Alistair McGowan

Snooker super-fan Alistair McGowan delves into the BBC archives.

Living history show presented by Fi Glover. Six celebrities travel back in time to the relentless graft of Victorian Britain.

8/10

Documentary film about the then longest range bombing mission in history, which changed the outcome of the Falklands War.

8.2/10

Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in one night. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one – Arthur. Arthur Claus is Santa’s misfit son who executes an unauthorized rookie mission to get the last present half way around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

7.1/10
9.2%

Leonardo is a British children's television series broadcast on CBBC. The show is an adventure programme featuring a teenage Leonardo da Vinci starring Jonathan Bailey. The series is set in 15th-century Florence. A second series premiered on CBBC on 20 September 2012, starting with episodes one and two being shown back to back. For Series 2, actor James Clyde replaced Alistair McGowan in the role of Piero de' Medici. It was announced on 21 January 2013 that Leonardo would not be recommissioned for a third series.

6.5/10

The Comedy Annual is a British entertainment comedy series which first aired on ITV on 22 December 2010. Presented by Phillip Schofield, the show features various comedians who talk about the unusuall events of the past year. There have been two episodes, the first airing in 2010 and the second in 2011.

Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash discuss the creation of The Royle Family, with a look behind the scenes at the production of the show and interviews with the cast.

A Greek tour guide named Georgia attempts to recapture her kefi (Greek for mojo) by guiding a ragtag group of tourists around Greece and showing them the beauty of her native land. Along the way, she manages to open their eyes to the wonders of an exotic foreign land while beginning to see the world through a new set of eyes in the process.

5.9/10
0.9%

Alfie Singh, accountant turned film producer, has a great idea for a film. It's called Ealing Comedy and it's about an accountant turned film producer called Alfie Singh. Alfie will play himself and his real son, Paul, will play his son in the film. Turned down by all the financiers, Alfie vows to make the film himself. His life with his wife and teenage son and his struggles to finance and make films in the UK are all woven together in a series of mad-cap events, resulting in a very British film

4.3/10

We Are Most Amused was a gala event held at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 12 November 2008 in honour of the 60th birthday of Charles, Prince of Wales, in aid of The Prince's Trust. Prince Charles attended the event with his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and younger son Prince Harry. The show had a similar format to the Royal Variety Show and showcased a variety of comedy acts. The performance was televised by ITV to the public on 15 November 2008. Robin Williams made his first UK stage appearance in more than 25 years. Tickets were sold to the general public and the event sold out in one hour.

A documentary about Spitting Image (1984) and the impact it had, including clips of the most memorable moments and contributions from many of the cast, crew and some of celebrities portrayed on the show.

Charismatic detective Gil Mayo wise-cracks his way through a variety of murder mysteries alongside his sexy colleague, Alex Jones. Matters aren't simple between the old flames as flirtation could become something more - but who will make the first move? Life is further complicated by Gil's precocious teenage daughter Julie, who he's bringing up by himself after the disappearance of his wife. The detective does come up with a novel way to deal with the piles of bills he keeps receiving though - hiding them in the cupboard!

7.7/10

Monkey Trousers was a short-lived comedy series on ITV in 2005, featuring Alistair McGowan, John Thomson, Ronni Ancona, Mackenzie Crook, Griff Rhys Jones, Neil Morrissey, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Marc Wootton and Steve Coogan. It was directed by David Kerr and produced by Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves' production company, Pett Productions. It succeeded The All Star Comedy Show, which was written by Reeves and Mortimer, and produced by Coogan. Sketches of the show included the moronic, yet fearless 'Croc Botherer', Roy the eerie, lonely toy-shopkeeper, Alistair the hopeless estate agent, who replies to every question with "I don't know", the swearing chef, and the 'Geordie Astronauts'. A DVD of the series was released on 4 July 2005.

7.2/10

29 Minutes of Fame is a British satirical celebrity quiz series which aired on BBC One on Fridays in early 2005. The show was presented by comedian Bob Mortimer. The show's two team captains were Jo Brand and Alistair McGowan, they were also joined by a regular panelist Sean Lock.

8/10

Shot live at the one off Comic Aid benefit gig at London’s Carling Apollo – which sold out in just three and a half minutes of tickets being put on sale – the DVD features the entire uncut show for all those unfortunate enough to have missed out on tickets. The 3 hour show sees Jonathan Ross, Jack Dee, Graham Norton, Julian Clary, and Lily Savage host a stellar comic line-up that includes; Lee Evans, Dawn French, Jimmy Carr, Ardal O’Hanlon, Johnny Vegas, Bill Bailey, Bo’ Selecta! star The Bear, Jo Brand, Jon Culshaw, Omid Djalili, Otis Lee Crenshaw, Eddie Izzard, The League Of Gentlemen with Miranda Richardson, Alistair McGowan, Dylan Moran, Dave Spikey, Simon Pegg & Jessica Stevenson. Psychological illusionist Derren Brown and international percussion sensation Stomp also present their own unique blend of stage entertainment.

