Reece Shearsmith

British television comedy has always embraced the surreal, from Michael Bentine through to Monty Python, The Young Ones and beyond. But has any other show been quite so off-the-wall weird as The League of Gentlemen, which emerged in January 1999 to ambush unsuspecting BBC Two audiences? 

Was it a sketch show or a sitcom? Why was there so much cross-dressing? Did any of this matter? The League of Gentlemen’s startling originality and outrageous quirkiness quickly found an audience and the series developed a cult following.

The trailer for Vengeance Most Fowl opens with Gromit peering out of his curtains at a throng of locals and reporters. A crime wave is sweeping the town, with reports of stolen garden goods spiking. Wallace and his ‘Smart-Gnome’ Norbot are somehow the main suspects.

A reporter thrusts a microphone in the face of “evil inventor Mr Wallace,” which has him wondering, “who could possibly be behind all this?”

Cue the evil organ solo by Feathers McGraw, announcing his return in epic style before sipping, mockingly, from a ‘World’s Best Boss’ mug.

In a packed cinema in London’s Leicester Square, devoted fans gathered to bid an emotional farewell to one of the most original and inventive British comedies of recent years.

After nine stellar series, the RTS-award winning Inside No. 9 went out in style, as RTS London hosted a screening of the finale alongside creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.

Death. Dancing. Denial. Depression. Dishes best served cold. Who doesn’t love a dark, twisty tale from the BBC Two television phenomenon that is Inside No. 9?

Not many, judging by the capacity audience last month at the Vue Manchester’s Screen 18 (18 is twice nine, after all), there to see an exclusive preview of the series 8 finale, The Last Weekend.

Shearsmith and Pemberton have written five more standalone episodes that blend horror, thriller, drama and comedy with their signature: blindsiding twists.

The six-part BBC Two series will feature stand-alone stories every episode and will explore Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s world of the extraordinary and macabre. 

This series will feature Daniel Mays (Line of Duty), Jason Isaacs (The OA), Sophie Okonedo (Britannia), Jessica Hynes (There She Goes), Diane Morgan (Mandy), Daisy Haggard (Back To Life), Annette Badland (EastEnders), Siobhan Redmond (The Replacement) and Ron Cook (The Salisbury Poisonings).

So, if ever the fans of a TV series might have pleaded for a podcast that deconstructs each episode, Inside Inside No. 9 answers that call.

Becoming even more granular than the series itself, the two creators and stars, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, dissect each episode after it has aired.

Every week, the masters of mis­direction are joined by a different member of the Inside No. 9 team to talk about the making of the programmes.

The cast for the upcoming six-part anthology series will include Sian Clifford (Fleabag), Adrian Dunbar (Line of Duty), Paterson Joseph (Peep Show), Lindsay Duncan (A Discovery of Witches), Kevin Bishop (Porridge), Nick Mohammed (Intelligence), Bhavna Limbachia (Coronation Street), Sarah Parish (W1A), and Gemma Whelan (The End of the F***ing World), with more names to be confirmed.

Creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton will stick to their award-winning formula of six stand-alone half hour films, full of twists, turns and genre bends.

They said: “Little did we know when we started Inside No. 9 in 2014 that we would end up with as many episodes of it as Countryfile.

“We are delighted and exhausted in equal measure at the prospect of two more series-worth of tall tales and fearsome fables.”