What does Edwina Currie think of Spitting Image?

Edwina Currie said she would have preferred her puppet to be beautiful

A former MP has said she still has her puppet from satirical TV puppet show Spitting Image which has celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Edwina Currie, who was Conservative MP for South Derbyshire, appeared on the show which ran from 1984 to 1997.

Mrs Currie said she was "thrilled" to be on Spitting Image at the time as, with an audience of 15 million people, it meant she was instantly famous.

However, she said she would have preferred her puppet "to be beautiful".

Mrs Currie said as a new young MP, featuring on the show "was not to be sniffed at".

"But I would have preferred her to be beautiful without such a big nose and she had cross teeth," she said.

"One of the things I did as soon as I could afford it was get my teeth fixed so now I have a nice smile."

Mrs Currie, who was an MP for 14 years, said: "It certainly made sure I had a career over and above being a backbench MP, because it meant I was getting an enormous amount of attention.

"By in large the public perception was very positive, although people still thought I was a bit scary, but that is not a bad thing, if they treat you with a degree of respect and caution."

She said when she was a junior minister in the department of health trying to get people to stop smoking or take up screening, it meant she "had an instant audience and people were willing to listen".

Mrs Currie said: "I am not a scary person at all - I am sweet, nice and kind, and I am always very polite to people"

Mrs Currie, who lives in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, said after the show - which marked its 40th anniversary on Monday - finished, she bought her puppet at auction.

Mrs Currie added: "When I look back at some of its comments and judgements on some colleagues, it got it right more than it got it wrong.

"Most important, it made us laugh. Politics now is not a laughing matter - it is all about hatred, dislike, personalities and incompetence very often.

"I think that is a shame. If we brought back a bit more humour, satire, and criticism that had a smile on its face, I think that would be much better."