Terry Mynott: 'Charlie Brooker made me die inside'

It's never easy when impressionists meet their targets as Terry Mynott revealed at the launch of his new Channel 4 comedy The Mimic.

If, like us, you're of the opinion that impression shows got a bit stale the thousandth time Jon Culshaw declared "My fellow Americans" on Dead Ringers, then you might appreciate the new take on the comedy sub-genre offered up by The Mimic.

Terry Mynott is the star of this not-entirely uplifting sitcom, playing an unremarkable maintenance man with a hidden talent for celebrity impressions. From Terry Wogan to Morgan Freeman, he can be pretend to be pretty much anyone - but he's soon brought back to reality when he discovers that he may be the father of his ex's 18-year-old son.

After the grisly sentiment of Derek, the phrase "heartwarming Channel 4 sitcom" may induce shudders. But hurrah: The Mimic is both endearing and gently funny, Even though it features an impressionist - Terry Mynott, previously in Very Important People, who was discovered via a home-made YouTube clip of him imitating celebrities. Here, he plays Martin, a gormless, shy chap who amuses himself with his voices: Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn debate his problems; Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones keep him company watching TV. The show takes a relaxing low-key approach: a scene where he tricks some teenagers is allowed to play out softly, without overdoing it, and his discovery of a potential grown-up son isn't milked for cheap sappiness (yet). Ironically, the whole thing's rather original.

Terry Mynott interview

Terry Mynott plays oddball Martin Hurdle, a maintenance man with a secret talent for impressions.

Why we're watching... Terry Mynott

The 38-year-old impressionist on Christopher Walken, voice overs and being himself.

Impressionists Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott are so talented that their middling material is compensated for by the sheer pleasure of watching them work. The show sets itself up as a satire of celebrity culture but it's a weak one at that. Instead, simply sit back and enjoy Robinson and Mynott's considerable skill at mimicry. Highlights include The Only Way is Essex airhead Amy Childs presenting the news.

Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott interview

Comedians Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott have revived TV impressionism - and they have no shortage of ridiculous celebrities to send up.

The impressions show with Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott continues. The mimicry is good, especially Mynott's, but what they've found to say about their targets is disappointingly bland. Russell Brand talks like this. Natalie Cassidy's a bit dumpy. It's not enough. And there's got to be a less clunky way of introducing impressions than: "I'm Gordon Ramsay." We know. And if we can't tell, don't do the impression. Like so much that has gone before, VIP falls into the "sometimes clever but not that funny" category.

This new impressionism show started on Channel 4 this week as part of a big comedy line up on the channel (along with 8 Out of 10 Cats, Alan Carr: Chatty Man and Stand Up For the Week).

It features Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott impersonating a certain range of people. In this first episode there's heavyweight political figures but instead that particular class of usually pointless celebrity - the likes of Gordon Ramsey, Amy Childs and Danny Dyer.

Now for me impressionism usually has one big problem, which is trying to get the performer to look like the person they are pretending to be as well as getting to sound like them. That's why I think the best impressionism shows are Spitting Image and the radio version of Dead Ringers, because in both shows you don't see the performers, only the image in your head, or the rubbery visage.

In terms of this show, I'm not the best to judge the quality of the impressions, although that's because I tend not to watch most of the shows that those particular people perform in. I've never watched The Voice or Embarrassing Bodies, so I don't really know what Jessie J or Dr. Christian Jessen sound like.

However, in terms of the ideas that were generated, I found them to be good. I liked the sketch in which David Attenborough was observing Frankie Boyle in his natural habitat, and Fearne Cotton's children's game show in which kids try to act like celebrities.

If I were to be more critical I'd say that the satire isn't as hard hitting as it could be. It's not as vicious as Spitting Image was, so it's more akin to Dead Ringers in that respect. But still, it's a decent enough programme and should do well in my opinion...