Hello FaceBonkers!

So, After Life is a smash hit around the globe. And why wouldn’t it be? I never doubted a comedy about a suicidal man who’s wife dies of cancer could be anything other than hilarious. On a serious note, I have been blown away by the reception. Not just the shear numbers of people that have watched it, but also the intensity of the reaction. On Twitter, Facebook, and on the street. I never realised that so many people were grieving. It’s been beautiful to hear your stories. I’ve started writing series 2 and for the first time ever it feels quite daunting. That must be a good thing. Anyway, the good thing about a long form Facebook blog, as opposed to Twitter, is that I can answer a few more questions in one go.

After Life FAQ

The dog is a German Shepard called “Anti". I called her “Brandy” in the show because I wanted a more traditional name that sounded a bit like her real one so that she would respond during filming. The dog will not die in series 2. I promise.

The show was filmed in Old Hemel, Beaconsfield, and Hampstead to create the fictional little town of Tambury. The beach was Camber Sands. It was the best English summer of my adult life.

I really did eat the vegetable curry from the can and the watery Weetabix. The fish fingers were vegan and I could tell that the kid didn’t like them. The joint with heroine in it was made from raspberry leaves.

I only called the kid a tubby little ginger cunt in my close up when he wasn’t around.

I started writing the series in the summer of 2017 while on tour with Humanity. The seed of the idea was “imagine if you lost everything and didn’t care about anything anymore. You could do what the fuck you wanted.”

I chose all the music from my personal collection. I’ve never been able to do this before without compromise as I’ve never had such a good budget.

I cast the show in my head as I was writing it. Luckily, everyone said ‘yes’. And, yes, they’re all back for season 2. Except Julian, RIP.