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Characters Funny Heartwarming Main Quotes Trivia YMMV main index Narrative
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We've compiled this helpful guide for the characters of The Thick of It and how they fit into the intricate edifice of the British Political System. The show expects you to know even the most minor, tertiary characters by sight and in name-drops even if they've only had five minutes of consecutive screen time a half-dozen episodes apart, and good luck following exactly what is going on if you don't.You're welcome.
The GovernmentThe ruling party and civil servants. Less Left-wing than in the past, and more image-conscious and spin-obsessed, the Party has much in common with New Labour:Number 10:The Prime MinisterThe first Prime Minister was simply referred to as "The Prime Minister" and little was known about him.Tom DavisBy series three the original Prime Minister had resigned and been replaced by a new Party leader, now with a name but still unseen. Known to have poor communication skills and mental health issues, his supporters are known as "Nutters".
 Malcolm Tucker, Prime Minister's Director Of Communications"I'm a man of principle: I like to know whether I'm lying to save the skin of a tosser or a moron." An unelected employee of the Party, Malcolm nonetheless appears to be the most powerful person in government. As the Party's most senior press officer he is responsible for crisis management PR and also acts as an enforcer, ensuring all of the cabinet departments follow the party line. Fiercely loyal to the Party, his overall objective is to keep them in power by any means necessary.
 Samantha "Sam" Cassidy "Happy birthday Malcolm!" Malcolm's PA and one true confidante. He is genuinely fond of her and the feeling is mutual: she is the only character who really understands him and doesn't view him as a complete bastard. When Malcolm gets fired in series 3 Sam actually cries while everyone else is celebrating, and Malcolm comes running in to comfort her.
 Jamie, Senior Press Officer, Number 10 "From now on it's a proper fight- it's a pub fight, Motherwell rules." Jamie runs the testosterone-charged Number 10 press office and as Malcolm's unofficial second-in-command he also helps him with his enforcer duties. He came into conflict with Malcolm during the specials, and disappeared as of series three. However, he's still alive, well, and employed, and exchanging combative e-mails with Malcolm, as per The Missing DoSaC Files.
The Department Of Social Affairs (and Citizenship) "Citizenship involves, basically, cutting pensions to the Ghurkas, re-jigging the protocols for a rabies outbreak, some crap from Health about long-term care for the elderly, that neither they nor we have any real idea about."- Olly Reeder "And everything to do with the Isle of Man."- Glenn Cullen As a newly-created "super department" with a wide range of duties, the Department's remit is confusing but among other things it covers housing, immigration and benefits. It is the least glamorous of the Cabinet departments and the one which no MPs want to run. A fictional department, it is comparable to the Real Life Department for Communities and Local Government.The department itself invokes the The Main Characters Do Everything trope, as Glenn and Olly have already explained above. Cliff Lawton MP "It's the bollocks of the jungle out there. They're like wolves- pissed wolves." The Minister for Social Affairs when the series started, Malcolm forced him to resign in the very first episode.
 Hugh Abbott MP "I categorically did not knowingly not tell the truth. Even though unknowingly I might not have done." Cliff Lawton's replacement. During his time there the department was rebranded "The Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship", or DoSAC. He lacks "click" with his constituents, other politicians and (most upsetting to Hugh) the PM's wife.
 Nicola Murray MP "I mean, I have about as much real power as those twats who sit either side of Alan Sugar." Hugh Abbott's replacement following a reshuffle at the start of series 3. Ambitious but with no real ideas, her belief that she can make a difference proves to be a delusion.
 Ben Swain MP, Junior Minister for Immigration, DoSAC"Look at this! Takeaway and a fight. All I need now is a handjob in a bus shelter and I'll have had the great British night out." A junior minister to Hugh Abbott, in series three he left for the Department of Education after Nicola Murray sacked him. He's petty, slow on the uptake, and has a mega nervous blink.
 Glenn Cullen, DoSAC Senior Policy Adviser"I feel like I'm in a therapy group being run by my own rapist." Divorced and depressed, he has been working as an adviser for around 30 years and knows no other way of life. He is Hugh's best mate, and after Hugh's departure in a reshuffle he tries to make himself valuable to Nicola. In series three he attempts to enter politics himself, but since he's Glenn, Failure Is the Only Option. Olly Reeder, DoSAC Policy Adviser"Yeah, you think it's my finger, bitch." Olly spent a year in a think tank before joining the Department. A graduate of "Poxbridge", he is book-smart but not streetwise. Ruthlessly ambitious and unscrupulous in his attempts to further his career, he can be untrustworthy and disloyal. Made himself useful by dating Emma Messinger, a policy adviser to DoSAC shadow minister Peter Mannion MP, and also dated journalist Angela Heaney.
