No third series of Extras

This morning's press is reporting that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have decided not to make a third series of Extras. Instead the duo are planning to bow out with a farewell final special, a bit like they did with The Office. It is believed the BBC will schedule this final episode at Christmas.

A close source to the show has been quoted as saying: "There had been reports that Ricky was going to go ahead with a third series of Extras. But he is firmly of the opinion that third series are rarely a success and has decided to quit while he's ahead. When he said goodbye to The Office with a two-part Christmas special, it was a smash hit both in the ratings and critically, so he's decided to do that again."

There will now no doubt be much speculation as to which guest stars will appear in this Christmas special - Gervais has already named a number of A list celebrities he'd like to include in the sitcom.

Following Extras, Gervais will produce a series for ITV based on Flanimals, his hit books for children. Ricky is also looking to produce a new drama based on an urban conspiracy theory and Merchant and Gervais have also talked in the past about writing a comedy called The Men At The Pru. Their idea was to set the comedy in the Seventies in a provincial backwater - maybe Margate or somewhere equally removed from London's burgeoning permissive society - where a group of twenty and thirtysomething wasters measure out their lives in beer mats and Sunday league fixture lists.

Extras series two is currently being repeated on BBC1 Sunday nights and is being released on DVD next Monday (click here to pre-order)