Alan Partridge is set to make his eagerly-awaited return to the BBC as the ‘voice of Brexit’, Steve Coogan has revealed.

The much-loved spoof broadcaster will be back on the channel in 2018 after a 15-year hiatus, during which the character channel-hopped to Sky Atlantic .

According to Coogan, Partridge will enjoy a career revival on the BBC as he would have been staunch Brexiteer, backing last year’s campaign to leave the EU.

Explaining why his return to the BBC is possible, Coogan told The New European: “It’s conceivable, because in this age of Brexit, they [the BBC] might think they need to get in touch with the ‘Little Englanders’ they ignore.

“Alan would have voted Brexit for sure. Hard Brexit, given the choice. He’s a Brexiteer because the Daily Mail told him to be.”

Coogan went on to say that Partridge might be “inept” but is also a “well-intentioned” man.

“He tries not to be sexist, then is sexist. He’s the kind of person, a bit like my dad, who tries to impress but it comes out wrong,” he said.

The comedian said that reviving the popular character was going to be “tough”, and was planning on writing the script at the end of the year, to air next spring.

“That’s going to be tough. It’s always difficult to make good comedy,” he said.

“You always have to work really hard at it. The standard of the comedy on Partridge is so high, that you have to match it, or people go, ‘Oh, they’ve lost it.’

“So, you are making a rod for your own back. But that’s good, because you have to do good stuff, and people like it, and they go, ‘Oh! That’s brilliant.’”

