That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Jess Robinson

Episode Date: October 24, 2022

On today's episode of That Gaby Roslin Podcast, Gaby is joined by Impressionist, Singer, Actor and 'Britain's Got Talent' Semi-Finalist Jess Robinson. They sit down for a truly open and honest chat about her childhood, her life (before & after BGT) and how her career has changed since her appearance on the show. Rumour has it, this episode contains guest features from the likes of Shirley Bassey and Liza Minneli... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And welcome to That Gabby Roslyn podcast, part of the Acast Creator Network. On this week's episode, I talk to so many people. In fact, it's just one. But she has so many voices up her sleeves and in her voice box, Jess Robinson. So she does impressions. She sings like every superstar you've ever heard. And she is genuinely a truly lovely, lovely person. Don't forget, you can keep up to date by following and subscribing, please, to the podcast,

where a new episode is released every Monday. Leave us a rating on the Apple Podcast app. And whilst you're there, why not leave us a review? We love to hear your thoughts. Now, on with the show. While I was waiting for you, Jess, I turned into the musical theatre little girl that I wanted to be and started singing, The sun will come out tomorrow.

Were you the same? a little girl. Yes, I think I was. I think I, yeah, actually my mum and dad had to sit through endless performances of me and an embarrassed friend on the fireplace which I made into my stage, you know, the little hearth in front of the fire and they had to sit through so many shows. Your embarrassed friend? Well, I would always, you know, make a friend come with, you know,

whoever was playing had to also be part of the performance, but it didn't come so naturally to them. So they, you know, they were sort of embarrassedly sort of joining in with my huge stupid performances that my mum and dad, and sometimes their mum and dad would have to sit through. And we quickly learned that there should never be an interval or the audience might not come back. Oh, you do. You learn that.

It's a good thing to learn at a very young age. It really is. So did you start doing the voice? When you were on the fireplace then doing your own stage? No. Do you know what? I didn't. I started, I only started doing the voices when I was in secondary school, I think. Well, actually, no, that's not true. Hold on. I had my own... You mean you're starting with a lie? I lied the whole reason I... Jess Robinson's a liar? What? It was a lie. Do you know, when I, okay, we've got, we've got so much to get through. Go, go, go, tell me.

All right. So first of all, I used to do pretendee radio stations. I pretended I was a DJ from as young as I can remember. Okay, I'm taking you back in time. Do it. Do it, do it, do it now. Yeah, so. Okay, show me. Oh, so it would be, hi, this is Jess on Jesse FM. And next up, we have Boyzone. And then I'd press play and record.

And then press pray and record on the other thing and, you know, and play a bit of Boyzone on my stupid tape cassette. or something. It was pathetic. It was very sad. No, it wasn't. It was cute as well. There was that. And then there was also me dancing around before I knew that I couldn't do ballet very well with my parents having to watch. And then there was me singing and realizing that I was quite good at that. But it wasn't until secondary school that I started imitating teachers and my mum.

and Kate Bush, randomly, even though she was sort of before my time, I just knew that she was really special and I thought she was incredible. But I never meant to be an impressionist. I thought that I was going to be a musical theatre. I thought I was going to be Christine in Phantom of the Opera and I thought I was going to be Cosette in Lema's Arable. Well, you can still do that. Well, maybe.

But I'm just another dark-haired actress who can sing if I put myself up against, you know, the sort of people that do that. Yeah, but then you can't be like that Because if you were like that Then a lot of dark-haired actresses Wouldn't give it a go So you didn't have that fire in your belly To do that then really

Well, I sort of did What I really had the fire in my belly To do was not go back to my day job Which was in a stock room In a huge shop on Oxford Street Hanging and Tagging Which shop? And it was Morgan

Do you remember Morgan? Oh my God, yes. I did. I thought that working in a shop that sold those sort of glamorous clothes would be a really glamorous thing to do. It wasn't Gabby. Really? Not at all. Didn't you enjoy it at all? No, I think I enjoyed imitating some of my colleagues for my mum's enjoyment about, you know,

oh God, not another day of hanging and tagging, in it. Yeah, and they must have been delighted that you were doing that. They must have felt so complimented. I don't think I was stupid enough to do it in front of them. So then this show came up, Little Voice, and I lied to the director. I was already working at this little theatre in Hereford, I think I was about 19, and I lied to the director and said, I'm absolutely brilliant at impressions. Can I please audition?

