Official: The Office will return

The Office will be back, the BBC has confirmed.

Jon Plowman, the corporation's head of comedy entertainment, said David Brent would be back for a new series or a one-off special.

Ricky Gervais's comedy, which ended its second series last night, attracted an average of four million viewers an episode, more than twice that for its first series.

Plowman, who was also executive producer on the show, said some of its success was down to scheduling.

"It was felt appropriate to have it on a Monday night after a gloomy first day back in the office," he told MediaGuardian. "It wouldn't have done as well on a Saturday or a Sunday night.

"I can't think of another show where the ratings have leapt like that from the first series to the second.

"It's pretty remarkable, and clearly a lot of it is down to word of mouth. I think it's also getting to around half a million people who don't normally watch BBC2 comedy. It feels like it's crossing into new areas."

"Ricky and Stephen [Merchant] had a real passion for the show. They are having a rest at the moment but there will be more in the future. It might be a third series or it might be a special, but we haven't seen the last of David Brent yet."

Published: 5 Nov 2002