Shop floor life
Born in Reading, Ricky Gervais had an unusual route into comedy. He had an assortment of odd jobs after leaving school, one of which was pizza delivery boy. It ended abruptly after he accidentally ran over an elderly woman. She recovered, but Ricky moved on to other work, smoothing the metal legs of tables.

Musical maestro
Ricky's first break in showbiz came in the early 1980s, when he fronted a New Romantic band called Seona Dancing. Two of their tunes - More to Lose and Bitter Heart - are still played in retro circles. He later tried managing bands, one of which was Suede. He dropped them because he didn't think they would make it.

Radio ga ga
Ricky did have better success when he turned to radio. He secured work on alternative London station XFM, but was later dropped after a change in ownership. Fortunately, he gained a useful contact in his XFM assistant, Stephen Merchant. Together they formed a writing partnership that would eventually go on to bigger things.

The small screen
Ricky's first taste of TV was as part of Channel 4's satirical current affairs programme The 11 O'clock Show. Ricky played a spoof reporter, sent out on the road for live broadcasts. His deliberately bigoted and offensive views upset his targets, but the tell it like it is style won plenty of viewers.

A success - fact
As Ricky approached his 40th year, the BBC commissioned The Office. It was inspired by his performance on Comedy Nation, about a leering boss who wanted to sing on Stars in Their Eyes. Now he was boss David Brent, whose obnoxious views and fake employee-empathy immediately struck a cord. Co-written with old XFM pal Stephen Merchant, the comedy docusoap was a huge hit.

Streamlining the branch
"It's better to do only one good thing in life than 18 average ones," so says one of Ricky's Brent-esque philosophies. And, determined not to be typecast, Ricky refuses to film a third series of The Office. But the boss isn't contemplating retirement yet - a one-off special of the comedy is planned. He has now returned to his role as an XFM DJ. He also recently performed in Animals, a Soho-based stand-up show.