SPITTING IMAGE - Individual Vintage Trading Card from the set issued by TOPPS in 1990
Spitting Image is a British satirical television puppet
show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First
broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for
Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV network.
The series was nominated and won numerous awards, including ten BAFTA
Television Awards, and two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts
Category. The series features puppet caricatures of contemporary celebrities
and public figures, including British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and
John Major and the British royal family. The series was the first to caricature
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (as an elderly gin-drinker with a Beryl Reid
voice).
One of the most-watched shows of the 1980s, Spitting Image
satirised politics, entertainment, sport and British popular culture of the
era. At its peak, the show was watched by 15 million people. The popularity of
the show saw collaborations with musicians, including Phil Collins and Sting.
The series was cancelled in 1996 after viewing figures declined. ITV had plans
for a new series in 2006, but these were scrapped after a dispute over the Ant
& Dec puppets used to host Best Ever Spitting Image, which were created
against Roger Law's wishes. In 2018, Law donated his entire archive – including
scripts, puppet moulds, drawings and recordings – to the University of
Cambridge. In 2019, Law announced the show would be returning with a new
series. The revived series debuted on 3 October 2020 on BritBox, and featured
caricatures of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.
History
Puppet of Margaret Thatcher on display in Grantham Museum
(she was born in Grantham).
Martin Lambie-Nairn proposed a satirical television show
featuring caricature puppets created by Peter Fluck and Roger Law. Fluck and
Law, who had both attended the Cambridge School of Art, had no previous
television experience, but had, for several years, constructed plasticine
caricatures to illustrate articles in The Sunday Times magazine. The idea for
the series was rejected by many in the industry, who thought it would only be
suitable for children, but the series was finally accepted for development and
first broadcast in 1984.
English comedy writer and National Lampoon editor Tony
Hendra was brought in as a writer; Fluck and Law had met him while they were
working in the US. Hendra brought in John Lloyd, producer of Not The Nine
O'Clock News. They were joined by Jon Blair, a documentary producer. They then
hired Muppet puppeteer Louise Gold. Development was funded by the entrepreneur
Clive Sinclair.
The puppets, based on public figures, were designed by Fluck
and Law, assisted by caricaturists including David Stoten, Pablo Bach, Steve
Bendelack and Tim Watts. The episodes included musical parodies by Philip Pope
(former member of Who Dares Wins and The Hee Bee Gee Bees) and later Steve
Brown.
In 1984, the first episode of Spitting Image was aired with
a laugh track, apparently at the insistence of Central Television. This episode
was shown to a preview audience before transmission. In the early years of the
show, Spitting Image was filmed and based in the enterprise zone at London
Docklands at the Limehouse Studios, where scriptwriters convened and puppets
were manufactured. Impressionist Steve Nallon recalls that "they were able
to get away with no health and safety, so all of the building of the puppets
with all the toxic waste from the foam was just in a warehouse. There were no
extractor fans; it was quite Dickensian." In later series, Spitting Image
was recorded at Central's studios in Nottingham with last minute additions
being recorded at the Limehouse Studios at Canary Wharf, London.
Reception
Before the first episode was broadcast, the parodies of the
Royal Family were cut as a courtesy to the Duke of Edinburgh, who opened the
East Midlands Television Centre a few days later. The scenes were all
reinstated in later episodes. Stephen Fry has written that Diana, Princess of
Wales told him around 1991 that "They hate it of course. I absolutely
adore it." Avalon Television executive producer Jon Thoday stated that
Ronald Reagan directly contacted NBC asking for the show to be cancelled.
The first episode had an audience of 7.9 million, but
numbers rapidly dropped, which meant economies had to be introduced since the
series cost £2.6 million to make, nearly double the price of other prime time
series.
The series had been originally scheduled to have 13
episodes, but was cut to 12 after the series was nearly cancelled. Rob Grant
and Doug Naylor were then brought in as head writers to save the show; by 1986,
under their supervision, Spitting Image had become popular, producing a number
one song on the UK Singles Chart ("The Chicken Song"). However, Grant
and Naylor subsequently left to create Red Dwarf for BBC2. Spitting Image had a
short-running dispute with the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in
1985, over the use of subliminal images.
Evolution
When Margaret Thatcher resigned as both Prime Minister and
Leader of the Conservative Party in November 1990, her successor was Chancellor
of the Exchequer John Major. This marked a shift in the tone of the show, with
the writers moving from the Punch and Judy style to more subtle and atmospheric
sketches, notably a series in which an awkward Major and wife Norma ate peas
for dinner. The producers dressed Major, skin and all, in shades of grey, and
invented an affair between him and Virginia Bottomley.
