Martin Freeman Says The Office Cast Added Lines Beyond Scripts

Martin Freeman said The Office contained contributions from the cast that went beyond the original scripts. The 54-year-old actor, who played Tim Canterbury, spoke on the BBC Two program Remember... The Office, which marked the show's 25th anniversary alongside Mackenzie Crook.

GB News reported that Freeman challenged statements by co-creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant that none of the dialogue was improvised. "When it became the monster that it did, because it sounded improvised, understandably Ricky and Stephen went, 'No, none of it is improvised,'" Freeman said.

" Freeman said published scripts of the series were transcriptions of the broadcast version rather than the pages written before filming.

"What slightly annoyed me at the time is when the scripts were published, they weren't the scripts, they were the transcriptions of what had been on telly," he stated. " He credited the writing while noting the collaborative process. "The writing on it was brilliant but you only need to know us a little bit or know the process of it, to know we're also in there," Freeman said.

Ricky Gervais did not appear in the BBC program. A representative for Gervais said he "was not available" and there is "no rift" with the BBC. Gervais is instead producing his own retrospective documentary scheduled to premiere on his YouTube channel for the anniversary.

Stephen Merchant also did not take part in the BBC special.