One of the lasting delights of the first series of ‘The Trip’ was seeing two masters - Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan - sharing, okay, outrageously competing, in their chosen craft of impersonation, specifically that of Sir Michael Caine.
If you remember, Messrs Brydon and Coogan were sitting down to a delightful dinner in the Lake District - one of their many such meals during a trip built around a schedule of high end restaurant reviews - when the conversation turned to the veteran star of ‘Batman Begins’.
And this ensued…
Such forensic detail should surely be expected, after all neither man is a novice in the field. Rob Brydon built his name on such impersonations - fellow Welshmen Tom Jones and Anthony Hopkins being his defaults, with Ronnie Corbett always making an appearance - while Steve Coogan made his breakthrough as a voice on ‘Spitting Image’ all those years ago.
Who was the victor in the Caine voice-off? We asked the great man himself... see what he said below.
Now, in the third series of the show, they’ve done it again. Conversation over an outdoors Spanish meal turns to another superstar, this time… Mick Jagger.
While Rob delights in an anecdotal version, about meeting Sir Mick at a party and which inevitably also involves Michael Caine, Steve Coogan prefers to delve into the ‘public school’ version of Sir Mick, accompanied by much jutting of the neck. “Sort of peacock thing.” Both great, but perhaps this time, Steve’s just wins, by a whisker.
The new series sees Steve and Rob’s semi-fictionalised characters back on their culinary quest as they head off on a road trip from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean coast for a fresh helping of gastronomic adventures.
While the first series saw Steve embark on a midlife crisis of sorts, chasing ladies while the happily married Rob phoned his wife of a night, the second series saw Rob instead having a wobble. This time around, what can we expect? Director Michael Winterbottom told HuffPostUK recently, “It’s Steve again - naturally.”
Rob recently told the Guardian that he relishes the prospect of dipping into the series every few years.
“What I like about doing it every few years is that we do really look older. We’ve aged far more than I would have expected, though we both take more care of ourselves now.”
Steve called it, “Last of the Summer Wine for Guardian readers.”
As for that Michael Caine competition, who was better? This is what Sir Michael told HuffPostUK:
“They both won, because one did me young and one did me old, so there was no loser.”
‘The Trip’ returns to Sky Atlantic in April.