Series creator Jonathan Lynn was inspired to satirize politics after joining the Cambridge Union as a student and finding the young debaters (some of whom, like Michael Howard and Kenneth Clarke, later became real politicians) pompous and self-important.

Writers Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn drew on real insider information from civil servants and government insiders, including Marcia Falkender and Bernard Donoughue (from the Wilson and Callaghan governments), as well as the published diaries of Richard Crossman.

The episode 'The Moral Dimension,' about secretly drinking alcohol on a diplomatic trip to a fictional Islamic state, was based on a real incident involving Prime Minister James Callaghan in Pakistan, as relayed to the writers by insider Bernard Donoughue.

After writing 'The Compassionate Society' about a hospital with 500 administrative staff but no doctors, nurses, or patients, the writers discovered that six real hospitals actually matched this exact absurd scenario.

Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington were impressed by the pilot script but still asked to see two more scripts before committing to star in the series.

Jonathan Lynn cast Derek Fowlds as Bernard Woolley after meeting him by chance at a dinner and offering him the role on the spot.

The character of political advisor Frank Weisel was dropped after the first series because the writers felt a character focused on party politics distracted from the central tension between government ministers and the civil service.

The opening title caricatures were hand-drawn by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, who created a 'self-drawing' animation effect by positioning his camera above the paper and photographing two frames at a time as he added lines.

The theme music, composed by Ronnie Hazlehurst, is based on the Westminster Quarters (the chimes of Big Ben); Hazlehurst himself called it 'the easiest thing I've ever done,' and it bears a strong resemblance to his theme for To The Manor Born.

Set designers were given access to the real Cabinet Rooms and State Drawing Rooms for research, but for security reasons the room layouts were altered and views from the windows were never shown on screen to avoid revealing the true building layout.

Episodes were recorded on videotape in front of a live studio audience, standard BBC sitcom practice at the time, though the actors reportedly disliked this format because they felt it added extra pressure.

Yes Minister was reportedly the favourite television programme of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and the show was also very popular on PBS stations in the United States.