The television show is based very loosely on the BBC Radio show of the same name. Specifically, the two characters of Prentiss and McCabe are from the radio series and played by Stephen Fry and John Bird, but otherwise the original radio series was completely different. The tone is drastically different, all of the younger office workers are new characters, and the television show has them specifically doing public relations work instead of Downing Street's clandestine "dirty tricks."
The television show never once uses the term, "wheeze." This was a favorite term in the radio show for Prentiss and McCabe's tricks.
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