Michael Caine

Edinburgh show is just Michael Caine saying 'never' for an hour

Stuart Laws is staging an Edinburgh Fringe show in which he imitates Michael Caine saying 'never' - for a full hour.

After a tiny rest stop, a new series of well-rehearsed and lightly promotional chat begins. Jack Whitehall, very much the gift that keeps on giving on the red sofa, returns yet again - this time to discuss his current, and slightly underwhelming, starring role in BBC One's Decline and Fall. Operating at about the same level of old pro is the duo of Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, here to plug pensioner heist movie Going in Style.

Tatty Scarborough is one star of this screen version of Jim Cartwright's play about a conversationally challenged young woman who also has a belting singing voice; another is Jane Horrocks, who sounds the absolute spit of Marlene Dietrich, Shirley Bassey and Judy Garland. And Michael Caine, as the sleazy agent Ray Say, puts in a beautifully nuanced performance.

Radio Times review

Plenty of opportunity for Jonathan Ross to joke about his own lazy foppishness: the testosterone will be flowing as Sylvester Stallone and Michael B Jordan, stars of the seventh Rocky movie Creed, hit the sofa. Expect a crunchy anecdote, possibly with alarming on-set footage, about how Jordan maintained Stallone's tradition of being beaten senseless for real in a scene where his character struggles through a boxing bout.

Ross also welcomes a big name who rarely chats. The imminent cinema release of tender, reflective comedy drama Youth has tempted Michael Caine out of talk-show retirement.

Video: Sir Michael Caine talks about being on The Trip

Michael Caine mimics his many impersonators and talks about how his voice has changed over the years.

Rob Brydon: 'Michael Caine loves my impression'

Rob Brydon has said that Sir Michael Caine enjoyed being impersonated by the Welsh comedian and Steve Coogan in The Trip.

The Trip is such a pleasure to look at - from the meals to the wine and the sweeping Italian vistas - that it's easy to forget just how unusual an idea it is. Part improvised comedy, part foodie travelogue, all built around the testy charms of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing heightened versions of themselves, outdoing each other with impressions of Michael Caine and Tom Hardy in The Dark Knight, or Parky. They've redefined the idea of what a half-hour sitcom can be, with non-stop gags, and just a hint of drama around the edges - Coogan's son, Brydon's dalliances - to add a touch of pathos in the Italian sunshine.

Have you been watching ... The Trip to Italy?

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan's mockumentary sees the comedians impersonating Michael Caine and Roger Moore to humorous effect - but it's their take on their own personas that is most compulsive viewing.

The Trip To Italy review

The highlight of this first episode was the much trailed Batman scene with the tear-choking Michael Caines and incomprehensible Christian Bales and Tom Hardys. Yet it's extended beyond the online teasers into a dig at Bale's reputation for preciousness and questioning if Hardy could hold a two by four to Brydon's B&Q voiceovers.

Steve Coogan spent most of his time on the original series of The Trip getting irritated by travelling and dining companion Rob Brydon.

But it hasn't put them off embarking on another culinary journey together, this time in Italy.

Apparently, much has changed in the lives of the two comedians since their virgin voyage around the Lake District in 2010.

"Rob, tired from the responsibilities of being the father of a young child, is looking for some adventure," reveals a show insider.

"Steve, meanwhile, has been living a life of abstinence and hard work in Los Angeles but, now on a hiatus from his job there, has the time to come back to Europe and wants to see his children."

This second series is again directed by acclaimed documentary maker Michael Winterbottom, and it takes in the stunning scenery of Capri, Tuscany and the Amalfi coast.

Otherwise, it's business as usual, complete with their impersonations of the likes of Tom Hardy - who they're both rubbish at! - Michael Caine and Robert De Niro.

Beautiful views, mouthwatering food and guaranteed sunshine - it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it...