Ricky Gervais mocked celebrities who cry over their unknown ancestors on Who Do You Think You Are?
The funnyman, 60, took aim at the historical BBC programme, which sees famous faces - including Kate Winslet, Charles Dance, Daniel Radcliffe and Danny Dyer - trace their ancestry with the help of experts.
Ricky was full of disdain for the celebrities who have appeared on the show, and have wept over distant relatives they have never met.
“I like the way the actors cry. Like, ‘Your great great grandmother, she was a sad little…’ You didn’t know her,” he laughed, according to the Daily Star.
“You might as well cry for your great great great…or go back to when we were chimps. You didn’t know her! It was 200 years ago. What are you crying about?” Ricky exclaimed.
The show has been on the air for 18 years, with the first episode debuting in 2004.
Since then, 157 famous faces have taken part - such as Billy Connolly, Ian McKellen, Olivia Colman, J.K. Rowling, Judi Dench and the late Bruce Forsyth, tracing their family tree on the BBC series.
But viewers shouldn’t expect to see Ricky on the show anytime soon, as he said he would refuse to take part if asked by producers.
“I definitely wouldn’t. Imagine being on telly and them go, ‘Oh and here’s your great great grandfather, Horatio Gervais. He was a prolific paedophile, beaten to death in jail’. I’d go ‘Oh, poor Horatio,’” he quipped.
“You’re only gonna find out bad s***, aren’t you?”
“I’m not cut out for that,” he explained.
The comedian and actor has recently won critical acclaim for his Netflix comedy drama After Life, in which he plays a grieving widower.
And he revealed he had written the character to ensure he didn’t have to change his appearance much playing the role.
“I wouldn’t lose weight or put on weight for a role. I didn’t change my accent or my hair (for After Life) so I’m not going to change my diet,” he shared.
“Also, I either choose clothes that I can keep after or often I’ll say, ‘I might as well wear this,’” he joked.
“That’s why I don’t go to the gym, I can’t be bothered.”
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