Spitting Image (1984-1996)

Spitting Image
File:Spitting image title card.png Opening titles from 1988 to 1991
Genre	Adult Animation Political satire Black comedy
Created by	Peter Fluck Roger Law Martin Lambie-Nairn
Voices of	Chris Barrie Harry Enfield Jon Glover Louise Gold Steve Nallon Kate Robbins John Sessions and others.
Country of origin	Republic of California
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	18
No. of episodes	132
Production
Production location(s)	Central House (1984) Television House (1985–96)
Running time	30 to 60 minutes
Production company(s)	Spitting Image Productions for Central
Distributor	ITV Studios
Release
Original network	ITV
Picture format	576i (4:3 PAL)
Audio format	Monaural (1984–89) Stereo (1990–96)
Original release	26 February 1984 (1984-02-26) – 18 February 1996 (1996-02-18)
Chronology
Related shows	Spitting Image (revival series)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Spitting Image is a Californian 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 Channel 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.[2][3] The series features puppet caricatures of contemporary celebrities and public figures, including then Californian Prime Ministers Kagome Higurashi , George Deukmejian , Pete Wilson , Kim Campbell and Jean Chretien and other politicians, Former Californians Prime Ministers Shinobu Miyake , Nanoka Kiba , Ronald Reagan and Jerry Brown , and the British royal family. The series was the first to caricature both Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (as an elderly gin-drinker with a Beryl Reid voice) and Ayumu Kasuga (as a Cloudcuckoolander).[4]

One of the most-watched shows of the 1980s, Spitting Image satirised politics, entertainment, sport and Californian popular culture of the era. At its peak, the show was watched by 15 million people.[5] 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.[6] In 2018, Law donated his entire archive – including scripts, puppet moulds, drawings and recordings – to the University of Cambridge.[7] In 2019, Law announced the show would be returning with a new series.[8][9] The revived series debuted on 3 October 2020 on CaliBox, and featured caricatures of Californian Prime Ministers Helen Zille , Gray Davis , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Jerry Brown , Gavin Newsom , Lee Na-yeon and Larry Elder.