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Partridge seems to emit to us locals.


Te call was in – Alan was about to approach. Te crowd descended into a dizzy throng of excitement, and out steps Steve Coogan, fully Alan-ed up, although a snazzier version of the usual fan of a more ‘sports casual’ attire. Making his way down the press line to answer questions, he described the brief for his bespoke baby blue safari suit as “a mix between Prince Charles and James Bond.” We were lapping it up. When our friends at Just Regional asked Alan – after a remark he made about visiting Sheringham – whether he’d catch crabs while he was there, he replied, “You mean if I’d have slept with a prostitute? Oh crabs, oh I see. I misunderstood the question.” Te phrase ‘Classic Partridge’ was bandied about so much by us all, it became accidental Partridge.


Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa goes on general release from August 7th.


Now was my turn; he was shuffling ever closer towards me be barraged by my list of questions, but in a cruel turn of events – alright, less dramatic than that; it was five to one and the film was about to start – his publicist stopped the questions a couple of people down from our pitch. Panicked, I spluttered with Tourettes-like urgency that he had beautiful loafers. His reply; “I like you. You’re quite attractive.” It was the single best moment of my life. And I’ve had a wedding day.


Rob and Rafiq experienced their own highpoints from the campaign, and you could tell as they strutted down the red carpet and answered press questions themselves that it was more than they could take in. Rob says, “If you now Google Alpha Papa premiere, hardly


14 /August 2013/outlineonline.co.uk


anything comes up for London and it is ALL Norwich, we made it on to the BBC 6 o'clock news, Sky News, ITN etc, it was even a talking point on Newsnight, not to mention front page news on Te Independent and more… We both feel really proud of the result, along the way we had a few comments where people thought we were part of the official marketing, which is a great compliment, but it truly was just Rafiq and myself doing things on a whim, with no budget andjust pulling in favours left right and centre. It was all one big highlight really. When Laura Morrell posted up her ‘Partridge State Of Mind’ song we knew it had to be our theme tune. We quickly got her up to Norwich to perform the song outside HMV on Gentlemen’s Walk, we kept the flashmob of 30 plus choir singers secret and when that all came to life it was pretty amazing, I think people were pretty blown


away by that. As part of the Lord Mayor's Celebrations Studiocanal had an official float, and a lot of people again thought that was us! Tey had adopted our #AngliaSquareNotLeicesterSquare slogan and it was a real buzz seeing those parade the streets. Tat all kind of happened at the same time as Armando Iannucci had started to engage with us and our followers on Twitter - that was a good moment. Once things were official we began to communicate directly with the guys at Studio Canal, and they were so accommodating, it was great getting that inside view to how these things like this take shape, and when it came to the day they really looked after us, giving us freedom of the red carpet and such like, that was real fun.”


So what of the film? I have to thank Raf and Rob for allowing us to see the premiere, but as a fellow Partridge nut, I was nervous as to whether the small to big screen move would work. Te verdict: it was brilliant. Cashback! Te plot revolves around a disgruntled ex- North Norfolk Digital presenter wreaking havoc on the station, resulting in a hostage situation that hapless Alan finds himself the mediator in the siege: “I am siege-face” has become the instantly adopted quote from the script. It’s like a brilliant episode of Knowing Me, Knowing You but an hour and a half long, with wonderfully lackluster stunts and effects. Regular character favourites, Lynn and Michael help anchor the story to the ethos of original Partridge and there are some genuine LOLs to be had – and I never abbreviate lightly.


Norwich has spawned many new heroes from its original favourite character; the Studiocanal crew who responded to the call, Laura Morrell, Trevor Wicks from Hollywood Cinema who has enjoyed all his Christmases at once, and the thousands that voted and then turned up on the day. But what of the two mavericks, Norwich’s answer to Guevara and Castro? What’s next for Raf and Rob? Rob says he’s been asked the same: “My mate joked ‘what’s next? World peace?’ I think it’s a great example of how social media, when used correctly, can work to your advantage and be used as a platform for things. We said to each other at the start of the day, it’s a win win situation; if only 10 people turn up then that’s funny as it’s so Partridge. In the end 1000s turned up and the place was mobbed, it was fantastic! We've had feedback from Studiocanal, which pretty much said that when the cars turned into Anglia Square from the flyover everyone inside, including Steve Coogan, were gobsmacked, I won't repeat the exact wording but you can imagine the response! Tat feedback was great, and Norwich should be proud - so many people pulled together to make this happen. We started the fire so to speak but equally we landed a lot of work on other people’s desks.” A nice bit of almost-Billy Joel from Rob there, but it’s unanimously agreed that they caused a spark of passion, pride and unbridled joy in this city. Can we make Weds 24th a local holiday now please, Mr Mayor? See you next year as a few likely lads from Hellesdon topple Kim Jong-un.


Emma R. Garwood


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