Reality TV
Stephen Mulhern ('All Star Impression Show')
Published Friday, Dec 18 2009, 12:25 GMT | By Dan French
Rex Features
What's the show all about?
"If you can imagine getting as many celebrities as possible and auditioning them to do the best impersonation of other famous people.. but not just doing them - doing them to perfection. The best example I can give is Jerry Hall doing Jordan - and she does it really well! Honestly, it's just amazing."
Do you think Katie Price will take it well?
"I think getting someone like Jerry Hall to take you off is not a bad thing at all. Some of the lines she was saying - 'When I was trying to come up with my name, I wanted something hot. But I couldn't spell Turkey, so I went for Jordan!' - Jerry learnt it to perfection and she really looks like her mum!"
Are you taking part as well as hosting?
"They said to me about doing an impersonation and I said I couldn't do it, but then they sent me to a vocal coach - to try and do Jeremy Kyle! And you know what? I managed to do it! I'm very happy with it - it would be embarrassing if you can't."
Who else is taking part?
"We've got Les Dennis and Bobby Davro and honestly, Bobby Davro's impression of Chris Tarrant.. we do a sketch with him and Les Dennis. Les is playing Gary Barlow and it's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - but in the bath! So they're either end of the tub! We've also got Amy Winehouse trying to walk in a straight line and Madonna trying to walk past an African baby without adopting it!"
Was anyone worried about any of the sketches?
"Sally Lindsay is doing a cover version of a song and she's doing Dannii Minogue and she's saying how much she wants to be like Kylie. Sally said the song was really 'tight' - she didn't know how people were gonna take it and she was worried about it. It's not nasty - it's a bit naughty, but the reality is it's what a lot of people think."
Joe Pasquale as Lady GaGa sounds pretty hilarious - will he be singing too?
"Oh my God! I could not believe the outfit he wore - it was so tight! I don't even think Lady GaGa would have got away with it. He's gonna be doing the whole thing - singing, dancing.."
Harry Hill's also popping up - what will he be doing?
"In the Jeremy Kyle sketch, the whole thing is the Gallagher brothers on the stage and why they've split up. Then Harry pops up to try to sort out the whole thing, but then there's a fight.."
If the show does well, is there a possibility of getting a series out of it?
"I think, in a bizarre way, it would be a shame to try and put it to a series. When you see it, it's so different and fresh. If you try to do a series, you'll dilute it. If it goes down well - and I'm confident that it will - I think they should do one every few months. When celebs see this, they'll want to take part."
Are you back next year for Britain's Got More Talent?
"Yeah - we start Got Talent on Monday, January 18. I can't wait - I love the show. When you come out of kids TV, it's hard to get that bridge where people think, 'He's not just that silly kids' presenter' and I think that's what Talent did. We've got the same team this year, which is brilliant. I think it's got at least another four years in it, I really do."
You've done a bit of magic in the past. Have you thought about entering?
"Do you know what? I wanted to! I wanted to get some prosthetics and do an undercover thing and go on as an act - as a magician. But you say the idea and then someone asked what would happen if I got through to the next stage and someone found out - they'd sack me and say I was wasting valuable time! It didn't happen, but I'd love to have done it."
The All Star Impression Show airs Saturday, December 26 at 9.30pm on ITV1.
