Coogan stands by Jonathan Ross

Rex Features

Steve Coogan is standing by Jonathan Ross over the Manuelgate affair.

The Alan Partridge star told ITN that although he thought Ross and Russell Brand's act of leaving lewd voicemail messages to Andrew Sachs was wrong, he felt that it was important to "move on" from the mistake.

He said: "I do comedy that some people think is cool and I wouldn't do what they did. It was wrong, but they're not bad people. We all make mistakes, you just say sorry and just try and get back on track. I'm sure it'll be fine.

"Jonathan's a really good broadcaster. Some people think he's a little bit cocky sometimes, but he's good natured, he has a good heart."

Coogan advised Ross: "When you make a mistake, the thing is to learn from your mistake and then move on."