Definitely. A lot of the time the co-producer credit is just a vanity thing, which is one reason there are so many of them on some shows and films. On Last Man Standing, for example, there must be over half a dozen. Tim Allen quipped that by the time the producer credits are done the show has gone to commercial.
You’ve got me wondering who that factual presenter is now 
Sorry to tease, but no way i’m spilling - my head on a platter territory.
I wouldn’t expect you to and it’s an interesting story without it. You would hope (hope!) that factual programming would attract vocational people who want the subjects they love to reach those who wouldn’t ordinarily pick up books on it. But I dare say there are/have been plenty who like the limelight that little bit more
I’ve never seen it, but every time I see it talked about I remember Tim Allen when asked;
How much of your personal politics is in this show?
(Deadpan) About as much as was in Buzz Lightyear
It’s a limelight business, so those that know how to hog it tend to climb higher.
Do you want to be famous or respected? You can’t be both
Extras isn’t wrong…
I saw Extras for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Liked it quite a bit. Not hilarious, but feel-good and interesting.
That particular quote is from the very last episode. Gervais chose fame, at which point it all turns very grim.
Yes, that monologue of Andy’s in the Big Brother house was great.
Yes, that episode! The agent played by Adam James says it not long before Andy goes on “celebrity” Big Brother
I remember. Adam James is always good to see. I first noticed him in an episode of Hustle, where he would furiously cry “Arse!”, in place of a swearword, every time he was thwarted.
Regarding Gervais, I’ve only ever liked (loved, in fact) Ghost Town and Cemetery Junction, as I found The Office just excruciating, and The Invention of Lying felt like one of his atheistic rants on one of his dryly pedantic, lecture-like stand-up routines.
I tend to avoid Gervais’ work, simply because I’ve not really liked his performances in things I actually like, Stardust, for example, where he’s been granted the fortune of only sharing scenes with Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, yet that calibre of actor doesn’t stop him from just seeming like child in a geography lesson looking for laughs at fart noises.
Adam James, on the other hand, is brilliant. He holds his own opposite Adrian Lester whilst playing a mark on Hustle! No easy task, given Lester’s character was convincing you he was the true successor to Robert Vaughn.
The Office is a masterpiece, the UK original and the US adaptation.
I love EXTRAS, too, absolutely hilarious are the David Bowie and Diana Rigg episodes. And Gervais‘ AFTER LIFE is a gem as well.
Marc Warren was recently in the new Van Der Valk (not my cup of tea), and he really doesn’t age at all, does he? He’s looked the same since the '90s.
The Patrick Stewart is a personal fave: “…All her clothes fall off!”
But The Office… It’s up there with Fawlty Towers. As you said, a masterpiece!
For me, the best sitcoms ever are Only Fools and Horses, Frasier, One Foot in the Grave, and Rising Damp, in that order. One Foot, in particular, is remarkably clever how it makes the absurd seem logical.
The Office never so much as made me smile, though I think expecting laughs would be missing the point. It’s not so much a comedy as mockumentary, a satire, a character study.
Bondfan - you get a like just for shouting out Rising Damp in these here forums!!
Oh, yes - Stewart had no fear in that episode! 
Oh, no - it‘s full of belly laughs.