Armando Iannucci is a writer, director and producer who first became successful as part of the cult comedy team involved in On the Hour and The Day Today. He then presented the satirical comedy show Saturday Night Armistice and wrote and starred in the surreal sketch series The Armando Iannucci Shows before creating the BAFTA Award-winning comedy The Thick of It. A movie spin-off, In The Loop, was released in 2009 to great acclaim. This in turn led to an HBO series, Veep, which has won numerous awards including four Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. James Bachman is an actor, comedian and writer who has appeared in numerous TV comedy shows including Saxondale, Hyperdrive,The Mighty Boosh, 15 Storeys High, Comedy Nation and The 11 O'Clock Show. He was also a regular cast member on That Mitchell and Webb Sound for BBC Radio 4. His writing credits include Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive. Jon Holmes is an eight-time Sony Award and double BAFTA-winning writer, comedian and broadcaster. His radio credits include writing and performing on The Now Show, co-creating and writing Dead Ringers, writing and being a regular panellist on The 99p Challenge and working with Armando Iannucci on his Sony Award-winning Charm Offensive.