Just A Minute panellist GYLES BRANDRETH on Prince Charles on Radio 4

Nearly a 12 months in the past at a Christmas celebration, I ran into Jonathan Cainer, the Mail's much-loved astrologer, and I requested him for his prediction for 2016.

He raised his glass of mulled wine, appeared me within the eye and mentioned merely: 'Anticipate the sudden.' Jonathan knew his stuff as a result of 2016 has turned out to be a 12 months jam-packed with surprises, lots of them unwelcome, like Jonathan's personal demise in Could.

However regardless of the surprising ups and down of a mind-blowingly unpredictable 12 months thus far, this Christmas one full shock has cheered me up no finish.

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Whereas on Simply A Minute and challenged to speak about 'My Secret Crush', I conjured up an fantasy involving an imagined encounter with the younger Camilla in her jodhpurs, writes Gyles Brandreth

Tomorrow, I'm participating in a particular version of Radio four's longest-running panel sport, and the Prince of Wales is prime of the invoice.

Through the years, I've met many fascinating and amusing folks enjoying Simply A Minute, however I by no means thought Prince Charles can be certainly one of them.

We knew that as a boy, the inheritor to the throne was a fan of the madcap humour of The Goons — to the extent that Spike Milligan as soon as repaid a royal praise by calling Prince Charles a 'grovelling b*****d'.

However till now it's been a well-kept secret that the Prince can be a Simply A Minute devotee. He loves the programme and performs the sport at dwelling, too, leaving messages on his sons' answerphones in Simply A Minute model — with out hesitation, deviation or repetition.

The Duchess of Cornwall can be an avid listener.

I discovered that out the exhausting means. As soon as on the programme, challenged to speak about 'My Secret Crush', I conjured up an elaborate 60-second fantasy involving an imagined encounter with the younger Camilla in her jodhpurs, smoking her Woodbines behind the stables. Inevitably, I met Her Royal Highness shortly after the printed and found that she had been listening.

Simply A Minute is a really British establishment. It has an viewers of tens of millions internationally, however whereas the format has been tried in different nations, it's solely the British model that has stood the check of time.

Prince Charles volunteered to assist rejoice Simply A minute's half-century anniversary

Tomorrow at 3pm, the Queen will broadcast her annual message to the Commonwealth. A bit earlier, her son may have obtained in first, taking to the airwaves with a really private salute to Simply A Minute because the present embarks on its Golden Jubilee.

And it's clear that the Prince has been listening from the beginning, recalling with affection the idiosyncrasies of the early panellists, notably Peter Jones and Kenneth Williams.

Tune in to listen to how he remembers them and to see how effectively he manages to talk for 60 seconds with out hesitation, deviation or repetition. Tune in, too, to find if anybody dares press the buzzer to cease the Inheritor Obvious in his tracks. (I wager you Paul Merton does. He's a ruthless so-and-so.)

Charles volunteered to assist rejoice the programme's half-century not solely due to his fondness for these basic panellists and his love of the English language (Shakespeare is his all-time hero), however due to his respect for the programme's host who, at 93, is sort of the identical age as Charles's father and who, just like the Duke of Edinburgh, retains on delivering the products, 12 months in 12 months out, come rain or shine.

In nearly 900 recordings since 1967, Nicholas Parsons hasn't missed one.

I've identified Nicholas for 50 years. He's certainly one of my favorite folks and Simply A Minute is my favorite present. I reckon I've appeared on nearly each TV or radio panel sport ever invented — from Blankety Clean to Pointless, from Superstar Squares to QI — however Simply A Minute is particular as a result of it's completely spontaneous and the one one recorded in actual time.

While you participate in BBC TV's Have I Acquired Information For You, for instance, they document for two-and-a-half hours and edit it right down to 28 minutes. With Simply A Minute, it's 'as reside'.

There could also be a nip or tuck to the hyperlinks between the rounds, however the video games are broadcast as they occur, towards the clock.

That unforgiving minute is timed to the second. That's what gives the gamers with the adrenaline rush and offers the present its power.

Blessed with a youthful voice, undiminished listening to (he doesn't miss a factor) and the quickest wit, Nicholas Parsons is nearly as good now as ever he was. He's a real nationwide treasure.

There's a plinth in London's Trafalgar Sq. that also wants a everlasting statue on it. Let's put Parsons on that plinth. The Prince of Wales would unveil the statue, for positive.

Simply A Minute is on Radio four tomorrow at 1.15pm

Present born out of a schoolboy wheeze to keep away from six of one of the best

by Christopher Stevens

Simply A Minute is a British establishment with 900 recordings since 1967 - and presenter Nicholas Parsons hasn't missed a single episode

Though chairman for the reason that begin in 1967, the much-teased Nicholas Parsons was by no means meant to be in cost. He was initially employed as a panellist, and when producer David Hatch requested him to take the chair, he baulked on the concept.

Comic Jimmy Edwards, the money-grubbing headmaster at school sitcom Whack-O!, had been chosen as host, however after recording the pilot version he wriggled out of the engagement, claiming to be too busy.

