A NARROW ESCAPE

Years after it ended, Spitting Image is back – and it’s giving a whole new generation of public figures a roasting in rubber

Jude Law feared he might drown while filming Sky drama The Third Day off the coast of Essex. Jude, who plays grieving dad Sam (pictured), says, ‘We got caught on the causeway between Osea Island and the mainland, with the sea rising up all around our vehicle. We had to drive like crazy to escape. It was terrifying.’

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Boris Johnson has Elton John on one side of him and Adele on the other. Next to her are Melania and Donald Trump, Greta Thunberg, Michael Gove, Beyoncé and Prince Harry. ‘It’s like the best Hollywood party ever,’ says comedian and impressionist Matt Forde as he looks at them in awe. ‘I can’t believe I’m here.’

Matt is one of the team behind a reboot of the satirical puppet show Spitting Image, which was the scourge of the Establishment for 12 years on ITV from 1984. Now it’s back, and it’s even more anarchic than ever.

There’s a fresh set of targets, including a vampirelike Priti Patel, a blundering Bojo and a tiny Vladimir Putin as well as the Pope and Meghan Markle. And there are other changes too – while the original series was all individual sketches, this one will also have elements of a sitcom. One in particular will feature the Royal Family going to visit Harry and Meghan in Los Angeles. Chaos inevitably ensues. Every week.

But the man in charge of the puppets remains the same as before – caricaturist Roger Law, now 79, who created Spitting Image with his old schoolfriend