MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. The British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC) never asked the Kremlin for permission to use the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin in its new program, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
"No, [the authors of the program] have not asked us for this," he specified.
As he answered media questions later, Peskov said the Kremlin had seen the advertisement of the upcoming show.
"I can say only this: Putin never reads books about himself or takes the trouble of taking a look at cartoons depicting him. In this particular case, he has his own opinion: It’s not he who is supposed to resemble these cartoon characters, rather the cartoon characters should bear a resemblance to him."
The Russian leader remains "firmly committed to this conviction," Peskov said.
Earlier, the BBC announced a show to be hosted by a computerized animated character who introduces himself as Vladimir Putin. The cartoon image will be interviewing invited guests. In the commercial clip, the computerized character vows to make the show Britain’s number one hit.
Asked by a TASS correspondent in London about the reasons behind the choice of the character for the show, the BBC chose to keep quiet on the subject.
This is not the first time that the head of state’s image has been used in TV shows. The Russian version of ITV’s Spitting Image, called Kukly, which aired in 1994-2002, used caricature images of many high-profile politicians and businessmen.