UKTV BBC

The Thick Of It

Rated M

Government embarrassment, ministerial cock-up, coalition rows, spin-doctoring and political back-stabbing. It can only be the eagerly-anticipated return of Armando Iannucci's sharp political satire.

With Glenn gone, Nicola Murray is busy breaking in her new policy advisor, Helen Hatley. When Helen is accidentally photographed holding notes from an ideas meeting, Nicola is understandably angry.

Stewart is running "Thought Camp" at a remote country house, as the perfect way to re-engage the party with the creative cloudscape. Phil is surprised to find the offices less than deserted.

With Nicola safely on a train to attend the party's Here 2 Hear in Bradford, Malcolm is free to launch his latest plot. But how is Olly going to be able to help, given he's in St Thomas' Hospital?

With Nicola Murray and Peter Mannion both on the back foot after the unravelling of the key-worker housing sell-off policy there's inevitably going to be a scramble for the moral high-ground.

Everyone has a lot of questions to answer about the suicide of a key-worker after his flat was sold off. Lord Goolding is reputedly a fair man, but he isn't going to stand for any nonsense.

The final reckoning. Every dog has its day, but as the fallout from the enquiry starts to take its toll, the everyday problems of government continue unabated.