Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais 'are not in touch a great deal'
Stephen Merchant has revealed where he stands with Ricky Gervais, his Office co-creator.
Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais are "not in touch a great deal these days".
The 51-year-old star and Ricky enjoyed huge success with shows like The Office, Extras, and Life's Too Short earlier in their careers - but the comedy duo rarely even speak to each other these days.
He told The Times newspaper: "We’re not in touch a great deal these days but even at our closest we were living quite separate lives...
"Ricky used to joke that he was 13 or 14 years older than me, just as I was discovering my favourite nightclub, he was discovering his favourite comfortable chair."
Ricky and Stephen worked together on British radio during their younger years, but the duo are still best-known for creating The Office together.
The show has spawned various spin-offs around the world, but Stephen insists that they won't ever revive the British comedy.
He said: "After we ended The Office, Ricky and I realised that we couldn’t compete with it and so we had to do something completely different. Would we work together again? Well, never say never, but we wouldn’t revive The Office."
Stephen previously admitted that seeking solo success has been much more stressful.
Reflecting on his relationship with Ricky, the actor told the Guardian newspaper: "It wasn’t a conscious parting of the ways as much as just naturally wanting to do slightly different things.
"I went off to do my show Hello Ladies, which was based on my stand-up and which was very much about single life, and that wasn’t something Ricky had experienced for a long time.
"I’ve collaborated with various people and I do think that being in the trenches with someone else is really helpful. You don’t feel alone and you have each other’s back. When I’ve done stuff without a partner in crime, it is definitely more stressful."
