Such are their popularity that the parodies usually find their way into mainstream culture far beyond simply being viewed as a joke within the pages of Private Eye, and are subsequently mentioned often in other journalistic appraisals of the individual in question.
Written primarily by John Wells with input from Richard Ingrams and Peter Cook, it chronicled the events in Wilson's life from Mary's more down-to-earth and homely perspective.
Mrs Wilson was presented as seeing herself as comfortably middle-class, in contrast to Harold's working-class pretensions (and middle-class actuality), for example the Wincarnis (a brand of tonic wine) and the worsted suits with two pairs of trousers (Wilson was from Huddersfield, a town known for the manufacture of worsted cloth).
The newsletters invariably ended with a request to staff which admonished them for stubbing their cigarettes out in the plastic cups in which the canteen served them with tea.
The putative author was often commanded to accompany his wife ("the Boss") on various tours—at home and abroad; electioneering, political and statesmanlike, plus "very" occasional holidays; Denis has his own slant on everywhere he goes, and often meets an old chummo with whom he can partake of a libation or two.
The diary reappears occasionally, such as after the revelation of his affair with Edwina Currie, when he was made a Knight of the Garter, and after he attended the funeral of Edward Heath.
The column made much of the Soviet-era tendency to coin philosophies related to certain people, often referring to "Blairist-Mandelsonism", "Osbornist-Cameronian" and other variants.
The school's coat of arms featured a pair of leopard-print kitten heel women's shoes, parodying a favourite style of May's.
After May's resignation, the school was renamed St. Somebody's Independent Grammar School for Girls (and Boys), not necessarily incorporating The William III Orange Academy covered with a banner reading "Temporarily Closed", and a question mark replacing the shoes in the coat of arms.
Upon Boris Johnson's accession the school theme was abandoned for the first time since the Tories returned to power, replaced by The People's PMQs, in which the prime minister broadcasts a livestream on Facebook taking questions from members of the public.
[5] Johnson frequently wanders off topic and babbles incoherently, with references to Dominic Cummings (his Special adviser) giving him hand signals from out of frame.
The Private Eye recordings issued by the magazine from time-to-time, especially in its first fifteen years, featured comedic impersonations and lampoons of the following Prime Ministers: The Prime Ministers were impersonated by various members of the Private Eye staff and friends, including Peter Cook, John Bird, Richard Ingrams, and Willie Rushton.