BBC Two, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have revealed guest cast details for the upcoming eighth season of the show along with a new image that sees the boys heavily channeling “classic” 1970’s sitcom On The Buses.
Season 8, which will air this spring on BBC Two and iPlayer, will feature five new episodes and will feature the likes of Phil Daniels, Robin Askwith (seen in the featured image above), Frances Barber. Amanda Abbington, Anita Dobson, Mathew Horne, Sheila Reid, Samantha Spiro, Asim Chaudhry, Claire Rushbrook, Leon Herbert, Menyee Lai, Moyo Akandé, and Ayda Kiiza.
Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton say: “We are thrilled to invite viewers inside a new set of funny and frightening number 9s; take your shoes off, make yourself at home and switch your devices to Do Not Disturb. Well it might work…”
The Bones of St. Nicholas, last year’s Christmas special, set a new high for Inside No. 9 with a 7-day audience of 2.3 million on All-Screens. The current count on BARB 28-Days is 2.70 million.
Each episode will stick to the show’s anthology style by presenting a brand new narrative with a new set of people, bringing with them a unique blend of horror, suspense, drama, comedy, and unexpected turns.
Josh Cole, Head of Comedy, BBC Studios, says: “We’re thrilled to be making a new series of Inside No. 9 with the unassailable Reece and Steve, and look forward to delighting and upsetting viewers in equal measure.”
Since its launch in 2014, Inside No. 9 has received widespread critical acclaim and has won an enviable étagère of awards, including Best Scripted Comedy at the 2021 BAFTA TV Awards and Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme at the 2019 BAFTA TV Awards won by Steve Pemberton. In addition, the series has won the comedy prize at the 2016 Rose d’Or, two RTS Awards and two BAFTA TV Craft Awards (including Comedy Writing), South Bank Show and Writers’ Guild awards.
Gregor Sharp, Commissioning Editor at the BBC, says: “Reece and Steve are masters of their craft and it’s a delight to see such a brilliant line up of guest stars joining them for another series of perfectly formed dark comedy masterpieces.”
Inside No. 9 is produced by BBC Studios Comedy Productions for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer and is distributed internationally by BBC Studios. Written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton and produced by Kim Crowther. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Gregor Sharp. The Executive Producers for BBC Studios are Adam Tandy and Josh Cole.