Inside Inside no. 9

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton open the doors to the third Series

e’ve done quite a dark series this time around,” muses Steve Pemberton of the forthcoming third helping of Inside No. 9. “there are two or three episodes where we’ve pushed the horror element.” Given that he and co-creator Reece Shearsmith have previously brought us The League Of Gentlemen and Psychoville, not to mention the assorted killers, creepy dolls and “Mischief!”-hissing demons they’ve already unleashed in the first two series, we can expect this one to get very macabre indeed. “it’s funny,” says Shearsmith, “because even we started to think, ‘God, is this too much?’”

over two years and 12 episodes, the BBC anthology show has spun darkly comic tales set in and around a single location, all loosely connected to the number nine. every episode introduces new characters, meaning Pemberton and Shearsmith (who also star) can take the stories in whatever direction they like, however gonzo that might be. “that’s the fun of Inside No. 9,” says Shearsmith. “it reboots every week.”

Previously, we’ve seen episodes set in a train carriage, a theatre dressing room, and even a wardrobe. not to mention the wildly acclaimed nearsilent episode, A Quiet Night In. the ambitious approach has paid off: Inside No. 9 is a hit in not only the uk, but far-flung places such as China and Scandinavia. “it’s got a real following of people who want to see what the hell we’ll do next,” says Pemberton. “As soon as people stop being surprised, we’ll know we’ve plateaued.”

don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. For their new batch of episodes, the pair have come up with six more uniquely twisted scenarios, featuring a stellar cast of guest stars from Felicity