As a compromise, Parsons (pictured) was informed he may chair the primary few episodes, then hand over to a distinct panellist every week. The outcome was chaos — and since then, the notion of getting anybody else in cost has been inconceivable.

After a rocky begin, the arrival of Carry On actor Kenneth Williams in 1968 did a lot to cement Simply A Minute's reputation, however many different gamers — such because the actress Beryl Reid — failed to ascertain themselves.

It was not till actors Derek Nimmo and Peter Jones joined regulars Williams and Clement Freud that the basic line-up was full (Freud, a college good friend of Parsons, was uncovered after his demise as a serial intercourse abuser and paedophile).

It had been at one other public faculty that the seeds of Simply A Minute have been sown. A boy at Sherborne College named Ian Messiter, there earlier than World Warfare II, was caught day-dreaming in a historical past lesson and given a selection of punishments by the instructor: six of one of the best, or two minutes standing in entrance of the category, speaking about Henry VIII and his wives — no hesitation or repetition allowed.

Messiter selected the latter, and was shocked by how troublesome it was. He by no means forgot the expertise, and developed it along with his spouse Enid into a celebration sport, which he known as Off The Cuff.

After pitching the thought to BBC radio in 1951, Messiter hit on a brand new title: One Minute Please! The presenter was Roy Plomley, creator of Desert Island Discs, and the foundations have been convoluted. A staff of three males confronted one other of three ladies, who have been required to stay to a topic with out repeating themselves or pausing . . . in any other case often called hesitation, deviation or repetition.

After a rocky begin, the arrival of Carry On actor Kenneth Williams in 1968 did a lot to cement Simply A Minute's reputation

A jury, which modified for each present — one week it was three police constables, one other three showgirls from the Windmill Theatre's nude revue or The Beverley Sisters — judged if a rule had been damaged.

When the Residence Service was reborn as Radio four, Messiter obtained his favorite sport again on the air.

Its shaky begin was compounded by the very fact Messiter stored altering the foundations: for instance, he launched novelty rounds, the place gamers have been forbidden to say 'the' or 'I'. As soon as the common staff was in place, it turned apparent that what labored finest was an eloquent circulate of phrases, punctuated by witty challenges and heated arguments about dishonest, which normally was mockery of the chairman.

Every participant had his personal model, with verbal tips to propel him by means of the minute.

Kenneth Williams may speak at an exceptional charge: he was timed at 6.1 phrases a second. However he may additionally give himself time to assume, by elongating phrases comparable to 'reee-mmaaarrr-kable'. The American musical star Elaine Stritch, a frequent visitor within the Eighties, claimed Williams may make 'one phrase right into a three-act play'.

Derek Nimmo, Peter Jones, Williams and Clement Freud (pictured) made the common line up on Simply A Minute

Freud favored to listing elements in recipes, which earned him derision from different gamers. He was ruthlessly aggressive, and would time his interruptions for the ultimate seconds of a spherical — gamers have been forbidden to put on wristwatches, however Freud watched slyly to see when Messiter reached for his whistle, to blow for the top of the minute. It's no coincidence that Freud nonetheless holds the document for many wins. It's Williams, nevertheless, who clocked up probably the most uninterrupted minutes.

Derek Nimmo favored to open his monologues with ethereal descriptions of his travels: 'On the Batu Caves exterior Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, these nice limestone rocks tower into the sky . . .' However he had a aggressive streak, too. 'He was a relaxed, easy-going man,' remembers Parsons, 'however there was a rod of metal working by means of his backbone.'

The one one who didn't play to win was Peter Jones. He would problem reluctantly, as a result of he had no need to speak on the given subject. Self-deprecating and droll, his ego by no means overpowered his efficiency.

When Williams died in 1988, Radio four executives thought-about ending the present. However they have been met with livid protests. The sport's saviour in current instances has been comic Paul Merton, a lifelong fan whose surreal wordplay was preferrred for the present. He's in contrast to all his predecessors, besides in a single regard: he baits Parsons mercilessly.

Any reference to historical past is certain to finish in an insult — as an illustration, arguing about whether or not dandies went nightclubbing in 18th century Soho, he turned to Parsons and mentioned: 'Nicholas, can't you keep in mind?'

Nonetheless, Merton has his foibles. He and actress Wendy Richards of EastEnders disliked one another a lot he requested that they need to not seem on the present collectively.

Merton helped entice different comedians — Graham Norton, Jenny Eclair, Sue Perkins, Ross Noble, Liza Tarbuck and Josie Lawrence. Different company have included the Labour minister Barbara Citadel and Terry Wogan.

At 93, Nicholas Parsons insists he'll by no means retire. He has been current, he says, all through each second of each present since 1967.

'The extra you utilize your mind, the youthful you stay,' he declares. 'I've to stay sharp, preserve the enjoyable, hear intently and focus all through each second. It's the very nature of the job that retains me youthful than my years.' Don't wager towards him nonetheless being chairman when he's 100.

Welcome To Simply A Minute! by Nicholas Parsons is printed by Canongate at £9.99. To order a replica for £7.49 (supply legitimate to December 31), go to mailbookshop.co.uk or name 0844 571 0640. P&P free on orders over £15.