Spitting Image turns 30: Could it make a comeback?

The late Margaret Thatcher was one of the main targets for Spitting Image. Credit: PA

Spitting Image, the multi-award winning satirical puppet show, turns 30 today, with many fans and former cast members calling for the show to be rebooted.

Its creators have suggested today's leading politicians are too bland and transparent to make good subjects for a satirical mocking.

Steve Nallon, who voiced Margaret Thatcher on the show, said politicians in the '80s and '90s were ripe for the picking because they were such polarising figures.

But fellow Spitting Image graduate Jon Culshaw, who was the voice of more than 40 characters on the programme, told Daybreak there was still plenty of material to be had, citing Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage as classic examples of the politicians ripe for a ribbing.

Culshaw said the show could make a comeback, telling Daybreak, "They go in cycles these things, I think it may well be like Doctor Who - it went away for a time and then came back massive. I'm sure Spitting Image could do that".

Speaking about some of his favourite voices from the past, Culshaw highlighted Terry Christian, Liam Gallagher, Frank Bruno, Chris Eubank and John Major "who, make him a bit more aggressive, and he goes into Michael Caine!"

Spitting Image first appeared on TV screens in 1984 and ran until 1996, with memorable puppets such as Margaret Thatcher, the Queen, John Major and Tony Blair pushing the boundaries of satire.

An exhibition celebrating 30 years of Spitting Image opens today at the Cartoon Museum in London's Bloomsbury and runs until June 8.