Ricky Gervais confirms The Office series is to end
Ricky Gervais has decided not to write a third series of The Office.
He has reaffirmed he and co-writer Stephen Merchant will only continue with one-off specials of the award-winning comedy.
The future of the show had been in doubt since the end of the second series, when David Brent, played by Gervais, was sacked as manager of a Slough paper firm.
The decision comes as a blow to BBC2 controller Jane Root, who made it her New Year's resolution to persuade Gervais to write a third series.
Gervais was recently named the most powerful man in British comedy in a magazine poll.
The second series attracted up to 5 million viewers and averaged 4 million over its whole run, making it BBC2's most popular sitcom since The Royle Family.
