Steve Coogan is driving on thin ice

The actor persuaded a magistrate not to hand out an automatic six-month driving ban thanks to Alan Partridge

This Time with Alan Partridge

(BBC/Baby Cow/Colin Hutton)

I've always wondered just how much of Alan Partridge’s pompous behaviour is a reflection of his creator, Steve Coogan. Sometimes the comedian seems to encourage it.

Coogan has persuaded a magistrate not to hand out an automatic six-month driving ban (despite already notching up nine points on his licence) after being found guilty of speeding in Sussex.

Coogan claimed that filming for his forthcoming BBC series involved driving around Britain and that “it’s an artistic thing that he [Partridge] drives and that defines his character”.