Alan Carr

Carr stopped Russell Brand picking up girls on his show

Randy Russell Brand tried to pick up girls in Alan Carr's studio audience after his appearance on Chatty Man - until the paranoid chatshow host stopped him.

There's a lot that's very, very good about The Mimic, which stars the gifted impressionist Terry Mynott as lowly maintenance man Martin Hurdle.

It's the second episode tonight, but if you missed the first all you need to know is that Martin escapes his humdrum life by doing other people's voices - everyone from Alan Carr to Christopher Walken - and last week he discovered he has an 18-year-old son called Steven. Probably. We're still waiting for the results of the DNA test.

As a means of doing something more interesting with impressions than just going down the Dead Ringers route (or Very Important People, which was Mynott's last gig) this gets full marks for originality.

And the excellent supporting cast includes Ami Metcalf (last seen playing the young Kathy Burke in Walking And Talking) who plays colleague Chelsea, and Neil Maskell (fresh from playing Utopia's hit man) as a depressed newsagent whose foray into internet dating tonight is inspired.

But the mixture of occasionally crude humour and misty-eyed pathos is a tough one to pull off successfully. And that soundtrack is one dollop of syrup too far.

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.

David Walliams and Alan Carr in Comic Relief sketch

David Walliams will reveal an intimate secret to celebrity friends in a Comic Relief sketch.

Mr Norton is spreading his guest net wide tonight in a bid to lure viewers away from chatty rival Alan Carr. He's got the national treasure spot covered with Dame Judi Dench, Hollywood allure with Mila Kunis and James Franco - stars of Oz The Great And Powerful - and home-grown acting talent courtesy of Jude Law, promoting new movie Side Effects. Then there's Olly Murs, taking a belated tilt at musical credibility with new single Army Of Two.

Friday night is chat-off night as Alan Carr giggles back into action. Slipping into a slot just 35 minutes before Graham Norton on BBC1, Carr's got the advantage for his tenth series, welcoming popster-cum-crooner Robbie Williams, together with a trio of Comic Relief fund-raisers - Jack Dee, Dara O'Briain and Mel C. And if new dad Robbie starts talking nappy changes, you can always hop channels to see if Graham Norton's craic is any better than Carr's.

Alan Carr has, almost by stealth, become part of the TV furniture. He returns for another series tonight, knowing he'll have to be at his chattiest if he's to get a word in edgeways. Robbie Williams is in town, talking about fatherhood and his forthcoming stadium shows - once he gets on a roll, he takes some stopping. Robbie's also going to be singing a new song, Be a Boy, which is a disappointing development. Elsewhere, odd trio Jack Dee, Dara O'Briain and Melanie C will be discussing their recent voyage down the Zambezi River in aid of Comic Relief. Chatty, man.

Alan Carr interview

Alan Carr's cheeky personality means that there's never a dull moment on Alan Carr: Chatty Man, which is about to notch up a 10th series.

Effusive chat fountain Alan Carr invites the famous, including Jonathan Ross, Jimmy Carr, Rylan Clark and Bruno Mars, to his NYE celebration. Of all the staying-in options, this one sounds the most festive thing to have on in the background while you're working your way through bulk quantities of prosecco and peanuts. Then at ten to midnight Channel 4 turns itself into a nightclub. Charlie Sloth hosts six hours of DJ sets and shout-outs for the young and vigorous who are having house parties up and down the land.