Alan Partridge | |
---|---|
First appearance | On the Hour (1991) |
Created by | |
Portrayed by | Steve Coogan |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Alan Gordon Partridge |
Occupation | Broadcaster |
Spouse | Carol (divorced) |
Children |
|
Alan Gordon Partridge is an English comedy character portrayed by Steve Coogan. A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in 1991, he has appeared in media including radio and television series, books, podcasts and film.
Partridge was created by Coogan and Armando Iannucci for the 1991 BBC Radio 4 comedy programme On the Hour , a spoof of British current affairs broadcasting. In 1992, Partridge hosted a spin-off spoof chat show, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge . On the Hour transferred to television as The Day Today in 1994, followed by Knowing Me, Knowing You later that year. In 1997, the BBC broadcast I'm Alan Partridge , a sitcom written by Coogan, Iannucci and Peter Baynham about Partridge's life in a roadside hotel working for a Norwich radio station. It earned two BAFTAs and was followed by a second series in 2002.
After a hiatus, Partridge returned in 2010 with a series of shorts, Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge , written with Rob and Neil Gibbons, who have cowritten every Partridge project since. Over the following years, Partridge expanded into other media, including the spoof memoir I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan (2011) and the feature film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013). In 2019, Partridge returned to the BBC with This Time with Alan Partridge , a spoof of magazine shows such as The One Show , followed by an Audible podcast in 2020 and a touring show in 2022.
Coogan said Partridge began as a "one-note" character, but slowly became more complex and empathetic. While the writers use Partridge to satirise bigotry and privilege, they also aim to create empathy. Critics have praised Partridge's complexity, realism and pathos. Vanity Fair called him a British national treasure and The Guardian described him as "one of the greatest and most beloved comic creations of the last few decades". Partridge is credited with influencing cringe comedies such as The Inbetweeners , Nighty Night and Peep Show . In a 2001 poll by Channel 4, Partridge was voted seventh in their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters.
Alan Partridge was created for the 1991 BBC Radio 4 comedy programme On the Hour , a spoof of British current affairs broadcasting, as the show's hapless sports presenter. [1] He is portrayed by Steve Coogan. [1]
Developing On the Hour, the producer, Armando Iannucci, asked Coogan to do a voice for a generic sports reporter, with elements of Elton Welsby, Jim Rosenthal and John Motson. [2] Coogan had performed a similar character for a BBC college radio station while at university. [1] Iannucci said they developed a backstory for the character "within minutes". [3] The name was inspired by the former Newsbeat presenter Frank Partridge. [4] Iannucci, Patrick Marber, Richard Herring and Stewart Lee wrote much of the early Partridge material; Herring credits the creation to Coogan and Iannucci. [5]
Marber felt Partridge had potential for other projects, and encouraged Coogan to develop his character. [3] Coogan performed as Partridge and other characters at the 1992 Edinburgh Fringe. [6] In December 1992, BBC Radio 4 began broadcasting a six-episode spoof chat show, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge . The series saw Partridge irritate and offend his guests, and coined his catchphrase, "Aha!". [7]
In 1994, On the Hour transferred to television on BBC Two as The Day Today , in which Partridge reprised his role as sports reporter. [1] Later that year, Knowing Me, Knowing You transferred to television. [8] The series ends with Partridge accidentally shooting a guest. [7] It was nominated for the 1995 BAFTA for Light Entertainment Performance. [9] A Christmas special, Knowing Me, Knowing Yule, followed in December 1995, in which Partridge attacks a BBC commissioning editor, ending his television career. [10]
In 1997, BBC Two broadcast a sitcom, I'm Alan Partridge , written by Coogan, Iannucci and Peter Baynham. It follows Partridge after he has been left by his wife and dropped from the BBC. He lives in a roadside hotel outside Norwich, presents a graveyard slot on local radio, and desperately pitches ideas for new television shows. Iannucci said the writers aimed to create "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England". [1] I'm Alan Partridge won the 1998 BAFTA awards for Comedy Performance and Comedy Programme or Series. [9]
