Thatcherworld (lost Spitting Image BBC TV film; 1993)

Eric Jenkins (Gary Olsen) and Grandma Jenkins (Edna Doré) with the Spitting Image puppet of Margaret Thatcher.

Status: Lost

Thatcherworld is a 1993 40-minute TV movie that is part of a series of BBC documentaries and specials called After Margaret, which examines the premiership and legacy of former British Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It was notably produced by Spitting Image Productions, the studio known for creating the satirical puppet show Spitting Image, with said puppets appearing in this movie and interacting with a live-action cast. It aired on Sunday 24th October 1993 at 21:05 on BBC Two England, making it one of the few Spitting Image-related works to air on a BBC channel rather than on ITV, the television network that owns Spitting Image.

The film has only aired once, with only the ident and opening of the film being available to the general public. No other information about the film is known other than the cast, synopsis and air date.

Background

After Margaret is a series of special programmes dedicated to documenting the 11-year long premiership of Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, with Thatcher herself, her family, cabinet ministers, political analysts and other people involved in her tenure contributing to the series. Like the film itself, they have all only aired once, in late October of 1993 in evening times. The series of programmes was announced after the airing of the first episode of Thatcher: the Downing Street Years on BBC 1, to be airing on BBC 2 starting next Saturday. Unlike After Margaret, all four episodes of Thatcher: the Downing Street Years are found footage available on YouTube.

After Margaret consists of:

• In at Number Ten (aired Saturday 23rd October 1993 at 20:25) - chronicling the music of her decade in power, influenced by major events such as the end of the Cold War.
• Without Her (aired Sunday 24th October 1993 at 20:15) - an alternative history of the 80s if Thatcher hadn't won the 1979 general election, presented by Andrew Marr of the Independent.
• Thatcherworld (aired Sunday 24th October 1993 at 21:05)
• The Incredible Shrinking Politicians (aired Monday 25th October 1993 at 20:30) - detailing how political views can get popular following a report of then-Prime Minister John Major as being the most unpopular Prime Minister and a general worldwide loss in confidence in politicians.
• Only Fools and Horses (aired Monday 25th October 1993 at 21:10)- a particular 1989 episode of the show centring around Del Boy and Rodney deciding to become yuppies, products of Thatcher's time in power. The episode is most likely "Yuppy Love" given the premise, which is found footage.
• The Thatcher Experience (aired Wednesday 27th October 1993 at 20:00) - a talk on how Thatcher affected the economic landscape.
• Thatcher's Children (aired Wednesday 27th October 1993 at 20:50) - Thatcher's own children talk about their own opinions on their mother and her power.
• The Late Show (aired Wednesday 27th October 1993 at 23:15) - a look on how television has influenced the way people look at the Thatcher era.
• What the Papers Said (aired Friday 29th October 1993 at 19:45) - a special edition of the show of the same name detailing press coverage of Thatcher's years as Prime Minister, with her chief Press Secretary Bernard Ingham.
• The Day She Went (aired Friday 29th October 1993 at 21:30) - centring around the memorable day in which Thatcher resigned her position as Prime Minister and how it impacted other people apart from herself. Steve Nallon, best known for his impressions of Thatcher in Spitting Image makes an appearance.
• Have I Got News for You: the Downing Street Years (aired Friday 29th October 1993 at 22:00) - a special programme of HIGNFY centring on her resignation as the start of a new season, as Thatcher had resigned a week after the end of the first season.

Synopsis

The general synopsis of Thatcherworld follows the Jenkins family of five living in a futuristic Britain who are selected by a computer to be the first visitors of the nation’s newest and most exciting theme park - Thatcherworld. They go on a journey through Grantham in the 1920s to the artificial world of the 1980s. Along the way they encounter the Spitting Images of significant people in Margaret Thatcher’s life - her father, husband, Edward Heath, the Saatchi brothers, Geoffrey Howe, Michael Heseltine, Neil Kinnock, Roy Hattersley, John Major and of course, Thatcher herself. But as scenes from her years flash by, something strange begins to happen.

Cast

It features voice artists and impressionists who worked on and reprised their roles from Spitting Image, that being:

• Roger Blake
• Steve Coogan
• Alistair McGowan
• Steve Nallon
• Kate Robbins

It also features a live-action cast playing the Jenkins family, starring:

• Gary Olsen as Eric Jenkins
• Frances Barber as Penny Jenkins
• Edna Doré as Grandma Jenkins
• Lee Barrett as Kevin Jenkins
• And most notably, Emma Bunton as Josie Jenkins, during her time as a TV actress before her rise to fame as one of the Spice Girls.

Gallery

Photos

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  Alternate version featuring the Margaret Thatcher puppet attacking the two Jenkins family members.

• 

  Ditto.

• 

  Rubberwork art of three Conservative ministers holding up a globe dubbed with the theme park’s logo.

Videos

An ident promoting Thatcherworld (at 1:06)

Title sequence of the film by visual artist Peter Kennard.

See Also

• Spitting Image (lost pilots of British satirical puppet television show; 1983)
• Labour Party Political Broadcast (partially lost Spitting Image-produced political broadcast; 1996)