Indeed Tucker was the one to stretch the inquiry trope of "I can't recall" past its limits, and was – in bittersweet scenes for Tucker fans – pretty much banged to rights for leaking. "Are you finished?" asked Lord Goolding at the end of Tucker's closing rant. "Ah, I'm finished anyway," sighed Tucker. "You didn't finish me."
Yet the end for Malcolm Tucker is not the apocalyptic prospect that it might seem. The Thick of It wasn't funnier in 2005 than it is now – in fact, it was often quite bleak. This series's Coalition-focused episodes have been just as funny as those focused on Tucker and his life in opposition – and more satirical, given that they can play with real governmental events.
The flaw in Saturday's episode, with its inquiry into spin and leaks, was that spin and leaks are no longer the hot political topics of the day. Westminster in 2012 is preoccupied with the dysfunction of the Coalition and the delusions of the Opposition, with social class and anti-social behaviour. Long may The Thick of It continue satirising it all – but it's time, sadly, for Malcolm Tucker to make his exit.
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