Ricky Gervais will reprise ‘The Office’ character David Brent for the first time in the UK since the television series ended in 2003. Gervais is bringing back his most famous comedy character for the Comic Relief Live Telethon Show on 15th March 2013. A whole host of celebrities and comedians will also take part in the show’s attempt to raise money for the charitable cause.
‘The Office’ will return to the BBC for a one-off special with David Brent now working as a talent manager in the music industry as he attempts to promote urban solo artist Dom Johnson to secure his big break.
‘The Office’ ran for two seasons before Ricky Gervais decided to bring the show to an end with a Christmas special. The show also spawned a successful American spin-off starring Steve Carrell which ran for nine season and even featured a cameo from original ‘The Office’ star David Brent
A record £108 million was raised through the charity’s last telethon in 2011. The Comic Relief Telethon is broadcast once every two years as it alternates in the ‘Red Nose Appeal’ with its sister project, Sports Relief.
Comic Relief was founded as a charity in 1985 by comic writers Richard Curtis and Lenny Henry. The organisation uses ‘Red Nose Day’ as an event once a year in an appeal to raise funds for the charity which particularly focuses upon children in Ethiopia as well as other charitable organisations.
‘Red Nose Day’ was first used as a concept three years later in 1988 and ‘Red Noses’ have since been sold annually, often differing in designs and appearance. This year’s theme for ‘Red Nose Day’ is a ‘Nose with Toes’.
This year’s charity single is provided by One Direction who follow in the footsteps of The Wanted, The Saturdays and McFly who have all previously released Comic Relief charity singles. Having already reached the number one position in the chart within its first week One Direction’s charity single could prove to be the most successful Comic Relief song to date.
The 1D boys covered a combination of Blondie’s ‘One Way or Another’ and The Undertones ‘Teenage Kicks’ for this year’s Comic Relief Record and even filmed the music video themselves. This means that the money which would have been spent creating the video is now going towards a great cause.