View source for Spitting Image (lost episodes of British satirical puppet television show reboot; 2022)

{{InfoboxLost
|title=Spitting Image (2022 episodes)</center>
|image=Spittingimagereboot1.jpg
|imagecaption=Reboot ''Spitting Image'' logo.
|status=<span style="color:red;">'''Lost'''</span>
}}
The reboot version of '''''Spitting Image''''' was broadcast on BritBox from 2020-2021. As with its 1984-1996 predecessor, it parodied current events through uncanny puppets representing famous British and international individuals, particularly that of Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Royal Family. Alas, the show was cancelled in October 2022. It was later announced in ITV's Annual Report and Accounts 2022 that '''several upcoming episodes would be left unaired following the death of Queen Elizabeth II'''.

==Background==
Based on news reports, it was a matter of if, not when, ''Spitting Image'' would return to television screens. Eight years following the show's original cancellation,<ref name="hbo">[https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/2543/spitting_image_usa/ ''British Comedy Guide'' reporting on rumours HBO were planning a reboot of ''Spitting Image''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> there were plans for ITV to commission a reboot.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3720773.stm ''BBC News'' reporting on plans for a ''Spitting Image'' reboot in the mid-2000s.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> Said reboot would presumably feature brand new puppets, as an online auction in 2000 resulted in the most prominent, including Margaret Thatcher and Prince William, being sold to new owners.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/823080.stm ''BBC News'' reporting on the online sale of ''Spitting Image'' puppets in 2000.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> However, concerns arose regarding the high production costs required, as well as co-creator Roger Law's reluctance to participate.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/may/20/broadcasting ''The Guardian'' reporting on a mid-2000s reboot being unlikely because of Law's reluctance and the high production costs.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> The broadcast of ''Best Ever Spitting Image'' in 2006 finally curtailed the mid-2000s reboot plans, as Law objected to the presence of Ant and Dec puppets without his express permission.<ref>[https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a39486/ant-and-dec-stunt-ends-spitting-image-return/ ''Digital Spy'' reporting on a mid-2000s ''Spitting Image'' reboot being cancelled following the controversy of the Ant and Dec puppets.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref name="hbo"/> Rumours, admittedly triggered by ''[[The Sun (lost British newspaper's safe of unpublished photos, stories and videos; early 1980s-present)|The Sun]]'', suggested HBO were interested in making an American adaptation of the show in 2017, not long after the inauguration of Donald Trump.<ref name="hbo"/> However, following the construction of a Trump puppet, Law confirmed he was actually negotiating with NBC about a possible American spin-off show.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-42019474 ''BBC News'' reporting on Law negotiating with NBC concerning a US version of ''Spitting Image'' after he created a Trump puppet.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> ''Deadline'' reported that Hulu, Netflix and Amazon were also keen to carry the reboot, which would feature storylines established by American writers.<ref>[https://deadline.com/2017/11/spitting-image-donald-trump-remake-1202210568/ ''Deadline'' reporting on Hulu, Netflix and Amazon joining NBC in expressing interest on a ''Spitting Image'' reboot.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref>

