Stephen Mangan

Stephen Mangan on playing Tony Blair for laughs

Actor Stephen Mangan is not sure Tony Blair will be watching when he plays the former Prime Minister in a spoof film noir put together by the reformed Comic Strip team.

Stephen Mangan & Nigel Planer interview

Stephen Mangan (Green Wing, Episodes) plays Tony Blair, and Comic Strip veteran Nigel Planer (to this day probably best known for his portrayal of Neil in The Young Ones) is Blair's henchman Peter Mandelson...

Stephen Mangan bags title role in Postman Pat movie

Stephen Mangan, Rupert Grint, David Tennant and Jim Broadbent are set to deliver first-class vocal performances in a big-screen 3D Postman Pat animation.

Stephen Mangan consigns Sheen's Tony Blair to history

Michael Sheen's decision to turn down The Hunt for Tony Blair gives Stephen Mangan the chance to outshine him.

Ruth Jones dips her toe into chat, something she's done before at Christmas and Easter. Let's hope it doesn't become more than a seasonal sideline: this show is 40 minutes of pleasing fluff, but I'd swap it for four minutes of her writing or acting.

First onto the cheery, retro sofa is Sarah Millican, who's a trusted guest because she's inoffensive without being bland. She gets away with discussing her attraction to gorillas while still seeming cuddly and safe. Animal-based innuendo becomes a theme thanks to Jonathan Ross, who's less cuddly but as always has a lot of wit behind the smut. Episodes star Stephen Mangan arrives last, offering a random but funny anecdote about an Israeli immigration official.

It all feels like an unfinished pilot, or a dream about a 1970s chat show with modern guests.

The third of Ruth Jones's seasonal chatshows offers up the unusual opportunity of seeing Jonathan Ross in the role of interviewee. Anyone hoping for a grilling on Sachsgate and extravagant pay packets is likely to be disappointed by Jones's puffball questions but Ross is an engaging guest and the patter between him, Green Wing's Stephen Mangan and stand-up Sarah Millican makes for pleasant, undemanding viewing.

Following on from the success of her Christmas Cracker and Easter Treat, the ebullient actress Ruth Jones (Gavin & Stacey) returns for another one-off chat show. It promises to be a jovial affair, with Jonathan Ross, Geordie comic Sarah Millican and the actor Stephen Mangan all joining her on the sofa, as well as music from an irrepressible Irish rockabilly star called Imelda May.

Comic Strip returns with Tony Blair on the run

The Hunt for Tony Blair premieres in Edinburgh, with Stephen Mangan as Blair and Jennifer Saunders as Lady Thatcher.

Eco-warriors are ripe for satire, and this zany mockumentary makes a decent fist of sending them up. Stephen Mangan and Rhys Thomas play two friends who want to help to save the world by becoming the first carbon-neutral, organic vegetarians to reach the Pole. It's funny in places but lacks direction.

Stephen Mangan's not-great-but-better-than-expected turn as Douglas Adams's holistic detective actually stands up to a second viewing, so even if you watched it on BBC4, you may be surprised to find you like it more this time around.