The Thick of It Cabinet Office. This concept enables different political themes to be dealt with in the programme, similar to the Department of Administrative Affairs in "Yes Minister". Hugh Abbot, played by Chris Langham, is a blundering minister heading the department, who is continually trying to do his job under the watchful eye of Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), Number 10's highly aggressive and domineering "enforcer". The programme also features James Smith as senior special adviser Glenn Cullen, Chris Addison as junior policy adviser Ollie Reeder, and Joanna Scanlan as civil service press secretary Terri Coverley. The series was revamped for the third series
Malcolm Tucker character to whom Malcolm shows any (if occasional) warmth due to his misfortunes, unwavering loyalty to Hugh Abbot, and the fact he shows more common sense than any of his colleagues. However, Tucker loses all respect for Glenn when he defects, branding him a traitor when rebuffing his attempt to re-join Malcolm's party. The only other person he allows to criticise him without retaliation is fellow Scotsman, Press Officer, Jamie McDonald (Paul Higgins), one of the few people who are arguably more aggressive than Malcolm (being referred to as "the crossest man in Scotland" in "In The Loop"), who is