The announcement was made at BBC Worldwide’s Showcase in Liverpool where Steve Coogan and Christine Langan, CEO of Baby Cow Productions were talking on a panel about TV comedy.

Felicity Montagu played the part of Lynn in two series of I’m Alan Partridge and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

This Time With Alan Partridge will see Alan (Steve Coogan) handed a career lifeline - the chance to stand in (temporarily) as co-host on This Time, an evening weekday magazine show.

His first return to live television since his 90s chat show Knowing Me, Knowing You was cancelled after a guest was fatally shot on air, This Time is the perfect shop window for a man of Alan’s gravitas and will, or should, see him finally recognised as one of the heavyweight broadcasters of his era.

The show itself is a heady mix of consumer affairs, current affairs, viewer interaction, highbrow interview and lightweight froth; very much the sweet spots for a man whose CV boasts over two decades of weekday local radio. And with an array of diverse subjects on the agenda, it promises the perfect fit for a man whose broadcasting style has been described as ‘equidistant between chitchat and analysis.’

Joining Steve Coogan on the sofa will be Susannah Fielding as his female co-presenter Jennie Gresham, and Tim Key as Simon ‘formerly Sidekick Simon’ Denton. Further casting will be announced in due course.

Written by Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, Steve Coogan. Directed by Neil Gibbons and Rob Gibbons. The producer is Ted Dowd and the executive producers are Christine Langan and Steve Coogan. A Baby Cow production for BBC.

The series was ordered for BBC One by Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning. The Commissioner for the BBC is Kate Daughton.

The 6x30' series will be shown on BBC One later this year, a quarter of a century after his BBC debut.

HM2