And she said, yes. Oh, yeah, absolutely. So you know little voice, don't you? I do and I love it. I absolutely love it. It's an incredible piece. Yeah, me too. So we should say for people who are listening, who haven't seen it.

Yeah. It really is. It's heartbreaking. It's about a painfully shy girl who listens to her dad's old records, her dad's dead. And she lives with her mum, who's sort of an alcoholic party woman who doesn't really care for her. and she listens to her dad's old records of Judy Garland doing somewhere all over the rainbow and Shirley Bassie doing gold finger and Marilyn Monroe and Billy Holliday and all of those sort of old school divas with those beautiful distinctive voices and she listens to them so much that she can imitate them with amazing accuracy and I think it's her way of feeling close

to her daddy. But other than that, she doesn't really speak. But yeah, so I lied, said I could do impressions. I'd never done anything like that before, apart from maybe a bit of Kate Bush, just to amuse myself. And I had the audition come up about a week later, and I had a week to learn how to do all of those voices. And I did. And I got the job. And that started my whole career as an impressionist, a big fat lie, Gabby. See, that's wonderful, but also there's, no, I do think it's wonderful because you had an inner belief in yourself. So how many actors say I can ride a horse and they can't? How many actors say, oh yes, I'm a deep sea diver and then go and do the course? So it's not a lie,

it's an exaggeration. Very big one. No, but you did. You did it. You could do it. I think I know my limit. It's like I don't think I could ever pass myself off as a ballerina. But I do think I could probably fly a helicopter. Oh. As yourself or as Shirley Bassie? I don't know. I think Dame Sheryl would be very good at a helicopter.

I think so. Yeah, I can see her now. But the thing, so were you a very, were you that very shy child? Because, I mean, I wanted to. a be on Blue Peter and it's a boring story. And I pretended I was, but I was deeply shy. So I was a presenter. I don't know how the two correlated, but they did.

Were you the little voice shy girl or you weren't? No, I don't know. I wasn't really a shy girl. I don't think I was precocious. I think I was a bit of a misfit, actually. I don't think people really got me until I left school. I was never very popular. didn't, I wasn't very, one of the cool girls that, you know, in the sick form got invited on group

holidays or anything like that. I just think I was a bit of a misfit. Yeah, I had to work. I remember in my youth, I had to work very, very hard to get recognised and get cast in parts at school. And yeah, it wasn't, oh, that's my calculator going off, sorry. Your calculator? Not my calculator, my calendar. I'm only halfway through my first cup of coffee. Sorry. Calculator. I love that. She's come back to school. We're talking about school. Isn't it?

Did you ever do that thing where you wrote hello? But it was 07734 or something and you turned the calculator upside down. It said hello. No, the one that I wrote was 5-8-0-8 boobs. Oh, there we go. Same thing. Same thing. That's your calculator.

Did you pick your calculator up then? Have you turned it off? I've turned it off. It's so weird of me. I'm so weird. Not at all. Because I've been talking about cassette tapes and things. Not at all.

That's very interesting the thing about feeling you weren't in the cool gang because a lot of performers, however, you know, I think performer is the sort of overarching thing, entertainer, whatever all of us lot are. We all do different things in the same sort of world. that a lot of people say they weren't the cool kids, they were shy. Really? Yes, yes. Oh my God, I would just, I had a couple of friends and that was it.

And I was buck teeth and shy and not cool and no, I wasn't invited to all those parties. But there was something in you that you knew that you could do these things. Like you had a self-belief. I knew that I was more interesting than all of them. I knew I was. I couldn't understand why I didn't. But boys weren't interested in me and girls just, yeah, I just wasn't cool, even though I thought, I've got so much more personality than you. I think I thought that.

Or maybe that's the old me looking back. Yeah, no, it's quite easy to look back and think those things, if you see what I mean. Yeah. But at the time, it's awkward. I think I was just really disappointed. Yeah. But now, have you ever bumped into any of those girls or seen them or have anything to do? Do they ever come up and say, oh, hi, I was your best friend at school?

