Ricky Gervais reveals real reason for skipping 25-year The Office reunion
Updated . First published at
Ricky Gervais has revealed the real reason he won’t be at the BBC’s 25-year reunion of The Office, after he announced his own anniversary special.
To mark the occasion, BBC will run a television event with series stars Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook. Co-creator Gervais, 65, who played ‘boss from hell’ David Brent won’t be there and will instead air his own documentary on his YouTube channel.
The BBC is celebrating 25 years since The Office but creator and main star Ricky Gervais won't be there. BBC
A representative for Gervais told The Independent that the comedian “was not available” to take part in the BBC’s documentary, but remains in contact with the broadcaster “all the time about The Office”.
They added they were “keen to clarify that there is no rift” between Gervais and the broadcaster.
Gervais hasn’t revealed the full plans for his YouTube content but confirmed it would drop around the exact anniversary of The Office on July 9 and that he will be releasing a trailer ahead of time.
His representative did share that Gervais’ anniversary project “will be an affectionate look back at [The Office] on this big anniversary”.
Meanwhile on July 8, sitcom stars Freeman (who played Tim) and Crook (who played Gareth) will sit down for a special episode of Remembers on the BBC to share anecdotes about what happened backstage.
Like Gervais, The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant will not be in the BBC’s television episode.
The hit workplace mockumentary first aired in July 2001 and concluded after its second series and a pair of Christmas specials in December 2003.
Loved for its ‘fly-on-the-wall’ dry humour, it followed the mundane day-to-day lives of employees at the fictional Wenham Hogg paper.
Gervais starred as the cringe-inducing and desperate boss David Brent in The Office. BBC
It directly inspired the massively successful US adaptation starring Steve Carell which ran from 2005 until 2013.
In 2019, Ricky told GQ he was “still a fan” of the BBC, but wished the company would be “braver”.
“I wish it wouldn’t bow down to pressure from media or from one complaint,” he said.
Gervais' representative made it clear there was 'no rift' between him and the BBC. Getty
“That has got worse, and the days are gone when people say, ‘We’re leaving it as it is’. Commissioning editors are scared of being fired.”
Gervais’ comments came just after the BBC decided to retrospectively add content warnings for discriminatory language on some episodes of The Office.
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