Gervais: 'I never wanted children'

Rex Features

Ricky Gervais has said that he knew from a young age that he would never have children.

The comic, 48, revealed that he made an agreement with partner Jane Fallon when they were students that they would never start a family together.

"We never wanted to be parents, with all that entails: the loss of freedom, total dependency," he told Red magazine.

Gervais, who has been dating Fallon for 27 years, also admitted that he would not want to bring up a child who behaved like him.

"I didn't have a work ethic for such a long time. Imagine if I had a child like me? I didn't start earning until I was 36," he said.

"I'm the sort of person who has to check three times that I've shut the door, so I'd probably stare at a kid all day to check it was breathing."

Gervais is currently working on two movies, The Invention Of Lying and Cemetery Junction.