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guardian.co.uk, formerly known as ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', as well as a substantial body of web-only work produced by its own staff, including a rolling news service.

As of May 2011 it was the second-most popular UK newspaper website after MailOnline (dailymail.co.uk), with 2.8m unique visitors per day, and 51.3m per month, behind the MailOnline's 4.4m and 77.3m.

The site is made up of a core news site, plus a network of niche websites covering subjects including media, environment and technology, sport, education and the public sector. guardian.co.uk is notable for its engagement with readers, including long-running talkboards and, more recently, a network of weblogs. Its seven blogs were joined on March 14, 2006 by a new comment site, Comment is free (see below), named after the famous quote by ''The Guardian'' editor, C. P. Scott. Articles (like the talkboards until their sudden closure on 25th February, 2011) accept comments without pre-moderation, although posts on Comment is Free are moderated after the event. All now require registration for comments.

The site can be viewed for free and without registration, though some services such as leaving comments on articles require users to register.

In March 2009, guardian.co.uk launched their API, using the OAuth protocol, and making a wide range of Guardian content available for use by web application developers.

Ownership

guardian.co.uk is part of the Guardian Media Group of newspapers, radio stations, and new media including ''The Guardian'' daily newspaper, and ''The Observer'' Sunday newspaper. All the aforementioned are owned by the Scott Trust, a charitable foundation which aims to ensure the newspaper's editorial independence in perpetuity, maintaining its financial health to ensure it does not become vulnerable to takeover by for-profit media groups, and the serious compromise of editorial independence that this often brings.

History

guardian.co.uk was launched in 1999, born of the Guardian New Media Lab. Its popularity soared after the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, largely thanks to the diverse range of viewpoints published in the ''Guardian'' newspaper. The website won the Best Newspaper category in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Webby Awards, beating the ''New York Times'', the ''Washington Post'', the ''Wall Street Journal'' and ''Variety''.

In 2006 guardian.co.uk reported its first profitable year, with income coming mostly from recruitment and display advertising.

In May 2007, guardian.co.uk begun an 18-month programme of redesigning and adding features to the entire website, starting with the travel section, then moving through the rest of the site and the front page, finally updating the blogging and community features.

Subsites

Guardian Sport

Guardian's Sports section is a popular and well-respected web site, providing news, results, match reports and live commentaries from a host of different sports.

Guardian.co.uk/sport has pioneered the online newspaper industry in the United Kingdom with its live coverage of sports, including live text commentaries of 115 Barclays Premier League football matches and every FIFA World Cup match. The site also provides some live coverage of the FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League and the occasional La Liga, League Cup and playoff games.

Guardian America

"Guardian America" was an American version of the British news website guardian.co.uk. The strategy, intended to win more US-based readers, was abandoned in October 2009 . Guardianamerica.com now redirects to guardian.co.uk United States topic page.

Much of the content on "Guardian America was taken from guardian.co.uk and ''The Guardian'', although some content was produced specifically for Guardian America.

Comment is free

Comment is free, often abbreviated as Cif, is a comment and political opinion site within guardian.co.uk. It contains the comment and opinion pieces from ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'' newspapers, plus contributions from more than 600 other writers. The site is edited by Natalie Hanman; its subsite devoted to religious affairs, Cif belief, is edited by Andrew Brown. It was launched on March 14 2006 with Georgina Henry as launch editor. The original technical design and build was by Ben Hammersley, based on the Movable Type blogging platform. Latterly, Cif runs on a bespoke Guardian-made system, using Pluck for the commenting

The site's name is derived from a sentence in a famous essay written by veteran Guardian editor C. P. Scott: "Comment is free, but facts are sacred".

The site strictly enforces its talk policy by moderating comments after posting. For particularly sensitive topics, comments may be moderated before posting. Moderators may remove posts that violate the "Community Standards" (usually leaving a marker of the removal), but do not edit them.

Readership

guardian.co.uk is one of the world's leading online newspapers, becoming the first UK newspaper to attract more than 25 million unique users in a month (October 2008). On 7 July 2005, following the London bombings, 1.3 million unique users visited the site and a total of 7.8 million pages were viewed, at the time a record for guardian.co.uk.

As of August 2010 it was the second-most popular UK newspaper website after MailOnline (dailymail.co.uk), getting almost 34.6 million unique users monthly, and 13.7 million unique British users monthly. By May 2011 it reached 2.8m unique visitors per day, and 51.3m per month, behind the MailOnline's 4.4m and 77.3m.

Awards

British Press Awards:

* "Digital Innovation of the Year" (2008, 2009)

* "Digital Journalist of the Year" (Sean Smith, 2008; Dave Hill, 2009)

The awards were created in 2008.

