Steve Pemberton

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.”

The two-year deal will involve the development of new comedy and comedy drama projects from the duo for the UK and international market.

Pemberton and Shearsmith, who also wrote and starred in Psychoville, commented: “We are delighted to continue working under the umbrella of BBC Studios.

“As a large and colourful umbrella it affords us the creative freedom to develop new and exciting ideas to shape the future of international television and keeps our skin from burning on hot days”. 

Veteran arts programme The South Bank Show has celebrated the best of TV drama from its earliest days. In the very first series it aired a film on Dennis Potter. Since then, Andrew Davies, Paul Abbott, Jimmy McGovern and Sally Wainwright have all featured.

Melvyn Bragg was talking at a special live edition of The South Bank Show, featuring four of the UK’s leading TV writers – Jed Mercurio (writer and creator of hit police corruption thriller Line of Duty); Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (black comedy anthology Inside No. 9); and Heidi Thomas (period drama Call the Midwife) – discussing their craft.

The live episode is the twenty-fifth story to come out of the RTS award-winning series. The comedy duo, who will write and perform in the live special, will be joined by guest star Stephanie Cole (Still Open All Hours).

Dead Line focuses on the unfortunate Arthur Flitwick (Steve Pemberton), as he discovers a mysterious old mobile phone in a local graveyard.

Unknown to him, the phone is tied to dark mystical forces and when Flitwick attempts to contact the owner, his good deed goes punished and he is forced into his own living nightmare.

The story became notorious at the time, due to the public outcry that his sentence of life imprisonment prompted, Martin having argued that he had used reasonable force to defend his property. One of the burglars, Fred Barras was 16 years old at the time of his death. 

Martin later appealed against his original conviction and was successful, his sentence was reduced and he was released after three years.