- "Ah! The Crossest man in Scotland"
- ―Simon Foster
- "Oh don't tell me he's gone feral! He was fucking terrifying when you had him on the leash!"
- ―Oliver Reeder
Jamie McDonald is a Senior Press Officer at Number 10, Downing Street during the administration of the Prime Minister who preceded Tom Davis.
Background[]
Personal[]
Jamie was born in Motherwell, Scotland and thus speaks with a heavy Lanarkshire accent. He is a major fan of American entertainer Al Jolson, threatening Ollie Reeder after he insults the former's music. Before embarking on a political career, McDonald was training to be a priest.
Professional[]
He is introduced as a Senior Press Officer at Number 10, and the closest thing Malcolm Tucker has to a second in command. His demeanour and attitude is even more aggressive and profane, however much like Malcolm he is shown to have a legitimately polite and gentlemanly decorum to those not involved in the political sphere.
Series 2[]
Jamie first appears in Series 2 Episode 1, and is seen walking through Whitehall to Malcolm Tucker's office - joshing about a range of matters, some comments of which (from both Jamie and Malcolm) are of a derogatory nature and misogynistic nature. For example, Jamie is seen smiling and laughing at Malcolm's address to another Whithall colleague earlier on: "ho, ho, ho: good work on fatty!", shortly followed by the comment (From Jamie, to Oliver Reeder) "The stuck one up the opposition for us, Ollie?... what a man", referring to Oliver Reeder's (Ollie's) sexual encounter with a member of the opposition. Ollie term's Jamie and Malcolm, as the "Caledonian mafia", highlighting how their behaviour is seen by him, perhaps as a shared "pack" mentality between Jamie and Malcolm. Jamie and Malcolm are then seen to capitalise on Ollie's relationship, as they seek intelligence on the opposition, promoting Ollie to the press-office with a view to capitalise on Ollie's personal relationship, to their benefit.
Jamie demonstrates unwavering loyalty to Malcolm throughout season 2; and his relationship with him seems to lies in the bounds of mentorship; tending more towards the role of his 'right hand man'. This dynamic is consistently noticeable throughout, but particularly so from the outset, i.e. at the start of Episode 1, Season 2. Malcolm speaks with Jamie with dignity and respect, despite rarely showing it for anybody else, which is unusual for Malcolm. It is highly evident that Malcolm only appears to speak with a very small minority of colleagues with any degree of respect at all: this includes both Sam (his PA - who he arguable shows fondness for) and Jamie (arguably, his right hand man).
To ground the significance of this relationship in context, it is essential to note that Malcolm Tucker was prepared to, and indeed did, demonstrate substantial disloyalty towards the Prime Minister, whom Malcolm sees on weekends and appears to have a personal relationship with. This disloyalty was manifested in his dishonest actions towards the Prime Minister (PM), and Julius Nicholson during Season 2, in particular, when Malcolm (and Jamie) actively seek to damage the relationship between Julius Nicholson's and the Prime Minister (PM). Jamie and Malcolm, to their end of their own gain, directed senior members of DoSaC (Glenn Cullen and Hugh Abbott) to propagate rumours with the cunning aim to "clip the wings of Julius" (a quote used directly from Malcolm); the aftermath of which provides Malcolm with the desired and sought after opportunity to control this narrative to his benefit by claiming to the PM that Julius was self-promoting a cabinet role. It was Malcolm's claim that Julius must have been discussing this with others, and this is how this had 'spilt out' into the public domain as a result. This level of cunning, disregard, and dishonesty, to the most senior member of parliament, is unquestionably supported by Jamie at the time, again showing the lengths Jamie will go to. He can be seen yelling at Ollie to pick up the phone and get calling - supporting Malcolm to drive the agenda forward. This, again, highlights the formidable levels of loyalty that he demonstrates to Malcolm Tucker.
Jamie is cut-throat ruthless, as is Malcolm. This is seen through his behaviour(s), not least through the many examples in which he verbally abused his staff. Julius is one of many 'human causalities' of their work, as indeed are both Hugh Abbott and Glenn Cullen. Jamie and Malcolm provide intense pressure on Ollie to share material with the press with the aim that would be significantly damaging to Hugh, and damaging to Glenn, souly in order to control the press priorities avoiding larger issues being covered. The survival of their party appears to be their core priority, and when their plans are successful Jamie, Malcolm, and the entire press office team are seen celebrating the success of this, when the incriminating material (video and audio footage, of their encounter with a factory worker) is shown on T.V. in place of other key stories.
Jamie McDonald is played by Paul Higgins in both The Thick of It and In the Loop.
Appearances[]
- In the Loop (First identified as McDonald)
- "Episode 2.1"—The Thick of It, Series Two (First appearance)
- "Episode 2.2"—The Thick of It, Series Two
- "Rise of the Nutters"—The Thick of It, The Specials
- "Spinners and Losers"—The Thick of It, The Specials