In addition, the 2011 award of "Political Journalist of the Year" to ''The Guardian''s Andrew Sparrow "was significant because it was a recognition of the impact of his general election live blog – a reward for innovation as well as reporting."

In 2009 it was nominated for (but did not win) a Webby Award for "Best Copy/Writing". However, the subsite Cif belief was nominated for, and won, the Webby in the best religion and spirituality site category.

References

External links

guardian.co.uk

guardian.co.uk blogs

Comment is Free

Guardian Zeitgeist shows most popular current articles

Category:British websites Category:European news websites Category:Guardian Media Group Category:Publications established in 1999 Category:The Guardian Category:The Observer

birth name	Ian Russell McEwan
birth date	June 21, 1948
birth place	Aldershot
occupation	Author, screenwriter
nationality	British
period	1975–present
genre	Recent history
spouse	Penny Allen (1982–1995)Annalena McAfee (1997–)
religion	Atheist
website	http://www.ianmcewan.com }}

Ian Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, ''The Times'' named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

McEwan began his career writing sparse, Gothic short stories. ''The Cement Garden'' (1978) and ''The Comfort of Strangers'' (1981) were his first two novels, and earned him the nickname "Ian Macabre". These were followed by three novels of some success in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1997, he published ''Enduring Love'', which was made into a film. He won the Man Booker Prize with ''Amsterdam'' (1998). In 2011, he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize. In 2001, he published ''Atonement'', which was made into an Oscar-winning film. This was followed by ''Saturday'' (2003), ''On Chesil Beach'' (2007) and ''Solar'' (2010).

Early life

McEwan was born in Aldershot, Hampshire, on 21 June 1948, the son of David McEwan and Rose Lilian Violet (née Moore). He spent much of his childhood in East Asia (including Singapore), Germany and North Africa (including Libya), where his father, a Scottish army officer, was posted. His family returned to England when he was twelve. He was educated at Woolverstone Hall School; the University of Sussex, receiving his degree in English literature in 1970; and the University of East Anglia, where he was one of the first graduates of Malcolm Bradbury's pioneering creative writing course.

Career

McEwan's first published work was a collection of short stories, ''First Love, Last Rites'' (1975), which won the Somerset Maugham Award in 1976. He achieved notoriety in 1979 when the BBC suspended production of his play ''Solid Geometry'' because of its supposed obscenity. His second collection of short stories, ''In Between the Sheets'', was published in 1978. ''The Cement Garden'' (1978) and ''The Comfort of Strangers'' (1981) were his two earliest novels, both of which were adapted into films. The nature of these works caused him to be nicknamed "Ian Macabre". These were followed by ''The Child in Time'' (1987), winner of the 1987 Whitbread Novel Award; ''The Innocent'' (1990); and ''Black Dogs'' (1992). McEwan has also written two children's books, ''Rose Blanche'' (1985) ''The Daydreamer'' (1994).

His 1997 novel, ''Enduring Love'', about the relationship between a science writer and a stalker, was popular with critics, although it was not shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It was adapted into a film in 2004. In 1998, he won the Man Booker Prize for ''Amsterdam''. His next novel, ''Atonement'' (2001), received considerable acclaim; ''Time'' magazine named it the best novel of 2002, and it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2007, the critically acclaimed movie ''Atonement'', directed by Joe Wright and starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, was released in cinemas worldwide. His next work, ''Saturday'' (2003), follows an especially eventful day in the life of a successful neurosurgeon. ''Saturday'' won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 2005, and his novel ''On Chesil Beach'' (2007) was shortlisted for the 2007 Booker Prize. McEwan has also written a number of produced screenplays, a stage play, children's fiction, an oratorio and a libretto titled ''For You'' with music composed by Michael Berkeley.

''Solar'', was published by Jonathan Cape and Doubleday in March 2010. In June 2008 at the Hay Festival, McEwan gave a surprise reading of this work-in-progress. The novel concerns "a scientist who hopes to save the planet." from the threat of climate change, with inspiration for the novel coming from a trip McEwan made in 2005 "when he was part of an expedition of artists and scientists who spent several weeks aboard a ship near the north pole to discuss environmental concerns". McEwan noted "The novel's protagonist Michael Beard has been awarded a Nobel prize for his pioneering work on physics, and has discovered that winning the coveted prize has interfered with his work". He said that the work was not a comedy: "I hate comic novels; it's like being wrestled to the ground and being tickled, being forced to laugh", instead, that it had extended comic stretches. McEwan is working on his twelfth novel, historical in nature and set in the 1970s.

In 2006 he was accused of plagiarism; specifically that a passage in ''Atonement'' (2001) closely echoed a passage from a memoir, ''No Time for Romance'', published in 1977 by Lucilla Andrews. McEwan acknowledged using the book as a source for his work. McEwan had included a brief note at the end of ''Atonement'', referring to Andrews’s autobiography, among several other works. Writing in ''The Guardian'' in November 2006, a month after Andrews' death, McEwan professed innocence of plagiarism while acknowledging his debt to the author. Several authors defended him, including John Updike, Martin Amis, Margaret Atwood, Thomas Keneally, Zadie Smith, and Thomas Pynchon.

Awards and honours

McEwan has been nominated for the Man Booker prize six times to date, winning the Prize for ''Amsterdam'' in 1998. His other nominations were for ''The Comfort of Strangers'' (1981, Shortlisted), ''Black Dogs'' (1992, Shortlisted), ''Atonement'' (2001, Shortlisted), ''Saturday'' (2005, Longlisted), and ''On Chesil Beach'' (2007, Shortlisted). McEwan also received nominations for the Man Booker International Prize in 2005 and 2007.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the Shakespeare Prize by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation, Hamburg, in 1999. He is also a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association. He was awarded a CBE in 2000. In 2005, he was the first recipient of Dickinson College's prestigious ''Harold and Ethel L. Stellfox Visiting Scholar and Writers Program Award'', in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 2008, McEwan was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by University College, London, where he used to teach English literature. In 2008, ''The Times'' named McEwan among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

On 20 February 2011, he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society. He accepted the prize, despite controversy and pressure from groups and individuals opposed to the Israeli government. McEwan responded to his critics, and specifically the group British Writers in Support of Palestine (BWISP), in a letter to ''The Guardian'', stating in part, "There are ways in which art can have a longer reach than politics, and for me the emblem in this respect is Daniel Barenboim's West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – surely a beam of hope in a dark landscape, though denigrated by the Israeli religious right and Hamas. If BWISP is against this particular project, then clearly we have nothing more to say to each other." McEwan's acceptance speech discussed the complaints against him and provided further insight into his reasons for accepting the award. He also said he will donate the amount of the prize, "ten thousand dollars to Combatants for Peace, an organisation that brings together Israeli ex-soldiers and Palestinian ex-fighters."

Personal life

He has been married twice. His second wife, Annalena McAfee, was formerly the editor of ''The Guardian's'' Review section. In 1999, his first wife, Penny Allen, took their 13-year-old son to France after a court in Brittany ruled that the boy should be returned to his father, who had been granted sole custody over him and his 15-year-old brother.

In 2002, McEwan discovered that he had a brother who had been given up for adoption during World War II; the story became public in 2007. The brother, a bricklayer named David Sharp, was born six years earlier than McEwan, when his mother was married to a different man. Sharp has the same parents as McEwan but was born from an affair between them that occurred before their marriage. After her first husband was killed in combat, McEwan's mother married her lover, and Ian was born a few years later. The brothers are in regular contact, and McEwan has written a foreword to Sharp's memoir.

Views on religion and politics

In 2008, McEwan publicly spoke out against Islamism for its views on women and on homosexuality. He was quoted as saying that fundamentalist Islam wanted to create a society that he "abhorred". His comments appeared in the Italian newspaper ''Corriere della Sera'', to defend fellow writer Martin Amis against allegations of racism. McEwan, an atheist, said that certain streams of Christianity were "equally absurd" and that he didn't "like these medieval visions of the world according to which God is coming to save the faithful and to damn the others."

McEwan put forward the following statement on his official site and blog after claiming he was misinterpreted: :Certain remarks of mine to an Italian journalist have been widely misrepresented in the UK press, and on various websites. Contrary to reports, my remarks were not about Islam, but about Islamism – perhaps 'extremism' would be a better term. I grew up in a Muslim country – Libya – and have only warm memories of a dignified, tolerant and hospitable Islamic culture. I was referring in my interview to a tiny minority who preach violent jihad, who incite hatred and violence against 'infidels', apostates, Jews and homosexuals; who in their speeches and on their websites speak passionately against free thought, pluralism, democracy, unveiled women; who will tolerate no other interpretation of Islam but their own and have vilified Sufism and other strands of Islam as apostasy; who have murdered, among others, fellow Muslims by the thousands in the market places of Iraq, Algeria and in the Sudan. Countless Islamic writers, journalists and religious authorities have expressed their disgust at this extremist violence. To speak against such things is hardly 'astonishing' on my part (''Independent on Sunday'') or original, nor is it 'Islamophobic' and 'right wing' as one official of the Muslim Council of Britain insists, and nor is it to endorse the failures and brutalities of U.S. foreign policy. It is merely to invoke a common humanity which I hope would be shared by all religions as well as all non-believers.'

In 2008, McEwan was among a list of more than 200,000 writers of a petition to support Roberto Saviano, in exposing the Neapolitan mafia in the book, ''Gomorrah''. The petition urges Italian police to assure the full protection of Saviano from the mafia, while comparing the mob's threats against Saviano to "the tactics used by extremist religious groups".