The show added animated sketches from 1989 and again from
1994 (with short, animated segments before 1989). For the 1992 Election
Special, a studio audience was used; this format was revisited for two episodes
in late 1993. A spoof Question Time took questions from the audience. The 1992
show was fronted by a puppet Robin Day, a puppet Jeremy Paxman filling the role
in the episodes broadcast on 14 November 1993 and 12 December 1993.
Characters
Politicians
Thatcher: Oh dear.
We're never going to win the next election now! We need some way of winning
votes!
Howe: I suggest a
quick war in early '87. That should get some votes.
Thatcher: Geoffrey,
you're a complete imbecile. We can't have a quick war just to win votes!
Though, now that you mention it, look into it, will you?
Many British politicians in parliament during Margaret Thatcher's
tenure were parodied. By far the most prominent was Thatcher herself, portrayed
as an abusive, tyrannical, cigar-chomping cross-dresser (she wore suits,
shaved, used the urinals, and was addressed by her Cabinet as "Sir").
In the first series, Thatcher sought advice from her
enraptured neighbour Herr Jeremy Von Wilcox (who is actually an elderly Adolf
Hitler, living at 9 Downing Street) about the unions and the unemployed. In the
third episode, Mr. Wilcox/Hitler compares the trade unions with the Soviet
Union and advises not to attack in winter. In that same episode, regarding
unemployment, he says that people out of work should be put in the army, and
tells Thatcher that he thinks the SS (meaning SAS) are a "great bunch of
guys".
Alongside Thatcher were her Cabinet, which included:
Willie Whitelaw, with fluffy eyebrows and wearing a tartan
dressing gown to cabinet meetings.
Nigel Lawson, panicking about a financial crisis he had
apparently caused (a real-life recession caused Lawson to step down in 1989).
He is by far the worst of all the cabinet being unable to count to 17; he also
writes new budget and tax laws in his favour. However, upon discovering
Thatcher promptly has him rewrite them in her favour.
Geoffrey Howe, boring, bland and talks to sheep.
Douglas Hurd, famous for his Dalek-style voice and his hair
shaped like a "Mr Whippy" ice cream. Hurd seems also the most
competent and humane one in the cabinet, opposing the usage of torture and
stopping the dumping of nuclear waste in Scotland.
Norman Tebbit, appearing as a leather-clad skinhead loyal to
Thatcher, referring to her as "Leader" and often beating up other
politicians.
Michael Heseltine, growing more manic with every series (and
wearing a flak jacket as Defence Secretary).
Leon Brittan, constantly fawning towards Thatcher and often
seen eating.
Norman Fowler, portrayed during his time as Health Secretary
as a hospital-murdering Jack the Ripper-style lunatic.
Cecil Parkinson, having a playboy attitude
Edwina Currie, portrayed as a vampire or Cruella de Vil.
Paul Channon, childish.
Kenneth Baker, transforming into a slug over the series.
Nicholas Ridley, smoking and developing the countryside for
houses.
Kenneth Clarke, obese and drunk despite being Minister for
Health.
Peter Walker, as a spineless wimp.
David Waddington, fast talking and creepy.
Francis Pym and James Prior, Wets who swam in swimming
pools.
Colin Moynihan, minuscule and childlike, called
"miniature for sport".
Tom King, portrayed while Employment Secretary as The
Invisible Man.
Thatcher's Cabinet were often depicted as bickering schoolchildren,
with Thatcher acting as teacher. In one skit she treats her Cabinet to a meal
at a restaurant. The waitress asks: "Would you like to order, sir?"
Thatcher responds: "Yes. I will have the steak" Waitress: "And
what about the Vegetables?" Thatcher: "Oh, they'll [The Cabinet] have
the same as me".
Thatcher's successor John Major was portrayed as a dull,
boring grey character who enjoyed a meal of peas with his wife Norma and was
constantly mocked by Humphrey, the Downing Street cat. Before Thatcher's
resignation, Major had been portrayed as wearing a leopard print suit and
swinging in on a trapeze, referencing his background as the son of a circus
acrobat (which he would frequently remind everyone about). Upon his appointment
to Prime Minister, Major was initially portrayed as robot with a spinning
antenna on his head (it was explained in a sketch that Thatcher used it to
control Major, standing behind Thatcher in the crowd of sycophantic cabinet
members, eager to repeat whatever the Thatcher puppet screeched).
The Opposition (Labour Party) politicians included:
Neil Kinnock, the 'Welsh Windbag', talking for hours about anything
other than policies.
