Where The Office UK cast is now – Jimmy Saville claim, Hollywood and heartbreak

BBC mockumentary series The Office first exploded onto our screens 20 years ago today (July 9).

Ricky Gervais first became widely known to fans for his role as David Brent in the British sitcom.

The programme, which was was created and written by comedian and actor Gervais, explores the themes of awkwardness and every day events that takes place in a typical office within the UK.

Based on a fictional paper company in Slough, the ratings for The Office were very low at the start of its two-year run.

However, the series soon became one of Britain’s most loved exports which led America to also come up with their very own version of the show.

The Office also has several iconic comedic scenes that have been remembered by fans across the nation. Who can forget Brent’s epic and unimpressionable dance moves?

Though Gervais catapulted to fame after the series came to an end on December 27, 2003, several other stars from the show also made a name for themselves once the show finalised.

So Daily Star have taken a look at where the cast of The Office are now.

Ricky Gervais as David Brent

Following his success from the series, Gervais went on to win a Golden Globe award in 2004.

But since then, the actor has not stopped working and has become a household name in the UK and in America.

Gervais has been heavily involved in a number of projects and has also continued to achieve success behind the camera too.

The star has been majorly triumphant as a director and received high praise for his role in Extras, and most recently in After Life.

Not only, this but Gervais has wowed audiences world wide with his stand up comedy and comedic approach which has led him to become booked and busy as a host in the UK and US.

Gervais has also starred in several blockbusters such as Night at the Museum, Ghost Town, The Invention of Lying, Cemetery Junction and Special Correspondents alongside Eric Bana.

The actor often keeps his private life away from the limelight but often expresses that he supports cruelty against animals and often uses his social media platform to raise awareness on this.

Gervais lives between Hampstead, London and Marlow, Buckinghamshire and has been with his partner Jane Fallon since 1982.

Lucy Davis as Dawn Tinsley

Actress Lucy Davis, found fame on the show as receptionist Dawn Tinsley in the hit series.

Once the show had finalised, the actress who is the daughter of comedian Jasper Carrott, headed straight to LA where she found success in several low-key roles.

But she also played other notable characters in films and popular series such as Shaun of the Dead, Wonder Woman, Ugly Betty, Married Single Other and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

The actress also found success as Spellman in the Netflix series the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

In March 2020, Davis revealed to her fans on Instagram that she had tested negative for coronavirus but was rushed to hospital with a different virus where she received treatment.

Martin Freeman as Tim Canterbury

Martin Freeman played the long-suffering sales representitive Tim Canterbury in the comical series

The character’s practical jokes on his office nemesis Gareth was an ongoing theme throughout the show and his flirtations with receptionist Dawn made the his character sweet and likeable to viewers.

When the show ended in 2003, Freeman continued his work as an actor and went on to appear in TV shows such as Sherlock and Fargo.

But the actor hit major Hollywood success when he portrayed Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit film trilogy.

Not only this, but the star also appeared in Love Actually, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Nativity! and Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther.

He has also achieved several awards during his career too and has picked up an Emmy Award, a Bafta and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

The actor split from his long-term partner and Sherlock co-star Amanda Abbington in 2016, who he had been with since 2000.

They share two children together.

Stephen Merchant as Oggy

Actor Stephen Merchant played the role as Oggy, who was also known as Oggmonster.

Oggy was one of Gareth Keenan’s best friends in the series, along with Jimmy the Perv and Fish Fingers.

Merchant was one of the brains behind The Office and co-wrote and co-directed the show with Ricky Gervais.

When The Office came to an end in the early 2000s, Merchant went on to co-write and co-star in Extras and Life’s Too Short alongside Gervais.

But the double act continued as Merchant with Gervais and Karl Pilkington, hosted The Ricky Gervais Show and co-developed the popular Sky One travel series An Idiot Abroad.

But surprisingly he also went on to co-create Lip Sync Battle.

The star has found success in his own right and has dabbled in stand-up comedy, appeared in theatre productions and played the mutant Caliban in the 2017 superhero film Logan.

Merchant has also won two Golden Globe awards, four British comedy awards, three Bafta Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Not too bad if you ask us.

Mackenzie Crook as Gareth Keenan

Mackenzie Crook played paper salesman Gareth Keenan in The Office, who chose to spend most of his time irritating his colleagues with his strict enforcement of the rules and his obsession and idolisation of Brent.

Brent often abused this and would frequently correct him over his job title, ensuring that he always knew he was “Assistant (to the) regional manager”.

Since the show ended, the actor’s career path has been quite up and down but he did end up finding success in roles such as Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and Orell in Game of Thrones.

Crook also created and starred in BBC Four’s Detectorists, which ended up winning two Bafta Awards.

In 2019, the actor wrote, directed and starred in the revival of Worzel Gummidge.

Ralph Ineson as Chris Finch

Actor Ralph Ineson played Chris Finch and was probably the most unpleasant and annoying character in The Office.

Known to his colleagues as Finchy, the outspoken character was a sexist loudmouth whose comical anecdotes were rude and offensive to everyone except David Brent, who seemed to idolise his behaviour, even though he was the but of all of his jokes.

Once the series ended, Ineson also continued his career in acting and has gone on to appear in several hit shows and films, including roles as Dagmer Cleftjaw in Game of Thrones, Nikolai Tarakanov in Chernobyl and Amycus Carrow in three of the Harry Potter movies.

Not only this, but the star has appeared appeared in plenty of Hollywood films, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Ready Player One, Dolittle and the new upcoming movie The Green Knight, based on Arthurian legend.

Recently the actor landed a part in The Tragedy of Macbeth, an upcoming film written and directed by Joel Coen which is based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy.

Joel Beckett as Lee

Lee played by actor Joel Beckett was Dawn’s fiancé who she met at school. The character was dull, uninteresting and would often embarrass Dawn in front of her colleagues.

Lee- who worked at a warehouse, would often demonstrate how romantic he is not towards Dawn, which was picked up by others in Dawn’s team.

Once The Office ended Beckett found success in other BBC dramas such as Holby City, Doctors, and Casualty. He also starred in ITV’s Heartbeat.

One of the actors most memorable roles was playing Jake Moon in EastEnders. He also appeared in the film Green Street in 2005.

However, things have been fairly quiet for the star and he hasn’t had much work since then.

Julie Fernandez as Brenda

Actress Julie Fernandez, who has osteogenesis imperfecta and uses a wheelchair, played the minor character of Brenda in the show’s second series in 2002.

After the show came to an end, she claimed that Jimmy Savile had touched her inappropriately during a recording of Jim’ll Fix It.

She appeared on the BBC show when she had been 14, and spoke out in October 2012 following other sexual abuse allegations against the late host.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk