SPITTING IMAGE 'SET FOR THE AXE' AFTER TWO SERIES ON BRITBOX

Spitting Image - the satirical puppet show - will not be returning for a new series this year, TV Zone understands.

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that BritBox would stop commissioning original series, with most originals already production moving to ITVX - ITV's new streaming platform launching later this year.

TV Zone understands this has resulted in ITV and BritBox ditching Spitting Image, with no plans for future series.

Avalon did not provide comment when approached by TV Zone. BritBox confirmed to TV Zone the series will not be returning to the platform.

The series originally aired in 1984 on ITV, and was first cancelled in early 1996. It was then revived as an BritBox original in 2020. Two series have been produced for BritBox, as well as a few one-off specials which aired on ITV main channel.

In keeping with the 80s and 90s, scripts were written and new puppets made close to delivery to ensure each week’s episode was as topical as possible.

The most notable puppets from the latest series included Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Prince Andrew, Vladimir Putin, Harry & Meghan, Beyoncé, Angela Merkel, Dwayne Johnson, Ed Sheeran, Jürgen Klopp, Elon Musk, Adele, Covid-19, James Corden, Emmanuel Macron, Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump, and Dominic Cummings

Previous episodes of Spitting Image are available to stream now on BritBox.