According to Coogan, Partridge was originally a "one-note, sketchy character" and "freak show", but slowly became refined as a dysfunctional alter ego. Baynham told the "Guardian" that "despite the fact that people say he's awful, a lot of the time we were trying to build empathy: you're watching a man suffer but also at some level identifying with his pain." Marber said Partridge's fundamental characteristic is desperation. Felicity Montagu, who plays Partridge's assistant Lynn, felt he was vulnerable and loveable, and a good person "deep down". Iannucci said that Partridge stays optimistic because he never sees himself as others see him, and that despite his failings he was "the perfect broadcaster for these times, when there are 24 hours to fill and dead time is a crime – he has a unique capacity to fill any vacuum with his own verbal vacuum". The Gibbons brothers felt that by the time of "Mid Morning Matters", when Partridge is working for an even smaller radio station, he is more at peace with himself and that his lack of self-awareness saves him from misery.