{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreihmoz63kfjkfddyjsng7hcf2h564plccuhozzbdbree6vuumgdebu",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:oznbnvgr7dmvddiyvr7dih52/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq5zqsakhdv2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreieu6r76qqhfdxs6tzzdeustxbw6ohoicpsfuxy52ha7ect6bn6mje"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/png",
    "size": 1194763
  },
  "path": "/celebrity/martin-freeman-ricky-gervais-bbc-the-office-reunion",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-08T20:52:45.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Spice Girls fans call out Victoria Beckham as she makes awkward Geri Horner blunder in new update",
    "BBC Great British Menu chef shares emotional cancer update after being given 12 months to live",
    "Christopher Nolan defends modern English dialogue in The Odyssey after fan backlash",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nMartin Freeman has disclosed he felt frustrated with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant over their repeated assertions The Office contained no improvisation.\n\nThe 54-year-old actor, who portrayed Tim Canterbury in the groundbreaking BBC mockumentary, made the revelation during a reunion special alongside former co-star Mackenzie Crook to commemorate the show's quarter-century milestone.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nSpeaking on the BBC Two programme Remember... The Office, Mr Freeman challenged the long-standing narrative maintained by the show's co-creators.\n\n\"When it became the monster that it did, because it sounded improvised, understandably Ricky and Stephen went, 'No, none of it is improvised,'\" Mr Freeman said.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe continued: \"Which is not true.\"\n\nThe actor's particular grievance centred on a published book of scripts from the series.\n\nAccording to Mr Freeman, these were not the original written pages but rather transcriptions of what actually appeared on screen, incorporating the cast's spontaneous contributions.\n\n\"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 telly,\" he explained.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\"So that annoyed me a little bit because anyone who knows any of us knows that line came from you in that moment, that line came from me.\"\n\nDespite his frustration, Mr Freeman was careful to credit the quality of Mr Gervais and Mr Merchant's work on the series.\n\n\"The writing on it was brilliant but you only need to know us a little bit or know the process of it, to know we're also in there,\" he stated.\n\n\"It doesn't mean it's a co-credit; it doesn't mean it's improvised; it's nicely loose.\"\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Spice Girls fans call out Victoria Beckham as she makes awkward Geri Horner blunder in new update\n  * BBC Great British Menu chef shares emotional cancer update after being given 12 months to live\n  * Christopher Nolan defends modern English dialogue in The Odyssey after fan backlash\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMr Freeman said he understood why the show's creators were reluctant to admit there had been any improvisation, as people might have wrongly assumed the cast simply turned up and made everything up on the spot.\n\nMr Gervais did not take part in the BBC's 25th anniversary reunion special alongside Mr Freeman and Mr Crook.\n\nA representative for the comedian said he \"was not available\" to appear in the programme and insisted there is \"no rift\" between Mr Gervais and the broadcaster.\n\nInstead, the 65-year-old has chosen to mark the milestone with his own retrospective documentary.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe film is set to premiere on his YouTube channel to coincide with the 25th anniversary of The Office.\n\nA trailer is also expected to be released ahead of the documentary.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nMeanwhile, the BBC's Remember... The Office reunites Mr Freeman and Mr Crook to look back on the iconic sitcom.\n\nMr Merchant also does not appear in the BBC's one-off anniversary programme.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Martin Freeman shares 'annoyance' at Ricky Gervais over BBC The Office complaint"
}