When Mel Smith died, Griff Rhys-Jones led a tribute to his comedy partner on the Twitter social network and stated "I still can't believe this has happened. To everybody who ever met him, Mel was a force of life. He had a relish for it that seemed utterly inexhaustible. He inspired love and utter loyalty and he gave it in return. I will look back on the days working with him as some of the funniest times that I have ever spent. We probably enjoyed ourselves far too much, but we had a roller-coaster of a ride along the way. He was a gentleman and a scholar, a gambler and a wit. We are in a state of shock. We have lost a very, very dear friend."
In the "Swiss News" sketch, Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones reactions' were genuine; their near-crack-up was unintentional and not in the script.
According to Mel Smith, the idea for the Head to Head sketches came about because it was an opportunity for two men to talk alone together about their foibles with emotional honesty with barriers removed.
Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones wanted to keep the show in the tradition of "Not the 9 O'Clock News", the BBC sketch-comedy show in which the comedy duo appeared together as regular performers, which launched their careers.