Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (also known as Knowing Me Knowing You) is a BBC Television

BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...

 series of six episodes (beginning 16 September 1994), and a Christmas special (Knowing Me Knowing Yule) in 1995. It is named after the song "Knowing Me, Knowing You

Knowing Me, Knowing You

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad. During recording sessions, it had the working titles of "Ring It In" and "Number 1, Number 1"...

" by ABBA

ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

 (Alan Partridge's favourite band), which was used as the show's title music.

Steve Coogan

Steve Coogan

Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...

 played the incompetent but self-satisfied Norwich-based host, Alan Partridge

Alan Partridge

Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional radio and television presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...

. Alan was a spin-off character from the spoof radio show On the Hour

On the Hour

On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred Morris as the overzealous and...

(which later transferred to TV as The Day Today

The Day Today

The Day Today is a surreal British parody of television current affairs programmes, broadcast in 1994, and created by the comedians Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris. It is an adaptation of the radio programme On the Hour, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992...

). Knowing Me Knowing You was written by Coogan, Armando Iannucci

Armando Iannucci

Armando Giovanni Iannucci is a Scottish comedian, satirist, writer, director, performer and radio producer. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Oxford University and left graduate work on a PhD about John Milton to pursue a career in comedy....

 (who produced the radio version) and Patrick Marber

Patrick Marber

Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter.-Early life and education:...

 (who also starred), with contributions from the regular supporting cast of Doon Mackichan

Doon Mackichan

Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University...

, Rebecca Front

Rebecca Front

Rebecca Front is a BAFTA Award–winning English comedian and actress best known for her performances in The Thick of It in the late 2000s, and series of critically acclaimed satirical comedies in the early 1990s: On The Hour, The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You...with Alan Partridge...

 and David Schneider

David Schneider (actor)

David Schneider is an English actor and comedian.Schneider studied modern languages at the University of Oxford, and studied for a DPhil in Yiddish Drama. During his time at university, Schneider performed a predominantly physical comedy act that contrasted with the trend towards stand-up comedy...

, who played Alan's weekly guests. Steve Brown

Steve Brown (composer)

Steve Brown is a British composer.He wrote the book and lyrics and composed the score for Spend Spend Spend, which chronicled Viv Nicholson's rise and fall after winning a fortune in the football pools in the early 1960s....

 provided the show's music and arrangements, and also appeared as the man in charge of the house band, Glenn Ponder.

The show was a parody of a chat show. It featured a live audience whose laughter meant that viewers could not mistake the show for a real chat show. Alan went on to appear in two series of the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge

I'm Alan Partridge

I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002...

, following Alan's life after his sacking from TV for punching the commissioning editor of BBC2 (David Schneider) on his Christmas special, shortly after his wife left him.

Script

Some of the more notable guests parodied real life appearances by guests on chat shows. For example, the medical fashion parade by ‘Mrs Whippy Head’ is a reference to Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...

's appearance on Wogan

Wogan

Wogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. It followed the format of a series broadcast in 1980 entitled What's On Wogan?, which failed to gather viewers. The Wogan show was initially broadcast on Tuesday evenings on BBC1 in 1981 and from 1982 to 1984, it moved into the...

, and the child prodigy Simon Fisher's appearance in the radio series

Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (radio series)

Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge is a BBC Radio 4 series of six episodes...

 was seemingly inspired by James Harries'

Lauren Harries

Lauren Charlotte Harries , is a British media personality. In childhood Harries was known as James, a purported "child prodigy" in the field of antiques, appearing on numerous television shows including Wogan...

 (now Lauren Harries) appearance on the same show. Adam Wells' fictional pop single "The Smiling Bicycle Of Amsterdam" utilised as its backing track John Baker

John Baker (Radiophonic musician)

John Baker was a British musician and composer who worked in jazz and electronic music. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Music where he studied piano and composition. In 1960 he joined the BBC as a sound mixer, before transferring, in 1963, to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop where he remained...

's (BBC Radiophonic Workshop

BBC Radiophonic Workshop

The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the sound effects units of the BBC, was created in 1958 to produce effects and new music for radio, and was closed in March 1998, although much of its traditional work had already been outsourced by 1995. It was based in the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in Delaware...

) 1968 station ID for BBC Radio Nottingham. The theme was also used in On The Hour

On the Hour

On the Hour was a British radio programme that parodied current affairs broadcasting, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between 1991 and 1992.Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, Stewart Lee, Richard Herring and David Quantick, it starred Morris as the overzealous and...

.

In total there have been three 'official' versions of the television series prepared by producer Armando Iannucci - the originally transmitted half-hour version (also used in most repeats and abroad), a version extended by roughly five minutes per episode for the VHS and subsequent DVD release, and a version prepared for BBC2's 2002 Partridge repeat season, again in a thirty minute slot but now featuring reinstated material from the video version (such as Partridge's promotion of the Sprunt drink) and a generally tighter edit to compensate for the running time, in addition to the Partridge web address being added to the end credits. This version has not been utilised since.

