Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais returning to stand-up comedy

Ricky Gervais says that the title of his new stand-up show will be "humanity".

In Funny Business (BBC2), the first of a series, Eddie Mair narrated an investigation into the ways in which standup comedians can make big money, none of which is by telling jokes in comedy clubs.

Appearing in adverts is one way, but many comics find selling stuff on TV to be inconsistent with either their morals or their sense of humour. Not that many, actually. Less objectionable is the corporate gig. You're just doing your act, albeit in front of a room full of company managers for an obscene amount of money. Ricky Gervais gets £25,000 for a 20-minute corporate set. Michael McIntyre gets £40,000. It's not surprising that up-and-coming comedians on corporate booker Jeremy Lee's roster fall over themselves to appear in his annual Real Variety Show, essentially a huge audition for an audience of events company managers. Again, it's just a gig, you end your set with the punchline: "I'm available for bookings, and I also host!"

A lot of comedians won't touch corporate gigs either, but not necessarily for the reason you might think. "I doubt there's one comedian in the world," said Arthur Smith, "who hasn't died on his or her arse at a corporate gig."

Jo Brand finds them bracing - "If you do corporates, you get the message that not everyone loves you," she says - but Rhod Gilbert still gets heart palpitations just driving by the venues of old corporate failures. It may be filthy lucre, but it doesn't sound like easy money.

Funny Business, BBC Two, review

Michael McIntyre: £40,000. Ricky Gervais: £25,000. Jason Manford: £25,000. Jo Brand: £10,000-£25,000. Barry Cryer - who after that lot looks an absolute steal - is £2,000-£5,000. This, according to Funny Business, is what it costs to hire the above to tell some jokes at a corporate event.

Watch: The Making of Derek

Ricky Gervais gives an exclusive behind the scenes tour and talk about the making of his new Channel 4 series, Derek.

Ricky Gervais turns sweeter in new comedy

Ricky Gervais said new programme Derek features flawed characters like the ones that were hallmarks of his earlier works, but was "sweeter."

The confidently sustained story, the build-up of emotional resonance and the parochial aspirationalism that characterise Cemetery Junction are all of a piece with the sitcom work of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

The film focuses on three pals entering adulthood in 1973 Reading: Bruce (Tom Hughes) is all swaggering bravado; Snork (Tom Doolan) is a clown; and apprentice insurance salesman Freddie (Christian Cooke) is knuckling down to a life of bourgeois comfort he hasn't quite sold himself on yet. He finds a kindred spirit in childhood crush Julie (Felicity Jones), whose slimy dad (Ralph Fiennes) and fiancé (Matthew Goode) - Freddie's boss and mentor at the insurance firm - have decidedly lower opinions of her potential. There are laughs, but this isn't quite a comedy.

The film often leans heavily enough on its models to feel formulaic, and its romances map too closely on to those of The Office. Overall, though, it's refreshing to see a mainstream British film with the ambition to strut its stuff on studio terms. Aspirational indeed.

Children's books are a familiar second-career path for people in public life, from Prince Charles to Ricky Gervais. Happily, even for a busy person, David Walliams's efforts seem a cut above the celebrity norm. The tale of a homeless man befriended by a middle-class schoolgirl, this adaptation features a suitably strong cast. Benidorm regulars Johnny Vegas and Sheridan Smith play the parents of 12-year-old Chloe, who invites a tramp (Hugh Bonneville) to hang out in her family's garden shed. Gentle family comedy, featuring Walliams himself as the prime minister.

Ricky Gervais in talks to lead The Muppets sequel?

The lead human character in The Muppets 2 might just be played by Ricky Gervais...

Part of the 4Funnies season, this latest pilot appears to have a few things that could well make it into a series. For starters it's rather heart-warming, it's amusing, but the main reason Channel 4 will probably turn it a full series is because Ricky Gervais is executive producer (that's pretty much how PhoneShop got commissioned).

Created by stand-up David Earl, the title character, Brian Gittins, is a taxi driver working in a small, slightly oddball town. It's not every place that regularly has someone wearing only their underpants walking around hold a large bunch of balloons. The story follows his working life, in his taxi which keeps having constant faults, whether it is the horn activating whenever he turns the steering wheel, or the alarm going off when he walks about ten feet away from the vehicle.

The main plot concerns Brian's attempts, with help from his student daughter Lucy (Camille Ucan), to try and ask out his controller Cheryl (Ashley McGuire) out on a date. However, the funniest moments are when Brian is making his journeys with his passengers. For example there's the sequence when Brian has to deliver a woman in labour to a hospital, but because of the taxi's faults it keeps turning on the radio, leading to a chorus of "Rabbit" by Chas and Dave.

This pilot seems to have a little bit of everything. A bit of slapstick, a bit of romance, a bit of realism thrown in. Gittins has all the makings of a decent sitcom.