This Time with Alan Partridge

Whether you’re a fan of Steven Coogan’s early Alan Partridge from On The Hour and Knowing Me, Knowing You, or the later years with his various comeback shows, it’s all good. It’s actually still stupidly good considering the cringe-factor.

But what would Alan Gordon Partridge (Aha!) be, if not the purveyor of a very particular brand of cringe humour: tactless, inept and embarrassing. The comedy comes from the uncomfortable strain of trying not to laugh at these more than awkward moments.

In this iteration, Partridge, who evolved from sports presenter on radio, to hosting – and being fired from – his own television show, is asked to fill in, as co-host on a weekday magazine show, for the regular guy who has taken ill.

Feeling the pressure of High Definition TV and the current consciousness, it’s not long before he’s doubled down on what he does best: ego-driven self promotion with a dose of misguided, ultra-aware wokeness.

This temporary TV coverage might prove to be Alan Partridge’s career life-line or a very definite death knell. Either way, there are only six 30-minute episodes to get through, so get started now.

The first episode became available on DStv Now on Friday 21 June and will be on DStv Now until 19 July.