...Or he was, until it all went wrong. Still, there's something comforting about watching this obnoxious buffoon slip into obscurity as the voice of the early morning slot on Radio Norwich, while trying to keep his sanity. And it's damn funny too.

A life in broadcasting
Alan shot to fame with incisive sports reporting on the informative news programme The Day Today until the Beeb saw fit to give him his own show, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge. While Richard and Judy were left to interview pregnant women suffering from PMT, Alan tackled heavyweight issues such as murder, teenage violence, the Euro tunnel and joy riding. It was here that he managed to single-handedly destroy race relations with France and shoot someone dead live on air.

Life after Auntie
It was after he broke the nose of the head of the BBC (using only some cheese) that Alan moved back to Norwich, where he is currently struggling to 'bounce back'. He couldn't do it without the help of mousy PA Lynn and demented girlfriend, Sonia. His successes include getting a job promoting a living room fire company. His failures include impaling his foot on a fire spike before a presentation and proceeding to vomit everywhere. He didn't get that gig again.

Norfolk nights
Alan once decided to show his secretary a good time by taking her to a romantic owl sanctuary. He might have done better if he'd researched the hot spots of Norwich more thoroughly. He could have taken her to the Riverside Swimming Centre, the nature reserve at Danby Wood, Bridewell Museum or the Mustard Shop. The fun never ends.

The dark times
During a particularly bleak period in his career, Alan lost it completely and gorged himself on giant-sized Toblerones until he became a bloated train wreck. He then did the unthinkable and drove all the way to Sheffield in his bare feet. After visiting a doctor he learned his problems were medical. He was diagnosed as being 'clinically fed up'.

The man behind the monster
Alan Partridge is the creation of Steve Coogan, whose versatile character portrayals, range of voices and gift for mimicry have earned him comparisons with that other legend of British comedy, Peter Sellers. The third of six children, Steve trained as an actor at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and he based the character of Alan Partridge on a radio presenter who interviewed him early in his career. When asked about why his creations are so horrific, he replied "I always find it easier to portray myself as being unlikeable and idiotic; to actually play a character that is likeable and engages the audience is far more difficult. It's a more subtle kind of challenge."