Steve Coogan

Steve Coogan - My plans for Alan Partridge movie sequel

The comedian is considering a Norfolk-based road movie as a follow-up to Alpha Papa.

Steve Coogan: Partridge could be a bit like Cameron

Partridge creator tells Radio Times that the character is a bit of a liberal Tory these days, not unlike our very own PM....

Steve Coogan: older, wiser, but as for his alter ego...

Alan Partridge, back in a new film, remains the actor's most memorable part, but much has changed since he first portrayed him - from Hollywood success to his presence at the Leveson inquiry.

'Are you friends?' 'No, we work together.' p]Rob Brydon]'s response to the receptionist at Lancashire's famous Inn at Whitewell is at the crux of what this hugely entertaining collaboration with Steve Coogan and Michael Winterbottom (first shown in 2010) is all about. Winterbottom's McGuffin is to send Brydon and Coogan - playing variations on their personas from A Cock and Bull Story - motoring off around the north of England, reviewing rustic restaurants for The Observer.

But really, it's a chance for the two comedians (sorry, comic performers) to riff on their reputations (Coogan: chippy and ambitious; Brydon: warm and eager to please), with near-suicidal ruthlessness, for our delectation. This opening episode is a treat. Slightly pathetic one-upmanship abounds as Brydon tears relentlessly through his impressions from A(l Pacino) to R(onnie Corbett) - much to Coogan's derision. The erstwhile Alan Partridge, meanwhile, gripes about feeling unappreciated by all and sundry, flirting haplessly with bar staff while Brydon turns on his unthreatening charm.

Winterbottom's direction is unobtrusive but occasionally telling, while the landscape makes a backdrop spectacular enough to force its way into the foreground in later episodes. All sorts of themes are bubbling under the surface - the ever-evolving nature of male friendship, the dying of the creative light, the relative merits of road maps and satnavs - but you may well be laughing too much to care. Series two is currently in production in rural Italy, and we can't wait.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa - first look review

The cinematic debut of Steve Coogan's bumbling talk show host is a quietly audacious triumph.

Rob Gilroy: Making a stand #11

I've mentioned before about why I became a character comedian, haven't I? The fact I'm so frightfully dull that even cold callers refuse to engage in small talk with me? Thought so. Another reason I arrived at this decision, though, was because of one man: Steve Coogan.

Picture Gallery: Steve Coogan's best on-screen moments

Steve Coogan is a comedic jewel in the British crown. We've rounded up a few of our favourite of his big (and small) screen moments.

Opinion: The Problem with Steve Coogan

The Look of Love is another example of Steve Coogan playing a character who is eerily like the iconic Norwich DJ.