Rev your engines for Saxondale

Written by: Rhianna Evans
Published: Sunday 15th August 2021

In 2006, after years of playing Partridge, Steve Coogan launched a brand new character, Tommy Saxondale; a wizened ex-roadie to the stars turned pest control expert with anger management issues.

An ageing rocker, Tommy has never quite been able to fully accept that the seventies are now well and truly over.

To understand how Saxondale came about, it's perhaps best to first take a look at the history of Coogan's first and most famous creation, Alan Partridge. While Tommy came to us fully formed, Alan was a character that developed over years. We first heard him as a sports pundit in Radio 4's On The Hour, the 1991 radio precursor to that surreal classic that changed satire as we know it, The Day Today.

The Day Today was a series that ridiculed the news in a way nobody had seen before - strait-laced and unflinching in its silliness, its dead-pan style set a trend that continues to this day. Fronted and created by Chris Morris, The Day Today also boasted the writing credentials of Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring, to name just a few. This was where Alan Partridge first came to television.

Back on radio, Partridge had proved an instant hit and was quickly given his own Radio 4 vehicle, the chat show send-up Knowing Me, Knowing You. It was here that he began evolving from spoof sports reporter to the ailing chat show host and inappropriate TV personality we recognise today.

Knowing Me, Knowing You... With Alan Partridge. Image shows from L to R: Patrick Marber, Rebecca Front, Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan), Doon Mackichan, David Schneider. Copyright: BBC

The BBC realised they had two cult successes on their hands and it didn't take long for Knowing Me, Knowing You, like its predecessor, to spawn a visual outing. Both series debuted on BBC Two in 1994.

Partridge had started to seep into the national consciousness. However, it was the sequel to Knowing Me, Knowing You, I'm Alan Partridge, that truly cemented the character as a comic and cultural icon. First airing in 1997, the behind-the-scenes sitcom gave us a backstory to the chat show host as he fought to get a second series of his faltering talk show and to keep his company, Pear Tree Productions, alive. We were introduced to his long-suffering PA, Lynn, and his character was given a powerfully surreal edge - the genius of random cutaways to Alan fantasising about lap dancing for his BBC bosses, or binging on Toblerones elevated him to new heights of oddness, and we saw Alan for the first time in his natural home, as a DJ on Radio Norwich.

I'm Alan Partridge (created by Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham and Coogan) was a critical hit and returned - albeit not until 2002 - for a second, final series. By this time Partridge had made Steve Coogan a star, and for the next few years he took time away from the character, taking on several roles across stage and screen (including his first of his many collaborations with Michael Winterbottom). When Coogan returned to the TV sitcom format a few years later he did so in the guise of an entirely new character - Tommy Saxondale.

Saxondale. Tommy (Steve Coogan). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions

Saxondale does, to an extent, break the great tradition of sitcom characters being losers. Tommy is still a loser and in many ways he's as dangerously deluded and self-assured as Partridge: "I play by my own rules" he informs his daughter coolly. In his head he's a maverick hero; in his glory days, the wild seventies, he was Deep Purple's roadie, but now, as his daughter is at pains to remind him: "You're a fifty-year old pest controller who lives in Stevenage".

Yet, Tommy is a much happier and an ultimately nicer character than Partridge (although maybe not to pigeons). More often than not, he'll end up winning a small victory by the end of an episode, or at the very least a victory by Tommy Saxondale's standards (which, it's fair to say are pretty low).

One episode sees Tommy invite his daughter and her frankly painful fiancé to stay. Although the situation escalates to a few scenes of the cringeworthy comedy that Coogan performs so excruciatingly well, Tommy ends up being the bigger person and sees his potential son-in-law off with the parting gift of a figurine of a leopard on a log that he'd received as a farewell present from Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore.

Tommy is a somewhat bitter divorcee. "The chick I tied the knot with ... she was pretty low," he tells his anger management group, "she could crawl under the carpet with a top hat on." His sessions, overseen by the comically sincere Alistair (James Bachman) begin each episode as a cold open; before the titles have even begun, Tommy is undermining the system and is doing his best to passively disrupt the therapy group.

Saxondale. Image shows from L to R: Magz (Ruth Jones), Tommy (Steve Coogan). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions

Now, recovering from his anger issues, Tommy lives a quieter life with his girlfriend, Magz, played by Ruth Jones. There's more than a flicker of Gavin & Stacey's Nessa about the character - a series which Coogan's production company, Baby Cow, also made.

Magz is a Welsh artist / t-shirt designer - a free spirit, and not one to be tied down to convention. Ruth Jones explained that what she particularly loved about Magz was that she has quite a genuine relationship with Tommy and doesn't fall into the standard 'nagging wife' sitcom trope. It's an example of Saxondale as a show subverting the viewer's expectations. Like Nessa, Magz is her own woman; she displays her "shocking art" in her own shop - Smash The System situated in The Westgate Shopping Centre next to Clinton Cards.

Saxondale. Image shows from L to R: Vicky (Morwenna Banks), Raymond (Rasmus Hardiker), Tommy (Steve Coogan). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions

The pair live with a young lodger, their pseudo-son Raymond (played brilliantly by Rasmus Hardiker), who works as Tommy's assistant at the pest control business, where they regularly face secretary Vicky (Morwenna Banks), whose thirst for gossip boarders on the malicious, as she constantly attempts to get a rise out of Tommy but rarely succeeds.

Drawing on Coogan's fame, Saxondale is awash with guest appearances from his comedy contemporaries: Alexander Armstrong, Ben Miller (who also directed the pilot episode), Greg Davies, Liza Tarbuck, Simon Greenall (who played much loved I'm Alan Partridge character Michael), Darren Boyd (as Saxondale's well observed, passive-aggressive neighbour), Kevin Eldon and Mark Evans all put in guest appearances.

