The Office moves to BBC One

MacKenzie Crook and Ricky Gervais star in The Office

Hit comedy The Office is transferring from BBC Two to BBC One when it returns for its final shows.

The show will swap channels for its festive specials, despite creator and star Ricky Gervais earlier calling BBC Two its "spiritual home".

Gervais, and co-creator Steven Merchant, have taken the sitcom's character David Brent to cult status but have decided the show should bow out on top.

Two 40-minute episodes to be screened at Christmas will be the last, according to Gervais.

The BBC has decided to switch the show to BBC One to ensure it has a bigger audience.

BBC director of television, Jana Bennett, said: "The fantastic writing and characters of The Office won a huge and loyal fan base when it appeared on BBC Two.

Tinsel

"We wanted to make sure that the widest number of viewers got a chance to watch the last two episodes ever, so we agreed that David Brent, Gareth and the team in Slough should make an appointment with BBC One this Christmas."

Ms Bennett added that successful comedies such as Absolutely Fabulous had started out on BBC Two before being offered to the other channel to reach a wider audience.

Merchant has promised the final outings for The Office would deliver the "same jokes, but with tinsel and David Brent in a Santa outfit".

The Office has won many TV and comedy awards since it first aired in 2001 including Baftas for best comedy performance and best sitcom.