Armando Iannucci

Never underestimate the intelligence of the audience; make good programmes, and they will come. ”

There is still an element of the BBC that feels it is somehow wrong, or it will be open to criticism, if it makes more money. ”

Joe Biden is that special combination of someone who is very talented and influential, but when he starts speaking, there's inevitably going to be headlines written about something he said. ”

When I'm making something, I've always felt in charge and therefore able to call the shots. But what you've got to do is stop that turning into arrogance or despotism! ”

I am an optimist even though I am told everything I do is negative and cynical. ”

Governments, whether right or left, have become commissioners-in-chief, nudging and cajoling networks into preferred business models without the slightest sensitivity or awareness of what the public wants or the TV industry is capable of. ”

The last thing I want to do is use my comedy as a partisan tool or as a method for preaching. ”

When you do a movie as opposed to a TV show, it's always tempting to think everything has to be big and exaggerated and spectacular. And in fact, a lot of the funniest comedy films have been very intimate. ”

The busier you are, the less time you have to make decisions. ”

I refuse to work evenings or weekends. If a script sees my character meeting for dinner, I put a line through the words and make them meet for lunch. ”