Spitting Image Bosses Redesign Ed Sheeran's Puppet 'To Avoid Offence'

Ahead of the return of Spitting Image on Britbox this month, show creators reportedly decided to make a change to Ed Sheeran's puppet, to avoid offended people with red hair.

Bosses at ITV have reportedly rethought the use of the depiction of the singer-songwriter because they fear it could be 'gratuitously offensive'.

The puppet for the 29-year-old originally had a carrot on top of the character's head, but designers have now used turnip leaves instead.

Speaking to The Sun, an ITV source said: "It was thought to be gratuitously offensive so we ordered them to rejig the puppet. The puppeteers didn't seem too happy about the changes.

"But it's a fine line when you're making comedy. It's one thing poking fun at the rich and powerful but it's another insulting some viewers. It cost quite a lot of money to change. But it's worth the expense."

PA

Spitting Image will return on Saturday 3 October where it will then be on weekly for 10 weeks exclusively on BritBox in the UK. All 10 of the original series will also be available.

The trailer for the new series was released in September and there's a bizarre scene showing Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin having a sauna-based brawl... with penises on full display.

Spitting Image

The show, which hasn't been around for 24 years, is back on BritBox and its return sees a whole host of celebrities facing its unforgiving wit - including Kanye West and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In one scene we see 'Kanye' at a United Nations meeting declaring he is the ruler of Earth and chucking Yeezys at the delegates, while Trump's loses his toupee.

But, potentially the most disturbing clip of them all is when the world leaders are in a sauna together and end up having a bit of a scrap.

Trump and Johnson are in a sauna eating fried chicken when Trump says: "I wouldn't worry about some dumb TV show, Boris. I mean, how are they going to make us look stupid?"

At that very moment 'Putin' enters with two ladies on each arm, announcing: "This is private steam room. Get out, you fat bums."

His towel then drops and the trio engage in a fight - a scene you will never be able to unsee.

Spitting Image will return on 3 October on BritBox in the UK.

Topics: TV and Film

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward