David Tennant auditioned to play David Brent's boss

Never mind David Brent, another famous David was very nearly in The Office - David Tennant.

Martin Freeman: "Ricky Gervais made me laugh more"

Martin Freeman has praised his Office co-star and creator Ricky Gervais, saying that the writer made him laugh more than anyone else while they were filming the hit BBC comedy.

Merchant: BBC would be too scared to make Office now

The comedian Stephen Merchant has claimed The Office could not be made now due to the liberal Left deciding what we should - and shouldn't - find funny.

David Brent... according to Ricky Gervais

The Office creator and star delves into the motivations behind his chilled out entertainer.

Keith from The Office returns in music video

The character makes his first appearance in over ten years in a new music video for Babyshambles bassist Drew McConnell's band Helsinki.

Radio Times names The Office finale the best Xmas TV

'Tis the season when our favourite programmes receive a festive makeover and we grow nostalgic for the classics of yesteryear. To celebrate, Radio Times' team of critics have compiled their top ten Christmas TV moments and voted The Office's finale their all-time favourite.

Martin Freeman: I'm glad we didn't ruin The Office

Martin Freeman says he's glad he's not doing The Office anymore, because he thinks more series would have ruined it for fans.

Ricky Gervais has said both the BBC and video-on-demand service Netflix are interested in the return of his most famous character, David Brent. The Office creator is still wrestling with whether he should play Glastonbury or not as he tours with the character's fictional band, Foregone Conclusion. "It could happen," Gervais told the new issue of Radio Times. "It would be amazing for Ricky Gervais, but I don't know if I can justify it. He can't play venues outside the story." Ah, the dilemma of staying true to the narrative. Gervais told the magazine he got "hooked again" on Brent when he brought him back for last year's Comic Relief. "I love David Brent but I can't just do it as a vanity project because the BBC and Netflix are up for it. I don't know whether to do an on-the-road special or make that the whole series." It is 11 years since Gervais signed off from The Office with a pair of Christmas specials on BBC One. "It's a bid odd - he sells out venues faster than the Rolling Stones at the moment," he added. "I love the instant tragedy of a 50-year-old wannabe pop star in a shiny suit."

Although BBC2 produced many landmark comedy series, The Office was notable for establishing a new genre - the mockumentary. Fictional, but filmed as if it were a fly-on-the-wall reality TV show, it was written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and gave us the grotesque (but inst­antly recognisable) character of David Brent, the socially awkward, yet self-important boss from hell presiding over a workplace in Slough which sucks the soul out of its employees. The Office reinvigorated the flagging British sitcom format. A touching blend of egotism, self-delusion and desperation, Brent is an incredible comic creation, but the show's other characters: Tim (Martin Freeman), who is all-too aware of the pointlessness of his work; Gareth (Mackenzie Crook), the self-inflated assistant regi­onal manager and the butt of Tim's jokes; and Dawn - the secretary with the fit but selfish boyfriend - were all beautifully drawn. It was the first British comedy to win a Golden Globe.