Roy Hattersley, spitting with every word because of his lisp
(on 'Best Ever Spitting Image', Hattersley praised his puppet for 'putting the spit
into Spitting Image').
Michael Foot, aged and senile, ending sentences with
"Yes! Argh!".
Tony Benn, a rampant socialist with eyes that never looked
in the same direction.
Ken Livingstone, whose living room was filled with
salamanders and snakes.
Denis Healey, with giant eyebrows, who helped to make
Kinnock look foolish (the real Healey appeared in the programme in 1984 in a
skit about that year's European elections in the UK).
Gerald Kaufman, portrayed as a Hannibal Lecter-style maniac.
Arthur Scargill, who was a member of the Labour Party until
1997, appeared as head of the National Union of Mineworkers, and was portrayed
as a big-nosed egotist who was ignorant about mining.
In 1994, a puppet of Tony Blair made his appearance. He was
originally a public school boy, wearing grey shorts, blazer and cap. His
catchphrase was "I'M THE LEADER" in reference to his attempt to lead
the Labour Party. When Blair did become Labour leader, the puppet changed and
he was portrayed with his grin replaced with an even bigger smile if he said
something of importance. The deputy leader, John Prescott, was portrayed as a
fat bumbling assistant, along with a squeaky voiced Robin Cook, and an enormous
bespectacled Jack Straw.
The SDP-Liberal Alliance was portrayed by the
election-losing, populist, arrogant and undecided David Owen, with whining,
bedwetting David Steel in his pocket. They were soon replaced by Paddy Ashdown,
whose "equidistance" from the larger parties was satirised by his
frequent appearance at the side of the screen during unrelated sketches,
saying: "I am neither in this sketch nor not in it, but somewhere
in-between". This running gag was used when Ashdown's extramarital affair
was revealed, and his puppet commented that "I didn't touch her on the
left leg, or the right leg, but somewhere in-between." Former Liberal MP
Cyril Smith also made a few appearances as a morbidly obese giant.
In the first series, Former Prime Ministers Harold Wilson,
James Callaghan, Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home were depicted as living
in a highly restrictive retirement home named Exchequers, where they were
frequently abused by Queen Victoria. Wilson constantly attempted escape, whilst
Callaghan took delight in tormenting him. Edward Heath was also said to have
resided there, but he was not seen on screen; later, he would appear as a naked
piano player.
Royal Family
The main characters were:
Elizabeth II: wore a CND badge, always seemed slightly mad
and picked clothes from rubbish bins.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was a blunderbuss-toting
Greek-obsessed buffoon in naval uniform.
Charles, Prince of Wales was a pseudo-hippie, then a taxi driver
in later episodes.
Diana, Princess of Wales was a publicity-hungry Sloane
Ranger.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who was generally seen
with a bottle of Gordon's Gin, a copy of the Racing Post, and a Beryl Reid
voice; this was a running joke from a sketch in which the Royal Family's desire
to conceal her Birmingham accent was the reason she was seldom heard speaking
on television. In the series she is seen with jockey Lester Piggott with whom
she has an affair.
Other members who were parodied include nymphomaniac Prince
Andrew, envious and heavily freckled Sarah, Duchess of York, grumpy Princess
Anne, poorly informed Prince Edward, Panzer-driving Princess Michael of Kent,
and always-tipsy Princess Margaret.
International politicians
Spitting Image lampooned US President Ronald Reagan as a
bumbling, nuke-obsessed fool in comparison with his advisors Edwin Meese and
Caspar Weinberger. Next to his bed were red buttons labelled 'Nuke' and
'Nurse'. His wife Nancy was the butt of cosmetic surgery jokes.
Mikhail Gorbachev's forehead birthmark was shaped like a
hammer and sickle. All other Russians looked like Leonid Brezhnev, often said
"da" ("yes") and talked about potatoes. In Russia it was
snowing even indoors and the Soviet television had extremely low-tech visual
effects.
Yitzhak Shamir often appeared wearing a hard hat with the
Star of David on it, holding a brick and referring to building a
"legitimate Israeli settlement" (referring to the practice of
building houses on the occupied West Bank for Israeli people).
François Mitterrand was wearing a beret and a garlic wreath,
his successor Jacques Chirac was depicted as being obsessed and callous with
nuclear weapons. P. W. Botha was shown as a racist cleverly disguising his
views (once he had a badge "anti-anti-apartheid"). Some appearances
were also made by Idi Amin, Robert Mugabe, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos,
Ruhollah Khomeini, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi. Khomeini appear to parody
Iranian law and policy.
Khomeini and Botha along with the more recurring Reagan,
Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and Gorbachev appear in the Spitting Image video
game.
