No Essex appeal
Coogan angers "awful" Southend
Steve Coogan has blasted the Essex town of Southend-on-Sea, branding it "the worst place in the world".
Locals are up in arms after his comments in Now magazine, where he called the resort "depressing and bloody awful"
"I did a show there once and the audience was kind of unresponsive," he said. "If they needed extras for Dawn Of The Dead, then that's where they should have gone."
But Southend's mayor Roger Weaver countered that the residents are "fantastic, hard-working, generous and fun-loving people".
"I'm sorry he didn't enjoy his visit," he added. "He should come to see us again and I'll show him exactly what Southend has to offer."
Coogan has already made enemies the east of England, having previously angered Norfolk's civic leaders by making their county a laughing stock through Alan Partridge.
Councillor Charles Joyce has claimed: "Alan Partridge portrays the people and county of Norfolk in a less than flattering light. It is not helpful for the county to be portrayed as a backwater populated by yokels."Published: 26 Jun 2004