In 1999, Partridge appeared on the BBC telethon Comic Relief , performing a medley of Kate Bush songs. [11] BBC Two broadcast a second series of I'm Alan Partridge in 2002, [1] following Partridge's life in a static caravan with his new Ukrainian girlfriend after recovering from a mental breakdown. [12] [13] The writers found the second series difficult to make, feeling it had been too long since the first and that expectations for sitcoms had changed. [2]
After I'm Alan Partridge, Coogan tired of Partridge and limited him to smaller roles, feeling he had become an "albatross". [2] [14] In March 2003, the BBC broadcast a mockumentary, Anglian Lives: Alan Partridge, about Partridge's life and career. [7] Coogan performed as Partridge at the Royal Albert Hall in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust in 2004, [15] and in 2008 he performed a tour, Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other Less Successful Characters, featuring Partridge as a life coach. [16]
Coogan returned to Partridge after pursuing other projects, such as his work with the director Michael Winterbottom on films such as 24 Hour Party People (2002). [17] He said he did not want to say goodbye to Partridge, and that "as long as I can do my other things, that, to me, is the perfect balance". [2] In 2020, he said that though he had once tired of Partridge, he had now become "a battered, comfortable old leather jacket". [14]
Partridge returned in 2010 in a series of YouTube shorts, Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge , as the host of a digital radio show with a new character, Sidekick Simon (Tim Key). [18] The series was later broadcast by Sky Atlantic. [1] Coogan wrote it with the brothers Neil and Rob Gibbons, who submitted scripts to his company Baby Cow Productions. The Gibbons brothers have co-written every Partridge project since. According to Neil, Coogan "invited us in, our sensibilities chimed ... I think we were like two pairs of fresh eyes, and Steve seemed to fall in love with the character all over again." [1]
Coogan said they chose the web format because "it was a bit underground, a low-key environment in which to test the character out again. And the response was so good, we realised there was more fuel in the tank." [1] In his 2015 autobiography, Coogan wrote that he felt Mid Morning Matters was "the purest, most mature and funniest incarnation of Partridge", which he credited to the Gibbons brothers. [19]
In 2011, a spoof autobiography, I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan , written by Coogan, Iannucci and the Gibbons brothers, was published by HarperCollins. An audiobook version recorded by Coogan as Partridge was also released. In the book, Partridge recounts his childhood and career, attempts to settle scores with people he feels have wronged him, and dispenses wisdom such as his assertion that Wikipedia has made university education "all but pointless". [20] Coogan appeared as Partridge to promote I, Partridge on The Jonathan Ross Show [21] and BBC Radio 5 Live. [22] It received positive reviews and became a bestseller. [1] [23]
On 25 June 2012, Partridge presented a one-hour Sky Atlantic special, Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of My Life , taking the viewer on a tour of Partridge's home county, Norfolk. [24] The programme earned Coogan the 2013 BAFTA for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. [9] It was followed the next week by Open Books with Martin Bryce, a mock literary programme discussing Partridge's autobiography. [24]
On 7 August 2013, a feature film, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa , was released in the UK. It was directed by Declan Lowney [25] and co-produced by StudioCanal and Baby Cow Productions, with support from BBC Films and the BFI Film Fund. [26] The film sees Partridge enlisted as a crisis negotiator during a siege at his radio station. [24]
Filming began with an incomplete script, and Coogan and the Gibbons brothers rewrote much of it on the set. The rushed production was difficult; Coogan and Iannucci disagreed on the script, morale was low, and there were problems with casting and funding. In his memoir, Coogan wrote that it was the hardest he had ever worked and the loneliest he had ever felt; however, he was proud of the finished film. [19] Alpha Papa was acclaimed and opened at number one at the box office in the UK and Ireland. [27] [28]
