Extras hit sends Ricky running

Good to see that Ricky Gervais has already got stuck into his new year's resolution - to shed some pounds and get fit - by puffing across Hampstead Heath in T-shirt and shorts on Monday morning, with a commando-style personal fitness instructor in tow. It must have been the exhilaration of learning that the last ever episode of Extras, broadcast the night before, had won the ratings war for its timeslot, with 5.3m viewers watching Ricky and best friend Maggie drive off into the sunset.

Or it might have been Gordon Ramsay's 'fat boy' insult ringing in his ears that got him going. The chef was one of several celebrities who took cameo roles in the last and darkest ever episode of Extras. They included George Michael, Lionel Blair and Clive Owen.

Gervais and his co-writer Stephen Merchant (pictured above with co-star Ashley Jensen) have used Extras to question the nature of celebrity, in the final episode quoting John Updike: "Fame is a mask that eats into your face". Nonetheless, Gervais in real-life clearly enjoys the trappings of fame: a newly-renovated house with underground pool - and a personal trainer who, Hampstead locals were amused to see, runs a deferential few paces behind him. ·