Was Ricky REALLY invited back?

Ricky Gervais appears to have been caught out after presumptuously claiming he had been asked to host the Golden Globes Awards for a third time.

Event organisers at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association quickly denied the comic’s claim that they had invited him back.

‘There is no truth to this rumour,’ said president Philip Berk. ‘We have not asked him to come back. Nice try, Ricky.’

Writing in this week's Heat magazine, Gervais had claimed: ‘The ratings went up again, and the organisers asked me to consider a third year. [But] I don’t think I should. I don’t know what I could do better. I certainly couldn’t get more press for them, that’s for sure. It was discussed on every news channel and chat show for weeks.’

Gervais yesterday tried to square those comments with Berk’s denial.

On his blog, he said: ‘You may have read that I am hosting next year's Golden Globes. This is not true. Not yet anyway’ – conveniently ignoring the fact that it was his own article that sparked the rumours.

He added: ‘The TV show organisers said they were happy with everything and asked me to not rule out a third gig. However, it is not entirely up to them. The Hollywood Foreign Press and various other committees need to meet and agree.

‘I have no idea if they want me back again. It depends whether they care about 50 delicate egos in the room or the 200 million people watching at home who want a laugh.’

The broadcast drew nearly 17 million viewers to the NBC network, slightly more than last year. However, Gervais’s jibes at the likes of Charlie Sheen, Hugh Hefner and Tim Allen were supposedly deemed controversial.

Published: 2 Feb 2011