In 2015, Coogan co-presented a special Christmas episode of the Channel 4 chat show TFI Friday as Partridge. [29] In February 2016, Sky Atlantic broadcast a second series of Mid Morning Matters. [30] Alan Partridge's Scissored Isle, a mockumentary in which Partridge examines the British class divide, followed in May. [31] A second book, Alan Partridge: Nomad, a travelogue in which Partridge recounts a journey across the UK, was published on 20 October. [32]
In July 2017, Partridge appeared in an episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Inheritance Tracks, in which guests choose music to pass to future generations; he selected "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" by Barry Mann and the theme from Grandstand. [33] Iannucci guest-edited an October 2017 issue of The Big Issue , featuring a debate on Brexit between Partridge and Malcolm Tucker, a character from The Thick of It , another sitcom created by Iannucci. [34] On 27 December, BBC Two broadcast a documentary about the history of Partridge, Alan Partridge: Why, When, Where, How and Whom? [35]
Partridge returned to the BBC in February 2019 with a six-part series, This Time with Alan Partridge , a spoof current affairs programme in the style of The One Show . [36] In the series, Partridge stands in after the regular host falls ill. [36] Coogan felt it was the right time for Partridge to return as he might represent the views of Brexit voters. [36] Neil Gibbons said the world of live television had changed since Partridge's creation: "If someone fluffed a line or got someone's name wrong or said something stupid, it was mortifying. But nowadays, those are the sort of people who are given jobs on TV." [36] A second series was broadcast in 2021. [37]
In September 2020, Audible launched an Alan Partridge podcast, From the Oasthouse. [38] It sees Partridge discussing topics such as relationships, family and the culture wars. [39] Coogan said the podcast format was liberating, with more opportunity for nuance and less need to create punchlines to unite the audience. [14] The podcast was carefully scripted rather than improvised. [14] Further series were released in September 2022 [40] and October 2023. [41]
In April 2022, Coogan began a UK Alan Partridge tour, Stratagem, in which Partridge gave a motivational talk and addressed topics such as identity politics and culture wars. [42] The Guardian critic Brian Logan gave the show four out of five, praising its "rich comedy of physical awkwardness" and writing that Partridge was now "at the centre of his own thriving multi-platform metaverse". He noted that though Coogan had once tired of Partridge, he now "clearly takes pleasure in the performance". [43] The Independent critic Louis Chilton gave it two out of five, finding its jokes obvious and dated and that Partridge did not work in a live format. [44]
In August 2022, Partridge joined the rock band Coldplay to perform the 1985 Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill" at Wembley Stadium, London. [45] A third Partridge memoir, Big Beacon, covering his return to television and his experience restoring a lighthouse, was published on 12 October 2023. The Times gave it a positive review, praising its "skilfully terrible writing". [46] In February 2024, the BBC announced And Did Those Feet… With Alan Partridge , a six-part mockumentary series that has Partridge exploring mental health issues following a year in Saudi Arabia. [47]
Alan Partridge is an incompetent and tactless television and radio presenter, [8] [49] with an inflated sense of importance and celebrity. [12] He is socially inept and often offends his guests. [50] According to the Telegraph , Partridge is "utterly convinced of his own superiority, and bewildered by the world's inability to recognise it". [1] His need for public attention drives him to deceit, treachery and shameless self-promotion. [49] In the Knowing Me, Knowing Yule Christmas special, he assaults a BBC boss and a paralysed man. [10] Marber said Partridge's fundamental characteristic is desperation, [35] and described him as part of a British tradition of "sad little man" characters such as Captain Mainwaring, Basil Fawlty and David Brent. [2]
What annoys me the most, however, is people saying, "You're a bit like Alan, aren't you?" and then laughing hysterically. To which I reply, "Well, yes. Of course I am.'" They can't quite believe this admission. "But he's an idiot! Are you saying he's part of you?" As patiently as possible, I'll say, '"Yes, because part of me is an idiot!"' I have no problem showing all those imperfections. What liberates me and makes me stronger is utilising all that dysfunction. I really don't care. Especially as I get older. I just think to myself, "Put in all those negative things. Put in all the stuff that is unattractive, that clearly comes from somewhere, that must be part of me."
