| Alt Name: | Alistair McGowan's Big Impression |
| Creator: | Alistair McGowan Ronni Ancona |
| Executive Producer: | Jon Plowman |
| Producer: | Charlie Hanson |
| Director: | Michael Cumming (S.1) |
| Genre: | Comedy |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
| Starring: | Alistair McGowan Ronni Ancona |
| Company: | Vera Productions |
| Network: | BBC One |
| Num Series: | 4 |
| Num Episodes: | 31 |
The Big Impression, known as Alistair McGowan's Big Impression for the first three series, is a British comedy sketch show. It features Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona impersonating personalities from entertainment and sport. Four series and a number of specials were made by Vera Productions and it was first broadcast on BBC One between 1999 and 2004.
The series has won five awards, including the BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Programme or Series in 2003.
McGowan and Ancona first met at a comedy club, and later started dating. They worked together on a number of projects, with their first television series being The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos in 1989. After performing in his own show in Edinburgh in 1998, McGowan was approached by a BBC executive about working on a series, which he wanted Ancona to be involved in. Alistair McGowan's Big Impression first aired as a pilot on BBC One in 1999,[1] running to a full series in 2000, with the couple splitting up just before filming began. Speaking with The Independent, Ancona said working on the series was "exciting but it was tricky and there were some very low points. [...] But, if anything, the tension added a little frisson to some of the sketches and it made the show better."[2]
For the fourth series in 2003, McGowan's name was dropped from the show's title.
There have been many characters that Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona have impersonated. Some celebrities that McGowan has done impressions of include:
Some celebrities that Ancona has done impressions of include:
A pilot and four series of the programme were made between 1999 and 2003.
| Series | Episodes | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | 1 | 2 September 1999 | |
| 1 | 6 | 26 April 2000 – 25 May 2000 | |
| 2 | 6 | 22 April 2001 – 3 June 2001 | |
| 3 | 6 | 19 April 2002 – 24 May 2002 | |
| 4 | 6 | 9 May 2003 – 13 June 2003 |
There have also been a number of one-off specials, including:
The series has been nominated for a number of awards, winning one from BAFTA, two from the Royal Television Society, and two British Comedy Awards.
| Year | Award | Result | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Won | Best Comedy Entertainment Programme[3] | |
| Nominated | Best Comedy Newcomer (Ronni Ancona)[4] | ||
| Nominated | Best New Television Comedy | ||
| Won | Best Make Up Design – Entertainment & Non-Drama (Heather Squire)[5] | ||
| 2002 | Nominated | Best Comedy Actress (Ronni Ancona) | |
| Nominated | Most Popular Comedy Performance (Alistair McGowan) | ||
| Won | Entertainment Performance (Alistair McGowan)[6] | ||
| Nominated | Best Costume Design – Entertainment & Non-Drama Productions (Kate O'Farrell)[7] | ||
| Nominated | Best Make Up Design – Entertainment & Non-Drama Productions (Eva Marieges Moore) | ||
| Nominated | Best Production Design – Entertainment & Non-Drama Productions (Harry Banks) | ||
| Nominated | Best Tape and Film Editing – Entertainment & Situation Comedy (Richard Halladay) | ||
| Nominated | Team Award (Production Team, series C) | ||
| 2003 | Won | Best Comedy Programme or Series[8] | |
| Nominated | Best Make Up & Hair Design (Eva Marieges-Moore)[9] | ||
| Won | Best Television Comedy Actress (Ronni Ancona)[10] | ||
| Nominated | Most Popular Comedy Performance (Alistair McGowan) |