WHEN Ricky Gervais, star of the BBC comedy The Office, quipped about Swindon breweries he never knew he would receive a crate of the town's famous bitter.

But George Arkell, son of Arkell's Brewery's managing director James Arkell, is today personally delivering a case of 3Bs bitter to the actor after Monday night's programme in which the main character David Brent shows his ignorance of Swindon's real ale heritage.

In the second episode of the new series, Brent feels paranoid that he is not popular with the new employees who have been relocated to Slough as a result of a merger with the Swindon office of the stationery firm.

Attempting to get into their good books he takes the 'Swindon mob' on a lunchtime drinking session.

Desperate to get the conversation flowing, he recommends a pint of Courage because it is brewed in Reading, close to where The Office is set, and asks his colleagues what breweries Swindon has to offer.

While every viewer in Swindon must have screamed Arkell's or Archers at their television sets, the new recruits remained silent, either because couldn't be bothered to talk to Brent or they had never been out for a drink in the town.

Ricky, who co-writes the satire with Stephen Merchant, said: "Brent doesn't know anything about breweries in Swindon, he doesn't do that kind of research. The people around the table were just too bored to care. Thank you very much for the offer of beer. It's great."

George, 23, who also works at the Kingsdown-based brewery, is keen that Ricky gets to know about one of Britain's oldest independent breweries. So much so that he was today going to BBC Television Centre in west London to drop off the beer.

He said: "It's a shame they didn't mention that the famous Arkell's Ales was based in Swindon.

"I am going to deliver the crate in person so we can educate them on the ways of real ale drinking in Swindon.

"Hopefully this will help them remember and they will give us a mention next time they talk about ales from Swindon.

"They might even go to an Arkell's pub instead of a Courage one. We have one in Theale as well as in Ascot next to the racecourse, quite near where the series is set.

"I think The Office is quite funny but the first series was much better. I do think Brent needs to improve his real ale experience and obviously the staff from Swindon didn't ever go out in the town."

John Arkell created the first beer in 1843. Arkell's continues to brew traditionally on site. The company employs around 150 staff and also runs a wine merchant's as well as support services for its pubs.

The town's other brewery, Archers, is based in Church-ward, near the Designer Outlet Village.