Ricky Gervais is promoting his new Netflix show Alley Cats which is an animation out on August 715:13, 28 Jul 2026Ricky Gervais looks like the cat that got the cream as he smiles alongside one of his new animated characters.‌And it is with good reason. With Netflix series Alley Cats he may well have got away with being ruder and more outrageous than ever And that’s because the comments - including lots of swearing - are coming from cartoon felines instead of human actors.‌“It would take a very special kind of person to complain about what a fictional cartoon cat thought of something, but it will happen,” Gervais says.‌“Please don’t be offended by anything these characters say or do. They can’t help it. They’re cats. So sometimes, they’re ****s.”Despite swearing at his cat creations, Ricky is well known as an animal lover and has joined The Mirror on campaigns in the past against animal cruelty.‌He has at least been partly inspired to write his new show by his own pet cat Pickle, a rescued tabby, who he shares with partner Jane Fallon.Gervais said: “I’ve never understood cruelty to animals. I think most people have that empathy towards animals, but it has to be nurtured and encouraged. I was born into it. My family loved animals, and grew up in a household with dogs and cats.“Cats are the only animals to domesticate themselves. They just wandered into humanity one day and said ‘Feed me, Bitch’. This happened about 10,000 years ago in Egypt where they were worshipped as gods. As everyone knows, they’ve never forgotten this. I’ve been obsessed with cats my entire life. They’re cool, funny, cuddly, violent, and indifferent - often all in the same minute.”‌The series follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of life.The six episodes, each lasting 15 minutes, started out as group improv sessions amongst the actors, who were very loosely using a script. Ricky used regular co-stars including Tom Basden, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Jo Hartley and Diane Morgan.‌He explains: “I cast my usual gang of comedy chums, because I know exactly what they’re capable of: they can stay in character, drive the plot, stick to the screenplay, and go completely off-piste whenever the moment demands it.”Once the audio was down, only then did the animation begin.The character Ricky voices is called Gus, a wise-cracking wheeler-dealer, and Pickle’s influence is in there.‌He said: “The first drawing I did of him was a fat, middle-aged bloke slouching on a sofa. I slouch all the time. And he’s mouthy, he’s opinionated, he talks about stuff he doesn’t really know about or care about. It’s all these bloke traits.“He talks like he’s the smartest bloke in the room, and he’s not. He’s a little bit Captain Mainwaring from Dad’s Army, a little bit Fletcher from Porridge, a little bit Del Boy from Only Fools And Horses. He’s a flawed character, and also that’s a staple of British comedy - the ordinary guy trying to do something. he’s not equipped to do.”But despite the jokey nature of the show, as with his huge 2022 hit series After Life, mortality and life and death does feature amongst the gags.‌Ricky said: “It’s always been important to me, ever since I first found out that this is all we’ve got: life is amazing, and then you die, so you better make the most of it. The first time a kid realises that death is forever is often when they lose a pet, and that’s when you have to explain what death means.“I really like the scene where the kitten sees a dead cat in the street, and it leads toa discussion about what death means: ‘It means you’ll never see him again.’‌“But then we undercut it with, ‘Actually, you probably will see him again, the bin men don’t come around until Thursday, unless the fox gets him’.”The famous myth is that cats have nine lives. And this group may well need all of them, as if the cartoons are a success, we will be seeing a lot more of them.Ricky said: “It’s the first thing I’ve ever created that I’d like to go on forever. I can see myself just‌making this show till I die.“The cats won’t age and it doesn’t matter how fat and old and bald I get. Someone can just put me in a chair with a microphone, surrounded by the rest of the cast, and off we go. It won’t really matter when senility kicks in as I’m usually talking b***ocks anyway. It’s the dream job.”* Alley Cats is launched on Netflix on Friday August 7.Article continues belowLike this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs onTikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTub and Threads.