ITV’s answer to Spitting Image arrived in the heat of the 2015 election campaign, pitching rubbery caricatures of David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nigel Farage into reality-TV parodies and movie spoofs. Puppets were built without moving parts; editors later pasted on CGI eyes and mouths, giving Boris Johnson’s blond mop and Donald Trump’s hairpiece-cat a jerky, meme-ready bounce. The voice cast came ready-made from Radio 4’s Dead Ringers: Jon Culshaw, Debra Stephenson and Lewis MacLeod supplied the Westminster malice, while Prince George barked Cockney orders at Princess Charlotte and Farage’s left eye spun like a fruit machine.
Critics missed the acid bite of the 1980s original. The Guardian sighed that the gags were “sparky” but shallow; The Telegraph said showbiz takedowns landed yet political swings felt obvious. Vice was blunter, calling the series “lazily, beguilingly shit” and wondering how it escaped the workshop. Social media proved kinder, and Idris Elba posted himself laughing at his own Luther puppet, a brief vindication for a programme that lasted only twelve episodes across two short runs before ITV pulled the plug in October 2016.
Production Details
ITV1 / 2 Seasons / 12 Episodes / 2015
Main Cast
