HE became famous for his impressions, but for the last six years Alistair McGowan has been carving out a niche for himself on stage — and he has even been nominated for an Olivier Award.

And early next year he will return to the Bridgewater Hall, in Manchester, to direct and star in a semi-staged production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

“The calibre of the writing is beautiful,” he says. “And the jokes — like all the best jokes — are pretty timeless.”

McGowan attended the Guildhall School of Music alongside the likes of Daniel Craig and Ewan McGregor, so it is no surprise he ended up acting — rather that it took him quite so long to get there.

His talent for impressions meant he started his career on Spitting Image, before becoming one of the country’s best loved comedy figures with The Big Impression.

The Olivier nomination was for his performance in Little Shop of Horrors, and he has also appeared in Art, The Mikado and a BBC adaptation of Bleak House, among others.

Choosing to do Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous tale of a band of bumbling buccaneers wasn’t quite as easy a decision as it might at first have appeared.

“Initially I thought that Pirates of Penzance was too difficult to do without full costumes and sets, and it has been a huge challenge to tell this very funny story in a more simple way,” he says of the semi-staged show.

“But when I heard the music and read the script through properly for the first time I realise how funny it was, and how romantic — both things that appealed to me.”

McGowan plays the Pirate King, who spends much of his time flirting with the female characters.

“They’re all a bit rubbish as pirates,” he says of his motley crew.

“They’re not really Captain Hook types but they think they’re really cool. But the Pirate King is quite a sexy, funny part, and of course there’s some great songs.”

Pirates of Penzance is at the Bridgewater Hall, in Manchester, on January 8.