Rebecca Front

Rebecca Front is reunite with Peter Capaldi in the next series of Doctor Who. The pair's famous on-screen spats were a highlight of the third and fourth seasons of Armando Iannucci's political comedy series The Thick Of It.

Rebecca Front will guest star in the upcoming series of Doctor Who

Front will guest star in an episode featuring the returning Zygons, though the details of her role are being kept closely under wraps. Front has also worked previously with the Doctor's sidekick Jenna Coleman, in the BBC1 drama Death Comes to Pemberley.

Continue reading: 'The Thick Of It' Star Rebecca Front Joins Cast Of 'Doctor Who'

The British Comedy Awards were held last night, presented once again by Jonathan Ross. It saw a room of the country's funniest people come under one roof to celebrate and ridicule one another, as is the British tradition. 

Twenty Twelve and The Thick of It have been compared since the former hit screens in 2011. It satirises the shambolic organization of this year's the Olympic games, while The Thick of It satirises the inner workings of the British government. However, despite audiences loving Twenty Twelve and it receiving four nominations in the three categories that it's eligible for, it failed to take home anything. Both Olivia Colman and Jessica Hynes from the show were nominated for Best Actress, but they lost out to The Thick of It's Rebecca Front. It seems an odd snub given that everyone has been celebrating all things Olympic since it was revealed that London got the deal.

Another surprise was Jack Whitehall's voted win of King of Comedy for 2012. He was up against some serious comedy heavy weights that have done the circuit for years: Alan Carr, Lee Mack, David Mitchell, Graham Norton and last year's Queen of Comedy, Sarah Millican. Initial speculation had assumed David Mitchell would get the prize, for his many panel show appearances, Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look. However, Whitehall has really broken through this year, with popular shows Bad Education and Fresh Meat, which are a lot better than they sound. 

Continue reading: Twenty Twelve Snubbed At The British Comedy Awards, But Jack Whitehall Wins The Crown

Olivia Colman has been nominated twice in the same category for the upcoming British Comedy Awards. The 39-year-old, perhaps best known for playing Sophie on Peep Show, is up for Best Actress for two BBC shows, Rev and Twenty Twelve.

The decision has left some comedy fans bemused, though the general consensus is that Colman has put in two excellent performances and therefore has every right to be nominated twice. She played Hugh Bonneville's character's long-suffering assistant Sally Owen in the London Olympics comedy and plays Tom Hollander's wife Alex Smallbone on religious comedy Rev. Though having two chances to win the award, Colman still faces stiff competition to land the gong, with Twenty Twelve co-star Jessica Hynes also nominated. The Thick Of It's Rebecca Front, who plays the MP Nicola Murray, is also up for Best Actress. Colman - now considered one of the UK's top actresses - has already had a superb year, winning a slew of awards for playing an abused charity shop worker in Paddy Considine's gritty drama Tyrannosaur. 

Elsewhere at the comedy awards, The Thick Of It is one of five shows to receive three nominations, along with The Graham Norton Show, Rev, Cardinal Burns and Harry Hill's TV Burp. Steve Coogan picked up a couple of nominations for Alan Partridge: Welcome To Places In My Life. This year's King or Queen of Comedy will be contested by Alan Carr, David Mitchell, Graham Norton, Jack Whitehall, Lee Mack and Sarah Millican. The award winners will be announced live on Channel 4 on Wednesday 12 December.

Continue reading: Farce, Or Fair Enough? Olivia Colman To Battle Herself At British Comedy Awards

“Omnishambles,” a word coined by The Thick Of It’s scriptwriters back in 2009 has been named ‘word of the year’ by the people at Oxford English Dictionary.

The satirical comedy has thrown up many a comical phrase – most of which are courtesy of the foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker (played by Peter Capaldi). And most of which are far too rude to repeated here. “Omnishambles” was the word given to a situation which is “shambolic from every possible angle,” according to the BBC.

We’re big fans of Malcolm Tucker here at Contact and are pleased to see that the show is making an impact on the English language. In fact “omnishambles” proved to be such a popular phrase that it even made its way over the Atlantic during the US election campaigns. It was originally used in The Thick of It when Malcolm Tucker berated the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship, Nicola Murray – played by Rebecca Front - in one of his typical lengthy, expletive-ridden rants. More recently, however, it has mutated into “Romneyshambles,” to refer to Mitt Romney’s many public gaffes that he made during his visit to the UK.

Continue reading: Malcolm Tucker's 'Omnishambles' Named Word Of The Year