Alistair McGowan: tethering Placido Domingo with chains

The impressionist talks about his typical festival experience, and explains why it is like Wimbledon for performers.

Dylan Moran, Tony Law for Larmer Tree Festival

Dylan Moran is set to headline the Larmer Tree Festival alongside Alistair McGowan, Rich Hall and Tony Law.

Radio Times review

When I saw the premise for Channel 4's new comedy The Mimic, I was furious. It might banjax my long-nurtured plan to write a sitcom for Alistair McGowan, in which he plays a TV impressionist whose personal life is a disaster because of his inability to converse as himself. Scene one: Alistair resolutely embarks on his sixth marriage, but recites the vows in the voices of Peter Snow, Jim Bowen, and Orville. Later, the wedding night is ruined when Alistair does Dot Cotton in his new wife's ear.

Anyway, as it turns out The Mimic is sort of the opposite of that. Terry Mynott is the fabulously named Martin Hurdle, a gentle loser who has only one friend, a dowdy trouper called Jean (Jo Hartley), and no future prospects in his work maintaining the grounds of a faceless pharmaceutical firm. His secret, and his mental release valve, is that he's a brilliant impressionist.

The Mimic is by Russell Brand's old sidekick Matt Morgan, who worked with Mynott on The Morgana Show and VIP. Where they were crass and brash, this is slow, quiet and lovely. It has the vibe of an indie film, possibly one starring a big comedy name gambling their fame to prove they're human and can act.

Mynott has no fame to risk, yet there's still bravery in the way he makes Martin so uninhibitedly genuine and sad. In the first episode he was often filmed to accentuate his isolation. His little triumphs mostly weren't witnessed by anyone. He stopped doing his spot-on Alan Carr in the company car park when people walked into earshot, and his fantastic imagined conversation between Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones faltered when Jean asked who he was talking to and told him to get some sleep.

The Mimic[c/] is a bit more than a sitcom. You wonder not only whether it will still be funny next week and the week after, but also where it will go - what will happen to the hero. Is he a talented man waiting to be discovered or just a lonely man waiting to be loved?

Scenes where Martin met his previously unknown 18-year-old son, and where he took revenge on a bad HR manager by being him on the office tannoy, hinted that his achingly small world is about to expand. We'll be rooting for him to survive the change.

I'm a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy comedy, but ElvenQuest has always come across as "good, not great". However, this new, fourth series started with an episode which could change my opinion...

For those unfamiliar with the series, it's a set in a Tolkien-esque fantasy world called Lower Earth, where a group of "Questers" are trying to find the all-powerful Sword of Asnagar. Two of the Questers are Sam Porter (Stephen Mangan), a fantasy writer from our world, and his dog Amis, who's transformed into a human (Dave Lamb). Both were sent to Lower Earth by the other Questers.

Elf leader Vidar (Darren Boyd), Dean the dwarf (Kevin Eldon), and warrior princess Penthiselea (Ingrid Oliver, though formally Sophie Winkleman) complete the cast.

In this opening episode, the Questers defeats some trolls in the kingdom of Premenstrua - ruled by unpredictable Queen Eleanor (Louise Delamere), who is celebrating her birthday and wants a present. The 'present' is the entire story of the Questers, which they must write up over the course of a single night on pain of death...

Probably the main reason this episode stood out was because of Sam, and how useless he is in comparison to the others. But by the same token, the characters are the main issue with the series.

Some of them are great - especially Lord Darkness (Alistair McGowan), whose cunning plans often get too cunning... and he's brought down by something simple like forgetting his keys. However, other characters aren't so well fleshed out. Penthiselea just seems like a typical fantasy, sci-fi heroine - somewhat violent and slightly sexual, but often just filling a gap because the writer thought they needed at least one woman in the story and they couldn't think of anything more imaginative.

If the writers manage to flesh out their creations more than this series could well be perfect. That's the only thing holding ElvenQuest back.

Cameron fails to make impression on Alistair McGowan

Alistair McGowan, the television impressionist, says David Cameron is 'impossible' to mimic because his voice is so 'indistinct'.

Audio: McGowan praises calmness of Radio 4 announcers

Two of the best known Radio 4 announcers, Harriet Cass and Charlotte Green, have announced that they will be hanging up their headphones next year.

The comedian Alistair McGowan, of the Radio 4 sitcom Continuity, said that listeners feel they "know continuity people... they guide us through our lives."

He praised the warmth and the calmness that both announcers provide.

"They don't give you too much drama and make you feel that everything is all right with the world," he told Shaun Ley on The World at One.

You Cannot Be Serious! gets complains from John McEnroe

Bosses of Alistair McGowan's new show You Cannot Be Serious! have received a complaint about the title - from the man who first shouted it.

There should be plenty of fodder for this edition of the sporadically amusing topical sport-based sketch show now that the Euro 2012 football tournament is in full swing, not to mention the Wimbledon competition starting on Monday. Presenter Alistair McGowan has reportedly worked on 150 new impressions for the show so there won't be many safe from his scrutiny. His impressions of England manager Roy Hodgson (for which he wears a rubber mask) and coach Gary Neville have proved most popular.

Alistair McGowan interview

Alistair McGowan on channelling Roy Hodgson, Harry Hill and Jedward for his new comedic sports show, You Cannot Be Serious!

To be a success, Alistair McGowan's new TV Burp-style comedy sports review show You Cannot Be Serious! needs two things: a) access to the pick of the week's sporting footage, and b) a gifted host who can elicit top-drawer comedy from said footage. On the evidence so far, point a) could end up being a huge headache. And b) already is.