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Ian Messiter

1920 – 1999

English BBC Radio producer

Radio producer
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About Ian Messiter

Lived 1920 – 1999 (aged 79). Ian Messiter was a radio producer.

Ian Cassan Messiter (2 April 1920 – 22 November 1999) was an English BBC Radio producer and the creator of a number of panel games, including Just a Minute, Dealing With Daniels and Many a Slip. Messiter brought the successful twenty questions format to BBC Radio

Messiter acted as whistle-blower on Just a Minute, and its predecessor One Minute, Please. He appeared in the first series of BBC science-fiction quiz show The Adventure Game in 1980 as the Rangdo, the leader of the alien Argonds, and contributed ideas for puzzles in the series. He published his autobiography My Life and Other Games in 1990.

Nicholas Parsons stated that Just a Minute is "perhaps the most deceptively simple, enduring, popular and much-copied comedy game on radio or television anywhere". In each edition, Messiter is acknowledged as the inventor of the game.

Family Messiter married Enid, née Senior. They had two children: a daughter, Susan, who lives in Cambridgeshire, and a son, Malcolm Messiter, who is an oboist.

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Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Radio producer
Education
Sherborne School
Employers
British Broadcasting Corporation
Also known as
Ian Cassan Messiter

People in Ian Messiter's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ian Messiter's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ian Messiter?

English BBC Radio producer

When was Ian Messiter born?

Ian Messiter was born on 2 April 1920.

When did Ian Messiter die?

Ian Messiter died on 22 November 1999.

What was Ian Messiter's occupation?

Ian Messiter was a radio producer.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ian Messiter

· Wikidata: Q5982394

· DBpedia: Ian Messiter

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ian Messiter. https://biography.guide/ian-messiter/

MLA: "Ian Messiter." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ian-messiter/.

Chicago: "Ian Messiter." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ian-messiter/.

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