—Steve Coogan [19]
Coogan said Partridge was originally a "one-note, sketchy character" [51] and "freak show", but slowly became refined as a dysfunctional alter ego. [52] Whereas Coogan said he has affection for Partridge, he said Iannucci sees him as "basically an idiot". [19] Coogan credited Neil and Rob Gibbons for giving Partridge a more rounded personality in later incarnations, and said: "The 21st-century Alan is a nicer man. He is more empathetic and less about mocking the fool. More Malvolio and less Frank Spencer." [19]
The Gibbons brothers felt that by the time of Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge , when Partridge is working for an even smaller radio station, he is more at peace with himself and that his lack of self-awareness saves him from misery. [53] Iannucci said that Partridge stays optimistic because he never sees himself as others see him, [50] and that despite his failings he was "the perfect broadcaster for these times, when there are 24 hours to fill and dead time is a crime—he has a unique capacity to fill any vacuum with his own verbal vacuum". [1]
Baynham said that although Partridge is unpleasant, the writers of I'm Alan Partridge tried to build empathy: "You're watching a man suffer but also at some level identifying with his pain." [53] For Alpha Papa, Coogan wanted Partridge to be heroic and for the audience to sympathise with him while laughing at him: "You know he's done the wrong thing, but at least he's got some humanity. It's impossible to sustain 90 minutes of good drama without investing in the character." [19] Felicity Montagu, who plays Partridge's assistant, Lynn, felt he was vulnerable and loveable, and a good person "deep down". [54]
Partridge holds right-wing views. He is a reader of the right-wing newspaper the Daily Mail , and supported Brexit in line with the Daily Mail position. [55] Coogan, who is left-wing, [42] described Partridge as a Little Englander, with a "myopic, slightly philistine mentality". [54] Coogan felt the humour came from Partridge's misjudgement, rather than in a celebration of bigotry: "I don't want to add to the sum total of human misery. I want to point out things where we can improve our behaviour, myself included." [2] He aimed to use humour to hold privileged and powerful people accountable. [2]
Earlier versions of Partridge were more bigoted, but the writers found there was more humour in having him attempt to be progressive. [54] For example, in I, Partridge, he stresses his friendship with the gay television presenter Dale Winton. [20] Coogan said Partridge was aware of political correctness: "In the same way that the Daily Mail is a bit PC—it wouldn't be openly homophobic now—Alan is the same. He tries to be modern." [54]
Partridge lives in Norwich in the East of England. Iannucci said the writers chose it as it is "geographically just that little bit annoyingly too far from London, and has this weird kind of isolated feel that seemed right for Alan". [56] According to Forbes , Partridge has "parochial bad taste", [57] and Coogan described him as "on the wrong side of cool". [52] He is a fan of James Bond films and Lexus cars. [58] His talk show catchphrase, "Aha!", comes from ABBA, and he named his son Fernando and his talk show Knowing Me, Knowing You after ABBA songs. [59]
In earlier incarnations, Partridge's wardrobe included a blazer, badge and tie, driving gloves and "too-short" shorts, styles he describes as "sports casual" and "imperial leisure". [60] According to Iannucci, by the time of Alpha Papa, Partridge had "evolved to the Top Gear presenter circa 2005 stage", with sports jackets and a foppish fringe. [1] Coogan said that the rise of postmodernism had made it difficult to find clothes for Partridge, as "everything we had once seen as square or distasteful was now being worn by hipsters ... The waters of what was uncool became so muddied that it was difficult to find anything looked bad and not just ironic. It even made me question if Alan was still relevant." [19] As Coogan aged, the makeup he wore in earlier performances became unnecessary. [1]
Vanity Fair described Alan Partridge as a national treasure and a cherished part of British comedy, alongside characters such as Basil Fawlty and Mr. Bean". [61] According to Variety, in Britain "Alan Partridge is a full-on phenomenon, a multiplatform fictional celebrity whose catchphrases, mangled metaphors and social ineptitude are the stuff of legend and good ratings". [62] Though Partridge is less known outside Britain, Adam McKay, the director of the 2004 comedy Anchorman , said he is well known among American comedians including Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell and Jack Black: "Everyone watching those [Partridge] DVDs had the same reaction. How did I not know about this guy?" [61] IndieWire wrote that "before there was Ron Burgundy for the Yanks, there was Alan Partridge for the Brits". [63]
