“The bishop’s gambit” may also refer to a variation of the chess opening

Chess opening

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...

: the King’s Gambit

King's Gambit

The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn so as to build a strong centre with d2–d4...

.

“The Bishop’s Gambit” is the seventh episode of the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 comedy series Yes, Prime Minister

Yes Minister

Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...

and was first broadcast 20 February 1986.

Plot

Jim Hacker

James Hacker

James George Hacker, Baron Hacker of Islington, KG, PC, B. Sc. , Hon. D. C. L. was a fictional British politician. He was the Minister of the fictional Department of Administrative Affairs, and later the Prime Minister, in the 1980s British sitcom Yes Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister...

, Sir Humphrey Appleby

Humphrey Appleby

Sir Humphrey Appleby, GCB, KBE, MVO, MA , is a fictional character from the British television series Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister. He was played by Sir Nigel Hawthorne. In Yes Minister, he is the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Administrative Affairs...

, and Bernard Woolley

Bernard Woolley

Sir Bernard Woolley GCB is one of the three main fictional characters of the 1980s British sitcom Yes Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. He was portrayed by Derek Fowlds.-Character:...

 are watching a news report about Fiona McGregor, a British nurse who has been detained in the Gulf state of Qumran, for possession of a bottle of whisky

Whisky

Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...

, a crime punishable with 10 years in prison and 40 lashes. The Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

 asks if anything can be done to save her. Sir Humphrey tells him that the Qumranis are good friends of Britain and assist the country in several ways, so the Foreign Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...

's advice would be to do nothing. When Hacker protests that the Foreign Office is there to look after British nationals overseas, the Cabinet Secretary

Cabinet Secretary

A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service...

 corrects him: its purpose is to protect British interests abroad.

That evening, Sir Humphrey attends a dinner at his alma mater

Alma mater

Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...

, Baillie College, with the Master and the Bursar. They wish to sound him out about succeeding the current Master upon his retirement (which will coincide with the time Sir Humphrey is planning to retire from the civil service

British Civil Service

Her Majesty's Home Civil Service, also known as the Home Civil Service, is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports Her Majesty's Government - the government of the United Kingdom, composed of a Cabinet of ministers chosen by the prime minister, as well as the devolved...

). The only stumbling block is the Dean, who has taken a personal dislike to Sir Humphrey and is against his appointment. The only way that he can be removed from Baillie is to offer him a bishopric

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

, and Bury St Edmunds has just fallen vacant. However, Sir Humphrey informs him that the job is taken: although it's by the PM's recommendation, the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 nearly always puts up an impossible second candidate in order to force his hand. Sir Humphrey explains that the Church is always seeking to maintain the balance of bishops between those who believe in God

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 and those who do not. It is agreed that the Dean would have to perform some sort of public service to be in with a chance of getting a diocese, and Sir Humphrey suggests sending him to Qumran to intercede on behalf of the British nurse.

The next day, Hacker holds a meeting with Peter Harding, spokesman for the Church Commissioners

Church Commissioners

The Church Commissioners is a body managing the historic property assets of the Church of England. It was set up in 1948 combining the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners formed in 1836...

, who provides background information on the two candidates for the diocese of Bury St. Edmunds. The favoured nominee is Canon Stanford, a modernist

Liberal Christianity

Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...

 who is highly thought of and whose wife is the daughter of the Earl of Chichester

Earl of Chichester

Earl of Chichester is a title that has been created three times in British history. It was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1644 when Francis Leigh, 1st Baron Dunsmore, was made Earl of Chichester, in the County of Sussex, with remainder to his son-in-law Thomas Wriothesley,...

. The second is a Dr Harvey, who has little that Harding can recommend because of his disestablishmentarian

Disestablishmentarianism

Disestablishmentarianism today relates to the Church of England in the United Kingdom and related views on its establishment as an established church....

 views. However, he reminds the PM that it is his choice. Even so, after Harding departs, Bernard indicates that appointing Canon Stanford may be an "own goal." He leaves to fetch Stanford's career details as Hacker is joined by Sir Humphrey.

The Cabinet Secretary informs Hacker that "modernist" is code for "non-believer". The PM wonders why, in that case, such a person could have been recommended for Bury St. Edmunds. Sir Humphrey enlightens him that the COE is primarily a social organisation rather than a religious one. Bishops therefore tend to be chosen more because of their public standing rather than their actual ideology. Bernard returns with the particulars of Canon Stanford's calling, and it transpires that he holds strong socialist

Socialism

Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

 beliefs. He may turn out to be a thorn in Hacker's side if installed. The PM decides he doesn't want him.

