This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Channel 4 has commissioned a full series of Ricky Gervais's one-off comedy drama Derek, about an autograph-hunting care-home worker.

Derek, starring, written and directed by Gervais and described by Channel 4 as a "bitter-sweet comedy drama about a group of outsiders living on society's margins", attracted criticism for allegedly mocking people with learning disabilities.

The one-off pilot broadcast in April attracted an overnight rating of 2.05 million viewers and a 10.2% audience share, which according to Channel 4 rose to 3.2 million as a consolidated figure, including Channel 4+1 viewing.

Channel 4 said Derek was its highest-rating scripted comedy for nearly two years.

The series will be broadcast in early 2013, with the cast members Karl Pilkington and Kerry Godliman returning.

Derek stars Gervais as the care-home worker Derek Noakes, billed by Channel 4 as a "tender, innocent man whose love for his job and the people he cares for shines through".

Gervais said: "David Brent was an egotistical, failed musician and the most annoying man in the world. Derek is a 50-year-old man with bad hair and clothes, whose best friend is a whingeing bald Manc twonk. Where do I get my ideas from?"

Shane Allen, the Channel 4 head of comedy who commissioned the show, said: "Ricky is a leading voice in British comedy and through Derek he captures and reflects something of the spirit of modern society.

"A kind-hearted character in a world which TV normally shies away from, it feels like a perfect new direction for Ricky. The pilot triggered an amazing response and Derek's story had only just begun so it's brilliant that we can explore this world and its beautifully drawn characters across a series."

Derek will be made by Derek Productions, with Charlie Hanson producing and director of photography duties taken by Martin Hawkins.