McEwan lent his support to the campaign to release Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of committing adultery.

On winning the Jerusalem Prize, McEwan defended himself against criticism for accepting the prize in light of opposition to Israeli policies, saying "If you didn't go to countries whose foreign policy or domestic policy is screwed up, you'd never get out of bed". On accepting the honour he spoke in favour of Israel's existence, security, and freedoms while strongly attacking Hamas, as well as Israel's policies in Gaza, and the expansion of settlements, notable as the audience included political leaders such as Israeli President Shimon Peres and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. He also personally attended a protest against the expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory.

Bibliography

Novels

''The Cement Garden'' (1978)

''The Comfort of Strangers'' (1981)

''The Child in Time'' (1987)

''The Innocent'' (1990)

''Black Dogs'' (1992)

''Enduring Love'' (1997)

''Amsterdam'' (1998)

''Atonement'' (2001)

''Saturday'' (2005)

''On Chesil Beach'' (2007)

''Solar'' (2010)

Short story collections

''First Love, Last Rites'' (1975)

''In Between the Sheets'' (1978)

''The Short Stories'' (1995)

Children's fiction

''Rose Blanche'' (1985)

''The Daydreamer'' (1994)

Plays

''The Imitation Game'' (1981)

Screenplays

''Jack Flea's Birthday Celebration ( 1976)

''The Ploughman's Lunch'' (1985)

''Sour Sweet'' (1989)

''The Good Son'' (1993)

Oratorio

''or Shall We Die?'' (1983)

Libretto

''For You'' (2008)

Film adaptations

''Last Day of Summer'' (1984)

''The Cement Garden'' (1993)

''The Comfort of Strangers'' (1990)

''The Innocent'' (1993)

''Solid Geometry'' (2002)

''Enduring Love'' (2004)

''Atonement'' (2007)

References

Further reading

Byrnes, Christina (1995), ''Sex and Sexuality in Ian McEwan's Work'', Nottingham, England: Pauper's Press. ISBN 094665056X

Byrnes, Christina (2002), ''The Work of Ian McEwan: A Psychodynamic Approach'', Nottingham, England: Paupers' Press. ISBN 0946650756

Byrnes, Bernie C. (2006), ''Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' and 'Saturday''', Nottingham, England: Paupers' Press. ISBN 094665090X

Byrnes, Bernie C. (2008), ''McEwan's Only Childhood'', Nottingham: Paupers' Press. ISBN 0946650942

Childs, Peter (2005), ''The Fiction of Ian McEwan'' (Readers' Guides to Essential Criticism), Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1403919097

D'Eliva, Gaetano, and Christopher Williams, (1986), ''La Nuova Letteratura Inglese Ian McEwan'', Schena Editore.

Dodou, Katherina (2009), ''Childhood Without Children: Ian McEwan and the Critical Study of the Child'', Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala University. ISBN 9789150621129

Groes, Sebastian (2009), ''Ian McEwan'', Continuum. ISBN 9780820497215

Head, Dominic, (2007), ''Ian McEwan'', Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780179066566

''The Effects of Conflict in the Novels of Ian McEwan''. Jensen, Morten H. (2005)

Malcolm, David (2002), ''Understanding Ian McEwan'', University of South Carolina. ISBN 1570034362

Pedot, Richard (1999), ''Perversions Textuelles dans la Fiction d'Ian McEwan'', Editions l'Harmattan.

Reynolds, Margaret, and Jonathan Noakes, (2002), ''Ian McEwan: The Essential Guide'', Vintage. ISBN 0099437554

Roberts, Ryan (2010), ''Conversations with Ian McEwan'', University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781604734201

Rooney, Anne (2006), ''Atonement'', York Notes. ISBN 1405835613

Rooney, Anne (2010), ''Pissing in the Wind?'', The New Humanist, May 2010

Ryan, Kiernan (1994), ''Ian McEwan'' (Writers and Their Work), Northcote House. ISBN 074630742X

Slay Jr., Jack (1996), ''Ian McEwan'' (Twayne's English Authors Series), Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0805745785

Williams, Christopher (1993) ''Ian McEwan's The Cement Garden and the Tradition of the Child/Adolescent as 'I-Narrator'' Biblioteca della Ricerca, Schena Editore.

