THE RANKING
Alan Partridge
Four Empire writers tackle the prodigious output of Steve Coogan’s comic creation
Illustration: Jacey
Chris: This is not simply an excuse to do a bunch of Alan Partridge impressions and reel off a load of quotes, oh no. It’s a discussion about one of the most complex and fully realised characters, not just comedy characters, of all time. Over the last 30 years or so few characters have been so thoroughly explored as Alan Partridge, across radio, TV, a movie, books and a podcast.
Nick: When it comes to great, complex characters with that amount of shading, it comes down to Alan Partridge and Hamlet. I mean, it’s those two. Dan: And Hamlet never did a podcast.
Nick: You feel like you know this person better than you know almost anyone in your actual life. But somehow that makes it funnier. And they’vedone this amazing thing where they’ve taken all these different mediums and used them to show you different sides of him. Chris: Over the last few years, as Neil and Rob Gibbons have become involved with the writing and creative direction of the character, they’ve introduced this idea that he’s still a petty, vindictive guy who is capable of great atrocities.