When The Thick of It first arrived on our screens in 2005, it did so in the most inconspicous of circumstances, broadcast late at night during the week on BBC Four. Thanks to a steadily growing fanbase, endless amounts of critical acclaim and a relatively successful feature-length spinoff, In the Loop, its new series has been granted a prime-time slot on Saturday nights.

The character most associated with the programme is Malcolm Tucker (played with venomous aplomb by Peter Capaldi), Number 10's spin doctor extraordinaire, whose bombastic style of governing bears just a little resemblance to Tony Blair's former Director of Communications, Alastair Campbell. He stomps around Westminster abusing special advisers and civil servants with his hilarious use of the profane, and The Thick of It focuses on his dealing with DoSAC (Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship), a government ministry so flimsy and unimportant that by its very title you know it was designed just to hoover up all the crap the other departments don't want anything to do with.

The first episode of the new series deals with the arrival of a new Secretary of State, Nicola Murray MP, whose private school ambitions for her daughter and husband's potentially dodgy business connections will cause unwanted grief for Tucker. Trying to save their skin are policy advisers Ollie Reeder and Glenn Cullen, as they one-up each other constantly to stay on the good side of their new boss.

Now, if this all seems very confusing and you're feeling slightly put off by the political jargon that was thrown about in the last few paragraphs, do not be afraid. It is a political satire, but that isn't to say those with no knowledge of Westminster goings-on won't find it inordinately entertaining. Most of the comedy does not stem from intimate knowledge of the nature of select committees, rather the wonderful way the characters pepper their speech with probably the most beautifully written invectives available on TV (within the first few minutes alone we get someone described as a "massive abortion").

The Thick of It succeeds because it strips the bullshit out of British politics, and shows us that it's much like any other job, the only difference being the consequences of your decisions are a tad more important. Its shaky camerawork and moderately complex plots might put some viewers off, but for those of us who enjoy extremely dark, sweary humour and satire so on the nose it hurts, this new series is like manna from heaven.

"I'm off to wipe my arse on a photo of Nick Robinson. I'm getting good at giving him a quiff!"

If lines like that don't make you smile, then, in the words of Tucker himself, you can "fuck the fuck off".

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