Armando Iannucci

Why are ministers pre-empting the demise of British TV?

Armando Iannucci writes "After a national crisis, most governments tend to drag their feet before announcing an inquiry. In contrast, the present government's public debate over the future of public service broadcasting may be the first inquiry to be launched well before the crisis has even happened."

Malcolm Tucker made Dominic Cummings possible

As the volcanic spin doctor from the BBC series The Thick Of It, Malcolm Tucker has become a short-hand for the chaotic fire-fighting, ruthless enforcement and mendacious scheming of party politics. Even so, Peter Capaldi has said that his character - who first appeared in 2005 in the dog days of New Labour - is small fry compared to the PM's former consigliere, Dominic Cummings.

Iannucci leads criticism of secrecy over BBC's future

Armando Iannucci, the creator of The Thick Of It, has called on the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, to agree to a meeting with him and others from a new group of influential media figures set up amid concerns about future government plans for the BBC.

Armando Iannucci works comedic wonders with Dickens's endlessly re-interpretable Victorian narrative. Dev Patel leads an astonishing array of players, cast with a colour-blind inclusivity that broadens the scope and reach of this film beyond that of previous Dickens adaptations.

The headline might be the tremendously successful colour-blind casting (including a delightful Dev Patel as David) but Armando Iannucci's take on his favourite Dickens novel is a triumph for so many reasons. It's terrifically cinematic in a way few Dickens adaptations ever are, positively springing from the screen. And by drawing out and seamlessly embellishing on Dickens's humorous touches, Iannucci and co-writer Simon Blackwell turn the whole thing into an extremely affectionate comedy, and help us see the author in a new light. Outrageously nominated for just one BAFTA, it's one of the best British period pieces in years.

Armando Iannucci among DDA Spotlight Award winners

The new honour has been established to recognise diversity in inclusion in cinema. UK writer-director Iannucci will be honoured for his latest feature, The Personal History Of David Copperfield, which has an inclusive cast led by Dev Patel.

TV preview: HIGNFY takes on the US election

It was a busy week for news, with the panel getting stuck into the continued delay to the final result of the US election and the UK re-entering lockdown for the month of November, as well as some lighter stories about a new Guernsey police recruitment video and Cliff Richard announcing that he has stopped swearing.

Armando Iannucci on impact of Donald Trump on satire

I created The Thick Of It and Veep but Donald Trump is beyond satire. Armando Iannucci's verdict on POTUS.

The Oral History of Alan Partridge

Alan Partridge is Middle England incarnate. From hapless sports presenter, to hapless TV presenter, to hapless podcaster, Norwich's favourite son is as maddening as he is endearing. He's also managed to do what very few characters in the comedy world successfully manage to do: endure.

Iannucci shares set he did of just Tory MPs' jokes

But possibly the best thing to come out the left-wing/right-wing BBC comics debate is this Armando Iannucci tweet, in which he remembered when he tried out Tory MPs' jokes on an unsuspecting audience, pretending it was new material.