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- Screenwriters Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn avoided all references that could indicate Hacker's political party, though Lynn later admitted they had always imagined him as a centre minded Conservative.
- The role of James Hacker was written with Paul Eddington in mind.
- The British Film Institute (BFI) named this as one of the top ten television programmes of all time.
- The writers had advisors who had worked within the government and many of the stories were based on real situations. For example, in episode #3.4 ('The Moral Dimension') they go to an arab state where alcohol is not allowed and so they set up a "communications room" in the embassy where they keep a stash of booze so they could slip out and have a drink. This really happened.
- A great fan of the series, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (as she then was) wrote a sketch for the show with press secretary Bernard Ingham which was recorded and aired as part of the 1984 National Viewers and Listeners Awards. The sketch featured Paul Eddington and Nigel Hawthorne, both of whom are talking to the Prime Minister (played by Thatcher herself) about her notion to abolish economists.
- Ronnie Hazlehurst's theme-tune is composed around the chimes of Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster.
- Only three episodes in the series - {The Economy Drive (#1.3)}; {Big Brother (#1.4)}; and {The Right to Know (#1.6)} - did not end with the phrase "Yes Minister."
- John Savident and Milton Johns both play minor characters in this series, and both would go on to play characters who own shops on long running TV soap opera, Coronation Street.
- This series features two future Oscar nominees, Nigel Hawthorne and Brenda Blethyn.
- While on the train to Scotland, Jim has all the cabinet flunkeys and the Foreign secretary in his compartment. On the wall over Jim's shoulder is a notice attached to the wall with the instructions in case of fire, fire alarm etc. While the headings are in English, the instructions under each heading are gibberish.
- Unbeknownst to the writers, there were at least six NHS hospitals or major wings of hospitals that, like the fictional St. Andrews Hospital, had no patients. One in Cambridgeshire had only one patient: the Matron (head of nursing staff) who had fallen over some scaffolding and broken her leg.
- In the scene in which Sir Humphrey is dining with the heads of Ballie College, Oxford, a reference is made to eating "Mother's Pride". This is a brand of bread in the UK.
- A reference is made to "Wormwood Scrubs". This is a prison in London.
- This episode's title is an allusion to a famous quotation by Benjamin Disraeli: "I have climbed to the top of the greasy pole". In Disraeli's case, it referred to achieving high political office (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) while being of Jewish parentage.
- This is the only time Annie Hacker ever says "Yes Minister".
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