Jan Ravens deridess her own show

Jan Ravens says her own show makes her feel like "a second-rate Jeremy Beadle."

The impressionist says she feels uncomfortable stitching up unsuspecting members of the public on Dead Ringers, the Radio 4 comedy that is transferring to TV this month.

Parts of the show use hidden cameras, to test how unwitting members of the public react to seeing stars in unlikely places, for instance Doctor Who actor Tom Baker in a furniture shop.

"It 's not my favourite thing in the world," said Ravens. " I don 't like it when people aren't armed with all the facts."

But, she concedes, "everybody else loves it".

Ravens also said she isn't sure if she wants to be doing impersonations at all - although she says she is good at them.

"I don 't always get it spot-on," she says, "but doing impressions is the one thing I think I 'm pretty good at. I think I 'm a good comedy actress and I 'm an OK mother - but I think I 'm a pretty shit-hot impressionist."

Dead Ringers starts on BBC2 on November 18, with about half the show recorded the day before transmission to keep things topical.

Published: 3 Nov 2002