He may have swapped a life in middle-management at the Wernham Hogg Paper Company in Slough to tour the country in his own musical ensemble, but Ricky Gervais has revealed that David Brent will return to the jaded corporate interiors for which he’s best known in upcoming movie Life on the Road.
Gervais posted a photograph on Twitter of Brent in a grey suit and tie, along with the caption: “Great to be back in the office. A new dawn.”
Great to be back in the office. A new dawn pic.twitter.com/JWivoeogBR
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) December 8, 2015
It was not immediately clear if the office environment in question represents the new headquarters of the fictional Wernham Hogg, Brent’s base for two BBC Two series and a brace of Christmas specials. The reception desk, for a start, looks quite different. And as Gervais himself hints, Lucy Davis’s Dawn Tinsley appears to have long since upped sticks.
The opening credits for The Office featured Crossbow House in Slough, which was demolished in December 2013, so it might not be too much of a shock if Wernham Hogg had moved elsewhere.
Life on the Road, due in cinemas August 2016, will focus on Brent’s life on tour with his band Foregone Conclusion 15 years after being made redundant from Wernham Hogg. The 50-year-old, now a urinal lozenge salesman, has cashed in his pension to pay for a band of expensive young session musicians because ticket receipts are not enough to cover their wages and a tour bus.
Update: After the Guardian published this story on 8 December, Gervais himself tweeted us to confirm that Brent now works at Slough-based Lavichem, suggesting that the new office pictured might be the aforementioned cleaning products distributor.
@guardianfilm @BenChildGeek Brent now works as a rep at the Slough based cleaning products distributer, "Lavichem" pic.twitter.com/tm3VdrHlrq
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) December 8, 2015
