Two-year planning wrangle resolved

Ricky Gervais has won a two-year battle to knock down his riverside home and build a new £5million mansion.

The comedian’s previous plans to develop his property in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, has been hampered by the fact the land is prone to flooding.

His original proposals were rejected in 2024 but now, at the second time of trying, the council has given him the go-ahead, with the new design raising the ground floor by 3ft.

The new home will also include a gym, grand entrance hall and a bedroom with a balcony overlooking the existing tennis court and pond. However, Gervais scrapped plans for an additional wing, the Daily Mail's Eden Confidential gossip column reports.

He has also agreed to pay £10,584 to the council's carbon offset fund but will have to apply for a licence from Natural England before building work can start after a colony of bats was found roosting in the loft.

Gervais also owns a £14.75million nine-bedroom mansion in Hampstead, North London, plus two New York flats.

Published: 7 Apr 2026