Yeah, yeah, maybe a couple, maybe a couple. Yeah, I'm not in touch with most of them, I probably were saying. There have been sort of school reunions which I haven't really been fuss to go to. That's interesting. Well, because, you know, they weren't really very nice friends. back then so yeah good for you I don't feel bitter about it I think I just feel really indifferent which is nice isn't it sort of empowering so when do you think that those people who that you're indifferent about but when do you think that they what was the point that they

then said to friends oh Jess Robinson I was at school with her she was a really good friend of mine what was it that you did that made them say that I don't know if any of them have said that but I do think I do remember when I had my first appearance on Dead Ringers on the TV. That was basically my first TV job. And I remember some of the more popular girls getting in touch with one of my friends saying, oh my gosh, I saw Jess on TV. I can't believe it. Isn't her hair long?

Doesn't she look beautiful? And I just remember thinking, oh, no. Now you're being nice or now you've noticed me. I don't know, very strange. Famous is a thing that a lot of people want to have, I suppose. Yeah, I guess. Did you want to be famous? I think when I was, so my sister and her then husband were both actors

and they were working very hard, writing to lots of theatres, trying to get their big breaks and spent a lot of time working as waiters and waitresses and in call centres and things like that. And also on my mum's side, my grandfather and my other sister were jazz musicians and also trying to make it. I mean, grandpa kept going till he was about 94. Amazing. And I had my feet on the ground back then

And I thought I just want to make a living from doing what I love I don't care if I'm famous I want to be able to pay my bills And have a nice life from doing You know, the things that I love Back then I didn't know that it would be impressions And voiceovers and things like that I thought it would be being in a West End show or something

But since I've got more ambitious I have to be honest And say I think I do want I want more, more and more now, which is slightly dangerous. I don't know, more opportunities, more recognition. All is a means to an end, I guess, for being allowed to do my own show on TV or being allowed to, I say allowed, being able to tour a huge show with a big band or, you know, being well known enough to be able to do those huge gigs. Did BGT do that for you? Did that change you at all, BGT?

It changed things in two main ways, I would say. One, it did allow me to do my first tour, which was pretty, you know, small scale. And some of the seats were very empty. A little empty, just very empty. Just very empty, very empty. very empty there were rows of empty seats but I wouldn't have been able to do that at all if I hadn't done BGT I don't think so that was a good thing and the other thing was any gig that I've done since then however sort of stressful it seemed nothing has been as worrying or stressful as doing

Britain's got talent really I would say yeah yeah so it's given me a really that's a really good sort of leveler. Why was it so, I mean, I interviewed you during it and the whole thing, but we've known each other a long time now. Yeah. But why was it so stressful? I think because, so I, they had asked me for many years to go and do it, the producers, and I'd always said, no, thank you.

And I'll, I'll try and, you know, get my profile up the sort of old-fashioned way and do Edinburgh Festival and, you know, do all of those sort of things. And then I just thought, actually, after the, I think it was year six of them asking, I thought, well, do you know what, let's, let's give it a go. I'd seen other sort of professional people do it. And so I did it. And they said that, you know, we can be really collaborative. You don't have to do anything you don't want. And I guess I felt manipulated, let's say. And I did end up doing things. that I didn't really believe in or feel comfortable with. And certainly that live show,

we'd been going back and forwards with the producers to every last tiny little detail of the act, having an opinion on the notes, the lines, the everything. And then the night before I was supposed to go on, they said, actually, we don't like it. Can you do something else? What? And that was, yeah, yeah.

And that was the, and I'd heard people say that, before and I'd spoken to other people that had been on it and yeah it just didn't it just wasn't working for one reason or another I think it was because they had so much input that it just became less and less me so then on the live show I ended up doing something very bland I think and not not at all what I wanted to do in some sandals that were really uncomfortable that I would have never have chosen to wear just everything really was just not quite me or authentic and I guess that was just really, it just felt like a very, very uncomfortable thing.

And even before 30 seconds before I was about to go on for the live show, they hadn't put a mic on me and they were trying to sew a mic into my dress. And a runner was saying to me, you've got to really go for this. And it was just very stressful and worrying and sort of tense and fraught. And I just wanted to be quiet and get my head in the game. and it was just, it was really, the only word I can use is stressful, slightly traumatic, actually. But I did it and nothing really went terribly wrong.

