After Life fans in tears as Ricky Gervais pays emotional tribute to dog from show, who has died

Ricky Gervais has shared a heartfelt tribute to his canine co-star from After Lifeafter the dog recently passed away.

Vislor Antilly, also known as Anti, was the German shepherd actor who portrayed Brandy on the critically acclaimed Netflix show. On Wednesday (22 January) a post was shared from the Instagram account run by Antilly's owners, confirming the sad news that the beloved dog had died.

The post consisted of short video clips with captions confirming that the dog died at her home in Bicester, Oxfordshire aged 13. “She enjoyed life from beginning to end,” one caption reads.

She worked from the age of one until her retirement aged 11. The four-legged actor also made appearances in Doc Martin, and For the Love of Dogs with the late Paul O’Grady. Antilly was raised by trainers Travis and Ashley Foster.

Her most notable role was in After Life, in which she appeared in all 18 episodes. The series focuses on a man named Tony (Gervais) who struggles with the aftermath of his wife's death.

“This is such sad news,” Gervais wrote in response to the news. “Anti was a beautiful soul.”

He shared a picture of himself and Antilly on his own Instagram page with the caption: “Sad News. Anti, who played Brandy in After Life, has died. She was 13 and a very good girl.”

Both posts were inundated with fans sharing their condolences. One After Life viewer wrote: “To me the most poignant moment in After Life, was the scene when she disappeared from the screen. Somehow I knew that I could bear anything else in life, but the loss of that wonderful soul.”

A different viewer shared: “So so sad… the scene that got me the most was the final one, when she faded away and then you did too. I remember crying my eyes out and saying, ‘his dog died first!’”

Another commenter shared: “So very sorry for your loss...what a sweetheart .”

A fourth message said: “What a lovely life she had, and a good age too .”

And a fifth shared: “She was the biggest reason Tony Johnson was still alive… goodbye Brandy.”

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