Morgana Robinson's The Agency. Morgana Robinson. Copyright: Happy Tramp Productions
Morgana Robinson's The Agency

Morgana Robinson's The Agency

  • TV sketch show
  • BBC Two
  • 2016
  • 6 episodes (1 series)

Impressionism sketch show starring Morgana Robinson as the stars of talent agency Mann Management. Also features Cavan Clerkin, Gemma Whelan, Perry Benson, Seb Cardinal, Rebecca Humphries and Claire Skinner

Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 1

In this first episode we are introduced to Vincent as he deals with Miranda Hart's burning desire to be taken more seriously as an actor and Danny Dyer's diversification into children's literature. Meanwhile Natalie Cassidy is building up to the National Television Awards and Gregg Wallace is launching a new range of sauces.

Preview clips

Broadcast details

Date
Monday 26th September 2016
Time
10pm
Channel
BBC Two
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Wednesday 9th May 2018 10:00pm Gold
Thursday 10th May 2018 2:30am Gold
Tuesday 2nd October 2018 12:00am Gold
Tuesday 2nd October 2018 3:05am Gold
Monday 1st July 2019 1:55am Gold
Sunday 6th October 2019 1:30am Gold
Monday 7th October 2019 12:30am Gold
Thursday 26th December 2019 3:30am Gold
Monday 16th March 2020 12:30am Gold

Cast & crew

Cast
Morgana Robinson Various
Cavan Clerkin Vincent Mann
Gemma Whelan Kat Cassidy
Perry Benson Mr Cassidy
Seb Cardinal Tim
Rebecca Humphries Rachel
Claire Skinner Narrator
Guest cast
Ryan Baker Young Boy
Celeste Dring Sauce Scientist
Peter Singh Sauce Scientist
Kim Wall Director
Liam Williams Actor
Writing team
Jack Bayles Writer
Matt Morgan Writer
Sarah Morgan Writer
Nico Tatarowicz Writer
Neil Webster Writer
Production team
Tom McKay Director
Jack Bayles Producer
Neil Webster Executive Producer
Kate Daughton Executive Producer
Ben Palmer Executive Producer
Morgana Robinson Associate Producer
Mark Henson Editor
Alex Beverly Production Designer
Miranda Jones Production Designer
Rosalie Clayton Casting Director
Lynsey Moore Costume Designer
Oli Russell Director of Photography
Jo Jenkins Make-up Designer
Chris May 1st Assistant Director

Video

Meet Natalie Cassidy

Natalie Cassidy prepares for a big night out at the National Television Awards.

Featuring: Perry Benson (Mr Cassidy) & Morgana Robinson.

Press

Morgana Robinson's The Agency is funny. Her impersonations are often uncanny, particularly those of Natalie Cassidy and The Bake-Off's Mel and Sue. And her show isn't a stand-up, Rory Bremner-style impressionism where she stands at a mic. Instead, she weaves it into a loose story where the celebrities are represented by a talent agency, Mann Management, and she presents it as a documentary about the company.

But even though I laughed, particularly at the cruel Natalie Cassidy segments, I was left feeling slightly empty afterwards because isn't it a bit of a waste to use that huge talent for impressionism on such a flimsy figure as "Sonia from EastEnders". Of course, that was part of the joke: she's only little old Sonia yet thinks she's a great star, but I wanted to yell at Robinson to turn her firepower on bigger, more deserving, targets.

It must be harder these days to do political impersonations as politicians are so bland and "on-message", and mavericks and colourful characters rarely slip through the antiseptic net. You can't do an impression of a bland person who's been planed smooth by the party PR machine yet, in a world where politics has thrown up Trump, Brexit and the tortuous splitting of the Labour Party, aren't things changing? And where are the comedians and satirists ready to react to that change?

Julie McDowall, The National (Scotland), 1st October 2016

Morgana Robinson's The Agency, a new sketch/impressionist show, uses a narrative format to showcase her talents. It's set in Mann Management, a talent agency run by Cavan Clerkin's Vincent, who has let documentary cameras in; Robinson plays his clients.

Some impressions work better than others - Robinson's Natalie Cassidy (Sonia from EastEnders), Cheryl Cole and Fearne Cotton are uncannily good - while others (Danny Dyer, Gregg Wallace) are surprisingly off the mark. Where last night's opener (of seven) did score, however, was in the fantastical writing (five writers are credited) - imagining an endlessly disappointing suburban existence for the always optimistic Cassidy, or the rather creepy menage imagined in the scenes chez Mel and Sue, where Mel's husband has to grit his teeth at their relentless punning.

Veronica Lee, The Arts Desk, 28th September 2016

Review: comedy secret Dick Emery could teach Morgana

The variety is so broad that it's impossible to watch her, in or out of character, without thinking: 'I've seen her in something else...'

Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail, 27th September 2016

No one is safe from Morgana the mimic

In Morgana Robinson's The Agency, the comic shares her surreal impressions of famous folk. It's all about finding that 'hidden something' in her subjects, she explains.

Hannah Verdier, The Guardian, 26th September 2016

An actor working in impressions builds a house on generally unfunny sand and, mindful of that, Morgana Robinson has tried to give her show a bit of additional conceptual weight. Her idea is a mockumentary following clients at a fictional talent agency which represents all the celebs she impersonates, such as Mel and Sue and Joanna Lumley. Maybe too much prominence is given to Natalie Cassidy, but the Gregg Wallace stuff is pretty decent.

John Robinson, The Guardian, 26th September 2016

Morgana Robinson's The Agency preview

It seems simplistic to call The Agency an impressions show. For Morgana Robinson is less a straightforward mimic than she is a caricaturist, creating exaggerated characters only loosely based on celebrities' real personalities. And this is a fine format for her talents.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 26th September 2016

Preview: Morgana Robinson's The Agency, BBC2

Morgana Robinson has been on the cusp of fame for a few years now. She had her own character-comedy show The Morgana Show six years ago and since then has been cropping up in shows such as House of Fools, The Windsors and Charlie Brooker's Wipe programmes where she did a mean Russell Brand.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 13th September 2016

Share this page