Other international caricatures included Richard Nixon and
Henry Kissinger; George H. W. Bush and Dan Quayle; Bill Clinton and Hillary
Clinton, Konstantin Chernenko, Raisa Gorbachova and Boris Yeltsin.
Sport
Puppet of Manchester United striker Eric Cantona
England manager Bobby Robson was a senile worrier nicknamed
'Rubbisho'. Emlyn Hughes was portrayed with a high pitched and annoying voice.
England midfielder Paul Gascoigne appeared, frequently crying – a parody of the
1990 World Cup semi-final against West Germany, in which he famously cried
after being booked, which would have ruled him out of the final had England won
the game.
Ian Botham was a violent drug addict, while Mike Gatting
spoke with a high voice. Lester Piggott had to be subtitled. Boxing characters
included Frank Bruno with his trademark laugh and catchphrase "where's
'Arry?", and Chris Eubank, with his lisp. Snooker player Steve Davis was
boring, upset because he had no nickname, but thought himself interesting.
Celebrities
News reporters were also depicted: Alastair Burnet was
sycophantic towards the Royal Family and with a nose that inflated; Sandy Gall
was effeminate, always worrying what coat he would wear; John Cole was
incomprehensible and had to be dragged off-screen when he talked for too long;
Nicholas Witchell was always turning up during a strike to work rather than
report; Kate Adie was a thrill-seeker, and BBC Head of Bravery. Presenters were
also seen: Jeremy Paxman appeared as uninterested and self-loving, and Trevor
McDonald frequently lamented his lot after being paired with Ronnie Corbett as
newscasters, with the latter always getting the punchlines. William Rees-Mogg
was portrayed as a censorship-crazy person with eyes that would frequently pop
out of the socket.
David Coleman had a very loud ear prompter and sometimes did
not know what he was commentating on; Frank Bough was portrayed as being a drug
user; Bruce Forsyth spoke every sentence as though it was a catchphrase.
Celebrity chef Keith Floyd was always getting drunk on wine, while film critic
Barry Norman was not a fan of his puppet, because it had an inexplicable wart
on its forehead, which he did not have. Paul Daniels did not mind jokes about
his toupée, but took offence to a sketch depicting him nuzzling his assistant Debbie
McGee's breasts.
Comedians were satirised: Billy Connolly was portrayed as a
jester; Jimmy Tarbuck was said to use old jokes and always take part in the
Royal Variety Performance; Bernard Manning was an obese racist; and Ben Elton
was always shown with a microphone.
Writer and MP Jeffrey Archer appeared as an annoying,
self-commenting writer whose books were not read by anyone. Kenneth Williams
was depicted with a large nose and big teeth, and Harry Secombe was depicted as
overly religious. Alan Bennett was shown at home as watching Spitting Image on
TV. Esther Rantzen always had a permanent grin and was frequently carrying an
onion (reflecting a concurrent running joke in Private Eye suggesting insincere
theatrical tears), whilst Cilla Black had large teeth and a thick Scouse
accent.
Musicians
A Mick Jagger character seemed perpetually high, and Keith
Richards so old and haggard that he thought he was dead. Ringo Starr was a
drunkard, and Paul McCartney was always releasing albums and films that
flopped. Madonna changed her hair and clothes with every episode, and Michael
Jackson's skin turned lighter. Kylie Minogue was depicted as a vain robot;
Luciano Pavarotti was hugely overweight and ate everything he saw; Matt and Luke
Goss of the band Bros were depicted as children wanting to grow up.
Actors
Roger Moore enjoyed his parody on the show.
Actor Dustin Hoffman spoke nasally and was parodied for his
method acting; John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier lamented their friends, and
even their own death. James Bond actor Roger Moore was depicted "with a
wooden delivery" – only his eyebrows moved; Moore quipped, "My acting
range has always been something between the two extremes of 'raises left
eyebrow' and 'raises right eyebrow'." Arnold Schwarzenegger was
muscle-bound but insecure about the size of his genitals; Donald Sinden was
parodied as also trying to become the greatest Shakespearian actor and get a
knighthood. Clint Eastwood was frequently portrayed as an uncompromising tough
guy, and Sylvester Stallone nearly always appeared dressed up as John Rambo.
Religious figures
Archbishop Robert Runcie, Mary Whitehouse and Cliff Richard
were portrayed as Christian censors. Ian Paisley was always shouting and
dressed in black. Bishop David Jenkins was depicted as not believing in
anything. Pope John Paul II was a banjo-playing womaniser who spoke with a hip
urban African-American accent.
