This year’s Christmas special guest is the man who made Jaack fall in love with comedy in the first place. From The Office and Extras, to a body of work that’s influenced an entire generation, the legendary Ricky Gervais returns to Happy Hour. Ricky first appeared on the show when the podcast was only a few episodes old, at a time when every bit of support mattered, and his early appearance gave the show a huge boost. Now, more than 600 episodes later, it feels incredibly special to welcome him back.  Ricky tells us about the time he nearly died on stage, why the adverts for his vodka company Dutch Barn were banned, and how he decided which charities would receive his incredibly generous £2.4 million donation.  Known for his infamous bath pics, Ricky also weighs in on Jaack’s story about deliberately waterboarding himself in the bath just to see what it felt like. The conversation takes a deeper turn as Ricky opens up about coming to terms with his own mortality. But on a lighter note, Ricky reacting to some of the Internet’s best animal news stories leads to us uncovering how he was once involved with a monkey let loose inside an IKEA!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices