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Future of Alan Partridge mural in the balance

10 0
07.03.2026

The future of the Alan Partridge mural on the side of the old Hollywood Cinema in Anglia Square is uncertain as demolition work at the site continues.

Norwich City Council officials remain tight-lipped over whether they will preserve the painting or let it be reduced to rubble.

A Norwich City Council spokesman said: “There are ongoing discussions regarding the mural.

“We have nothing else to add at this moment.”

The mural was painted by artist Dave Nash, known as Gnasher, for the 2013 premier of the Partridge movie spin-off Alpha Papa which was held at Hollywood Cinema.

Film premier of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa at Hollywood Cinema, (Image: Archant)

Mr Nash, 52, said the artwork is part of Norwich's history, but if the council did destroy it he would be happy to paint another one.

He said the authority reached out to him about the mural recently but did not say what it had planned.

Dave Nash has said he would paint another Alan mural in Norwich (Image: Submitted)

'PART OF NORWICH HISTORY'

Mr Nash who is originally from Harlow but now lives in Hertfordshire said: “Looking back on it - I don’t think it is that good.

"It would be sad to see it go. It is a part of Norwich's history.

“I don’t think the council will save it. It is not exactly a Banksy. It was early in my career.

“If the council knock it down, I would come and do another one. I could do a bigger and better one.

The demolition work at Anglia Square (Image: Denise Bradley)

“I would even do it out of my own pocket.

“I love Alan Partridge. I lived in Loddon for 10 years and still visit Norwich."

In 2014 Mr Nash also painted a tribute to Hollywood actor Robin Williams in the Pottergate underpass under Grapes Hill.

The Robin Williams portrait by Gnasher in the Pottergate underpass (Image: copyright: Archant 2014)

Anglia Square is being razed to the ground to make way for 1,100 homes on the site off Magdalen Street.

The square's glass canopy and clock have been removed and mounds of rubble and waste can be seen at various points around the complex.

Workers in Magdalen Street which is closed for the demolition work at Anglia Square. (Image: Denise Bradley)

However, there is a long way to go before the demolition is completed and work can begin on building the new homes, with landmark buildings like the Hollywood Cinema - where the mural is located - and Sovereign House still standing.

Alan Partridge is a fictional broadcaster invented by actor Steve Coogan who is synonymous with the county.

Co-creator Armando Iannucci called it "a kind of social X-ray of male middle-aged Middle England".

The painting in 2013 at Anglia Square as the cinema gets ready for the Alan Partridge film premiere 'Alpha Papa'. (Image: Denise Bradley)

"I’d like to tell you about a very special place," Partridge himself once said. "Whether you know it as East Anglia, the Plump Peninsula, Home of the Broads, Albion’s Hind Quarters, or quite simply the Wales of the East, this is Norfolk."

Since I'm Alan Partridge landed on our TV screens in November 1997 it has been a great source of debate whether or not Partridge has been a positive or negative association among the people of Norfolk.

During the series Alan lives in the fictional Linton Travel Tavern and hosts a show on Radio Norwich.

Partridge was originally created by Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci in 1991 for On the Hour, a BBC radio four programme.


© Norwich Evening News