One episode sees Mark Williams guest star as Deggsy, Tommy's former friend from 'the good old days'. In an attempt to recapture their youth, they go out for a wild night of drinking but can only find ... a quiet Wetherspoons.

Saxondale. Image shows from L to R: Tommy (Steve Coogan), Malcolm (Simon Greenall). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions

The more you know about seventies' rock music, the more you'll appreciate Saxondale. He first bursts onto the screen in his bright yellow Ford Mustang Mach 1 to House Of The King by Focus, and that very much sets the scene for the myriad of prog rock references that come at you throughout the series. Saxondale boasts that he toured with all "the greats", although, as he is at pains to remind everyone, this excludes Led Zeppelin.

Matt Berry (who pops up briefly in the second series) composed much of Saxondale's music and the score really comes into its own when Tommy goes on one of his pest control stake outs.

Clearly this series was something of a labour of love for all involved. It was a show that struck a more subtle tone, with a more nuanced protagonist than viewers may expect. You might even say that the overall tone Saxondale sets is more in line with the comedy climate of today than that of the mid-2000s.

Like I'm Alan Partridge before it, the show ran for two series but despite critical acclaim it ultimately slipped by largely unnoticed by the general public.

We last saw Tommy appear in Coogan's 2008 tour: Steve Coogan Live - As Alan Partridge And Other Less Successful Characters, a title which gives us an impression of how Coogan felt about the reception to Tommy at the time. The following year there was talk of an American remake of Saxondale for NBC, although nothing ever came of it.

However, Steve Coogan told Interview Magazine of the show's surprising popularity overseas:

"I think in the UK people judged it against Partridge, but weirdly, in the US it has got a kind of cult following. I think it's because it was about a rebel, an outsider. Basically, it was about the baby-boomer generation who are now directionless. The whole counterculture of the 60s - those guys are getting old now and their authority figures are younger than they are. It always amused me: when the prime minister or the president has an electric guitar or likes rock music, then where's the establishment? Where's the 'man' you're supposed to rebel against? I always wondered how that older generation feels. Was it worth the fight? I like sad characters and damaged people. And Saxondale's one of those guys."

In the years that followed Steve Coogan would of course return to Partridge, first revitalising the character for a series of online shorts in 2010, Mid Morning Matters, co-starring Tim Key as his new radio companion, Sidekick Simon.

The dynamic between Alan and his new sparring partner was not unlike that between Tommy and Raymond. The double act, which sees the bemused and naive sidekick being shown the ropes by perhaps the world's worst teacher, would seem to have been directly influenced by Saxondale, and indeed Key had also had a guest role in the former series, playing an unassuming charity collector.

Saxondale. Image shows from L to R: Tommy (Steve Coogan), Raymond (Rasmus Hardiker). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions

Coogan has cited the relationship between Fletcher and Godber in the classic Ronnie Barker sitcom Porridge as the direct inspiration behind Tommy and Raymond's relationship. Throughout all thirteen episodes of Saxondale, Coogan and co-writer Neil MacLennan clearly took inspiration from bygone sitcom protagonists. Indeed, in one interview Coogan described Tommy as "a Victor Meldrew for the new millennium, if you will".

The success of the Alan Partridge movie in 2013, Alpha Papa (which was in many ways a spin-off from Mid Morning Matters) prompted Coogan to float the idea of a Saxondale movie. He told Empire Magazine: "What I liked about that character is that in some ways he was the butt of the joke, but he was also funny himself sometimes. Whereas Alan is never funny himself - he's just unwittingly funny. Alan's never going to tell you a joke that really makes you laugh. Saxondale might."

Like the mooted American adaptation however, nothing has come of the idea - yet.

Parallels have been drawn between the more recent incarnation of Alan Partridge we've seen, with Neil and Rob Gibbons co-writing with Coogan, and Tommy Saxondale. It's fair to say that in Alpha Papa we saw Alan take on a few "Saxondale" attributes; it was a much more placid Partridge on the big screen, and arguably thereafter. The key difference between the characters would seem to be Tommy's loyalty to his friends and his partner, Magz; something which Alpha Papa saw Partridge learn (to an extent).

It would be a shame to think we'd seen the last of the anarchic pest controller. But Steve Coogan admitted in his autobiography that he preferred Saxondale to Partridge, noting the character's depth and fundamental likability, so you never know, Tommy may pop up again. However, even if he doesn't, there's no doubt that his character has had a significant impact on the legacy of the legend himself, Alan Partridge.

Where to start?

Saxondale. Image shows from L to R: Jerome Wilson (Alexander Armstrong), Tommy (Steve Coogan). Copyright: Baby Cow Productions

Series 1, Episode 2 - Mice

In this episode, Tommy is both fighting to save Magz's shop and stop an infestation of mice in the home of a famous presenter of a TV motoring show, not unlike Top Gear. Alexander Armstrong's lampooning of Jeremy Clarkson is particularly enjoyable in an episode that serves as a great introduction to the characters that inhabit Tommy's weird world.

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Saxondale - The Complete Series 1 & 2

Tommy Saxondale has been through the rock and roll mill and lived to tell the tale. He plays fast and loose, shoots from the hip, and tells no lies - he's a true maverick.

Tommy never took the corporate dollar. He doesn't work for 'the man'; he's his own man. These and other moth-eaten cliches are how Tommy would describe himself. But when Tommy removes his rose-tinted Aviator shades, he can't deny a few basic facts; he was a middle-ranking roadie for 20 years, but for the past ten years he has been at the cutting edge of the pest control industry... in Hertfordshire.

First released: Monday 26th October 2009