Allan Stewart (comedian)

Allan Stewart is a Scottish comic and impressionist born 1951. His career began in the 1960s when he performed as a cabaret pop singer and musician. Also appeared in the original series of New Faces. He got his big break when five programmes from his 1979 STV series, "The Allan Stewart Tapes", were picked up by Thames and screened in the London area. The sketches were set in a penthouse flat with a view of Edinburgh Castle and "Carry On" stalwart Jack Douglas played the uptight English butler. In 1984 he appeared in "Go For It" alongside other impressionists, including Les Dennis and Bobby Davro, doing impressions of everyone from Esther Rantzen to Sergeant Bilko. He appeared with Davro again in 1985's "Copy Cats", typical cheap-and-cheerful ITV Saturday evening entertainment from LWT. It featured an array of impressionists of varying quality.

Stewart then appeared alongside a glittering array of comedy talent in "Live From Her Majesty's", however the night, April 15, 1984, will always be remembered for Tommy Cooper's fatal onstage heart attack. Next up for Stewart was hosting 1988's "The Comedy Crowd", a one-off barrage of skits and impressions for Easter.

In 1990 Stewart hosted eight half-hours of stand-up comedy taped at the Stakis Tree Tops Hotel in Aberdeen. "Patter Merchants" was screened in the early hours of the morning and featured a host of unknowns - Mike Lancaster, Jethro, Clem Dane, Steve Womack, Gary Denis, Adrian Walsh, Billy Jeffrey, Jim Rosie, Rikki Stevens, Cheryl Taylor, Mia Carla, Bill Barclay, Eddie Rose, Hilary O'Neil, Dean Park, Dave Wolfe, Johnnie Adam, Gerald Fitzpatrick, Boothby Graffoe (who went on to success on the comedy circuit and radio) and perhaps the series' best known participators (but still scarcely 'famous') Aiden J. Harvey and Duggie Brown.In recent years has become a pantomime dame of note practically becoming a fixture of The King's Theatre in Edinburgh's annual panto.

References

*cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/talent/s/stewart_allan.shtml |title=BBC - Comedy Guide - Allan Stewart |accessdate=2007-07-14 |format= |work=