Exclusive

The Office: Sad News for Ricky Gervais Fans

Executive producer Paul Lieberstein fills us in on a little secret

By Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna Mar 17, 2009 11:00 PMTags
Ricky Gervais, Steve CarellDave Bjerke/NBC, Paul Drinkwater/NBC

Oh, those wacky U.K. press peeps. Fact-check, much? That little staple of journalism 101 doesn’t seem to be of high importance across the pond.

Case in point: The U.K.’s Daily Record reported on Friday that Ricky Gervais is heading to the U.S. to make a cameo on the last episode of The Office as David Brent, the boss of the BBC version of our favorite comedy.

Well, we got the real deal from executive producer Paul Lieberstein (Toby!). Here’s what he has to say...

"We love Ricky, but have not had any discussions about an appearance on the U.S. show,” says Paul. "And we haven't given any thought to the final show because it is probably a zillion episodes away.”

So, there you have it. Straight from the boss' mouth. (And a zillion more eps sound pretty good, right?)

The only guests scheduled for now are the previously announced Idris Elba (The Wire, Rocknrolla), who comes back this week, and Amy Ryan (The Wire, Gone Baby Gone), who will return as H.R. goddess Holly Flax by the final episode of the season.

Are you hoping for a Holly-Michael reunion? (Of course you are!) Got a question for the cast or producers of The Office? We're meeting up with them this week, so hit the comments below or email tvdiva@eonline.com.