After Life bench from Ricky Gervais’s Netflix show destroyed by vandals

‘This is completely unacceptable and heartbreaking,’ said a spokesperson for Nottingham City Council

Nottingham locals have been left “heartbroken” after a bench donated by Ricky Gervais’s Netflix show After Life was destroyed by vandals.

After Life stars Gervais as a writer who struggles to come to terms with his wife’s death and contemplates taking his own life. He sits on a bench when he goes to visit her grave.

Following the release of the third and final series in January, Netflix and mental health charity Calm joined forces and donated 25 benches to local councils across the UK.

The benches are inscribed with a quote from season three: “Hope is everything.”

One of the benches in Nottingham has now been discovered ripped out of the ground and torn to pieces.

Posting about the vandalised bench on Twitter, a spokesperson for Nottingham City Council called the incident “unacceptable and heartbreaking”.

Their tweet said: “The bench was donated to the park in January via the Ricky Gervais show Afterlife, and quickly became a special place for reflection for many people.

“Thank you to the kind person who retrieved pieces of the bench from around the park and got in touch with us to let us know what had happened.

“We really want to replace the bench and are working on how we could make it happen – watch this space!”

When the benches were first installed, Calm chief executive Simon Gunning said of the initiative: “Park benches provide opportunities to reflect, talk to someone, sit shoulder to shoulder with someone and get things off your chest.

“That is why we’re delighted to team up with Netflix to put benches in parks across the country – inscribed with that crucial line from the show, ‘Hope is everything’ – to help people have those conversations and to show it’s normal to have those feelings.”

The Independent has contacted representatives of Gervais for comment.

After Life is out now on Netflix, and Gervais’s new stand-up special, SuperNature, lands on the platform on 24 May.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, the Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.