Ricky Gervais
Desert Island Discs: Archive 2005-2010
BBC
4.4 • 804 Ratings
🗓️ 24 June 2007
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kirsty Young's castaway this week is Ricky Gervais. In just twelve episodes, his show The Office changed the face of British television comedy. At its centre was the comic monster, David Brent, a middle-manager being filmed for a mock-documentary who saw the ever-present cameras as his route to popularity and fame. Ricky Gervais's performance was both excruciating and unmissable - one critic called the programme "among the most affecting and invigorating works of fiction since the turn of the century".
As he discusses with Kirsty Young, comedy was the language he grew up with - the youngest of four children, being able to come up with a gag or a smart rejoinder was the linguistic currency of his home. That, he says, is where the 'show-off performer' was born. Now with seven Baftas, two Golden Globes and an Emmy to his name, Ricky Gervais is gratified that his work is recognised and says his aim has always been to bring art into comedy.
[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]
Favourite track: Lilywhite by Cat Stevens Book: A coffee table book of art Luxury: Vat of novocaine - a non-addictive pain-killer.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.7 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.4 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping |
| 0:22.7 | you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together |
| 0:28.7 | by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:34.9 | check out BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Krista Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. |
| 0:41.8 | For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music. |
| 0:44.9 | The program was originally broadcast in 2007. |
| 1:07.1 | Music My castaway this week is Ricky Gervais. |
| 1:12.1 | In just 12 episodes, his show The Office changed the face of British television comedy, |
| 1:17.3 | laying waste to the traditional sitcom props of implausible characters, overblown punchlines, |
| 1:22.9 | and phony laughter tracks. In David Brent, he created the perfect comedy anti-hero, |
| 1:30.2 | marooned among the concrete and photocopiers of Slough, a risible company drone, drowning in management-speak and self-delusion. |
| 1:34.6 | His toe-curning performance, making excruciatingly compulsive viewing. |
| 1:40.3 | With seven BAFTAs, two golden globes, sell-out stand-up tours, and now a thriving Hollywood career, |
| 1:43.6 | his place in the British Comedy Hall of Fame is guaranteed. Whether he'll want to be |
| 1:45.2 | there is another question. He is notably scathing about the celebrity culture of our time |
| 1:49.9 | and uncommonly forthright in his views of fellow performers. Ricky Jervais's empathy, you've said, |
| 1:56.1 | is the very nub of human interaction. How much do you empathise with David Brent? |
| 2:00.3 | Quite a lot, really, because I think we all got a little bit of David Brentness. |
| 2:04.5 | We all want to be loved. We're all worried about how we're perceived. And we've all got the blind |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.