Office moves to BBC1 for Christmas

The Office is to move to BBC1 for its two-part Christmas special, it was announced today.

Ricky Gervais's two 40-minute episodes will be the centrepiece of the festive line-up, with schedulers hoping the much-anticipated return of David Brent will top the ratings.

The show was BBC2's top-rated comedy last year, averaging about 4 million viewers.

BBC Director of Television Jana Bennett said:"The fantastic writing and characters of The Office won a huge and loyal fan base when it appeared on BBC2, and we wanted to make sure that the widest number of viewers got a chance to watch the last two episodes ever.

"This is in the great tradition of BBC2 growing and nurturing strong comedies, like Absolutely Fabulous, which are then offered to a wider audience on BBC1."

The news comes as the creator of animated comedy King Of The Hill has been appointed to take charge of the American version of The Office.

Greg Daniels will write the pilot and serve as executive producer of the show, which is currently being touted around the US networks.

Fellow producer Ben Silverman, who signed Daniels, called him one of "the great comic minds" in TV.

"Greg is so awesome at creating realistic, empathetic characters," he told Hollywood journal Variety. "He's able to come up with characterizations that feel honest and personal without being caricatures And he thoroughly understands what The Office is all about."

Silverman said that the US export won't be a word-for-word remake of the original, but instead expects Daniels to create plenty of original dialogue.

Published: 5 Aug 2003