Out today on Audible

The last time we saw Alan Partridge he was being denied entry to Broadcasting House after an ill-judged Network-style meltdown on This Time left him stuck outside without his BBC pass.

Fast-forward 15 months and he’s back outside some different studios, loitering in his car near the headquarters of North Norfolk Digital. And also back rediscovering his love of podcasting – a genuine passion, he’s keen to reassure us, not a cynical bid to get his old job back after a spell in the broadcasting wilderness.

‘I’ve been itching for ages to step back into the fray and podcast again,’ he insists, two years after his surprise embrace of the genre with the first, post-lockdown series of From The Oasthouse. In his mind, he popularised what was a hitherto obscure format, and now is back with 11 new episodes to save a floundering  genre that’s lost its edge.

For all the irony, podcasting may well be the medium Steve Coogan’s mild-mannered monster is made for, giving him free rein to voice his thoughts, however vacuous, petty or accidentally damning.

The intimacy and lack of filter when there are 25 minutes to fill with nothing but his own thoughts offer a revealing insight into the man he thinks he is compared to the jealous, shallow and arrogant personality he projects. That the character is so fully-formed, both in Coogan’s performance and writing with Rob and Neil Gibbons, allows the listener to fully immerse in his little world.

Episode one of the new series is concerned with him trying to secure another meeting with the ‘the Mr Big Balls of commercial radio’ following a chance encounter that might have opened a door back to East Anglian broadcasting, thanks to his bad-mouthing of all those currently working on the station. This is prime Partridge territory, pathetically desperate to get back on on air,  since that is how he gives his life meaning.

Elsewhere, in his enjoyably rambling monologue (that also includes a lovely callback to a classic I’m Alan Partridge scene)  we get a touch of his reactionary core when he idly muses about tiptoeing around contemporary issues he doesn’t understand. Oh for the sanctuary of his neighbour’s vintage car where they can close the doors, pretend its still 1959, and say whatever they really feel.

Not that Partridge is too shy when it comes to mouthing off about things he’s certain of, whatever they are actually true or not. He can quote TS Eliot he without knowing who the writer was, and he amusingly reveals how he ‘wrote a paper’ about a mortality trend he’d observed in the local hospital. ’Not a scientific paper – a personal one’. Talk about doing your own research…

Even if podcasting is his natural home, it doesn’t come with the kudos or money that Partridge requires, at least not at his level – so he’s even forced to broadcast adverts for his own side projects. But who wouldn’t like to see the Partridge Players’ Queen-based musical Rhapsody of Bohemia, featuring Alan as Brian May, before the copyright lawyers close him down?

Future episodes see Partridge trying ‘a raft of creative, physical and romantic outlets’ since he’s now got time on his hands and a void in his life that needs filling. From The Oasthouse could certainly fill a hole in yours…

• Series two of From The Oasthouse: The Alan Partridge Podcast was released today via Audible.

Episode 1, Rekindlings: A chance encounter with a local radio exec offers Alan hope of a professional revival

Episode 2, Novel: Keen to open up new revenue streams and inspired by a friendly proctologist, Alan has decided to write a novel. 

Episode 3, Stake Out: Alan lies in wait hoping to catch fly tippers who have been dumping building materials on a patch of grass behind the cul-de-sac. 

Episode 4, Potholing: Alan and his friend Ronald go potholing but Ronald stays in the car because he’s in a mood but that’s Ronald for you.

Episode 5, Tyneham: Alan visits a living museum to remember a time when sacrifice mattered

Episode 6, Wild Swimming: Although not a Guardian columnist, Alan goes wild swimming and talks about it at length.

Episode 7, Time Travel: After being teased by some council workers while speed walking through a park, Alan reflects on the death of his dog and ponders the possibility of going back in time.

Episode 8, Katarina: Alan’s online search for love has so far proved fruitless but could Mrs Right be someone closer to home? 

Episode 9, Brand Ambassador: Still to receive a job offer, Alan wonders if his commercial endorsements are creating a conflict of interest.

Episode 10, Alpha Male: After taking an online course - The Confidence Muscle with Chip Keeble - Alan musters the machismo to make a grand gesture to the woman he loves.

Episode 11, Perfect Day: Alan decides to focus on what matters - an afternoon teaching his grandchildren about the wonders of the solar system.

Review date: 22 Sep 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett