I can confirm that, yes, Ricky Gervais has always been a miserable, horrible little shit.
@martinfeld His TV stuff, sure, I get it. The Office is The Office afterall.
His stand-up, however is much like his public persona; a dull sneering cheap imitation of greater comedians. It's also about ten years since his implementation became irrelevant to the thing which all great comedy is best at: making a point.
@simonwoods Interesting to hear your view! I’ve enjoyed each of his stand-up shows and generally dry delivery, particularly his religious critiques and ability to simultaneously celebrate and mock his own fame. I wouldn’t agree that he’s a cheap imitation, but comedy (like many things) is subjective after all. 🙂