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Jan Ravens | |
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 Ravens at the British Library in 2022 | |
| Born | Janet Ravens 14 May 1958 |
| Alma mater | Homerton College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, including Alfie |
Janet Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on Spitting Image and Dead Ringers .
Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with her father, a local government clerk, and her mother, a nurse. She attended West Kirby Grammar School for Girls, where BBC Radio 4 presenter Sheila McClennon ( You and Yours ) was two years below her. She studied education studies and drama at Homerton College, Cambridge [1] and was first female president of Cambridge University Footlights Club [2] in 1979–80.
After Cambridge, Ravens became a radio comedy producer. Her first television role was in the ITV series, Just Amazing. She joined Jasper Carrott's comedy, Carrott's Lib , in 1983. In 1986, she played the heavily pregnant Vanessa Plowright in the "Tourists" episode of Farrington of the F.O. (broadcast 13 March). In 1986, she accompanied then husband Steve Brown on the Capital Radio satirical show Brunch, along with DJs Paul Burnett, Roger Scott and comedians Angus Deayton and Jeremy Pascall. In 1994, she spent a year with the RSC. She has done much voice-over work, being the Cadbury's Caramel bunny for several years, and was the seductive voice of a can of apple Tango. She has also appeared on Just A Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue on Radio 4, Whose Line Is It Anyway? , Have I Got News for You , No Frills , Alexei Sayle's Stuff [2] and in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's Countdown (one of the shows parodied on Dead Ringers). She was producer of the Radio 4 comedy Elephants to Catch Eels .
Ravens has regularly imitated Newsnight host Kirsty Wark, Charlotte Green formerly of BBC Radio 4 (with double entendres), Ellen MacArthur (who regularly bursts into tears), Nigella Lawson (with double entendres), Ann Widdecombe (narrating fanciful racy storylines in her novels), Patricia Routledge's Hyacinth Bucket, Queen Elizabeth II, a chirpy Sandi Toksvig, a stern-faced Gillian McKeith, Sophie Raworth (with a bemused school-girl grin) and Fiona Bruce (with barely concealed filthy invitations) of BBC News, Anne Robinson of The Weakest Link , Lesley Garrett (often referring to her generous cleavage), Hillary Clinton, Theresa May and the Geordie-accented Ruth Archer from the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers . She also appeared as the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in an episode of Are You Being Served? although only her voice is heard.
Ravens appeared in a series-three episode ("Monday Morning will be Fine") of David Renwick's series One Foot in the Grave as Pat Aylesbury, one of the neighbours to whom Meldrew turns after being burgled. From 1996 till 2001, she played Janet Grimley, the mother in The Grimleys , a nostalgic sitcom set in 1970s' Dudley.
In autumn 2006, Ravens appeared on the BBC entertainment programme Strictly Come Dancing partnered with Anton Du Beke. She was eliminated in the fifth week.
In spring 2007, she appeared on the BBC's The Truth About Food, exploring how foods affect behaviour. Also in 2007, she appeared in Ronni Ancona's comedy sketch show, Ronni Ancona & Co .
She won the edition of Celebrity Mastermind on 1 January 2008, the second woman to win, Edwina Currie having been the first. Ravens appeared as Effy's art teacher in E4 drama Skins .
In February 2010 and November 2017, she was a panellist on QI , and in 2012 appeared as Susan in the sitcom Hebburn .
In late 2016, Ravens featured in the BBC Radio 4 miniseries Desolation Jests alongside David Jason, Rory Bremner and John Bird. The four-part show was written by David Renwick. [3] [4]
Ravens's first husband was Steve Brown but the couple divorced in 1993. [5] She married the vice-president of Universal Music Group, Max Hole, in July 1999 in Richmond upon Thames. She lives in Barnes. [6] She has three sons: Alfie and Lenny by her first husband, born in April 1987 and January 1991, and Louis by her second, born in June 1998.
She is an ambassador for the charity ActionAid and has visited Kenya with the organisation and raised money for it on Celebrity Mastermind . [7]
Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner, is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political satire and impressions of British public figures. He is best known for co-starring with John Bird and John Fortune in the comedy sketch shows Rory Bremner...Who Else? and Bremner, Bird and Fortune, as well as being a team captain on the first two series of comedy panel show Mock the Week.
John Michael Bird was an English actor, director, writer and satirist. He performed in the television satire boom of the 1960s, appearing in That Was the Week That Was. His television work included many appearances with John Fortune. Bird had an acting career in film, television, theatre and radio for over 55 years. He appeared in films including Take A Girl Like You (1970) and Jabberwocky (1977) as well as in television shows such as Joint Account, Marmalade Atkins, El C.I.D. and Chambers. He and Fortune also starred with Rory Bremner in the sketch show Bremner, Bird and Fortune (1999–2010), on Channel 4, which was nominated for BAFTA TV Awards.
