Derek Noakes

Derek Noakes is a character played by Ricky Gervais. Derek first appeared in a short for the 2001 Edinburgh show "Rubbernecker's". The show also featured fellow comedians Jimmy Carr and Robin Ince who were quoted as saying that Derek was their favourite character. At the time of the short Derek is 39 years old and living with his Nan, who he refers to as his Mum. Derek has aspirations of becoming a stand up comedian. Derek appears to be a religious man and can be seen praying and talking about Jesus.

Comedy Central Promo

In early 2011 Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant appeared in a brief promo for Comedy Central to promote The Office (US Series). In the short clip Ricky seems to be portraying a character very similar to that of Derek. This is particularly apparent when he says the name's "Robbie Williams" and "Jesus", both mentioned as people Derek likes in the original short.

Sitcom

As of October 2011 Ricky began casting the pilot for a sitcom based around Derek. Ricky even mentioned the possibility of a movie.