Frequently Requested Answers

There are a number of Often Asked Questions which people put to me by one means or another (email, twitter, shouting it across the street, carving it into the bark of a tree in a park near a venue I'm playing at, baking the letters in cake form and sending them individually via my agent over a period of months, etc. etc.)  So I thought it might be an idea to provide you with a list of Frequently Requested Answers.  Here they are, in no particular order other than the one I remembered them in.

When is there going to be another series of The Thick of It?

Well, one's commissioned and the plan at the moment is that we shoot it this year.  That's the plan, but who knows what'll happen?  The Earth could get eaten by that big snake thing the Vikings thought goes all round the outside of it.  So just think on.


What's the capital of Bolivia?

What? No, it's not a quiz.  I'm not doing those kinds of question.


What advice do you have for anyone wanting to start in stand-up?

Get five minutes of stuff together, go and find an open mic night somewhere and try it out.  Do as many of those nights or open spots at established clubs as you can.  Don't change the material too often because you need to learn how to perform material as well as write it.  Develop a thick skin.  Do a course if you like but there is absolutely no shortcut in stand-up - you can only really learn by getting out to comedy nights and doing it.  And when you get to the point of travelling around from gig to gig, stay off the Ginsters.


Yes, but what about the capital of Bolivia?

Hm? I don't know. Google it. I'm working, here.


Will there be another series of Lab Rats?

Not unless something's going on that I don't know about.  No more Lab Rats, I'm afraid, but if you've got the DVD and you've noticed that it contains absolutely no extras whatsoever, you might like these commentaries we podcast to accompany it:

feed://labratsdvdextras.jellycast.com/podcast/feed/2

Also, much of the same cast, the same writers and producers did two series on Radio 4 before we made Lab Rats - the programmes were sort of fleshed-out versions of a couple of my stand-up shows and also contain Professor Austin Herring, Prof. Mycroft's forerunner.  They were Chris Addison's 'The Ape That Got Lucky' and Chris Addison's 'Civilization'.  You can download them on iTunes, Audible etc. or you can get them on CD.  Check the Shop page of this website.


I think the capital of Bolivia might be Patagonia.

What? No, that's-  Well, for a start, that's not a question.  And secondly, Patagonia's a region, not a city.  Just... give over about the capital of Bolivia.


Are you coming to do a show in my town?

That depends where you live.  You can check by working out where you live and comparing its name with the names of places on my list of live dates, which are on this website.  We add new ones as soon as we get them, so keep checking back.


Patagonia? A region? Are you sure?

Yes!  It's the southernmost bit of South America, nowhere near Bolivia. Shush.


Why did you change the names of the characters from The Thick of It for In The Loop?

If I had a pound for every time I've been asked that question, I would naturally declare it to the Inland Revenue. 

The short answer is: we didn't.  With the exception of Malcolm and Jamie the characters are all different, which is why they have different names.  They are, it must be said, being played by actors from The Thick of It and some of the relationships are similar, but I promise you they are different enough to need to be new characters.  The Thick of It is set in DoSAC, the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship, which is not a government office which would be involved in a war in the Middle East or its run-up.  The Department for International Development, on the other hand, would, and that is where Simon Foster, Toby Wright and Judy Molloy work.

To have used Ollie would have meant taking him out of DoSAC, giving him a new job and then, somehow, returning him to DoSAC for The Thick of It.  If anything, that would have been more awkward and confusing.  Susie, Toby's girlfriend, is played by the brilliant Olivia Poulet who also, of course, plays Emma, Olliie's squeeze.  However, unlike Emma, Susie doesn't work for the opposition, she's in the Foreign Office.  Also at the FO, as Director of Diplomacy, is Michael, played by TTOI's Glenn, James Smith.  These are completely different jobs, completely different characters, hence completely different names.

So why are Malcolm and Jamie still Malcolm and Jamie?  Because Tucker is the Director of Communications and Jamie his attack dog.  This means they have a remit that covers the whole of government and the party beyond.  Remember, DoSAC is only one of the crappy departments that Malc has to deal with every day.  And now we've met another one.

The thing about In The Loop that's easy to forget or mistake is that while it would certainly not have existed without The Thick of It, it isn't simply The Thick of It: The Movie.  It's set in the same world, certainly, and they are related - cousins, we've always thought - but it's bigger and deeper and was designed to stand on its own.  The idea was to make a film which worked even if you'd never seen The Thick of It.
If it's any consolation, any time you see Toby sitting at his desk in the film, he's writing an email to Ollie.  Conversely, any time you see Ollie at his desk in The Thick of It, he's replying.


I don't know - Patagonia sounds about right for the capital of Bolivia to me.

IT'S LA PAZ. OK? HAPPY NOW?? IT'S LA! PAZ!! LA PAZ IS THE CAPITAL OF BOLIVIA.
Jesus wept.