Knowing meToo, knowing you...
THE MeToo movement and bereavement are serious and sensitive topics.
So who better to tackle them than the hapless broadcaster Alan Partridge in his new series This Time With Alan Partridge. The series, which will air next month on BBC One, is set to bring Partridge back to the BBC years after his gaffes saw him shrink from TV stardom to regional digital radio DJ.
‘This Time’ will see an inept Partridge return to the airwaves to deal with sensitive contemporary topics, aping magazine shows like The One Show.
Speaking to Lauren Laverne on BBC Radio 6 Music, Middleton-born Steve Coogan, Partridge’s creator, said: “It’s a magazine show, a sort of lightweight magazine show on BBC One called This Time. Alan is parachuted in because the regular presenter is unwell and Alan sees an opportunity to re-establish himself at the BBC. MeToo is dealt with in one episode. There’s also an episode about bereavement.
“There are a lot of difficult topics and Alan sprinkles his magic across all of them, in a slightly inept way, as you might imagine.”
The Manc comic, 53, said the series will be broadcast after the watershed because its gaffe-prone protagonist remained unable to refrain from swearing on air. Alan Partridge first appeared on spoof BBC Radio 4 current affairs show On The Hour, which transitioned to TV in 1993 and also spawned a spin-off show, Knowing Me, Knowing You.
BBC sitcom I’m Alan Partridge followed in 1997, winning two BAFTAs and generating some of TV’s most quotable catchphrases along the way.
This Time will be Partridge’s first return to live TV since Knowing Me, Knowing You was cancelled after a guest was fatally shot live on air.
His co-host Jennie Gresham will be played by Susannah Fielding and Tim Key will return as Simon ‘formerly Sidekick Simon’ Denton.