Spitting Image

Spitting Image
Opening titles from 1988 to 1991
Genre	Adult puppeteering Political satire Black comedy
Voices of	Chris Barrie Harry Enfield Jon Glover Louise Gold Steve Nallon Kate Robbins John Sessions et al.
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	18
No. of episodes	131
Production
Running time	30 to 60 minutes
Production company(s)	Spitting Image Productions Central Independent Television
Distributor	ITV Studios
Release
Original network	ITV
Original release	28 February 1984 (1984-02-28) – 18 February 1996 (1996-02-18)

Spitting Image is a British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. 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 during its run including 10 BAFTA Television Awards, including one for editing in 1989 and two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category.

The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities prominent during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major and other politicians, US president Ronald Reagan, 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 and early 1990s, the series was a satire of politics, entertainment, sport and British culture of the era, and at its peak it was watched by 15 million people. 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 Ant & Dec puppets used to host Best Ever Spitting Image, which were created against Roger Law's wishes.

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 in order to illustrate articles in The Sunday Times Magazine.