ricky and steve on inspiration for the office

Why was the office set in a paper merchants?
asked Paul Morries of Wednesbury, West Mids

Ricky and Steve: We wanted an industry that everyone knows exists but most people know very little about. At the end of the day, paper was an arbitrary choice. We never went into detail about the paper business because it didn’t really matter: life in the office was more important.

Is it true that The Office is based on a company called Northamber in Chessington, Surrey? I used to work there and rumour has it you got the idea from a documentary programme that was done on Northamber.
asked Darren Burrowes of London

Ricky and Steve: No, not true. It was based on our own experiences working in offices.

Did you think you could have written a funny sitcom in any setting or did you specifically want to say something about life in an office?
Gary Nunn of Elland

Ricky and Steve: We'd like to think we could write a sitcom set anywhere but as my old English teacher used to say : "Write about what you know."

Have you taken any inspiration from the Mike Judge directed film 'Office Space'?
asked James Hindley of Manchester

Ricky and Steve: No, we didn’t see it until recently.

You say it's finished but what happens if you have loads more good ideas for episodes of The Office?
asked Linny Baker of Portsmouth

Ricky and Steve: We promise you we won’t have any more good ideas.

Video Clip
Ricky Gervais explains the origins of The Office.