The 90-minute show is part of the 45-year-old’s Fame Tour, and will play at the castle for one date only on the penultimate night of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The audience will pack an the arena constructed in the grounds for the annual military tattoo, which ends its month-long run the previous night.

This will be the award-winning writer and performer’s fourth Fringe, and he said he was delighted to be returning to Edinburgh.

He said: "It’s great to be back. I love Edinburgh and Scotland in general and I love castles," he said.

"In fact on this tour we stay out of town so we’ve stayed in a few castles."


Ricky makes US stand-up debut - May 21 2007
Ricky Gervais has performed his first full-length stand-up show in the US, delighting American fans with his trademark banter.

"I’m getting the hang of this stand-up lark now," he told the New York Daily News before his appearance last week.

"I’ve gotten to the stage that I always wanted to get to, and that’s being totally relaxed. Talking to 5,000 friends like you chat in the pub," he added.

"I don’t want to resort to catchphrases and funny wigs and comedy songs."

Tackling everything from charity work to nursery rhymes in his own inimitable style, Ricky’s 45-minute set at New York’s Tribeca Performing Arts Centre was the first of two warm-up gigs before his debut at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Having tailored half of his current UK stand-up tour with material from previous tours, Animals and Politics, for the US audience, Ricky received a rapturous reception.

And Ricky’s date at the Garden sold out in less than 24-hours, proving that he’s becoming as big a star in the US as he is at home.

Appearing in New York as part of the recent Highline Festival, curated by David Bowie, Ricky told the newspaper about his fondness for the singer-turned-tastemaker.

"It’s great that David Bowie has got behind something like this," said Ricky, who also worked with Bowie in Extras. "He’s always there, isn’t he? I think of him like this strange futuristic sort of genie in the basement - rather like The Man Who Fell To Earth. He knows about everything."

Ricky and Stephen in Baftas battle - April 11 2007
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will go head to head in the battle for TV Baftas, having both been nominated in the comedy performance category for their hit show Extras.

Ricky is up for the gong for his role as struggling actor-turned-sitcom star Andy Millman, while Stephen is in the running for his turn as incompetent agent Darren Lamb.

The pair have been nominated jointly on four occasions for their writing.

They are up against six-times nominee Dawn French for The Vicar Of Dibley and actress Liz Smith, 85, who is nominated for her role as Nana in the Royle Family.

Caroline Aherne’s special BBC1 episode of The Royle Family, The Queen Of Sheba, is also nominated for best situation comedy, alongside Green Wing and The IT Crowd, both on Channel 4, and Pulling on BBC3.

Dancing On Ice has been nominated for a Bafta for the first time and will battle it out in the entertainment programme category with fellow ITV show X Factor.

They are up against Andrew Lloyd Webber’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? (BBC1) and Derren Brown: The Heist (Channel 4).

Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale are all up for best continuing drama, with Emmerdale nominated for the first time in six years.