Martin Freeman, who played Tim Canterbury in the iconic mockumentary The Office, has admitted he felt 'annoyed' at co-creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for their repeated claims that the show was entirely scripted. The 54-year-old actor made the confession during a one-off retrospective special reuniting him with co-star Mackenzie Crook, marking 25 years since the landmark comedy series first aired.
Freeman's Grievance Over Improvisation Claims
In the special, Freeman explained that while the scripts were indeed brilliant, there were improvised moments from the cast that Gervais and Merchant have downplayed. '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,' Freeman said.
He added: '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.'
Acknowledging the Writing
Despite his frustration, Freeman acknowledged the quality of the writing. '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,' he said.
In 2005, Gervais told NPR: 'People think The Office was improvised, but it's all on the page. We do that because what we found is that in the early days of The Office, we went in with it sort of 80 percent scripted and we did some things and then we improv'd and we did–you know, and it gets a laugh on the floor because it's the first time they've heard it. But when you get back into the editing suite in the cold light of day, the written stuff is better.'
Reunion Special Details
The special, titled Mackenzie Crook and Martin Freeman Remember… The Office, airs tonight at 10pm on BBC Two and will be available on BBC iPlayer. It marks the first time the pair have reunited in over 15 years. According to the synopsis, they will share memories of working alongside Gervais, Merchant, and Lucy Davis, who played Tim's love interest Dawn Tinsley.
Notably, Gervais and Merchant did not participate in the reunion. A source described their absence as a 'huge blow' for the broadcaster, though Gervais's representatives denied any rift, stating he would mark the anniversary with his own YouTube video special covering his new Netflix show Alley Cats and his stand-up tour Legend.
Metro has reached out to representatives for Gervais and Merchant for comment.
