Has Ricky Gervais Lost The Plot

Yes, says The Mirror,

'It's hard to say exactly when Ricky Gervais stopped being the endearing, ingenious wit behind The Office and became the tiresome embarrassment he is today. There were the endless, nauseatingly matey, appearances on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross; his mediocre episode of The Simpsons ; his mutual appreciation society with overrated US comics Ben Stiller and Larry David. His cameo in A Night At the Museum (with Stiller) was sub-sitcom standard and, like The Simpsons, another example of him re-hashing Brent. After years refusing to "do" The David Brent Dance, these days you can hardly stop him.He was at it again during The Concert for Diana, where the sight of Gervais dying on his feet confirmed his demise.'

No, replies The Spectator

'The miracle of the man is that he has managed to escape the role of David Brent – one of the greatest comic characters of all time – to produce another excellent series (Extras), establish himself as a top-rank stand-up, produce the best podcasts I have ever heard, and write a series of splendid children’s books (the Flanimals). Having been at Live Earth on Saturday, I do not remotely recognise Shelley’s description of Gervais’s performance – nor did he “die on his feet” at the Diana Concert where, forced by technical trouble to improvise for much longer than he expected, he kept the stadium in stitches with – yes – the Brent dance. He is without question the most talented British comedian since Peter Cook and John Cleese and deserves better than this sort of nonsense.'

Did he really die at the Diana Concert?