Ricky Gervais’s decision to start charging for his record-breaking podcasts seems to have paid off.

Around 262,000 listeners subscribed to his free shows on the Guardian website – but this week the show went out on iTunes and audible.com at 95p per half-hour instalment.

And the show topped the British iTunes audiobook chart within hours of the launch of the first episode.

Gervais said he started charging because his sidekick Karl Pilkington, who provides much of the show’s comedy, needed paying.

But fears this would drive away listeners seem to have been premature.

Comedy is the bestselling genre on audiobooks. ITunes top ten also includes The Mighty Boosh, Peter Kay, Bill Bailey and Eddie Izzard.