29 Facts About Alan Partridge

1.

Alan Gordon Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by the English actor Steve Coogan.

2.

Alan 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.

3.

In 1997, Coogan starred as Partridge in a BBC sitcom, I'm Alan Partridge, written by Coogan, Iannucci and Peter Baynham, following Partridge's life in a roadside hotel working for a small radio station.

4.

Alan Partridge is credited with influencing cringe comedies such as The Inbetweeners, Nighty Night and Peep Show.

5.

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.

6.

Alan Partridge is portrayed by Steve Coogan, who had performed a similar character for a BBC college radio station at university.

7.

In 1994, On the Hour transferred to television on BBC2 as The Day Today, in which Alan Partridge reprised his role as sports reporter.

8.

In 1997, Coogan starred in a sitcom, I'm Alan Partridge, written by Coogan, Iannucci and Peter Baynham.

9.

In 1999, Alan Partridge appeared on the BBC telethon Comic Relief, performing a medley of Kate Bush songs.

10.

Coogan returned to Alan Partridge after pursuing other projects, such as his work with the director Michael Winterbottom on films such as 24 Hour Party People.

11.

Alan Partridge 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".

12.

In 2020, he said that though he had once tired of Alan Partridge, he had now become "a battered, comfortable old leather jacket".

13.

An audiobook version recorded by Coogan as Alan Partridge was released on CD and downloadable formats.

14.

Coogan appeared as Alan Partridge to promote I, Alan Partridge on The Jonathan Ross Show and BBC Radio 5 Live.

15.

The film sees Alan Partridge enlisted as a crisis negotiator during a siege at his radio station.

16.

In July 2017, Alan 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 " by Barry Mann and the theme from Grandstand.

17.

In September 2020, Alan Partridge launched an Audible podcast, From the Oasthouse.

18.

The Guardian critic Brian Logan gave the show four out of five, praising its "rich comedy of physical awkwardness" and writing that Alan Partridge was now "at the centre of his own thriving multi-platform metaverse".

19.

Alan Partridge noted that though Coogan had once tired of Partridge, he now "clearly takes pleasure in the performance".

20.

The Independent critic Louis Chilton gave it two out of five, finding its jokes were obvious and dated and that Alan Partridge did not work in a live format.

21.

Alan Partridge is an incompetent and tactless television and radio presenter.

22.

Alan Partridge is socially inept, often offending his guests, and has an inflated sense of importance and celebrity.

23.

Alan Partridge holds right-wing views; he is a reader of the right-wing newspaper the Daily Mail, and supported Brexit because the Mail "told him to".

24.

Alan Partridge is more empathetic and less about mocking the fool.

25.

Brian Logan wrote in the Guardian that though Alan 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.

26.

We believe Alan Partridge is real, from his side-parted hair down to his tasseled sports-casual loafers.

27.

The Telegraph credited Alan Partridge with influencing cringe comedies such as The Inbetweeners, Nighty Night and Peep Show.

28.

An art exhibition inspired by Alan Partridge opened in Norwich in July 2015.

29.

In September 2020, an unofficial statue of Alan Partridge created by sculptors in the film industry was temporarily erected outside the Forum in Norwich; Alan Partridge's official Twitter account released a statement endorsing the statue.