Brian Logan wrote in the Guardian that though Partridge was created as a satire of the "asinine fluency of broadcaster-speak" of the time, his development as a character study gave him a timeless quality. [64] Another Guardian journalist, John Crace, wrote: "By rights, Alan Partridge should have been dead as a character years ago, the last drops of humour long since wrung out ... but Steve Coogan keeps finding ways to make him feel fresh." [65] The Independent wrote that Partridge was a "disarming creation" whom the audience root for despite his flaws. [66] In the Guardian, Alexis Petridis wrote that audiences find Partridge funny partly because they recognise themselves in him, [67] and Edmund Gordon called Partridge "a magnificent comic creation: a monster of egotism and tastelessness". [20] According to Gordon, Partridge allows progressive audiences to laugh at politically incorrect humour as "every loathsome comment is sold to us not as a gag, but as a gaffe". [20] Writing that Partridge "channels the worst excesses of the privileged white man who considers himself nonetheless a victim", the New Statesman journalist Daniel Curtis saw Partridge as a precursor to post-truth politicians such as Nigel Farage and Donald Trump. [68]
Mandatory wrote that Partridge was "a fascinatingly layered and fully realised creation of years of storytelling and a fundamentally contemptible prick—he feels like a living, breathing person, but a living, breathing person that you want to strangle". [49] The Telegraph wrote: "Never has one actor so completely inhabited a sitcom character. We believe Partridge is real, from his side-parted hair down to his tasseled sports-casual loafers." [69]
In 2014, the Guardian writer Stuart Heritage described Partridge as "one of the greatest and most beloved comic creations of the last few decades". [13] In a 2001 poll by Channel 4, Partridge was voted seventh in their list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. [70] In a 2017 poll of over 100 comedians, Partridge was voted best TV comedy character and Coogan best male comedy actor, and a scene from I'm Alan Partridge in which Partridge goes to the home of an obsessive fan was voted best comedy scene. [71] In 2021, Rolling Stone named I'm Alan Partridge the 52nd-greatest sitcom, writing that it had taken Partridge "from a parody of celebrity-presenter smarm to one of the greatest Britcom characters ever". [72] In 2022, the Guardian journalist Michael Hogan selected Partridge as Coogan's greatest TV role, writing that he had "painstakingly fleshed him out from a catchphrase-spouting caricature to a layered creation of subtle pathos [and] one of our most enduring and beloved comic characters". [73]
The Telegraph credited Partridge with influencing cringe comedies such as The Inbetweeners , Nighty Night and Peep Show . [69] According to Den of Geek , he has so influenced British culture that "Partridgisms" have become everyday vernacular. [12] Monkey Tennis, one of his desperate television proposals, has become shorthand for absurd television concepts. [74] [75] [76] Another, Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank, was used by the hostel booking site Hostelworld as the basis of a 2015 television advert with the boxer Chris Eubank. [77] In 2020, Coogan said that many of Partridge's inane ideas had since become real programmes, making satire more difficult. [14]
Partridge has become associated with the city of Norwich. [78] An art exhibition inspired by Partridge opened in Norwich in July 2015. [79] In September 2020, an unofficial statue of Partridge created by sculptors in the film industry was temporarily erected outside the Forum in Norwich; Partridge's official Twitter account released a statement endorsing the statue. [78] In October 2021, a fan convention at the Mercure Norwich Hotel was attended by more than 250 people. [80] "Accidental Partridge", an unofficial Twitter account which collects quotes reminiscent of Partridge's speech from real media figures, had attracted 144,000 followers by May 2014. [81] [60] In August 2024, Lynn Faces, a play inspired by Partridge's assistant, Lynn, opened at the New Diorama Theatre in London. [82]
Year | Title | Format | Role |
---|---|---|---|
1991–92 | On the Hour | Radio series (BBC Radio 4) | Sports correspondent [83] |
1992–93 | Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge | Host [84] | |
1994 | The Day Today | TV series (BBC Two) | Sports correspondent [85] |
Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge | Host [86] | ||
Christmas Night with the Stars | TV special | Segment host [87] | |
1995 | Knowing Me Knowing Yule with Alan Partridge | TV special (BBC Two) | Host [88] |
Alan Partridge's Country Ramble | Host[ citation needed ] | ||
1997, 2002 | I'm Alan Partridge | TV series (BBC Two) | Protagonist [1] |
1997 | Election Night Armistice | TV special (BBC Two) | Interview correspondent[ citation needed ] |
2003 | Anglian Lives: Alan Partridge | TV interview special (BBC Two) | Interviewee [7] |
2004 | Teenage Cancer Trust concert | Charity concert | Presenter [15] |
2011, 2016 | Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge | TV series (Sky Atlantic) | Presenter [18] [30] |
2011 | Open Books with Martin Bryce | TV talk show (Sky Atlantic) | Interviewee [24] |
Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of My Life | TV special (Sky Atlantic) | Presenter [24] | |
2013 | Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa | Feature film | Protagonist [25] |
2015 | TFI Friday | Talk show (Channel 4) | Co-host [29] |
2016 | Alan Partridge's Scissored Isle | TV special (Sky Atlantic) | Presenter [31] |
2017 | Alan Partridge: Why, When, Where, How and Whom? | Documentary (BBC Two) | Subject [35] |
2019, 2021 | This Time with Alan Partridge | TV series (BBC One) | Co-host [36] |
2020–2023 | From the Oasthouse: The Alan Partridge Podcast | Podcast (Audible) | Host [89] |
2022 | Alan Partridge Live: Stratagem | Live tour | Host [90] |
2024 | And Did Those Feet... With Alan Partridge | TV series BBC One | Protagonist |
Year | Title | Format | Role |
---|---|---|---|
1997 | Clive Anderson: All Talk | TV talk show | Interviewee [91] |
1998 | Brit Awards | TV awards show (ITV) | Presenter of "Best British Video" award [92] |
2000 | British Comedy Awards | Musical performer [93] | |
2011 | The Jonathan Ross Show | TV talk show (ITV) | Interviewee [21] |
The Richard Bacon Show | Radio talk show (BBC Radio 5 Live) | Interviewee [22] | |
2017 | Inheritance Tracks | Radio series (BBC Radio 4) | Guest [33] |
2022 | Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway | TV variety show (ITV) | Guest announcer (series 18, episode 6) |
2022 | Music of the Spheres World Tour | Live music concert | Special guest segment at one of the London Wembley shows |
Year | Title | Format | Role |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan | Autobiography | Author [94] |
2016 | Alan Partridge: Nomad | Author [32] | |
2023 | Big Beacon | Author [95] |
Year | Title | Format | Role |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Comic Relief | TV fundraiser (BBC Two) | Fundraising presenter [96] |
1995 | The Big Snog | TV fundraiser (Channel 4) | Fundraising presenter [97] |
1998 | Stephen Fry's "Live from the Lighthouse" | Interview correspondent [98] | |
1999 | Comic Relief | TV fundraiser (BBC One) | Presenter [99] |
2001 | TV fundraiser (BBC Two) | Interview correspondent [100] | |
2005 | Host [101] | ||
2011 | Host of Mid Morning Matters segment [102] | ||
2016 | Sport Relief | TV fundraiser (BBC One) | Correspondent [103] |
2017 | Comic Relief | TV fundraiser (BBC One) | Segment voiceover [104] |
2019 | Correspondent [105] | ||
2024 | Host of Mid Morning Matters segment [106] |
Year | Title | Format | Role |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Steve Coogan Live: The Man Who Thinks He's It | DVD special | Presenter [107] |
2009 | Steve Coogan Live: As Alan Partridge and Other Less Successful Characters | Presenter [16] | |
Steven James Brown was a British composer, lyricist, record producer, and arranger.
Stephen John Coogan is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is best known for creating and portraying Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which he developed while working with Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris on On the Hour and The Day Today. Partridge has featured in several television series such as I'm Alan Partridge (1997–2002) and the film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013). Coogan has earned accolades such as four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.
Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of Oxford. Starting on BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4, his early work with Chris Morris on the radio series On the Hour transferred to television as The Day Today.
The Day Today is a British comedy television show that parodies television news and current affairs programmes, broadcast from 19 January to 23 February 1994 on BBC2. It was created by Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 9 August 1991 and 28 May 1992 and was also written by Morris, Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, David Quantick, and the cast. For The Day Today, Peter Baynham joined the writing team, and Lee and Herring were replaced by Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews. The principal cast of On the Hour was retained for The Day Today.
On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992. Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, On the Hour starred Morris as the overzealous and self-important principal anchor. He was accompanied by a regular cast assembled by Iannucci, comprising Steve Coogan, Rebecca Front, Doon Mackichan, Patrick Marber and David Schneider, who portrayed assorted news reporters, presenters and interviewees. On the Hour featured the first appearance of Coogan's character Alan Partridge as the "Sports Desk" reporter.
I'm Alan Partridge is a British sitcom created by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept broadcaster. The first series, broadcast in 1997, has Coogan living in a roadside hotel after having been left by his wife and dropped by the BBC. The second, broadcast in 2002, sees Partridge living in a static caravan after recovering from a mental breakdown. Iannucci said the writers used the sitcom as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England".
Peter Baynham is a Welsh screenwriter and performer. He appeared in a series of comedic Pot Noodle television adverts in the 1990s. His writing work includes collaborations with comedy figures such as Armando Iannucci, Steve Coogan, Chris Morris, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Sarah Smith. Born in Cardiff, Baynham served in the Merchant Navy after leaving school and later pursued a career in comedy — first in stand-up, and then as a writer and performer for various news and sketch comedies in radio and television while enjoying personal fame starring in Pot Noodle adverts. He then became a writer in feature film.