Wells, Lynn, (2010) ''Ian McEwan'', Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1403942749

External links

McEwan Official website

Official blog

''Guardian'' Books profile 22 July 2008

''The New Yorker'' article 23 February 2009

Interview with McEwan. BBC Video (30 mins)

Powells.com interview

Salon.com interview 1998

"Ian McEwan, The Art of Fiction". ''Paris Review''. Summer 2002 No. 173

Ian McEwan interview with Charlie Rose, 1 June 2007. (Video, 26 mins)

Unedited interview with Professor Richard Dawkins

Audio: Ian McEwan reading from ''On Chesil Beach'' at the 2007 Key West Literary Seminar

Ian McEwan presents "Solar" in Barcelona, Canal-L

Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:English novelists Category:Booker Prize winners Category:English humanists Category:English atheists Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:Alumni of the University of East Anglia Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex Category:Academics of University College London Category:People from Aldershot Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Category:Prix Femina Étranger winners

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name	Steve Coogan
birth date	October 14, 1965
birth place	Middleton, Lancashire, England
birth name	Stephen John Coogan
spouse	Caroline Hickman(m. 2002–2005; divorced)
occupation	Actor, Comedian, Writer, Producer
relatives	Brendan Coogan, Martin Coogan (brothers) }}

Stephen John "Steve" Coogan (born 14 October 1965) is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, (then Lancashire). He began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show ''Spitting Image.'' In the early nineties, Coogan began creating original comic characters which he presented in stage shows, this led to him winning the 1992 Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, for his show with long-time collaborator John Thomson. The most prominent characters he developed at this time were Paul Calf, a stereotypical lower class Mancunian and his sister the promiscuous Pauline (played by Coogan in drag).

Working with Chris Morris, Patrick Marber and Armando Iannucci for ''On The Hour'' and ''The Day Today'', Coogan developed his most popular and most developed character; Alan Partridge, a socially awkward and politically incorrect regional media personality, who developed to feature in his own eponymous television series, ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' and ''I'm Alan Partridge'', which were well received and were nominated for five BAFTAs in total. Outside the UK, Coogan is better known for his roles in films including ''24 Hour Party People'', ''The Wind in the Willows'', ''Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'', ''Night at the Museum'', ''Tropic Thunder'', ''Hamlet 2'', ''Tales of the Riverbank'', ''A Cock and Bull Story'', ''Hot Fuzz'' and ''The Other Guys''.

On 22 November 2011, Coogan, along with Hugh Grant, gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on phone hacking, favouring regulation of the press.

Early life

Coogan is one of seven children born to Kathleen (née Coonan), a homemaker, and Anthony Coogan, an IBM engineer. He was born in his parents' house and raised in Alkrington, a suburb of Middleton, north of Manchester, in an Irish working class family. Coogan was raised as a Roman Catholic. He had a happy childhood growing up with four brothers and two sisters, and in addition his parents fostered children on a short-term basis, sometimes accommodating two or three foster children at a time. Coogan had a talent for impersonation, and wanted to go to drama school, despite being advised by a teacher that it could lead to a precarious profession.

He went to five interviews for drama school in London, and then – after gaining confidence by joining a theatre company in Manchester called New Music – gained a place at the The Manchester Metropolitan School of Theater. Coogan's brother Martin was the vocalist and wrote the music for The Mock Turtles, a successful indie rock band in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Career

Coogan started out as a comic and mimic in Ipswich, as well as doing voice-over work for adverts and impressions on ''Spitting Image''. In 1988, he did impressions of Prince Charles which featured on the Urban label release "Don't Believe the Hype" by acid house artist Mista E. The impressions were also used as jingles in 1988/89 on the BBC Radio 1 FM Friday night dance music show ''Jeff Young's Big Beat''. In 1993 Coogan starred alongside Caroline Aherne and John Thomson in a one-off Granada TV sketch show ''The Dead Good Show''.

Alan Partridge

Coogan collaborated with Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci, amongst others, on the Radio 4 comedy show ''On the Hour'', where he helped give birth to his most famous creation, Alan Partridge. Alan went on to have his own radio show, as well as appearing on TV in ''The Day Today'' and his own chat show, ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge''. In 1997, he returned with the sitcom ''I'm Alan Partridge'', which was followed by a second series in 2002. Partridge was part of Coogan's 2008 stand-up tour, and an Alan Partridge movie is in production.

Other TV roles

''Paul Calf'' first began as a character named 'Duncan Disorderly' in Coogan's early stand-up routines. Calf first came to wider public notice in 1993, with several appearances on ''Saturday Zoo'', a late-night variety show presented by Jonathan Ross on Channel 4. Paul has appeared in two video diaries, an episode of ''Coogan's Run'', and in various stand-up performances. He is an unemployed Manchester wastrel with a particular hatred of students. His catchphrase is "Bag o' shite". Paul lives in a council house in the fictional town of Ottle with his mother and his sister, Pauline Calf (also played by Coogan). His father died some time before the first video diary was made. For a long time he was obsessed with getting back together with his ex-girlfriend, Julie. Paul's best friend is "Fat" Bob (played by John Thomson), a car mechanic who eventually married Pauline. Paul supports Manchester City and is very partial to Wagon Wheels. He wears Burton suits, sports a bleached mullet and drives a Ford Cortina.

