Steve Coogan was born and raised in Middleton, Manchester, one of six children.

His Manchester Irish parents are devout Catholics and even found room to accept foster children. With brothers Brendan (MUTV presenter) and Martin (ex-lead singer with Mock Turtles), Steve had to fight for the limelight even at an early age.

He trained as an actor at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre, and started out on the stand-up comedy circuit while still at college - just to be able to get his Equity card. Coogan's luck was in, because he was spotted by a television talent scout, and appeared as an impressionist on shows like "First Exposure", "A Word in Your Era" and "Paramount City".

He also provided a selection of voices for Spitting Image and was involved with the BBC radio show, "On The Hour", where he created the character that was to make him a millionaire... Alan Partridge,

This character took off to such an extent that he was given his own radio slot, the spoof chat show "Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge", and both shows transferred to TV - with huge critical and audience acclaim.

In the late nineties the hapless presenter found himself relegated to the graveyard shift on Radio Norwich for the sitcom "I'm Alan Partridge".

But this wasn't the limit of his creations - he also brought us Paul and Pauline Calf, the appalling travelling sales rep. Gareth Cheeseman, and the "singing sensation" cabaret star Tony Ferrino, a legend in his own dressing room.

Coogan never finds time to sit still. He won the coveted Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1992, went on a sell-out tour of the UK in 1998, was named the Variety Club Showbusiness Personality of the Year in 1999, and managed, throughout the decade, to scoop up and armful of other major awards.

He now lives in London and Brighton, although he comes back home regularly to see his beloved Manchester United and his young daughter, Clare (his wife divorced him, after he found it hard to remain faithful).

He also returned to Manchester in 2001 to film the two movies, "The Parole Officer" and "24 Hour Party People".