Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:18 PM GMT
LONDON (
Reuters) - Britons who have spent years laughing at Americans in Jerry Springer Show instalments like "Men in Diapers" and "Here Come the Hookers" are about to get a new version featuring their own people.
Springer is launching a British version of his talk show after the controversial and successful London run of a parody of the show, "Jerry Springer: The Opera".
ITV said on Thursday Springer would tape a month's worth of hour-long weekday shows for them later this spring. The ex-politician was born in the United Kingdom and has always pulled large British audiences.
The Jerry Springer Show debuted as a high-minded but low-rated talk show in 1991. Under threat of cancellation, it embraced tawdry topics and bawdy guests, stirring outrage and becoming an international hit.
The parody of the show, featuring tap-dancing Ku Klux Klan members, has been a hit in London's West End and is heading for Broadway.
It also drew more than 50,000 complaints after it aired on the BBC earlier this year, outraging some with more than 3,000 curse words and a depiction of Jesus in a nappy.
Springer, who was not involved in setting up the opera, said he loved it. "I wish I had thought of it," he said after attending its opening night.
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