Steve Coogan scores hit in phone hacking campaign Private eye Mulcaire must now name names at NotW after comedian wins legal battle
By Nigel Horne
August 20th 2011
thefirstpost.co.uk
Steve Coogan has scored a resounding victory in his fight for justice on behalf of phone hacking victims. It has been revealed that as a result of legal pressure brought by Coogan, private detective Glenn Mulcaire has been given until the end of August to disclose who exactly at the News of the World instructed him to access the voicemails of supermodel Elle Macpherson and five other public figures.
In February this year, lawyers for Steve Coogan, himself a victim of phone hacking, argued at the high court that Mulcaire should be forced to reveal who told him to hack into the voicemail of Macpherson, Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes, PR Max Clifford, football agent Sky Andrew, former head of the Profession al Footballers Association Gordon Taylor, and legal adviser to the PFA Jo Armstrong.
The high court duly ordered Mulcaire to name names but he has spent six months refusing to do so. According to the Guardian, Mulcaire tried to get the Court of Appeal to overturn the order but on August 1 Lord Justice Toulson rejected his application for leave to appeal.
John Kelly of the law firm Schillings, who act for Coogan, told the Guardian that Judge Toulson's decision was "a very significant development". Kelly said: "He [Mulcaire] will now have to identify exactly who at the News of the World asked him to access the mobile phones of the named individuals and who he provided the information to at the News of the World. Mr Mulcaire is due to provide these answers by the end of the month and we await his answers with interest."
Coogan's anger at the invasion of his and other public figures' privacy by News of the World reporters has been evident since he appeared on BBC Newsnight in July to comment on the paper's closure. "People keep saying it is a very bad day for the press," said Coogan, best known for his TV character Alan Partridge. "It is a wonderful day for the press: a small victory for decency and humanity." He called the News of the World "a misogynistic, xenophobic, single-parent-hating, asylum-seeker-hating newspaper".
When Paul McMullan, a former deputy features editor on the paper, tried to argue that celebrities such as Coogan sought publicity and deserved what they got from the tabloids, Coogan let rip, calling him "risible" and "morally bankrupt". McMullan and his colleagues peddled "tittle-tattle", said Coogan, while hiding behind a "smokescreen" of phony support for the freedom of the press.
Steve Coogan in cameo role for student's low-budget horror film
Daily Mirror
27/08/2011
A TEENAGER shooting his own low-budget movie has recruited comedian Steve Coogan for a cameo role. Liam Hooper, 17, was amazed when the creator of Alan Partridge got in touch to appear in his horror film Darkwood Manor. With a �1,000 budget, the movie also stars A-level student Liam�s friends, family and teachers at his school.
He said: �I thought he might like my tongue-in-cheek script. But I never thought he�d agree to take part.� Liam, of Brighton, said he didn�t want to give away too much about the film, adding: �All I can say is he appears at a pivotal moment.�
Coogan pledged to try to attend next month�s premiere in the city near his home.
Alan Partridge: 'I'm pretty gung-ho about cod liver oil' The veteran broadcaster has taken a few knocks in life. But he's back, he's in great shape – and he's 40 times the broadcaster he used to be
Tim Dowling
17/10/2011
guardian.co.uk
Why have you decided to publish an autobiography now?
It just made sense to do it while I can. When a man reaches my age the risk of prostate cancer pretty much skyrockets. The spectre of an inoperable genital tumour aside, the money will come in handy too! That's not to say I'm not earning much (I am earning much), it's just that I'm forced to surrender a lot of it in the form of tax, thanks to the political stance that you and your newspaper have helped to popularise.
Is it a tacit acknowledgement that your best years in broadcasting are behind you?
Let me walk you through it like a simpleton (you being the simpleton). I broadcast a four-hour radio show, five days a week. The suggestion that that is somehow a step down from presenting a half-hour TV talk show once a week (20 hours of weekly output, versus 0.5 hours) is a genuine side-splitter. I'm statistically 40 times the broadcaster I was then. That's just maths.
Your new book, I, Partridge, has a unique aural component. Can you explain how it's meant to work?
Sure can. My autobiog has a suggested soundtrack. At key moments in the book I give the title of a song that should be played to enhance the experience of reading that particular paragraph. For example, the song Japanese Boy by Aneka for the section in which I describe the drunken night out in Tokyo where Sally Gunnell encourages me to throw a bin through a shop window. I wanted my publishers to put the soundtrack on a CD and give it away with the book but – to be frank – I don't think they could be arsed. No wonder we're in a recession.
You have a gift for unexpected simile, eg, "Snowflakes fell from the sky like tiny pieces of a snowman who had stood on a land mine." Who are your literary influences, if any?
A true writer, a good writer, refuses to be influenced by any other writer – it's cheating otherwise. My influences come from elsewhere. I'm inspired by the chord choices of Sting, the camera angles of Scorsese, a dog catching a frisbee, the satisfying gu-dum of a German-built car door shutting, the shimmy of Shakira's sweet ass. I draw on every one of these things when I'm in my study.
