Extra viewers for Gervais follow-up

Nearly five million viewers watched the first episode of new Ricky Gervais series Extras.

The follow-up to The Office achieved ratings of 4.6 million people – around one-quarter of the available audience.

Gervais plays film extra Andy Millman in the BBC2 comedy.

The first episode, shown last Thursday, also starred Ben Stiller, playing himself, as a self-obsessed Hollywood director.

Ratings were higher than the first episode in series two of The Office, which attracted 4.2 million.

The first series of The Office began with an audience of just 1.8 million. When it first started Gervais was a little-known comic.

Extras is set to feature appearances by Kate Winslet, Samuel L Jackson and Ross Kemp, all playing versions of themselves.

A second series is being planned and Gervais hopes the likes of Jude Law, Steven Spielberg and Bruce Springsteen will agree to appear.