Alan's 'taboo' rib-tickler

THE new Alan Partridge series is really, really funny. Honestly, I've just watched episode one of this thing, entitled HOW ARE YOU? IT’S ALAN (PARTRIDGE) (9.30pm, BBC1), and I've laughed out loud three times.

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There is, of course, no other way to laugh than “out loud”, so I’ve never quite understood why people say that bit.

But that’s beside the point. What’s significant here is the three.

Three laughs from me at a sitcom is an awful lot. Most make me smile at best.

Also, I thought the previous Partridge series, This Time (a sort of One Show spoof where Steve Coogan’s character was making his TV comeback), was pretty poor, its setup too laboured and its gags too lame. Other critics, I know, were more favourable, but that’s because they’re all idiots.