bus: Diane Abbott MP used to be a regular guest, but rarely appeared after her promotion to the Shadow Cabinet.
- Running Gag: Whenever John Bercow note had been the subject of a significant portion of the discussion, the closing title sequence included Jimmy Dean's Big Bad John played over clips of his procession through the Palace of Westminster.
- Self-Deprecation: Constant jokes at the expense of the program itself and the people appearing in it.
- Neil frequently wished the viewer luck in finding the remote, reasoning that nobody would watch This Week unless they were incapable of switching over to anything else.
- When Diane Abbott occasionally reappeared after ceasing to be a regular, Neil describes her as "back by absolutely no public demand whatsoever".
- Many of the male regulars had "Sad Man" among their nicknames.
- Neil regularly insulted Portillo's garish shirts.
- Show Within a Show: A recurring segment was Downturn Abbey, a parody of Downton Abbey.