The book is a very personal account of your life and career to date. Would you call it a "warts and all" portrayal?
It's warts, verrucas, moles, psoriasis, the lot. I'd even include the blackheads on my nose. I looked at them with a shaving mirror the other day actually. Disgusting. It was like the world's most densely-packed dot-to-dot puzzle. I tried to get rid of them with a blackhead gun made out of a ballpoint pen. But there were simply too many. I just ended up with slightly fewer blackheads and a very red nose. Hey-ho.
You write a lot about your unhappy childhood. Was it really that bad?
It was pretty dark. My father was a naturally gifted corporal punisher. He was also fearless – when conscripted to fight in the second world war, he was delighted. Apparently he just punched the air and said: "I'm off to save a Jew or two!" But he came back a troubled man. To be honest I don't think he did save a Jew. Or two.
You have an incredible memory for detail. Have you always kept a diary?
The only diary I keep is the one inside my mind. Plus a written one that I fill in at the end of every day. I keep my brain in shape by doing the Daily Mail quick crossword. (Love their ironic use of the word "quick".) I'm also pretty gung-ho about cod liver oil tablets. Though I'd be just as happy with oil from the liver of any other fish. In fact it wouldn't even need to be from the liver.
A lot of authors use their autobiographies to settle old scores. Were you tempted?
God yeah. Originally there were revelations in there about all sorts of people, until I spent a fascinating and hilarious afternoon going through the book and audiobook with my lawyers. Armed with a red pen, we totted up the offending passages and the final scores were: defamation (144), slander (72), libel (72) and malicious falsehood (1). All I can say is that as a result one particular celebrity will have breathed a very big sigh of relief. I won't reveal who it is, other than to say it's John Craven.
You furnish your readers with some interesting strategies for living – Alan's Desk Design, your Nando's Efficiency System – have you ever thought about writing a self-help book?
I've explored this territory before. After bouncing back, I designed Forward Solutions™, a highly successful self-improvement programme supported by the twin crutches of corporate buzz-words and rock music. I delivered it to sales teams the length and breadth of parts of the UK and, in nearly a third of cases, sales briefly went up. The strategies you mention are probably better suited to housewives than successful men, but it's an interesting idea for a book. Call my office in the morning.
If an election were held tomorrow, how would you vote?
Quickly and Conservatively. I recently read that George Osborne changed his name from Gideon to George because he thought it sounded more prime-ministerial. He was 13 at the time. Now if that's not the kind of guy we want running our country, I don't know what is.
Who would play you in the film of the book of your life?
Morgan Freeman. He's such an incredible actor you'd quickly forget he's one of the blackest men in Hollywood. Or ITV man John Stapleton. He's not known as an actor – but he will be. I've seen him act out domestic arguments and exchanges with shopkeepers and I've seen enough to know he will become one of our best-loved actors. He has bags of talent.
Without wishing to spoil the ending, would you describe yourself as a happy man these days?
So far today I've done my radio show, had oven chips for lunch and been to Laser Quest. What's not to be happy about? It's at times like this that I think Belinda Carlisle was right when she said that Heaven is a Place on Earth. Though she should have added "and that place is Norwich". Saw her on TV the other week actually. She's ballooned.
The King Of Soho presents Lady Godiva Steve Coogan leads a topless lady on a horse through the streets of Soho
Marcus Barnes
14 March 2012
As the head of the one of the UK's biggest porn empires, Paul Raymond became known as The King Of Soho. And, in the movie depicting his life, it becomes apparent why he landed this lofty title when he leads a topless lady on a horse through the streets of the central London district.
Steve Coogan plays Paul Raymond in the new film, which is called The King Of Soho, and he filmed the outrageous scene today. The comedian, who is most famous for his Alan Partridge character, donned a seventies-style fur coat as he put on the stunt in the middle of busy Soho. Wearing a wig and a garish tie, Coogan bore an uncanny resemblance to the porn baron who passed away four years ago. However, all eyes were on the lady he was escorting through the streets.
The blonde woman's locks covered her modesty as she straddled a white horse for the jaunt through Soho. She wore a glittering red cowboy hat and matching knee-length platform boots for the parade. It's believed that Paul Raymond pulled the stunt in order to publicise on the of the shows at his famous Raymond's Revuebar in Soho.
Shooting has been taking place in Soho for most of the week - a few days ago Coogan appeared as Raymond in his earlier years, accompanied by Anna Frield who plays his wife Jean. While Anna is taking the role of his wife, who Raymond cheated on, Tamsin Egerton has signed up to play his one-time mistress Fiona Richmond. And Imogen Poots is to star as his daughter Debbie, who became his confidante later in his life, but died in 1992 from a heroin overdose.
Steve Coogan worries MPs' privacy report will go easy on newspapers
Speaking at Guardian's Open Weekend, actor reveals for first time that he lost £30,000 over legal action against NoW
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