In the Prostitute Advert sketch, two of the posted advertisements on the shop door read, "To Let: 10 PM bedsit or new packing case for three persons of large proportions." and "Wanted: 2 rooms with view of sewer. Need not be best view. Partial sufficient."
Gloria (John Cleese) says that when Dinsdale Piranha would get really worried about Spiny Norman he'd claim he'd "nailed [early 20th century British Prime Minister] Stanley Baldwin." At the height of his alcoholism Graham Chapman would try to rile up fellow pub patrons by claiming he'd slept with Edward Heath, the then current British Prime Minister.
"Piranha Brothers" is based on the Kray twins, famous gangsters in London's East End in the 1950s and 1960s. Doug and Dinsdale Piranha are loosely based on Reggie Kray and Ronald Kray. The policeman who pursues them, Harry "Snapper" Organs, is loosely based on Detective Superintendent Leonard 'Nipper' Read, the policeman who led the investigation against the Krays. Spiny Norman is possibly a subtle reference to Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher, the notorious former head of the London Drug Squad.
In the film that the Minister of Silly Walks plays, the second segment shows Michael Palin performing while wearing boots with very long soles. This is an imitation of Harry Relph, known in vaudeville as "Little Tich". He was famous for his "Big-Boot Dance" in which he wore boots with soles that were twenty-eight inches long.
Title is listed as "Face the Press" in the 16-Ton DVD Megaset DVD set and Network's blu-ray set; but listed as "Dinsdale!" in the Apple iTunes store. In the booklet that comes with Network's blu-rays, they note, "The production of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' is extremely complex...there is little or no meaningful identification of individual programmes via episode titles. While early episodes were allocated titles, the remainder adopted here originated from fan guides since the 1980s and were never used by the BBC at the time."