# Doon Mackichan
**Doon Mackichan** (Sarah Doon Mackichan, born 1962) is a British actress, comedian and writer known for co-creating the double-Emmy-award-winning sketch show *Smack the Pony* and for comic roles in *The Day Today*, *Brass Eye*, *[Plebs](https://www.edgepedia.org/plebs-tv-series)*, *Toast of London* and the [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) sitcom *Two Doors Down*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533489/) • [2](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/128741-doon-mackichan)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Sarah Doon Mackichan, born 1962[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533489/) |
| Signature work | Co-created, wrote and performed in *Smack the Pony* with Sally Phillips and Fiona Allen, a double-Emmy-award-winning Channel 4 sketch show[2](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/128741-doon-mackichan) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out) |
| Satire credits | Multiple characters in Chris Morris's *The Day Today* (1994) and *Brass Eye*, and roles across the Alan Partridge series with Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533489/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out) |
| Sitcom roles | Cathy in *Two Doors Down*; Flavia in *Plebs* (2013–2018, 20 episodes); Jane Plough in *Toast of London*[4](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533489/) |
| Awards | BAFTA Television nomination, Female Performance in a Comedy (2014, for *Plebs*); BAFTA Scotland Actress – Television winner (2024, for *Two Doors Down*)[5](https://theludwigcasebook.co.uk/performer-doon-mackichan) |
| Theatre | Frances in *Jumpy* (Duke of York's Theatre, 2012); Feste in the National Theatre's *Twelfth Night* (2017); *Bitter Wheat* with John Malkovich (2019); *Summerfolk* at the National Theatre (2026)[6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-jumpys-doon-mackichan_2944/) • [7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Doon-Mackichan/) |
| Memoir | *My Lady Parts: A Life Fighting Stereotypes* (Canongate)[8](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/oct/14/doon-mackichan-actor-and-comedian-on-life-books-comedy-and-swimming) |
## Early career and stand-up
Mackichan began in live comedy. From 1986 to 1987 she formed the double act Rabbitt & Doon with the performer Anne Rabbitt, playing the London cabaret circuit and the Edinburgh Festival, with broadcast slots on [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4)'s *Comedy Wavelength*, BBC1's *Lift Off* and Radio 4's *Cabaret Upstairs*; the pair went on to co-write and perform in the LWT children's series *Rabbitt & Doon with Doon Mackichan*.[9](https://annerabbitt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ANNE-RABBITT-CV.pdf) In a 2021 interview she recalled school days split between London and Scotland, and said her first role was a "bitchy queen with an English accent" in a Brecht play, *The Caucasian Chalk Circle*.[10](https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/10-questions-doon-mackichan)
## Smack the Pony and satire
*Smack the Pony*, the all-female Channel 4 sketch show Mackichan made with [Sally Phillips](https://www.edgepedia.org/sally-phillips) and Fiona Allen, ran from 1999 and won two [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards).[2](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/128741-doon-mackichan) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out) Mackichan has described the show's reception in Britain as cooler than its American recognition, saying that male shows were still treated as the groundbreaking ones and that *Smack the Pony* "was never on those lists".[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out) In her memoir she writes that [Ricky Gervais](https://www.edgepedia.org/ricky-gervais), whose offers to write for the show had been declined, turned up uninvited at rehearsals and took over.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out)
Her satire work ran in parallel. She played multiple characters in *The Day Today* (1994), including the newsreader Collaterlie Sisters, and in *Brass Eye*, and appeared in *Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge* and later [Partridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/partridge) series, making her a frequent collaborator of Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci and [Steve Coogan](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-coogan).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533489/) • [4](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/) • [11](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/59450/1/2015CollingsRLPhDredacted.pdf)
## Television roles
Mackichan's sitcom work spans three decades. She played Flavia, a series regular, in the ITV2 ancient-Rome sitcom *Plebs* for 20 episodes between 2013 and 2018, and Jane Plough in *Toast of London* and its follow-up *Toast of Tinseltown*.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533489/) Her performance in *Plebs* brought a BAFTA Television nomination for Female Performance in a Comedy in 2014, and *Toast of London* brought a British Comedy Awards Best Actress nomination.[5](https://theludwigcasebook.co.uk/performer-doon-mackichan) • [4](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/)
