Beloved TV Figure Dies in ‘an Accident Overseas’: Bill Dare Was 64

Comedy writer and producer Bill Dare, who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers, has died.

Dare passed away over the weekend following an accident overseas, his agent confirmed in a statement Monday. He was 64.

“We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas,” his representatives, JFL Agency, said, per Sky News. “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. Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”

JFL Agency did not disclose further details, but according to The Guardian, Dare passed away as a passenger in a road accident.

The London-born writer and producer is best remembered for his work on Spitting Image, ITV’s satirical puppet show that featured puppet caricatures of contemporary celebrities and public figures. Dare produced eight series of the show, during which he introduced Jesus Christ as a drug-smoking hippy, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother as an elderly gin drinker, and Ronald Reagan as a bumbling fool with “Nuke” and “Nurse” red buttons beside his bed. Dare said during his time on the show, “We know how far we can go – as long as we are only upsetting some of the people some of the time.”

Spitting Image ran on ITV from 1984 to 1996, becoming one of the most watched TV shows of the ‘80s and winning a BAFTA award in 1990. It was rebooted in 2020, but that series was canceled in 2022.

Dare is also well-remembered Dead Ringers, the Radio 4 program he produced. He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024. He also worked on the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as I’ve Never Seen Star Wars, The Secret World, Please Use Other Door, and the Radio 4 sketch show Life, Death and Sex with Mike and Sue.

“Bill was a legendary figure in the comedy world and we, his friends and colleagues in radio will miss him hugely,” BBC Studios Audio’s creative director of comedy and entertainment Richard Morris said, the BBC reported. “We’ll miss the sharp wit and wisdom he brought to every production he worked on.”

Dare is survived by his wife, Lucy; his daughter Bex, whom he shared with Mary Downes; and his brother, Charlie, and sister, Selena.