Satirical puppet show Spitting Image hopes to return to the small screen, 23 years after it last aired.
New episodes of the comedy, described as “public service satire” by co-creator Roger Law, will take on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, among others.
“It’s pretty chaotic out there. As far as I’m concerned, it’s better than shouting at the television set,” he told the Guardian.
A pilot for the resurrected show has already been filmed, Mr Law added.
The pilot will also feature the Duchess of Sussex wearing a glittery top with the word “Princess” printed on the front.
Unlike its 1980s heyday, Mr Law said the new series would not focus on the lower ranks of British politics, explaining: “It’s an awful lot of trouble to go to, and you want it to be effective.”
He told the paper the show’s producers are in talks with US-based networks about bringing the show to a wider global audience.
The caricaturist first told BBC Two’s Front Row on Friday that he planned to bring the show back.
Mr Law told the cultural discussion show’s host, Mary Beard, anybody in the public eye would be “fair game” for the Spitting Image satirical treatment.
He admitted to the Guardian satirising President Trump offered a challenge “because he’s a satire in himself”, but said puppets allowed them to go further than actors could.
Impressionist Luke Kempner confirmed his involvement in the show, writing on Twitter: “This is my latest project I’ve been working on!! So exciting and a true honour!! Watch this space!”
Caricaturist Adrian Teal said he has been working on the show’s puppet designs to bring the “TV satire juggernaut” back to screens, tweeting: “Well, it’s official!”
Broadcast on ITV from 1984 to 1996, the often-controversial programme parodied political leaders, celebrities and royals across 18 series.
After the topical show ended, Mr Law worked as a fine artist and in 2018 donated his entire Spitting Image collection to Cambridge University.
The archive, which is held in the university’s library, includes original scripts, puppet moulds, drawings and recordings.
The anarchic show that packed a punch – and 15 million viewers
- Spitting Image was created by caricaturists Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn
- At its height it pulled in an audience of 15 million viewers
- It was nominated for nine BAFTA Television Awards (winning two) and four Emmys
- Much of Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet was parodied, with Douglas Hurd depicted with “Mr Whippy ice cream” hair, and her successor John Major caricatured as a dull, grey puppet with a penchant for peas
- World leaders were also stereotyped, with Mikhail Gorbachev’s forehead birthmark redrawn as a hammer and sickle
- The series was axed in 1996 because of declining audience numbers
(c) BBC
This could be interesting and very funny, and judging by the top image, someone is not going to be happy. If it is half as good as the original, I expect a lot of whining coming from various sensitive countries, and they have enough material to keep them going for 20 years. For those unfamiliar with Spitting Image, here is a clip from the old series.
The creators of the show are hard left. They will put most of their energy into attacking the Tories. I don’t care about that as long as they, not the putinazi Labour Party is in power.
I remember they always attacked Maggie and Tebbit in the original series, but it was funny.
In Germany they have a great show on suebian tv named Riechling. The guy dresses up as Merkle, Trump, Putin etc. It’s too funny, even if one is not fluent in german.
Here’s the guy as Trump:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/299d6bf2d11c5683c4ddb542e0364da4ad6795d5a99f4483ebc630e1bd0632b0.jpg
And here as ‘Angie’:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b289dd413d7b52972dd89bd0d4492f641c4b745cec554b4f7e8a37977f9eee23.jpg
He needs to put some weight on, and he’s to good looking to be Merkel. Lmao
LMFAO!
I wanted to post a picture of him as Putin, but Google seems to be blocking the search results, same as when i google ‘burning Lada’…
I read that Normo Tebbs was so taken with his ‘hard man’ leather image that he bought the puppet from the owners. Of course they donated the money he paid them to the Labour Party, which in those days would have been merely stupid, rather than deeply evil as it is now.
If I remember they used to take the piss out of Kinnock quite a lot.
Kinnock is a harmless buffoon compared to the current Commissar CorbLenin. But still a typical Labour hypocrite : fiercely anti-EU, but then when he got hammered by John Major, Major actually felt sorry for him and got him a hugely paid job in the EU as a Commissioner. He is now a multi-millionaire with a pension the size of a small country. That’s Labour for you in a nutshell: do as I say, not as I do.
Trump and Putin belong to the muppet show…
https://ukrainetodayorg.files.wordpress.com/2019/09/fairdeterminedimperatorangel-size_restricted.gif
The coup by Johnson has been declared illegal!
The attempted coup is by the remainers who are plotting to defy the democratic wishes of the majority. They wish to put in a Marxist as PM, propped up by the SNP and the LibDems, who are behaving as the exact opposite of their name.
Mayority is now in favor of Remain!
You sound like a kremtroll. Or an imbecile. Or both.