''Meet Ricky Gervais'' is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

television comedy talk show written and hosted by

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad'' ...

. It was produced by

Talkback Talkback or talk back may refer to: * ''Talkback'' (album), a 1983 album by the Canadian band the Spoons * ''Talk Back'' (Kembe X album), 2016 *Talkback, an alternate name for Marvel Comics superhero Chase Stein * Talkback (recording), an audio ...

for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

in 2000 and ran for one series on Friday nights.

Overview

Guests were supposedly interviewed by Gervais in the original television studio chairs of famous people. Gervais was seated in

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

's ''Aspel & Co'' leather chair and guests seated in

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

's monologue chair, and Grandad from ''

Only Fools and Horses ''Only Fools and Horses....'' is a British television sitcom created and written by John Sullivan (writer), John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 1981 to 1991, with sixteen sporadic Christmas ...

armchair. Each episode has two celebrity guests, and following the interview segments Gervais would host his version of a classic television panel game, with the guests as contestants. The show regularly featured

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...

assistant

Tony Green Anthony John "Tony" Green (born 29 January 1939) is an English sports commentator and television presenter. Darts career A former amateur player, who played county darts for Lancashire, he was the BBC's lead commentator when they showed t ...

, who would take his place as the general

stooge A stooge or stooges may refer to: * Straight man (stock character), a comedian who feeds lines to another * Shill, a confederate or performer who acts as if they're a spectator * ''The Stooge'', a 1952 American film * The Three Stooges, a comedy g ...

and gameshow assistant. On the first episode, Gervais joked that Green came free with the original '' Bullseye'' dartboard, which he supposedly found himself whilst building the rest of the set. Also, the show did not have a

theme tune Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at som ...

so at the end of each show, Gervais asked viewers to record and send in their own mixes. Few were received. Two of the episodes used a theme tune co-written and performed by

Stewart Ferris Stewart Ferris is a British writer from Chichester. He first came to prominence with books based on working holidays busking in mainland Europe: ''The Buskers' Guide to Europe'', ''Don't Lean Out of the Window'' and ''Don't Mention the War'', (t ...

and Emma Burgess.

Episodes

# Tommy Walsh and

Jimmy Savile Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile (; 31 October 1926 – 29 October 2011) was an English DJ, television and radio personality who hosted BBC shows including ''Top of the Pops'' and '' Jim'll Fix It''. During his lifetime, he was well kno ...

. After interviewing each guest separately, Gervais hosts a game of ''

Call My Bluff ''Call My Bluff'' is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir. Format The g ...

'' in which Walsh and Savile are the contestants. # John Virgo and

Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...

. The guests play ''

Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...

''. #

Penny Smith Penelope Jane Smith (born 21 September 1958) is an English author, television presenter, newsreader and radio presenter. She has presented for Sky News, GMTV, Classic FM, BBC Radio London, TalkRadio and is a regular contributor to TalkTV la ...

and

Tony Hart Norman Antony Hart (15 October 1925 – 18 January 2009),Debrett's People of Today 2008, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2007. known professionally as Tony Hart, was an English artist best known for his work in educating children in art through his role ...

. The guests play ''

Play Your Cards Right ''Play Your Cards Right'' (or ''Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right'') is a British television game show based on, and played similarly to, the American show ''Card Sharks''. History ''Play Your Cards Right'' broadcast on ITV from 1 Februar ...

''. #

Wayne Hemingway Wayne Andrew Hemingway (born 19 January 1961) is an English designer and co-founder of Red or Dead. He is also on the Design Council Trustee Board and having been with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for a d ...

and

Paul Daniels Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series ''The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', which ...

. The guests play '' Every Second Counts''. #

Peter Purves Peter John Purves (; born 10 February 1939) is an English television presenter and actor. He played Steven Taylor in ''Doctor Who'' under the First Doctor, a role he continued to play in audio dramas for Big Finish Productions. He later became ...

and

Stefanie Powers Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series '' Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

. The guests play '' Child's Play'', with dwarves taking the roles of children. #

Antony Worrall Thompson Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson (born 1 May 1951) is an English restaurateur and celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster. Early life Worrall Thompson was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His parents, Michae ...

and

Midge Ure James Ure (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980 ...

. The guests play '' The Krypton Factor''.

Production notes

The series was produced by

Iain Morris Iain Kevan Morris (born 6 August 1973) is an English writer. He is best known for creating ''The Inbetweeners'' with his writing partner Damon Beesley and co-hosting a show on London radio station XFM with stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr. He fe ...

and co-written by

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

and

Robin Ince Robin Ince (born 20 February 1969) is an English comedian, actor and writer, known for presenting the BBC radio show '' The Infinite Monkey Cage'' with physicist Brian Cox, and his stand-up comedy career. Education After attending York Hous ...

with additional material provided by

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

and

Stirling Gallacher Deborah Ann Stirling Gallacher (born 30 November 1970) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as George Woodson in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'' and Paula Martin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Career Gallacher play ...

(VT clock voiceover).

Reception

Gervais admits that this show was an embarrassment and it has since been mocked even by Gervais himself. He was quoted as saying that there was no second series as Channel 4 wanted to see some changes, "ratings mainly". Commenting on the difficulties of securing guests Gervais stated that "either they'd heard of me or they hadn't. Either way it was a problem".

References

External links

* * {{Stephen Merchant 2000 British television series debuts 2000 British television series endings 2000s British comedy television series 2000s British television talk shows Channel 4 comedy English-language television shows Television series by Fremantle (company) Television series created by Ricky Gervais