Ricky Gervais makes surprise Leeds United claim in discussion about his love of football on The Overlap

Gervais is not a famous figure commonly associated with football but recently made a guest appearance on popular podcast The Overlap.

Speaking to football icons Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Jill Scott, Gervais explained how he had rediscovered his passion for the sport during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Leeds are among the clubs to have had documentaries centred around them and Gervais explained how the fly-on-the-wall shows had sparked his interest.

He said: “What really got me back into (football), was a documentary, is it Sunderland Till’ I Die?

“The fact that it was like a religion to them, the whole community was involved, I thought it was a really well-made thing.

“I watched the Man City one, then I watched the Leeds one, then I watched the (Mikel) Arteta one and I was hooked, and now I’m fascinated with it - I watch every game that’s on TV, I absolutely love it again.”

The first series of ‘Take Us Home: Leeds United’ followed Marcelo Bielsa’s first season at Elland Road, which ended in play-off heartbreak in 2019.

The second series followed the 2019/20 season, which was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic but ended in promotion for the Whites.

Leeds spent three seasons in the top flight before suffering relegation back to the Championship in 2023.