7.4/10

A group of American executives making a film about World War II decide that since their lead is rather unglamorous, they will draft in an American G.I. to play the part of Winston Churchill. Their take on the war depicts a handsome Churchill falling in love with Princess Elizabeth, who is herself involved in the war as an undercover agent.

4.9/10
4%

2DTV is a British satirical animated television show that was broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom from March 2001 to December 2004. Lasting a total of five series and thirty-three episodes, 2DTV became the successor of popular 80's TV series Spitting Image, and the predecessor of 2008 ITV satirical animation Headcases.

7/10

Robbie the Reindeer (voiced by Ardal O'Hanlon) arrives at the North Pole, ready to take his place as navigator on Santa's Christmas sleigh team. However, Robbie is soon plagued by doubt regarding his ability, and sets out to regain his self-respect and the admiration of his team-mates. This festive animated tale also features the voices of Jane Horrocks, Steve Coogan, Caroline Quentin and Harry Enfield, and features a script co-written by 'Blackadder' writer Richard Curtis.

7.2/10

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 2000 and 2004. The series has won five awards, including the 2003 BAFTA comedy programme prize.

6.7/10

Dark Ages is a British television sitcom, first broadcast as five thirty-minute episodes on ITV in December 1999. It portrayed medieval English villagers fearful of the turn of the new millennium in the year 999 AD, and parodied contemporary fears at the turn of the third millennium in 1999. It was written by Rob Grant and directed by Steve Bendelack.

6.8/10

A series of killings of bank managers has London in a turmoil, all the way up to Parliament. And the killer regularly calls about his handiwork, but only to a street-wise, and usually rather tipsy, radio reporter, about to be sacked for his habitual irreverence toward his station and the BBC. And while everything seems to point to a lead singer of a rock group famous for the "In The Red" music which has been connected to the killings, in typical British mystery fashion, there are also other sub-plots to be considered.

7.8/10

Crapston Villas was a British animated television series, in which the characters were made from plasticine and filmed with stop motion clay animation. It was a comedy satire on inner-city London life, directed at a mature audience. It featured a set of characters, living in a grim apartment building in the fictional postcode of SE69, who were plagued by various dilemmas. Foul language, sex and violence are present.

7.2/10

From their 1991 stageplay An Evening with Gary Lineker was adapted for television in 1994 by Arthur Smith and Chris England. The action takes place against the backdrop of the 1990 Football World Cup semi-final, between England and West Germany, which is taking place in Italy while Monica and Bill are on holiday in Ibiza. Bill desperately wants to watch the match; Monica wants to talk about their relationship.

6.4/10

All Quiet on the Preston Front (or the shortened Preston Front as it became known for series two and three) was a BBC comedy drama about a group of friends in the fictional Lancashire town of Roker Bridge, and their links to the local Territorial Army infantry platoon. It was created by Tim Firth and ran from 1994 to 1997.

7.1/10

Only An Excuse? is an annual Scottish football comedy sketch show that airs each Hogmanay. Starring actor and comedian Jonathan Watson, the show features impressions of some of Scottish football's great characters such as Denis Law, Tommy Burns, Barry Ferguson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Frank McAvennie, Walter Smith and Graeme Souness, as well as caricatures of the "typical" Celtic and Rangers fan.

7.2/10

What happens when you take archived BBC footage and put it in the hands of several comedians? They dub over the original sound in a humorous way and create The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos. Surreal comedy series using clips from various films and people with voice-overs added to make a story.

8.3/10

Spitting Image is an award winning British satirical puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. The series was produced by Spitting Image Productions for Central Independent Television over 18 series which aired on the ITV from 1984 to 1996. The series was nominated and won numerous awards during its run including 10 BAFTA Awards, including one for editing in 1989, and even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category. The series featured puppet caricatures of celebrities famous during the 1980s and 1990s, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and fellow Tory politicians, American president Ronald Reagan, and the British Royal Family. The Series was the first to caricature the Queen mother. The series was axed in 1996, after viewing figures declined. ITV had plans for a new series in 2006, but these were scrapped after a dispute over Ant & Dec puppets used to host the reviews "Best Ever Spitting Image", which were created against Roger Law's wishes.

7.4/10