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'{{short description|British comedian}} {{EngvarB|date=November 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Multiple issues| {{BLP primary sources|date=October 2017}} {{BLP sources|date=February 2015}} {{More footnotes|date=October 2017}}}} {{Infobox person | image = <!-- Please do not put a fair-use image here, it will be deleted - see [[WP:NONFREE]] --> | bgcolour = | name = Jan Ravens | birth_name = Janet Ravens | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1958|5|14}} | birth_place = [[Bebington]], [[Metropolitan Borough of Wirral|Wirral]], England, United Kingdom | death_date = | death_place = | alma_mater = [[Homerton College, Cambridge]] | height = | other_names = | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1983–present | spouse = {{marriage|[[Steve Brown (composer)|Steve Brown]]|1983|1993|reason=div}}<br/>{{marriage|[[Max Hole]]|1999}} | children = 3 | website = | notable role = | academyawards = | emmyawards = | tonyawards = }} '''Janet "Jan" Ravens''' (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and [[Impressionist (entertainment)|impressionist]], known for her voices on ''[[Spitting Image]]'' and ''[[Dead Ringers (comedy)|Dead Ringers]]''. ==Early life== Ravens grew up in [[Hoylake]], then in [[Cheshire]], on the west side of the Wirral with her father, a local government clerk, and her mother, a nurse. She attended [[West Kirby Grammar School]] for Girls, where Radio 4 presenter [[Sheila McClennon]] (''You and Yours'') was two years below her. She studied education studies and drama at [[Homerton College, Cambridge]]<ref>{{cite news |newspaper= [[The Independent]] |title= My student days: Six musicians, actors and comedians fondly reminisce |date= 14 August 2014 |author= Elisa Bray |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/student/into-university/clearing/my-student-days-six-musicians-actors-and-comedians-fondly-reminisce-9666657.html }}</ref> and was first female president of [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] [[Footlights]] Club<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/people/jan_ravens_person_page.shtml|title=BBC – Comedy – People A-Z – Jan Ravens|publisher=BBC|access-date=16 October 2017}}</ref> in 1979–80. ==Career== After Cambridge, Ravens became a radio comedy producer. Her first television role was in the ITV series, 'Just Amazing'. She joined [[Jasper Carrott]]'s comedy, ''[[Carrott's Lib]]'', in 1983. In 1986, she played the heavily pregnant Vanessa Plowright in the "Tourists" episode of ''[[Farrington of the F.O.]]'' (broadcast 13 March). In 1986 she accompanied then husband [[Steve Brown (composer)|Steve Brown]] on the Capital Radio satirical show Brunch, along with DJs [[Paul Burnett]], [[Roger Scott]] and comedians [[Angus Deayton]] and [[Jeremy Pascall]]. In 1994, she spent a year with the [[Royal Shakespeare Company|RSC]]. She has done much voice-over work, being the [[Cadbury Caramilk|Cadbury's Caramel]] bunny for several years, and was the seductive voice of a can of apple [[Tango (drink)|Tango]]. She has also appeared on ''[[Just A Minute]]'' and [[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]] on Radio 4, ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway? (UK TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?]]'', ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', ''[[No Frills (TV series)|No Frills]]'', ''[[Alexei Sayle's Stuff]]''<ref name="auto"/> and in Dictionary Corner on [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[Countdown (game show)|Countdown]]'' (one of the shows parodied on ''Dead Ringers''). She was producer of the Radio 4 comedy ''[[Elephants to Catch Eels]]''. ===Repertoire=== Ravens has regularly imitated ''[[Newsnight]]'' host [[Kirsty Wark]], [[Charlotte Green]] formerly of [[BBC Radio 4]] (with [[double entendre]]s), [[Ellen MacArthur]] (who regularly bursts into tears), [[Nigella Lawson]] (with double entendres), [[Ann Widdecombe]] (narrating fanciful racy storylines in her novels), [[Patricia Routledge]]'s [[Hyacinth Bucket]], [[Queen Elizabeth II]], a chirpy [[Sandi Toksvig]], a stern-faced [[Gillian McKeith]], [[Sophie Raworth]] (with a bemused school-girl grin) and [[Fiona Bruce]] (with barely concealed filthy invitations) of [[BBC News]], [[Anne Robinson]] of ''[[The Weakest Link]]'', [[Lesley Garrett]] (often referring to her generous cleavage), [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Theresa May]] and the [[Geordie]]-accented Ruth Archer from the BBC Radio 4 series ''[[List of characters in The Archers#Middle-aged Archers|The Archers]]''. She also appeared as the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in an episode of ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'' although only her voice is heard. ===Other television=== Ravens appeared in one episode of ''[[One Foot in the Grave]]'' as Pat Aylesbury, one of the neighbours to whom Meldrew turns after being burgled, a character who had been mentioned previously and continued to be mentioned after the appearance, although who was not seen again. Ravens previously worked with [[David Renwick]] in a voice role in ''[[If You See God, Tell Him]]'' and worked with im again on his comedy-drama, ''[[Love Soup]]''. From 1996 till 2001 she played Janet Grimley, the mother in ''[[The Grimleys]]'', a nostalgic sitcom set in '70s Dudley. In autumn 2006, Ravens appeared on the [[BBC]] entertainment programme ''[[Strictly Come Dancing]]'' partnered with [[Anton du Beke]]. She was eliminated in the fifth week. In spring 2007, she appeared on the BBC's ''The Truth About Food'', exploring how foods affect behaviour. Also in 2007, she appeared in [[Ronni Ancona]]'s comedy [[sketch show]], ''[[Ronni Ancona & Co]]''. She won the edition of ''[[Mastermind (TV series)|Celebrity Mastermind]]'' on 1 January 2008, the second woman to win, [[Edwina Currie]] having been the first. Ravens appeared as [[Effy Stonem|Effy]]'s art teacher in [[E4 (TV channel)|E4]] drama ''[[Skins (UK TV series)|Skins]]''. In February 2010 and November 2017, she was a panellist on ''[[QI]]'', and in 2012 appeared as Susan in the sitcom ''[[Hebburn (TV series)|Hebburn]]''. ===Radio=== In late 2016, Ravens featured in the [[BBC Radio 4]] miniseries ''Desolation Jests'' alongside [[David Jason]], [[Rory Bremner]] and [[John Bird (actor)|John Bird]]. The four-part show was written by [[David Renwick]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b085zq0d/episodes/player |title=BBC Radio 4 Extra - Desolation Jests - Available now |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2021-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/radio-programme/e/fgyr6j/desolation-jests-episode-guide/ |title=Desolation Jests Series and Episode Guides &#124; TV from |publisher=RadioTimes |date= |accessdate=2021-03-16}}</ref> ==Personal life== Ravens's first husband was [[Steve Brown (composer)|Steve Brown]] but the couple divorced in 1993 and she married the vice-president of [[Universal Music Group]], [[Max Hole]], in July 1999 in [[London Borough of Richmond upon Thames|Richmond upon Thames]]. She lives in [[Barnes, London|Barnes]]. She has three sons: Alfie and Lenny by her first husband, born in April 1987 and January 1991, and Louis by her second, born in June 1998. She is an ambassador for the charity [[ActionAid]] and has visited Kenya with the organisation and raised money for it on ''[[Celebrity Mastermind]]''.<ref> {{cite news|title=Jan Ravens |url=http://www.actionaid.org.uk/pop_index.asp?page_id=102142/ |publisher=[[ActionAid UK]] |access-date=20 April 2012 }}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb name|0712380}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravens, Jan}} [[Category:1958 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Alumni of Homerton College, Cambridge]] [[Category:English impressionists (entertainers)]] [[Category:English women comedians]] [[Category:People educated at West Kirby Grammar School]] [[Category:People from Bebington]] [[Category:People from Hoylake]] [[Category:20th-century English comedians]] [[Category:21st-century English comedians]]'