Bush satire is TV hit

Eight episodes have been commissioned

The first episode of a satire about George W Bush created by the team behind South Park has opened to record ratings in the US.

That's My Bush!, a live action comedy by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, scored the highest ratings for a debut series in the 10-year history of the Comedy Central cable network on Wednesday.

It was seen by an estimated 2.9 million viewers, one of the highest ever series premieres in US cable TV history.

The first episode showed Mr Bush, played by Timothy Bottoms, play host to a dinner with both sides of the abortion debate invited.

Stone and Parker also created South Park

Plans for the series were revealed before the US presidential election last year, and it would have gone ahead parodying Al Gore if he had been declared the winner.

"We don't have fun at anybody's expense. It's all just a fun little fantastical absurdist thing," said Stone.

"We don't want to preach to anyone or have a big agenda."

Comedy Central, which has a reputation for developing cutting-edge comedy, has spent more money on this eight-week series than any other show in the network's history.

However, although both the president and his wife Laura both feature, the network banned Parker and Stone from parodying their 19-year-old twins Jenna and Barbara after it was proposed that they be portrayed as incestuous lovers.

Next week's programme shows Mr Bush invite old college friends over to witness a "real live" execution.