Yes Minister
Season 3
7 listed hours · 1980–1984 · BBC Two
From the desk
How this season is filed
Civil-service comedy as chess: Paul Eddington's minister, Nigel Hawthorne's Sir Humphrey, and doublespeak so precise that real cabinets quoted it. Yes, Minister, with a knife behind the smile — then Yes, Prime Minister when the pawn gets promoted. Thatcher reportedly loved it, which is either the joke or the warning. Still the smartest workplace sitcom about power.
TV Flash files Season 3 of Yes Minister (1980–1984) on BBC Two as the last listed season of 3 — 7 listed hours, 1982-11-11–1982-12-23 from “Equal Opportunities” (S03E01) to “The Middle-Class Rip-Off” (S03E07). Titles, dates, and synopses on file — no invented recaps.
Desk essentials in this season
- S03E01 Equal Opportunities
Equal Opportunities is late-run equality title: Yes, Minister still the smartest workplace, the smile still the blade.
- S03E07 The Middle-Class Rip-Off
The Middle-Class Rip-Off is the listed last: three series of civil-service comedy, signed off. Yes, Prime Minister is the promotion, not a substitute.
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S03E01 Equal Opportunities
Jim attempts to instigate a policy of sexual equality in Whitehall, much to Sir Humphrey's disapproval.
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S03E02 The Challenge
Jim's efforts to make local authorities financially accountable are thwarted by an interview with Ludovic Kennedy.
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S03E03 The Skeleton in the Cupboard
A normally efficient local council is late with some paperwork, and Sir Humphrey wants to make an example of them.
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S03E04 The Moral Dimension
Jim's plans to expose bribery are cancelled when Bernard manages to get a valuable vase under-valued, because Mrs Hacker has her eye on it.
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S03E05 The Bed of Nails
Jim takes on an unpopular role developing a national transport policy.
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S03E06 The Whiskey Priest
Jim faces opposition from all sides when he tries to expose a munitions deal.
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S03E07 The Middle-Class Rip-Off
Jim and Sir Humphrey clash over those pillars of British culture: art and football.
More from the 1980s.