''This Time with Alan Partridge'' is a British sitcom first broadcast in 2019 on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
. It stars
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...
as the inept broadcaster
Alan Partridge
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 ap ...
in a
spoof of day-time magazine programmes such as ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
'' and ''
Good Morning Britain''.
After a series of productions with
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
, ''This Time'' was the first
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Alan Partridge production since ''
I'm Alan Partridge'' ended in 2002''.''
Susannah Fielding plays Partridge's co-host Jennie, and
Tim Key
Timothy Key (born 2 September 1976) 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 (comedy troupe), Cowards, and plays Alan Pa ...
and
Felicity Montagu reprise their roles as Simon Denton and Partridge's assistant Lynn Benfield. The series received generally favourable reviews. A second series was broadcast in 2021.
Premise
Alan Partridge
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 ap ...
, an inept broadcaster played by
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...
, becomes the stand-in presenter of ''This Time'' after the regular co-host falls ill.
According to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', the show features "Partridgean tirades on everything from hand hygiene (leading him to lurk outside the BBC toilets doing spot-checks on colleagues) to hacking".
It also plays on his past working relationships with colleagues, for example on-location reporter Ruth Duggan (
Lolly Adefope) who has become his arch-nemesis.
Production
Alan Partridge
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 ap ...
was created in 1991 by Coogan and
Armando Iannucci
Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer and performer.
Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of Oxford. St ...
. Following early Partridge shows such as ''
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 ...
'' and ''
I'm Alan Partridge,'' produced by the BBC, ''This Time'' was the first BBC Partridge project following several
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
productions.
It was produced by Coogan's production company
Baby Cow Productions, written by Coogan and the
Gibbons brothers
Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons are an English screenwriting duo from Sandbach in Cheshire. The twin brothers are best known for cowriting several Alan Partridge projects, including ''Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge'', ''Alan Partridge: Welco ...
, directed by the Gibbons brothers, and produced by
Ted Dowd.
Coogan felt it was the right time for Partridge to return, and that he might represent the views of
Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
voters.
Neil Gibbons said the world of live television presenting had changed since Partridge had been created: "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."
He likened Partridge to presenters such as
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
, who he felt had been hired to present ''
Good Morning Britain'' because he said offensive things. Coogan and the Gibbonses ignored this because "if you put Alan in a world where his crass buffoonery is part of the selling point, there's nowhere for him to fall".
A second series was produced in 2020, and was broadcast on BBC One from 30 April 2021.
Reception
''This Time with Alan Partridge'' has received mostly positive reviews.
Lucy Mangan
Lucy Mangan (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian'' and an opinion writer for '' i'' news.
Early life and education
Mangan was born in 1974 and grew up in Catford, ...
of ''The Guardian'' wrote that "the differentiation of ''This Time With Alan Partridge''s layers and escalation of every exchange is precision-engineered: beautiful things and a joy forever." Tim Glanfield of ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' felt it was "some of the best Alan Partridge ever made". Sean O'Grady of ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' gave it five stars, and found it "a consistently strong creative achievement". The segment with Coogan as
Martin Brennan (the Irish Alan Partridge lookalike who closes the show with
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
songs) was described by
Raidió Teilifís Éireann as "TV moment of the year", which would be remembered "in the canon of truly great Partridge moments."
Hugo Rifkind
Hugo James Rifkind (born 30 March 1977) is a British journalist. He has been a columnist for ''The Times'' since 2005. He also presents a mid-morning show on Times Radio, Mondays to Thursdays (from Sept 2024.) From July 2020 (the station's laun ...
of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' was less positive, saying "Only very occasionally does it soar into unexpected places. Still, for a character that came along a quarter of a century ago and still isn't old, maybe fresh delights are a bit too much to ask." Writing for ''
Prospect'', Lucinda Smyth argued "''This Time'' is... OK. But it is not the best of British television, it's not even the best of Coogan, and it undermines both to say so... I don't mean to say that there haven't been a few gems in ''This Time''. But overall the timing is patchy, the belly-laughs are few, and the script is tiringly Alan-centric."
