Two Doors Down.. 3.5million fans up
Impressions praised by A-listers and comedy great
Two Doors Down star Kieran Hodgson is being tipped as the next Rory Bremner after his hilarious spoof recap of The Crown season four went viral on Twitter with more than 3.5million views.
The actor wowed fans of the Netflix drama with his hilarious imitations of the main cast from Olivia Colman’s Queen Elizabeth II to Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher. The positive feedback on social media has been overwhelming – with praise from Monty Python star Eric Idle and historian Simon Schama, who said he choked on his porridge with laughter.
But Kieran’s biggest compliment came from the star of the series Gillian herself, who retweeted his two-minute video and branded his spot on impression of her as the Iron Lady “genius”.
The comedian, who plays Ian Baird’s geeky boyfriend Gordon in BBC Scotland sitcom Two Doors Down, says he has been bowled over by the response and is delighted Anderson has been such a good sport.
Kieran, 32 , said: “I am over joyed to think that something I filmed for no money in the bedroom of my Glasgow flat has been watched, liked and retweeted by the stars of a multi-million-pound series. “It’s had more than 3.5million views on Twitter and 100,000 on YouTube.
“It’s bizarre and crazy but nice to have achieved something in 2020 af ter all the months spent twidd ling my thumbs.
“Gi l l ian
Anderson being kind enough to retweet the video and saying it was genius was the icing on the cake and shows what a really great sport she is.
“I also got retweeted by some very strange stars including Gary Lineker, Eric Idle, Simon Schama and Jameela Jamil, who I never imagined would watch that kind of thing but I am very happy to have made them laugh.
“As the months have gone by, I’ve been saying to myself, ‘ Try to get one win – something you can say you did during this barren period’. This is it. It’s gratifying to have cheered people up. I’ll gladly take that from this terrible year.”
In his parody, which crams in a deft and daft summary of the fourth season of the acclaimed show, Kieran expertly changes his expressions and props to match those of the characters he is portraying.
The Oxford history graduate, who grew up in the Yorkshire village of Holmf irth, where Last of the Summer Wine was filmed, said: “There was little premeditation. It was instinctive. I wrote the script in about 45 minutes and performed, edited and uploaded it in roughly three hours.
“The Queen’s ‘Oh Dear’ catchphrase and Diana’s ‘ I’m ever so unhappy’ pretty much summed up what was going on in the whole of season four.
“As a history buff, I’m a massive fan of The Crown and finding the voices was easy for me as I’ve been doing them for years, although impersonating someone else’s interpretation of the Royals is slightly different, and Gillian’s Mrs T is a lot different to mine but I’m quite good at adapting.
“To be honest, I had the collywobbles as I was doing it. I had a feeling that if it worked, it could go pretty decently but my expectations have been incredibly surpassed.”
Kieran, whose mum and dad are both teachers, has been doing impressions since he was a little boy. He said: “I did a take-off of The Six O’Clock News at the school talent show when I was 11.
“I’m not sure about the quality of my William Hague and Tony Blair impressions but people laughed – probably because I also sent up the teachers – and I ended up winning, which made me think I might have a bit of a knack for it. Doing voices also gave me kudos in the playground.
“I loved watching Alistair McGowan doing his thing when I was a kid and can’t believe he is now one of my friends. I’m also a big fan of Rory y Bremner and John Culshaw and still dream of being on Dead Ringers.”
Kieran, who starred as Ian Lavender in the one-off BBC2 d r ama We’ r e Doomed! The Dad’s Army my Story, added: “I would loveve to have my own one-man impressionist pressionist show. I’ve done shows at the Edinburgh db h Fringe, where I’ve put impressions in as a treat but I have never done a full- on impersonation set.”
Bizarrely, one of the highlights of this year’s Two Doors Down Christmas Special – which goes out on BBC 2 at 9pm on December 28 – is Gordon doing an impression of a drunken Cathy, which doesn’t go down well with Doon Mackichan’s character.
Kieran, who moved to Glasgow in August to be closer to the Dumbarton studios where the comedy is filmed, said: “I love that Gordon is getting to play around with beingg an impressionist.
“Since that really hideous dance he e did in the wedding anniversary episode, Gordon has loosened up and never more so in the festive special.
“I never imagined I would be in a mainstay of Scottish TV and I am really glad the viewers have taken
Gordon to their hearts.”