# List of The Thick of It episodes
*The Thick of It* is a British political satire series created by [Armando Iannucci](https://www.edgepedia.org/armando-iannucci) that ran from 2005 to 2012, and its episode list comprises four series of half-hour episodes, two hour-long specials, a fifteen-minute companion piece, a spin-off film, and a set of webisodes. The show satirizes the inner workings of modern British government, following the Department of Social Affairs (later Social Affairs and [Citizenship](https://www.edgepedia.org/citizenship), DoSAC) under enforcer [Malcolm Tucker](https://www.edgepedia.org/malcolm-tucker), played by Peter Capaldi[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it) • [2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Run | May 2005 to October 2012, four series plus specials[2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/) |
| Regular episodes | 21 half-hour episodes: 3 + 3 + 8 + 7 across the four series[3](https://thethickofit.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_Guide) |
| Specials | *The Rise of the Nutters* (2 January 2007) and *Spinners and Losers* (3 July 2007, 59 minutes), plus the 15-minute *Spinners and Losers: Opposition Extra*[2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/) |
| Film | *In the Loop* (2009), a non-canonical spin-off film[3](https://thethickofit.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_Guide) |
| Webisodes | Eight *Out of the Thick of It* shorts produced alongside series 3[3](https://thethickofit.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_Guide) |
| Lead cast | Chris Langham as Hugh Abbott (series 1–2); Rebecca Front as Nicola Murray (series 3–4); Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker throughout[2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/) |
## Broadcast history
The series began in May 2005. An academic account of the program states that it first aired on [BBC Four](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-four), the BBC's alternative-to-mainstream channel, and that the final episode of the fourth series aired on the more mainstream [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two), a channel shift made from series three onwards that the same account reads as a sign of the BBC's confidence in the show[4](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781844577521_A28850541/preview-9781844577521_A28850541.pdf). Episode databases list the individual airings under BBC Two[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official), and epguides gives the networks as BBC Two and BBC Four[2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/). The same academic source dates the final episode of series four to September 2012[4](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781844577521_A28850541/preview-9781844577521_A28850541.pdf), while episode guides place the last broadcast on 27 October 2012[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) • [2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/).
## Series 1 (2005)
Series 1 consists of three episodes, all starring [Chris Langham](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-langham) as Minister for Social Affairs Hugh Abbott[2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/).
| No. | Air date | Premise |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 May 2005 | Hugh Abbott's "Snooper Squad" policy is vetoed, leaving him forty minutes to devise a replacement[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 2 | 26 May 2005 | Hugh enlists a focus group to help him choose between two policies[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 3 | 2 June 2005 | An empty London flat threatens a Housing Bill, while Dan Miller attracts media attention for his work on it[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
## Series 2 (2005)
Series 2 also ran three episodes, in October and November 2005, and was the last series with Hugh Abbott as minister[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) • [2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/).
| No. | Air date | Premise |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 October 2005 | A ministerial factory visit goes badly wrong, and only Malcolm can help[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 2 | 27 October 2005 | A reshuffle looms and the Prime Minister's new "blue skies" advisor causes trouble[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 3 | 3 November 2005 | A misplaced email circulates while Hugh lies to a Select Committee[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
## 2007 specials
Two hour-long specials bridge the gap between series 2 and series 3, both built around the resignation of the Prime Minister. The Rise of the Nutters aired on 2 January 2007: with Hugh Abbott away, new enemies emerge inside and outside the government, and a disastrous Newsnight interview, an opposition "week at the coalface", and a leaked "legacy" force the PM to resign six months early[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official). Spinners and Losers followed on 3 July 2007 (59 minutes), following one frantic night in which the government hunts for a successor who is not Tom, while Malcolm risks spinning out of control[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) • [2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/). A fifteen-minute companion, *Spinners and Losers: Opposition Extra*, shows Peter Mannion's peaceful evening thwarted by public relations; epguides dates it 10 July 2007 and TheTVDB 3 July 2007[2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/) • [5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official).
