London Zoo won't grant Ricky Gervais his dying wish of being eaten by lions

Poor auld Ricky

The comedian will have to look elsewhere if he wants a painful, grisly death in his old age.

In case you missed it recently, Ricky Gervais joined Conan O'Brien for another heavy yet totally tongue in cheek outlook at life. And because of his response to death, London Zoo has assured him that they won't be granting his one dying wish.

Discussing why his Netflix series 'After Life' has been so successful - because it deals with taboo subjects we all deal with in life - the comic landed on how he would like to die.

He said to the TV show host: "I don't care about being dead, because I won't know about it. That is the best thing about being dead. It's like being stupid - it's only painful for others.

"I don't want to die an embarrassing death... I thought it would be good to be just fed to the lions at London Zoo. That would be useful, isn’t it? We never give anything back.

"At least then… I’d like the look on the tourists’ faces when they throw this dead, fat, naked, 73-year-old, maybe, if I’m lucky, to the lions, and as it lands some people go, 'is that the bloke from 'The Office'?' they go, 'what, Steve Carell?' 'No not f**king Steve Carell. He’s much fatter than Steve Carell'."

Unfortunately for Ricky, London Zoo has heard his request and have swiftly denied it, saying the comic would be "a bit grisly" for their lions.

According to MailOnline, Kathryn England, the Chief Operating Officer of London Zoo said: "I suspect Ricky may be a bit gristly for our lions.

"But we are struggling financially because of lockdown so if anyone wants to 'give something back' we welcome donations that will help us keep our lions fed on a more suitable diet."

In a similar vain, Dublin Zoo asked for donations towards the attraction before the Christmas period in order to keep them afloat.

Here's the Ricky Gervais interview from earlier this week in case you missed it, where there's also a lengthy discussion about dying in wardrobes.

Gervais will be returning for a final, third season of his Netflix series 'After Life' in the future. In September last year, the comedian and writer released a picture on his Instagram account with a second draft script for season three, simply saying "Cheers".