“I’m leaving [the audience laughter] in now,” he says. “There’s a sense of abandon. The cast is just clearly ad libbing and I’m not even trying to be a proper news host any more. I’m just laughing. I may as well be in the audience.”

Some viewers have jestingly accused the show of becoming “more savage” in its attack on public figures. Micallef disagrees.

“People have said: ‘You’re burning your bridges.’ I’m not sure that is right,” he says. “We’ve always been like this. Maybe it just feels more uncomfortable for that leftie ABC audience to see us bagging a Labor government.”

Micallef says each member of the ensemble cast is deserving of their own show.

“They’ve probably turned down work to do our show,” he says. “Christie [Whelan Browne] continues to have a career on stage. Emily Taheny is one of the best actors in this country. Tosh Greenslade is fantastic. Francis [Greenslade] does many things besides this show. Stephen Hall is a modern-day Peter Sellers.”

For Micallef, who this week winds up Shaun Micallef’s Brain Eisteddfod on Ten, a book tour to launch his autobiography, Tripping Over Myself, begins next month. He and his writing partner, Gary McCaffrie, are exploring more non-comedic projects, such as their 2003 series, BlackJack.

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Thankfully, Micallef says appearances on the celebrity reality circuit are out of the question. “All those reality shows aren’t about anything,” he says. “They’re just about the frailty of humanity and how sad some people are inside.”

He promises a typically nutty Mad as Hell finale, with “a stupid song at the end” to honour the show’s place, however small, in the political landscape. “It’s been nice to offer something that’s a bit brutal and ultimately hopeful. It’s nice to have been a part of that conversation.”

The final episode of Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell airs on Wednesday, September 21, 8.30pm, on the ABC and ABC iview.