By many people's reckoning, Armando Iannucci is one of our greatest and funniest TV satirists. The political classes and the grammar and conceits of television have proved fertile ground for Iannucci's wit and his team of gifted collaborators, notably Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front and Chris Morris.
Everyone knows that BBC drama is either near or at the top of its game. But what of BBC Films, the broadcaster's infinitely poorer and sometimes neglected cousin?
For the past six years, BBC Films has been led by Christine Langan, a one-time Granada script editor who went on to win acclaim within ITV and beyond.
Armando Iannucci, best known for creating hit political comedies The Thick of It and Veep, began his comedy career while at university, appearing in two revues at the Edinburgh Fringe.
He entered working life at the BBC where he served as a radio producer on shows such as Just a Minute and Week Ending.
It was here that he met the likes of Chris Morris, Steve Coogan and Rebecca Front, creating On the Hour, a satirical show that parodied news broadcasting and where Coogan debuted his notorious Alan Partridge character.
