Gervais defends dwarfism sitcom

Ricky Gervais. Photo / Supplied

Ricky Gervais has defended his new sitcom centred around Warwick Davis, insisting he doesn't rely on the dwarf actor's short stature for the show's jokes.

Gervais and his writing partner Stephen Merchant recruited the Harry Potter star, who was born with dwarfism, for upcoming TV comedy Life's Too Short, about a dwarf actor running a struggling showbiz agency.

But The Office funnyman told Britain's Absolute Radio Breakfast Show he doesn't poke fun at Davis' disability in the series.

"This is nothing to do with his height. We're not getting jokes out of him being short all the time, we're getting jokes out of him being militant or ripping off other dwarves. He runs an agency, both in real life and in this one. In this one it's called Dwarves for Hire and of course he's just ripping them off. He's getting all the best jobs for himself and he treats them like commodities and props.

"It's not the real Warwick Davis, he's not really like that. We've created a character here, a little Mussolini (dictator). And it's not all jokes about his height, it's much more about his character."

Gervais previously worked with Davis on a 2005 episode of his TV hit Extras.

-AAP