Debra Stephenson

Debra Stephenson interview

Debra Stephenson talks about life on the South coast and her first ever UK tour.

Newzoids is, of course, a curate's egg. As was Spitting Image when it started, so put away those rosy rear-view spectacles. The CGI'd mouths are at the start disconcerting, but the obvious puppetry of the... arm-Zimmers?... reassuring, and the voices, from Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson, terrific. Things to love: Mrs Crown's Boys, which sees Queenie as a foul-mouthed matriarch; Chas and Camilla reimagined as the "posh" Gogglebox pair; the ghastlily "common" Prince George. In fact anything that rips the jack out of royalty and deference, and any sketch involving Jeremy Clarkson or Russell Brand, just because their time has belatedly come for a fine and decent kicking.

Things to hate: the cliches. Andy Murray has a boring voice. Dave Cameron is posh. The writers need to sharpen the political satire, but I'm lost for precisely how: it was either a masterstroke to launch this in an election runup or a catastrophic idea to think one could out-imagine politicians' own gift for self-parody. And we more than ever need the oinks of "Her Majesty's press". Give it time. We gave Spitting Image 18 series.

The Thunderbirds reboot may have opted for CGI but this new satirical sketch show goes full retro, featuring crude Action Man versions of Prince Charles, Beyoncé, Andy Murray and other notable cultural figures. The cheerful crappiness of the puppets - particularly noticeable since Putin always has his top off - feels like a throwback to the grotesquery of Spitting Image, but Newzoids will ultimately depend on the quality of the writing. A crack voice squad, including Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson, certainly helps.

ITV's new show is 'spikier, edgier' than Spitting Image

Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson discuss how Newzoids is different from Spitting Image.

Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson interview

Impressionists Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson will be providing some of the voices for ITV's new puppetry satire show Newzoids, so we caught up with them to chat about the series...

Tune into ITV's hilarious new satirical puppet show

A profile of Newzoids, including an interview with voice actors Debra Stephenson and Jon Culshaw.

Jon Culshaw & Debra Stephenson on Dead Ringers' return

Britain's best-loved impressionist Jon Culshaw and partner-in-comedy-crime Debra Stephenson spoke to This Morning about their new series of Dead Ringers.

Radio Times review

When an impressionist has such a distinct face, sketches can fall flat on television, no matter how uncanny the voice. The same could be said of Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson, so a return to radio should bode well.

I have to say, however, it's a mixed bag. The John Craven skit was by far the funniest, where he's challenged to sex up Countryfile à la cult US show Breaking Bad. "Have you ever cooked crystal meth?" asks a terribly posh female TV exec. Ironically, the impersonation of Craven is probably the least accomplished in the programme.

Not so the ones of Alan Bennett, Jools Holland and William Hague, whose vocal quirks are caught to a T, though the scripts could have been tighter. In all, the show leaves a satisfactory, if not great, impression.

Tonight's episode is a highlights reel from the just-seen third series, giving us another chance to be wowed by Debra Stephenson's uncanny impersonations of Davina McCall and Claudia Winkleman, though, sadly, there's no repeat of her spot-on Kirstie Allsopp. Culshaw does well to bring alive a fairly nondescript character such as Phillip Schofield, as well as bigger personalities such as Elton John and Len Goodman. Although this is meant to be the best of, few of the sketches really tickle the funny bone. Talents like Stephenson and Culshaw deserve better lines.