He is a fervent and outspoken atheist - so Father's Day presented a religious conundrum that Ricky Gervais simply couldn't resist addressing.

The comedian took to Twitter on Saturday to engage "God" in conversation and this is what happened:

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Gervais responded:

In another deleted tweet "God" said: "No, @rickygervais, I'm not English. I save your queen purely out of the goodness of my heart."

The comedian went on to ask questions about rock and roll and light before later tweeting: