Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home given share of £2.5m by Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais has announced he has donated almost £2.5m to a number of animal charities, including Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, from proceeds from his latest stand-up tour.

The comedian made the donation from extra profits made from platinum seating on his Mortality tour.

The 64-year-old said: “My mum always used to say ‘you can’t take it with you’, no I can’t mum. But I could’ve bought 30 speedboats and raced them round the Med with my mates, off our heads on weed and Bollinger. Anyway. Too late now.”

In a post on X, he added: “To celebrate my Mortality Tour, my Netflix Special, my Golden Globes nomination and the spirit of Christmas, I am donating £2.43m to animals. These are the lovely charities I’ve chosen. merry Christmas critters.”

In a post on social media, Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home said: “This is the best early Christmas present! We are completely floored and so thankful [Gervais] picked our Home along with so many brilliant animal charities. With rescue centres and rehoming organisations under more pressure than ever, support like this couldn’t have come at a better time.

“It’s given our team and the animals in our care, a wonderful boost when we needed it most. As we launch our Winter Appeal, this donation will also help to keep vulnerable animals safe, warm and cared for.

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting us and the animals who need it most. A big wet kiss to you from all our pets here!”

Gervais’s previous tour Armageddon, which won a Golden Globe, saw him give £1.9m to charity, and it means the total amount of donations made across his four recent specials is more than £5m.

Other charities receiving funds from Gervais include Libearty Sanctuary, Pangea, Wild Futures, All Dogs Matter, Dogs On The Streets, Paws2Rescue, Saving Strays, Chaldon Animal Sanctuary, Turgwe Hippo Trust, Safe Haven For Donkeys, and Catastrophes Cat Rescue.

PDSA, International Animal Rescue, Celia Hammond Animal Trust and Animals Asia will also receive funds, as well as Finding Shelter Animal Rescue, Flori’s Friends Animal Rescue, NYC Second Chance Rescue, Helping Rhinos, and Retreat Animal Rescue.

Four charities will receive £150,000, 17 charities will receive £100,000, and the remaining £132,000 will be donated to Nowzad.

Gervais’s Netflix special Mortality, which was nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance in stand-up comedy on television, streams globally on the platform from Tuesday December 30.

Along with his stand-up career, Gervais is known for co-creating, co-writing and starring in BBC sitcoms The Office, Extras, and Life’s Too Short with Stephen Merchant. He also created, wrote and starred in Channel 4’s Derek and Netflix’s After Life.