Lynn - Alans PA.

No pushover: Felicity Montagu By Hannah Wright
http://www.teletext.co.uk/

Downtrodden and dowdy, Alan Partridge's PA Lynn is the ultimate doormat.

Paid just £8,000 a year to put up with comments like, "technically Lynn, your life's not worth insuring", she is Alan's long-suffering dogsbody.

So it comes as a surprise to find that the actress who plays her, Felicity Montagu, is feisty, chatty, and in a word, sophisticated. And in place of her new bouffant hairdo are long, impressive auburn locks.

Lynn is still by Alan's side in the new series, which stars Steve Coogan as the cringeworthy Norwich DJ.

But the past five years have seen great change in her life, not least of which is a new haircut.

"The front bit's my own hair, the rest is a wig," says Felicity, 40, who plays the dowdy secretary. "It's awful isn't it? And it's very heavy. And I have to wear special make-up that ages my skin."

Lynn's rather drab existence on I'm Alan Partridge is great fun to play, Felicity says.

"She's very proud of her job and it's quite stressful for her. She doesn't mind getting paid £8,000 a year because she can get by on that."

In reality, Felicity is nothing like her alter-ego. She got into acting at school and confesses to being "naughty". "I was bored of school, I used to cause mischief," she smirks.

"We used to lock teachers out of classrooms and climb through windows."

Felicity lives in London with her husband and two young children. "They don't say much about me being on Alan Partridge, they're more excited about Bridget Jones's Diary." (Felicity played Perpetua in the movie.)

Railing accident 'painfully funny'

Felicity Montagu - Alan Partidge's secretary - rates last Monday's episode, when the DJ speared his foot on a railing as the funniest moment of both series.

"I just kept laughing when I saw that bit. I realised how funny it was.

"There was a hilarious moment in the first series when Alan and I are arrested. I had to start the car but I couldn't work the controls. Steve (Coogan) was stood there going: 'She can't do it, she just can't do it.'"

The burning question on every Alan Partridge fans' lips is: "Does Lynn have a crush on Alan?"

"I'm always asked this," laughs Felicity. "I don't think Lynn has had much contact with men.

"So I think probably she daydreams about him, but I don't think she'd like to have a mad, passionate moment with him. To work with Steve Coogan is very special and hard working, and great fun."

The cast of I'm Alan Partridge spent six months ad-libbing before scripts for the new series were written.

"It was quite worrying at first whether this series would match the success of the last and whether it would be believeable," says Felicity.

"We worked for a long time before we started filming. We'd throw things together, and the scripts were written from those workshops." She says another series is likely.

It's been five years since we last caught up with Partridge, but fans can rest assured this won't be our last encounter.

Coogan says: "We always knew we were going to do another series, so it wasn't if - it was when."

Felicity adds: "I imagine there will be another series. I'd love to do it again. Lynn would be five years older, with more problems."