Alan Partridge is in crisis! But then, who isn’t these days? Last time he was on television, Alan was melting down live on air while hosting the light magazine show This Time, ending the series quite literally locked out of the BBC. At the start of his new, self-produced project, the light documentary How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), the broadcaster reveals he’s since hit another low by fainting into the lap of a female interviewee during a corporate event for Norfolk agribusiness stalwarts Bannroyd Animal Feed. Tough times, but personalities of Partridge’s calibre know how to bounce back: tie your troubles to a national trend and see if you can get a series out of it.
How Are You?, then, sees Steve Coogan’s immortal alter ego in roving factual mode, looking into an epidemic of anxiety, stress and loneliness that he feels is worsening: “If I can use an outdated term, it’s just got mental!” The journey will see him experiment with religion, reconnect with friends from school and take a lot of restorative country walks, as well as confronting his recent past. Episode one builds towards a hostile but cathartic reunion with “Sidekick” Simon Denton (Tim Key), Alan’s former colleague on This Time and North Norfolk Digital radio, and as this new series goes on, we’re shown unseen clips from Alan’s stints on both.
