12 June 2023 , 08:53
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Ricky Gervais has ramped up the security at his shows after receiving death threats.
The comedian is upping protection due to criticism of some of his controversial gags.
At his record breaking Hollywood Bowl gig in the US last month, he had a "ring of steel" protecting him after fearing he could be shot on stage.
It's thought that his team have now ordered a full security review ahead of his UK tour Armageddon, which is set to kick off on Wednesday in Cardiff.
The 61-year-old is set to talk about God, Hitler and the culture of offence in his shows.
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A source revealed that Ricky has received letters in the past threatening his safety.
Ricky will have more security at his shows (Getty Images)They told The Sun : "Ricky has been made aware threats have been made to his life. His offices haven’t shown them to him, but have told him very disturbing letters have come in for him.
"Ricky is very aware of the dangers and he can afford whatever security he wants, so he thought it was a no-brainer."
It has been reported that at least one of the threat Ricky has received was in relation to comments in his Netflix show SuperNature that were slammed by LGBTQ+ activists for being "anti-trans".
The star, who has a net worth of an estimated £136million, earned £1.41million at the Hollywood Bowl on May 6 which is the highest-grossing single gig by a British comedian.
Ahead of the show, security were in the crowd and checked the arena beforehand.
This comes after Ricky feared he may have cancer after a mystery illness.
The Office star suffered from vomiting, sweats and chills after falling sick in what he called the worst experience of his life.
It was so bad the comic even questioned if he had been poisoned.
He went down with the horror mystery bug earlier this month and didn't hold back when he told his followers the details.
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Ricky said: "I'm not well today. In fact I'd say I just lived through the worst 8 hours of illness of my life.
"Severe abdominal pains, vomiting every time I moved, (but only tiny bits of bile), hot sweats and chills, oh, and I really want to know who planted the 12 gravy bombs up my a**e."