‘And I think I said this at the Brighton Conference’. These words are closely associated with former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson although he may never have uttered them himself. They were certainly spoken by impressionist Mike Yarwood, another Cheshire Great to have recently passed away. Yarwood’s caricature of Wilson and indeed his Tory rival, Edward Heath, were ever humorous and affectionate too. It is the impersonator’s legacy to often make their subject more interesting and funny than they really were. There are still those who say Mike Yarwood's Wilson and Heath were better than the real thing. Wilson seemed to appreciate this too as he is said to have enjoyed watching his mickey-taker so much he instructed his wife, Mary, to give him the nod when he was on (the other ‘Wilson’ that is). Heath also seems to have been a fan, once describing Yarwood as ‘the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition’.
Regarded as the trailblazer for the many impressionists that have followed, Mike Yarwood was born a war baby, in Bredbury, Cheshire, on June 14, 1941. His family had moved there from Stockport when WW2 began, his father Wilf a fitter and mother Bridget a one-time nanny. Despite his mother taking offence at his first impression – of Billy Bunter, when he was six – he would develop into an actor and comedian. But most of all he was a man of many faces who entertained us for close to 40 years, although his heyday was assuredly in the 1960s, and '70s, with his BBC shows Look: Mike Yarwood (1971-76), and Mike Yarwood in Persons (1976-81).
After leaving Bredbury Secondary Modern School Yarwood worked as a junior dispatch clerk for a mail order firm, then as a trainee salesman. He liked his football, which he played well as a lad, being good enough to have a trial with Oldham Athletic FC. He would later become a director of Stockport County FC where he was a lifelong fan. Yarwood’s change of direction, career-wise, came when he finished runner-up at a talent show in the Greater Manchester town of Dukinfield and then began touring the northern pubs and clubs – a hard road to stardom. He first ventured into TV when he appeared as a warm-up act on Comedy Bandbox, which ran from 1962-66; it was a proving ground for aspiring comics and clearly did Yarwood no harm. His real breakthrough moment came, however, when he appeared on the legendary Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 1964, the year Harold Wilson first moved into No. 10. Before the decade was out Yarwood would be married, his wedding to dancer Sandra Burville taking place on November 8, 1969.
Yarwood’s career hit its peak in the ‘70s when he was one of the prize assets of BBC Light Entertainment, his TV shows regularly attracting audiences of some 18 million. He was made an OBE in 1976 (by Wilson). His 1977 Christmas Show did even better, pulling in a massive 21.4 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched TV entertainment programmes of all time.
During the height of his popularity in the 1970s, the Yarwoods and their two young daughters Claire and Charlotte, moved to a magnificent property on Castle Hill in Prestbury, and he was a familiar figure in the village.
In 1978, Yarwood was a subject of TV's This Is Your Life, a sure sign someone had made it.
Yarwood left the BBC for Thames TV in 1982 but his star was already on the wane and he didn’t achieve the same success the BBC had given him. One of his problems was trying to keep up with the changes in politicians and personalities. Margaret Thatcher becoming firstly Conservative Party leader in 1975 and then Prime Minister from 1979 was never going to be good news...
Although Yarwood will be remembered primarily for his political satire, not only Wilson and Heath, but also Labour’s Denis Healey, who was portrayed with trademark bushy eyebrows and a turn of phrase, ‘Silly Billy’, which the then Chancellor of the Exchequer himself famously adopted in an amusing case of life imitating art. There were fellow TV personalities too, so we had Yarwood doing Michael Crawford doing Frank Spencer (‘Ooo Betty’) which rather like the Wilsonian Brighton Conference quip popped up on Yarwood’s shows far more often than in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, where I believe it may only have appeared once in its entirety (Series 2, Episode 2). What was compelling about Yarwood’s work was not just the accuracy of his voices and mannerisms, but also his exaggerations and the warmth with which his ‘victims’ were parodied. It was almost as though he was entertaining us with a show about all his mates. It was mischievous, a bit whimsical, and the material was genuinely funny.
Yarwood mastered the art of the catchphrase, the oft-repeated sayings that somehow made a TV series even though you’d heard them so many times before. The familiarity just seemed to make them funnier. As well as those already mentioned he also came up with: ‘And I mean that most sincerely folks’ for game show host Hughie Green, although there’s some debate as to whether it was Yarwood or Green who first used this, the latter claiming he coined it ‘so the impersonators had something to hang on to'. Yarwood certainly hung on to it.
