How Ricky Gervais spurned BBC's millions

Ricky Gervais has revealed how turned down a £5million ‘golden handcuffs’ deal to tie him to the BBC.

He said he valued the artistic freedom more than the money, and said that such exclusive deals “promote laziness and extravagance".

He said: "I could have taken £5million but I don't want to be the BBC's bitch. I couldn't have lived with myself.

“It’s a bad idea for both parties. The only good thing is they offer you loads of money to do it. But I don't need cash because luckily my DVDs sell loads.

In the interview with Heat magazine, he said turning down the deal meant he could ban BBC executives from the filming and editing of his new sitcom, Extras, adding: “We have total freedom. That's worth £5million to me.

And he revealed how he put pressure on the corporation to air the show in a BBC2 slot in the summer, where ratings are traditionally lower, to avoid the glare of a high-profile BBC1 launch.

He said: "They would like it to go out on BBC1, but I know who'll win - because they won't get series two if they do that."

The BBC has been criticised for offering big-money golden handcuffs deals to such stars as Graham Norton,  with the fruits of a £3.5 million contract so far amounting to a Strictly Come Dancing spin-off.

However, the BBC denied they had ever offered him any such deal, dismissing the comic's comments as 'flippant".

A spokesman said: "Ricky was half-joking. We haven't offered him a deal, though we're keen to work with him again."

Published: 22 Mar 2005