# Stephen Fry to leave QI **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658 "2015-10-14T20:41:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/21 "2015-10-15T11:32:20Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I am big fan of QI, and of Stephen Fry, but the show is not perfect. I hate when the panelists are just doing some goofy impression or something and milking a joke too far. > So I would say there’s even room for improvement with the new boss. I’ve noticed that the panellists have been getting more raucous and stupid as the QI seasons have progressed - and as the host and usually the majority of the panellists have been male, it has once too often devolved into laboured knob banter. So I think Sandi Toksvig may remedy some of that. ---
**Author:** ![Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lo-Slung_Denim)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/22 "2015-10-15T12:18:23Z")
I am super excited about this. I love her. Fry was getting tired in this role he was beginning to get on my nerves. I’d virtually stopped watching it but Toksvig will renew my interest. I was gutted when she left The News Quiz but I’ve enjoyed Miles Jupp filling her shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/23 "2015-10-15T12:25:12Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I am big fan of QI, and of Stephen Fry, but the show is not perfect. I hate when the panelists are just doing some goofy impression or something and milking a joke too far. > So I would say there’s even room for improvement with the new boss. It does need refreshing, though it is still enjoyable. This summer, I re-watched some D, J, and H series episodes and was very much struck by how fresher and funnier it was. Same panelists for the most part, but it felt fresher and lighter. I think Sandi will bring a renewed engagement back to the material. I will miss Stephen, though. In a couple years, he should appear as a panelist. Time for Stephen “my bottom is a treasure trove” Fry to lose some points! ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/24 "2015-10-15T12:29:44Z")
> [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](#): > > I was gutted when she left The News Quiz but I’ve enjoyed Miles Jupp filling her shoes. What has he filled them with? :eek: Seems like an odd prank. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/25 "2015-10-15T12:39:02Z")
> [@Lo-Slung\_Denim](#): > > I am super excited about this. I love her. Fry was getting tired in this role he was beginning to get on my nerves. I’d virtually stopped watching it but Toksvig will renew my interest. > > I was gutted when she left The News Quiz but I’ve enjoyed Miles Jupp filling her shoes. Very sad to see Stephen go but an excellent choice of replacement. I’m also a huge Miles Jupp fan (apart from the cringeworthy _Balamory_, a view he probably agrees with) so I’m good all around. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/26 "2015-10-15T12:41:24Z")
Probably…complete loose stool water. It is arse-gravy of the worst kind. (viz about "The Da Vinci Code”) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/27 "2015-10-15T14:41:40Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Isn’t she still? This is another one I watch on youtube, I think I’m about halfway through series 11 and she’s still the host. I always wonder how well I’d do on it if it weren’t for the cultural gap; whenever the category is something like “The Archers” or “Blue Peter presenters” I’m pretty much screwed. My bad. I’ve not watched the show I just knew she was the host (from when she had appeared on QI!) and Wikipedia made it seem like the show ended in 2014. > [@Mijin](#): > > I am big fan of QI, and of Stephen Fry, but the show is not perfect. I hate when the panelists are just doing some goofy impression or something and milking a joke too far. You mean when fuckin’ ROSS NOBLE is on? God he is the worst guest. He brings down the whole show :-/ ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/28 "2015-10-15T14:55:10Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My bad. I’ve not watched the show I just knew she was the host (from when she had appeared on QI!) and Wikipedia made it seem like the show ended in 2014. > > You mean when fuckin’ ROSS NOBLE is on? God he is the worst guest. He brings down the whole show :-/ To each their own! I think Noble is one of the most consistently hilarious guests they have. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/29 "2015-10-15T22:19:36Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > To each their own! I think Noble is one of the most consistently hilarious guests they have. I like Ross and think he’s funny but on _QI_ he does seem to dominate the entire show with his antics. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/30 "2015-10-15T23:28:51Z")