Eventually, a new pilot was filmed in 2019 featuring caricatures of Trump, Vladimir Putin, Prince Harry, Princess Meghan, Kanye West and Mark Zuckerberg.<ref name="guardreturn">[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jan/26/spitting-image-stages-revival-and-this-time-the-puppets-are-on-a-mission ''The Guardian'' reporting on the return of ''Spitting Image'' following a filmed pilot.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref name="bbcreturn">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-49865406 ''BBC News'' reporting on ''Spitting Images''' return and the plan to have it televised on an American network.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> As with his NBC negotiations two years prior, Law expressed interest in selling the concept to an American network.<ref name="bbcreturn"/> Law also aimed to prioritise global events, which consequently would have witnessed lower-level British politics take a back seat.<ref name="guardreturn"/><ref name="bbcreturn"/> Meanwhile, it was announced in March 2020 that the reboot would be broadcast in Britain for Autumn that year via the BBC/ITV streaming service BritBox.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51734335 ''BBC News'' reporting that the reboot would be broadcast on BritBox.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> The show was also set to be broadcast in America via NBC but these plans were shot down at the last minute when NBC was concerned over its content.<ref name="deadnbc">[https://deadline.com/2020/10/spitting-image-jon-thoday-nbc-1234592851/ ''Deadline'' reporting on NBC dropping ''Spitting Image'' at the last minute, forcing episodes to instead be broadcast on Facebook.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> Consequently, ''Spitting Image'' episodes would instead be showcased on Facebook.<ref name="deadnbc"/> Jeff Westbrook, who had previous written for ''Futurama'' and ''The Simpsons'', was selected as the reboot's showrunner.<ref name="guardreturn"/> The writing talent contained a mixture of British and American writers, including Al Murray, ''Unspun'' creator Matt Forde, and other ''Futurama'' and ''The Simpsons'' writers like Bill Odenkirk and David X. Cohen.<ref name="itvrelease">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200911085847/https://www.itv.com/presscentre/britbox/press-releases/spitting-image-lands-britbox-uk-3rd-october-2020 Archived ''ITV Press Centre'' announcing ''Spitting Image'' would air on BritBox starting from 3rd October 2020.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref>

''Spitting Image'' made its BritBox debut on 3rd October 2020.<ref name="itvrelease"/> As with the original show, the reboot of ''Spitting Image'' concentrated on current affairs, ranging from Boris Johnson's time as Prime Minister to Trump's final year as US President before being replaced by Joe Biden.<ref>[https://youtu.be/QJxfYM_Hn4I Highlights of Boris Johnson on ''Spitting Image''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref>[https://youtu.be/_W6OXXQd9_U Highlights of Donald Trump on ''Spitting Image''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> It also satirised celebrity and sporting culture, such as English football's insistence on producing "role models";<ref>[https://youtu.be/MD3ZwKGlCK0 Highlights of football on ''Spitting Image''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> Adele trying in vain to be recognised for anything other than her appearance;<ref>[https://youtu.be/ju3Fd7jjuLo Adele trying to convince people to talk about anything other than her weight loss.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> and a mass exodus of celebrities from Twitter.<ref>[https://youtu.be/hEXyvgikBjM Various celebrities leave Twitter.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> The reboot was a commercial success for BritBox; ITV press releases claimed the show attracted a record number of subscribers for the streaming service, as well as delivering a 4.4 million ITV rating for a satire on the 2020 US presidential election and over 200 million views for its YouTube channel.<ref name="itvsuccess">[https://www.itv.com/presscentre/britbox/media-releases/spitting-image-returns-itv-halloween-special ''ITV Press Centre'' release concerning the reboot's success.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref name="cancelchortle">[https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2022/10/25/51966/spat_out ''Chortle'' reporting on the surprising cancellation of the reboot when considering its commercial success.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> 

