...and record a live DVD

Ricky Gervais is to perform a stand-up tour of the US next year.

He is promising a ‘coast-to-coast’ run of gigs in July 2008, including dates at New York's Madison Square Garden and the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, home of the Oscars.

The schedule is set to be announced soon and tickets will go on sale at Christmas.

HBO will film the tour for a DVD that will be released for the American market only, and will air the show as a TV special.

Gervais made his US live debut in May with a sell-out gig at Madison Square Gardens on the back of the success of The Office and Extras, which are shown on HBO.

If the tour is a success, he will becomed one of the few British stand-ups to have cracked the American scene, where even the likes of Eddie Izzard and Billy Connolly have spent years slowly building up a reputation.

Meanwhile, Gervais has released another hour-long podcast for free. The bonus show was only previously available on the CD collection of the shows he recorded with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington.

Click here to download it from iTunes.

Published: 25 Nov 2007