''I'm Alan Partridge'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

written by

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, whic ...

Peter Baynham Peter Baynham is a Welsh screenwriter and performer. He is best known for appearing in a series of comedic Pot Noodle television adverts in the 1990s. His work largely represents collaborations with comedy figures such as Armando Iannucci, Steve ...

and

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) 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 ...

. Coogan stars as

Alan Partridge Alan Gordon Partridge is a comedy character portrayed by the English actor 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, h ...

, a tactless and inept radio DJ and television presenter who has been left by his wife and dropped from the BBC. The show follows Partridge as he lives alone in a roadside hotel and presents a

graveyard slot A graveyard slot (or death slot) is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually in the early morni ...

on local Norwich radio, all the while desperately pitching ideas for new television shows. Two series of six episodes each (12 in total) were broadcast five years apart. Series 1 was released in late 1997, while a second series followed in 2002, with Partridge now living in a

static caravan A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Us ...

after recovering from an off-screen

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. Iannucci said the writers used the sitcom as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged

Middle England The phrase "Middle England" is a socio-political term which generally refers to middle class or lower-middle class people in England who hold traditional conservative or right-wing views. Origins The origins of the term "Middle England" are n ...

." Supporting Coogan in the cast are

Felicity Montagu Felicity Jane Montagu (born 12 September 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Lynn Benfield, the long-suffering assistant of Alan Partridge. Early life Montagu was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Lieutenant-Co ...

as his faithful but timid

personal assistant A personal assistant, also referred to as personal aide (PA) or personal secretary (PS), is a job title describing a person who assists a specific person with their daily business or personal task,. it is a sub-specialty of secretarial duti ...

, Lynn Benfield;

Simon Greenall Simon James Greenall (born 3 January 1958) is an English actor, producer, writer and voice artist. He has portrayed Michael in the BBC television series ''I'm Alan Partridge'', as well as in '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa,'' the Caretaker in ...

Geordie Geordie () is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England, and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. There are different definitions of what constitute ...

handyman Michael; and

Phil Cornwell Philip Cornwell (born 5 October 1957) is an English actor, comedian, impressionist and writer. He is part of the '' Dead Ringers'' television and radio series, and was the voice of Murdoc Niccals in the virtual band Gorillaz. Cornwell has co- ...

as Partridge's rival DJ Dave Clifton. Series 2 also featured

Amelia Bullmore Amelia Mary Bullmore (born 31 January 1964) is an English actress, screenwriter and playwright. She is known for her roles in ''Coronation Street'' (1990–1992), ''I'm Alan Partridge'' (2002), '' Ashes to Ashes'' (2008–2009), '' Twenty Twelve ...

as Partridge's

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

girlfriend Sonja. The show received critical acclaim and was a success amongst audiences, being nominated for three

BAFTAs The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

(winning two), two

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

(winning both), and a Royal Television Society award. In a list drawn up by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

in 2000, voted by industry professionals, ''I'm Alan Partridge'' was named the 38th-best British television series of all time. Episodes were shot on tape with hand-held cameras to achieve a single-camera, documentary feel to the show. Interior scenes were made in a studio, with closed-wall sets and a live audience.

Premise

was created by

and producer

for the 1991

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

comedy programme ''

On the Hour ''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 ...

'', a spoof of British

current affairs Current affairs may refer to: News * ''Current Affairs'' (magazine) a bimonthly magazine of culture and politics. * Current affairs (news format): a genre of broadcast journalism * Current Affairs, former name for Behind the News Politics * A ...

broadcasting, as the show's

sports presenter In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

. In 1992, Partridge hosted a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

Radio 4 spoof

chat show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

, '' Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge''. ''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 in 1994 on BBC2. It was created by Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris and is an adaptation of the radio programme ...

'' in 1994, followed by ''

Knowing Me, Knowing You "Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in February 1977 as the third single from the group's fourth album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with ...

'' later that year. The series ends with Partridge accidentally shooting a guest. ''I'm Alan Partridge'' follows Partridge after he has been left by his wife and dropped from the BBC. In the first series, he lives in a roadside hotel, presents a

on local

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

radio, and desperately pitches ideas for new television shows. In the second series (2002), Partridge lives in a

with his new Ukrainian girlfriend after recovering from a

. 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. Iannucci said the writers used ''I'm Alan Partridge'' as "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged

Episodes

Series 1 (1997)

Series 2 (2002)

Reception

''I'm Alan Partridge'' won the 1998 BAFTA awards for Comedy Performance and Comedy Programme or Series.

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

wrote: "the character of Partridge hit his comic peak" in ''I'm Alan Partridge''. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' described the show as "bleakly hilarious". ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' named ''I'm Alan Partridge'' as one of the 10 best TV sitcoms of all time. In a poll of British comedians conducted by the TV channel

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, it was named as the second-best British sitcom of all time. In a 2017 poll of over 100 comedians, a scene from ''I'm Alan Partridge'' in which Partridge goes to the home of an obsessive fan was voted best comedy scene.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Unofficial Linton Travel Tavern website

Filming locations from ''I'm Alan Partridge''
{{BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy (Programme or Series) 1981–1999 1997 British television series debuts 2002 British television series endings 1990s British sitcoms 2000s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms English-language television shows Television series about television Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows set in Cambridgeshire Television shows set in Norfolk British workplace comedy television series