And yeah, but every gig now, after that, nothing, I feel like nothing can faze me. I think it's made me much, much stronger and much more bulletproof. So, I'm not going to ask about. It's like therapy gabs. No, I'm not going to ask about regrets because I really have. hope you don't have regrets. I hope most people don't because I think having a regret means that that's such a negative way of looking at something because of course you get something out of it. But is there a part of you that thinks, possibly I shouldn't have done it then?

Yes, there's a part of me that does. There's a part of me. I mean, there's a big, there's a big thing where I have to sort of fight against the BGT label in the. order to be taken seriously by other comedians and other producers as well. So it's a really is a double-edged sword but I can't have regrets. I can't, I mustn't and I can't and I won't have regrets. I will only take the positives from it and it's made things easier and harder and that's life, isn't it? Yeah. And if I hadn't, I would wonder what if what if, you know. I was just about to say that. I think if you hadn't done it, you would be still saying now,

we'd be talking to you and you'd be saying, maybe I should do this. Yeah. You know what I mean? I think, I mean, I, you know, we can be completely honest here. I knew you were doing it before it was announced you were doing it because you told me you were doing it. Yeah.

And I still think you doing it was no bad thing because suddenly it brought you to a completely new audience. And also, you know, the first time you came out, you blew everybody's socks off. And that's what you wanted to do. So remember that moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Definitely.

But that then, of course, then, you know, that all the other stuff that goes around it, you know, bringing spitting image back and, as you said, dead ringers and all the different stuff that you've done since and before. You know, you are now in the industry, Everybody knows you. So, and everybody, you're the go-to. I'm delighted to say all now, you and I are going to be working together on talking pictures,

which is so exciting. And this is how people find out. They'll listen to the podcast and go, oh, she's the new voice on talking pictures, which is great. But all of that probably, possibly might not have happened if it wasn't for BGT. Yes, you definitely would be working on talking pictures because we knew each other. But a lot of this spitting image, I wonder if that then came about. because of BGT. You know, each thing is a stepping stone

to the next thing that you do. I think I had to do something to put myself on a higher level, on a higher, you know, rung of the ladder. I had to do something. Otherwise, I think I would still be playing the bit parts and to actually be sort of the main female impressionist on spitting image.

every yeah I guess every everything you do sort of dictates the path doesn't it and that's an incredible thing that's a really incredible thing and I think something that I've come to realize even just this year I think

is that even though I never meant to be an impressionist and I've not always had that sort of love of doing voices like sometimes sitting down to do a voice, you know, learn a new voice feels like a chore and I don't particularly enjoy it. I'd much rather be singing. But that is the thing that I seem to be most successful at and I think I need to start steering into that a bit more rather

than trying to do other things. I think I need to go where I'm, I don't know, what do you think? Oh, I think you carry on doing all of it. I don't think you should close. You know, obviously We're going to talk about your gold-winning podcast as well in a moment. So you've got to do it all. But the voices, it's very interesting. So you and I have a mutual friend, lovely Alastair McGowan. And Alistair said what you do so brilliantly is, you know, he's a big fan of yours. Well, he says that you do so brilliantly is that you are always looking for that new voice.

And in 20 years ago, maybe even 10 years ago, there were people, would sit down and they'd watch network television. So they would watch ITV so everybody would know the voice of somebody on Coronation Street. They'd watch a show, even BGT, and everybody would know the voice of the judges. Now people watch so many different things that there are so many voices that aren't as well known that it's tricky. It's a much trickier landscape for you guys. It is. It's hard to know which ones to pick as well. And there are some voices that you want to invest a lot of time in and make really accurate, even though you know that in a year's time, for example, a Love Island contestant, no one will particularly remember them or know who they are, but it's so important to get them at that moment. It's a very interesting thing, isn't it? It's an ever-changing landscape. Because some of your, you know, your, your, or Cheryl Cole is fantastic. Oh, yeah. I love her.

And Natalie is, oh, thank you. Oh, but she's a delight. Isn't she a delightful girl as well? I think that she is so lovely. And I don't know if she's heard my impression, but I feel she wouldn't like. She has? Has she? I'm sure she has.