Other Coogan creations include Tommy Saxondale, Duncan Thicket, and Portuguese Eurovision winner Tony Ferrino. Duncan Thicket has appeared in a tour of live shows. Other TV shows he has starred in include ''Coogan's Run'', ''Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible'', ''Monkey Trousers'' and ''Saxondale''. Coogan has provided voices for the animated series ''I Am Not an Animal'' and ''Bob and Margaret'', the one-off BBC2 comedy about sheep ''Combat Sheep'', two Christmas specials starring ''Robbie the Reindeer'', and an episode of the BBC Radio Four spoof sci-fi series ''Nebulous''.

During the 1989 series of The Krypton Factor, Coogan was invited to participate in a series of mini-movies for the observation round.

He starred in BBC2's ''The Private Life of Samuel Pepys'' in 2003, and ''Cruise of the Gods'' in 2002. In 2006, he had a cameo in the ''Little Britain'' Christmas special as a pilot taking Lou and Andy to Disneyland. In 2007, Coogan played a psychiatrist on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', and in 2008, starred in the BBC1 drama ''Sunshine''.

In 2010, he reunited with actor Rob Brydon and director Michael Winterbottom (both of whom he had worked with on the 2006 film ''A Cock and Bull Story'' (see Film Roles below)), for the partially improvised BBC2 sitcom ''The Trip'', in which he and Brydon do a tour of northern restaurants, which he is writing up for the Observer. ''The Trip'' was nominated for a 2011 Television BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy, and Coogan won Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role.

He provided the voices of Philip Masterson-Bowie (a horse) and Mark Andrews (a sparrow) for animated comedy series ''I Am Not an Animal''. He was also the voice of Satan on ''Neighbors from Hell''.

In December 2011, Coogan voiced Roger Mellie and Tracey Tunstall of The Fat Slags in three Viz ''Comedy Blaps'' for Channel 4.

Film roles

Notable film roles include Factory Records boss Tony Wilson in the film ''24 Hour Party People'', Mole in Terry Jones' ''The Wind in the Willows'', Phileas Fogg in a remake of Jules Verne's ''Around the World in 80 Days'' with Jackie Chan, Ambassador Mercy in ''Marie Antoinette'', Bruce Tick in ''Sweet Revenge'', and Octavius in ''Night at the Museum''. He has also played himself three times on screen. First, in one of the vignettes of Jim Jarmusch's 2003 film ''Coffee and Cigarettes'', alongside Alfred Molina. Second, in 2006 Coogan starred with Rob Brydon in Michael Winterbottom's ''A Cock and Bull Story'', a self-referential film of the "unfilmable" self-referential novel ''Tristram Shandy'' by Laurence Sterne. In the film, Coogan plays a fictional, womanizing version of himself. Thirdly he played himself in the 2010 film ''The Trip''.

The first film, which he co-wrote with Henry Normal, was ''The Parole Officer''. He also acted in this alongside Ben Miller and Lena Headey. Coogan has an uncredited cameo in ''Hot Fuzz'', scripted by ''Shaun of the Dead'' writers Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. He stars as a failed actor turned high school drama teacher in the 2008 film ''Hamlet 2'' and had a role in ''Tropic Thunder'', playing the inexperienced director. It was announced on 8 August 2007, that he is also to star in a film adaptation of the life of Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, which is still in pre-production. In 2009, he also starred as a lying reporter in'' What Goes Up'' with Olivia Thirlby, Molly Shannon and Hilary Duff. Also recently, he appeared in ''Finding Amanda'' alongside Brittany Snow and Matthew Broderick, returned as Octavius in ''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'', and played Hades in ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief''.

Achievements

Coogan's show ''Steve Coogan in character with John Thomson'' was winner of the Perrier Award for best show at the 1992 Edinburgh Fringe. He has won numerous awards for his work in TV including British Comedy Awards, BAFTAs, and The South Bank Show award for comedy. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy. In 2005, a poll to find ''The Comedians' Comedian'' saw him being voted amongst the top 20 greatest comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.

Stand-up comedy comeback tour

In March 2008, it was confirmed that Coogan would return to doing stand-up comedy as part of his first stand-up tour in ten years. The tour, named "Steve Coogan as Alan Partridge and other less successful characters", saw the return of some of his old characters including Paul Calf and Alan Partridge. Reviews of the opening night were mixed. and such reviews continued as the tour progressed. Much of the criticism focused on the apparent unrehearsed quality and nervous stage presence of Coogan's performance. Chortle comedy guide wrote "Steve Coogan’s stage comeback after ten years is most definitely a show of two halves: the superlative Alan Partridge plus a collection of characters that are not only less successful, but woefully less funny."

