Gervais Rejoins Xfm To Boost Saturday Schedules
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will make a welcome return to Xfm’s Saturday schedule later this month, as the pair return from filming new BBC comedy, Extras, to boost the station’s weekend profile alongside their producer turned sidekick Karl ‘The K Man’ Pilkington.
Gervais and Merchant will host their weekend show for six weeks from 28 May, building on the success of their last run, which are currently archived on the Xfm website and receive a record number of hits every day, according to the station.
The show, which won a bronze Sony award in 2002, will air at 1pm, replacing comedy duo Adam and Joe, who are taking a short break.
Welcoming Gervais and Merchant back to Xfm, Andy Ashton, the station’s programme controller, said: “Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are great friends of the station and we are incredibly grateful that, as busy as they are, they can still find time to return to Xfm and reunite with the K-Man for another run on Saturday afternoons.
“The archived shows online are one of the most popular items at xfm.co.uk and I know the audience will be as excited as we are about hearing the show back on Xfm whilst Adam and Joe are away.”
Gervais will soon be back on TV screens, meanwhile, with Extras forming a part of BBC Two’s spring schedule. The programme line-up, featuring several high-profile comedy shows, will be headed by the much-anticipated follow up to The Office, centering around extras working on film and TV sets and believed to feature several cameo appearances from Holywood stars (see BBC Banks On Comedy For Spring Schedule).
Xfm will be hoping to boost its audience levels with the return of Gervais and Merchant, as the station’s FM broadcasts in London have seen a 7.5% dip in weekly reach year on year, according to the latest RAJAR figures for the three months to March 2005. Xfm’s total listening, including its national digital signal, was also in decline year on year, losing 4% in the same period. The station currently commands a weekly reach of 517,000 in the capital and 651,000 nation-wide.
Xfm: 0871 222 1049 www.xfm.co.uk