Rory Bremner. Stanley Baxter and Avid Bo Selecta ! Merrion contribute to a look at the one-time poor relations of comedy. 
Those with the ability to imitate others have long delighted audiences, but it was from the 1950s and 60s that impressionists enjoyed their greatest success. Whether it was the satires of Harold Macmillan by Peter Cook and John Bird , the more benign interpretations of Mike Yarwood, the characters of Dick Emery, or the sharp satirical wit of Spitting 
Image, impressionists proved the power of mimicry. 
Featuring Jon Culshaw , Ronni Ancona , 
David Frost , Les Dennis , Bobby Davro , Janet Brown , Steve Nallon , Phil Cool , Phil Cornwell and Alison Jackson.

Before the television age, the music halls and vaudeville theatres may have placed singers and comedians at the top of the bill, but it was the magicians, ventriloquists, tumblers, jugglers, acrobats and dance acts that had audiences enthralled. Initially, the small screen embraced this kind of entertainment, with stars such as magician David Nixon commanding large audiences, but by the mid-1980s, almost all of these skills had disappeared from our screens. The 21st century, however, has seen a variety revival, albeit in a modernised format, and a new generation of talent shows and magicians such as David Blaine have given the genre a new lift. Featuring interviews with Paul Daniels , Simon Cowell , Bruce Forsyth and Jimmy Tarbuck.