In fact, didn't we also, didn't we get, we got Stacey Solomon's for you to speak to Stacey Solomon? Yeah, she did. Oh, my God. You sound like my best friend. She was lovely. So on all of these people take it as a huge compliment because you're not taking the piss. You don't take the piss.

You're not horrible. You're not cruel. You're doing their voices. And actually it's a compliment. And years ago, that's how people saw it. You know, when Alistair had his show on television, the Alice McGowan big impression, people would want to be that.

And the same way that Anten Deck now on Saturday Night Takeaway when they get somebody, they get a celebrity. The celebrities want to be. the one that's got. Yeah, absolutely. So doing an impression of somebody, you don't do it in a nasty way. You're not cruel. No, I don't think so.

I mean, I have pushed the Natalie Cassidy voice into absolute caricature, and she doesn't really sound like that, but I think I get the essence of the fun of her personality and the silliness. But, yeah, I would be mortified if someone was really hurt. Do you know what I mean? I would never want to upset anybody. where do you start with doing a voice? Where do I start?

Yeah, no, and I mean, I don't just mean, oh, you put it at, I loved it, I watched a video of you and your late daddy and your mom all doing Lise Manelli on YouTube. Honestly, maybe laugh so much. But, but, and I don't mean, so do you start with the back of the throat? I mean, where do you start with, okay, so there's all these people, like you're just saying about Love Island. So all these people are watching it. So I've got to get them down. or do you think I think they're going to be big

so I'm going to do that or I like that person so I'm going to do it or I don't like that person you know so the step before they're getting where it is in your mouth as it were yeah

I guess it's a bit of all of that the thing that will really sort of pique my interest is if they've got a distinctive voice if they've got a funny sounding or distinctive voice that's always great

maybe I'll go for someone that lots of people are talking about so I'll have a look at them Kim Kardashian you know I got into doing her because all of my friends were watching the Kardashians and I hadn't really heard of it so I thought okay well I've never watched it yeah there are so many things I don't watch so yeah and actually I must do a I don't do her yet but Shirley Ballas. Oh, she'd be an easy one. She'd be a great one to do, yeah. Easy.

Listen to me. Yeah, she's easy. Oh, she'll be fine. But yeah, I need to look at, I like to look at what's popular, what everybody's talking about. If there was anyone in Squid Game that I could do, I would be doing it. But yeah, you look at what everybody's talking about and getting on the action, I guess. Oh, right, okay. And then you close in on how to develop the voice. Then you watch gazillions of videos on YouTube or other platforms of them.

You try and what I then do is I will get a little clip of them speaking, then record myself, sort of imitating them and then compare the two. And the last step is trying it out on my mum. even though she doesn't know who half of the people are. If she hears the clip and then I do it, she'll go, no, Jessie, it got to be more nasal or no, Jessie. I think she's a bit lower than that. And have you noticed she's very breathy or whatever? If it can then get past Mum,

who's the most critical person I've ever met, then we're on to a winner, I reckon. But she loves what you do. She's not critical of you. She's very, very proud. And she, I think she lives, vicariously, I think she should have been a performer, I really do. She should have been an actress or a performer or something

because she's so animated and entertaining. And she'll tell a story about, you know, the keep fit group in the village. And she'll do all of the characters and all of the voices. And she's so funny and entertaining. She's lovely, your mum. I'm very lucky to have mess her. She's very sweet woman. We're not going to linger on the tough time that you had.

only recently when you lost your dad and somehow you you carried on a lot of people with COVID going on and losing your dad and not being able to mourn your father and also then be caught with COVID and you couldn't go out and do all the shows that you want to do

so your head was filling up with all sorts of stuff you decided then I know I'll make a podcast Yeah. It was about three weeks after he died and I just, I just wanted to do something. I didn't want to sit in bed anymore feeling sad and I think he would have wanted me to keep going and be creative and do something fun and joyful and in between all of the sad bits I managed to cajole my wonderful band. who are called Jessington World of Adventures into doing the podcast that I have always wanted to make and it's a bit like sort of, I guess it's the TV show I've always wanted to have in audio form

and stars in your ears came about which is, I know you've been on it and you were the most wonderful guest. I can't wait for you to hear it. But yeah, it's a musical comedy podcast with loads of events. impressions and I get different real life celebrity guests on and teach them how to do an impression and we have a sing song at the end and we talk about what makes their voice distinctive and what