## Series 3 (2009)
Series 3 ran eight episodes on BBC Two between 24 October and 12 December 2009, with [Rebecca Front](https://www.edgepedia.org/rebecca-front) joining as the new minister, Nicola Murray[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) • [2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/). The writing team for the series included Simon Blackwell, Will Smith, Sean Gray, Ian Martin, David Quantick, Tony Roche, Roger Drew, Dan Gaster, and Georgia Pritchett[6](https://www.bbcstudioscomedy.com/ourwork/the-thick-of-it).
| No. | Air date | Premise |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 October 2009 | On reshuffle day, the DoSAC job is turned down by everyone, so unknown quantity Nicola Murray is promoted to the Cabinet[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 2 | 31 October 2009 | DoSAC wipes the immigration records of 170,672 people, and Nicola must face Guardian staff at lunch without revealing the disaster[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 3 | 7 November 2009 | Nicola is stuck in an Eastbourne hotel finishing her party conference speech with a laptop, a printer, and a tiny kettle[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 4 | 14 November 2009 | The department prepares for a visit from shadow minister Peter Mannion, and then Nicola gets a call[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 5 | 21 November 2009 | Nicola and Mannion debate on BBC Radio 5 Live's Richard Bacon phone-in, with Malcolm and opposition guru Stewart Pearson listening from their offices[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 6 | 28 November 2009 | With the PM at a summit in Spain, the media want a leadership contest just as Nicola launches her Fourth Sector Initiative[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 7 | 5 December 2009 | The team seeks a sports personality for the Healthy Choices campaign and takes advice from the PM's new fixer, Steve Fleming, while Malcolm is supposedly on holiday[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 8 | 12 December 2009 | With the election looming, Malcolm, short of options and friends, sets his finest trap yet[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
### In the Loop and the webisodes
The film spin-off *In the Loop* (2009), in which International Development minister Simon Foster lands in trouble with two contradictory statements about a Middle East war, is listed by databases as a special; TheTVDB dates it 22 January 2009 and TVmaze 17 April 2009[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/1667/the-thick-of-it/episodes). Alongside series 3, the BBC produced eight webisodes titled *Out of the Thick of It*, following Terri Coverley and Robyn as they discuss each episode, each paired with deleted scenes; they aired on BBC Two between 26 October and 14 December 2009[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) • [3](https://thethickofit.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_Guide).
## Series 4 (2012)
The final series ran seven episodes between 8 September and 27 October 2012, set in a coalition government with Peter Mannion as Secretary of State; episode 6 ran 60 minutes rather than the usual half hour[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) • [2](https://epguides.com/thickofit/).
| No. | Air date | Premise |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 September 2012 | Mannion must launch coalition partner Fergus's "Networked Nation" policy at a school, and the launch, and its recovery plan, are disasters[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 2 | 15 September 2012 | Nicola breaks in advisor Helen Hatley, deals with an eight-foot pork chop, and watches rival Dan Miller get on well with Malcolm[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 3 | 22 September 2012 | Stewart Pearson runs phone-free "Thought Camp" while Fergus meets an economist who wants to start a bank, and a tragic news story breaks[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 4 | 29 September 2012 | With Nicola on a train to Bradford, Malcolm launches a plot against the opposition leader[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 5 | 13 October 2012 | After the key worker housing sell-off unravels, everyone spins their own version of the growing scandal while the department launches the Carers Pass[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 6 | 20 October 2012 | Government, opposition, and civil service face the Goolding inquiry into a nurse's suicide[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
| 7 | 27 October 2012 | The final reckoning: fallout from the inquiry continues while Dan Miller is sent on a fact-finding mission at Malcolm's suggestion[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official) |
A 21-minute DVD extra, *From Script to Screen*, released with the series 1 DVD on 27 November 2005, documents the writing and shooting of an episode[5](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official).
## References
1. [The Thick of It - TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it)
2. [The Thick of It (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides.com](https://epguides.com/thickofit/)
3. [Episode Guide, The Thick of It Wiki (Fandom)](https://thethickofit.fandom.com/wiki/Episode_Guide)
4. [The Thick of It chapter preview, pageplace.de](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781844577521_A28850541/preview-9781844577521_A28850541.pdf)
5. [The Thick of It – Aired Order, All Seasons, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/the-thick-of-it/allseasons/official)
6. [Our Work Details: The Thick of It, BBC Studios Comedy](https://www.bbcstudioscomedy.com/ourwork/the-thick-of-it)
7. [The Thick of It – Episode List, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/1667/the-thick-of-it/episodes)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › Comedy-series episode lists and notable episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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