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An Alan Partridge Festival is coming to Norwich

Paul Wassell is launching The Alan Partridge Festival in Norwich Credit: Paul Wassell Archant

Iconic Norwich character Alan Partridge will be celebrated in all his glory at a festival in his home city.

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Film premier of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa at Hollywood Cinema, Anglia Square, Norwich. Photo: Steve Adams Film premier of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa at Hollywood Cinema, Anglia Square, Norwich. Photo: Steve Adams

We're Just Fans, Alan: The Alan Partridge Festival is coming to the Mercure Hotel in Norwich on Saturday, March 21 2020 from 4pm until late and will include everything from three-star cooked food to a pre-1988 disco - as Alan once said no good music had been made since then.

The event has been created by superfan Paul Wassell, 33, from Stourbridge in the West Midlands who has never actually been to Norwich but imagines it to be "quite rural and picturesque".

Mr Wassell said: "I have loved the series since I was a teenager and when I was in sixth form me and my friends would endlessly quote Alan Partridge and my wife is also obsessed with it.

"Alan represents all the best things about Britain and British culture and the worst things too.

Film premier of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa at Hollywood Cinema, Anglia Square, Norwich. Photo: Steve Adams Film premier of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa at Hollywood Cinema, Anglia Square, Norwich. Photo: Steve Adams

"He is droll, sarcastic, obsessed with the trivial and there is a little bit of Alan in all of us and he says the things that we all want to say."

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Mr Wassell's favourite episode is the To Kill a Mocking Alan episode when he is trying to win a contract from visiting Irish television executives and things go horribly wrong when he ends up at the house of obsessed fan Jed who exclaims "I'm just a fan, Alan".

Alan Partridge, who is played by Steve Coogan, is a parody of British television personalities and he is a DJ on the fictional Radio Norwich.

As well as a successful TV career, including 2019 series This Time With Alan Partridge, the fame-hungry DJ has also made the leap to the silver screen in film Alpha Papa which had its premier at Hollywood Cinema in Anglia Square.

Alan Partridge book signing of NOMAD at Jarrold in Norwich Credit: Paul John Bayfield Alan Partridge book signing of NOMAD at Jarrold in Norwich Credit: Paul John Bayfield

Mr Wassell, a former teacher who now writes teaching resources, said: "There is going to be a quiz, disco with all the songs before 1988, an I'm Batman fancy dress competition, photo-opportunities with traffic cones, the ultimate Alan Partridge quiz, goody bags, a three-star cooked food meal, an Alan's deep bath safe space which will show clips and a ladyboy cocktail with lager, gin and tonic and baileys.

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"Alan Partridge is huge in this country and so many people love him - I am the admin of the We Need to Talk About Alan Partridge Facebook page which has 50,000 people on it and I am surprised no one has done a fan meet up before.

"I chose Norwich as it is Alan's home and it would be wrong to do it anywhere else."

Tickets cost £25 and you can purchase them from eventbrite.co.uk