Series M (with Fry) starts tonight in the UK. It’s got Ross Noble, Matt Lucas and Lucy Porter as guests. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/31 "2015-10-16T00:54:19Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > You mean when fuckin’ ROSS NOBLE is on? God he is the worst guest. He brings down the whole show :-/ Didn’t mean to single anyone out…even Alan can resort to just doing silly actions/voices repetitively, trying too hard to get a laugh sometimes. Fry does eventually tell them to calm down or whatever, but that sort of stuff should not make the edit in my view. But now you mention it, yeah Ross Noble is one of the worst offenders. He can be funny, but usually looks desperate. If someone is saying something witty, Ross, just leave them be; there’s no need for you to try to hijack it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/32 "2015-10-16T10:14:17Z")
I like Ross Noble. He’s way better than Johnny Vegas at any rate, and actually fairly knowledgeable about some trivia stuff. Although, surprisingly, I find Jack Dee to be the regular guest I least like (I don’t _dislike_ any of them, though). He just seems surly and not at all like he wants to be there, ever. More so than his usual stand-up persona, even. Plus there was that IMO unnecessary dig at the women panellists, that one time. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/33 "2015-10-16T11:16:40Z")
I’m old enough to remember the time when every panel game show had two men and two women panellists. Mind you, it did seem to be the law that one of the women had to be Lady Barnett, and the general atmosphere took the gender roles of the 1950s as a given, but nobody thought the balance odd. Having at most one woman on a show is a relatively recent thing. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/34 "2015-10-16T14:01:03Z")
My understanding is that that’s sort of coming back, as in BBC has mandated at least one woman panellist on every episode. I don’t think Toskvig will count to that total, either. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/35 "2015-10-17T00:12:33Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Although, surprisingly, I find Jack Dee to be the regular guest I least like (I don’t _dislike_ any of them, though). He just seems surly and not at all like he wants to be there, ever. More so than his usual stand-up persona, even. Plus there was that IMO unnecessary dig at the women panellists, that one time. If you’re referring to the joke I’m thinking about then I totally disagree. It was IMHO one the funniest quips in QI history and was perfectly timed by Dee. Toksvig who was also a guest in that episode found it hilarious. The bit I’m thinking about: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5_IcqrM96M) ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/36 "2015-10-17T00:30:08Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My bad. I’ve not watched the show I just knew she was the host (from when she had appeared on QI!) and Wikipedia made it seem like the show ended in 2014. > > You mean when fuckin’ ROSS NOBLE is on? God he is the worst guest. He brings down the whole show :-/ Ross Noble is fucking hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/37 "2015-10-17T03:42:18Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > If you’re referring to the joke I’m thinking about then I totally disagree. It was IMHO one the funniest quips in QI history and was perfectly timed by Dee. Toksvig who was also a guest in that episode found it hilarious. > > The bit I’m thinking about: > [https://youtu.be/i5\_IcqrM96M](https://youtu.be/i5_IcqrM96M) Yeah, that bit was all about stereotypes–and started by the women themselves. The joke was that a stupid stereotype happened to apply in this particular situation. Obviously, it’s hard to get the male comedians to shut up sometimes, too. Now, don’t get me wrong. I get really, really tired of the surly persona, too. It can make for good jokes occasionally, but it can’t be your only repertoire. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/38 "2015-10-17T13:29:11Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Now, don’t get me wrong. I get really, really tired of the surly persona, too. It can make for good jokes occasionally, but it can’t be your only repertoire. I don’t see enough Jack Dee to get tired of the persona. And I loved the “shut up” joke. It required someone like him to make that funny and not offensive. I think the ladies thought it was great as well. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/39 "2015-10-17T17:52:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > It required someone like him to make that funny and not offensive. I disagree. If you watch the whole episode, he’s just generally not happy throughout it, slouched back in his seat and only giving short answers. It seemed to me when I watched it that he was being perfectly serious there. > [@](#): > > I think the ladies thought it was great as well. Like they were going to make a big deal of it in a live show? Then the story would be all about what poor sorts they were, wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-fry-to-leave-qi/734658/40 "2015-10-17T18:01:00Z")
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