Newzoids

Idris Elba really loved his Newzoids character

Perfect jaw line, husky voice AND a great sense of humour.

The second series of the potshot puppet satire continues. It may be more interested in being mean about celebrities than angry at politicians, but at least Newzoids has a distinctive look: the primitive Action Man-style marionettes with weirdly slick CGI mouths are vividly grotesque. Tonight's instalment also promises some blue-on-blue action by taking an axe to ITV2 totem Keith Lemon and Xtra Factor host Rylan Clark-Neal among others.

I fear satire is dead, and those fears seemed confirmed when the new series of this satirical show was dumped on Saturday night TV. You only need to glance at the listings for a Saturday night to see this is not where quality programmes are scheduled. This is the land of Strictly and The X Factor - so what is Newzoids doing here? It's a satirical show using puppets and animation and the last series was like a blander version of Spitting Image.

I'm hoping they've upped their game for the new one because we desperately need tough and iconoclastic satirical TV. New characters for this series include Donald Trump, Jeremy Corbyn, Adele and Theresa May. The Trump puppet's voice is scarily identical to the real thing - and a sports a toupee that is made of fluffy golden kittens.

Debra Stephenson and Jon Culshaw interview

Debra Stephenson has turned her attention to her impression skills in recent years, joining forces with fellow impressionist Jon Culshaw on a number of shows, including their current hit, Newzoids.

Donald Trump's Newzoids puppet is truly hair-raising

The Republican Party's presidential nominee is the first of 50 new characters unveiled for the satirical shows second six-part series next month, as well as Hillary Clinton, Jeremy Corbyn, Adele, Danny Dyer, Zayn Malik and Bear Grylls.

It's the week after the week after the election: potentially a news dead zone. How will this perky puppet-based satire cope, with its excellent Miliband and Clegg impersonations presumably now mothballed? David Cameron's promised first 100 days of pain should already be taking shape, although that would mean material more darkly political than the personal lampoons this show thrives on. Perhaps he'll be selfconsciously fluffing his tiny majority. If not, Newzoids always has its ace songs to fall back on. Last in the series.

Miranda Hart puppet introduced in Newzoids

Call the Midwife star makes special appearance at the Royal Birth.

More Punch and Judy politics as the would-be satirical puppet show continues. Newzoids may never escape the shadow of Spitting Image but it doesn't skimp on the sketch count, rattling through character assassinations, pop-culture mashups and song parodies at a fair old clip. If the political material sometimes lacks bite, at least the writers are taking advantage of the material at their doorstep: when it's skewering ITV's own Ant & Dec, Broadchurch or Jeremy Kyle, Newzoids generates an appreciable transgressive charge.