Alistair McGowan

Alistair McGowan is probably best known to British audiences for The Big Impression which was, for four years, one of BBC1’s top-rating comedy programmes – winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003.

After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1989, Alistair began working as a stand-up comic and was soon a regular at London’s Comedy Store and appeared at The Edinburgh Festival and on the 1996 Royal Variety Show. 2009 saw him return to stand-up and embark on his first solo National tour – ‘the One and Many…’.

From 1992-1996, he provided the voices for many of the characters on Spitting Image.

He was a regular feature on Radio 4 comedy shows including: Weekending, The Harpoon and he co-wrote and starred in four series of The Game’s Up (a satirical sports show) on Radio Five. He returned to Radio 4 in 2009 to play the Lord of Darkness in Elven Quest.

His interest in sport also saw him release two football comedy videos: Football Backchat and The Second Leg.

His theatre work includes : Kafka in Kafka’s Dick and Clov in Endgame (Nottingham Playhouse), Art (Wyndham’s) Khlestakov in The Government Inspector (Chichester), Ford in Merry Wives : The Musical (RSC) and The Dentist in Little Shop of Horrors (Duke of York’s – for which he received an Olivier nomination), the title role in The Mikado (Carl Rosa), Vernon Gersh in They’re Playing Our Song (Menier Chocolate Factory), The Duke in Thelma Holt’s touring ‘Measure For Measure’ (2009) and the Emcee in Rufus Norris’ Cabaret (Lyric).

As an actor, on television, he played Spock in Tim Firth’s Preston Front, Mr Kenge in  Bleak House and the title role in the quirky detective show Mayo (co-writing several later episodes). He has hosted Have I Got News For You? and has been featured on the hugely popular Who Do You Think You Are?

He appeared in the film ‘Driving Aphrodite’ opposite Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfuss.

He has written ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ with Ronni Ancona – an autobiographical comedy self-help book about football as an addiction.

His first play, ‘Timing’ (based on an idea by Alistair and Paul Dornan), premiered inLondonin October 2009 and received a nomination for ‘Best New Comedy’ in the whatsonstage.com awards 2010.

He has also directed ‘Semi-Monde’ by Noel Coward at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2008 and ‘The Mikado’ for Raymond Gubbay in 2010.

A keen environmentalist, Alistair has never yet owned a car and is an ambassador for WWF-UK.