Michael (I'm Alan Partridge)

Michael is a fictional character who appears in the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge, portrayed by Simon Greenall.

Michael seems to play a pivotal role in Alan Partridge's life; originally working at the Travel Tavern Alan stays in, he is the only member of the Travel Tavern staff to return in series two, wherein he works at a petrol station. Throughout, he displays an unusual friendliness and objectivity towards Alan, presumably due to his dimwittedness and general loneliness.

Michael has a strong Geordie accent, a source of much comedy and confusion for Alan. Despite appearing relatively harmless and kind-hearted, Michael is a former military man who is prone to well-meaning but highly inappropriate displays of machismo, and appears to suffer from numerous deep-seated neuroses. Reduced to menial jobs, he is chipper and eager to fulfill his employment duties. In private, and when inebriated, Michael is angry and despairing of his life. Arguably, he is acutely aware of his deficient intellect, and is clearly suffering from clinical depression and / or post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the military. It is revealed in the 'Every Ruddy Word' scriptbook that Alan had a researcher at Radio Norwich run a background check on Michael and discovered no Regiment had any record of him serving in them. Alan also concludes in the notes that he is increasingly beginning to think that Michael's stories and history are just a fantasy world that Michael lives in.

Alan is simultaneously patronising towards him and in awkward awe of his hard-as-nails, working class background and military experiences.

Michael is not particularly popular with women. Throughout the two series, he never has a regular girlfriend. He discusses, briefly, an ex-wife who later moved in with his brother, as well as a sixty year-old, drunken woman (with him being roughly 45 years old) he excitedly announces he had 'full sex' with.

In real life, Simon Greenall is a talented voice actor who appears to talk with a Received Pronunciation accent.