That evening, Hacker is in his flat above 10 Downing Street

10 Downing Street

10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....

 with his wife, Annie. She too is concerned about the British nurse in Qumran, and asks why the Foreign Office doesn't do anything. Her husband remarks that the principal function of the FO is to explain why things can't be done. The Bernard arrives with news that the Dean of Baillie College is proposed to be sent as an emissary to Qumran on a "faith to faith meeting". The FO is apparently against it, but Hacker instructs Bernard to tell them it will go ahead. After he leaves, Annie enquires about the appointment of bishops, and Hacker explains that religion doesn’t have much to do with it. He tells her of the preferred appointment for Bury St. Edmunds, and that he can’t really refuse it because it would look political. Annie suggests a simple solution: since Canon Stanford doesn’t believe in heaven

Heaven

Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...

, hell

Hell

In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

 or the Virgin Birth

Virgin Birth

The virgin birth of Jesus is a tenet of Christianity and Islam which holds that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus while remaining a virgin. The term "virgin birth" is commonly used, rather than "virgin conception", due to the tradition that Joseph "knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn...

, Hacker should decline the nomination on religious grounds.

Later, Sir Humphrey is in the Cabinet Office with the Permanent Secretary

Permanent Secretary

The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...

 to the Foreign Office, Sir Richard Wharton. They watch a television news bulletin that announces the Dean of Baillie has succeeded in convincing the Qumranis to free Fiona McGregor. (The Dean of Baillie College, as depicted on the news bulletin, bears a marked resemblance to Terry Waite

Terry Waite

Terry Waite CBE is an English humanitarian and author.Waite was Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie's Assistant for Anglican Communion Affairs in the 1980s. As an envoy for the Church of England, he travelled to Lebanon to try to secure the release of four hostages including journalist John...

, who at the time of the episode’s broadcast was the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

’s special envoy.) Sir Richard is appalled that his department’s advice has been ignored and now it looks like the Church has succeeded where the FO has failed. He suggests telling the media that the Dean set off for Qumran at the PM’s personal insistence, which should take some of the heat off. After he leaves, Sir Humphrey takes a call from the Master of Baillie. He apprises him that the bishopric of Bury St. Edmunds has not yet been filled, and the Dean may be in with a chance.

The next morning, the front pages are devoted to the PM’s “intervention” in Qumran, much to Hacker’s delight. Bernard reminds him that he must make his selection for the Bury St. Edmunds diocese, and there are now two new names from which to choose: one is the Dean of Baillie, and the other is a Stephen Soames, whom the PM favours. However, Sir Humphrey points out that Soames is also the candidate preferred by the Church Commissioners. This alerts Hacker that he may not in fact be suitable, and indeed Sir Humphrey lists a number of controversial views held by Soames that could prove uncomfortable for the government. He then helps the Dean of Baillie’s chances by notifying Hacker that the Dean intends to go to the press and tell them that his mission was not the PM’s idea. Hacker can now see the sense of making a swift appointment. He questions Sir Humphrey about his Baillie connections, but the mandarin in reply asks, how could there be any personal gain involved since the Dean personally dislikes him?

Episode cast

Actor	Role
Paul Eddington Paul Eddington Paul Eddington CBE was an English actor best known for his appearances in popular television sitcoms of the 1970s and 80s: The Good Life, Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.-Early life:...	Jim Hacker
Nigel Hawthorne Nigel Hawthorne Sir Nigel Barnard Hawthorne, CBE was an English actor, perhaps best remembered for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Permanent Secretary in the 1980s sitcom Yes Minister and the Cabinet Secretary in its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister. For this role he won four BAFTA Awards during the 1980s in the...	Sir Humphrey Appleby
Derek Fowlds Derek Fowlds Derek Fowlds is an English actor, known for playing Bernard Woolley in popular British television comedies Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister and Oscar Blaketon in the long-running ITV police drama Heartbeat....	Bernard Woolley
Frank Middlemass Frank Middlemass Francis George Middlemass was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in As Time Goes By, Algy Herries in To Serve Them All My Days and Dr. Alex Ferrenby in Heartbeat...	Master, Baillie College
William Fox William Fox (actor) William Hubert Fox TD was a British character actor and writer. Fox enjoyed early success on the stage playing juvenile roles...	Bursar, Baillie College
Ronnie Stevens Ronnie Stevens (actor) Ronald Stevens was a London-born English actor known as Ronnie Stevens.He appeared in many television comedy series in regular roles, including May to December, Goodnight Sweetheart and A J Wentworth, BA. He also appeared as the "Minister of Pollution", in The Goodies pollution episode...	Peter Harding
Donald Pickering Donald Pickering Donald Ellis Pickering was an English actor.Pickering had appeared in many television, film and radio roles...	Sir Richard Wharton
Diana Hoddinott Diana Hoddinott Diana Hoddinott is an English actress. She was born to Winifred Doris, née Dibble and Alan Hoddinott , who married in 1934 in Langport....	Annie Hacker
Sue Lawley Sue Lawley - Early life and education:Born in Sedgley, Staffordshire, England and brought up in the Black Country, she was educated at Dudley Girls High School and graduated in modern languages from the University of Bristol and some time later started her career at the BBC in Plymouth...	Herself

External links