I'm no expert, but I've always been under the impression that when you have a child, it's sort of expected that you never, ever want bad words to be directed at them in any way, shape or form. Well, it appears Debbie Bastable is unfazed by such trivial concerns.
Debbie claims she's 'so proud' after her nine-year-old son went viral for his starring role in a NSFW comedy clip - in which he called Ricky Gervais a paedophile and was dubbed a 'tubby little ginger c**t' in return. Classic.
A clip for the comedian's new Netflix show After Life has already racked up more than 4,500,000 views on social media - and a fair share of controversy has come with it.
But postwoman Debbie, from Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, is more pleased than most because the programme features her son Thomas Bastable, a Year Five pupil and keen actor.
The preview clip for the show, which airs on 8 March, shows Gervais walking past a school while an overweight bully, played by Thomas, shouts 'paedo' - to which he retaliates: "I'm not a paedo, and if I was, you'd be safe, you tubby little ginger c**t."
The sweary teaser clip has divided the Internet, with opponents claiming it is deeply politically incorrect while fans found it to be a hilarious taste of what was to come from the new programme.
Mum-of-two and step-mum-of-three Debbie said while she was proud of her son's starring role, which she defended as 'only acting', she would be vetting the show to make sure it was appropriate before he'd be allowed to watch it.
Debbie said: "My son plays a school bully called Robbie in a few episodes, and he fights with Ricky Gervais. A clip of them has attracted 4.5 million views.
"It's quite harsh and it's been a little controversial, but I'm very proud of him. I can understand it to a point because the lines are harsh things to say, but it's just a show and it's only acting.
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"Ricky didn't actually say it to Thomas' face and if people get offended, don't watch it. There are movies out there which show kids getting murdered and abused - this is hardly anything.
"The insults were actually filmed separately, and Thomas had to wear padding to make himself look bigger. I will let him watch it because he's in it - it's swearing, that's all it is.
"I'm going to watch it beforehand to make sure it's 100 percent safe, though."
Debbie put Thomas forward after seeing the opportunity on Twitter - before Ricky Gervais himself picked out the youngster.
The show follows the story of a man who loses his wife and plans to kill himself - but decides not to and instead decides to tell everybody what he thinks of them.
After the clip went viral, Ricky tweeted Debbie to tell her her son was 'a lovely little chap in real life'.
Thomas, who has a twin sister called Molly who now also wants to be famous, said: "It's really fun and amazing. He [Ricky Gervais] was really nice and very friendly, it's super cool.
"My friends know I'm in it, but they haven't watched it, It was really shocking to be picked and it was very lucky. It wasn't very scary to act at all, I enjoyed shooting the scenes and it was very fun, but it was a long day."
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Debbie added: "Acting is what Thomas wants to do. He was absolutely fantastic. It's boosted his confidence no end so it's all been positive. It's really good for him to do.
"If Thomas featured in the show again, that would be amazing. It's a big thing and we're all very proud of him."
Featured Image Credit: Netflix/After LifeTopics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Ricky Gervais