Fetch the acoustic guitar and twiddle your TM Lewin tie, because 25 years ago we met David Brent - a friend first, boss second, probably an entertainer third. To mark the mockumentary’s silver jubilee, Martin Freeman and Mackenzie Crook are reuniting for a BBC documentary, while Ricky Gervais drops a retrospective on his YouTube channel. Here are 25 nuggets of trivia you probably didn’t know, one for each year of Slough-based brilliance. See you down Chasers.

Freeman originally auditioned for Gareth Keenan (the role went to Crook), but Gervais asked him to read for Tim Canterbury. The mute caretaker? That’s co-creator Stephen Merchant’s dad, Ron. Every episode includes a shot of a whirring photocopier from the exact same angle. The show nearly wasn’t recommissioned due to low ratings - the first series got the lowest ever BBC focus group score, joint bottom with women’s bowls that had been rained off. Olivia Colman’s cameo as a journalist was one of her first TV appearances. The show has been remade in 16 territories, including Mexico (where the boss is Jerónimo Ponce III) and Canadian French (where he’s David Gervais).

The record for most takes (74) was Tim’s appraisal with Brent, because Freeman kept corpsing at finger guns. Another scene requiring many takes: Tim making small talk with Big Keith, who bit into a scotch egg - actor Ewen MacIntosh went through two multipacks. Ruth Jones (later of Gavin & Stacey) was considered for Dawn. Gervais and Merchant originally planned to cast real people for supporting roles, then realized real people are terrible actors. They wanted Cat Stevens’ “Sitting” for the theme but settled on “Handbags and Gladrags.” Gareth is based on a bloke Gervais went to school with, who told him that cannibals show you porn to get an erection for more meat. The opening scene came from a real temp agency interview Gervais attended at 17. The lyric on Brent’s desk (“Money don’t make my world go round”) is from Des’ree’s “Crazy Maze” - she grew up in Slough. Props master Matt Wyles made 30 jellies with staplers in them for the jelly scene, and put stones in Tim’s shoes for the quiz episode.

In 2004, Germany’s ProSieben made a comedy called Stromberg so similar that the BBC threatened legal action; Gervais and Merchant got an “inspired by” credit. “It’s not like the Germans to just march in and take something that isn’t theirs,” said Gervais. Tim’s fourth-wall-breaking was inspired by Oliver Hardy; Merchant would shout “Do Oliver Hardy!” when Crook did something idiotic. Crook’s audition notes read “Cast. Hair clause.” Before the pilot, he went to a barbershop and asked for “the worst haircut you can think of.” The same actor plays the forklift driver hired in episode one and fired in episode six. Despite the naturalistic feel, 95% was scripted - but Brent’s dance was improvised: “I went berserk for 30 seconds, then had to sit down for 30 minutes.” The voice of the unseen BBC interviewer in the Christmas specials belongs to Ashley Jensen. The pilot had a voiceover by John Nettles. Gervais and Merchant’s favourite moment: Tim taking off his mic at the end of series two and telling Dawn how he feels - we never hear what he says. (She said no. Until she didn’t.)