It was a TV favourite for years and now Spitting Image has taken to the stage in Birmingham!

As I walked towards the theatre, I remarked on how much the city had changed and improved; how it had adapted with the times, and what a different place it was, since Spitting Image first appeared on our screens in 1984.

I just hoped, genuinely, for the sake of its original creators Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn, that this incarnation of the show on stage would simply 'work' - and I was not disappointed!

Writers Matt Forde, Al Murray and Sean Foley, have sent our puppets on a mission to save the world, led by Tom Cruise. With over a hundred of our favourite characters featured in the two hour show, it's amazing that in its forty year history, Spitting Image has never been on stage before.

It seems the perfect setting to experience the skills of both the puppet makers and the puppeteers, who are present and visible the whole time during the show, but who soon become invisible somehow, due to their outstanding acting and choreography.

Of course, Johnson, Sunak and Starmer all feature, as do the royal family, and even our late Queen. In fact, if it's part of British popular culture - it's in the show. Zelensky and a dance routine by Putin? Yep, they went there too!

From Alison Hammond to Ant and Dec - the satire, the stinging characterisations and relentless lampooning all make the show what it is - an absolute joy!

Not for the easily offended, it received a spontaneous standing ovation, when the puppeteers came on to take their bow. Has Spitting Image found a new home in theatres? Most definitely.

Idiots Assemble - Spitting Image Saves The World continues at Birmingham Rep till 11th March. For more information, or to get your tickets, visit birmingham-rep.co.uk.