Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais

Date of birth: 25-06-1961

A late entrant to the world of comedy, Gervais only started to try to tap his talent for making people laugh in 1998, at the age of 36.

Before that, he had spent seven years spent as an entertainments manager for a student union.

And his initial ambitions were musical, playing in a failed Eighties band called Seona Dancing.

He later, briefly, managed the band Suede, before landing a job on London's XFM radio station where he started developing a taste for comedy, and a character called Seedy Boss who would later become The Office's David Brent.

 

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© Netflix / Matt Crockett

Ricky Gervais sets a French record

...for the biggest audience for a comedy show in English

Ricky Gervais has set an attendance record for the biggest English-speaking comedy show in France.

His show at the Paris Accor Arena on Saturday as part of his Mortality tour, had a paid attendance of 12,179 people.

Gervais said: ‘I still can’t believe I sell out arenas in my own country, let alone around the world. I’m over the moon, as we say in England.’

The Mortality tour includes  future gigs in Dublin, Vienna, Oslo, Zurich, Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen , Stockholm, and Prague, Los Angeles and New York. While in London he plays  14 nights at the Palladium, and three dates at the OVO Arena Wembley.

After the gig he posted a picture of himself on a private jet:

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Published: 10 Mar 2025

Added Extras |   BBC Two orders second series

Added Extras

BBC Two has commissioned a second series of Ricky…
17/08/2005

Badly drawn boy |   First sketches of Gervais' Simpsons face

Badly drawn boy

The first sketches of how Ricky Gervais will look…
10/08/2005

Fewer Extras

More than a million viewers have switched off Ricky…
30/07/2005

Jokes for strokes

Some of the biggest names in comedy are joining forces…
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14/07/2005

Extra viewers

More viewers watched Ricky Gervais's Extras last Thursday…
1/07/2005

Putting Three first

BBC Three has overtaken Channel 4 as the home of 'alternative'…
13/06/2005

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