Golden age of political comedy ahead?

But the creator of The Thick Of It said that comedy writers and producers will have to become more political and more innovative as times get tougher.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at a conference in Cologne, Germany, Iannucci said: ‘Comedy's most devastating weapon is accuracy. You see how Tina Fey's parody of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Laughs gets the biggest laughs when she quotes Palin directly.’

His predictions already seem to be coming true. On Wednesday, the night after the second presidential debate, both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report recorded their highest ever audiences. South Park has also recently hit a nine-year audience high.

Iannucci, who is currently working on In The Loop, the film version of The Thick Of I, added: ‘British comedy has a world-wide audience that will search it out if it's good.’

Published: 12 Oct 2008