Puppet Masters

Boris Johnson and Donald Trump get the Spitting Image treatment as the legendary comedy returns after more than two decades…

-  STEVEN PERKINS

During its original 12-year run on ITV, Spitting Image became one of the most talked-about shows on TV – from its cruelly brilliant puppets of Ronald Reagan, Norman Tebbit and the Queen Mother to its annoyingly catchy No.1 hit, The Chicken Song, in 1986.

Now, after an absence of 24 years, the series returns with a new 10-part run, beginning this Saturday, as the first original commission for streaming service BritBox.

More than 100 new puppets have been created for the series, including Boris Johnson, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Kanye West, RuPaul, Idris Elba and Adele.

‘No one is off-limits, and no punches are pulled,’ says Jess Robinson, one of the show’s impressionists who will be voicing puppets including Angela Merkel, Kim Kardashian and Greta Thunberg.

'When I’ve been involved in these sorts of shows before, I’ve had maybe two or three impressions,’ adds Robinson. ‘Whereas this time I think I’ve got the most out of anyone. It’s incredible the number of characters I’m allowed to play.’

THE RIGHT TIME

Now aged 79, co-creator Roger Law is back on board to head up the show’s creative team – and he believes now is exactly the right time to revive the show, which pulled in an audience of 15 million viewers in the 1980s and was nominated for several BAFTAs.