Ricky Gervais has made a rare comment about his partnership with former comedy collaborator Stephen Merchant, describing ‘a chalk and cheese’ dynamic in their work just days before Stephen revealed the pair rarely speak.
The After Life star, 64, spoke about his relationship with The Office co-creator, 51, during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, offering a glimpse into the relationship that created one of Britain’s most beloved sitcoms.
When asked if there was a ‘Laurel and Hardy aspect’ to their partnership – in reference to the famously conflicting comedy duo – Ricky replied: ‘Well, only that you fall into your roles and I guess you play a chalk and cheese, obviously – nothing conscious.’
He went on to draw parallels between his partnership with Stephen and the legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy – the rotund Oliver Hardy and thin Stan Laurel, who became one of cinema’s most iconic double acts in the 1920s and 30s.
The classic pairing saw the pompous, supposedly clever Hardy constantly frustrated by the bumbling antics of the innocent Laurel, creating iconic humour through their contrasting personalities and constant conflict.
‘I think Laurel had it very clear why it worked,’ Ricky said. ‘There was this southern gent who just thought he was erudite and smart and had all the plans and there was this other guy who was an idiot, totally hapless, but it was the pretentious one that ended up in the duck pond.’
Ricky Gervais (right) has made a rare comment about his partnership with collaborator Stephen Merchant (left), describing ‘a chalk and cheese’ dynamic (pictured together on The Office)
The comedian a glimpse into the relationship that created one of Britain’s most beloved sitcoms (pictued in 2006)Â
Speaking to The Times this week, Stephen shed light on their relationship, revealing: ‘We’re not in touch a great deal these days.’
The pair, who met in 1997 when Stephen applied to be Ricky’s assistant at XFM radio station, went on to create what is often deemed the greatest British comedy of all time.
But Stephen insisted that even at their closest, they lived ‘quite separate lives’, adding: ‘Ricky used to joke that he was 13 or 14 years older than me, just as I was discovering my favourite nightclub, he was discovering his favourite comfortable chair.’
In his Radio 4 interview, Ricky added that Laurel and Hardy taught him a lot about comedy, including ‘that you can deserve slipping over. If someone falls over in the street, mildly funny.
‘If they’re really being pretentious or they’ve just shouted some sort of abuse at someone and then they fall over, oh, we’ve got a winner.’
The comedy legend also spoke about the importance of conflict in creating comedy, saying: ‘I think [Laurel and Hardy] taught me about conflict because even though they both thought they wanted the same thing, they didn’t agree on anything.’
Together, Ricky and Stephen created, wrote and directed The Office, which was released in 2001 and followed the day-to-day lives of office employees in the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company.
Ricky played the main character David Brent, while Stephen had a fleeting cameo in the show as The Oggmonster. The mockumentary has since been adapted in several counties including the US, of which Ricky and Stephen were producers.
When asked if there was a ‘Laurel and Hardy aspect’ to their partnership, Ricky replied: ‘Only that you fall into your roles and I guess you play a chalk and cheese’ (Laurel and Hardy pictured in the 1920s)Â
Ricky (left) and Stephen (right) are pictured with stars of the show Martin Freeman (second left) and Lucy Davis (second right) and producer Ash Atalla (centre) at the 2004 Golden Globe Awards
Speaking about the show’s enduring legacy, Stephen said: ‘After the early success of The Office I was competing with myself for a while. It had such an impact and afterlife, with all the remakes around the world.’
‘I’ve seen the US version and a bit of the Australian one but not the others. Lots of people are doing covers of Wonderwall but Noel Gallagher isn’t listening to them all, is he?’
The duo also worked together on The Ricky Gervais Show podcast and created further comedy shows Life’s Too Short, An Idiot Abroad and Extras.
However, Stephen has ruled out a revival of The Office, saying this week: ‘After we ended The Office, Ricky and I realised that we couldn’t compete with it and so we had to do something completely different.
‘Would we work together again? Well, never say never, but we wouldn’t revive The Office.’
Stephen and Ricky are pictured in their scene together alongside Mackenzie Crook, who played the hapless Gareth KeenanÂ
Stephen and Ricky pictured alongside Shaun Williamson (centre) on Extras in 2005
The relationship between the two comedy giants has been the subject of speculation over the years, particularly in 2020 when Stephen sent a tweet that was deemed to be a swipe at Ricky in the wake of the release of his hit series After Life.
He wrote: ‘Watching old home movies of dead child/wife = inability to move on’ – in a nod to a trope that is heavily featured in the show, which follows the story of an embittered widower played by Ricky.
Following the headline-hitting tweet, Stephen insisted: ‘Whenever people stop working as closely together as they were, people immediately assume it’s ‘knives out’.’
He revealed he had not even seen the show and insisted they were not estranged: ‘Why would I [make a b****y subtweet]? It was such a strange idea to me, that I’d take a swipe at Ricky by doing a tweet, and [make] an abstract criticism of his show.’
