Making the First Impression

Before Dead Ringers there was The Impressionists. Whilst Dead Ringers adopted the sketch format, and since its 2014 reboot, has been more in tune with current affairs, The Impressionists was simply an excuse for that week’s guests to let rip with their well-worn impressions in a series of comedic challenges. Remarkably there’s an edition of the show coming up this Sunday on BBC Radio 4 Extra as part of their All Request Weekend, only the third time one has been repeated since it ended 38 years ago. [1]

The 1970s saw something of a resurgence in comedy impressions. Mike Yarwood was a star on television and even had his own radio series Yarwood Weekly and then Listen-Mike Yarwood. Impressionists usually fared well on Opportunity Knocks. Radio programmes that poked fun at the week’s news included impressions, however approximate, such as Listen to this Space, Week Ending and The News Huddlines.

Then in 1972 came The Impressionists, a BBC Radio 2 comedy panel show that would run for 15 series until 1988, clocking up over 150 episodes. The programme was originally chaired by Barry Took and was always billed as ‘a game of voices and noises’, which gives us a clue that it started a little differently to how it developed. Talking to the Radio Times, Peter Goodwright said “the programme’s all about guessing accents and noises”. [2]

By 1979 Barry Took was now chairing The News Quiz so from the following year, and for the remainder of its run, proceedings were introduced by Ray Alan. Ray was no mean impressionist himself – he began his career taking off Eric Barker, Kenneth Horne and Richard Murdoch - and performed in many of the shows and also wrote some of the sketches, full of hoary old jokes as they were.  [3]. Richard Willcox devised and produced all the programmes. Richard had been a producer with the Light Entertainment department since 1963, working on shows such as Roundabout, The Billy Cotton Band Show, Late Night Extra, Beat the Record, Pop Score, Jazz Score, The Frankie Howerd Variety Show and dozens of others.

The Impressionists was surely inspired by London Weekend’s Who Do You Do? that had started in 1972 (it ran until 1976). Indeed many of those who appeared on that programme, and its successor Copy Cats, also turned up on The Impressionists.

Of the 35 or so impressionists that appeared throughout the series many would’ve been familiar names in the variety shows that were a feature of seaside resorts and clubs. Those that appeared most often were:   

Peter Goodwright was by this time the elder statesman of impressionists having appeared on the radio, starting with Workers’ Playtime, in 1957. He could always switch voices at great speed, much like the man who was his greatest influence Peter Cavanagh (see blog post The Voice of Them All). Goodwright’s go-to voices included Frankie Howerd, Arthur Askey and Robb Wilton

Johnny More could always be relied on to provide brilliant musical impressions, his take on Frank Sinatra was spot on. He’s started out as a singer on the club circuit and only later added impressions when one night an act failed to appear and he filled in. He was a three times winner on Opportunity Knocks.

Roger Kitter was another Opportunity Knocks winner in the 1969 series. He has the distinction of getting a hit record with an impression in his 1982 single as The Brat, heavily borrowing from John McEnroe. He adopted a dodgy Italian accent as Captain Bertorelli in ‘Allo ‘Allo. 

Ray Fell hit the big time with the 1967 BBC2 comedy sketch series Three of a Kind, co-starring Mike Yarwood and Lulu. He’d already made a number of radio appearances singing with the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra. He was also a regular comic on Radio 2’s The Gag-Cracker’s Ball (1973-76). He spent many years working in Las Vegas.

Clive Lea was the vocalist with The Rockin’ Berries who incorporated comedy routines and impressions in their act. He left the group in 1970 and in 1980 became part of the comedy band The Black Abbotts. Replacing Lea in The Rockin’ Berries was Terry Webster who also appeared in The Impressionists.

Janet Brown would of course be best known for impersonating Mrs T but she’d already been in the business for over 20 years by the time The Impressionists started. Her first radio appearance was in 1951 in Derek Roy’s Happy-Go-Lucky. The previous year she’d performed impressions of Jessie Matthews, Gracie Fields and the like in the film A Ray of Sunshine starring Ted Ray.

Faith Brown was another singer turned impersonator who found fame on Who Do You Do?

