This fourth series premiere follows the exploits of the new coalition government that has seized power, while the opposition - headed by Nicola Murray MP and everyone's favourite spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) will return in episode two.
Digital Spy caught up with comedy veteran Rebecca Front (The Day Today, Nighty Night) - who plays Nicola - and Thick of It newcomer Rebecca Gethings (Extras) to find out more about the latest episodes!
© BBC / Ed Miller
How did the two of you feel about this series of The Thick of It - one of you coming back and the other joining the show?
Rebecca F: "For me, I was just relieved to be back, because I hoped it would go again but we weren't quite sure when. And I very much hoped I'd be in it, but then of course I was vaguely aware there had been an election and I might not be in it. So I was just very relieved to be back!"
Rebecca G: "I was just really excited to join something that I had watched and admired. Scared too, but mostly delighted!"
Do you feel more sympathy for politicians having played these roles?
Rebecca F: "I do now I think, weirdly. Equally if what we're doing is an accurate reflection, it's made me slightly alarmed. When I was younger and I used to watch political programmes and the news... I had this sense of a grand plan where everything was ordered and things would be alright in the end. I think this has given me a sense that if it is like that, then they're very lucky!
"Politics seems to be much more reactive than I realised. It's made me realise that politicians are more hapless and a bit more out of control, so that when they're making an apparently ludicrous announcement or terrible decisions, it's not entirely their fault. In that sense, it has made me feel more sympathetic."
How have things changed for Nicola Murray this series?
Rebecca F: "In series three, she was promoted bizarrely to minister, and this series she's been bizarrely promoted to leader of the opposition. So she's got this ridiculous benevolent power and yet no power at all because she's the opposition.
"So that's her big journey and I hope that will be the shock when people watch it, thinking 'How the hell did that happen?'."
© BBC / Ed Miller
So she's now Malcolm Tucker's boss?
Rebecca F: "Yes, she is really, but she doesn't feel like it. She's still desperate for Malcolm's approval. That was always the case in series three - he was the only one she actually properly cared about, constantly trying to appease and please Malcolm. I think she still is, even though she doesn't need to."
Rebecca Gethings, you've been in Extras and Todd Margaret prior to this. Would you consider yourself a comedy actress?
Rebecca G: "I think it's coincidence really. Jobs tend to lead to other jobs; if you do a role in a certain genre then you'll get seen for other jobs in that genre."
Do you think swearing is important to the show? BBC America recently censored the third series premiere and received complaints...
Rebecca F: "There wouldn't be much left! That's obviously why they complained, because you literally wouldn't understand what was going on. It's pretty crucial to the thing."
Rebecca G: "I think the cleverness of the writing is not all of the characters swear in the same way. Nicola's character swears in more of a Mum way."
Rebecca F: "She gets it a bit wrong."
Rebecca G: "You could cover up the character names and read the dialogue and you would know which character it is - they've all got a very distinct voice."
Rebecca F: "Yes, you're right, it sort of defines all of them. The swearing is fairly accurate as far as I'm aware, I'm not a politician but I think it's a testament to the level of aggression and it's a male world so in that sense it's absolutely right. It's very reflective of this very testosterone-driven, aggressive world. But I suspect female politicians swear as much as men do because they're expected to... and because it's fun!"
Did you watch Armando's US series Veep - that show features a female Vice-President...
Rebecca F: "I did, and it just felt different because it's American and she's got a much more elevated position, although she is equally powerless in a way. I loved it - it was extremely well done and very funny.
"I liked the fact they chose not to go for a Malcolm-like character and that they didn't try and anchor it that way so people will go, 'Oh, this is like The Thick of It'. They've just taken it off and done something different with it and what they have come up with is fantastic."
Do you enjoy getting the opportunity to improvise on The Thick of It?
Rebecca G: "I was quite liberated by it in a way because there's no right or wrong in improvising. Obviously the script is beautifully written and that's what we're true to, but we have the opportunity to play around with that. I enjoy improvising, so that was part of the fun for me actually."
Rebecca F: "Sometimes it's just a bit of physical stuff, so it might just be a tiny little addition of something at the end of a scene which isn't necessarily written into the script. All it does is open up possibilities - you can loosen up and it gives you new ideas here and there. But by and large, you can just trust the script - you look at the material and it's already fantastic."
The Thick of It returns to BBC Two on Saturday (September 8) at 9.45pm.
