Doon MacKichan

Sarah Doon Mackichan (; born August 1962) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She co-created, wrote and performed in the double Emmy award winning ''Smack the Pony''. She frequently collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan, having played multiple characters in ''The Day Today'', ''Brass Eye'' and Alan Partridge, and has also appeared in ''Toast of London'' and '' Two Doors Down''. Mackichan was nominated for Best Female Comedy Performance at the 2014 British Academy Television Awards for her performance in ''Plebs'' and won critical praise for her performance alongside John Malkovich in ''Bitter Wheat'' in 2019.

Early life

The daughter of Kenneth Mackichan and Barbara Bower, who had been married in Chelsea in 1960, Mackichan was born in Westminster in August 1962.

She was brought up in Wentworth, Surrey, until the age of twelve, when she and her family moved to Upper Largo, Fife. She studied drama at Manchester University.

Career

Mackichan made her television debut in comedy series ''Five Alive'', shown by Channel 4 between 1987 and 1988, along with Brian Conley (also making his television debut), Peter Piper, Joanna Brookes and Andrew Secombe. In series 2, shown in 1988, Joanna Brookes was replaced by Phil Nice.

Mackichan was one of the writers and stars of the Channel 4 comedy series ''Smack the Pony'' and has appeared in a number of Chris Morris radio and television comedy series such as '' On the Hour'', ''The Day Today'' and ''Brass Eye''. Mackichan's own BBC Radio show, ''Doon Your Way'', was broadcast in 1996. She also appeared in the sitcoms '' Beast'' and '' Bedtime'', and was a regular performer in '' Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge'' and ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience''. She appeared in several of '' The Comic Strip Presents...'' films in the early 1990s, and appeared in the 1995 comedy ''The Glam Metal Detectives''. In 2009, she appeared as Jane Thomason, the news producer for the BBC in ''Taking the Flak''. She portrayed Cherie Blair in the Channel 4 satirical drama ''A Very Social Secretary'', and appeared in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Nathan Barley''. She portrayed a BBC news presenter, Louise Marlowe, in series 4 of ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' in 2010.

In film, Mackichan played Victoria Lender in 1997's ''The Borrowers'' and teamed up with her former ''Smack the Pony'' co-stars for the 2004 film ''Gladiatress''. Also in 1998 she appeared in the BBC TV mini-series of Dickens' novel ''Our Mutual Friend'' as Sophronia Lammle.

On stage, she appeared with Matt Di Angelo and David Haig in the Joe Orton black farce '' Loot''. In July 2011, Mackichan performed alongside Julian Barratt in Nikolai Gogol's comedy ''The Government Inspector'' at the Young Vic Theatre, London. Later in 2011, she played the part of Frances in April de Angelis' play ''Jumpy'' at the Royal Court Theatre. Since 2013, Mackichan has starred in ''Toast of London'' as Steven Toast's (Matt Berry) quirky agent Jane Plough.

She has narrated several TV series including ''The Honey Trap'' and ''Bank of Mum and Dad''. She has also voiced characters in several animated series including ''Bob and Margaret'', ''Stressed Eric'', ''Don't Eat the Neighbours'' and ''Bromwell High''.

She fronted a TV ad campaign for Hallmark in the UK, and appeared alongside Darren Boyd as one half of a married couple for a series of Direct Line insurance TV ads in 2012.

She was a contestant in the 2003 BBC
...