Ricky Gervais has hit out at the way women are treated in the entertainment industry in an interview with the Radio Times.

He said that he loves to write complex female characters “because usually they’re props, particularly in comedy”.

“Even in Hollywood, they’re usually air heads or if they’re ambitious they’re straight away cold and need to be taught a lesson, They need to show that getting a man is more important than getting a career. Or they’re just props for men to do funny things.”

Gervais then talked about his childhood,

“People think that men rule the world but they don’t, really, That was never my experience growing up and certainly not at Broad Hill (the elderly care home in Derek). Men, when they’re together, revert to the playground.”

Derek returns for a second series on Channel 4 later this month.