And Ricky’s date at the Garden sold out in less than 24-hours, proving that he’s becoming as big a star in the US as he is at home.

Appearing in New York as part of the recent Highline Festival, curated by David Bowie, Ricky told the newspaper about his fondness for the singer-turned-tastemaker.

"It’s great that David Bowie has got behind something like this," said Ricky, who also worked with Bowie in Extras. "He’s always there, isn’t he? I think of him like this strange futuristic sort of genie in the basement - rather like The Man Who Fell To Earth. He knows about everything."

Ricky and Stephen in Baftas battle - April 11 2007
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will go head to head in the battle for TV Baftas, having both been nominated in the comedy performance category for their hit show Extras.

Ricky is up for the gong for his role as struggling actor-turned-sitcom star Andy Millman, while Stephen is in the running for his turn as incompetent agent Darren Lamb.

The pair have been nominated jointly on four occasions for their writing.

They are up against six-times nominee Dawn French for The Vicar Of Dibley and actress Liz Smith, 85, who is nominated for her role as Nana in the Royle Family.

Caroline Aherne’s special BBC1 episode of The Royle Family, The Queen Of Sheba, is also nominated for best situation comedy, alongside Green Wing and The IT Crowd, both on Channel 4, and Pulling on BBC3.

Dancing On Ice has been nominated for a Bafta for the first time and will battle it out in the entertainment programme category with fellow ITV show X Factor.

They are up against Andrew Lloyd Webber’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? (BBC1) and Derren Brown: The Heist (Channel 4).

Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale are all up for best continuing drama, with Emmerdale nominated for the first time in six years.

The British Academy Television Awards, sponsored by Pioneer, take place at the London Palladium on May 20 and will be broadcast on BBC1.

Ricky takes to the floor with Travolta- Mar 30 2007
It’s hardly the tango, but John Travolta and Ricky Gervais have created a dance all of their own.

The two disco icons took to the floor together to strut their funky stuff in a sequence that has fortunately - or not - been captured on camera.

The Wild Hogs star reprised the 70s moves that made him a household name in Saturday Night Fever - while Ricky did his best to match him by resurrecting the infamous ’David Brent dance’ that featured in series two of The Office (yes, again).

The unlikely partners performed while filming tonight’s episode of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, where the actor also revealed that he’s been offered a guest role in the last ever episode of Extras.

He told Jonathan Ross: "I’ll probably do anything Ricky Gervais says."

And this is despite having seen the comedian dance...

Books by Kay and Gervais win awards - Mar 29 2007
TV comics Peter Kay and Ricky Gervais were winners at the Galaxy British Book Awards, see photos.

Gervais, star of The Office and Extras, won the Children’s Book of the Year prize for his cartoon creations Flanimals of the Deep.

Kay beat Gordon Ramsay to the Biography of the Year award with his best-selling memoir, The Sound of Laughter.