Ricky Gervais casts his TV shows before writing them.
Ricky Gervais
The award-winning comedy star has admitted he loves working with the same people over and over, likening his on-set approach to "meeting up with a group of friends".
Ricky explained: "It's the most fun - it's the best job in the world. Because I've been in the game for 20 years now, I choose my friends ... in fact, I cast my shows these days before I've written them so I know who I'm writing for.
"It's people who are in 'Extras', 'Derek' and so that's fun as well ... it's like meeting up with a group of friends."
Ricky's hit Netflix series 'After Life' focuses on a man struggling to come to terms with his wife's death.
The comedian has been praised for making a show that has such a dark issue at its centre.
But Ricky, 59, finds it "odd" that TV bosses always try to avoid so-called taboo issues, observing that real life is "scarier than fiction".
He told ITV's 'Lorraine': "It's odd that TV executives second guess what the public can take. They say, 'Oh, we shouldn't say that. We can't say that.' How do we know?
"People can take stuff. It's fiction. Real life is scarier than fiction. I think that's why most things are watered down, because we're second guessing what people at home can take. They can take it, seriously. And that's proved because when you deal with a taboo subject, people see themselves."
Ricky is currently working on a third and final series of the show.
And the stand-up star has admitted to being blown away by the reaction of fans, revealing that he even had some doubts before 'After Life' was launched on Netflix.
He confessed: "I've never had a reaction like this. Even I was worried."
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