Others
Media moguls Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch were also on
the show, the latter depicted as an extremely flatulent individual encouraging
obscenity in his mass media.
Lord Lucan appeared in various background roles often as a
bartender.
Songs
Spitting Image album cover for "Da Do Run Ron"
satirical parody of Ronald Reagan
The first single from Spitting Image, released in 1984, was
a rework of the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron". The Spitting Image
version, "Da Do Run Ron", was a spoof election campaign song for
Ronald Reagan, featuring Nancy Reagan listing reasons to elect her husband. The
cover of the single featured Reagan as a biker with Nancy riding pillion.
The B-side of this single was entitled "Just A Prince
Who Can't Say No" and poked fun at the sexual indiscretions of Prince
Andrew. The TV version of this song (featured in the second episode) was
heavily censored by Central Television on broadcast but presented uncut on
vinyl. In the television series he was shown surrounded by various famous women
including Joan Collins, Mary Whitehouse and Linda McCartney.
In 1986, the Spitting Image puppets released "The
Chicken Song", a parody of "Agadoo" by Black Lace – one of
several parodies to have featured in the programme, mimicking novelty records
and holiday songs with a repetitive tunes and nonsensical lyrics. Ironically,
The Chicken Song hit number 1 in the UK Singles Chart for 3 weeks from 17 May
1986 – 3 June 1986. VH1 US named it as one of the worst number 1 nominations.
The other songs released by Spitting Image were "I've
Never Met a Nice South African" (which was on the B-Side of "The
Chicken Song" and was a savage indictment of the apartheid-ridden
country), "We're Scared Of Bob" (a parody of "We Are The
World") and "Hello You Must Be Going" (which mocked Phil Collins's
divorce ballads and was on the 12" release of The Chicken Song),
"Santa Claus Is on the Dole" (backed with "The Atheist
Tabernacle Choir"), "The Christmas Singles" and "Cry Gazza
Cry" (based on footballer Paul Gascoigne's tears in the 1990 World Cup).
Phil Collins on stage with Genesis. After he saw a
caricatured version of himself on Spitting Image, he commissioned the show's
creators, Peter Fluck and Roger Law, to create puppets of the band which appear
in their music video "Land of Confusion"
"The Chicken Song" was by far the most successful
of all of their music and not-so-subtle references were made to it in
subsequent sketches in the show itself. In 1986, a compilation LP "Spit In
Your Ear" was produced, featuring some of their sketches over time along
with a few of their songs, followed in 1990 by "20 Great Golden
Gobs", a songs-only collection from the 1986–1990 series.
In 1986, the Spitting Image team experienced some real
musical success when they created the video for "Land of Confusion"
by Genesis, a song which implied that Thatcher and Reagan were about to bring
the world to a nuclear war. Phil Collins saw a disfigured version of himself on
the show and contacted the show's producers with the idea to produce the video.
Three new puppets were created depicting all members of Genesis (including a
less exaggerated version of Collins), which also appear on the sleeve of the 45
(and later CD) single. The video was depicted as a nightmare Reagan was having,
which left him completely immersed in sweat from worrying. It won a Grammy Award
for Best Concept Music Video in 1987.
Sting (pictured in May 1986) recorded "Every Bomb You
Make" for the show
The end of the 1987 election featured a young boy, dressed
as a city banker, singing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me", a parody of the
film Cabaret, when a member of the Hitler Youth starts singing the same song.
In a series 5 episode, Labour leader Neil Kinnock is portrayed singing a
self-parody to the tune "My eyes are fully open" from Gilbert and
Sullivan's Ruddigore, supported by members of his shadow cabinet.
In one instance Sting was persuaded to sing a re-worded
version of "Every Breath You Take", titled "Every Bomb You
Make" (series 1, episode 12), to accompany a video showing the Spitting
Image puppets of world leaders and political figures of the day, usually with
the figure matching the altered lyrics
Every bomb
you make
Every job
you take
Every heart
you break
Every Irish
wake
I'll be
watching you
Every wall
you build
Every one
you've killed
Every grave
you've filled
all the
blood you've spilled
I'll be
watching you
The video ended with the grim reaper appearing in front of a
sunset. This version was due to be resurrected by Sting at the Live 8 concert,
and the parody lyrics were cleared with their writers Quentin Reynolds and James
Glen, but plans were abandoned at the last minute.
The closing music for series 8 episode 3 featured an
ensemble of characters performing "We All Hate Jeremy Beadle", in
reference to the light entertainment host of that name. In series 9 episode 4,
the show ended with "Why Can't Life Be Like Hello?", sung by June
Brown (who was commonly known as the EastEnders character Dot Cotton). The song
pastiches Hello magazine, in satire of post-Big Bang UK consumerist culture.
