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Alan Partridge '''Alan Gordon Partridge''' is a television and radio presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan. A parody of both sports commentators and chat show presenters, the character has appeared in two radio series, three television series and numerous TV and radio specials, including appearances on BBC's Comic Relief (charity)|Comic Relief, which have followed the rise and fall of his career. Character Whereas many of his personality defects are apparent in his appearances in shows such as ''The Day Today'' and ''Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge'', it is largely from ''I'm Alan Partridge'' onwards that his creators began to explore his personality in depth, and most of the observations that follow originated in that show. In all of the shows, however, Partridge is characterised as being an insecure, superficial and narcissistic 'wally', concerned largely with the status and level of his public profile and, to a lesser extent, the possessions this allows him to acquire (such as his beloved Rover (car)|Rover and Lexus cars and Bang & Olufsen stereo systems). Despite being a professional broadcaster, Partridge is a socially incompetent and awkward character, who is prone to social faux pas and often displays deep insensitivity to social norms and a thoughtless, selfish lack of interest in anything or anyone outside of his own needs and desires; as a result, he is often depicted as a highly-flawed and unsympathetic character, disliked by many of the people with whom he comes into contact. Among the character’s few "friends" that are depicted in his appearances are Lynn Benfield, his put-upon and long-suffering personal assistant, and Michael, an emotionally tortured ex-soldier from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It is notable, however, that he treats even these people with little more than disdain, despite expecting complete loyalty from them in return; in the first series of ''I'm Alan Partridge'' he does not even seem to be on first-name terms with Michael. Bizarrely, Alan appears to have a close friendship with Bill Oddie, who even sends him birthday presents. Partridge is otherwise depicted as being unable to forge genuine friendships or connections with other people, who are often turned off by his unpleasant, self-obsessed personality, frequently comically banal interests and topics of conversation. Despite this, Alan claims to have 104 friends. Partridge is depicted as being a sexually repressed and prudish man, uncomfortable and awkward with overt (or even subtle) displays of sexual or romantic feelings, or what he views as being ‘perverted’ sexual practices. He is particularly discomfited by homosexuality, and despite describing himself as "homosceptic" at one point appears to possess some hidden Homoeroticism|homoerotic or bisexuality|bisexual tendencies. This is the subject of numerous running gags in ''I’m Alan Partridge'', in particular his numerous efforts to deny his interest in Bangkok "Kathoey|lady-boys" (whom he describes as ‘fascinating creatures’ whilst insisting that he is merely confused by them and not attracted to them) and a recurrent gag in which he will daydream about performing an erotic dancing|erotic dance in a peephole Pringle of Scotland|Pringle jumper and a vulcanised rubber thong for a selection of men (usually those who can help further his career in some way, such as Tony Hayers). He is also quite misogyny|misogynistic, displaying a tendency to objectify and patronise women (who usually view him in some disdain). Despite this, in the second series of I’m Alan Partridge he manages to sustain a romantic relationship with Sonja, a scatterbrained 33-year-old immigrant from Ukraine who is quite devoted to him. Even this relationship, however, is marked by Alan’s open contempt for her, and it is apparent that her affection towards him is largely unreturned and that his relationship with her is mainly based on the boost to his ego that their 14-year age gap provides (which he is frequently heard boasting about). No member of Partridge’s family is unseen character|shown on any of the series that he appears in; however, his dysfunctional relationship with them informs much of the background of the show. In his early appearances, Alan was married to Carol, a never-seen character, and their relationship appeared to be under a lot of strain. In the Christmas special ''Knowing Me, Knowing Yule'', Alan attributed his rash and erratic behaviour to the fact that Carol had left him on Christmas Eve. By the time of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Alan and Carol are divorced, and while Alan lives in a Travel Tavern, Carol remains in their home with her new boyfriend, who Alan describes unflatteringly as ''"a narcissistic sports pimp"'' who apparently enjoys protein drinks and frequently humiliates Alan over the phone. During their marriage, Alan and Carol had two children – Fernando (apparently named after Fernando (song)|the song by ABBA) and Denise – neither of whom are ever seen or heard on-screen. During the run of ''Knowing Me, Knowing You'', Alan states that Fernando is studying at the University of Cambridge (a curious claim, as in a later episode Alan confuses the universities of University of Oxford|Oxford and University of Cambridge|Cambridge, believing them to be amalgamated at ''"Oxbridge University, wherever that is"''). The next references to Alan's children are made in ''"I'm Alan Partridge"'', in which Fernando hangs up on one of Alan's rambling go-nowhere telephone conversations, and in which a staff member at the Travel Tavern mentions that Denise has an oddly similar appearance to Alan. It is also revealed that Denise has a pierced navel, and that Fernando seems to spend much of his time in bed with a succession of girlfriends. The final mention of Alan's children is an offhand comment in the second episode of the second series of ''"I'm Alan Partridge"'', in which Alan glibly states that he has access to his children, but that they have no desire to see him. Outside of his all-consuming quest to be on television, his various appearances often demonstrate that Partridge does not possess a particularly rich or detailed personal life. In ''I’m Alan Partridge'' in particular, he is often shown to occupy himself with pointless or needless tasks, seemingly just to give himself something to do; this is particularly demonstrated in the first series episode ‘Basic Alan’, over the course of which he walks to a Filling station|petrol station to buy 12 bottles of Windshield washer fluid|windscreen washer fluid for no apparent reason, spends time driving repeatedly around a ring road and buys tungsten-tipped screws he has no intention of ever using. Most of the interests he is depicted as having show him as being out of touch with modern society in general; he describes Paul McCartney's band Wings (band)|Wings as "the band The Beatles could have been" (his favourite album is, of course, ''Band on the Run'') and is a fan of Kate Bush, the Electric Light Orchestra and particularly ABBA, the music of which is a recurrent theme in ''Knowing Me, Knowing You With Alan Partridge''. The few hobbies he is depicted as indulging in include driving, rambling, birdwatching and collecting celebrity memorabilia. The character is politically Conservatism|conservative, and his favourite newspaper is the ''Daily Mail'', a right-leaning publication which he claims is "arguably the best newspaper in the world". He is very pro-law and has a strong stance on criminality, viewing hoodlums and miscreants as "sub-human scum". He also favours the death penalty for treason and murder. Fictional biography The Cheers TV / Watch Alan Partridge online