Mike Yarwood was lucky that his heyday was illuminated by a series of eccentric personalities who were perfect for his genre. As technological advances made TV more cutting edge Yarwood was able to appear as multiple characters simultaneously, the first television impressionist to be able to do this, but it was his portrayal of one character that caused the most controversy: Prince Charles. Bursting pompous politicians’ bubbles was one thing but lampooning the royals was something the nation might not have been quite ready for. Spitting Image (1984-2006) was yet to come; its hard-edged satire, it was one of the things that helped to relegate Yarwood. Suddenly he was no longer trendy.
His Thames TV show was cancelled though in 1987 and it would be mostly stage work after that with attempts to resuscitate his screen career unsuccessful. He found some of the later politicians hard to master: John Major and Tony Blair, he said, were difficult because they were ‘nice guys’, although this didn’t prevent other mimics taking them off. The luck that had accompanied his rise – those quirky characters he made his own – deserted him later in his career when politicians were more bland than brilliant. He also suffered from anxiety later in his career, perhaps stemming from his changed repertoire, concerns as to whether he was still funny etc. Yarwood also turned to alcohol as a way of calming that anxiety and debilitating pre-performance nerves; it was an addiction that would cost him his marriage in 1985.
Mike Yarwood passed away on September 8, 2023, aged 82. He is still considered a game-changer and hugely influential as far as impressionists are concerned: someone who smashed a glass ceiling enabling those who followed to also be top of the bill, to have TV series, and massive followings. He was regarded as a wonderful and generous person by those who knew him and worked with him and if you could get him talking about his prime. He was energised and the voices were still there in an instant.
Impressions of Mike Yarwood
From those who remember his time in Prestbury
‘I used to help in a sports shop my mum ran in Macclesfield and Mike would buy his golfing gear from us. One day, the club he wanted was arranged with 30 others in an upright fan display in the window. As he pulled one out the whole lot fell over and wrecked the window display. He was so embarrassed he pulled a quick Frank Spencer impression 'Ooo Betty'... and walked out.’ Mark Duffield
‘I taught at Prestbury Primary School, which Mike Yarwood’s children attended. Mike and Sandra were very supportive parents. They were always willing to help out by opening the Prestbury Rose Queen Festival and the crowning of the Rose Queen. Mike was very often seen in the Admiral Rodney mingling with the locals.’ Sue Parker
‘As a teenager, I used to work as a teller at the elections and remember Mike coming in to vote at the village hall (in Prestbury). He always did impressions of the candidates for us.’ Karina Meachin
‘I remember going to an event at Prestbury Primary School, a bingo night, in the late 1970s, where Mike Yarwood was the caller. He was absolutely hilarious.' Cynthia Crewe
‘I remember him as a dad; sometimes he was on the school run. Both his daughters were at the village school and he could take off the headmaster. He supported the school by being the bingo caller to help raise money. He also sometimes collected the girls from parties. Claire, the younger, was asked what her dad did and she replied: "He signs photos of himself". She was four at the time.’ Christine Jones
‘I lived practically opposite his house on Castle Hill in the ’70s; I remember him propping up the bar in the Legh on a regular basis.’ Juliette Hewitt
‘The garden of his house up Castle Hill backed onto the cricket club grounds I was told and I think Mike used to walk down the garden and through a little gate to go the back way to the Legh Arms, and Black Boy restaurant (as it was then). A brilliant entertainer, sadly missed,’ Andy Henshaw.
CHRONOLOGY
1941 – Birth of Michael Edward Yarwood in Bredbury, Cheshire (June 14)
1964 – Breakthrough when appears on Sunday Night at the London Palladium
1969 – Marries Sandra Burville (November 8)
1971 – Begins a 10-year career with the BBC with Look: Mike Yarwood
1976 – Mike Yarwood made an OBE by Harold Wilson
1977 – At the peak of his powers, Yarwood’s Christmas show attracts 21.4 million viewers
1978 – Mike Yarwood is a popular subject of This Is Your Life
1982 – Leaves the BBC for Thames TV, but his star is on the wane
1987 – The cancellation of his Thames TV show sees Yarwood mostly return to the stage
2023 – Death of Mike Yarwood (September 8) aged 82
