BritBox has announced a new series of Spitting Image as its first original commission.
Produced by Avalon and led by the show’s co-creator Roger Law, the puppet satire is to take aim at Dominic Cummings, James Corden, Donald Trump, RuPaul, Boris Johnson, Beyoncé, Elon Musk, Harry & Meghan, Bernie Sanders, Prince Andrew, Adele and Vladimir Putin.
Rumours of a Spitting Image revival first circulated in 2017. The programme originally ran for a total of 18 series between 1984 and 1996, targeting the likes of Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Ronald Reagan, Mick Jagger and the Royal Family.
Reemah Sakaan, group director ITV SVoD and chief creative and brand officer BritBox, confirmed to TVBEurope that the series would be made in the UK. “There are a couple of sites that we’re looking at in terms of our puppet house facility,” she said.
Sakaan also stated that “brand awareness is really really high” for BritBox, noting 74 per cent awareness rates in the UK.
“BritBox is a truly multi-genre service,” she continued. “At its heart it covers all scripted comedy, drama, factual and entertainment, so we had a really open view in terms of what we were looking for.
“We wanted something really noisy and brand-defining and that would really grab people’s attention,” she added. “Having said that, we are looking at a slate of new originals for our first couple of years, and we look forward to announcing quite a few more that will fit more in the drama space in the future.”
