Editing It's That Man Again (section)

====Series 2: September 1939 to February 1940====
The BBC had planned for the outbreak of war, and once it was declared, the Variety Department was moved to [[Bristol]].{{sfn|Took|1981|p=23}}{{efn|''ITMA'' broadcast seven series during the war, from September 1939 to June 1945:
*Series 2: 19 September 1939 to 6 February 1940 (20 weeks){{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=28}}
**"Star Variety Special" from the [[Palace Theatre, Manchester]] on 18 May 1940{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=28}}{{sfn|"Star Variety". ''The Radio Times''}}
*Series 3: 20 June to 25 July 1941 (6 weeks){{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|pp=28–29}}
*Series 4: 26 September 1941 to 1 May 1942 (32 weeks){{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|pp=29–30}}
**"A Grand ITMA Concert" on 12 May 1942{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=30}}{{sfn|"Tommy Handley Introduces a Grand 'ITMA' Concert". ''The Radio Times''}}
*Series 5: 18 September 1942 to 29 January 1943 (20 weeks){{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|pp=30–31}}
**"A Grand ITMA Concert" on 12 May 1942{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|pp=31–32}}{{sfn|"Tommy Handley in a Grand ITMA Concert". ''The Radio Times''}}
*Series 6: 15 April to 29 July 1943 (16 weeks){{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=32}}
*Series 7: 7 October 1943 to 8 June 1944 (36 weeks){{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=33}}
**"Well for Santa Claus" (as part of ''[[Children's Hour]]'') on 25 December 1943{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|pp=33–34}}{{sfn|"Well for Santa Claus". ''The Radio Times''}}
*Series 8: 21 September 1944 to 14 June 1945 (39 weeks){{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=34}}}} The relocation meant some of the original performers were not available; a new cast was assembled from those who had moved to Bristol and who had received the requisite [[Security vetting in the United Kingdom|security clearance]] from the [[Ministry of Information (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Information]].{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=32}}{{sfn|Worsley|1949|p=6}} Handley was accompanied by Vera Lennox, [[Maurice Denham]], [[Sam Costa]] and [[Jack Train]], and the music for the second series was by the [[Jack Hylton]] Band, conducted by [[Billy Ternent]] and supported by the Rhythm Octet.{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=28}}

With the idea of a broadcasting ship now too improbable during wartime, the premise of the programme changed to have Handley as the head of the fictional Ministry of Aggravation and Mysteries, where he worked in the Office of [[wikt:twerp|Twerps]].{{sfn|Worsley|1949|p=6}}{{sfn|Freedman|2015|p=67}} Other changes to the format included dropping the quiz section of the programme—which Worsley thought held up the flow of the show—replaced by "Radio Fakenburg", a spoof of [[Radio Luxembourg]].{{sfn|Worsley|1949|p=11}} The running time was reduced from the 45 minutes of the first series to half an hour, and remained so through all the subsequent series.{{sfn|Worsley|1949|pp=3, 7}} A [[Blackout (wartime)|blackout]] was in place for evenings and nights, and all cinemas and theatres had been closed by the government; such measures provided a boost to the listening figures for the show.{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=34}} The writer and comedian [[Barry Took]] writes that the success also came from the programme's "self-assurance and cheerful optimism [which was] a welcome relief in that time of fear and uncertainty".{{sfn|Took|1981|p=23}}

The second series of ''ITMA'' finished in February 1940 and the show went on a nationwide tour that kept it off the air for nearly 18 months, except for one special edition in May 1940. Took notes that the show lacked the impact it had on radio, as Handley's performances were more intimate through a microphone than in a theatre.{{sfn|Foster|Furst|1999|p=28}}{{sfn|Took|1981|p=24}}