He surpasses Kenneth Williams

Paul Merton is to overtake Kenneth Williams to become the second most frequent player of Just A Minute.

The episode which airs on Monday will be his 347th appearance, overtaking Williams's figure, racked up from 1968 to 1988, the year he died.

However Merton still has some way to go before he matches Clement Freud, who appeared regularly in the series from the first episode in 1967 until his death in 2009. He has 544 episodes to his name – a total of 32 series worth of appearances.

Merton said: 'Having over taken Kenneth William's total number of appearances on Just A Minute I would like to say without hesitation, deviation or repetition that I am amazed, astonished, thrilled, seasick and severely gobsmacked.'

Host Nicholas Parsons added: 'Paul Merton is one of the outstanding players of Just A Minute. Since his first appearance in 1989, he has been consistently amusing, clever and witty at playing this amazingly difficult game.

'He is also a very generous player. He is more concerned with contributing and making sure we have a good show than striving to win and impose his personality on the programme – though he does frequently finish up with the most points.

'His occasional verbal excursions when he takes a subject into the realms of fantasy are delightfully surreal moments in the show. His contribution over the years has been consistent and amazing and it is always a pleasure when he is part of the team. He deserves the record he has achieved and long may he be around to improve on it and give more pleasure to the thousands who tune in regularly to hear him playing Just A Minute.'

The new series is the 74th, and episode one will be the 865th.

Published: 17 Feb 2016