The Thick of It coincidentally ended up occurring only two days after Peter Capaldi was announced as the new star of "Doctor Who". (Even more coincidental, a cast commentary included as part of a photo gallery featurette for the episode "Rise of the Nutters" included in the DVD set, recorded several years earlier, has several cast members jokingly deciding to start a rumour that Capaldi is to be the next Doctor.) "The Thick of It: The Scripts", a book containing the scripts from the first two series and the 2007 specials, was published on 1 September 2007. A tie-in book, "The Thick Of It:
The Thick of It and enforcers all try to better their position during the transition, but only Malcolm gets anywhere. In series 3, Hugh Abbot is replaced as minister by Nicola Murray, played by Rebecca Front. She is an unexpected, last-minute choice for the position, and given her inexperience and lack of staff, she is forced to retain Ollie and Glenn as her advisers. The series continues to focus on the general running, or mis-running, of DoSAC, with Murray's attempts to formulate her "Fourth Sector Pathfinder Initiative" being a running thread throughout the series. With the cloud of the forthcoming general election and tension