You’re not going to see Ricky Gervais in space any time soon (Picture: Getty)
Ricky Gervais has revealed he turned down the chance to be the first comedian to do a stand-up set in space as he didn’t want to ‘risk’ the trip.
The Office creator, 59, admitted he is even careful crossing the road so he wasn’t keen on being blasted into space on a rocket, no matter how well it paid.
He revealed while playing Wheel of Opinions with Jimmy Fallon: ‘I was offered one of these things where you go up into space for 15 minutes.
‘It was like a group of billionaires and they offered me the chance to be the first comedian to do a stand-up show in space.
‘I went “no”, I am not going to risk it. That is mad. I am careful crossing the road.’
He also joked that the billionaires should spend the trip looking around rather than watching him perform when they could watch that any time from home.
Ricky explained: ‘Also these people have paid $300,000 (£221,000) to go into space and have a look around. And then they go: “Here’s Ricky Gervais doing 10 minutes”.
‘They can watch me on YouTube. And now they have blown $300,000? Look out the window!
‘That is the other thing when they say let’s go into space – we are in space now – right in the middle.
‘There is nothing you can see up there that you cannot see from here. It is like me getting out of chair and walking over there and saying I can see the chair from there. You were in the chair!
‘People think we might find a new planet. Where is this planet? It’d take you about 1000 years to get there.’
The actor and comedian is even careful crossing the road let alone blasting into space (Picture: Ray Burmiston)
It comes after Ricky’s dying wish to be fed to the lions at London Zoo was ruled out by the bosses of the zoo.
Kathryn England, Chief Operating Officer of ZSL London Zoo told The Sun: ‘I suspect Ricky may be a bit gristly for our lions.
‘But we are struggling financially because of lockdown so if anyone wants to “give something back” we welcome donations that will help us keep our lions fed on a more suitable diet.’
Ricky previously told Conan O’Brien: ‘I thought it would be good to be just fed to the lions at London Zoo. That would be useful, isn’t it?
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‘We never give anything back. We take everything from this world…everything we do is for us, we’re not even food for other things.
‘At least then…I’d like the look on the tourists’ faces when they throw this dead, fat, naked, 73-year-old, maybe, if I’m lucky, to the lions, and as it lands some people go, “is that the bloke from The Office?” they go, “what, Steve Carell?” “No not f**king Steve Carell. He’s much fatter than Steve Carell.”’
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