Ted Lasso pays tribute to Anthony Head with an end card in episode nine

Ted Lasso ended its penultimate episode of the current season with a dedication to Anthony Head, months after the actor’s death. BBC News reported that the ninth episode finished with a title card reading “In memory of Anthony Head”, honouring the performer who played the wealthy businessman Rupert Mannion. Ted Lasso was among Britain’s trending searches on Sunday, according to Google’s daily trends.

Spoiler warning: this article discusses events from episodes eight and nine of the new series, including a character death and a plot twist.

Key facts about the Ted Lasso tribute

Detail	What was reported
Tribute	A card reading “In memory of Anthony Head” ran at the end of the ninth episode, Deadline reported
Episode	“Mae Rides the Bus”, the penultimate episode of the fourth series
Character	Rupert Mannion, played by Head in the first three seasons, Deadline said
Head’s death	1 June, aged 72, with his daughters listing complications due to pneumonia, per Deadline
Streamer	Apple TV

What the episode did

BBC News said the episode was an emotional one, and that the dedication closed it. The tribute came as Rupert’s name returned to the storyline even though he does not appear in the season. Deadline wrote that the same episode included the death of The Crown & Anchor pub owner Mae Green, played by Annette Badland.

Deadline reported that Head’s character was barely mentioned in the first seven episodes. In episode eight, Higgins, played by Jeremy Swift, worked out with help from Mae that Rupert had been secretly buying shares to try to regain control of AFC Richmond. Rupert is the ex-owner of the club and the ex-husband of its current owner Rebecca, played by Hannah Waddingham.

In episode nine, according to Deadline, a late twist revealed that the buyer was not Rupert at all but Zelda Southport, played by Tracey Ullman, who was on the verge of becoming the club’s majority owner. Deadline said the plot had left some viewers asking whether the show had moved from Rupert to Zelda because of Head’s death.

Why the card ran at the end of episode nine

Deadline said it had been widely expected that the show would honour Head. When no tribute appeared in the fourth-season premiere, some viewers assumed he would be commemorated in an episode in which he appeared, because the season finished production in January, months before he died.

According to Deadline’s sources, no season-four storylines were changed after Head’s death, there had been no formal plans for him to appear, and he had not been officially approached. The outlet said it was unclear whether that was related to his health problems, which had been kept private.

Deadline said the producers felt it made sense to run the card once Rupert’s two-episode arc, across episodes eight and nine, had finished. It added that putting the dedication at the end of episode eight would probably have given away the surprise that Rupert was not the person buying the shares.

Annette Badland on Anthony Head

Badland spoke to Deadline about her character’s death and about Head. “He was a beautiful man, and he will be much missed,” she said, recalling the first-season darts scene between Rupert and Jason Sudeikis’s Ted Lasso at Mae’s pub. “He was charming and funny and generous, and we’d have naughty little sort of asides.”

She also said she had assumed he would be in this season. She told Deadline she “didn’t know, as I think very few people knew, he was ill and just couldn’t do it”. Of the dedication she said it was “a great honor to be in the episode that is dedicated to him”.

Head’s career and his links to Bath

BBC News said Head’s career spanned more than four decades. His roles included Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, King Uther in Merlin and the Prime Minister in Little Britain. Deadline said he recurred in the first two seasons of Ted Lasso and became a regular in season three, and that his last acting credits were that third season, released in 2023, and the 2024 Prime Video film Upgraded.

The BBC described him as Bath-based. It reported that he lived near the city at Tilley Farm, a 90-acre sanctuary in Farmborough run by his long-term partner, the animal welfare campaigner Sarah Fisher, where she cared for rescued horses, ponies and donkeys. Fisher died in December 2025 after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, BBC News said, and Head died in June at the age of 72 after developing complications from pneumonia.

A spokesperson for Battersea Cats and Dogs Home, a charity Fisher supported, previously said she and Head “gave so much” to the charity, including fostering dogs and helping to train staff and volunteers.

What comes next

The season finale is still to come. Deadline said fans are likely to learn more about Zelda’s motives there. It also noted that television has a long tradition of characters mirroring the death of the actors who play them, and that, because Head died after the fourth season was complete, that would probably happen in season five, which Deadline said has not been picked up yet but is looking good.

Frequently asked questions

Did Ted Lasso pay tribute to Anthony Head?

Yes. BBC News and Deadline reported that the ninth episode of the current series ended with a title card reading “In memory of Anthony Head”.

Why was the Anthony Head tribute in episode nine?

Deadline reported that the producers felt it made sense to run the card after Rupert’s two-episode arc ended. It added that using episode eight would probably have spoiled the surprise about who was buying the club’s shares.

Was Anthony Head in Ted Lasso season four?

No. BBC News said Rupert’s name returned to the storyline but Head did not appear. Deadline reported there had been no formal plans for him to be in the season and no official approach.