Gervais optimistic about US 'Office'

Ricky Gervais has insisted that he expects the American version of The Office to be a big hit, despite a less than encouraging response by test audiences.

Americans who attended a preview screening of the show were apparently left "confused", while clips from the first few episodes, available from the NBC website, were slated by members of the Digital Spy Forums.

However, Gervais has told The Sun, "The pilot for The Office got the lowest approval rate in BBC history, and look how things turned out. So I was delighted when the American test audience came out confused."