 Terri Coverly, Director of Communications, DoSAC"Well, you know, I'm just trying to do my best and make sure I can still get home by six o'clock" As a civil servant, Terri does not get involved in party politics and will remain in her job regardless of which party is in power, which is probably why she can't be arsed with it. She coordinates the department's media relations, and is one of the few characters to have a life outside of work.
 Robyn Murdoch, Senior Press Officer, DoSAC"Give them all of the lines to say?" Another civil servant, junior to Terri. Despite her job title Robyn's main duty is making tea.
Other Government characters Nick Hanway, Enforcer to Tom Davis "Tom's not sure about you..." As Tom Davis's right-hand man, "Nice Nutter Nick" was sure he would be taking over from Malcolm after the original Prime Minister's resignation. A little too sure... Julius Nicholson
 Steve Fleming MP
 Dan Miller MP"If you're gonna make an omelette, you're going to have to have some frank and honest discussion with the eggs" Powerful and influential
 Claire Ballentyne MP"...but you didn't want to come here at all, did you Mr Abbott?" Another influential MP, she is chair of the Select Committee. She takes no crap from anyone, least of all Hugh Abbott when he attempts to lie to the Committee. She also appeared in Spinners and Losers, when Malcolm called on her for one of his BatmanGambits.
 Geoff Holhurst MP"My head is the right size!" Defence Minister, best known for being corrupt and having a tiny head. It was never firmly established if he was a tosser or a moron. John Duggan "My To Do list is longer than a big willy" Utterly hapless press officer charged with looking after Nicola Murray during the Eastbourne Party Conference. Unfortunately the only thing he seems to be any good at is depriving a village somewhere of a twat.The OppositionPerhaps even more image-obsessed than the ruling party, it is hinted that they are also more elitist and that many members hold objectionable views. Comparable to the Conservative Party.JB, Leader of the OppositionAn old Etonian who apparently keeps a clique of other Etonians about him. Little is known about him as (other than his taste for racist jokes), like the Prime Minister, he is never seen.
 Stewart Pearson, Opposition Director of Communications "Let's imagineer the narrative..." An advertising executive recruited from the private sector, Stewart would seem to be the perfect choice for a party wanting to reposition themselves as more PC and eco-friendly. In practice his liberal views are rather at odds with those of the party's old guard:Malcolm: Carry on like this and I might not find you utterly fucking contemptible. Stewart: That's an incentive.
Shadow Department of Social Affairs (And Citizenship) Peter Mannion MP, Shadow Minister for Social Affairs and Citizenship"Of course I like you. I like and fear and mistrust you." One of the old guard, he is resistant to the new culture of spin. He was a junior minister when his party were last in power. During this time he also got his housekeeper pregnant and twelve years later he still hasn't lived this down. Despite this he is one of the show's few sympathetic characters.
 Emma Messinger, aide to Peter MannionOlly Reeder's girlfriend. Like Olly she abuses the relationship to gather information on the opposing party's plans.
 Phil Smith, aide to Peter Mannion
Affers
 Cal "The Fucker" Richards "Fuck, what I REALLY need to do, is shoot you all in the back of the head. FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! But I can't, because it's illegal!" Brought in as a PR adviser ahead of the general election. A forceful and aggressive bully, he appears to have a very cruel sense of humour.
The Media Angela HeaneyThe Party initially considered Angela a rather soft and compliant journalist who could be relied on for a nice sympathetic story. This was in no small way helped by the fact that she was Olly Reader's ex. "The twatbubble from the Standard" then got a job at the Daily Mail and became somewhat less compliant. Adam Kenyon"It's not like we're the Independent, we can't just stick a headline saying 'CRUELTY' and then stick a picture of a dolphin or a whale underneath." The night editor at the Daily Mail, Kenyon is Angela Heaney's irritable and bad-tempered boss. One of Malcolm's favoured targets during late-night political scheming, Keynon plays a large role in what is made public about the events of Spinners and Losers.
 Marianne Swift
 Geoffrey "...so you're not currying favour then?" The Guardian editor in series three, he first appears at the disastrous lunch meeting where Nicola Murray fails to convince him that she is neither smug nor glum. Later he finds himself among the journalists Malcolm tries to enlist to help preserve his reputation and career.
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