Editing Stephen Merchant (section)

===Early career===
Merchant began his career performing stand-up comedy at Bristol's Comedy Box, where, he recalled: "The first week I did really well. The second week I died on my arse. I realised that stand-up was not that easy after all."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Byrnes |first1=Sholto |title=Stephen Merchant: The Office boy |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/stephen-merchant-the-office-boy-299623.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/stephen-merchant-the-office-boy-299623.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=19 August 2018 |work=Independent |date=17 July 2005}}</ref> He also appeared as a contestant on a 1997 episode of the TV game show ''[[Blockbusters (UK game show)|Blockbusters]]''<ref>{{cite web|title=I'll have a TV career please, Bob: four famous contestants|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2012-05-14/ill-have-a-tv-career-please-bob-four-famous-blockbusters-contestants|publisher=Radio Times|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> and worked for a short time as a DJ for [[Radio Caroline]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Stephen Merchant |url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/s/33386/stephen_merchant?review=33386&type=3 |access-date=19 November 2015 |website=[[Chortle]] |publisher=}}</ref>

Merchant met [[Ricky Gervais]] for the first time in 1997 when Gervais (in the position Head of Speech at the radio station [[XFM London]]), hired Merchant as his assistant.<ref name=telegraph>{{cite news|last1=Harvey|first1=Chris|title=Stephen Merchant interview: 'I'll probably get in trouble for saying this...'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/11700874/stephen-merchant-interview-mentalists.html|access-date=19 November 2015|work=Telegraph|date=27 June 2015}}</ref> Gervais later said that he had called Merchant for an interview because it was the first [[Curriculum vitae|CV]] handed to him. Merchant and Gervais hosted a Saturday afternoon radio show together from January  to August 1998, when both of them left XFM as it was bought by the [[Capital Radio Group]]. In the same year, Merchant was a finalist at ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' Open Mic Awards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stephen Merchant Stands Up|date=20 March 2007|url=http://londonist.com/2007/03/stephen_merchan|publisher=Londonist|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>

Merchant worked for seven months at XFM 104.9. The Saturday show never had a large audience. Gervais said: "It's a tinpot radio station... It's not even the biggest radio station in the building." He created the features 'Hip Hop Hooray', 'Make Ricky Gervais Laugh' and 'Song for the Ladies'. After leaving XFM, Merchant began a production course at the BBC. As part of his coursework, he enlisted Gervais to perform in a 30-minute short film, "Seedy Boss", which became the earliest inspiration for their mock documentary ''[[The Office (UK TV series)|The Office]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Jeffries|first1=Stuart|title=The Guardian profile: Ricky Gervais|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profiles/story/0,,1250074,.html|access-date=19 November 2015|work=Guardian|date=30 January 2004}}</ref> They collaborated on a sitcom pilot called ''[[Golden Years (Comedy Lab)|Golden Years]]'' featuring a manager suffering a mid-life crisis. It aired on Channel 4's ''[[Comedy Lab]]'' series in September 1998,<ref>{{cite web|title=Comedy Lab: Season 2, Episode 6 Golden Years|date=8 September 1999|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475285/|publisher=IMDB|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref> but the show failed to find further success.