The furore surrounding Ricky Gervais’s latest comic creation has overshadowed what is ultimately a sweet-natured story – a simple, slice-of-life tale about a group of people working in a retirement home, writes Heather Broome.

Gervais takes on title the role of Derek (Channel 4), a kind, sensitive soul, who appears to have learning difficulties – hence a flurry of accusations that he is mocking the afflicted. The comedian has refuted this, insisting Derek is just a nerd who is not very bright.

A keen autograph hunter and telly addict, Derek works in the home along with his soft-hearted, lonely best friend Hannah (played superbly by Kerry Godliman) and his lugubrious landlord Dougie (Karl Pilkington basically playing himself, while sporting a hideous hairpiece).

Billed as a one-off comedy drama, the show straddled the two genres with a degree of discomfort. There were no laugh-out-loud moments, so it might have worked better if it had gone all out for heart-tugging drama. The slapstick elements were unnecessary – did we really need to see Derek sitting on a pudding and getting custard all over his backside?

He also falls into a pond and rips his clothes off, running naked through the home as he panics about leeches.

It was the drama and associated pathos where things started to shine. Derek returns from buying lottery tickets for his favourite resident, Joan, only to be told that she has died. He sits and holds her hand and the tears in his eyes and tremor in his voice show Gervais is not just a comedy clown – he can really act.

And so can Kerry Godliman, who threatened to steal the show altogether. Her acting was so good that for a second you could have been forgiven for thinking the mockumentary was real. She brought pathos to her role, and Hannah’s wonky attempt to find love – with Derek’s “help” – was wryly amusing and ended on a heartwarming note.

The show seemed to be an attempt by Gervais to get back to basics – to ditch the celebrities that peppered Extras and Life’s Too Short, and focus on the unsung heroes instead. For once, the spectre of David Brent that has loomed large over Gervais’s previous work appeared to have dissipated.

Derek, unlike Brent, is completely selfless. He genuinely cares for the elderly people he looks after and has a childlike innocence, making him vulnerable in a society where first impressions are based on appearances.

And what an appearance. It wasn’t always comfortable viewing, watching a hunched Gervais shuffling around, jaw jutting out and teeth gnashing, hair greased forward. In short, it was too grotesque – he would have done better playing it straight, particularly after the storm of controversy he has recently weathered.

Let’s not forget Twitter-gate last year, when he was strongly criticised for using a taboo word associated with Down’s Syndrome, even though he insisted its meaning had changed.

If Derek is not disabled, he is different – and becomes a target for cruel jibes. A group of spiteful young women (they are listed as “chavs” in the credits) begin loudly proclaiming him a tramp as he enjoys a drink in the pub with Hannah. At this point, the super-gentle Hannah gets up and headbutts one of them. Was this supposed to be funny, or was it Gervais’s way of showing how he really feels about such prejudice?

He clearly wants us to love his eponymous character, and despite the naysayers in the press, and his over-the-top performance, it’s obvious his heart was in the right place when he penned the script.

What do you think? Was Ricky Gervais on or off target with Derek? Have your say below.