Ricky Gervais teams up with EastEnders’ Natalie Cassidy for new series

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Ricky Gervais has delighted fans by teaming up with EastEnders star Natalie Cassidy for his first show since his widely-popular comedy-drama After Life.

The comedian and actor, 63, is reportedly working on an animated series about cats, with Natalie, 41, lending her voice to the new project.

A TV insider told The Sun: ‘The project is still in its early stages, but Ricky is super excited as he’s always wanted to make a show about cats.

‘He’s a big animal lover, so mixing comedy and pets is an ideal combination. And with his star cast on board, it’s bound to be hilarious.’

According to the publication, a voice recording session took place in London last week and The Office star has signed an exclusive deal with Netflix.

Aside from the details of it being an animation that features animal characters, and revealing some cast members, Ricky is largely keeping the project under wraps.

The Office actor shared a sneak peek snap on his Instagram page capturing Natalie alongside the cast of the Netflix series including Kerry Godliman, Diane Morgan, Tom Basden and Tony Way, as they are all seen inside a recording studio with scripts.

‘Look at this lot,’ Ricky captioned and the soap star commented thrilled: ‘Best day ever.’

EastEnders actress Natalie, who plays the character of Sonia Fowler in the popular soap, had previously described the comedy alum as her ‘god’ and admitted she was ‘desperate’ to meet him.

During one previous interview, she opened up about her admiration for the comedian and said: ‘My ”God” is Ricky Gervais. I love everything he does. I think he’s amazing.’

In March, she said: ‘If I could have a drink with anyone, I’d pick Ricky Gervais. I’ve loved all his shows since Extras.

‘I was in a lift with him once at The Ivy but I was too nervous to say anything. I’m friends with a lot of his friends, so maybe one day it will happen. I don’t want to come across as a fan though.

‘I just want to meet him and say very coolly, ‘You all right, mate?”, she added gushing.

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The new animal-themed animation comes after Ricky previously blasted the movie Cats while hosting the Golden Globes in 2020.

He joked: ‘The world got to see James Corden as a fat p****. He was also in the movie Cats, but no one saw that.’ 

Critics and audience alike mocked the musical-turned-movie and it received a 21 percent Rotten Tomato score and inspired thousands of ridiculing memes despite the all-star cast. 

In May, Natalie revealed her daughter Joanie, seven, thinks her character on the iconic soap is ‘so boring’ and ‘fast-forwards’ the parts she stars in.

The actress – who has played Sonia Fowler since 1993 – told The Mirror: ‘She’ll go, ‘Mummy… Sonia’s so boring. I just don’t like watching you on here, honestly I just don’t like it.”

She added: ‘I say, ‘I’ve been there a long time darling, there’s a lot of people who do like me.”

Her daughter who is her harshest critic, however, revealed in response: ‘Well, I’m not one of them.’

Natalie also revealed her daughter fast-forwards her scenes in the soap, however, she’s unsure if that’s just because it’s her take on Sonia or seeing her mum on screen.

She also revealed that she’s sure Sonia ‘will end’ one day, however, claimed she doesn’t want her to ‘die a terrible death.’ 

The actress has starred in the soap since she was 10, and during her time on the show she fell pregnant at 15, lost her love Jamie Mitchell, endured a rocky marriage to Martin Fowler, and had a shocking cancer scare.

Speaking to the Spinning Plates podcast with singer Sophie Ellis-Bexter, the mum-of-two previously told how she formed a close bond with late co-star June Brown (Dot Cotton).

She said: ‘When I was 20, June would have been mid-70s. She would stay at my house, we’d learn our lines and drink red wine, we’d go on holiday.

‘She’d had a full career bringing up five children. She showed how you can do it all.’