UK’s highest-paid comedian revealed – and it’s not Ricky Gervais

nme.com:

The Office co-creator Stephen Merchant has been named as the UK’s richest comedian, beating fellow co-creator Ricky Gervais and stand-up legend Peter Kay to the top spot.According to new reports, Merchant boasts a net worth of £26.6million.

The 48-year-old, who is best known for co-writing The Office and Extras with Gervais, has enjoyed huge financial success from his subsequent TV shows The Outlaws and Life’s Too Short.Merchant is now believed to be richer than Gervais, who has a reported net worth of £24.4million.

Peter Kay, meanwhile, comes in at third with an estimated £22million to his name.It’s understood that the vast majority of Merchant’s fortune comes from his numerous TV production businesses, with his main company, SJJM LTD, being worth over £25million alone.

Its value only increased in the past year, jumping by £3million between 2021 and 2022.In 2017, Merchant shut down rumours that he was worth £40million, dismissing the reports as “FAKE NEWS!” He also claimed he was worth much less than the speculated figure, but did not specify the amount.Stephen Merchant’s production company publishes results and made profits for the year of £2.5m, taking total profits to £25m and nearly £8m in the bank.