Other musical parodies featured Mick Jagger, Michael
Jackson, David Bowie, Kylie Minogue, The Monkees, Pulp, Brett Anderson of
Suede, Pet Shop Boys, R.E.M., Björk, East 17, Elvis Presley, Oasis, ZZ Top,
Prince and Barbra Streisand.
Staff
Spitting Image launched the careers of and featured many
then-unknown British comedians and actors, including Hugh Dennis, Steve Coogan
and Harry Enfield.
Voices
The voices were provided by British impressionists
including:
Chris Barrie (1984–1991)
Roger Blake (1990–1996)
Brian Bowles (1993)
Rory Bremner (1987)
Phil Cool (1984–1985)
Phil Cornwell (1986)
Steve Coogan (1988–1993)
Jon Culshaw (1994–1996)
Hugh Dennis (1989–1992)
Ade Edmondson (1984)
Harry Enfield (1985–1989, 1996)
Chris Emmett (1984, 1990)
Michael Fenton Stevens (singing voices only, mainly
backing vocals)
Fogwell Flax (1984)
Jon Glover (1984–1989, 1994)
Louise Gold (1984–1985)
Alistair McGowan (1991–1996)
Jessica Martin (1985–1988)
Steve Nallon (1984–1996) (voice of Margaret Thatcher)
Philip Pope (1984–1991, singing voices only)
Jan Ravens (1984–1992)
Enn Reitel (1985–1990, 1994, 1996)
Kate Robbins (1986–1996)
Bob Saker (1987)
Peter Serafinowicz (1996)
John Sessions (1986)
Steve Steen (1993)
Debra Stephenson (1989)
John Thomson (1990, 1992–1994)
Puppeteers
Anthony Asbury
Don Austen
Chris Barrie
Richard Coombs
John Eccleston
Louise Gold
Steve Nallon
Angie Passmore
Nigel Plaskitt
Martin P. Robinson
Richard Robinson
Tim Rose
John Thirtle
Ian Thom
William Todd-Jones
Mak Wilson
Francis Wright
Writers
Geoff Atkinson (1984–1993)
David Austin
Debbie Barham
Barry Atkins
Alistair Beaton
Colin Bostock-Smith
Jo Brand (one episode, 1988)
Mark Burton (1985–1993)
Kevin Cecil (1993–1996)
Paul John Clark
Richard Curtis (1984–1985)
Terence Dackombe (1984–1989)
Paul B. Davies
(John) Jack Docherty and Moray Hunter
Chris Edge
Chris Langham (1984)
Ben Elton (1984–1985)
Stevie Fowler
Patrick Gallagher
Dan Gaster
Rob Grant (1984–1986)
Simon Goodman
Sean Hardie
Ray Harris (1985–1993)
Brian Highley (1984-1986)
Ian Hislop (1984–1989)
Will Ing
Donnie Kerr
David Kind
Wayne Kline
Stewart Lee
Paul Lewis
Victor Lewis-Smith and Paul Sparks (one episode, 1988)
Doug Naylor (1984–1986)
Henry Naylor (1984–1986)
Nick Newman (1984–1989)
John O'Farrell (1984–1993)
Andy Parsons (1993–1996)
Paul Powell
Georgia Pritchett (1986–1992)
Steve Punt (1989–1993)
Neil Raphael (1984–1987)
Keith Rees
Andy Riley (1993–1996)
Laurie Rowley
Tony Sarchet
Stuart Silver
Paul Simpkin
Pete Sinclair
David Slade & Frank Walsh (Thatcher Vegetables
Sketch)
Paul Smith (1984–1985)
Andrea Solomons
Guy Jenkin
Johnny Mack
Chris Morris (satirist)
Producers
Jon Blair, John Lloyd, Tony Hendra (first six
episodes, 1984)
Jon Blair, John Lloyd (1984)
John Lloyd (1984–1986)
Geoffrey Perkins (1986–1988)
David Tyler (1989)
Bill Dare (1990–1993)
Giles Pilbrow (1994–1996)
Directors
Stephen Bendelack
Richard Bradley
Philip Casson
Bob Cousins
Andy De Emmony
Gordon Elsbury
Sean Hardie
Peter Harris
John Henderson
Liddy Oldroyd
Tom Poole
Geoffrey Sax
John Stroud
Graham C. Williams
Decline
Puppets of a Court Flunkey and Osama bin Laden. The face of
the Flunkey is a caricature of 18th-century cartoonist James Gillray, the
father of British political cartooning.
