A campaign has been launched to find a permanent home in Norwich for an 11ft bronze statue of Alan Partridge.
The golden effigy of the comedy persona, complete with plaque bearing his catchphrase Aha!, was erected outside The Forum on Thursday and was expected to stay until Sunday.
Created by Norwich Partridge fans Nick Dutton and Gavin Fulcher, who are self-employed sculptors in the film industry, the statue has hit the headlines around the world, even making it into the Hollywood Reporter.
Now fans of the character are being urged to back a drive for a place to be found to display it permanently.
MORE: Alan Partridge statue appears in NorwichKaty Peet, 32, a teaching assistant from Manchester, has set up an online petition.
She said: “I’m a big Partridge fan. I think it’s a good likeness of him. I know that it took them three years to make it.
“It would be nice for it to go somewhere and to get some ongoing recognition with all the effort they have put in.
“There wasn’t a petition to keep it so I thought I’d make one especially with all the negative press surrounding statues recently. This would be something positive and fun and that comes from the people and means something to people now.”
It depicts the former Radio Norwich and North Norfolk Digital broadcaster holding a mug with a hand upon the hip and a leg raised by what appears to be rock.
Mr Fulcher said: “It has been a passion project for a few years as, ever since we met, we had been deciding on who would be a good person to sculpt and went for Alan Partridge.
“It was a guerilla project and we wanted to make people think that the council had been crazy enough to erect a statue. Obviously, the Forum were in on it, and they gave us permission.
“It has been fun seeing people’s reactions as the whole thing was a surprise. We just did it for a bit of humour.”
MORE: What Steve Coogan thinks of Norwich’s new Alan Partridge statueArguably Norfolk’s best known fictional creation has appeared on radio, TV, podcasts and a feature film that was shot on location in the county.
Actor Steve Coogan, who has been portraying the character since 1991, said it would be nice if it had a permanent place in Norwich.
He told BBC Breakfast, Mr Coogan said: “I was flabbergasted. I heard rumours about it but it surpassed my expectations - it is quite magnificent.”
Ms Peet said the statue could become a tourist attraction.
She said: “I’d definitely love to come to Norwich to see it and there are plenty of Alan Partridge fans around so it could become a real attraction and bring quite a lot of tourism to Norwich. I think it would be a winner for everyone.”
• Sign the petition to keep the statue at Keep Alan Partridge
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here