HE started out in the shadow of RICKY GERVAIS, playing the bit part of lanky oddball Nathan Oggy in their hit comedy The Office.
But now Stephen Merchant has officially out-performed his former writing partner in the last year.
I can reveal the funnyman is Britain’s top-earning comedian over the past 12 months and has rocketed past Ricky and Phoenix Nights legend Peter Kay.
Stephen is now sitting on a staggering £26.6million, thanks to recent TV shows including BBC comedy drama The Outlaws.
New paperwork revealed Stephen has a number of TV production companies, with his primary business, SJJM Ltd, holding £25,146,362 in assets alone. The figure is up £3million from £22,601,013 in the previous year, while his other businesses have also helped boost his coffers.
Stephen previously shot down claims he was worth £40million, though I don’t think he will be losing sleep with 26 million big ones to his name.
Earlier this year, I revealed how Ricky had also stashed away a small fortune and has £24.4million in his accounts. His near sell-out Armageddon tour also included a night at the Hollywood Bowl in May. The gig made history as the highest-grossing single performance by a British stand-up comic, earning Ricky £1.4million from that one night.
Speaking earlier this year, Stephen admitted he would like to turn back the clock and become an unknown again.
He said: “The unique thing about The Office was that no one knew who we were, so there were no expectations.
“You’re not thinking about the papers or about the audience. You’re just thinking, ‘This is fun, let’s get it made’. It’s hard to get back to that moment.”
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I think the size of his bank balance will rather soften the blow.
Exes have plen-Tay to discuss
SOMETHING tells me Joe Jonas’ ears would have been burning on Tuesday night after his soon-to-be ex-wife Sophie Turner had dinner with another of his old flames.
Game Of Thrones star Sophie was spotted arm in arm with Taylor Swift as they strolled into the Via Carota restaurant in New York.
Bad Blood singer Taylor briefly dated Joe in 2008 and is said to have penned her song Mr Perfectly Fine about him after he allegedly dumped her by phone.
I’m sure the girls had lots to talk about after Joe and Sophie announced they were ending their four-year marriage. Sophie’s had a rough ride since the split, but no doubt Taylor will make her smile again.
And knowing Tay, she’ll probably be penning a song to help Sophie have her say.
Meanwhile, the singer’s other exes will be nervously waiting to see if any of the four new tracks she confirmed yesterday for 1989 Taylor’s Version, out October 27, are about them.
Tom’s wed and going for burn
FIVE years after he popped the question to long-term girlfriend Annie Watson-Foulds, Tom Walker has finally tied the knot.
In an exclusive chat ahead of his new single Burn, out tomorrow, the Leave The Light On star revealed the pair quietly said “I do” this summer after a tough few months.
Tom said: “We got married earlier this year and it was amazing.
“We had our dream wedding, then we went away and did a road trip around Europe. We went to France, Switzerland and to Italy, and that was absolutely perfect.”
The run-up to the couple’s big day was not as smooth as he might have hoped, after Tom clashed with record label bosses over the follow-up to his 2019 No1 debut album What A Time To Be Alive.
He explained: “I was writing for so long and giving the label song after song, only to be told it wasn’t good enough.
“And there is only so many times you can hear that before it starts to eat away at your soul.
“I just lost it. Nothing was quite good enough and it was like being beaten around the head with a baseball bat time and time again.”
After tearing up his hard work, Tom went to LA and worked on new tracks including Burn – the album’s emotionally charged first single – which got the green light from execs.
He said: “I needed to be passionate, honest and truthful. I needed to get back to using songwriting like a kind of therapy.
“The boys I worked with on Burn, we wrote nearly all of it in two weeks. After writing for four years, we did 60 per cent of the second album in two weeks.
“Me and the label are on good terms now. They are really excited and energised by all the new music so I am glad I persevered. The pain was all worth it.”
Burn is brilliant, Tom, so it definitely was.
Paris is tickled pink
PARIS HILTON looked pretty in pink as she stepped out in Italy for Milan Fashion Week.
She joined stars including actress Dakota Fanning and Elvis’s former wife Priscilla Presley at a dinner thrown by brand Chanel to celebrate the launch of the Sofia Coppola Archive: 1999-2023 at the Chateau Marmont.
Heiress and DJ Paris looked elegant in a smart pink and black top and skirt, which she wore with a £2,000 Chanel handbag.
You can say what you want about Paris, but she’s always on brand.
Ed’s hack for hiding from fans
FANS would have a tough time if they ever tried to find Ed Sheeran’s dressing room at one of his gigs.
The superstar’s pal, Irish singer Cian Ducrot, has revealed how Ed labels his room as a “broom cupboard” after being taught the trick by the Rolling Stones.
In an exclusive chat, Cian said: “Ed told me to label dressing rooms something that they aren’t.
“I assumed it was a joke and then he told me this Rolling Stones story.
“One time he said he was backstage with the Stones and was like, ‘Why do you all have Broom Closet and Utility Room on your dressing room?’.
“And they said, ‘In case a crazy person breaks in backstage, they’re not looking for the utility room – they’re looking for the artist’s name’.”
Gaga digs at her dad during gig
LADY GAGA used her latest Las Vegas gig to take a swipe at her dad Joe Germanotta.
The Bad Romance singer told fans at her Jazz & Piano residency: “I’ve learned everything from all the women in my life.
“While my dad called me irresponsible all the time, my mum taught me everything.”
Gaga and her dad, who runs a restaurant in New York, now have a strained relationship after once being as thick as thieves. Joe is reported to pocket 50 per cent of Gaga’s earnings in a highly unusual deal.
During her rise to the top, Gaga couldn’t stop heaping praise on her old man.
In 2010, she said: “I’m married to my dad. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.
“I’ve been in my father’s arms for two weeks, wishing him a Happy Father’s Day.”
Pup Idol Liam
OASIS tough-nut Liam Gallagher has finally had his heart softened…by a rescue dog he saved from Thailand.
The star found Buttons through Niall Harbison, who appeared on This Morning earlier this month to speak about the sanctuary he owns.
Liam revealed he took on Buttons on Twitter and joked: “I sing Wonderwall to her. He also thanked Niall, telling him: You’re a top lad buttons is biblical.
“Thanks once again, love you long time.”
Sharing Buttons’ story online, Niall said: “She was the only dog to ever invite herself into the little sanctuary as she had no food and nowhere to live.
“She had been deemed no longer cute enough by her family who moved on and left her there.”
Lucky that Liam fell in love with her then.
HE made a name for himself as the Prince of Darkness and it seems Ozzy Osbourne can be just as tough at home with his grandchildren.
The Black Sabbath rocker’s son has revealed how Ozzy laid down the law with Jack and his four daughters, admitting he refuses to change nappies and won’t let the kids in his bedroom.
Jack said: “My dad’s in that era where, like, men don’t touch diapers. Like, that’s not that’s not what dads do. It’s funny. If my kids are at the house and like they all want to get into bed and watch TV with my mum Sharon, my dad is like, ‘Nope.’ And he gets out of the bed and he’s like, ‘No, I’m not doing that.’
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“I’m like, ‘Why?’ He’s like, ‘I don’t want them going to school being like, ‘I was in bed with my grandpa.’
“I’m like, ‘Fine, that’s your boundary. ‘”