The writers, Mark Burton, John O'Farrell, Pete Sinclair,
Stuart Silver, and Ray Harris quit the show in 1993 and in 1995, and with
viewing figures in decline, production was cancelled. The final series was
initially planned for broadcast in autumn 1995 but was subsequently broadcast
in January and February 1996, with the final episode featuring "The Last
Prophecies of Spitting Image" in which Labour moved into Number 10. A few
years later, most of the puppets were sold at an auction hosted by Sotheby's, including
a puppet of Osama bin Laden never used in the series.
During 2004, the idea of the series coming back started to
appear after John Lloyd held talks with ITV executives about the show's return.
John Lloyd also held talks with a number of people who voiced the Spitting
Image puppets, including John Sessions, Harry Enfield and Rory Bremner, with
all responding positively.
Lloyd said: "There's enormous enthusiasm from ITV to do
it. We're just trying to work out how it would be affordable. The budget is
about to go off to ITV. Everybody seems to have residual affection for Spitting
Image. It could be scrappy and uneven, but it's rather like a newspaper. You
don't expect it to be brilliant every time, but there's something delicious in
every edition."
By early 2006, ITV were producing a documentary celebrating
the series and if the audience figures were good a full series might have been
produced. On 25 June 2006, ITV transmitted Best Ever Spitting Image as a
one-off special of Spitting Image which took a nostalgic look back at the
programme's highlights. This special actually prevented ITV directly
resurrecting the famous satire as they had planned, because it featured new
puppets of Ant and Dec – a move which was against the wishes of Roger Law, who
owns the rights to the Spitting Image brand.
Spitting Image, as ITV's primary satirical programme, was
succeeded by 2DTV, a cartoon format that had five series between 2001 and 2004.
In 2008 ITV created a CGI version to caricature and lampoon the famous, called
Headcases, but it only aired for one series. Satirical puppets finally returned
to ITV in 2015, in Newzoids.
Archive
donated to Cambridge University
In 2018, Spitting Image co-creator Roger Law donated his
entire archive – which includes original scripts, puppet moulds, drawings and
recordings – to Cambridge University. The collection is located in the
university library, with its librarian Dr Jessica Gardner describing the
collection as a "national treasure". She added, "Spitting Image
was anarchic, it was creative, it entered the public imagination like nothing
else from that era. It is an extraordinary political and historical record.
Great satire holds up a mirror, it questions and challenges.”
Broadcast
dates
All episodes and specials were broadcast on Sunday, usually
at 10 pm. The programme was also picked up overseas. It aired on Canada's CBC
Television on Sunday nights in the late 1980s. The American network NBC aired
several prime-time specials in the same period. Austrian public broadcaster ORF
broadcast Spitting Image in English with German subtitles late on Friday nights
in approximately four-week intervals in the late 1980s and early 1990s,
introducing it to the German-speaking world (where foreign programming is
usually dubbed into German). Spitting Image was also briefly shown in France on
the private TV channel M6 in English with French subtitles. The show was also
aired in New Zealand on TVNZ in the 1980s.
Series
Series Year Dates No.
episodes Times |
Series 1 1984 26 February – 17 June 12 episodes Mostly 10 pm |
Series 2 1985 6 January – 24 March 11 episodes Mostly 10 pm |
Series 3 1986 6 January – 2 November 17 episodes Mostly
10 pm |
Series 4 1987 1 November – 6 December 6 episodes Mostly 10 pm |
Series 5 1988 6 November – 11 December 6 episodes Mostly 10 pm |
Series 6 1989 11 June – 9 July 5 episodes Mostly
9.30 pm |
Series 7 1989 12 November – 17 December 6 episodes Mostly 10.05 pm |
Series 8 1990 13 May – 24 June 6 episodes Mostly
10.05 pm |
Series 9 1990 11 November – 16 December 10 episodes Mostly 10.05 pm |
Series 10 1991 14 April – 19 May 6 episodes Mostly
10.05 pm |
Series 11 1991 10 November – 15 December 6 episodes Mostly 10.05 pm |
Series 12 1992 12 April – 17 May 6 episodes Mostly
10.05 pm |
Series 13 1992 4 October – 8 November 6 episodes 10.05 pm |
Series 14 1993 16 May – 20 June 6 episodes 10.45
pm |
Series 15 1993 7 November – 12 December 6 episodes 10pm |
Series 16 1994 1 May – 5 June 6 episodes 10pm |
Series 17 1994 6 November – 18 December 7 episodes 10pm |
Series 18 1996 14 January – 18 February 6 episodes Mostly 11.15 pm |
Specials |
Title Year Date Times Duration |
Down and Out in the White House 1986 14 September 9.45 pm 45
minutes |
The Spitting Image 1987 Movie Awards 1987 Saturday 4 April 10.45 pm 30
minutes |
Election Special 1987 Thursday 11 June 10pm 45
minutes |
A Non-Denominational Spitting Image Holiday Special 1987 27
December 10pm 30 minutes |
The Ronnie and Nancy Show 1988 17 April 9.30
pm 30 minutes |
Bumbledown – The Life and Times of Ronald Reagan 1988 Saturday
29 October 10.15 pm 45 minutes |
The Sound of Maggie 1989 Saturday 6 May 10.10 pm 45
minutes |
Election Special 1992 Wednesday 8 April 10.40 pm 30
minutes |
Spitting Back 1993 16 July 10.45
pm 30 minutes(?) |
The Spitting Image Pantomime 1993 26 December 10pm 30 minutes |
Ye Olde Spitting Image 1995 1 January 10.45 pm 30
minutes |
Best Ever Spitting Image 2006 25 June 10pm 47 minutes |
Spitting Image at 30 2014 25 February 9 pm 45 minutes |
Repeats
From November 1996 Spitting Image Series 1–11 were on UK
Gold until September 1998. Edited episodes from Series 1–3 and 7 were on Granada
Plus from 2001 to 2003.
