Martin Freeman “slighty annoyed” that ‘The Office’ creators said “none of it is improvised”

Martin Freeman has revealed he felt annoyed that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant said that The Office was not improvised, feeling it didn’t tell the full story.

The British sitcom ran for two series between 2001 and 2003, following the daily trials of a fictional paper company in Slough. It is considered a classic of British TV, with the mockumentary format leading to an informal feel that led many fans to wonder if the lines were improvised. Co-creators Gervais and Merchant have denied that, but in a new documentary about the show, cast member Freeman said he felt that didn’t accurately reflect the tone of the performance.

The star, who played Tim on the show, sat down with former cast mate Mackenzie Crook (Gareth), for the BBC Special Remember… The Office, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the comedy. During their discussion, Crook said: “Another thing people always ask you is how much was improvised – very little of it was because it was all there on the page.”

Freeman replied: “It was all there on the page. However, I think my true feeling about it is that when it became the monster that it did, because it sounded improvised, understandably Ricky and Stephen went, ‘No, none of it is improvised.’”

“What slightly annoyed me at the time, but only slightly at the time, is that when the scripts were published, they weren’t the scripts – they were the transcriptions of what had been on telly, so that annoyed me a little bit because anyone who knows any of us knows that line came from you in that moment, that line came from me.”

He continued: “It was loose, and that’s to Ricky and Stephen’s credit because the scripts were absolutely brilliant. It wasn’t improvised, but it was what I would call loose.” Freeman said that he “can understand why there was a little bit of protection about that because otherwise people would have gone, ‘Hey, you just rock up and just make it all up,’ which is clearly not the case”.

He concluded: “The writing on it was brilliant – but you only need to know us a little bit or know the process of it, to know we’re also in there. It doesn’t mean it’s a co-credit, it doesn’t mean it’s improvised; it’s nicely loose.”

Gervais wasn’t available for the special, which aired on BBC Four and iPlayer yesterday (July 8), but told The Independent that he is in contact with the BBC “all the time” about the show.

The Office would also get a long-running US remake, which was a huge hit across the world. Recently its star, Steve Carrell, recalled how the beloved nature of the UK version meant actor Paul Rudd tried to talk him out of auditioning for it.

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