Ricky Gervais receives death threats about new show

The Office star has received death threats about his upcoming stage show.

Writer and comedian Ricky Gervais has been forced to hire extra security after receiving death threats in the run-up to his new stage show.

The UK leg of his tour, Armageddon, kicks off on Wednesday in Cardiff and a source close to the comic has revealed the extra measures being put in place.

“Ricky has been made aware threats have been made to his life. His offices haven’t shown them to him, but have told him very disturbing letters have come in for him.” the source told The Sun.

They continued: “Ricky is very aware of the dangers and he can afford whatever security he wants, so he thought it was a no-brainer.”

The threats are thought to come from the controversial material Gervais discusses in his show. One threat was allegedly regarding comments on the LGBTQ+ movement being anti-transgender. 

Gervais rose to fame firstly on radio before hitting the big time with the BBC smash show The Office which he starred in and co-wrote with Stephan Merchant. He has since gone on to write and star in other shows including Extras, Life’s Too Short and After Life.