Ricky Gervais has revealed he would want to die before his partner as he believes he’d be ‘terrible’ in the face of grief – a comment that prompted an unexpected reaction from his on-screen pet from After Life, who had joined him for his interview on The One Show last night. Take a look below:
Gervais, 60, was speaking to presenters Alex Scott and Alex Jones about how he might feel if he lost his partner, television producer-turned author Jane Fallon, having been asked whether he’d learnt to appreciate her more after creating the Netflix show, which has just concluded with its third series.
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He replied: “My first thought was, what would happen if you lost everything? You can do what you want and there will be no consequences.
“I had to think, ‘What’s it like to lose everything?’ And to me, it’s your soul mate, your life partner. So that’s where it came from.”
Gervais continued: “I’d be terrible. You know, I want to go first – which is selfish, but I do. I don’t want to-”
At that point, Anti cut Gervais off with a sad whimper, prompting everyone in the studio to let out a collective ‘Aww!’
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Putting his arm around the dog, Gervais told her: “Not yet, Anti! I won’t be going yet, Anti.”
Anti then licked his face before jumping off the sofa and running off the set before being comforted by someone behind the cameras.
Gervais jokingly added: “Oh Anti, I’ve got six more years!”
Jones went on to ask Gervais about what it was about animals that get people ‘through difficult times’.
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The star replied with a laugh: “They’re just better than people. No offence.
“They’re members of the family. They’ve got so much compassion. I mean, dogs do everything for us. They guard us, they guide us, they can smell cancer.
“They're incredible. You couldn't invent something as good as a dog. They’re amazing."
The camera then zoomed in on Anti’s face and Gervais added: “And look at them, they're perfect. What’s not to love?”
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Unlike every other series he has made, Gervais decided to let After Life continue beyond a second series, with the third and final instalment released on Netflix last week.
Once again, there is plenty of appetite for more of the sitcom, in which he plays bereaved reporter Tony, but he's concluded it's time to move on, content that the end of the show is 'pretty perfect'.
Speaking to LADbible recently, he admitted: "It seems odd to end it at its peak.
"Everyone loves it, the money goes up. But I think you've got to move on. You've got to leave it somewhere.
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"And I would kick myself if I did a fourth series for squillions and it wasn't as good as the third.
"But you know, you're not sure about anything, because you don't know what the future holds. But at the moment, I'm saying this is the last - no more Golden Globes. But you know, you never know."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Celebrity, Ricky Gervais