Comedian Ricky Gervais has apologised to fans after tickets to his upcoming London shows as Office character David Brent sold out in just 60 seconds. 

The hotly-anticipated gigs will see the fictional Brent and his backing band Foregone Conclusion playing two intimate gigs at London's Bloomsbury Theatre. 

So huge was the demand for tickets that Gervais took to Twitter to say:

OK, so apparently, the Brent tickets sold out in under a minute. How is that even possible? Sorry.

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) October 1, 2013

Luckily, I held back a few pairs of tickets for various competitions for fans. There's still hope :)

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) October 1, 2013

Describing what to expect from the gigs, a spokesman said: "The audience will get to enjoy songs, performed live for the first time, from Brent’s back catalogue including ‘Free Love Freeway', ‘Spaceman Came Down’, ‘Slough’, ‘Life on The Road’ and ‘Ain’t No Trouble’."

David Brent and Foregone Conclusion present A Work In Progress be at Bloomsbury Theatre in London on Monday 14 October and Wednesday 23 October 2013. For more information visit Gigwise gig tickets.