 Merchant created The Office with Gervais before working on Extras |
Extras star Stephen Merchant is to host a music show on BBC 6 Music next year. The writer, director and actor, best known for creating TV shows The Office and Extras with Ricky Gervais, will begin his DJ stint on 14 January.
The show will air on Sunday afternoons. Merchant used to host a radio show on Xfm with Gervais and Karl Pilkington.
"I love making people listen to the tunes that excite me - but obviously if things are not working, I'll just stick on C'Mon Eileen," he said.
Lesley Douglas, controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music, said Merchant was "a great talent".
"His wit, warmth and love of music makes him a perfect presenter for 6 Music," she said.
Cameo role
Besides Extras, Merchant also stars in the hugely popular weekly podcast series The Ricky Gervais Show alongside Gervais and Pilkington.
The show largely consists of Gervais and Merchant teasing Pilkington for his idiotic ideas, including his regular Monkey News bulletin of news stories about apes.
Merchant is also set to have a cameo role in TV drama 24 - but his comedy sidekick Gervais will not appear as he is "too recognisable".
The TV star, who played an incompetent actor's agent in Extras, will be seen handing a piece of paper to a member of staff at the Counter-Terrorism Unit.
Merchant began his career in radio, first hosting shows on university radio before becoming a breakfast DJ in his home town of Bristol.
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