Chris Emmett had been appearing in Week Ending since 1973 and would be part of The News Huddlines throughout its 26-year run. He also provided a number of voices including that of Eric Pode of Croydon in The Burkiss Way.  

David Jason was also on Week Ending at the time of his appearances on The Impressionists. The rest of his career is well documented elsewhere.

Aiden J. Harvey had won the final of New Faces in 1974

Dave Evans was another comedian whose act included many musical impersonations such as Tom Jones, although being a fellow Welshman probably helped. In later years he did variety shows on cruise ships. His son is Lee Evans.

Brian Coshall came to comedy via the Forces. He was a Lt-Commander in charge of the Radar Group as HMS Collingwood when he won the South West round of Pub Entertainer of the Year in 1975.

Bobby Davro made his bid for stardom in a 1979 talent show and by the following year made an appearance on ATV’s Up for the Cup. In 1981 two comedy generations collided with his first national radio appearance on Radio 2’s The Arthur Askey Variety Show.

Les Dennis appeared in the programme with his comedy partner Dustin Gee from series four. He’d had a go at breaking into the big time on Opportunity Knocks in 1971 but did better on New Faces in 1973 and 1974.   

Peter Hudson had show business in his blood as his great uncle was the comedian Harry Helmsley. He was spotted by Cyril Fletcher who gave him a job in one of his summer shows. In the 1960s he appeared with Ken Dodd on his radio shows and was a regular performer on the cabaret circuit.

Hilary O’Neil was a dancer, singer and impersonator who in the early 1980s was appearing in summer variety shows and would be part of the vocal harmony group Stutz Bear Cats. She was in a couple of series of Copy Cats.

Here’s all the information you’ll need about the series interspersed with some recordings of the show uploaded to YouTube.

Chaired by Barry Took (series 1 to 6) and Ray Alan (series 7 to 15)

All produced by Richard Willcox and broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

Musical impressions by The Ronnie Price Trio, in most cases, but also The Max Harris Trio and Gordon Langford.

Series 1:  25 March to 23 September 1974 (24 episodes)

Peter Goodwright, Alan Clive, Roger Kitter, Peter Cavanagh, Janet Brown, David Jason, June Whitfield, Ray Fell, Clive Lea, Johnny More, Margo Henderson, Terry Webster, Chris Emmett, Tony Brandon, Graeme Garden and Lance Percival. Although not billed in the Radio Times some episodes had special guests including Ray Alan, Ray Barrett and Mike Neville.

Series 2: 31 March to 23 June 1975 (13 episodes)

Peter Goodwright, Clive Lea, Roger Kitter, Janet Brown, Peter Hudson, Ray Fell, Chris Emmett, Johnny More, David Jason, Dave Evans, Aiden J. Harvey, Graeme Garden, Dailey and Wayne

Series 3: 29 September to 22 December 1975 (13)

Roger Kitter, Aiden J. Harvey, Dailey and Wayne, Chris Emmett, Lance Percival, Peter Hudson, Clive Lea, Peter Goodwright, Dave Evans, Johnny More, David Jason, Janet Brown, Ray Fell

Series 4: 1 May to 31 July 1977 (14)

Roger Kitter, Mike Goddard, Chris Emmett, Johnny More, Dave Evans, Peter Hudson, Peter Goodwright, Clive Lea, Ray Fell, Les Dennis, Dustin Gee, David Jason, Janet Brown

Series 5: 6 August to 2 November 1978 (13)

Peter Goodwright, Les Dennis, Roger Kitter, Clive Lea, Janet Brown, Johnny More, Brian Coshall, Dave Evans, Aiden J. Harvey, Peter Hudson, Faith Brown, David Jason

Series 6: 20 June to 5 September 1979 (12)

Peter Goodwright, Brian Coshall, Roger Kitter, Dave Evans, Les Dennis, Aiden J. Harvey, Chris Emmett, Maxton G. Beesley, Faith Brown, Johnny More, Janet Brown, David Jason

Series 7: 2 July to 20 August 1980 (8)

Johnny More, Les Dennis, Dave Evans, Aiden J. Harvey, The Jay Jays, Peter Hudson, Janet Brown, Brian Coshall, Kristine, Clive Lea

Series 8: 4 June to 23 July 1981 (8)

Johnny More, Aiden J. Harvey, David Jason, Dave Evans, The Jay Jays, Les Dennis, Ray Fell, Brian Coshall, Dustin Gee

I first posted this recording of the first episode of series 8 back in 2011. Taking part are Johnny More, Aiden J. Harvey, David Jason and Dave Evans.

