After Dinner Speakers: Ricky Gervais, Paul Burden, Alistair McGowan

After a diverse career Ricky Gervais finally found fame in The Office. Among other things, he's worked as a pizza delivery man, a DJ for a London radio station, and managed rock group Suede, before going into comedy. His bigoted comedy persona for The 11 O'Clock Show proved popular. He went on to host TV show Meet Ricky Gervais. When this show disappeared it was back to the drawing board. The Office was a cult hit. Word of mouth ensured its repeat run scored higher ratings than the first. Gervais plays David Brent, the self-important office manager of the Slough branch of paper suppliers, Wernham Hogg. The observations are spot on. His in-depth knowledge of office life stems from seven years spent as an Entertainment Manager for a student union. The second series of The Office was shown in 2002 to much critical acclaim.