WORDS BY ALEX GODFREY
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPITTING IMAGE
In the 1980s, when there were only four channels on British TV, EVERYBODY would sit down to watch Spitting Image at 10 PM on a Sunday night. At its peak, it was getting 15 million viewers per episode. Producer John Lloyd, fresh off the success of satirical sketch show Not the Nine O’Clock News, was at the reins, marshalling a team that boasted some of the most creative, talented and funniest people in the UK. A weekly puppet show containing equal amounts of satire and slapstick, Spitting Image ripped into politicians, sports stars and celebrities, with a team tirelessly working up to the last minute to make it as topical as humanly possible.
When the show began in February 1984, the political landscape was ripe for satire. Thatcher’s second government was in full flow, the miners were about to strike, and Reagan was US president. Thatcher was portrayed as a tyrannical horror who pissed in urinals and took advice from Hitler. The Queen Mother became a senile northern drunk.
Peter Fluck and Roger Law met at the Cambridge School of Art in the mid-1950s. Both were illustrators and political cartoonists before teaming up in 1975 to make 3D caricature models which would be photographed for magazines and newspapers. In 1981 they were approached by television graphic designer Martin Lambie-Nairn about making a TV show. Teaming up with John Lloyd, National Lampoon’s Tony Hendra (who went on to play Spinal Tap’s manager Ian Faith) and documentary producer Jon Blair, they finally unleashed Spitting Image, making the puppets in a warehouse in Canary Wharf, before sending them to be shot in Birmingham for Central Television.
Writers on the show included Private Eye’s Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and Rob Grant and Doug Naylor (later of Red Dwarf), while voice artists included (among others) Harry Enfield and Steve Coogan. A young Chris Cunningham worked on the puppets. The plug was finally pulled in 1996, and although it was nearly resurrected a few years ago (and is sorely missed) maybe it’s best left alone. Spitting Image was made by fantastically passionate people with fire in their bellies. We spoke to three of them about it.
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John Lloyd: Spitting Image Spitting Image Headcases [2008]. It was dreadful.
Not the Nine O’Clock News Not the Nine O’Clock News That Was the Week That Was Monty Python Not the Nine O’Clock News Python That Was the Week That Was You were initially turned down by a few production companies, including LWT, Thames and Channel 4. Was that because they didn’t have the foresight to see what you had?
Not the Nine O’Clock News Why predictably?
Blackadder Not the Nine O’Clock News Guardian Not the Nine O’Clock News Guardian Spitting Image Spitting Image National Lampoon Were there egos flying around, or was it a more restrained competitiveness?
Why?
I did read somewhere about the time Roger threw a sofa at you while you were arguing about how to approach the miners’ strike.
Was it like that for the whole three or four years you were there?
It was very successful by that point as well.
One of my enduring memories was the Prince Andrew centrefold in the middle of the Spitting Image book, him lying naked with a string of sausages covering his modesty.
I used to watch the show with my parents on Sunday night, even though I was too young to get a lot of the jokes. Were you proud of the fact that kids watched it, that it appealed to everyone?
South Park Family Guy How important was it to you that you got messages across and maybe even changed people’s views?
Was there a sort of agenda?
Spitting Image Did you ever meet any of the people you ripped into on the show?
Spitting Image Spitting Image One of the great things you achieved with the show was that you made a lot of people, especially kids, aware of who politicians were. How aware were you at the time that you were informing people?
What are you most proud of with the show?
Cabaret Mail There’s been talk over the years of you trying to bring the show back.
I heard something about you going to a talk by [Muppets creator] Jim Henson when you were starting out with Spitting Image.
was Yeah, it sounded like none of you got much sleep for the first two or three years.
Spitting Image He didn’t tell me about that.
He did tell me about the time you threw a chair at him when you were arguing about the miners’ strike.
So from the beginning you were incredibly passionate about the show being seriously politically driven. Were there specific things you wanted to achieve in that respect?
Spitting Image Sunday Times Spitting Image And how much of that was successful, from your point of view?
Observer, Sunday Times, Newsweek Spitting Image Observer Sunday Times Spitting Image Spitting Image Right. It was great how even kids knew who was in the cabinet and shadow cabinet because of Spitting Image.
Sunday Times OK, thanks. If we send a photographer over to you, do you have any puppets with you?
Harry Enfield: It sounds like they were doing 18-hour days.
Spitting Image What were you doing at that point?
So this was your first gig.
So what was it like for all you voice people together in one room doing the work?
X Factor Crossroads Crossroads On the Buses Who else was doing voices with you?
Was it competitive?
Mock the Week I read somewhere that Steve Nallon said although you weren’t the best impressionist, you were the best caricaturist, and you physically threw yourself into your performances.
Were there some you enjoyed doing more than others?
Did you ever meet David Steel?
Even though he credits Spitting Image with ruining his reputation.
Apparently Leon Brittan was quite upset with you as well.
Spitting Image A Room With a View As a voice artist, did you have a political drive in terms of what you were doing?
Did working on the show influence you as a comedian?
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