Comic will appear opposite ex-transport secretary Louise Haigh

Laura Smyth is to make her debut on Have I Got News For You later this month.

The comedian will be one of the panellists on the BBC One show on October 31, which will lbe hosted by Jason Manford.

Labour MP Louise Haigh will guest on the opposing team. She resigned as transport secretary last year after admitting a fraud offence a decade earlier,  when she told police she had lost her work mobile phone in a mugging, but later found it had not been taken.

Smyth, 43, was an English teacher before becoming a full-time comedian in 2021.

In September that year, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She performed on Live at the Apollo two weeks after her cancer treatment concluded, and made a Radio 4 stand-up special about her experiences, I Don't Know What To Say

Smyth – who won the Funny Women award in 2019 – now hosts another Radio 4 comedy show about parenting,  Your Mum, which has just been commissioned for a second series.

As always, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop will be the team captains on  Have I Got News For You, which is now in its 70th series.

Published: 14 Oct 2025