From a guilt-ridden Tony Blair to plastic surgery for kids, Armando Iannucci’s series deftly spoofed our love of nostalgic TV. 15 years on it’s still brilliant – and a true hidden gem
“The airwaves were infected with them,” says Armando Iannucci of early 00s celebrity talking-head shows such as I Love the 80s. “Television was going through an identity crisis of looking back and eating itself and it was obsessed with celebrities. The history of the Nazi party would have to have someone from the equivalent of Love Island on it.”
The comedy writer’s response was to create, alongside co-writers Roger Drew and Will Smith, the 2006 series Time Trumpet, a retrospective documentary set in 2031 looking back on the first 30 years of the 21st century, with cultural commentators including Stewart Lee, Jo Enright, Adam Buxton and Richard Ayoade.
