Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge problem

Is Steve Coogan a one trick pony? It’s a question that has dogged the Mancunian actor’s career ever since his preening Partridge flapped into the nation’s affections over thirty years ago. Since then, with a couple of notable exceptions (his turn as Stan Laurel was a triumph), Coogan’s projects have been little more than variations on a theme but without the genius of the source material. No matter how hard the actor tries to shake off his past with glossy Hollywood fodder, his polyester-pullovered alter-ego is never far from the surface. 

It’s not just Coogan’s diffident northern twang or the shifty owl-like eyes, it’s the whole essence of the man – Hollywood can doll him up in Armani suits and capped teeth as much as they like but they can never take the Partridge out of Coogan. Which is why so many of his characters from Saxondale to his portrayal of Paul Raymond have that whiff of Pear Tree Productions about them.