Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais interview: People hate my mere existence

Ricky Gervais is in defiant mood as his controversial Channel 4 sitcom Derek returns, finds James Rampton.

Interview: Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais is a master at making us chuckle - but keep the tissues handy while watching his latest sitcom.

It divided opinion when it debuted last April but there's a charming, ingenuous quality to the offbeat humour in this new comedy series from Ricky Gervais. He stars as Derek, a vulnerable adult working in an old people's home, who reckons he's the luckiest man in the world, surrounded by all of his 'favouritest' people, including long-suffering best friend Dougie (Karl Pilkington) and the home's manager, Hannah (Kerry Godliman). The laughs are bittersweet and there's a poignant truth beating at the heart of the story - the council is looking to cut its budget, which means Derek's happy home faces the chop.

Kerry Godliman on working with Ricky Gervais on Derek

"After seeing Derek, another comic said to me 'well, lucky you! That's your ticket out isn't it?'" Kerry Godliman smiles, a little awkwardly, over a cup of tea.

Tasteless? No. Pointless? Possibly. It's hard to believe, after last year's misfiring pilot, that Derek would have got a series commission without Ricky Gervais's involvement.

Shattered nuts and well-used sledgehammers litter the scene of this strange comedy-drama mock-doc: telling trumps showing every time, and the converted cover their ears while the preacher drones on about tolerance over a cloying piano soundtrack.

For the uninitiated, Derek tells the story of the eponymous innocent savant (Gervais), a slightly slow but tender-hearted care worker in a retirement home, misunderstood by the outside world but loved by those who take the trouble to get to know him. In this week's opener, said retirement home is slated for closure by the council. Derek and chums Dougie (Karl Pilkington) and Kev (David Earl) join home manager Hannah (the excellent Kerry Godliman) in taking some direct action.

No one can doubt Derek's good intentions, but it owes its existence to a man desperate to prove he's not who we think he is. And as for the comedy? Well, with apologies to Oscar Wilde, the final scene is so hilariously sappy that you'd need a heart of stone not to laugh.

The bleak world of Derek

Whilst I appreciate Ricky Gervais is trying something new, I can't say I enjoyed the opening episode of Derek as much as I'd hoped.

TV Review: Derek

Unfortunately, most of the problems that plagued the pilot return intact. Ricky Gervais's mannered characterisation stands in uncomfortable contrast to the underplaying of the rest of the cast.

Following last year's pilot (a pilot that should have been shot out of the sky with a shoulder-launched rocket), here's an entire series focusing on the "childlike" and "innocent" retirement-home helper, lazily played by Ricky Gervais as a hunched, gabbling gurner with a comedy combover. This week, the staff, including Derek's best friend Hannah (Kerry Godliman - much the best thing in this), confront a stuffy suit, whose swingeing budget cuts are threatening the old people's home. Oh happy day.

Video: Ricky Gervais 'Derek' interview

Ricky Gervais has hit back at his critics in an interview with Digital Spy about the first series of his Channel 4 sitcom Derek.