Puppet politics satire back on ITV

UK broadcaster ITV has commissioned a political-themed puppet comedy series that harks back to the classic British satire Spitting Image.

Newzoids will be a six-part series from Horrible Histories coproducer Citrus Television, which was launched by Spitting Image producer Giles Pilbrow, and Manchester indie Factory. It will include impressions by Spitting Image veteran Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson.

Culshaw worked on the original series, which ran on ITV between 1984 and 1995, during which time it became famous for lampooning Conservative prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

“ITV has a rich history of playing popular satirical comedy in peaktime on its main channel, and it seemed a good time to revive it this year,” said Elaine Bedell, ITV’s director of entertainment.