Despite this, the show received mixed critical reception. Mark Lawson of ''The Guardian'' gave it four stars out of five, deeming the show retained the savage nature of its predecessor.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/oct/03/spitting-image-review-welcome-return-for-comedy-that-revels-in-giving-offence Mark Lawson's review of the reboot for ''The Guardian''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> But whereas other critics praised the quality of the puppets, they felt the scripts failed to meet the expected standards.<ref name="mailspitting">[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8799843/JAN-MOIR-reviews-Spitting-Image.html Jan Moir review of the reboot for ''Daily Mail''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref name="guardtooth">[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/11/spitting-image-british-satire-powerful Nesrine Malik's comments on ''Spitting Image'' for ''The Guardian''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref name="oxford">[https://theoxfordblue.co.uk/spitting-image-failure-disguised-as-satire/ Alison Hall review of ''Spitting Image'' for ''The Oxford Blue''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> Jan Moir of the ''Daily Mail'' felt the show was let down because of humourless scripts.<ref name="mailspitting"/> Meanwhile, Nesrine Malik of ''The Guardian'' coined the reboot as an example of "toothless" modern British satire, with her and ''The Oxford Blue'''s Alison Hall having claimed it was "punching down" instead of following the original's successful takes on the elite.<ref name="guardtooth"/><ref name="oxford"/> But like the original, the reboot gained its fair share of controversy. This included accusations the depictions of Zuckerberg and Marcus Rashford were racist;<ref>[https://antisemitism.org/spitting-image-under-fire-for-caricature-of-mark-zuckerberg-with-gratuitously-big-nose/ ''Campaign Against Antisemitism'' reporting on accusations the Mark Zuckerberg puppet was racist.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref>[https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/spitting-image-comes-under-fire-over-marcus-rashford-puppet-283225/ ''The London Economic'' reporting on accusations the Marcus Rashford puppet was racist.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> as well as whether Greta Thunberg should have been satirised since she was a child at the time.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/spitting-image-trailer-video-trump-boris-johnson-greta-thunberg-britbox-b548483.html ''Independent'' reporting on the controversy surrounding Greta Thunberg's portrayal.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> This despite the fact ''Spitting Image'' had satirised youngsters [[Spitting Image (lost pilots of British satirical puppet television show; 1983)|since its unaired pilots]].<ref name="pilots">[https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/uncovered-the-spitting-image-puppets-that-never-made-it-to-the-screen-9087859/ ''Cambridge Independent'' reporting on the original pilots, which featured the Royal Family.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> To her credit, Thunberg remarked she actually liked her ''Spitting Image'' puppet, with others like Michael Gove also praising theirs.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2020/10/02/will-spitting-image-fare-divided-febrile-world-2020/ ''The Telegraph'' previewing the reboot and some individuals' reactions to their puppets.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> One Trump segment was erroneously pulled from Facebook under the belief it spread false voting information.<ref>[https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2020/11/11/47271/facebook_removes_spitting_image_sketch ''Chortle'' reporting on a Trump segment being removed from Facebook for supposedly spreading false information.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref>

==Scrapped Episodes==
One of the show's most frequent targets was the Royal Family,<ref>[https://theconversation.com/spitting-image-the-puppet-satire-that-captured-thatchers-britain-107241 ''The Conversation'' noting Queen Elizabeth II was frequently parodied on ''Spitting Image''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> which began ever since the pilots were filmed.<ref name="pilots"/> As Professor Philip Murphy remarked, this was no surprise considering the original's frequent targeting of authority figures.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36072466 ''BBC News'' where Professor Philip Murphy remarked on the portrayal of the Royal Family on ''Spitting Image''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> Among some of the more popular skits included Queen Elizabeth II attempting to "reshuffle" the Royal Family to increase their popularity,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsG2kMhDaJQ Queen Elizabeth attempts to reshuffle the Royal Family.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> to them being forced to live in a council block after financial troubles emerged.<ref>[https://www.custardpie.ie/classic-spitting-image-british-royal-family-get-evicted/ ''Custard Pie Puppets'' summarising the Royal Family moving into a council block.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> The reboot showed no restraint in this regard. Particularly, the show again portrayed Prince Charles' desperate attempts to succeed his mother, including after she suffers a "Sherry overdose".<ref>[https://youtu.be/cbaJ2h6cuTc Prince Charles attempts to forcibly succeed his mother.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> The Queen also goes on a date with Bill Gates, a reference to the pair suddenly becoming single after many years following Prince Philip's death and Gates' divorce from Melinda French.<ref>[https://youtu.be/41nI14Zq5Wc The date between Queen Elizabeth II and Gates.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref>

