A-ha! Alan Partridge star Steve Coogan now has Irish citizenship and says he harbours an ‘antipathy’ to the British flag.
The comedian, who was born in Greater Manchester like his father, claims his real ‘home’ is in the Emerald Isle.
‘I am a part of the Irish diaspora,’ says Coogan, 60. ‘I’ve always felt that I have slight antipathy towards the British flag I’ve been raised with.
‘It’s not like a contempt for it. It’s just holding the Establishment at arm’s length because of history.’
He plays former Ireland football manager Mick McCarthy in Saipan, an entertaining film due to be released this week. It tells the story of McCarthy’s explosive fallout with star player Roy Keane at the 2002 World Cup in Japan.
Steve Coogan at the Q&A screening of Saipan at Picturehouse Central in London on January 18
Coogan’s mother moved to Britain from County Mayo and his father’s parents were Irish, so he qualified for an Irish passport, which, he jokes, comes with some advantages.
‘I always think if I get captured by Isis, I’m less likely to get my head chopped off with an Irish passport than a British one, which is my principal reason for getting one.’
Putting humour to one side, Coogan says at a Q&A screening of Saipan at Picturehouse Central in London: ‘I’ve always felt like I lived in the middle of the Irish Sea because I feel like I’ve been spending all my summers in Ireland. Even when I’d go over there, even though I was born in England, people would say: “When are you coming home?”’
He adds: ‘I grew up during the Troubles, where there was this great suspicion of the Irish in Britain and that kind of huge endemic politics of colonisation and the Nationalist movement in Ireland, civil liberties, the whole thing. I was aware of it all.’
Forced out of Royal Lodge Windsor and reportedly estranged from his daughter Princess Eugenie, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could be forgiven for suffering the winter blues.
However, his brother has an event that might appeal.
King Charles is holding an ‘End of winter wellbeing workshop’ at Highgrove. The £75-a-head event next month will include a guided meditation to restore ‘inner clarity’. A spokesman says: ‘Join us for an afternoon of rest, renewal, and gentle movement as we transition from winter’s stillness into the lighter energy of spring.’
Who could resist?
Sparkling start for Marco Pierre’s boy
Marco Pierre White’s elder son, Luciano, will have been pleased to see the back of 2025, as his Surrey restaurant was closed down, owing £100,000 to the taxman, and his brother, Marco Jnr, was jailed for more than three years for a series of burglaries.
Luciano Pierre White, 32, son of Marco, has got engaged to fashion chief executive Stephanie Beard, 35
Happily, this year has begun on a much happier note.
I can disclose that Luciano, 32, has got engaged to Stephanie Beard, 35, the founder of clothing brand Silked London, whose designs have been worn by stars including Eva Longoria and Cat Deeley.
The Duke of Kent, whose wife Katharine died last year, is seeking solace in music.
I hear that the duke, 90, beat a path to Wigmore Hall in London on Sunday to hear celebrated pianist Dame Imogen Cooper perform. Dame Imogen, 76, is due to retire shortly after a 60-year career.
The duke, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, shared his love of music with his wife, who taught the subject at a primary school in East Hull, where she was referred to as ‘Mrs Kent’, and would travel by train from her home at Kensington Palace. She even revealed in an interview that she was fond of rap music, in particular Eminem.
New generation of racy royals?
She was the first woman to win the Grand National, and her yard was visited by Queen Camilla. Now, Rachael Blackmore is convinced that the royal children will want to race horses.
Referring to Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, the jockey says: ‘I guarantee you, they’ll be racing in some shape or form when they’re older.’
Rachael is head of Ladies’ Day at the Cheltenham Festival in March and says of the next generation of royals: ‘I have a feeling when they get into their teenage years, they’re going to want to [go]. Cheltenham is one of the best sporting occasions in Britain.’
Who rocker Pete Townshend believes young men have it harder than women. ‘It is tougher to be a young man than being a young woman,’ claims the 80-year-old. ‘We are not appreciated. People do not realise we hide so much of our emotions. We get involved in sport as a way of validating ourselves, and if we are in sport we are told to take the pain.’
Birthday Button’s burlesque treat
Ex-Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button with his wife Brittny in Las Vegas
Ex-Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button hung up his driver’s gloves last year to spend more time with his family, but he’s still living a very racy life.
I hear that Button spent his 46th birthday watching burlesque star Dita Von Teese perform in Las Vegas.
He was accompanied by his wife, Brittny, 35, who gave Dita a run for her money in a pink corset-style outfit. California-born Brittny is a former Playboy model. The couple, who met in 2016 and married in California, have a son, Hendrix, six, and daughter, Lenny, four.
