Ricky Gervais donates £2.5MILLION to animal charities from proceeds from his Mortality tour
Ricky Gervais has donated £2.5million to animal charities from the proceeds of his popular Mortality world tour.
The comedian, 64, divided the generous pre-Christmas donation between 22 charities – with some receiving up to £150,000 – beating his previous record of £1.9million to 11 organisations two years ago.
Announcing the gift, Mr Gervais posted on X: ‘To celebrate my Mortality Tour, my Netflix Special, my Golden Globes nomination & The Spirit of Christmas, I am donating £2.43 Million to Animals.
‘These are the lovely charities I’ve chosen. Merry Xmas Critters.’
He then revealed the lengthy list of organisations he was donating the money to, including The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), International Animal Rescue, Celia Hammond Animal Trust and Animals Asia, which will all be receiving £150k.
Nowzad, which provides animal welfare services in Afghanistan and Ukraine, will be handed £132k.
The Office star also made donations to a further 17 charities, which will all receive £100k.
Mr Gervais has long been a keen supporter of animal charities, donating a hefty £1.9million to various bodies following his successful Armageddon tour in 2023.
Ricky Gervais, pictured in May, has donated £2.5million to animal charities from the proceeds of his popular Mortality world tour
On that occasion, he divided the funds between 11 organisations but has cast his net even wider in the wake of Mortality’s lucrative run.
The After Life writer and actor said: ‘My mum always used to say “You can’t take it with you.” No I can’t mum. But I could’ve bought 30 speedboats and raced ’em round the Med with my mates, off our heads on weed and Bollinger. Anyway. Too late now.’
The Netflix version of the comedy tour, which took Mr Gervais to the Hollywood Bowl and New York City, will stream globally from December 30.
Last month, it was revealed that the comedian’s proposed new home on the banks of the River Thames is at risk of flooding which could result in ‘loss of life’, according to the Environment Agency.
Mr Gervais will have to gain a special flood permit and has been advised to sign up to a helpline if his plans are approved to demolish a £6m home in Marlow and replace it with a swanky mansion.
The Environment Agency is issuing the words of warning after previously objecting to his first planning application, which was refused in February, and he submitted a fresh one in September.
One of the major issues blocking Ricky’s bid to build a new home, complete with a gym and tennis court, is the risk of flooding, which even his own experts admit is a problem.
The Environment Agency has responded to Ricky’s team filing a flood risk assessment and said the depth of a potential flood could reach levels of just under one and a half metres – only slightly less than Ricky’s own height of 1m 73cm.
The comedian pictured in a promotional shot for his Mortality tour this year. He divided the generous pre-Christmas donation between 22 charities
Without evacuation procedures in place, the government agency warns that it could be fatally dangerous to the public and emergency services.
The doc adds: ‘We have considered the findings of the flood risk assessment in relation to the likely duration, depths, velocities and flood hazard rating against the design flood for the proposal.
‘We agree that this indicates that there will be a danger for all people (e.g. there will be danger of loss of life for the general public and the emergency services).’
Ricky’s flood experts created a report which admitted the issue, but said a ‘warning and evacuation plan will be prepared’ for Ricky and partner Jane Fallon.
The report concedes: ‘Flood depths on the site are expected to exceed 1 metre during the design flood event. Therefore, safe access from the site to an area outside the floodplain is not available.’
In the event of a ‘flood event’, the house itself ‘will be elevated to above the flood level’ and ‘create a safe haven during a flood’.
