ALAN’S IN A FIGHT FOR TV SURVIVAL AS HE TRIES TO OUTSHINE HIS TALENTED CO-HOST
A GLORIOUS combination of comedy and cringe, this is the welcome return of the great Alan Partridge and his terrible broadcasting.
Alan (Steve Coogan) is cohost of BBC1 magazine show This Time, alongside Jennie Gresham, played by Susannah Fielding.
There are wonderful The One Show vibes as the pair smile inanely to camera, ready to “natter about matters”.
“From aqua aerobics to abortion, from zebras to zionism,” elaborates Alan.
We join Alan in his dressing room where he is busy practis
BBC1, 9.30pm
ing his facial expressions and fashioning his hair “into the silhouette of a small scooter helmet”, ready for the 80m walk to the studio.
Once they go live, the grins are pasted on and we find out that they are going to investigate haggis, body language and whatever monks get up to.
Coogan has teased that this series we can also expect to find out more about the presenters’ private lives, running in parallel with the usual onscreen and off-screen chaos.
This in addition to Alan’s usual fluffing of lines, being rude to the crew, accidentally insulting guests and the frostiness between him and Jennie.
Conscious of being left in Jennie’s shadow, and alert to potential changes behind the scenes, Alan is growing ever more anxious about his place in the big time.
There’s even a new producer – a young chap from E4 – which doesn’t bode well for Alan.
“Change is afoot,” he grumbles. “They’ve already come for the theme tune.”