ALAN (Steve Coogan) and his trusty sidekick Simon (Tim Key) host the Mid Morning Matters show at the North Norfolk Digital radio station.

Vicious rumours circulate that new management are planning to change the name of the station and axe some of the older DJs.

Late night presenter Pat Farrell (Colm Meaney) fears he will be one for the chop so he asks Alan to speak to the bosses and avert a cull.

Unfortunately, Alan only makes the situation worse so Pat is forced to take his colleagues hostage.

By chance, Alan is outside the building when the siege begins so police recruit him as a negotiator to resolve the stand-off with Pat.

Alan relishes his moment in the media spotlight, becoming known as the “face of the siege” as he attempts to salve frayed nerves and raise the spirits of his long-suffering personal assistant Lynn (Felicity Montagu) and plucky security guard Michael (Simon Greenall).

Written by Coogan, Armando Ianucci, and brothers Neil and Rob Gibbons, Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa pays affectionate tribute to Norfolk’s most famous, knitwear-clad DJ.

Fans of the TV series will be able to secondguess some of the gags as the titular presenter proves as toe-curlingly embarrassing as ever, halting the important task of freeing hostages to broadcast a live phone-in about bus drivers.

When Coogan isn’t delivering the punch lines, there’s plenty of slapstick humour to tickle viewers, including at least one incident of Alan being caught very much with his trousers down.

Aha, indeed.

DAMON SMITH