The Thick Of It

No rehearsal for Thick Of It cast

Producer Adam Tandy said that they filmed the BBC Two episode - directed by the show's creator Armando Iannucci - in a way which would make the inquiry, examining government leaks, as realistic as possible.

He said: "We gave our regular cast no rehearsal at all, and simply pushed them on to set with the cameras already running, and then our Clerk swore them in."

The award-winning political satire spoofs a governmental inquiry in an hour long special possibly inspired by the Leveson inquiry but bearing a greater resemblance in its staging to the Chilcot inquiry into Iraq. In the aftermath of the suicide of a key-worker after his flat was sold off, an inquiry has been called. Lord Goolding and his team of three inquisitors have little patience for the nervous rambling and impenetrable politician-speak of those giving evidence.

The civil servants, government and opposition troop in, each pointing the finger at the others. The sight of foul-mouthed media advisor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), in particular, speechless and unable to dig himself out of a self-created hole is a joy to behold. As the entire episode is focused on the inquiry itself, the inventive swearing is mostly absent, instead the delight comes from watching each character struggle to answer questions without ending up in further trouble. Occasional moments descend into panto but with writing this exceptional, it's easy to forget we're watching a fictional inquiry.

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"There goes a tiebreaker in the making: who was Nicola Murray?" says a wag. Poor Nicola (Rebecca Front), her every move dogged by a man dressed as a pork chop, finds herself the target of a torpedo of invective from Malcolm Tucker.

Even for Tucker, this is strong stuff: "You've all the charm of a rotting teddybear by a graveside... you headless frump" is one of the milder insults in a firestorm of abuse as he throws Nicola out of what used to be her office in front of her successor, that suave Dalek Dan Miller.

It's a messy episode that tips into pandemonium when a leaked email sets off a chain reaction.