The television host
Piers Morgan
Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
, who is spoofed by ''This Time'', said that Coogan was "trying to exact revenge on me because he now hates everything to do with newspapers... I used to love Alan Partridge, he used to be hilarious, brilliant. It is now utterly unwatchable."
Cast
*
Steve Coogan
Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English-Irish actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. His accolades include four BAFTA Awards and three British Comedy Awards, and nominations for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Aw ...
as
Alan Partridge
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 ap ...
*
Susannah Fielding as co-presenter Jennie Gresham
*
Tim Key
Timothy Key (born 2 September 1976) 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 (comedy troupe), Cowards, and plays Alan Pa ...
as Partridge's sidekick Simon Denton
*
Lolly Adefope as on-location reporter Ruth Duggan
*
Felicity Montagu as Partridge's assistant Lynn Benfield
*
Natasia Demetriou as makeup artist Tiff (Series 2)
*Alex Dee as Floor Manager
Guest appearances
Series 1 (2019)
Episode 1
*
Emily Maitlis
Emily Maitlis (born 6 September 1970) is a Canadian-born British journalist and former newsreader for the BBC who was the lead anchor of the BBC Two news and current affairs programme ''Newsnight'' until the end of 2021. She has since been a pre ...
as herself
*
Cariad Lloyd
Katie Cariad Lloyd (born 21 August 1982) is a British comedian, actress, writer, and podcaster. She is a member of the improvisational comedy group Austentatious, the host and creator of '' Griefcast'', and an improv teacher.
Lloyd was nominate ...
as Alice Fluck
*
Priyanga Burford as Jean Chaudhary
Episode 2
*
Peter Wight as John Baskell
*
Angela Curran as Annie
*
Simon Farnaby as Sam Chatwin
Episode 3
*
Jonathan Watson as Dale Daniels
Episode 4
*
Monty Don
Montagu Denis Wyatt Don (born George Montagu Don; 8 July 1955) is an English horticulturist, broadcaster, and writer who is best known as the lead presenter of the BBC gardening television series '' Gardeners' World''.
Born in Germany and rai ...
as himself
Episode 5
*
Ellie White as Dee Gilhooly
*
Jamie Demetriou as Ralphy Moore
Episode 6[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9789983/?ref_=ttep_ep6 ]
*
Katy Wix
Katy Victoria J Wix (born 28 February 1980) is a Welsh actress, writer, author and artist. Her television roles include Carole in '' Stath Lets Flats,'' Mary in ''Ghosts'', Barbara in ''Ted Lasso'', and Jules in '' Big Boys''. She has also ap ...
as Susan Lyle
Series 2 (2021)
Episode 1
*
Leila Farzad as Clarissa Hoskin
*
Simon Kunz as Father Paul
*
Simon Farnaby as Sam Chatwin
Episode 2
*
John Thomson as Joe Beasley
*
Colin Hoult
Colin Hoult (born 15 May 1979) is an English actor and writer in television, radio, and theatre. He studied at Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre.
Career
Hoult has worked in various television productions, including '' Russell Howard's ...
as Howard
* Clive Hayward as Maurice
Episode 3
*
Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...
as Dan Milner
*
Nigel Lindsay as Tommy
*
Rosie Cavaliero as Rosie Whitter
Episode 5
*
Nick Mohammed
Nicholas George Mohammed is a British actor, comedian and writer. He has portrayed the character Mr. Swallow across both stage and television for over a decade. He is the creator of the Sky One comedy series ''Intelligence (British TV series), ...
as Bhavit Sharma
Episode 6
*
Alex Lowe as Hugh Bevell
*
Eleanor Matsuura
Eleanor Matsuura is a British actress best known for her roles as Yumiko in '' The Walking Dead'', Hannah Santo in '' Spooks: The Greater Good'', Bev in ''Utopia'' and as PC Donna Prager in ''Cuffs''.
Early life
Matsuura was born in Tokyo and ...
as Professor Rebecca Burns
Episodes
Series 1 (2019)
Series 2 (2021)
References
External links
*
*
{{Alan Partridge
2019 British television series debuts
2021 British television series endings
2010s British satirical television series
2020s British satirical television series
BBC satirical television shows
British parody television series
British English-language television shows
Television series about television
Fictional television shows