Ricky Gervais has paid his respects after Vislor Antilly, known to most of us as the dog who played his canine sidekick in the Netflix sitcom After Life, died at the age of 13.
The German shepherd, known as Anti, was hand-picked by the comedian to appear alongside him as Brandy in the award-winning show, which ran for three seasons between 2019 and 2022.
Anti became one of the show’s breakout stars, and was even the subject of fan campaigns urging the writer and performer not to kill off her character over the course of the show.
“This is such sad news. Anti was a beautiful soul,” Ricky – a well-documented animal lover – said in a statement. “We hit it off straight away and she helped make After Life my favourite filming experience of all time.
“I’m so glad that I told her a hundred times a day that she was a very good girl.”
Ricky also posted a separate tribute on X, featuring himself and Anti on set.
Acting was in Anti’s blood, as her parents appeared in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises as Bane’s dogs.
Before being cast in After Life, Anti herself appeared in Edge Of Tomorrow, The Capture and Doc Martin.
Her other work, according to her IMDB bio, included Paul O’Grady’s For The Love Of Dogs, Liar and Marcella.
Anti’s final on-screen performance took place last year, when she appeared in one episode of Midsomer Murders as a police dog who helped solve that instalment’s case.