Merchant jealous of Gervais' showbiz life

Stephan Merchant has spoken out about his recent rise to fame, admitting he is falling short of standards set by his friend Ricky Gervais.

The Extras star, and writer of The Office, has witnessed Gervais' career first hand, and insists his own experience has been quite dissimilar.

"It annoys me I'm not being taken under the wing of various celebrities," he said. "When Ricky became famous he got a lot of showbiz pals. That hasn't happened to me - they must feel I can't bring anything to the party."

He added that his line of work is not necessarily renowned either for boosting the stars' sex lives: "If I was a rock star, I think people would find me more attractive. I knew very few women in college with Woody Allen posters on their walls," he laughed.