Terry Mynott

Terry Mynott's master of celebrity voices Martin has been a real grower this series, and he's going out with a bang in the last episode. It's nearly time for Martin and Harriet's wedding, but as the groom didn't go through with the circumcision demanded by her family, he must foot the bill. Will true love conquer all? Of course it won't, especially as Jean in the role of Martin's concerned best friend is finding it hard to keep her feelings to herself.

It may occupy the downbeat end of the spectrum, but when The Mimic flies it really soars and this is a particularly lovely episode.

Inspired by new girlfriend Harriet to push himself out of his rut, under-achieving impressionist Martin Hurdle (Terry Mynott) signs up with a new agent.

Turns out this guy already has another impressionist on his books which results in a mimic-off between Martin and his competition (guest star John Thomson).

As for that new girlfriend, Martin's mate Jean (Jo Hartley) can't hide her jealousy at Harriet muscling in on her best friend, even if she was the one who set them up in the first place.

And Jean's ex-boyfriend Neil (Neil Maskell) is trying to get his life in order by seeing a psychotherapist.

Her prescribed treatment delivers pure comedy gold.

Has The Mimic lost its voice?

Maybe we're not supposed to really watch this show expecting real and lasting change, just a chance to savour all the performances and Terry Mynott's vocals.

Radio Times review

Sending the characters in your downbeat sitcom to rock bottom carries the risk that the whole show will become suffocatingly sad. We're dipping into that rut a couple of times tonight as jobless, hopeless impressionist Martin (Terry Mynott) says goodbye to his grief-stricken son and quarrels with his equally lacklustre soulmate Jean (Jo Hartley). Martin's even doing the same old Wogan and Attenborough routines over and over.

The show just about veers back from the edge. As usual Neil Maskell does the heavy lifting as Neil the paranoid newsagent, who this week fears that oestrogen in soya milk is giving him moobs. When Neil and Martin go double-dating and Martin meets a woman who enjoys celebrity voices, writer Matt Morgan indulges in a comic set piece he must have had up his sleeve from the start. It was worth waiting for.

The first series of The Mimic ended with our copycat hero Martin (Terry Mynott) hiding in the toilet, paralysed by stage fright and unable to face the television cameras that could have propelled him to stardom.

Series two of Channel 4's sweet, gentle and understated comedy finds him back on the bottom rung of showbusiness, busking in the local shopping precinct, facing competition from a violinist and a human statue.

Anyone expecting to guffaw will be disappointed, but The Mimic's combination of the consistently amusing and irresistibly engaging should put a large smile on most faces.

And then, of course, there are Martin's uncanny impersonations. Episode one treated us to Walter and Jesse from Breaking Bad, two variations of Harry Potter's headteacher Dumbledore, Morgan Freeman as the Hobbit and the Imp from Game of Thrones, who, it was pointed out, sounds a bit like Victor Meldrew. An observation I sincerely hope I can forget before the fantasy drama's next series, or it will never be the same.

Terry Mynott interview

Where are all today's distinctive voices? That's the question The Mimic star Terry Mynott and I are left asking as we chat about the inspirations behind the many voices he masters during his off-beat comedy.

The Mimic makes its most welcome return this week. Following Martin choking spectacularly just moments before his big break on the telly at the end of the first series, we pick up as Terry Mynott's troubled lead is without work, but still able to turn in an uncanny impersonation. His son Steven is in a listless depression after the death of his mum Dionne, and Neil and Jean's relationship looks like it might already be on the rocks. Oblivious to the fact, Neil becomes Martin's new manager, with predictable results. Marvellous.

Radio Times review

One of 2013's best debut sitcoms returns, as downbeat, sad and kind as ever. Martin (Terry Mynott), the lonely loser with a secret talent for doing impressions, lost his nerve at the end of series one when stardom beckoned. Now here he is, in his pants in the kitchen, heating up tinned food while absent-mindedly perfecting his Walter White. Unwanted help comes from Neil, the nervous newsagent who becomes Martin's new agent - "it's only one letter different!" - and insists he try busking outside Timpson's.

This isn't one of those misery-coms that doesn't have any jokes, but little disappointments drizzle down constantly onto Martin's prematurely grey head, the main source of pain being his own lack of endeavour. Classic sitcom leads are confident but delusional - Martin, played with real gentleness by Mynott, is humble and awfully self-aware. That he somehow finds things for him and us to laugh at is what makes The Mimic quietly comforting, like sugary tea on a wintry day.

Terry Mynott on impressions, failure and more

We talk to the star of Channel 4's beautifully understated sitcom about how he found his voice, and how not to impersonate Nicolas Cage

Terry Mynott interview

I caught up with Terry Mynott who plays Martin to find out a little bit more about the series. Here's what he had to say...