Ricky Gervais Meets

In November 2005, Channel 4 commissioned a one-hour special in which Ricky Gervais meets one of his comedy heroes, Larry David. It was originally intended to be part of a Channel 4 series featuring comedians talking to their comedy heroes, but in April 2006, Channel 4 announced that Ricky was to get a four part series off the back of the interview with David, broadcast on January 5 2006. On 25 December and 26 December of 2006, Channel 4 aired two specials where Ricky interviewed Christopher Guest and Garry Shandling respectively.

Gervais' interview with Garry Shandling is perhaps the most memorable of the three shows, as the two men do not appear to get along. Shandling is combative and discourteous to Gervais throughout the interview, and even goes so far as to suggest that Ricky is unwilling to cast Jews in his shows. Their exchange ends with Ricky being visibly relieved that the interview is over. Gervais hasn't talked about the interview since it aired, and the "Ricky Gervais Meets..." series seems to have been put on hold indefinitely. (However, some fans suspect that the controversial interview may have been staged.)