Last month, Audible announced it had commissioned a third series of From The Oasthouse: The Alan Partridge Podcast. The two strands will run in tandem, their narrative arcs mirroring each other to make the parallels betwe This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine, which exists to give homeless, long-term unemployed and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy!

In Big Beacon , Norwich's favourite son and best broadcaster, Alan Partridge, triumphs against the odds. TWICE. Firstly, this month the Norwich broadcaster presides over a further instalment of his hit podcast, From the Oasthouse, another multi-hour marathon of precision-tooled comedy in which he mulls over the topics of the day. Or, as one of its writers describes it, “the ramblings of a lonely man who doesn’t want you to know he’s lonely”. And then, in October, comes Big Beacon, the third instalment of his memoirs. (Did Winston Churchill manage three memoirs?) Big Beacon, so the blurb tells us, will use an innovative “dual narrative structure you sometimes see in films” to tell the story of how he rebuilt his TV career alongside rebuilding an old lighthouse to its former glory, “motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it’s not really for them to say”. But then something quite unexpected and moving, because Big Beacon also tells the story of a selfless man, driven to restore an old lighthouse to its former glory, motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it's not really for them to say.* Leaving his old life behind and relocating to a small coastal village in Kent, Alan battles through adversity, wins the hearts and minds of a suspicious community, and ultimately shows himself to be a quite wonderful man. They’re undiluted Alan, the perfect way to explore the full unreliable narrator comic potential of his complex psyche. Big Beacon is Partridge's third autobiography, following 2011's I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan and 2016's Nomad.Not only has Alan Partridge created an entirely new storytelling structure, it’s very funny indeed.” Jon Ronson It seems that Steve is disengaged from the character of Alan and it no longer feels like the same character. The original charm and authenticity is gone and what's left is an empty narrative. But then something quite unexpected and moving happens, because Big Beacon also tells the story of a selfless man, driven to restore an old lighthouse to its former glory, motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it's not really for them to say.* Alan Partridge is publishing a third volume of memoirs, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal. But then something quite unexpected and moving, because Big Beacon also tells the story of a selfless man, driven to restore an old lighthouse to its former glory, motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it’s not really for them to say.*

Irrespective of his recent career boost, he remains uncomfortably C-list, and weekends are spent enduring garden barbecues at Esther McVey’s house, where he shares cooked meat and passive aggression with Andrew Castle and Gary Barlow. He also spends some time in Qatar with disgraced former Sky TV football pundit Richard “Hairy Hands” Keys.

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But then something quite unexpected and moving, because Big Beaconalso tells the story of a selfless man, driven to restore an old lighthouse to its former glory, motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it’s not really for them to say.*

The two strands will run in tandem, their narrative arcs mirroring each other to make the parallels between the two stories abundantly clear to the less able listener. I've watched and listened to the entire Alan Partridge catalogue and the earlier shows/books literally had me crying with laughter all the way through. Unfortunately, this book, and the most recent podcast barely triggered an occasional smile. But then something quite unexpected and moving, because Big Beacon also tells the story of a selfless man, driven to restore an old lighthouse to its former glory, motivated by nothing more than respect for a quietly heroic old building that many take for granted, which some people think is a metaphor for Alan himself even though it's not really for them to say.*Big Beacon employs a straightforward dual narrative technique, which Partridge naturally regards as an innovation (he spends most of the prologue needlessly explaining how it works). Alan Gordon Partridge is the best – and best-loved – radio presenter in the region. Born into a changing world of rationing, Teddy Boys, apes in space and the launch of ITV, Alan’s broadcasting career began as chief DJ of Radio Smile at St. Luke’s Hospital in Norwich. After replacing Peter Flint as the presenter of Scout About, he entered the top 8 of BBC sports presenters. The two strands will run in tandem, their narrative arcs mirroring each other to make the parallels between the two stories abundantly clear to the less able reader. Listening to Alan Partridge trying to get the word 'cubs' and hearing how tired he sounds only drives home just how long we've been watching & listening to the great man.