Bill Dare, a producer and comedy writer on the satirical comedy show Spitting Image, has died after an “accident overseas”, his agent said.
Spitting Image aired on ITV in the 1980s and 90s, featuring puppet caricatures of famous figures including the government, celebrities and the Royal family, often satirically mocking them.
The show won multiple awards, including Baftas and Emmys.
Spitting Image was rebooted in 2020, featuring figures such as Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, and Meghan Markle.
Dare worked on eight series of the show and also worked on programmes for radio including Dead Ringers and The Now Show on BBC Radio 4.
Dare’s agents confirmed he died at the weekend.
In a statement, they said: “Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.”
They added: “Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
His colleagues at the BBC have also paid tribute to the “legendary” comic.
Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.”
She added: “He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.”
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