Richard Madeley said he ‘doesn’t care’ about the Alan Partridge comparisons but thinks some are ‘unfair’

There’s no secret that a lot of people enjoy watching British TV legend Richard Madeley because, at times, his presenting style often resembles a real-life Alan Partridge.

It’s a comparison that many, many viewers have been making for years due to Madeley’s inexplicable ability to make even the most mundane of stories unbearably cringeworthy.

In fact, if you line up some of Madeley’s quotes next to some of Patridges’s, then they are pretty hard to tell apart.

Well, it turns out that Madeley doesn’t mind people having a laugh at his expense but does feel that some of the comparisons to Norfolk’s favourite fictional son are a bit unfair.

Speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of going into the jungle as a contestant on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Madeley addressed the Partridge comparisons.

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The 65-year-old Good Morning Britain presenter said: “I honestly don’t care at all - it’s actually quite funny. It’s part and parcel of the job I do. It’s so important that you don’t take yourself seriously, because you’re not gonna have a good time if you do.”

Madeley went on to elaborate that when he and his wife, Judy Finnigan, started in the television industry, he was just an entertainer but now he now feels that some of his quotes on more serious topics are being unfairly taken out of context.

“Judy and I started out on This Morning which isn’t really hard news. I don’t go to warzones, I do popular television, which on the whole is pretty pointless, it’s just entertainment. It doesn’t mean you’re remotely important or interesting.

‘If people wanna take what I say - a quip or a comment - and compare me to Alan Partridge - good luck to them. I think some quotes are often taken so ludicrously out of context that it’s a bit unfair.”

It would seem then that Madeley has a love-hate relationship with Partridge but there’s no doubt that many people will be tuning into ITV on Sunday evening, when I’m A Celebrity starts, to hear more of the man’s ‘Accidental Partridge’ moments.

This year’s show, which is coming from Wales rather than the Australian jungle due to Covid restrictions, also features former footballer David Ginola, Olympic gold medallist Matty Lee, pop star Frankie Bridge, Paralympic gold medallist Kadeena Cox and ex-BBC Breakfast host Louise Minchin to name but a few.