Stephen Merchant to launch stand-up tour

...and we have all the dates

Stephen Merchant has announced his first ever stand-up tour.

The co-creator of The Office and Extras was a comedian before he met Ricky Gervais, making the finals of the 1998 Open Mic comedy awards, and performing a four-hander at the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe alongside Gervais, Jimmy Carr and Robin Ince.

The Emmy, BAFTA and Golden Globe award winner has recently been making a tentative return to performing, with unannounced performances on the stand-up circuit to prepare material for the new tour, to be called Hello Ladies…

He will perform 41 UK dates, kicking off in Swindon on September 6 – then end the tour with a one-off in New York Town Hall on December 20. Merchant has started to forge a career in US movies, having appeared inTooth Fairy alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and in the forthcoming Hall Pass with Owen Wilson.

The Hello Ladies… show will also be filmed as a DVD, to be released by Universal Pictures on November 14.

Merchant said: ‘Most people don't realise that I was a stand-up comedian before I met Ricky Gervais and his coat-tails.

‘Life can be lonely as a TV writer so this tour is a great opportunity for me to get out there and meet my fans. And make at least one of them my wife.’

He has previously said: ‘People have asked me if I get upset when a critic writes a nasty review of one of my TV shows. Frankly, when you’ve died on your arse in front of 300 people in a room in Exeter, some bloke being snipey in a broadsheet is nothing.

He has also released two trailers for the tour: