quote:

This is the first picture of Steve Coogan, donning his Pringle jumper to become Alan Partridge on screen for the first time in seven years.

Beer giant Foster's is sponsoring a new series of 12 short Partridge shows for the internet, which will appear online from November 5.

Each will be 11 minutes long and appear on the website Fostersfunny. It is the latest stage in the brand’s sponsorship of comedy, which has seen it sponsor Channel 4 programming and the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Partridge co-creator Armando Iannucci has worked on the new web episodes, which are made by Coogan’s production house Baby Cow.

Coogan has released a new quote as Partridge, saying: ‘I am delighted to announce that after years as a regional broadcaster on North Norfolk Digital my groundbreaking radio segment, Mid Morning Matters, will now be accessible to a potential audience of billions via the World Wide Web (www).

‘That it has taken Foster's to help realise my dream of joining the information superhighway is a damning indictment of the established broadcasters whose shabby treatment of me on Sept 10th 2001 was frankly shabby. I made dozens of calls the next day, all of which were ignored.

‘My appreciation must go to Armando Iannucci and Baby Cow for ignoring the lies, god bless them. In the meantime I look forward to "hanging out 'n' chillin" with the MySpace generation.’

The second series of I'm Alan Partridge aired in 2002, while the character made a one-off return for the mockumentary Anglian Lives the following year.