Facing Up: Japanese Ann Widdecombe?

I've just seen a pilot episode of a new ITV1 comedy called Facing Up.

It stars Mark Heap (Spaced, Green Wing) as a celebrity impersonator who clearly resents the famous person he is making a living off. Along with a will-he won't-he friendship with Samantha Janus, he is mates with a Twister-obsessed Rod Stewart impersonator. He works for an agency run by a man called Harvey who never seems to be quite in control of events, played to perfection by John Thompson.

I'm not sure when it will be on the tellybox, but it's worth a look-in. (Remember Look-In?) Facing Up is not as original as Green Wing, and not as clever as Spaced, while Heap deliberately plays down the ridiculous characters he played on both of those series.

But just to persuade you to watch it, here are the five funniest moments in the pilot episode, in no particular order:

1. Japanese Ann Widdecombe? That's the Yes pile.

2. The dinner party conversation, from "Glue?" to "I love David Hasselhoff"

3. The intrusive Gandalf impersonator

4. Constant put-downs for Celine "yammering fishwife" Dion

5. John Thompson running off in the background, cartoon style, at the end of the episode.

Who needs fluffy celebrity gossip magazines when you have me? Facing Up. You heard it on the Fat Roland Blog first.