David Schneider

'You're a mentalist!': what happened when Alan Partridge met his number one fan

In Alan's finest half-hour, he offended the Irish, sold a few tie-and-blazer badge combinations and made a new friend. But what inspired it?

BBC Radio 4's The Reunion brought together most of the main cast of 1994's TV news satire The Day Today, though not the ever elusive Chris Morris. Steve Coogan was down the line from the Lake District (presumably on a windy fell outside a restaurant from The Trip, while Rob Brydon ate pudding). Patrick Marber joined via Zoom too, while Armando Iannucci, Doon Mackichan and David Schneider were in the studio with Kirsty Wark. The recollections were riotous and giggly, but also instructive about how the news has changed. They didn't think Morris's interviewee-baiting, surreal vox pops would have worked now ("The power's now with whoever's stopped at the market," Schneider suggested). I also loved Wark teasing Coogan about ingesting helium to play a thinly veiled parody of Gerry Adams, whose voice was disguised on TV at the time. "You've never done dangerous substances before?" "Well, I have," Coogan replied, "but not ones that are funny."

Review: The Reunion - The Day Today, Radio 4

Want to feel old? Listen to this week's The Reunion, which brought together (most of) the key members of The Day Today, which was first broadcast by the BBC...27 years ago.

The Day Today is still funny in fake news era

Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris's satire first aired 27 years ago. These days the media is almost too shameless to satirise, but - as the cast reunite - the show's hilarity remains.

The making of Knowing Me, Knowing Yule

Patrick Marber and David Schneider on the disastrous Christmas special that ruined Alan Partridge's BBC career - and made him a better man.

The Oral History of Alan Partridge

Alan Partridge is Middle England incarnate. From hapless sports presenter, to hapless TV presenter, to hapless podcaster, Norwich's favourite son is as maddening as he is endearing. He's also managed to do what very few characters in the comedy world successfully manage to do: endure.

Iannucci shares set he did of just Tory MPs' jokes

But possibly the best thing to come out the left-wing/right-wing BBC comics debate is this Armando Iannucci tweet, in which he remembered when he tried out Tory MPs' jokes on an unsuspecting audience, pretending it was new material.

Led By Donkeys launches billboard contest

A competition to redesign the government's "get ready for Brexit" poster has been launched by the pro-remain activists behind a nationwide satirical billboard campaign designed to embarrass Brexiter politicians. The competition will be judged by Armando Iannucci and David Schneider.