‘After Life’ therapy bench installed in Nottingham vandalised

nme.com:

Ricky Gervais‘ After Life, has been vandalised.The bench at Nottingham’s Arboretum was one of 25 donated to councils by Netflix and suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) in the wake of the series’ conclusion.Nottingham City Council said the vandalism over the weekend was “unacceptable and heart-breaking” [via BBC News].

Nottinghamshire Police, meanwhile, called it a “despicable act” and said it was investigating the incident.In After Life, sometimes suicidal widower Tony Johnson (Gervais) sits on a graveyard bench where he remembers his late wife.

He is often joined by fellow widow, Anne (Penelope Wilton), whom he met there after visiting the graveyard to grieve.Audra Wynter, portfolio holder for highways, transport and parks at the city council, told the BBC: “We were devastated to see that the After Life bench, which has recently been installed at the Arboretum was destroyed over the weekend.Disgraceful.

The bench was donated by @rickygervais https://t.co/Th5GMwG5ta— NottinghamshireLive (@nottslive) May 22, 2022“This is mindless vandalism and in no way reflects how people in Nottingham look out for each other.“We thank the member of public who alerted us to this and took the time to collect all the damaged sections.