<P> According to Swedish comedian Kryddan Petersson, he and the group behind Helt Apropå had come up with an idea for a show like this, which they presented to British colleagues sometime around 1989 - 90 . Most of them were not impressed, but two of them took the idea seriously and wrote this show . Later on, the Swedish group bought the material rights to the show back to Sweden, and created the show Döda danskar räknas inte ("Dead Danes don't count"), which aired on SVT in 1994 . </P> <P> The series' story began with the acquisition of GlobeLink by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant, an allusion to either Robert Maxwell or Rupert Murdoch . Indeed, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin note on their DVDs that it was fortunate for their libel lawyers that the two men shared the same initials . The series is mostly based on the ongoing battle between the staff of GlobeLink, led by editor George Dent, as they try to maintain the company as a serious news organisation, and Sir Roysten's right - hand man Gus Hedges, trying to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Sir Roysten's business empire . </P> <P> One of the original working titles was Dead Belgians Don't Count . Dead Kuwaitis Don't Count was also considered for a short time but was ultimately replaced by Drop the Dead Donkey: </P> <P> Finally, the title' Drop the Dead Donkey' has been the subject of many column inches . Various journalists have with great authority explained its provenance as a well - known industry expression . The truth, sadly, is that the writers made it up . It's just something stupid that they imagined might be shouted out in the tense few minutes before a news broadcast . </P>

Who played frankie in drop dead weird last sunday