Doon Mackichan

Sarah Doon Mackichan (; born 7 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

Mackichan was born on 7 August 1962 in London and later moved with her family to the Scottish village of Upper Largo. She studied drama at Manchester University.

Career

Mackichan had 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, Andrew Secombe was replaced by Phil Nice.

Mackichan, one of the writers and stars of the Channel 4 comedy series ''Smack the Pony'', 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 charity singing contest ''Comic Relief does Fame Academy'', in which she came fourth.

She has appeared twice on the BBC panel show '' QI'', in series C, episode 2, ("Cummingtonite", 2005) and series E episode 11, ("Endings", 2007).

From 2013 until 2018, Mackichan played Flavia, a recurring character, in the ITV comedy ''Plebs'', for which she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance in 2014. She played Cathy in the BBC comedy '' Two Doors Down'' from 2013 until 2022, when she decided to quit the show to concentrate on other acting roles. In June 2023 it was announced she would be returning to this role in the forthcoming series.

In 2017 she played Feste in the Royal National Theatre's production of ''Twelfth Night'' and television film ''Death on the Tyne'' in 2018. Mackichan appeared as the Archangel Michael in the Amazon Prime/BBC mini-series ''Good Omens'' and as Sarah in Channel 4 comedy-drama '' Pure'' in 2019.

In 2019 she appeared as Sondra in David Mamet's ''Bitter Wheat'' at the Garrick Theatre. Writing in ''The Guardian'', Michael Billington praised her as having given the show's best performance.

Personal life

In 1997, Mackichan married the actor Anthony Barclay. In 1998, she swam the English Channel as part of a six-person relay team.

Mackichan and Barclay were divorced in 2005, after having three children together. She then lived with her children in Clapham, South London. In 2016, she was living in Hastings, East Sussex.

In March 2016, Mackichan was part of a team of well-known people who attempted to sail around a section of Britain in just five days, as part of the '' BT Sport Relief Challenge: Hell on High Seas''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackichan, Doon
1962 births
Living people
20th-century English actresses
21st-century English actresses
Actresses from London
Alumni of the University of Manchester
British women screenwriters
Comedians from London
English Channel swimmers
English film actresses
English screenwriters
English stage actresses
English television actresses
English voice actresses
English women comedians
People from Upper Largo
Actresses from Fife