Who is the bigger pillock: Alan Partridge or Steve Coogan?

Those of us who spent our teens quoting Alan Partridge owe a lot to Steve Coogan. He made my adolescence funnier, at any rate. Yet I know several people who imitated Partridge so much they got lost in character: it became difficult to know when they were being themselves. Funnily enough, the same applies to Coogan himself: in his interviews and ‘real’ TV shows, it is often impossible to distinguish between the famous actor and his even more famous creation. During his rants against the Murdoch Empire for Hacked Off, for instance, he could sound very Partridge-like. And his new Labour campaign ad is cheesier than the Partridge promo video for barging on the Norfolk broads.

Someone throw a cow on him! I’ve often asked myself who is the bigger pillock: Alan Partridge or Steve Coogan? And after some consideration I have decided the prize goes to Coogan. Partridge is obnoxiously right-wing — a Daily Mail reader-type who probably swung towards Blair – whereas Coogan is an obnoxious Leftie.