Stephen Merchant has taken a sly dig at his pal Ricky Gervais during a recently Twitter exchange.
The 45-year-old comedian, who used to work very closely with Ricky, was answering a question from movie critic James King when he made the cheeky comment.
In the social media exchange, the ITV critic had asked his followers to name their least favourite parts of movie shorthand.
What he was looking for was the least favourite giveaways that are depicted in movies.
Stephen was quick to jump in with a jibe that appeared directly linked to Ricky Gervais' hit show After Life.
"What’s your least favourite bit of movie shorthand? I’m thinking things like: character with a cough = dead soon, character reading The Bell Jar = depressed, video posted to YT = viral smash," James asked.
Stephen quickly responded with: "Watching old home movies of dead child/wife = inability to move on."
Fans were quick to make the connection with Gervais' incredibly popular television series.
"He's done you again Rick, play a record," wrote one fan.
Another wrote: "Afterlife was good but I do wonder how good it could have been if it was a Gervais/Merchant collaboration. Missed something that the office and extras had in abundance."
Others assumed that Ricky would get the joke: "I think the opposite really, they have always poked fun at each other & I expect Ricky would laugh his head off at that joke."
A rep for Stephen has been contacted by the MirrorOnline for comment.
Stephen and Ricky's comedy partnership spans way back to the late 90s when they both worked at XFM.
They then went on to create The Office, Extras and Life's Too Short.
The pals are said to have taken different creative directions in 2013, however the pair - as well as comedian Karl Pilkington - have maintained that they are all still pals.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033
