22 Nov 2011

I did not seek fame, Coogan tells Leveson

Steve Coogan tells the Leveson inquiry he believes it is his vocation to be a comedian and that he has never used the press to exploit fame for his own ends.

He told today’s hearing of the inquiry into press culture and ethics that “because of the stories that have been run about me, my closet is empty of skeletons due to the press. So in a way, unwittingly maybe, I may be immune.”

The comedian, best known for his Alan Partridge series, has in the past been an outspoken critic of the UK’s phone-hacking culture.

He was at pains to stress that he had never tried to exploit fame for his own benefit. He suggested those who played the “fame game” entered into a “Faustian pact where they use the press to raise their profile. They exploit the press for their own ends.”

But he dissociated himself from such practices. “I don’t to that,” he said.

“I have never wanted to be famous as such – fame is a by-product. Me myself, personally, I like to keep myself private.”

Coogan said he had become involved in comedy and acting because it was what he had always wanted to do. “I’m a creative person. It’s what I do. It’s my vocation.”

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Rummaging through bins

The comedian acknowledged that there were aspects of his personal and professional life that did not meet the approval of some tabloid editors and proprietors.

“But I do not believe that gives them the right to hack my voicemail, intrude into my privacy or the privacy of people who know me, or print damaging lies.”

He said he was often under surveillance by reporters and photographers, and had seen journalists rummaging through his bins.

He described one incident in which a journalist – who subsequently admitted he was from the Daily Mirror – phoned the great-grandmother of his daughter on the pretence of conducting a council survey.

Press regulator’s failure

But he had not complained to the Press Complaints Commission at any stage about media intrusion. “The soap opera that would ensue outweighs any benefit it would have.”

He believed his lack of confidence in the PCC was borne out by the regulator’s inadequate response to the phone-hacking scandal.

“The biggest test in the last 40 years of their ability, the hacking scandal, completely passed them by,” he said. “So I don’t feel my suspicions and prejudices about the PCC are without foundation.”