For Alan, life is something of a mixed bag at the moment, having lost his cushty BBC presenting gig (see This Time), but finding companionship with new girlfriend Katrina (Kelly).
Speaking at the press launch of the series, How Are You? co-writer Neil Gibbons explained that the team has moved on from the era of Alan as a “kicked puppy”, as seen in the travel tavern days of I’m Alan Partridge.
But they’ve found a “new flavour” of torment for the character from Katrina.
“On the face of it, he sort of has everything. He’s got quite a good house, he’s got quite a good car. He’s getting a lot of low-level, but quite lucrative work,” continued Neil, who co-writes with brother Rob Gibbons and Coogan himself.
“And he’s got a girlfriend who’s younger than him, who’s beautiful, who’s quite a figure in the community. But [she’s] just an awful, awful woman. And as the series goes on, you do see Alan struggling with what – on paper – is clearly a good deal for him souring quite badly.”
Coogan added that they were looking to create a female character who would be able to easily deflect Alan’s misogynistic tendencies and challenge him in ways neither Lynn (Felicity Montagu) nor ex-girlfriend Sonja (Amelia Bullmore) ever could.
“Alan bullies Lynn quite a bit, although Lynn does actually get the better of Alan sometimes,” explained Coogan. “But we wanted someone who would have Alan on the back foot in a way he’s not with Lynn.
“We wanted someone who ‘wore the trousers’ and who he was obviously attracted to, but she was mercurial to him [and] he couldn’t quite understand who she was.”
Coogan went on to praise his modern Partridge collaborators, Neil and Rob Gibbons, for their work transforming Alan from a fairly broad comedy character to a more “three-dimensional” figure.
“Rob and Neil are really, totally comfortable with poignancy or pathos,” he concluded.
“Alan evolved under their stewardship to be more three-dimensional. So sometimes you can actually feel sorry for Alan, feel compassion for him and that is a much more humane execution of the character. That’s given it longevity.”
How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge) premieres on BBC One and iPlayer on Friday 3rd October 2025.
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