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The Thick of It

The Complete BBC TV Soundtracks

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The Thick of It

By: Armando Iannucci
Narrated by: Peter Capaldi, Rebecca Front, Joanna Scanlan, Chris Addison, James Smith, Roger Allam, Full Cast
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Summary

Revisit your favourite moments from the cult political comedy with this audio collection of the complete TV soundtracks

Described as ‘the 21st century’s answer to Yes Minister’, this scabrous satire set in the corridors of the British government ran for four series between 2005 and 2012. It won numerous awards, including five BAFTAs, and is frequently ranked among the greatest TV shows of all time.

Following the relationships between successive government ministers, their advisors and the media, it takes us behind the scenes at the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSac), as a succession of hapless MPs — including Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front) and Peter Mannion (Roger Allam) — go head-to-head with Number Ten's ferocious, foul-mouthed enforcer, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Trying to keep them out of trouble are SpAds Ollie Reeder (Chris Addison) and Glenn Cullen (James Smith), and press secretary Terri Coverley (Joanna Scanlan).

Featuring the complete Series 1-4 of the hit show, plus the three Specials, this soundtrack collection brings you all their political machinations and omnishambles to listen to on the go. So prepare to immerse yourself in government embarrassment, ministerial cock-ups, policy U-turns, Coalition rows, backroom deals and back-stabbing, as the DoSac team are caught up in a whirlwind of wild media speculation, career-ending scandal and frantic spin-doctoring...

NB: Contains strong language and adult humour

Production credits
Devised by Armando Iannucci
Written by Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell, Rob Colley, Roger Drew, Dan Gaster, Sean Gray, Ian Martin, Georgia Pritchett, David Quantick, Tony Roche and Will Smith
Produced by Adam Tandy and Armando Iannucci
Directed by Armando Iannucci, Natalie Bailey, Billy Sneddon, Becky Martin, Chris Addison and Tony Roche
Executive producers: Jon Plowman, Mark Freeland, Armando Iannucci and Andy Forssell
Edited by Billy Sneddon, David Frisby and Ant Boys
Production designer: Simon Rogers

Cast
Malcolm Tucker – Peter Capaldi
Ollie Reeder – Chris Addison
Glenn Cullen – James Smith
Terri Coverley – Joanna Scanlan
Hugh Abbott – Chris Langham
Nicola Murray – Rebecca Front
Peter Mannion – Roger Allam
Angela Heaney – Lucinda Raikes
Dan Miller – Tony Gardner
Robyn Murdoch – Polly Kemp
Jamie – Paul Higgins
Julius Nicholson – Alex Macqueen
Ben Swain – Justin Edwards
Stewart Pearson – Vincent Franklin
Emma Messenger – Olivia Poulet
Phil Smith – Will Smith
Adam Kenyon – Ben Willbond
Fergus Williams – Geoffrey Streatfeild
Helen Hatley – Rebecca Gethings

Series 1, 2 and Specials first broadcast BBC Four: 19 May-2 June 2005 (Series 1), 20 October-3 November 2005 (Series 2), 2 January 2007 (‘The Rise of the Nutters’), 3 July 2007 (‘Spinners and Losers’, ‘Opposition Extra’)
Series 3 and 4 first broadcast BBC Two: 24 October-12 December 2009 (Series 3), 8 September-27 October 2012 (Series 4)

© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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A great series that works in audio-only - there aren't many visuals jokes that don't go on to be explained in the dialog. It can be sometimes difficult to distinguish between the male voices in the later series as more characters are introduced, but once your ear gets tuned in it's fine. Even if you haven't seen the TV series you will be able to enjoy this.

Excellent

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Great to have The Thick Of It on audiobook. However, it could've done with some editing to adapt it from TV to Audio. For example, a little bit of narration to set the scene as there's a few scenes where there's no dialogue. Overall a good listen to if you're a fan of the series.

Needs editing to adapt to audiobook

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Absolutely love the Thick of It and always thought it would work well as a ‘soundtrack’ as some of the Alan Partridge episodes have. Can tell I’ll be listening to this on repeat for a while. A caveat I have watched all the episodes many times so I can’t say how well it translates if you don’t know it very well but definitely worth it for a fan. Can we have In the Loop too or is that too difficult, difficult, Lemon difficult?

Finally!

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A great cast, plausible plot lines executed by convincingly hapless politicians. The TV story lines work well as a radio program and arguably not much is lost in the crossover. Brilliant!

Brilliant!

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There is too much background noise and you have no idea which character is talking unless you are highly familiar with the TV series. Just doesn’t work as an audiobook.

Doesn’t translate well to audiobook

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