QI elves: Our magpie minds and favourite facts


Tell us a bit about your TV programme, QI

James Harkin: It's based on the idea that everything is interesting if you look at it in the right way. We find interesting things then ask comedians to answer impossible questions about them.


How did the show first come to be made?

James: The story goes that when John Lloyd [the show's creator] had kids, he realised that he didn't know the first thing about anything. So he started reading encyclopaedias. He decided to make an encyclopaedia without the dull bits.


Anna Ptaszynski: His son Harry was a massive inspiration. When he was 4 or 5 he would ask John weird questions: Why are we here? What is the sun? It made John realise that, as soon as we finish formal education, we suddenly stop asking those kinds of questions. I suppose that's what we are trying to do.


Your job is to ...


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