Diane, who is currently appearing in the BBC sitcom Ann Droid, which she wrote, reunited with Ricky, for the new animated series, Alley Cats.
Alley Cats is the latest creation from the Ricky and follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral cats from different walks of British society as they seek companionship while reflecting on the absurdities of everyday life.
The adult animated series comprises six 15-minute episodes and reunites several of Gervais’s After Life collaborators, who lend their voices to the foul-mouthed feline cast.
Diane, 50, joked “If Ricky asked me to do anything, obviously I’d do it. I would have made sandwiches, to be honest.”
She added: “I know you see the cats and you think, ‘Oh, aren’t they cute and lovely?’ And they have these little adventures, and then they just open their mouths. It’s sort of like Derek and Clive, they used to be these really sweary comedians.
“It was just the whole thing was as sick as it could be, and it’s sort of like that when we improvised as Alley Cats.”
Unlike many animated series, where actors record their lines separately in a voice booth, the cast of Alley Cats recorded the series together as an ensemble.
“It was lovely because we all know each other from After Life,” said Diane.
She added: “It’s basically the cast of After Life again, with a few new additions. And it’s such a treat as well to be able to just sit there and listen to Ricky improvise. You know, it feels like an honour, doesn’t it? I have a private audience with Ricky and all these amazing comics.
“I didn’t think of it as an animation. It’s basically a lot like After Life, and I think you had to think of it as just like a comedy.”
Speaking about her character and the show’s themes, she says: “Olive’s an idiot, and she’s Ricky’s half-sister, so she’s got a lot of funny lines. You know those best bits where you just pop up, say a line, disappear again, and then I can sit back and watch everyone else improvising and just enjoy my afternoon.
“That’s what Ricky does. He’ll do these really emotional, poignant pieces, and then all of a sudden he’ll have this massive gear change into filth, but it sort of works.
“You can do that, it’s sort of like magic. Yeah, it’s just these stray cats that have these little adventures, and they’re trying to make sense of the world and why humans are such idiots and are wrecking everything. It’s lovely, actually.”
The ensemble also includes Jo Hartley, Tom Basden, David Earl, Kerry Godliman, Andrew Brooke and Natalie Cassidy.
Alley Cats premieres on Netflix on Friday, August 7.