Episodes

	House band	Rebecca Front Rebecca Front Rebecca Front is a BAFTA Award–winning English comedian and actress best known for her performances in The Thick of It in the late 2000s, and series of critically acclaimed satirical comedies in the early 1990s: On The Hour, The Day Today and Knowing Me, Knowing You...with Alan Partridge...	Patrick Marber Patrick Marber Patrick Albert Crispin Marber is an English comedian, playwright, director, puppeteer, actor and screenwriter.-Early life and education:...	David Schneider David Schneider (actor) David Schneider is an English actor and comedian.Schneider studied modern languages at the University of Oxford, and studied for a DPhil in Yiddish Drama. During his time at university, Schneider performed a predominantly physical comedy act that contrasted with the trend towards stand-up comedy...	Doon Mackichan Doon Mackichan Doon Mackichan is an English comedienne and actress.-Biography:Born in London, Mackichan was brought up in Surrey until the age of 9 when she moved with her family to Upper Largo, Fife. She is a graduate of Manchester University...	Other guests	Another Alan
1	Glenn Ponder and Chalet	Sue Lewis, a dull showjumper	Keith Hunt, new host of This Is Your Life This Is Your Life This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards...	Big Red Book on This Is Your Life This Is Your Life This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience including friends and family.Edwards... (untransmitted sequence)	Shona McGough, an abrasive punk Punk rock Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...  singer	Keith's son, Shona's band, Roger Moore Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...  (voice; performed by Steve Coogan Steve Coogan Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating... )
2	Glenn Ponder and Debonair	Tania Beaumont, actress	Gary Barker, washed-up actor and Tania's husband	Tony LeMesmer, magician
Daniella Forrest, transsexual Playboy Playboy Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...  columnist (Minnie Driver Minnie Driver Minnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life... )	A sailor with a facial tic Tic A tic is a sudden, repetitive, nonrhythmic, stereotyped motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups. Tics can be invisible to the observer, such as abdominal tensing or toe crunching. Common motor and phonic tics are, respectively, eye blinking and throat clearing...  (John Thomson)
3	Glenn Ponder and Ferrari	Gina Langland, singer	Lawrence Knowles, sleazy promoter	Clive Sealy, Lawrence's dermatologist
The Olympic Golden Girls of 1936; Hot Pants, an all-male strip troupe
4	Glenn Ponder and Savoir Faire	Yvonne Boyd, fashion designer with odd ideas	Philippe Lambert, famous chef	Head of Cirque des Clunes
Nina Vanier, Alan's French co-host (Melanie Hudson Melanie Hudson Melanie Hudson is an English actress and comedian, one half of the double act Hudson and Pepperdine along with Vicki Pepperdine . The pair wrote and star in BBC Radio 4's The Hudson and Pepperdine Show.... )	Alain Perdrix, who couldn't speak English
5	Glenn Ponder and Lazarus	Charlotte Fraser (Lab Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... )	Martin Dwyer, alias Lt. Col. Kojak Slaphead III (Bald Brummies Against The Big-Footed Conspiracy Party)	Adrian Finch (Con Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... )
Terry Norton, dodgy boxing promoter (Alan Ford Alan Ford (actor) Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill... ); Five Miss Norwich contestants (Barbara Durkin Barbara Durkin Barbara Durkin is an English actress and trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre along with Steve Coogan.Though she made her debut in the 1987 British movie Wish You Were Here, she is better known for her television appearances. Her major credits include appearances in Mr. Bean,... , plus four uncredited); Ronald Biggs (Lib Dem Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... ) (Felix Dexter Felix Dexter Felix Dexter is an actor, comedian, and writer living in the U.K..-Early life:Dexter was born in St Kitts in the Caribbean, and moved to London with his family at the age of seven.-Radio:... )	Dead, but appeared anyway
6	Glenn Ponder and Bangkok	Bridie McMahon, lesbian host of the show to take Alan's place	Forbes McAllister, cynical restaurant critic for The Spectator The Spectator The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
Wanda Harvey, Bridie's lesbian co-host	The Alan Partridge Playmates; the Maclean brothers, irritating child film-makers; Joe Beazley and Cheeky Monkey, awful ventriloquist act Ventriloquism Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...  (John Thomson)
7	Glenn Ponder and his "friend" Andy	Mary, a bellringer and devout Christian	Gordon Heron, a paralysed former golfer	Tony Hayers, Chief Commissioning Editor of BBC Television	Liz Heron, Gordon's wife and also a golfer	Fanny Thomas, innuendo-using transvestite (Kevin Eldon), Mick Hucknall Mick Hucknall Michael "Mick" Hucknall is a British singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the British band Simply Red, and is recognisable for his smooth, distinctive voice and wide vocal range, as well as his red curly hair.-Early life:...

External links

Comedy Guide

• Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge at Phill.co.uk Comedy Guide