brent

Ricky Gervais today marked the 25th anniversary of the hit BBC sitcom with a countdown of his favourite 25 David Brent moments.

Ricky Gervais has crowned David Brent’s dance his favourite moment of The Office – but admitted it could have left him needing hospital treatment.

The co-creator of the show, along with Stephen Merchant, has marked the 25th anniversary of the hit BBC sitcom with a countdown of his favourite 25 David Brent moments.

In a specially curated retrospective on his YouTube channel Gervais had a training role play scene, Brent’s song Freelove Freeway and the dance by Brent as his top three.

Speaking about the crazy dance and how the scene was made, Gervais revealed: “It probably is the most famous single thing I’ve ever done, and when we had to do that, that’s three takes cut together, the first time they laughed, the second time I laughed, and then the third one we got to the end, and and then just cut it together in the edit using people looking like bewildered, but it sort of looked like one take.

“I sort of knew the type of thing I was gonna do. It’s totally improvised, obviously. I quite like the fact that it looked nearly real. Some of them looked a bit like dance moves, and I can’t believe how low I got when I did the crab, I couldn’t do that now.”

And anymore takes might have been dangerous. He added: “I remember after I filmed it, I was sat in a corner on a chair and they were fanning me.

“I was, I think I was the blobbiest I’ve ever been. I think I was like 14 stone, no muscles to speak of, just a blob, and you know, there was a small chance of heart failure.

“So, I think people were genuinely worried the way I was breathing afterwards. Tom Cruise jumps off buildings. Do I want to do a little dance? I’ll have go. It would f***ing kill me now. I’m glad I recorded it to show I did it once.”

The Gervais special is not the only celebration of the show, as the BBC also aired a programme called Remember… The Office.

On the second show Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook reflected on their time on the TV show. The pair spoke about how some of the scenes features small bits of improvisation which helped make them even more magical.

Freeman said: “The writing on it that they did was brilliant. But you only need to know us a little bit or know the process of it. We’re also in there, you know? It doesn’t mean it’s a co-credit. Doesn’t mean it’s improvised, but it’s nicely loose.”

Freeman, who played Tim, also said he had a good feeling about the show from the beginning.

He explained: “At the read-through, I remember thinking, ‘This script is really good, it’s brilliant’.”Despite huge success The Office was just two series long along with several Christmas specials. It inspired the award-winning US version, which ran for nine ­seasons

* The full countdown of David Brent moments is available to watch on Ricky Gervais’ YouTube channel.

A SCULPTURE of David Brent has been unveiled – at a Premier Inn in Slough.

The clay creation of Ricky Gervais’ most iconic character marks 25 years since The Office UK first hit British TV screens.

Commissioned by Premier Inn, it is positioned inside its Slough Trading Estate hotel – the exact location of the original exterior shots used for ‘Wernham Hogg’ in the series’ opening credits.

The beloved TV show followed the fortunes of character David Brent from his life as a regional manager in a paper office to life on the road as a travelling salesman.

It was unveiled by Brent impersonator Tim Oliver, who re-enacted the pose as well as some of the character’s signature dance moves, which helped make Berkshire-born writer Gervais internationally famous.

The bust – which took 120 hours to put together and weighs seven kilograms – will be a permanent installation at the site.

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A spokesperson for the hotel chain said: “The exact site of the world’s most famous office, Wernham Hogg, is now one of our hotels and so we’re thrilled to unveil this brilliant tribute to mark its place in British comedy history.

“Ricky’s iconic character truly put Slough on the map, and it’s only fitting to honour him with this memorable statue, which we hope will be particularly popular with some of the millions of business travellers who stay with us each year.

“Whilst the building itself is totally transformed – our guests are more likely to be interested in pillows than photocopiers – eagle-eyed fans will certainly spot the similarity in the footprint of the site.”

The hotel company also commissioned research of 2,000 adults which found David Brent’s unforgettable Comic Relief dance topped a list of favourite moments from the show.

It picked up 26 per cent of the vote from Office fans and was followed by Dawn returning to the Christmas party to kiss Tim in the denouement of the festive special (15 per cent).

More than one in 10 (13 per cent), meanwhile, selected Tim’s prank from the very first episode, encasing desk mate and nemesis Gareth’s stapler in lurid yellow jelly.

It emerged 72 per cent of respondents who watched the show consider it a nostalgic snapshot of what working life was like in the early 2000s.

Although 68 per cent are glad they don’t work in an environment like Wernham Hogg – the fictional working home of David Brent.

Elements of working life people believe have changed for the better include flexible working hours (39 per cent), improved office technology (28 per cent) and the business attire (27 per cent).

A fifth (20 per cent) cited an increased focus on wellbeing, and 16 per cent a greater diversity in teams, according to the OnePoll.com figures.

The spokesperson for Premier Inn said: “From tech to business attire, office life has changed drastically in the 25 years since the show aired but what hasn’t changed is the need for business travellers to know what they’re getting with a great night’s sleep in a comfortable room ready to face the day – no matter how embarrassing their boss is.”

The study also saw Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, creators of The Office, named the best comedy writing duo of the 21st century (16 per cent).

They narrowly pipped James Corden and Ruth Jones, writers of Gavin & Stacey (15 per cent), and Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders (12 per cent).

June 16 (UPI) — Oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels since the start of the Iran war with Brent crude oil declining to less than $80 per barrel on Tuesday.

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, traded for $79.96 on Tuesday morning. It is the first time since the war started that it has traded below $80 per barrel. It has since inched above the $80 mark to about $80.19.

The price of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, has dipped by about 3.8% on Tuesday to $77.71 per barrel.

Tuesday marks the second consecutive day of descending oil prices spurred along by Sunday’s announcement that the United States and Iran have come to terms on a peace agreement. Prior to the announcement, oil prices had risen by about 14% since the start of the war.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Feb. 28. The United States later instituted a naval blockade on the strait, stopping any vessels using Iranian ports.

The terms of the peace deal have not been made public. The United States and Iran have electronically signed a preliminary agreement and are expected to officially sign off on the peace deal on Friday.

While oil prices have fallen significantly, gas prices have moved more slowly, dropping by three cents on Tuesday. The national average for a gallon of regular-grade gas is $4.04, AAA reports. Gas prices remain elevated by about 36% since the start of the war.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the traffic on the Strait of Hormuz would resume immediately. However, it may still take weeks for operators on the strait to actually allow tankers to pass through.

About 20% of the Middle East oil trade uses the Strait of Hormuz.