Series 9: 27 May to 15 July 1982 (8)

Johnny More, Bobby Davro, Dave Evans, Brian Coshall, Dustin Gee, Joe Longthorne, Clive Lea, Peter Goodwright, Alan Clive, Aiden J. Harvey

The fourth show from this series was uploaded in December 2019. This time we hear the voices of Johnny More, Dustin Gee, Joe Longthorne and Clive Lea.

Series 10: 3 March to 21 April 1983 (8)

Peter Goodwright, Johnny More, Brian Coshall, Dave Evans, Jeremy Hitchen, Les Dennis, Dustin Gee, Bobby Davro, David Cocker

The first programme in this series is repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra on Sunday 30 August 2026. Taking part are Peter Goodwright, Johnny More, Brain Coshall and Dave Evans.   

Series 11: 9 August to 13 September 1983 (6)

Peter Goodwright, Johnny More, Dave Evans, Bobby Davro, Brian Coshall, Aiden J. Harvey

Series 12: 9 November to 21 December 1983 (7)

Peter Goodwright, Johnny More, Brian Coshall, Dave Evans, Bobby Davro, Aiden J. Harvey

The Impressionists at Christmas 24 December 1984

Peter Goodwright, Johnny More, Dave Evans, Brian Coshall, Aiden J. Harvey, Jeremy Hitchen

Series 13: 3 January to 21 March 1985 (12)

Peter Goodwright, Johnny More, Brian Coshall, Clive Lea, Bobby Davro, Clive Lea, Caroline Turner, Terry Webster, Jeremy Hitchen, Jessica Martin, Dave Evans

From Thursday 17 January 1985 this is the third episode with Peter Goodwright, Johnny More, Bobby Davro and Clive Lea. As usual I post these shows just as I recorded them (yes, that is John Marsh’s voice saying “and that’s after this") which means it 'contains attitudes of the time'. No stereotypical stone is left unturned and if listening to Bobby Davro impersonate Jim Davidson doing his Chalky White character is too much you’ll need to skip forward at 9 minutes. Mind you Johnny More as Kermit the Frog and Ray Alan as Miss Piggy is just as painful on the ears.   

Moving to Thursday 7 March 1985 and the tenth episode with Peter Goodwright, Brain Coshall, Dave Evans and Jessica Martin. Jessica had been performing at the Edinburgh Fringe where her act included an impersonation of Judy Garland, which she performs at the end of this show. As far as I can tell this is her first BBC radio appearance, certainly her first billed one.      

Series 14: 13 May to 29 July 1986 (12)

Peter Goodwright, Dave Evans, Brian Coshall, Hilary O’Neil, Jenny Maynard

The final offering is the first programme from this series and the first appearance for Hilary O’Neil with the regulars Peter Goodwright, Dave Evans and Brain Coshall. This is the edition repeated as part of The Great Pretenders, a programme about comedy impressions with Jan Ravens that has aired on BBC Radio 7 and Radio 4 Extra.

Series 15: 2 February to 22 March 1988 (8)

Peter Goodwright, Dave Evans, Brian Coshall, Johnny More, Hilary O’Neil

[Note 1] An edition from September 1978 was repeated on Radio 2 in October 1995 as part of the Panel Beaters series. As noted above s14e01 was first repeated as part of The Great Pretenders on BBC Radio 7 on 18 June 2005. That programme has been aired several times on Radio 4 Extra, most recently in February 2013. 

[Note 2] I don’t remember listening to the programme in the Barry Took era and no shows from that time have ever been repeated though recordings have been retained by BBC Sound Archives. According to a Radio Times article the first series was due to run for 13 weeks but in the event ran for 24.

[Note 3] For the last series staff writer Alan Whiting was drafted in to help with the sketches. Alan also had Week Ending and Huddlines in his credits