Steve Coogan

Video: The Trip to Italy with Coogan and Brydon

One of the more eagerly awaited films at the Sundance Film Festival has been The Trip to Italy - a sequel to Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's 2010 adventures.

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reunite for Italian job

Three years on from 2010's The Trip, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have reunited with director Michael Winterbottom for a sequel The Trip to Italy. According to Coogan, "it's exactly the same but sunnier."

Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon take The Trip to Italy

The gastronomic TV comedy The Trip is returning. We join its two stars during filming in Italy and find their relationship has blossomed - with the help of some more fine dining.

Audio: Steve Coogan reacts to Philomena Oscar nods

He is best known for his comedic roles but Steve Coogan's serious side has been acknowledged by the Academy Awards. Coogan's movie Philomena has received four Oscar nominations.

Considering the awful track-record of UK TV characters given their own feature-films, I'm so relieved Steve Coogan's superlative Alan Partridge makes the transition this well. A project that's been rumoured for around a decade, it feels like the spectacular success of The Inbetweeners has made British TV production companies take the risk with a movie--knowing that even a UK-only hit will be enough to recoup low financial stakes.

Alpha Papa works because the situation is definitely something that suits cinema better than television (slightly), but it's not so grandiose that it betrays the character's small and specific pleasures. Alan Partridge has always been more verbally funny than physically hilarious, so it just makes sense to have a story set inside his radio station (North Norfolk Digital) on the eve of a corporate takeover that sparks a hostage crisis when colleague Pat (Colm Meaney) is sacked and loses his mind.

It's a predicament that puts Alan in a comfortable environment (literally "chatting for his life", as hostage negotiator and Pat's occasional cohort), but during an uncomfortable life-or-death week of craziness where he's suddenly a Very Important Person in the public mind. (I'm actually excited to see what the next Partridge product on television will be, as it would be logical for the character to get a career resurgence in the wake of Alpha Papa's events. He would at least get on Celebrity Big Brother, right?)

I'm just so relieved this film doesn't get too much wrong. The jokes and hilariously overwrought dialogue is intact, Coogan's predictably excellent (in a role he's perfected over 20-years at this point), and fans will appreciate the nods to various Partridge-universe characters and events. I especially enjoyed seeing Alan's long-suffering agent Lynn (Felicity Montagu) and "best friend" Michael (Simon Greenall) again, for the first time since 2002's I'm Alan Partridge (incredibly). Lynn gets a particularly nice sub-plot; enjoying being 'pampered' by the police, as someone with an insight into Alan.

Could Steve Coogan upset the Oscars?

The Awards Editor for Variety magazine has indicated that Philomena, co-written by and starring Steve Coogan, could be in the running for an Oscar this year.

It was a bit rich of Jonathan Ross to call C4 "f***ing idiots" for cutting Steve Coogan short at The British Comedy Awards.

You were the host, Jonathan. Perhaps if you'd kept a tighter rein on the earlier ramblings - yes you, Will Ferrell - poor old Coogan would not have suffered such a gross invasion of his publicity.

By all accounts Coogan gave a pretty funny speech. So I guess if C4 had left it in it would have looked totally out of place on this show. The night opened with Rossy admitting "It's hard to know what makes good comedy" and ended with us in no doubt as to what does not.

No wonder so many people complained when the BBC cut short a repeat of Mrs Brown's Boys to announce Mandela's death. We're so starved of laughs these days we must protect the few we have.

The rant by Johnny Vegas detailing everything that is wrong about British comedy should be nailed to the wall of every TV office. Failing that, just nail it to Jack Whitehall. His face gets everywhere these days.

Video: British Comedy Awards interviews

Sara Shulman interviews Johnny Vegas, Steve Coogan, Jack Whitehall, Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan, Tom Rosenthal and Ryan Sampson at The British Comedy Awards.

Lunch with the FT: Steve Coogan

The actor-comedian's latest film Philomena has been tipped for Oscars. Over sea bass in Hollywood, he warns that 'your brain rots' in Los Angeles.