Buffy the Vampire Slayer star James Marsters has credited his co-star Anthony Head with saving his portrayal of fan-favourite vampire Spike, revealing that Head personally coached him to improve his initially unconvincing British accent. Marsters said that without this help, the character likely would not have lasted on the show, underlining the close working relationship between the two actors and paying tribute to Head, who died last month.

Speaking at a convention, Marsters recalled that early in Season 2 his accent was poor, including mispronouncing a line written phonetically by an American writer. He said Head insisted on tutoring him through scripts line-by-line at lunchtimes until satisfied, calling him "the best actor on Buffy, and the best human." Head, who played Rupert Giles across all seven seasons and was also known for Little Britain, Merlin and Ted Lasso, died aged 72 from complications of pneumonia, following the recent deaths of co-stars Nicholas Brendon and Michelle Trachtenberg, and after Hulu's decision earlier this year to pass on a potential revival series.