John Clarke was a "10 out of 10" satirist with a skill for revealing what politicians were really thinking, and we may never see the likes of his talent again, former prime minister Paul Keating says.

Until his death earlier this month, Clarke and his collaborator Bryan Dawe had spent more than 20 years on Australian television screens, performing mock interviews with real and imagined public figures.

Mr Keating, who led the country as prime minister through the early-to-mid 1990s, was not spared by the pair.

"One had to take it in a good-natured way," Mr Keating told ABC TV's tribute special, John Clarke: Thanks For Your Time.

"John Clarke had enormous intellectual energy and an acute power of observation.

"No fact, argument, mannerism, habit escaped him. It all went into the mix. He was making a story, in a sense, all the time."

Mr Keating said Clarke had an unequalled way of understanding what politicians were actually thinking, stripping them of "humbug and cant" and translating their thoughts for the broader public.

"He revealed things that may not have been immediately apparent to the community at large," Mr Keating said.

"In his hands, a set of circumstances or facts or a moment was revealed with clarity.

"I think that revelation, that ability to do that, we're going to very greatly miss."

Mr Keating took the prime ministership after challenging Bob Hawke from the backbench on the last day of Parliament in 1991.

Before the successful challenge, Mr Keating, as treasurer, made an unsuccessful tilt for the leadership in a drama that was breathlessly covered by the press.

Clarke and Dawe skewered the two rivals in a skit, with Clarke playing both men.

Sorry, this video has expired John Clarke plays Paul Keating and Bob Hawke

"I do remember that one because it was so poignant at the time," Mr Keating said.

"He had it pretty right."

Mr Keating said he laughed at Clarke's work "all the time".

"But he was so convincing — you weren't sure if it was him meaning to say what he was saying or whether he was saying it on behalf of the fictitious character."

As the country grows accustomed to no longer being able to turn to Clarke to dissect the issues of the day, Mr Keating said his brand of satire, which did not diminish with time, might never be replaced.

"I don't think we'll see the likes of Clarke again," he said.

"The significance of having somebody so sharp, so clever, with us, all his intellectualism and powers of observation and the ability to ply his trade year in and year out … it's very hard to do that, to do what he did for so long.

"They maintained the standard, it never fell off. It was always relevant, always sharp, always pithy, it just didn't fade away."

John Clarke: Thanks For Your Time will screen at 8:00pm tonight on ABC TV, and online on ABC iview.