Production work

Coogan, along with writing partner Henry Normal, founded Baby Cow Productions in 1999. Together they are the executive producers for such shows as ''The Mighty Boosh'', starring Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt, ''Nighty Night'', starring Julia Davis, ''Marion and Geoff'', starring Rob Brydon, "Gavin and Stacey" starring Ruth Jones, James Corden, Joanna Page, Mathew Horne and Rob Brydon, and ''Human Remains'', starring Davis and Brydon. Baby Cow Productions' latest venture is ''Where Are the Joneses'', an online sitcom which uses wiki technology to allow the audience to upload scripts and storyline ideas.

In the media

Coogan said he "liked to keep himself private", adding; "I have never wanted to be famous, as such - fame is a by-product," He has been a popular target of the British tabloid press since 1996, whom he stated have subjected him to entrapment and blackmail, printed obvious falsehoods about him, also targeting his family and friends in attempts to extract stories from them. Coogan in some cases gave a strong denial to allegations, but in others did not contest them because he wanted to shield vulnerable friends from adverse publicity. The tabloids also published intrusive information about his relationships and the schooling of his child. Coogan has also been critical of the broadsheet press, saying they have colluded with the tabloids in the interests of selling newspapers. In 2005 he said "''The Guardian'' tends to have its cake and eat it. It waits for the tabloids to dish the dirt and then it talks about the tabloids dishing the dirt while enjoying it themselves." However Coogan later gave credit to the same newspaper for its investigation of the phone hacking scandal. Coogan said that because of the persistent intrusion into his private life, the press had effectively made him "immune" to further attack, as his "closet is empty of skeletons".

Phone hacking

Coogan became a prominent figure in the News International phone hacking scandal as one of the celebrities who took action against the British tabloids in light of these events. He was made aware by his phone service provider of "possible anomalies" on his phone around the time in 2005 and 2006 In 2010 Coogan's legal firm obtained a partially redacted version of Glenn Mulcaire's hacking notebook by a court order which showed Coogan had been targeted and his personal information was in the possession of Mulcaire. Mulcaire was forced by the High Court of Justice to disclose to Coogan's legal team who amongst the staff at the News of the World ordered him to hack phones. This information was obtained by Coogan's lawyers on the 26th August 2011. Interviewed on ''Newsnight'' on 8 July 2011, Coogan said he was "delighted" by the closure of the News of the World and said it was a "fantastic day for journalism". He said the idea of press freedom was used by the tabloids as a "smokescreen for selling papers with tittle-tattle" and said the argument against press regulation was "morally bankrupt" Coogan provided an 8-page witness statement to the Leveson Inquiry and appeared at the inquiry on November 22, 2011 to discuss the evidence. He said he was there reluctantly representing a lot of celebrities who felt they could not speak out for fear of reprisals from the tabloid press.

Personal life

One of Coogan's brothers, Brendan, is a former ''Top Gear'' presenter, and another, Martin, was the lead singer of the early 1990s band The Mock Turtles. All the brothers attended the Cardinal Langley RC High School.

Coogan married Caroline Hickman in 2002,the couple divorced in 2005. He lives in Brighton to be close to Clare, his daughter from a previous relationship. On the commentary for Series 2 of ''I'm Alan Partridge'', Coogan states that he is a socialist who enjoys paying taxes, whilst discussing the eponymous character's investigation by the Inland Revenue. Coogan reportedly has a wealth of £5 million and supports the Labour Party.

A well noted car enthusiast, he has had a succession of Ferraris, but stopped buying them after realising that the depreciation and running costs were greater than hiring a private plane. He helped Jeremy Clarkson test a Ferrari 575M against an Aston Martin Vanquish S on the fifth series of Top Gear. Coogan drives one of the final air-cooled Porsche 911 Carrera 4s.

Filmography

Feature Films

Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes
	1989	''Resurrected (film)	Resurrected''	Youth 2
	1995	''The Indian in the Cupboard (film)	The Indian in the Cupboard''	Tommy Atkins
	1996	''The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)	The Wind in the Willows''	Mole
	1998	''Sweet Revenge (1998 film)	Sweet Revenge''	Bruce Tick
	2001	''The Parole Officer''	Simon Garden	Also WriterNominated – BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
	2002	''24 Hour Party People''	Tony Wilson
	2003	''Coffee and Cigarettes''	Steve	Segment: Cousins?
		Heston the snake	Voice Only
	Phileas Fogg
		Charley
''A Cock and Bull Story''	Tristram Shandy/ Walter Shandy/ Steve Coogan
	''The Alibi''	Ray Elliot
''Night at the Museum''	Octavius
		Graham
''Hot Fuzz''	Metropolitan Police Inspector	Uncredited
	''Finding Amanda''	Michael Henry
''Tales of the Riverbank''	Roderick	Voice Only
''Tropic Thunder''	Damien Cockburn
''Hamlet 2''	Dana Marschz
	''What Goes Up''	Campbell Babbitt	Also Producer
	Paul Michaelson	Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast
''Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian''	Octavius
	''Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief''	Hades
''The Other Guys''	David Ershon
	Raisin	Voice Only
		Steve Coogan
''Our Idiot Brother''	Dylan

