Dead Donkeys

[Aschenbach]

Does anyone have any views on those treacley stories that feature at the end of the news? Or an example of one that was desperately insignificant yet memorable? Did the term originate from a particular story or from the TV show Drop the Dead Donkey?

[Xollob]

I always used to look forward to these on ITV's News at Ten. My favourite was the cat that was rescued from a tree by an army unit during the fire brigade strike in 1978, then promptly run over by the fire engine.

I remember Reginald Bosanquet getting into trouble at the time for his on-screen smirk.

[jno]

I doubt there was ever a specific dead donkey - or rather, there are so many of them they wouldn't make a news item. I think broadcasters sometimes refer to those 'and finally' items as skateboarding cats or something like that. (All donkeys die, not many cats skateboard.)

[mycatis]

As far as I remember it meant that a news crew (t.v or newspaper) had too many news items for the day or a big story came up at the last minute they would say "drop the dead donkey (story)" cause it wasn't a big story I suppose