Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris’s satire first aired 27 years ago. These days the media is almost too shameless to satirise, but – as the cast reunite – the show’s hilarity remains
“This is the news! Happy now?” Since The Day Today first aired 27 years ago, with Chris Morris’s anchor posing that provocative question, it has remained the gold standard for parodic current affairs absurdity (as well as a guide for all credible news producers of how not to do their jobs).
The show has enjoyed television immortality. For everyone involved – from co-creators Armando Iannucci and Morris through to Steve Coogan, whose now seminal sports hack Alan Partridge showed his face for the first time here – the show changed everything. This week, the original group – minus Rebecca Front, Peter Baynham and, inevitably, the elusive Morris – get together for a gentle grilling by Kirsty Wark in Radio 4’s The Reunion, to examine the show’s significance.