makes them sound the way they do and it's fun joyful. It's total escapism which I think came out of me wanting to escape from anything sad that was going on at the time and just a bit of a ray of sunshine, I hope. Oh, it is. It's a joy. It's really joyful. But then you won the gold award at the podcast awards. Your face was a picture. I felt really emotional. I just, I felt like all of the, first of all, I thought, wow, well, then lockdown wasn't a total wipe out. It wasn't a total waste, all of that and I also thought well that is just wonderful and almost like

not a tribute to dad but he would have been so proud that I turned something horrible into something brilliant I just felt really proud and I couldn't believe it because we didn't know what we were doing to begin with with making the podcast

we just did it all by ourselves and we still are and it was a huge surprise and just the bestest, best thing ever. I loved it. That's so lovely. And what did, so when you told your mom afterwards, what did she say? Oh, that's nice, darling. I don't think, like, I think I'm still trying really, even though she listens to it,

I'm still trying really to explain to her what a podcast is. Oh, yes, yes, welcome to my world with my dad. So he listened to the Dame Judy one and that's very lovely and then he listened to Michael Palin that's very lovely and then I say, I've got so and so, well, how do I listen to it?

Would you just press play? It's the next one along. Yeah, but it doesn't stop. Well, you just press the stop. You press the pause or you press stop. Well, it doesn't stop. It just keeps going. And I keep hearing you with lots of people.

Just press. Anyway, do you know what, though? Very interestingly, for this, I get a lot of messages from very, very young people, but also much more mature people who say that they've never listened to podcasts and actually what a ride podcasts are. And getting into the world of podcasts. And it's very intimate. Podcasts are very intimate, aren't they? Yeah, I think it's a really special thing to be able to do. I think it is, yeah, a slice of somebody

life, isn't it? I have to send my mum a link to every show. I can't get it in my phone, Jessie. That's the other thing, in my phone. She doesn't say on. I can't find your email. Is it in my computer in? Yes, yes.

Do you know what? We've got to make sure that we try and keep up with all of this. Because I was thinking, you know, when you hear about all the new things that are happening, God knows, in 30 years. Already. Oh, oh, please. I already can't do TikTok. No, you know.

Yes, you can. Oh, you so can. What does John see, your lovely husband, make of all of this? Because he's also, he's in a band. Yes. And so what does he make of all the stuff that you do? He is just so supportive and so kind. And he's got, he's so he's so, super, super busy with his band, who are the London essentials. and they go all over the world. But whenever he can, he will come to my gig and just to go and get coffee for me in the band. He's so kind. He's so supportive and loving.

You sure it's not... I think he might be doing that because he doesn't actually want to sit out front. Maybe. That's what it is. That's it. Oh, God, I can't sit through another Janet Streetporting. Not another one. Yeah, maybe.

But do you ever, so I have this picture of you two at home. Him, you know, any musical instrument that he can grab and you and that supper, when you're making your meal, the two of you, that you just sing and sing and play music all the time. Please tell me it's like that. It is like what definitely when we're having dinner and when we're making dinner, we'll both be in the kitchen singing along to something. There's a lot of music in the house. Yeah, absolutely.

And we've even, not very often, but we even filmed ourselves doing a duet together as well. What duet? It was, do you know, Age by Leanne La Havas? So, Jonti's 13 years older than me. And the chorus of this song, which I thought would be funny to make him play as I sang, was,

So does it really matter if he's old? So long as he does whatever he is told. It's a really cute song. Where can we see this? Is it on YouTube? No, do you know what it's not? We'll have to release it. We'll stick it up somewhere.

But yeah, Leanne La Havas is a beautiful singer. And I think you'd really like her. I'm going to send you the track after this. Oh, thank you very much. Okay, thank you. So where do you begin? Right, so you said about where you begin with working out who you're going to do. Yeah.

But then, and you listen to it, and then you record your voice and you listen. listen to you compare. But is there an actual place in your body? And that's not such a weird thing. I know people who don't do voice and singing and we're very lucky that we do and you far better than I do. But there are places that you place your voice. Do you think of that when you're doing somebody? So do you think, oh yes, that's in the throat, that's in the chest or the she speaks from the stomach or he because you do men as well. You know, do you. Is that how you doing? Yeah, if it's a new one, I do consciously try and remember the right feeling of it being high and nasal or I don't know, whatever. But if I'm doing someone that I've done for a while, like if I was going to do Paloma Faith, it just comes.

