A parody of British television personalities, Partridge is a tactless and inept broadcaster with an inflated sense of celebrity. Since his debut in , he has appeared in media including radio and television series, books, podcasts and film. After a hiatus, Partridge returned in with a series of shorts, Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge , written with Rob and Neil Gibbons , who have cowritten every Partridge project since.
Coogan said Partridge began as a "one-note" character, but slowly became more complex and empathetic. While the writers use Partridge to satirise bigotry and privilege, they also aim to create empathy. Critics have praised Partridge's complexity, realism and pathos. Vanity Fair called him a British national treasure and The Guardian described him as "one of the greatest and most beloved comic creations of the last few decades".
Alan Partridge was created for the BBC Radio 4 comedy programme On the Hour , a spoof of British current affairs broadcasting, as the show's hapless sports presenter. Marber felt Partridge had potential for other projects, and encouraged Coogan to develop his character. The series saw Partridge irritate and offend his guests, and coined his catchphrase, "Aha! It follows Partridge after he has been left by his wife and dropped from the BBC.
He lives in a roadside hotel outside Norwich , presents a graveyard slot on local radio, and desperately pitches ideas for new television shows. Iannucci said the writers aimed to create "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England ". After I'm Alan Partridge , Coogan tired of Partridge and limited him to smaller roles, feeling he had become an " albatross ". Coogan returned to Partridge after pursuing other projects, such as his work with the director Michael Winterbottom on films such as 24 Hour Party People The Gibbons brothers have co-written every Partridge project since.
According to Neil, Coogan "invited us in, our sensibilities chimed I think we were like two pairs of fresh eyes, and Steve seemed to fall in love with the character all over again. Coogan said they chose the web format because "it was a bit underground, a low-key environment in which to test the character out again. And the response was so good, we realised there was more fuel in the tank. An audiobook version recorded by Coogan as Partridge was also released.
