Steve Coogan and his colleagues on the character s return
In these hyper-sensitive times, it takes a man of rare tact and empathy to negotiate the minefield of hot-button racial and gender issues. Step forward, Alan Partridge…
While he might represent all that is reactionary, the character is so well-known for his clumsily inappropriate comments that he can get away with jokes on the most delicate of topics, his creator Steve Coogan says.
‘Because I don t think there are any other characters who have survived this long, you can take risks that you couldn t with a new character, he argues. ‘You can talk about things that are problematic or very, very delicate. All the whole post-MeToo landscape, the BLM/BAME issues, all the identity politics that people are very sensitive to, we can actually, with Alan, sort of run at it. And, if we re careful enough, emerge unscathed.
Fri 30 Apr 2021 17.00 EDT
It is perhaps a slightly coarser, less exquisite agony than in his absolute prime but agony it truly remains. Welcome â if that is the word â to the return of Steve Coogan in the new series of This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC One). Such is the ongoing mastery of his creation â brought again to awful, hilarious life by Coogan and his post-Armando Iannucci collaborators Neil and Rob Gibbons â that I flinch from the pain even as I remember the laughs.
Partridge has survived as co-host of the show, a perfect parody of current affairs programmes such as The One Show and Good Morning Britain (with Alan a less secure version of Piers Morgan, their lunging need to be noticed springing from difference founts, and Susannah Fieldingâs Jennie Gresham essaying the Susanna Reid âsmile like itâs not an act of self-harmâ role). âCovering everything! From aqua-aerobics to abortion! From zebras to Zionism!â But a new produ
BBC/Baby Cow/Gary Moyes/Matt Burlem
The world changes, but Alan Partridge is eternal. Thirty years after his radio debut, Norfolkâs favourite turtlenecked son is still going strong, with a second series of
This Time following on from â deep breath â
On The Hour, The Day Today, Knowing Me Knowing You, Iâm Alan Partridge, Alpha Papa, Mid Morning Matters, Scissored Isleâ¦Â The list continues is the point, and so does Partridge.
Alan and his cohost Jennie Gresham are back to cover everything (as Alan bellows in the cold open) âFrom aqua aerobics to abortion, from zebras to Zionismâ. Their guests have been booked and itâs all the usual bright sub-
Is Alan Partridge perfectly place to take on MeToo and Black Lives Matter? : Interviews 2021 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide chortle.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chortle.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.