Satirical puppet show Spitting Image is making a return to TV with
Boris Johnson, Greta Thunberg and
Donald Trump among its new victims.
The series will air this autumn on the
BBC and ITV’s subscription streaming service BritBox, with
Beyonce,
Prince Harry,
Meghan Markle and the Duke of York also set to be ridiculed in puppet form.
Others who can expect the Spitting Image satirical treatment include RuPaul, Adele,
Kim Kardashian and James Corden.Programme makers have also made an offer to the prime minister’s chief advisor, with co-creator Roger Law saying: “When Dominic Cummings gets the boot, Spitting Image will give him a job.
“We’ve always employed weirdos and are sure Dom will be a great asset, he seems to hate politicians as much as we do.”Spitting Image originally ran for 18 series between 1984 and 1996 and was watched by 15 million viewers in its heyday.
It cost £300,000 an episode to produce, making it TV’s most expensive light-entertainment show.
Of the decision to revive the show – which will be BritBox’s first original commission – bosses said: “With the world getting smaller and more turbulent, the time couldn’t be more appropriate for an iconic
British satirical take on global events.”
Co-creator Roger said it will be the “people’s programme”, adding: “I’ve refused to resuscitate Spitting Image for years but when my pension ran out and my palm was crossed with silver what could an old man do?
“The new Spitting Image will be global through a uniquely British eye, it will be more outrageous, audacious and salacious than the previous incarnation.
“With scandalous scripts and A-list characters, it will be the people’s programme!”
Spitting Image famously featured Margaret Thatcher in a man’s suit treating her cabinet – “the vegetables” – with contempt, John Major as a grey puppet and the
Queen Mother slugging from a gin bottle.
Ronald Reagan was featured in bed with two red call buttons, one marked Nurse, the other Nuke.
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