Initially, Alan Partridge had a slot presenting sports news on BBC Radio 4's On the Hour programme (1991) presented by Chris Morris, and got his first starring role in 1992 as host of Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge, a spoof chat show with fictional guests. Alan managed to offend people on his show who would then attempt to disgrace the host.
On The Hour transferred to television as The Day Today in 1994, and was swiftly followed by a television version of Knowing Me Knowing You.
Partridge next appeared in I'm Alan Partridge (1997), a fly-on-the-wall look behind the scenes of his rapidly failing career. In this television series, he is seen having gained a slot on BBC Radio Norwich where he continued to offend, this time his listeners. Coogan was apparently reluctant to continue playing the character, but returned for a second series of I'm Alan Partridge in 2002.