Martin Freeman reveals what 'annoyed' him about Ricky Gervais while making The Office
The Office star Martin Freeman has recalled being "slightly annoyed" with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant over the show's script while making the BBC sitcom.
Martin Freeman has recalled being "slightly annoyed" with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant while making The Office.
The 54-year-old actor has claimed the iconic BBC show's co-creators previously insisted the programme wasn't "improvised", which left him irritated.
Speaking on new documentary Mackenzie Crook and Martin Freeman Remember...The Office, he said: "It was all there on the page. However, my true feeling about it is that when it became the monster that it did and people would say it sounded improvised, then understandably, Ricky and Stephen went, 'No, none of it's improvised.' Which is not true.
"What slightly annoyed me at the time is when the scripts were published, they weren't the scripts.
"They were the transcriptions of what had been on television.
"So that annoyed me a little bit because, well, anyone who knows any of us knows that that line came from you in that moment, that line came from me."
Martin - who portrayed quick-witted everyman Tim Canterbury in the series - insisted the script was "nicely loose", but he admitted Ricky and Stephen's writing was "brilliant".
He added: "It was loose and that's to Ricky and Steve's credit because the scripts were absolutely brilliant. It wasn't improvised but it was loose.
"I can understand why there was a little bit of protection about that, because otherwise people would've gone, 'Hey, you just rock up and you just make it all up,' which clearly was not the case.
"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."
Martin has reunited with his The Office co-star Mackenzie Crook to mark 25 years of the legendary TV show, which was set in the offices of fictional paper company Wernham Hogg.
The pair co-starred in the BBC mockumentary, which aired from 2001 to 2003.
In the new documentary, Martin and Mackenzie will share personal memories about their time on the show, behind the scenes stories, and reflect on the programme's enduring legacy and cultural impact.
