Alan Partridge is to work with his long-term assistant Lynn again.

The BBC has confirmed that Felicity Montagu will reprise her role as Alan's long-suffering PA in the forthcoming new sitcom This Time With Alan Partridge.

The BBC One series, which is filming now, sees Alan (played by Steve Coogan) handed a career lifeline - the chance to stand in temporarily as co-host on This Time, an evening weekday magazine show on the BBC.

The job is Alan's first return to live television since his 90s chat show - Knowing Me, Knowing You - was cancelled after a guest was fatally shot on air.

The producers say: "This Time is the perfect shop window for a man of Alan's gravitas and will, or should, see him finally recognised as one of the heavyweight broadcasters of his era.

"The show itself is a heady mix of consumer affairs, current affairs, viewer interaction, highbrow interview and lightweight froth; very much the sweet spots for a man whose CV boasts over two decades of weekday local radio. And with an array of diverse subjects on the agenda, it promises the perfect fit for a man whose broadcasting style has been described as 'equidistant between chitchat and analysis'."

Lynn's exact role in the new setup has yet to be revealed, but it's expected that she will be assisting Alan behind-the-scenes as he prepares to go on air.

The announcement that Felicity Montagu will be appearing in the new episodes was made at BBC Worldwide's Showcase in Liverpool where Christine Langan, the CEO of Baby Cow Productions, and Steve Coogan were talking on a panel about TV comedy.

Montagu joins the previously announced cast of Susannah Fielding, who will play Alan's female co-presenter Jennie Gresham, and Tim Key, who plays Simon Denton, the sidekick with whom Alan worked with on his recent North Norfolk Digital radio shows.

Lynn Benfield first joined Alan in 1997, in the sitcom I'm Alan Partridge. She was last seen working for Alan in Alpha Papa, the 2013 film based around the character.

This Time With Alan Partridge, which will be made up of six new episodes, will be shown on BBC One later this year, a quarter of a century after Alan made his BBC debut.