The opening scene, during which David Brent helps an applicant to a job in the warehouse by blatantly lying to the foreman, is based on a real-life experience Ricky Gervais had when he was 18 years old. While applying for temp jobs, a recruitment officer called an employer, whom he claimed was a very good friend, and blatantly lied about Gervais' age and the other applicants to get them the job. Gervais states that he was stunned that the man thought this could earn him the loyalty of his applicants when it only served to show how untrustworthy he was.
The pilot episode had a budget of £90,000.