![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0024cfda-614.jpg\"\/)
\nRicky Gervais wins big at the BAFTA Awards in 2002<\/p>\n
Ricky Gervais believes he has stayed grounded despite his success because he did not become famous until he was 40 and “already fat”.<\/p>\n
The comedian became well-known when he co-created and starred in sitcom The Office, which premiered in 2001 when he was 40.<\/p>\n
The series, which had two series, was broadcast in more than 80 countries and is regarded by many as one of the best TV shows of all time.<\/p>\n
Gervais appeared on This Morning on Friday, where co-host Josie Gibson asked him how he stays grounded despite his success and being “absolutely loaded”.<\/p>\n
He said: “Am I grounded? I don’t know. I think it\u2019s because I made it when I was 40.<\/p>\n
“If you make it when you\u2019re 18, it changes you. I was already fat and I hated the world.<\/p>\n
“And you\u2019ve got the same friends and family as well, I don\u2019t think I could be anything other than this.”<\/p>\n
\nRicky Gervais wins big at the BAFTA Awards in 2002<\/p>\n
The actor was promoting his Netflix adult animated series Alley Cats, which also features the voices of Tom Basden, Diane Morgan and Natalie Cassidy.<\/p>\n
Speaking about recording the show, Gervais said: “Usually with animation you’re alone in a booth, this, we were all in the same room at the same time. That\u2019s why it feels like mates talking and swearing.”<\/p>\n
Gervais got the idea for the series, which is about a group of feral British cats, while filming his show After Life, but said it took “years” to get commissioned.<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0024cfd6-614.jpg\"\/)
\nSeona Dancing in 1983<\/p>\n
Before The Office, Gervais had a brief music career in the 1980s as part of the synth pop duo Seona Dancing, but they were dropped by their label after a lack of chart success.<\/p>\n
He also worked as the entertainments manager for the University of London Union and at the alternative radio station Xfm, where he hired his eventual The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant as his assistant.<\/p>\n
Gervais, who has also worked as a stand-up comedian since the late 1990s, later created and starred in the shows Extras, Life\u2019s Too Short and After Life.<\/p>\n
Source: Press Association<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ricky Gervais believes he has stayed grounded despite his success because he did not become famous until he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-586102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}