Jon Culshaw's making a big impression

Apr 12 2008 by Kate Whiting, Liverpool Daily Post

Impressionist Jon Culshaw _180

"HULLO there!" said a smooth Scottish voice, and just for a moment I thought I was meeting Sean Connery. But no, it was the cheeky impressionist Jon Culshaw.

The 39-year-old Lancashire lad is lending his famous vocal talents to new ITV1 comedy show Headcases, billed as "cartoon-time for adults".

Using state-of-the-art 3-D CGI, the show promises to leave no famous face untouched as it sends up everyone from Amy Winehouse to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Seasoned comic Jon will be getting into character as MPs William Hague and Boris Johnson - and, of course, former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"Tony Blair I have always done, but he's very different in this show," reveals Jon, who grew up in Ormskirk and returned to his home town last year to switch on its Christmas lights.

"It's as though the weight of the world has been taken off his shoulders, he's less harassed. He's got this sense of mischief and wants to stab Gordon Brown in the back. The ‘deep responsibility' of government has gone," he adds, in a perfect Blair lilt.

Jon, who attended St Anne's junior school and St Bede's seniors, admits it was fun to voice the new chilled-out Tony, who in one clip stirs up trouble for the new PM from his sunlounger.

"My version of Tony Blair has always been very controlled: ‘We're the people's party and the hand of history is on my shoulder'.

"I think he's been released from his chains and there's a different persona that comes across."

The same is true of William Hague, who, Jon says, has more confidence now old Tone's no longer in power.

"People are glad to see him back!" he says before slipping seamlessly into the familiar Yorkshire-accent. "He's ‘an elder statesman'; you'd better listen you ungrateful buggers!"

Headcases was created and directed by Henry Naylor, who was head writer for ITV's satirical puppet show Spitting Image until it finished in 1996.

Jon, who joined the likes of Rory Bremner, Steve Coogan and Harry Enfield to voice characters in the long-running show, believes the animated Headcases has the edge over its predecessor.

"The exciting thing these days is the speed at which technology is evolving, which makes it possible to do a computer animation with a fairly quick turnaround.

"The Spitting Image puppets were very much in the sense of grotesque gargoyles and they would thump each other and spit at each other and the scripts were very over-the-top.

Headcases is almost more alien-like, or like a warped version of Walking With Dinosaurs and the level of finesse is very different," he continues.

"Topical stuff is done each week and you've got to be ready for that.