Edinburgh gig aids cancer group

Ricky Gervais is to donate the profits from his controversial Edinburgh Castle show to charity.

The Office creator had been criticised for performing during the Fringe, taking audiences away from comedians who needed them more, and for the £37.50 ticket price.

However he still sold out all 8,000 seats for Sunday’s hour-long show six months in advance.

Now MacMillan Cancer Relief has revealed that it will benefit from the success of the show.

The charity said it received confirmation of the donation on Monday morning.

However, it will have to wait a week before finding out exactly how much money it will receive.

Despite the criticism, and fears Gervais was facing a backlash following his chaotic performance at the Princess Diana memorial concert, critics generally agreed that the Edinburgh gig demonstrated he was still on form.

Published: 27 Aug 2007