Bad day at the US Office

The original was a hit on both sides of the pond - but an attempt to open up an American branch of The Office looks doomed to failure. A test audience who saw a pilot of the US version of the hit comedy came away saying they hated it.

NBC has brought in American comedian Steve Carell to step into Ricky Gervais's role as David Brent and the network hopes the show can exploit the cult success of the original.

But one reviewer, Derek Flint, attacked the new version, saying: 'The acting lacks the masterful underplaying of Gervais and company. A guy tries to fill Ricky's shoes and can't. I don't think many of the test group were as familiar with the original series as I was. Still, it was painfully clear that nobody was liking it.'

But Gervais, the show's creator, praised the US version. 'It's very flattering that it is faithful to ours,' he said. 'Carell plays a different Brent and that's good.'