HE’S everyone’s favourite delusional and self-obsessed Daily Mail reading radio presenter, but was Alan Partridge actually based on a real-life broadcaster?
While he may initially seem too,’ Partridgey’ to be true, rumours suggest that the Mid Morning Matters presenter is based on a number of different sports and television personalities. Local radio presenters are often rumoured to be the main inspiration for Steve Coogan’s finest comic creation, but there are also some well-known stars that share a fair few similarities with Mr Partridge.
Gaffe Master, Richard Madeley
Richard Madeley is one of the main people considered to have been a model for Alan Partridge, especially after a series of rather insensitive gaffes and cringe worthy comments. On one memorable occasion, Richard decided to share with the viewers of his Channel 4 teatime show how he and wife Judy Finnigan maximised their chances when trying to conceive. We won’t go into lurid details, but it involved cold water and a lot of very sensitive places. Richard has also mastered the Partridge art of tautology, needlessly repeating the same idea in different words.
Ground Force Godfather, Alan Titchmarsh
But Richard isn’t the only Partridge impersonator out there. Alan Titchmarsh has also been compared to the former sports presenter, particularly in terms of his rather direct presenting style and slightly awkward flirtations with female guests. Alan Titchmarsh is rumoured to be rather flattered with his comparisons to Alan Partridge, even going so far as to play up the similarities. Unfortunately, Armando Lannucci, one of the comedians who created Partridge, has gone on record to say that there’s definitely no connection, claiming that he hadn’t heard of Mr Titchmarsh when he was initially writing the first scripts of I’m Alan Partridge.
Disc Spinning Wizard, Tony Blackburn
Tony Blackburn has also been named as a possible inspiration for Alan, particularly thanks to his years in the 70s presenting ‘Golden Hour’. There are certainly similarities between the pair’s presenting styles, and even voices, but perhaps Tony’s most Partridge-esque moment came during his infamous nervous breakdown after his divorce from first wife Tessa Wyatt. For weeks on end Tony played nothing but break-up or depressing songs (including Honey by Bobby Goldsboro), whilst commenting on how much he missed his estranged wife.
The emotional histrionics first amused and then irritated the nation, and were later aped by Harry Enfield in his ‘Smashie and Nicie’ characters in the late 90s. Coogan has never confirmed whether Tony Blackburn served as an inspiration for Alan as well, but if he was, then Tony has the dubious honour of being the inspiration behind 3 of British comedy’s most infamous characters. It’s a claim to fame, we suppose.
Boris Johnson Lover, James Whale
Avid Partridge fans will know that shortly before Coogan invented the award-winning radio presenter character he was interviewed by former TalkSPORT presenter James Whale. Whale has a famously acerbic interviewing style, often hanging up on guests or callers whose points he doesn’t agree with, or whom he feels aren’t being interesting enough. He also has some rather controversial views, claiming that global warming is an entirely natural phenomenon, and was famously sacked from TalkSPORT after he urged listeners to vote Conservative during the 2008 London elections.
All of which sounds very familiar. Intriguingly, during his interview Coogan began to impersonate Whale and gently take the mickey out of him, leading many to suspect that he came up with the character of Alan there and then. And if we’re being really tenuous, a partridge and a whale are both animals!
Whoever Partridge is based on, the above contenders have contributed more than their fair share of mindless gaffes and bizarre statements to the broadcasting world. In fact, we’d go so far as to say the spirit of Alan lives on in their shows and occasionally facile comments. We think Alan would rather like that; some of these people are broadcasting legends, after all.
