The Stage

Channel 4 pays tribute to Gervais, Walliams, Lucas and Baron Cohen

Published Wednesday 6 February 2008 at 15:10 by Matthew Hemley

Channel 4 is to pay tribute to modern comedy icons, including Ricky Gervais, in a new series of documentaries called New Hero of Comedy.

The three-part series will focus in turn on Gervais, comedy duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams and Sacha Baron Cohen, with each 60-minute programme charting the comedians’ rise to fame and their achievements to date.

In the first documentary, Channel 4 will look at Gervais’ journey from his first appearances on radio and television, including The 11 O’Clock Show, through to his current status as international film and TV star.

The documentary will include contributions from Stephen Merchant, Michael Palin and Russell Brand.

This will be followed by a 60-minute programme on Lucas and Walliams, which will describe how a chance encounter at the National Youth Theatre brought together the two comedians, who struggled for years before landing Little Britain.

In the final part of the series, Channel 4 will chart Cohen’s rise to fame, from his initial appearances on The 11 O’Clock Show to creating the character of Borat and becoming a film star.

New Hero of Comedy was commissioned by Channel 4 comedy editor Darren Smith and starts on Friday February 22 at 9pm.