Alistair McGowan

Fee Band


Since his early days on Spitting Image, Alistair has progressed from sketch shows and BBC dramas to West End musicals and self-penned plays. In cabaret he continues to dish up his favourite impressions – with an eye on the latest gossip, political personalities and back page headlines.


Biography

Alistair McGowan has been hailed by The Times as a ‘voice virtuoso.’ His repertoire includes a gallery of politicians, pop stars and sportsmen – like a romp through the news, gossip columns and back page headlines.

After appearing at Edinburgh with his original comedy partner Harry Hill, Alistair cut his impressionist’s teeth on Spitting Image - bringing Tony Blair, Chris Eubank and Prince Charles to life. He also provided the voice of Gary Lineker in a West End play, before playing David Beckham to Ronnie Ancona’s Victoria. He’s since fronted his own BBC One show The Big Impression and has appeared on a vast array of programmes from The One Show to Live at the Apollo, Countdown to Have I Got News For You.

Alongside comedy Alistair has also amassed a string of dramatic acting credits. He played the lead in (and co-wrote episodes of) the detective drama Mayo, starred in the BBC adaptation of Bleak House and joined the cast of Skins. Onstage he’s appeared opposite Judi Dench in the RSC’s Merry Wives of Windsor, and with Connie Fisher in They’re Playing Our Song. He also took the role of ‘Emcee’ in the West End revival of Cabaret, toured as Henry Higgins in Pygmalion, and starred as the Mikado in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Continuing to challenge himself he learned piano in order to star in and write a play about Erik Satie, and also presented a Radio 4 documentary on the composer.

A sports-obsessive, he’s appeared on Question of Sport and been part of Radio 5Live’s Wimbledon commentary team. Away from the stage and studio Alistair, a committed environmentalist, has campaigned against the proposed new runway at Heathrow, and co-written a book with Ms Ancona: How to Wean A Man off Football. It’s part autobiography and part comedy self-help guide, recounting his struggle to overcome a disturbing soccer addiction.

© Copyright 2024 JLA. All rights reserved.

Videos

Alistair McGowan JLA The Real Variety Show

Contact

We’re on hand to help you find the perfect speaker, presenter or performer for your events. Call or email our London office and use our agents' experience to expertly match you with the right person for your programme!


From time to time we send out emails announcing new speakers and free tickets to our showcase events including Speakers Breakfasts and the JLA Real Variety Show. Please tick the box below if you would like to receive these emails.

Don't miss anything!

We will never share the data you submit here with a third party. Information is stored in a database in order to service your enquiry, but is deleted once it is no longer required. You may request to have this data removed at any time.

JLA Presents


Event - 30/04/2024 - 9:00 am

Speakers Breakfast

Understanding AI Now

Speakers
Priya Lakhani, Anne-Marie Imafidon, and Neil Lawrence

Please join us in our JLab studio near Oxford Circus at 08:30am on Tuesday 30th April for our next speaker’s breakfast event. Following our sell-out event for IWD back in February, we will be joined by three fantastic speakers for an exploration of the uses, myths and concerns surrounding AI.

Location

JLA, 14 Berners Street, London

WATCH

Event - 06/02/2024 - 9:00 am

Speakers Breakfast

Looking Ahead to International Women’s Day

Speakers
Samira Ahmed, Eniola Aluko, Julia Gillard, and Alex Mahon

We were joined by four fantastic speakers to look ahead at International Women’s Day. With the theme of this year’s event being #InspireInclusion, we were lucky enough to hear from four women who have each blazed a trail in their respective fields: CEO of Channel 4, Alex Mahon; the former Australian Prime Minister and Chair of Kings’ Global Institute of Women’s Leadership, Julia Gillard; one of the leading voices in football, Eniola Aluko MBE; and broadcaster and journalist, Samira Ahmed.

Location

Bishopsgate Institute, London

WATCH