Coogan says comedy is undervalued

Comedy is an undervalued art form, according to Steve Coogan.

"It is often unfairly seen as trivial or low-brow," he told London's Time Out magazine.

"While I want to be taken seriously, I don't want necessarily just to do 'serious' work.

"I love comedy, I think comedy's fantastic and I love the fact that I'm there in the thick of it, doing it. It makes me happy."

In the four years since he was last on TV, Coogan has been working on two movies - the Ealing-style comedy The Parole Officer, out next Friday, and 24 Hour Party People, which tells the story of 'Tony Wilson, the godfather of the 'Madchester' scene.

And there's also two TV shows in the pipeline, a Hammer Horror spoof called Dr Terrible's House Of Horrible, and a fourth series for Alan Partridge, which promises to see some upturn in the hapless host's fortunes.

Published: 31 Jul 2001