Alan Partridge to return to the BBC in new show.
“Kiss my face!” He’s back on the Beeb. After twenty years Alan Partridge will finally make his triumphant return to the BBC and it won’t involve Monkey Tennis or Youth Hosteling with Chris Eubank, BBC.co.uk announced today.
The show will see Alan (Steve Coogan) handed a career lifeline – the chance to stand in (temporarily) as co-host on This Time, an evening weekday magazine show. His first return to live television since his ‘90s chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You was cancelled after a guest was fatally shot on air, This Time is the perfect shop window for a man of Alan’s gravitas and will, or at least should, see him finally recognised as one of the heavyweight broadcasters of his era.
The show itself is a heady mix of consumer affairs, current affairs, viewer interaction, highbrow interview and lightweight froth; very much the sweet spots for a man whose CV boasts over two decades of weekday local radio. And with an array of diverse subjects on the agenda, it promises to be the perfect fit for a man whose broadcasting style has been described as ‘equidistant between chitchat and analysis.’
Joining Steve Coogan on the sofa will be Susannah Fielding as his co-presenter Jennie Gresham, and Tim Key as Simon ‘formerly Sidekick Simon’ Denton. The full cast will be announced in due course.
The 6 x half hour episode series will be shown on BBC One later this year, with an official release date forthcoming.
Jurassic Park!