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The Smoke Screen

Yes, Prime Minister Series 1
Episode 3 of 8

The health minister wants to abolish smoking using prohibitive taxation, losing the Treasury £4bn revenue. Jim sees how he can use this to stop Treasury opposition to his plans for tax cuts.

9 months left to watch

29 minutes

Last on

Sun 2 Nov 2025 00:30
BBC Four

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The Ministerial BroadcastSeries 1

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The KeySeries 1

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Credits

James Hacker Paul Eddington
Sir Humphrey Appleby Nigel Hawthorne
Bernard Woolley Derek Fowlds
Sir Ian Whitworth - DHSS Secretary John Barron
Dr Peter Thorn - Minister of State at the DHSS Clive Merrison
Sir Frank Gordon - Permanent Secretary of the Treasury Peter Cellier
Leslie Potts - Minister for Sport Bill Wallis
Gerald - Chairman, British Tobacco Group Brian Hawksley
Director Sydney Lotterby
Writer Jonathan Lynn
Writer Antony Jay

Broadcasts

  • Thu 23 Jan 1986 21:00
    BBC Two except East, South East & Yorkshire
  • Tue 28 Oct 1986 20:30
    BBC One
  • Wed 28 May 1997 22:00
    BBC Two except East, South East & Yorkshire
  • Thu 2 Dec 2004 20:30
    BBC Four
  • Wed 19 Oct 2005 20:30
    BBC Four
  • Thu 13 Aug 2015 13:45
    BBC Two Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales & HD only
  • Fri 30 Sep 2016 14:30
    BBC Two England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland & HD only
  • Tue 15 Dec 2020 20:00
    BBC Four
  • Tue 1 Feb 2022 20:30
    BBC Four
  • Sat 5 Feb 2022 23:40
    BBC Four
  • Tue 16 Jan 2024 20:30
    BBC Four
  • Sun 21 Jan 2024 00:35
    BBC Four
  • Tue 28 Oct 2025 20:30
    BBC Four
  • Sun 2 Nov 2025 00:30
    BBC Four