50 Fun Facts About The Office (UK)

On which channel was The Office first broadcast on 9 July 2001?

Ratings were modest at first; the Christmas specials were later moved to BBC One to chase a bigger audience.

What is the name of the fictional paper company at the centre of the series?

Its slogan is the pun "life is stationery"; Dunder Mifflin is the American remake's equivalent.

In which town is the branch where the series is set?

The office sits on the Slough Trading Estate; Swindon is the rival branch whose staff arrive in series two.

Which pun completes the paper company's motto, "life is ___"?

The joke is the whole company in four words: a paper merchant whose life is going nowhere.

What meaningless title does Gareth take far too seriously?

Tim points out it means more responsibility for the same pay; Gareth also calls himself Assistant Regional Manager, which Brent corrects.

Who plays sales rep Tim Canterbury?

Tim's American counterpart is Jim Halpert; Freeman went on to The Hobbit and Sherlock.

Who plays Gareth Keenan?

Gareth was written as a tough military type until Crook's audition made the pair reinterpret him.

Who plays receptionist Dawn Tinsley?

Dawn's fiancé Lee is played by Joel Beckett; her US counterpart is Pam Beesly.

Where does Dawn's fiancé Lee work?

His idea of a proposal was a four-word newspaper notice: "Lee love Dawn. Marriage?"

Gareth constantly boasts about his time in which organisation?

He claims to know how to kill a man with a single blow, which Tim and Dawn mine for endless double entendres.

What is the show's theme song?

Big George performed it, based on the Rod Stewart arrangement; Brent himself sings a version over the credits of one episode.

Which former Manfred Mann singer originally wrote the theme song in the 1960s?

Farlowe and Stewart both recorded it; Paul Jones was the Manfred Mann singer d'Abo replaced.

Which song does Brent perform on guitar during the training day in series one?

Noel Gallagher later recorded a full-band version with Gervais, hidden on the Christmas specials DVD.

What was the name of David Brent's old rock band?

They reunite, for a fee, in the 2016 film Life on the Road; Juxtaposition Records is Brent's label.

What was the 1998 short film by Gervais and Merchant that became The Office?

The 20-minute film was part of Merchant's BBC producer training; Ash Atalla showed it to BBC Two head Jane Root.

Where was the series filmed?

It used a single-camera setup and no laugh track, unusual for a British sitcom at the time.

Gervais and Merchant met when Merchant was hired as Gervais's assistant at which radio station?

Brent was based on a character Gervais performed to amuse the station's staff.

How many episodes of The Office were made in total, including the Christmas specials?

Two series of six plus the two-part special; Gervais and Merchant refused to write a third series.

In 2004 the series won Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy at which awards?

It was the first British comedy in 25 years even to be nominated, and the first ever to win; Gervais won Best Actor too.

What is the title of the first episode?

Brent recklessly promises that nobody will lose their job as the company plans to shrink a branch.

What did Tim famously encase Gareth's stapler in?

The prank was reprised in the American remake and several other international versions.

When Brent pretends to phone Chris Finch to sack him, who has he actually dialled?

Jennifer presses the speakerphone button and exposes him in front of the camera.

How is the disputed pub-quiz tie-break finally settled?

Finch wins it smugly, having got the Shakespeare question wrong in the first place.

Despite redundancies, why does Brent hire Karen as a second secretary in "New Girl"?

His attempts to "pull" her at the nightclub outing fall completely flat.

Why does Gareth turn down a woman who invites him home from the nightclub?

In the same episode Donna announces she spent the night with Ricky, to Finch's annoyance.

Why did Brent really lose the head-office promotion he accepted at the end of series one?

He tells the staff he threw the exam deliberately to save the branch, which nobody quite believes.

Brent's suave rival Neil is manager of which branch before the merger?

His staff transfer to Slough in the series two opener and immediately prefer him to Brent.

Who becomes Brent's immediate superior in series two after Jennifer is made a partner?

Everything Brent is not, Neil bonds with the staff, dances better and eventually makes Brent redundant.

In which series two episode do Neil and Jennifer tell Brent he is being made redundant?

It comes right after Brent dares Neil to run the office without him, convinced the staff would revolt.

Which consultancy firm hires Brent as a motivational speaker in series two?

He is deflated to learn they asked Neil too, and they drop him during his magazine interview in the finale.

On Red Nose Day, Neil recreates John Travolta's dance from which film?

Brent then performs his own dance purely to outdo him, producing one of the show's most replayed scenes.

What does Dawn sell at her desk to raise money on Red Nose Day?

Tim expects a peck on the cheek for his pledge and gets a passionate kiss on the lips instead.

Simon the computer technician bores everyone with exaggerated tales about which hobby?

When Tim mocks him, Simon hits back by revealing Tim's old interest in Dawn in front of Rachel.

Where do Dawn and Lee move to after series two?

They live with Lee's sister rent-free, overstaying illegally, until the documentary crew offers to fly them back.

The Christmas special scenes set in America were actually filmed in which country?

The specials were shot in August and September 2003, and the scripts leaked to a newspaper a month before broadcast.

Brent's failed single, released after his redundancy, was a cover of which song?

He blew his redundancy money on the music career and ended up doing demeaning nightclub appearances.

What job is Brent doing when the documentary crew returns for the Christmas specials?

He sells cleaning supplies and still drops in on Wernham Hogg to "keep up the morale" until Neil bans him.

What is the name of Tim's obnoxious, pregnant desk-mate in the Christmas specials?

She was deliberately written to be even more annoying than Gareth.

What Secret Santa gift does Tim give Dawn in the final episode?

The note reads "Never give up"; she leaves Lee in the taxi and comes back to kiss Tim.

What does Brent bring into the office that finally makes Neil bar him from the premises?

Neil then bans anyone who does not work for Wernham Hogg from the Christmas dinner.

What is the name of Brent's fourth blind date, who genuinely likes him at the Christmas party?

She gestures for him to call her, and moments later Brent finally tells Finch where to go.

Brent finally makes his old colleagues laugh at the group photo with an impression of whom?

It is the last scene of the series, a genuine laugh after two series of awkward silence.

Why was Gervais initially left off the 2004 BAFTA shortlist for Best Comedy Performance?

A last-minute reprieve put him on the list, and he won; the specials also took Best Situation Comedy.

What was the 2013 Comic Relief short that brought David back called?

Brent is now a talent manager for rapper Dom Johnson; it was also billed as The Office Revisited.

In the 2016 film Life on the Road, Brent is a sales rep for which bathroom supply firm?

He takes unpaid leave and raids his pension to fund a Berkshire tour with Foregone Conclusion.

What classic car does Gareth drive, having bought it for £1,200 and restored it?

He believes it is now worth around £3,000; his favourite band of all time is Mike + The Mechanics.

Which Oasis member recorded a version of "Freelove Freeway" with Gervais in 2004?

The full-band take with an extra verse was a DVD special feature; Gervais and Crook played it live at the Concert for Diana.

In the 2004 Microsoft UK training videos, who plays Jeff, the employee interviewing Brent?

Never meant for the public, the videos leaked online in 2006, to Microsoft's annoyance.

What ambition did Dawn give up to keep working alongside Lee?

Lee belittles the dream at every turn, which is why Tim's Secret Santa note lands so hard.

Tim dropped out of university but hopes to go back and earn a degree in which subject?

He abandons the plan at the end of series one when Brent "promotes" him to Senior Sales Clerk with a £500 raise.