During the BBC documentary show, Comedy Connections (2003), screened in March 2006, the cast members confessed that most of their lines were actually written on the pieces of paper and clipboards that they were forever looking at during each episode. This was because scripts were written so close to transmission in order to keep it topical, that they often didn't have time to learn all their lines before shooting began.
The series was originally to be called "Dead Belgians Don't Count", inspired by a deadly train accident in Belgium which received no attention in the British news. This title was deemed too offensive by Channel 4, and they renamed it "Drop the Dead Donkey". A fortuitous decision, as it turned out, since one of the first international stations to buy this series was the VRT, the Flemish public radio and television.
Writer Andy Hamilton had a recurring role as Damien's unfortunate cameraman. He was never shown in vision, but was regularly maimed as a result of Damien's foolhardy behavior.
The DVDs released in the 2000s (and the episodes available on streaming) have inserts at the beginning of each episode to remind viewers of what stories were in the British news each week that the show aired.