Television

Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes
	1987	''Spitting Image''	Various Characters	Voice Only3 Episodes
	''The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer''	Lead Singer of Go West	1 Episode
	Stebbings	2 Episodes
''Saturday Zoo''	Paul Calf
	1994	''The Day Today''	Various Characters	7 EpisodesAlso Writer
	1995	''Coogan's Run''	Various Characters	6 EpisodesAlso Writer
	1994-1995	''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV series)	Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge''	Alan Partridge	7 EpisodesAlso Writer
	1996	''Tales from the Crypt (TV series)	Tales from the Crypt''	Danny Skeggs	1 Episode
		Alan Partridge	1 Episode
	Mike Gabbett
	1997-2002	''I'm Alan Partridge''	Alan Partridge	12 EpisodesAlso Writer
	1998	''Bob and Margaret''	Various Characters	1 Episode
	''Hooves of Fire''	Blitzen	Voice Only
''Mrs Merton and Malcolm''	Various Characters	4 Episodes
	''Combat Sheep''	Cmdr. Harris	Voice OnlyAlso Executive Producer
''A Small Summer Party''	Geoff	Also Executive Producer
''Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible''	Various Characters	6 EpisodesAlso Writer/Executive Producer
	2002	''Cruise of the Gods''	Nick Lee	Also Executive Producer
	2003	''The Private Life of Samuel Pepys''	Samuel Pepys	Also Executive Producer
	2004	''I Am Not An Animal''	Various Characters	Voice Only6 EpisodesAlso Executive Producer
	2005	''Monkey Trousers''	Various Characters	5 EpisodesAlso Executive Producer
	2006	''Little Britain''	Pilot	1 Episode
	2006-2007	''Saxondale''	Tommy Saxondale	13 EpisodesAlso Writer/Executive Producer
	2007	''Curb Your Enthusiasm''	Dr. Bright	1 Episode
	2008	''Sunshine (UK TV series)	Sunshine''	Bing Cosby	3 Episodes
		Steve	6 Episodes
''Neighbors from Hell''	Satan	6 Episodes
	2010-2011	''Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge''	Alan Partridge	12 EpisodesAlso Writer

Awards and nominations

Edinburgh Comedy Awards ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge (TV series) ''Pauline Calf's Wedding Video'' ''Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''The Parole Officer'' ''Cruise of the Gods'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''I'm Alan Partridge'' ''24 Hour Party People'' ''24 Hour Party People'' ''Happy Endings (film) ''In the Loop (film) ''The Trip (2010 TV series)

Year !! Nominated For !! Award !! Category !! Result
1992	''In Character With John Thompson''	Perrier Comedy Award ||	Best Comedy Show
1994	Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' ||	British Comedy Awards	Best Male TV Performer
1995	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy Performance
1995	|	BAFTAs	Best Light Entertainment Performance
1998	|	British Comedy Awards	Best TV Comedy Actor
1998	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy Performance
1998	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy (Programme or Series)
2002	|	BAFTAs	BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
2003	|	British Comedy Awards	Best TV Comedy Actor
2003	|	BAFTAs	Best Comedy Performance
2003	|	Royal Television Society	Best Comedy Performance
2003	|	Empire Awards	Best British Actor
2003	|	Online Film Critics Society	Best Breakthrough Performance
2005	Happy Endings'' ||	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actor
2010	In the Loop'' ||	Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film>Chlotrudis Award	Chlotrudis Award for Best Cast>Best Cast
2011	The Trip ||	BAFTAs	Best Male Comedy Performance

Awards and Nominations sourced from IMDb http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176869/awards 2/12/2010

Stand-up VHS and DVDs

''Live 'N' Lewd'' (7 November 1994)

''Live – The Man Who Thinks He's It'' (9 November 1998)

''As Alan Partridge And Other Less Successful Characters – Live'' (30 November 2009)

References

External links

Coming to a cinema near you... Alan Partridge as Our Man in Tashkent

Steve Coogan: From a Partridge to 'Cock and Bull Fresh Air interview by Terry Gross

Steve Coogan on BBC Radio Desert Island Discs

Evidence to the Leveson Inquiry

Profile on Chortle

Category:1965 births Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Category:British male comedians Category:English actors Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English impressionists (entertainers) Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English socialists Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Living people Category:People from Middleton, Greater Manchester

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