10 Times TV Heroes Became The Bad Guy In Their Own Show

Peter Capaldi's hyper-angry enforcer for the Prime Minister in The Thick Of It might be an audience favourite purely because inspired ammunition for our own foul-mouthed rants.

As a necessary evil; his job to keep MP's in check with thickly-veiled threats of violence served as a satirical reminder that what most politicians need is an angry Scottish man nearby, ready to chastise them into submission.

While Malcolm never really showed much love to his MP charges, it was upsetting in the final season to watch him conspire to both undermine and oust Nicola Murray from her position as party leader without a shred of sympathy or guilt for what he was doing.

Yes, Nicola Murray brought a lot of her downfall on herself, but to be manipulated in such a way by someone she trusted painted Malcom in a dark light. This case is amplified when we learn that through the amoral process of leaks and shady contacts, Malcolm managed to acquire confidential medical records of a man who recently committed suicide.

Malcolm always came across as a school headmaster keeping his pupils in order, but in the end his callous behaviour shined a very bright light on how low he could go.