That's so incredible. It remembers where it will come from. So your body just, it's a... I guess it's like doing a dance or dance. steps, isn't it? It's muscle memory after a while when you've been doing something for a while, whereas other people, if I'm doing someone really new on spitting image,

I've really got to listen to them literally just before I do the lines and remind myself and remember because it doesn't come so automatically. So, okay, do you do the thing that also, because my youngest does impressions of people she sees on the telly,

so there's a character in Ghost, the BBC comedy ghost, which I love. It's a horrible history of people, of course, you've worked with them. Yeah. And she does that, but she gets the phrase and then she learns the phrase. And then from the phrase she does the rest of the speaking. Is that how you do it as well? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, there's always some sort of a little hook. So for Olivia Coleman, it's a, oh gosh, wow. Then I can do her. Then I can do lovely live. Gosh, she's so lovely, isn't she?

Yeah. Or if I'm doing Cheryl, then I'll go, you'll read, and then I can do her, do you know? Yes, right, so you'll have something that sparks it off in your... Just something little to just, yes, exactly. It's just like the little key that unlocks the voice. The voice cabinet. Let's end with, because we ask everybody on this podcast What makes them belly laugh.

Now I have seen you pee your pants laughing So I know you're a giggler. So but what's the thing that always triggers it with you? What makes you completely lose it? Probably actually my friend Luke I find him so funny. I think when he's being, I think it's stuff that's really observational.

if it's something that someone's taking the Mickey or out of about me and I catch myself and it's a bit of truth where I've inadvertently been an absolute plonker and haven't noticed and then someone sort of pulls me up on it that always makes me kill myself laughing because it's like a suddenly someone's shown you the wizard behind the curtain type thing I think it's an observational stuff that comes from being sort of slightly shocked and surprised. My friend Luke is really good at picking me up on things.

Do you mean this is Luke Kempler you're talking about? No, his name is Luke Roberts and he was in the UK version of High Five. Do you remember them? Yes, I do. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So it's that and I really love pranks and things going wrong. I love seeing things going wrong. That always makes me kill myself laughing. So if I'm in a show and a bit of set falls down or I play a trick on someone or I've only got to think about playing a trick on someone and I can't say my lines, I can't speak. And no one knows why I'm laughing or what's going on.

I've just had a thought in my head and I've gone. I love it. Now before we go, please can you sing many voices for me? Because, you know, I love it. So just do a little bit of just doing some people. especially Billy. Okay. But just a little bit of something.

Okay. What should we sing? Not we, you. Okay. I'm not joining in. All the people. Oh, yes. Good.

Few. Right. Okay. Lining up in my gullet. Ew. Let's do. I know, gross. Okay, Billy.

I see your true colors shining through. Shakira. I see your true colors. And that's what. I love you Let's do Shirley Bassie So don't be afraid

To let them show Let's have a bit of Who am I doing? Barbara Barbara Your true colors True colors Judy Judy

Are beautiful Like a rain Liza, Liza, Liza. Liza. I see your true colors, and that's why I love you, Gabby! You are the best! Oh my word! I cannot wait to be doing the stage show with you.

Oh my word. Jess, you know what? You are a delight. And all of those kids at school who didn't want you to join their gang world, look what they've missed out on. I'm really attention-seeking women. woman. No, no. Because also what you want to do is you just, you do want people just to enjoy it. You don't, you don't, there's no sort of hidden thing with you. No, I can't even really be bothered with politics. I just want to make people happy. Yeah, lovely. What a nice, what a nice ending. What a way to

be. Lovely, Jess. Give your mummy a kiss. I will. Thanks so much, Gabby. On stage. Yes. Yes. Thank you. much for listening. I did tell you there were many voices of Jess Robinson. So thank you, Jess, for being on the podcast. Coming up next week, the wonderful actor, Jimmy Akinbola. That Gabby Roslin podcast is proudly presented to you by Cameo Productions with music by Beth McCari. If you wouldn't mind, could you give us a like, a follow, a subscribe, and please leave a review? We read them all and love to see what you've got to say. See you next week.