Deayton records radio reunion

Angus Deayton has returned to work with the BBC following his sacking from Have I Got News For You.

He recorded a reunion special of the Radio 4 comedy Radio Active tonight, the show that first made his name some 20 years ago.

Deayton, who once earned £50,000 an episode for the topical news quiz, is thought to have been paid just a few hundred pounds for writing and starring in the programme.

He was gently ribbed by his co-stars at the recording in London's West End, but escaped a similar grilling than he received at the hands of Paul Merton and Ian Hislop on the BBC show.

The closest jibe was when Michael Fenton-Stevens joked that Angus had slept with most of the 650-strong audience in the Duke Of York Theatre.

Deayton also looked sheepish after a joke about John Leslie's sex life.

The reunion special, also starring Philip Pope, Geoffrey Perkins and Helen Atkinson-Wood, will be broadcast at 6.30pm on December 17.

Deayton, 45, was fired by the BBC four weeks ago following newspaper revelations about his private life, though he denied taking part in anything illegal.

Published: 1 Dec 2002