‘Have I Got News for You’ featured Banbury yesterday (November 21) at 9pm.
Within the episode – hosted by Gabby Logan – the town is mentioned during the popular ‘missing words’ round segment, where panellists attempt to guess the blanked part of a newspaper headline.
One of them referred to a headline from The Sun , which read: “If you want your pothole filled in Oxfordshire it’ll take 103 years.”
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This refers to complaints from residents at Horsham Close in Banbury who were shocked to be told the average wait to have a road from Andrew Gant, the cabinet member for transport.
Two of the residents of Horsham Close in Banbury with a pothole (Image: James Linsell Clark / SWNS)
He said that potholes are a national issue and that the “latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey shows that the average resurfacing cycle for all types of roads in England is every 103 years.”
Retired print finisher Dianne Hart, 76, who lives with her family on the road says the conditions make driving dangerous.
Ian Hislop and Paul Merton (Image: PA)
The grandma-of-three said: “I read about the 103 year wait this morning on Facebook. How can they get 103 years? Why should we have to wait that long?
“We won’t have a road in 103 years time.”
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Ms Hart was quoted on the BBC programme with host Gabby Logan quipping: “No offence, Dianne, but I’m not sure that’s anything you need to worry about.”
Sean Woodcock, MP for Banbury, took to Facebook to share the clip and referenced the Liberal Democrat run county council.
The Labour politician said: “Well, the people running Oxfordshire County Council have finally got Banbury onto Have I Got News for You.
“Though frankly, it’s a little embarrassing.”