Radio 4 cancels QI spin-off after

Radio 4’s QI spin-off The Museum Of Curiosity has been cancelled after 17 years.

Creator and host John Lloyd said it was a ‘real shame’  that the BBC pulled the plug on the show after 106 episodes.

In each episode a panel of comedians and experts suggested items to help a comedian curator fill up an imaginary museum.

Bill Bailey was the curator when the series began in 2008, with former QI ‘elf’ and No Such Thing As A Fish podcaster Anna Ptaszynski (pictured with Lloyd) in the job for the last series in  2023. Over the years other curators have include Sean Lock, Sarah Millican,  Bridget Christie, Romesh Ranganathan and Jimmy Carr.

Lloyd broke the news on the Divine Comedians podcast, telling host Paula Wiseman: ‘They cancelled it. I think it's a real shame.’

He also said it was relatively cheap to produce, saying: ‘We did it for the love, The Museum Of Curiosity. It took a lot of time at QI, using our research and producers.

‘But the BBC in its wisdom decided that it needs to be retired. I think it's sad, it's a mistake, because it's a good show, but there you are.

Lloyd – whose CV includes Blackadder, Spitting Image and Not The Nine O'Clock News – also said that QI is ‘the nicest show I've ever worked on, it's so friendly and kind and enjoyable to do and it is, by its nature, quite interesting’.

But he did say there were challenges in researching the forthcoming X series, given the paucity of things starting with that letter.

‘We've got to make 14 shows, 12 questions each, all about xylophones and X-rays! 

‘But when you see it, believe me, you will have no idea. you’ll learn so much, it's really, really exciting. Because it's the difficult letters, Q and things, that are often the best series, because you're forced to really, really look. Not just trot out the things you already know.’

Radio 4 declined to comment on the news, first reported by the British Comedy Guide.

Published: 9 May 2025