Producers of hit satirical show Spitting Image have a ‘curious meeting’ with ITV bosses ahead of the show’s planned return over how best to portray black celebrities in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests.
Those behind the popular puppet comedy are said to have held ‘surreal’ meetings with the station’s executives ahead of the classic show’s revival on streaming service BritBox this autumn, according to The Times.
Producers are said to fear accusations of racism against the show, which is set to feature caricature puppets of black celebrities such as rapper Kanye West and singer Beyonce, as well as the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, whose mother is African American and whose father is Caucasian, the paper reports.
It comes after protests by the Black Lives Matter movement, which sparked the removal of old shows such as Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, both of which featured ‘blackface’ characters, from a number of streaming services.
Now an ITV boss has revealed how the channel has held a meeting with Spitting Image producers in a bid to thrash out ‘difficult’ answers to some of the questions raised.
Producers are said to fear accusations of racism against the show, which is set to feature caricature puppets of black celebrities such as rapper Kanye West and singer Beyonce , as well as the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, whose mother is African American and whose father is Caucasian, The Times reports
Those behind the popular puppet comedy are said to have held ‘surreal’ meetings with the station’s executives ahead of the classic show’s revival on streaming service BritBox this autumn
Kevin Lygo, ITV’s director of television, told a TV diversity session: ‘The producers called me and said we need to have a conversation. We discussed with the writer and the producers about how to portray black people as viciously caricatured puppets.
‘What is OK? What is not OK?
‘Some of the answers are unclear, it is difficult, everybody is trying their best.’
Mr Lygo said bosses had considered if black voice actors should have to voice black characters.
It comes after animated TV comedy The Simpsons ended the use of white actors to voice characters of colour in June.
The statement did not elaborate but the move follows years of public pressure about the Fox television show’s Indian convenience store character Apu, who is voiced by Hank Azaria.
Azaria has also voiced the Simpsons characters of black police officer Lou and the Mexican-American Bumblebee Man. Harry Shearer has played Dr. Hibbert, who is black.
The move came in the same month that Little Britain was removed from Netflix, BBC iPlayer and BritBox amid concerns that the use of blackface characters on the series is no longer acceptable.
It comes after protests by the Black Lives Matter movement, which sparked the removal of old shows such as Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, both of which featured ‘blackface’ characters, from a number of streaming services
In an apparent reaction to the Black Lives Matter protests, Netflix pulled the Matt Lucas, 46, and David Walliams, 48, series, along with the pair’s other comedy Come Fly With Me.
The BBC and BritBox later both confirmed they had also decided to remove Little Britain saying ‘times have changed’ since the show first aired.
The shows include scenes where the comedians portray characters from different ethnic backgrounds with the use of make-up.
Both Lucas and Walliams later apologised for the portrayals, saying ‘it was wrong’.
Spitting Image meanwhile will air this autumn on BritBox, with Boris Johnson, his chief adviser Dominic Cummings and US President Donald Trump among the key figures to be ridiculed.
Vladimir Putin, Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk, RuPaul, Adele and James Corden will also get the satirical treatment.
Spitting Image meanwhile will air this autumn on BritBox, with Boris Johnson, his chief adviser Dominic Cummings and US President Donald Trump among the key figures to be ridiculed
Vladimir Putin, Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk, RuPaul, Adele and James Corden will also get the satirical treatment
Spitting Image co-creator Roger Law is back on board for the show, which ran for 18 series between 1984 and 1996 and was watched by 15 million viewers in its heyday.
The show famously featured Margaret Thatcher in a man’s suit treating her cabinet – ‘the vegetables’ – with contempt, John Major as a grey puppet and the Queen Mother slugging from a gin bottle.
Ronald Reagan was featured in bed with two red call buttons, one marked Nurse, the other Nuke.
The show previously featured a small number of black puppets, including boxers Frank Bruno and Chris Eubank.