Ricky Gervais dreams of getting a dog.

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais

The 'Office' creator - who has been in a relationship with author Jane Fallon for 36 years - has everything he could want in his life, apart from a canine companion, but because he and his partner are too busy to give a pet the attention it would need, they opt to "hang out" in local parks to meet mutts instead.

Asked what he wants that he doesn't have, he said: "A dog. One day, hopefully, we'll be able to have one, but we're too busy at the moment.

"So Jane and I go to the dog pond in Hampstead or we go to Central Park when we're in New York and hang out with the dogs there. I love them.

"The greatest privilege is to have a dog that loves you unconditionally.

"My dream is to have a big house in the woods and be surrounded by animals and big dogs."

After becoming a household name 17 years ago, the 57-year-old comic insists he hasn't changed too much because he's had the same goals and outlook on life since he was a child.

He said: "I still like all the same things and I still want to get up every day and have as much fun as I can before I die.

"But I've thought that way since I was eight.

"For many of those years, I was absolutely f***ing poor but I am lucky that mucking about has become my job."

Ricky is a big fan of reality TV shows but has to "ration" how much he watches.

He told heat magazine: "I ration myself. I don't watch 'Next Top Model' or 'Love Island'.

"Not because I think they're bad, but because I don't have time.

"I still watch 'The Apprentice' and I'll probably watch the next 'Big Brother'.

"Even then, I want them to take out all the bits where they're nice to each other and go, 'OK, here's them fighting and crying' because that's why we watch it, let's be honest."