Featured Image Credit: atalie Seery/Netflix/PA
Topics: Ricky Gervais, TV and Film
Emily Brown
After Life, people f**king up and Ricky Gervais' laugh. If you can make it through these outtakes without at least smiling, then you must be a robot.
The creator of the hilarious and heartbreaking Netflix show took to Twitter to share the bloopers this week after the much-loved series came to an end last year. So, if you've been missing Tony and his mish-mash group of supportive friends, then look no further:
The outtakes shared this week came from the second series of the show which aired in 2020. During one particular scene the employees at the Tambury Gazette are enjoying some birthday cake in the office, with James declaring to the group exactly how good it is.
They're trying their best to get through the cake, but the combination of James shoving it in his mouth, Pat encouraging him to have more and all of them desperately trying to keep a straight face makes the entire scene near impossible to get through.
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The outtakes shared by Gervais this week show Ethan Lawrence, who played James, bursting into laughter again and again with a mouthful of cake, while the rest of the cast break down around him.
Gervais' infectious laughter can be heard even from behind the camera as things get more and more chaotic, to the point where Pat and James are trying to feed each other and Pat likens James to a 'fat toad eating a big worm'.
It's unclear exactly how many takes the cast did, but Gervais revealed on Twitter that it's the only scene he's ever had to film 'over two days because [he] ran out of time on the first'.
He also admitted that the scene is 'absolutely pointless' other than allowing him to see Lawrence eat cake, but both Lawrence and fans of the show are very glad Gervais went ahead with the scene.
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Responding to the clip, Lawrence wrote: "Now we’re three years removed from shooting it I feel I can ask the question: was it worth it? Yes."
Viewers have described the outtakes as 'priceless' and 'brilliant', with one writing: "I cried laughing watching this and more at the blooper."
The isn't the first time the video of the cake-eating bloopers has gone viral, but obviously that doesn't make it any less funny. After the video was first posted in 2020, Gervais noted that it took him 'months' to write the series, but it was '2 idiots eating cake [who] steal the show'. With this performance, it was impossible for them not to.