Steven James Brown was a British composer, lyricist, record producer, and arranger.
Alistair Charles McGowan is an English impressionist, comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for The Big Impression, which was, for four years, one of BBC1's top-rating comedy programmes – winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003. He has also worked extensively in theatre and appeared in the West End in Art, Cabaret, The Mikado and Little Shop of Horrors. As a television actor, he played the lead role in BBC1's Mayo. He wrote the play Timing and the book A Matter of Life and Death or How to Wean Your Man off Football with former comedy partner Ronni Ancona. He also provided voices for Spitting Image.
Dead Ringers is a British radio and television comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and later BBC Two. The programme was devised by producer Bill Dare and developed with Jon Holmes, Andy Hurst and Simon Blackwell. Among its stars are Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens. The BBC cancelled the television run in 2007 after five years. Dead Ringers' return to Radio 4 was announced in 2014.
Jonathan Peter Culshaw is an English actor, comedian and impressionist. He is best known for his work on the radio comedy Dead Ringers since 2000.
Mastermind is a British television quiz show for the BBC, currently presented by Clive Myrie. Its creator, Bill Wright, drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II. The show features an intimidating setting and challenging questions. Four contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the contestant's choice, the other a general knowledge round.
Jonathan Creek is a long-running British mystery crime drama series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. It stars Alan Davies as the title character, who works as a creative consultant to a stage magician while also solving seemingly supernatural mysteries through his talent for logical deduction and his understanding of illusions.
Veronica "Ronni" Jane Ancona is a British actress, comedian, impressionist and writer best known for The Big Impression, which she co-wrote and starred in and was, for four years, one of BBC One's top-rated comedy programmes, winning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2003. Ancona also starred in the first series of the BAFTA-winning ITV series The Sketch Show. Ancona has appeared in the BAFTA-winning Last Tango in Halifax since its creation in 2012. She is a co-director, alongside Sally Phillips and Nick Hamson, of the production company Captain Dolly.
David Peter Renwick is an English author, television writer, actor, director and executive producer. He created the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek. He was awarded the Writers Guild Ronnie Barker Award at the 2008 British Comedy Awards.
Lucy Clare Davis is an English actress best known for playing Dawn Tinsley in the BBC comedy The Office (2001–2003). She is also known for her roles as Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020), Dianne in the horror-comedy Shaun of the Dead (2004), and Etta Candy in Wonder Woman (2017). She currently plays Eva in Disney Channel's action comedy series The Villains of Valley View, which premiered in 2022.
Stephen Mark Punt is a British comedy writer, comedian and actor. Along with Hugh Dennis, he is part of the double act Punt and Dennis and presenter of BBC Radio 4 satirical news programme The Now Show. He is also a writer and programme associate for various television panel game shows, including Would I Lie to You? and Mock the Week, and is a writer for fellow comedians such as Rory Bremner and Jasper Carrott.
Nina Wadia is an English actress and comedian. She is known for portraying Zainab Masood in the BBC soap opera EastEnders, Aunty Noor in Citizen Khan, Mrs Hussein in the BBC comedy Still Open All Hours and for starring in the BBC Two sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
Alison Steadman is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film Life Is Sweet and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Mari in the original production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice. In a 2007 Channel 4 poll, the ‘50 Greatest Actors’ voted for by other actors, she was ranked 42.
The Grimleys is a comedy-drama television series set on a council estate in Dudley, West Midlands, England in the mid-1970s. It was first broadcast by Granada TV for ITV in 1999, following a pilot in 1997, and concluded in 2001 after three series.
Ronni Ancona & Co is a comedy sketch show that aired on BBC One in 2007. The sketches all consisted of impressions of well-known celebrities amongst other comedy sketches of fictional characters created by Ronni Ancona. Phil Cornwell, Jan Ravens, and John Sessions all starred in the series with Ancona. Bill Oddie also made a cameo appearance in the first episode. Fellow impressionist Alistair McGowan appeared in the first episode in a spoof of a perfume advertisement.
Jess Robinson is an English comedy actress, singer, impressionist, voice artist and comedian.
Carrott's Lib is a British satirical comedy series broadcast between 2 October 1982 and 30 December 1983. It starred Jasper Carrott and a cast of many comedians. The show was a satirical comedy and sketch show, featuring many comedians who went on to become famous in their own right, notably Chris Barrie and Jan Ravens. It was broadcast live from Shepherd's Bush on Saturday nights, albeit with some pre-recorded elements.
The One... is a comedy sketch television series starring Ronnie Corbett, of The Two Ronnies, Lenny Henry of The Lenny Henry Show, Jasper Carrott, comedian and former presenter of ITV game show Golden Balls and Welsh comedian and actor Griff Rhys Jones, also presenter of ITV clip series It'll Be Alright on the Night. It was devised by Matt Lucas, David Walliams and Geoff Posner for Little Britain Productions. Walliams departed the project by the time of the full series.
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