Kay recently completed a sell-out UK tour

Live at the Bolton Albert Halls sold 274,000 copies in its first two weeks, breaking a second record for a Kay DVD.

The second series of his Channel 4 comedy Phoenix Nights earlier became the fastest selling DVD of a TV series.

Phoenix Nights II sold 160,000 copies in its first week. It is up against series two of The Office in the battle for best-selling comedy DVD of 2003.

No figures were immediately available from distributor VCI for the latest sales of Phoenix Nights II, which stars Kay as wheelchair-bound northern club boss Brian Potter.

According to the BBC, The Office II has sold 323,444 copies on DVD in less than five weeks, and a further 47,467 on VHS video.

Gervais is returning for two Christmas specials

Gervais' show is at 29 in the official overall DVD sales charts, with the Kay series at 46.

Kay's live show, released by Universal Pictures, is riding high at number five, buoyed by his recent UK stand-up tour and his popularity in the John Smith's beer adverts.

Publicists for all three shows have predicted they could breach the one million sales barrier in the run-up to Christmas.

The second Phoenix Nights series broke a record held by the first series of The Office, which had sold 80,000 during its first week on sale a year ago.

In a 13-week period leading up to Christmas 2002, The Office sold more than a million copies on VHS and DVD.