Whitehall satire recommissioned

BBC4 has commissioned a new run of ministerial satire The Thick of It.

Chris Langham is to return as the hapless politician surrounded by clueless and aggressive advisers in three new episodes, to be written by Armando Iannucci and others.

A BBC spokeswoman told Media Guardian: “Iannucci's excruciatingly sharp and dyspeptic satire has won BBC4 massive critical acclaim and one of its biggest audiences to date. It is distinctive, fearless and just the kind of intelligent comedy that the channel is looking for."

The first three-part series of the show averaged 245,000 viewers, which is considered good for the highbrow channel.

The show, which Iannucci described  as a cross between Yes Minister and Larry Sanders, also starred  Peter Capaldi  as a bullying, foul-mouthed  political adviser and stand-up Chris Addison as another Whitehall wonk.

Interview with Armando Iannucci >>

Published: 10 Jun 2005