Jan Ravens: “I lived with a nameless dread”
5 December 2025 - 1 hour 2 minsJan Ravens, the acclaimed impressionist at the heart of Dead Ringers, grew up learning to change the mood of a room long before she ever changed her voice on stage. In this conversation with James O Brien, she reflects on a childhood shaped by humour, instability and her father’s illness, and how those early pressures sharpened the instincts that later defined her career.
She traces the journey from school impressions to Cambridge Footlights, becoming the first woman to direct its revue, and the leap from Carrott’s Lib to Spitting Image and beyond. Jan talks candidly about ambition, class, resilience and the unexpected power of comedy to steady you when life feels uncertain. It is an honest...
Series Episodes
Arthur Smith: I got arrested for breach of the peace and possession of a megaphone
57 mins
20 February Finished