In February 2008, Comedy Central Extra started showing
regular repeats of Spitting Image from 9 pm on Tuesday evenings, with a whole
weekend's worth of evenings devoted to the first two series. It reappeared in a
late night slot in November 2010, through to 18 December 2010 and has not been
aired since then. From 2001 to 2004 the ITV series 2DTV had a similar style,
but using computer animation instead of puppets.
United
States version
In an attempt to crack the American market, there were some
attempts to produce a US version of the show. A 45-minute 'made for market'
show by the original Spitting Image team, titled Spitting Image: Down and Out
in the White House was produced in 1986 by Central for the NBC network. NBC did
not give this high priority. During the late summer, when viewership was
traditionally low and the networks aired reruns of the previous season, NBC
broke the special into two half-hour episodes and slotted them into its
schedule on 30 August and 6 September of that year, following reruns of The
Golden Girls.
Introduced by David Frost, it departed from the sketch-based
format in favour of an overall storyline involving the upcoming (at that time)
Presidential election. The plot involved a conspiracy to replace Ronald Reagan
with a double (actually actor Dustin Hoffman in disguise). This plan was
hatched by the Famous Corporation, a cabal of the ultra-rich headed by Johnny
Carson's foil Ed McMahon (in the show, Carson was his ineffectual left-hand
man) who met in a secret cavern hollowed out behind the façade of Mount
Rushmore. Eventually, their plot foiled, the famous corporation activated their
escape pod – Abraham Lincoln's nose – and left Earth for another planet, but
(in a homage to the beginning of the Star Wars movies) were destroyed during a
collision with 'a nonsensical prologue in gigantic lettering'.
The show did not achieve high ratings. It did, however,
receive great praise from critics and it was followed by several more
television specials: The Ronnie & Nancy Show (also satirising the Reagans),
The 1987 Movie Awards (sending up the Academy Awards), Bumbledown: The Life and
Times of Ronald Reagan (a quasi-documentary about the President), and The Sound
of Maggie (satirising Thatcher and parodying several musicals such as Oliver!,
West Side Story and many others).
Revival
In September 2019, the show was confirmed to be returning 23
years after it originally ended, with the unveiling of the puppets of Greta
Thunberg, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Mark Zuckerberg, Prince Harry and
Meghan Markle. Roger Law stated that the pilot for the new series had been
filmed and that talks were in progress with US networks to take the show to a
larger, global audience, and that the revival is set to have a global appeal
through a "uniquely British eye". Among the writers for the revival
will be Jeff Westbrook of Futurama (who also serves as executive producer), Al
Murray, The Windsors creators Bert Tyler-Moore and George Jeffrie, Bill
Odenkirk, David X. Cohen, Jason Hazeley, Keisha Zollar, Patric Verrone, Phil
Wang, and Sophie Duker.
On 4 March 2020, the show was announced to be returning on
the streaming service BritBox, as its first official commission. The show
premiered on the service on 3 October 2020, featuring the voices of Billy West,
Debra Stephenson, Debra Wilson, Guz Khan, Indira Varma, Jess Robinson, John
DiMaggio, Lewis MacLeod, Lobo Chan, Matt Forde, and Phil LaMarr. It was
cancelled on 24 October 2022.