PERHAPS it’s because I’m expecting to be the butt of one of his impressions, but I come over all confused about what day it is while I’m on the phone to Alistair McGowan.

“It’s because there was no (English) football on this week,” he jokes, a reference to the fact that for many men their lives revolve around the game.

A fan since he was a boy, the impressionist has based many of his routines on football personalities (most famously David Beckham) and even co-wrote A Matter of Life and Death (Or How to Wean a Man Off Football) with fellow impressionist and ex-girlfriend Ronnie Ancona.

It was his obsession with football that caused the couple to split, although he says he’s not particularly interested in the beautiful game nowadays.

“I supported Leeds when I was younger, then it was Coventry, and now it’s not really anybody,” he sighs. “I couldn’t take the pain or agony of being associated with one club any more.”

Which is probably just as well, because his unfeasibly busy schedule affords little time for any more fixtures.

Not only an impressionist but also a presenter, actor and writer, he still finds time to champion environmental causes – including recent opposition to a third runway at Heathrow.

“I was one of the purchasers of a small plot of land in the village of Sipson, which is threatened with being completely bulldozed,” he says.

Under UK law, those who procured a small sliver of Sipson (also including Richard Briers and Alison Steadman) can prevent the planned expansion.

“We wanted to make a stand, make people aware, and I think we’ve succeeded spectacularly with this campaign.”

His passion for the environment is genuine, and I get the impression (forgive the pun) that he throws himself whole-heartedly into everything he does.

“You can’t do everything, much as I’d like to try,” he admits.

As proof of his green credentials, he turns up for gigs by train.

“I’ve done 32 dates on this tour so far, and apart from taking a few taxis from stations to out-of-town venues, I’ve done every journey by train,” he explains. “It has been a fascinating experience.”

So today he took an early train to Bournemouth – where he’s appearing in a charity show to help raise funds for the BBC’s Children In Need – to reminisce about happy times spent in the seaside town.

Born and raised in Evesham, Worcestershire, he enjoyed many family holidays to Bournemouth when he was younger.

“I remember being dragged around Alum Chine. And we went to the Winter Gardens, where I seem to remember seeing Cilla Black, Roy Castle and a comedy double act called Ryan and Ronnie – they were very big in the 70s,” he says.

“I had some very good holidays in Bournemouth and really, really loved it … so I’m looking forward to coming back.”

On his latest tour, Alistair has been regaling audiences with 120 celebrity voices in two hours, although his set at The Chine Hotel in Boscombe tonight will be a condensed version at 40 minutes long.

So what – or who – can we expect? “There are lots of new people, like Jo Brand, Jimmy Carr, Dara O’Briain and Justin Lee Collins, and old favourites that people will expect, like David Beckham, Michael Parkinson, Dot Cotton and Huw Edwards. It’s a chance for people to come and see some familiar and new impressions. I hope it helps out.”