With the reboot's commercial success came a second series broadcast in Autumn 2021.<ref>[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/spitting-image-series-2-britbox/ ''Radio Times'' reporting on the reboot being renewed for a second series.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> But as it appeared the show was gearing up for its third series, it was affected by a major world event. On 8th September 2022, it was announced that the Queen had passed away at the age of 96.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61585886 ''BBC News'' reporting on the death of the Queen.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> ITV later revealed in its Annual Report and Accounts 2022 that the company suffered an "exceptional" £16 million loss from the announcement, as its news coverage was altered significantly to report on her funeral.<ref name="itvaccounts">[https://www.itvplc.com/~/media/Files/I/ITV-PLC/documents/reports-and-results/annual-report-2022.pdf ''ITV'' Annual Reports and Accounts 2022 announcing it lost £16 million because of the extended Queen Elizabeth II death news coverage, as well as the scrapping of unaired ''Spitting Image'' episodes (p.g. 61, 189 and 196.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref>[https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/20/queen-elizabeths-death-cost-itv-16000000-in-coverage-and-more-18472751/ ''Metro'' reporting on ITV losing £16 million thanks to altered news coverage and scrapped ''Spitting Image'' episodes following the Queen's death.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref> However, it also announced that £9 million of these costs related to the scrapping of upcoming ''Spitting Image'' episodes, as they naturally contained Royal Family skits.<ref name="independentqueen">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/itv-britbox-tom-cruise-boris-johnson-los-angeles-b2304803.html ''Independent'' reporting on the scrapping of unaired ''Spitting Image'' episodes following the Queen's passing.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref name="itvaccounts"/> ITV reportedly had little choice in this matter; aside from the segments being clearly inappropriate during this period, removing them would cause irreparable editing issues that would make the episodes unairable.<ref name="itvaccounts"/><ref name="independentqueen"/> The £9 million loss is also unsurprising considering how both the original and reboot versions of ''Spitting Image'' were often among the most expensive televisions productions.<ref>[https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/bring-back-spitting-image-alastair-campbell/ ''Radio Times'' noting the original show often spent £300,000 per episode.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref name="comedycancel">[https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/news/7050/spitting-image-axed/ ''British Comedy Guide'' reporting on the cancellation of the reboot, in part because of the high production costs.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref>

A month following the Queen's passing, it was announced ''Spitting Image'' had been cancelled once again.<ref name="comedycancel"/><ref name="cancelchortle"/> Though the official reasons behind the cancellation were not given, it was believed the show's expensive nature was a contributing factor.<ref name="comedycancel"/> ''Chortle'', in particular, noted this was an unexpected decision, considering how ITV was reporting on the show's commercial success a year prior.<ref name="cancelchortle"/><ref name="itvsuccess"/> Alas, it also appeared faith in the reboot was already lacking, as Forde expressed how it was "madness" the show was merely a BritBox exclusive rather than on a mainstream channel.<ref name="comedycancel"/> These comments all arose before ITV's Annual Report was released, the scrapping of upcoming episodes having likely contributed towards the show's cancellation.<ref name="itvaccounts"/><ref name="independentqueen"/> Instead, ''Sptting Image'' was adapted for the West End in 2023, with ''Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical'' centred around King Charles III's Coronation.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jan/26/spitting-image-stages-revival-and-this-time-the-puppets-are-on-a-mission ''The Guardian'' reporting on ''Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref><ref>[https://everything-theatre.co.uk/2023/06/review-idiots-assemble-spitting-image-the-musical-phoenix-theatre/ ''Everything-Theatre'' summarising and reviewing ''Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image The Musical''.] Retrieved 10th May '24</ref>

==Availability==
Ultimately, as ITV's Annual Report stated, the unaired episodes featuring Queen Elizabeth II segments are "highly unlikely" to ever be publicly released.<ref name="itvaccounts"/><ref name="independentqueen"/> As of now, no footage nor images from the episodes are known to have ever leaked. Still, with the ''Spitting Image'' YouTube channel having remained somewhat active to promote the West End musical, there is still a slight possibility the non-Royal Family segments may be uploaded in the future. 

==Gallery==
===Videos===
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =ev1xJJfWkVE
  |description1 =Some of the Royal Family segments from the original show.
  |service2     =youtube
  |id2          =LsG2kMhDaJQ
  |description2 =Queen Elizabeth II conducts a reshuffling of the Royal Family.
}}
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =cbaJ2h6cuTc
  |description1 =Prince Charles attempts a Royal succession.
  |service2     =youtube
  |id2          =41nI14Zq5Wc
  |description2 =Queen Elizabeth II and Bill Gates go out on a date.
}}

==See Also==
*[[Labour Party Political Broadcast (partially lost Spitting Image-produced political broadcast; 1996)]]
*[[Spitting Image (lost pilots of British satirical puppet television show; 1983)]]
*[[Thatcherworld (lost Spitting Image BBC TV film; 1993)]]

==External Links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/@SpittingImage/featured ''Spitting Image'' YouTube channel].
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11347766/ IMDB page for ''Spitting Image''].

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Lost puppetry]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]