RTé has ordered last-minute changes to its new political comedy, Val Falvey TD, to avoid offending Fianna Fáil.

Bosses at the national broadcaster insisted the name of the main character in the opening credits appear in blue letters rather than green, lest viewers think Val Falvey – a bumbling fool who stumbles from one crisis to the next – is a member of the main party in government.

The original credits appeared in green but viewers who tune in to the comedy, which starts tonight at 7.30pm on RTÉ One, will now see the words "Val Falvey TD" in a colour more traditionally associated with Fine Gael.

"It was an 11th-hour change insisted on by RTÉ," said a source associated with the programme.

"But the real giveaway is that if you see any posters for Val Falvey TD during the show, they are in the original green. There was no way of altering those once they had been shot."

Programme sources say the sitcom's writers, Arthur Mathews and Paul Woodfull, had never intended to link the rural TD, who represents the fictitious border constituency of Kilmehil, with any political party.

However, they were horrified by how similar Falvey's election posters were to official election posters used by Fianna Fáil candidates in June's local elections.

"Val's posters just had his name written large and no party, and that's exactly how a lot of posters used by Fianna Fáil candidates in the local elections looked. That was probably something to do with the unpopularity of the government at the time," said the source.

In May, the Sunday Tribune revealed how RTÉ had planned to reschedule the sitcom if the government called an early election.

A station spokeswoman confirmed the broadcaster had been monitoring all its programming since April to ensure it was politically fair in the context of an upcoming election.