John Patrick Thomson is an English comedian, narrator and actor best known for his roles in The Fast Show, Men Behaving Badly, Cold Feet, 24 Hour Party People, The Brothers Grimsby and Coronation Street.
Sarah Doon Mackichan is a British actress, comedian and writer. She co-created, wrote and performed in the double-Emmy-award-winning Smack the Pony. She frequently collaborates with Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan, having played multiple characters in The Day Today, Brass Eye and Alan Partridge, and has also appeared in Toast of London and Two Doors Down. Mackichan was nominated for Best Female Comedy Performance at the 2014 British Academy Television Awards for her performance in Plebs and won critical praise for her performance alongside John Malkovich in Bitter Wheat in 2019.
David Schneider is an English actor, comedian, and director. His acting roles include the role of Tony Hayers, in the Alan Partridge franchise.
Timothy Key is an English poet, comedian, actor and screenwriter. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, both as a solo act and as part of the comedy group Cowards, and plays Alan Partridge's sidekick Simon in film and television. In 2009, he won the Edinburgh Comedy Award and was nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality.
Saxondale is a British sitcom television series, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive producers. The show is set in Stevenage and depicts middle-class suburban life.
Declan Lowney is an Irish television and film director. Known initially for directing musical events such as the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, Lowney is perhaps best known for his work on Irish and British television comedies such as Cold Feet, Little Britain and Father Ted for which he was awarded a BAFTA Award in 1995. He was awarded a second BAFTA Award in 2006 for his work on BBC comedy Help.
Pozzitive Television is a production company formed by producers Geoff Posner and David Tyler in 1992. Pozzitive have won awards including six BAFTAs, two Golden Roses at Montreux, multiple British Comedy & RTS awards, seven Sony Awards and two International Emmys.
David Tyler is a British television and radio comedy producer, executive producer, and director. He is co-founder of the independent production company Pozzitive Television, which he set up in 1992 with Geoff Posner.
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge is a BBC Television comedy series of six episodes, and a Christmas special Knowing Me, Knowing Yule on 29 December 1995. It is named after the song "Knowing Me, Knowing You" by ABBA, a rendition of which was used as the show's title music. Steve Coogan plays the incompetent but self-satisfied Norwich-based talk show host Alan Partridge, who often insults his guests and humiliates himself in the process. Alan was a spin-off character from the spoof radio show On the Hour. Knowing Me, Knowing You was written by Coogan, Armando Iannucci and Patrick Marber, with contributions from the regular supporting cast of Doon Mackichan, Rebecca Front and David Schneider, who played Alan's weekly guests. Steve Brown provided the show's music and arrangements, and also appeared as Glenn Ponder, the man in charge of the house band.
Mid Morning Matters is a British digital radio show parody written by Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons and Armando Iannucci, produced by Baby Cow Productions and funded by the British arm of Australian lager company Foster's, starring Coogan as fictional radio DJ Alan Partridge. The first of twelve 15-minute episodes was uploaded to the Foster's Funny website on 5 November 2010, and then available on YouTube. Six 30-minute episodes titled Alan Partridge Mid Morning Matters: Special Edition, edited from the web series, began airing on Sky Atlantic in July 2012 as part of a deal between producers Baby Cow and BSkyB. A second series consisting of six episodes premiered in February 2016.
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa is a 2013 British comedy film starring Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge, a fictional presenter he has played on various BBC radio and television shows since 1991. It was directed by Declan Lowney and written by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham and Neil and Rob Gibbons. Colm Meaney co-starred as Pat Farrell, a DJ who takes hostages after he is fired from Partridge's radio station; Partridge is enlisted as a negotiator.
I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan is a 2011 mock autobiography as written by the British comedy character Alan Partridge. It was written by Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci and Rob and Neil Gibbons. An audiobook version recorded by Coogan as Partridge was released on CD and downloadable audio formats.
This Time with Alan Partridge is a British sitcom first broadcast in 2019 on BBC One. It stars Steve Coogan as the inept broadcaster Alan Partridge in a spoof of day-time magazine programmes such as The One Show and Good Morning Britain.