THE self-deprecating title of Steve Coogan’s first stage tour in a decade - Steve Coogan is Alan Partridge and Other, Less Successful, Characters - turns out to be very prescient.

While the return of Paul and Pauline Calf, hopeless comedian Duncan Thicket and, to a lesser extent, ex-roadie Tommy Saxondale provided some laughs, this was all about Partridge.

The show was split into two halves with the Calfs, Thicket and Saxondale acting as the warm-up for Norwich’s number one former chat show host.

Each of the less successful characters was given about ten minutes to impress, ending with a song, but the material was very hit and miss – more miss than hit to be honest.

If it hadn’t been for the extortionate £40+ ticket price it might have been tempting to just turn up at the interval.

But the show was saved by Partridge, undoubtedly one of the greatest creations in modern British comedy.

Coogan knows what everyone has been waiting for, and he came alive as he slipped on the old sports jacket and revealed Alan’s latest re-incarnation - as life coach to the likes of Ross Kemp and Vanessa Feltz.

It wasn’t vintage Partridge, but it was head and shoulders above the rest of the show. Coupled with the song-and-dance finale, with Coogan playing himself, it sent everyone happy – some wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the legend ‘Kiss My Face.’