With Alan Partridge back in the limelight these days, the internet is full of examples of people apparently behaving like Steve Coogan’s socially awkward character.
The hapless TV host is known for his ill-advised gaffes and unorthodox presenting style and it seems like his antics in the recent BBC series This Time With Alan Partridge has rubbed off on those in the real world.
Take last night, for example. Ahead of Sky Sports’ coverage of the Southampton v Liverpool match, presenter Kelly Cates poses a straightforward question to punditry pair Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, only for the two men to turn and walk away instead of addressing Kelly directly, much like Alan would with one of his co-hosts.
Check out the baffling clip here…
I’ve never seen such an unintentionally accurate representation of the way most men treat any woman who talks about football.https://t.co/jvVByD8E7Y
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) April 5, 2019
There appears to be a pretty simple explanation, as Neville and Carragher were on their way to interview Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl but the nature of their departure and the way in which the camera repeatedly focuses on Kelly’s face has led to much confusion as well as some amusement.
Apparently it was planned that Gary Neville & Jamie Carragher would walk off, but they could have stuck around to answer Kelly Cate's question first! Just weird….& comes off as totally rude.https://t.co/ea4yKpwQVq
— Michele Taylor (@BarcaWomen) April 6, 2019
What happened with Carra, Neville and Kelly last night.. I can't get my head round what happened
— Matt (@Mattlfc1920) April 6, 2019
https://twitter.com/ajwhitehead/status/1114471118860161024
Who’s idea was it to have Carraghe’s and Neville immediately start walking away from Kelly Cates after she stopped talking?
Weird.— Ian (@_Higgs_Boson) April 6, 2019
Me bringing up serial killers at a party pic.twitter.com/c1vdfHTdtH
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) April 6, 2019
#AccidentalPartridge https://t.co/Omh29nGnIJ
— Accidental Partridge (@AccidentalP) April 6, 2019
Kelly herself has moved to clear up the situation, saying it ‘would have looked weird if they didn’t have anything to say’ on the way to interview.
https://twitter.com/KellyCates/status/1114454454223474688
The perils of TV production, eh? Alan would be proud.