A spontaneous discussion by Lord Boothby, K.Bt., Sir Edwin Leather, Marghanita Laski, Guy Barnett
Travelling Question-Master, Freddy Grisewood
Produced by Michael Bowen
From a factory canteen, Bristol
(Repeated Sunday, 1.10 p.m. - Home Services, not North)
Listeners' views for use in 'Any Answers?' should be addressed to the BBC, Bristol, marked 'Any Answers?'

Lord Boothby is Back
The man whom Freddy Grisewood once admitted to be his favourite Any Questions? character - an opinion shared by many others - returns to the programme tonight after a longer-than-usual interval. This interval of nearly four months was not due to any negligence on my part as producer. Lord Boothby last appeared in Any Questions? on the evening after Polling Day (he was very tired, and shortly after an excellent broadcast retired to bed, reappearing five minutes later loudly complaining of insomnia, and made his profitable way to the casino), and for much of the time since then he has been in the West Indies on the advice of his doctors.
He is now back in this country, and when I spoke to him on the telephone the other day he sounded in excellent form. 'I'm looking forward to it immensely,' he said. 'As you know, it's my favourite programme.' On one occasion many years ago Lord Boothby said 'I try not to be a bore.' And whether he is describing his collection of pills ('I don't know what they're for; I go by the colour'), telling an improbable tale of hours spent playing bingo at Bognor Regis, or giving a pungent view of the current political situation, a bore Is the last thing he is ever likely to be.
(Michael Bowen)