Gervais heads for bestseller list

Ricky Gervais is heading for the top of the bestsellers list with his first children’s book.

The comedian’s debut, Flanimals, is not released until tomorrow, but it is already top of Amazon’s pre-order sales chart; and No 5 of all titles.

Publisher Faber & Faber has reportedly ordered a second print run of 100,000 copies before it even hits the stores.

Gervais told The Independent: "On my first attempt at literature I go straight in at number one. I feel just like Hear'Say.”

The book is about a bizarre menagerie of imaginary animals, reflecting Gervais’s fascination with the zoological world that also formed the basis for his first stand-up show.

He has said: “I actually went to university to study biology but changed courses after two weeks to avoid the 9 o'clock lectures. I did philosophy instead. They both came in useful for this book."

His creations include the Plamglotis, a creature born without feet who swallows its hands to walk on while looking for food, but when it finds food cannot eat because its mouth is already full.

Flanimals is priced £9.99 – but Amazon is discounting by 40 per cent to £5.99. Click here to order.

>> To see illustrations from the book on BBC.co.uk

Published: 30 Sep 2004