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The Best Episodes of Yes, Prime Minister

Every episode of Yes, Prime Minister ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Yes, Prime Minister!

James Hacker MP the Government's bumbling minister for Administrative Affairs is propelled along the corridors of power to the very pinnacle of politics -...
Genre:Comedy
Network:BBC Two

Best Episodes Summary

"The Key" is the best rated episode of "Yes, Prime Minister". It scored 9.2/10 based on 434 votes. Directed by Sydney Lotterby and written by Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, it aired on 1/30/1986. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Tangled Web".

  • The Key
    9.2/10434 votes
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    #1 - The Key

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 1/30/1986

    Office politics take precedence over national issues when Sir Humphrey and Bernard fall out with each other after Jim tries to restrict Sir Humphrey’s access to №10.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • The Tangled Web
    8.8/10281 votes
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    #2 - The Tangled Web

    Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 1/28/1988

    Sir Humphrey has to decide if he will support the P.M. or inform Parliament when Hacker denies knowledge of a wiretap authorized by his office without his knowledge.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • The Smoke Screen
    8.6/10325 votes
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    #3 - The Smoke Screen

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/23/1986

    Jim favors abolishing smoking through heavy taxation but runs into strong opposition from the tobacco lobby and the Treasury department.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • One of Us
    8.5/10294 votes
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    #4 - One of Us

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 2/27/1986

    Hacker threatens to place Sir Humphrey on leave while a security inquiry looks into why he cleared a confessed Soviet spy many years earlier, so Sir Humphrey retaliates with a dog in distress on Salisbury plain.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • A Diplomatic Incident
    8.5/10318 votes
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    #5 - A Diplomatic Incident

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 12/17/1987

    Jim uses the occasion of his predecessor’s state funeral to negotiate with the French over the conditions of the Channel Tunnel.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • The Grand Design
    8.4/10348 votes
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    #6 - The Grand Design

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/9/1986

    With his finger now on the nuclear button, Hacker plans his first act as Prime Minister to be a radical new defence policy.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • A Victory for Democracy
    8.4/10315 votes
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    #7 - A Victory for Democracy

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/13/1986

    Jim must take action to avert a Marxist takeover of a Commonwealth island nation despite the efforts of the Foreign Office to keep him ignorant.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • The Ministerial Broadcast
    8.3/10328 votes
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    #8 - The Ministerial Broadcast

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/16/1986

    Jim is coached in the world of show business as he prepares to address the nation on his defence policy.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • A Real Partnership
    8.3/10296 votes
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    #9 - A Real Partnership

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2/6/1986

    Sir Humphrey tries to get his scheduled pay raise even though increases for M.P.s have been put on hold for budgetary reasons.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • The Bishop’s Gambit
    8.3/10295 votes
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    #10 - The Bishop’s Gambit

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 2/20/1986

    Jim has to choose a new bishop but doesn’t like either the Church or Sir Humphrey’s choices.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • Man Overboard
    8.2/10301 votes
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    #11 - Man Overboard

    Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 12/3/1987

    Sir Humphrey makes Jim suspicious of the Minister of Employment when he needs the P.M.’s support in opposing a plan to shift military personnel from the south to the north of England.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • Power to the People
    8.1/10264 votes
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    #12 - Power to the People

    Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 12/31/1987

    Sir Humphrey makes a very strange ally out of the formidable Agnes Moorhouse, a radical political reformer from a London council, in his efforts to stop Hacker’s plans to make local government more democratic.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • The National Education Service
    8.1/10261 votes
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    #13 - The National Education Service

    Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 1/8/1988

    Sir Humphrey faces a conflict of interest when Hacker devises a plan to improve educational standards by abolishing the Department of Education and Science.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • Official Secrets
    8.0/10274 votes
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    #14 - Official Secrets

    Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 12/10/1987

    Jim considers approving the publication of his predecessor’s memoirs, but it becomes a plumber’s nightmare as a series of leaks spring up.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • A Conflict of Interest
    8.0/10281 votes
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    #15 - A Conflict of Interest

    Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 12/24/1987

    Hacker and Sir Humphrey clash over the appointment of the governor of the Bank of England and the cover up of a banking scandal in the City.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn

  • The Patron of the Arts
    8.0/10261 votes
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    #16 - The Patron of the Arts

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 1/1/1988

    Jim Hacker faces embarrassment when Sir Humphrey tells a friend in the arts that the PM's government is planning to cut grants.

    Director: Sydney Lotterby

    Writer: Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn