Gervais to meet more comedy heroes

Channel 4 has signed up Ricky Gervais to meet more of his comedy heroes in a new four-part series.

The Office and Extras star comes face-to-face with a range of comic stars such as Christopher Guest and Garry Shandling.

The series follows a one-off special in January, when Gervais met his idol, Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David.

Gervais and his contemporaries compare notes on their influences in the new series, Ricky Gervais Meets ... which is due for broadcast in June.

Gervais, 44, said: “Garry Shandling is one of the most influential comedians of the last 25 years.

“He granted me a very rare interview. So why the f**k did I tell him he looks like Bingo from The Banana Splits?”

Andrew Mackenzie, Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor of Factual Entertainment, said: “We’re thrilled that Ricky has committed to Channel 4 for these films. The access he’s getting to global comedy stars is unprecedented.”