Steve Coogan
was born and raised in Middleton, Manchester, one of six children.
His Manchester
Irish parents are devout Catholics and even found room to accept
foster children. With brothers Brendan (MUTV presenter) and Martin
(ex-lead singer with Mock Turtles), Steve had to fight for the
limelight even at an early age.
He trained
as an actor at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre, and started
out on the stand-up comedy circuit while still at college - just
to be able to get his Equity card. Coogan's luck was in, because
he was spotted by a television talent scout, and appeared as an
impressionist on shows like "First Exposure", "A Word in Your
Era" and "Paramount City".
He also provided
a selection of voices for Spitting Image and was involved with
the BBC radio show, "On The Hour", where he created the character
that was to make him a millionaire... Alan Partridge,
This character
took off to such an extent that he was given his own radio slot,
the spoof chat show "Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge",
and both shows transferred to TV - with huge critical and audience
acclaim.
In the late
nineties the hapless presenter found himself relegated to the
graveyard shift on Radio Norwich for the sitcom "I'm Alan Partridge".
But this
wasn't the limit of his creations - he also brought us Paul and
Pauline Calf, the appalling travelling sales rep. Gareth Cheeseman,
and the "singing sensation" cabaret star Tony Ferrino, a legend
in his own dressing room.
Coogan never
finds time to sit still. He won the coveted Perrier Award at the
Edinburgh Festival in 1992, went on a sell-out tour of the UK
in 1998, was named the Variety Club Showbusiness Personality of
the Year in 1999, and managed, throughout the decade, to scoop
up and armful of other major awards.
He now lives
in London and Brighton, although he comes back home regularly
to see his beloved Manchester United and his young daughter, Clare
(his wife divorced him, after he found it hard to remain faithful).
He also returned
to Manchester in 2001 to film the two movies, "The Parole
Officer" and "24 Hour Party People".
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