**Two Doors Down.** In the BBC One sitcom *Two Doors Down* she played Cathy, a series-regular role across five series plus later runs.[4](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/) BAFTA Scotland named her its 2024 Actress – [Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/television) winner for the part.[5](https://theludwigcasebook.co.uk/performer-doon-mackichan)
Her other screen work includes the archangel Michael in *[Good Omens](https://www.edgepedia.org/good-omens-tv-series)* (2019 onward), the voice of the Queen in the animated film *The Sea Beast* (2022), and roles in *Flack*, *Pure*, *The Duchess*, *Funny Woman*, *Dreaming Whilst Black* and [Ben Wheatley](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-wheatley)'s film *Happy New Year, Colin Burstead*.[12](https://watch.plex.tv/fr/person/doon-mackichan) • [4](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/)
## Theatre
Mackichan's stage record is extensive. She played Frances in April De Angelis's comedy *Jumpy*, which opened at the [Duke of York](https://www.edgepedia.org/duke-of-york)'s Theatre in August 2012 after a Royal Court premiere, and received a Whatsonstage.com Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play.[6](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-jumpys-doon-mackichan_2944/) • [4](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/) Earlier and later credits include *The Government Inspector* at the Young Vic, *The Queen and I*, in which she played Princess Diana, at the Royal Court, *Loot* at the Tricycle Theatre, Feste in the National Theatre's *Twelfth Night* (2017), and [David Mamet](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-mamet)'s *Bitter Wheat* (2019) opposite [John Malkovich](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-malkovich), a performance that drew critical praise.[4](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/) • [2](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/128741-doon-mackichan) In 2026 she joined the National Theatre production of Gorky's *Summerfolk*, directed by Robert Hastie.[7](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Doon-Mackichan/)
## Memoir and advocacy
Mackichan's memoir *My Lady Parts: A Life Fighting Stereotypes*, published by Canongate, takes its title from the stereotypical roles she has been asked to play.[8](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/oct/14/doon-mackichan-actor-and-comedian-on-life-books-comedy-and-swimming) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out) In it and in interviews she describes refusing gratuitous nudity, pushing to breastfeed on set, and turning down parts written as desperate older women; she links those refusals to a career that stayed mostly in comedy, saying comedy is less likely to make such demands.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out) She has also spoken about the financial precariousness of a working actor's life, saying she regrets "being a little bit poor" but not the choices behind it.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out) A 2026 interview reported that early in her career she turned down an offer from a US agent, an opportunity the same agent simultaneously extended to [Hugh Laurie](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-laurie).[13](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/doon-mackichan-summerfolk-interview-toast-of-london-b2932736.html)
## References
1. [Doon Mackichan, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0533489/)
2. [Doon Mackichan, FMDb](https://fmdb.mov/en/people/128741-doon-mackichan)
3. [Emine Saner, "'I regret being a little bit poor': Doon Mackichan on stardom, Smack the Pony and never selling out", The Guardian, 11 September 2024](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/article/2024/sep/11/i-regret-being-a-little-bit-poor-doon-mackichan-on-stardom-smack-the-pony-and-never-selling-out)
4. [Doon Mackichan, B-Side Management](https://theb-side.co.uk/management/doon-mackichan/)
5. [Doon Mackichan performer profile, The Ludwig Casebook](https://theludwigcasebook.co.uk/performer-doon-mackichan)
6. ["20 Questions with … Jumpy's Doon Mackichan", WhatsOnStage, 28 August 2012](https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/20-questions-with-jumpys-doon-mackichan_2944/)
7. [Doon Mackichan theatre credits and news, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Doon-Mackichan/)
8. [Michael Hogan, "Doon Mackichan: 'Before meetings I head-bang to Led Zeppelin'", The Guardian, 14 October 2023](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/oct/14/doon-mackichan-actor-and-comedian-on-life-books-comedy-and-swimming)
9. [Anne Rabbitt curriculum vitae](https://annerabbitt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ANNE-RABBITT-CV.pdf)
10. ["10 questions with... Doon Mackichan", Tes Magazine, 11 June 2021](https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/10-questions-doon-mackichan)
11. [R. L. Collings, PhD thesis on The Day Today, University of East Anglia](https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/59450/1/2015CollingsRLPhDredacted.pdf)
12. [Doon Mackichan filmography, Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/fr/person/doon-mackichan)
13. [Louis Chilton, "Doon Mackichan: 'If I hadn't fought that battle, you would have seen me naked on an ITV drama'", The Independent, 7 March 2026](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/doon-mackichan-summerfolk-interview-toast-of-london-b2932736.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Scottish actors › Surnames M to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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