Stephen plans return to stand-up

The co-writer of The Office and Extras enjoyed a brief stint as a comic before he met Ricky Gervais – even becoming a finalist in the Daily Telegraph Open Mic awards in 1998.

Now the second series of Extras is over, he says he’d like to return to the stage – if he can find his 'voice'.

He told The Observer: 'I have to think, because I'm not Richard Pryor, because I didn't get raised in a brothel or beaten, what are the areas that are interesting to me?

'And I think those are the areas where people don't get to live out their dreams, the people in the wrong jobs, or in the wrong relationships. It's one of the most heartbreaking and fascinating of areas.'

Merchant made his debut as a stand-up in the Comedy Box in Bristol. ‘The first week I did really well,’ he has recalled. ‘The second week I died on my arse. I realised that stand-up was not that easy after all’.

He also appeared in the Edinburgh show Rubbernecker alongside Gervais, Jimmy Carr and Robin Ince in 2001.

Published: 5 Nov 2006