Prop Souvenirs
It’s traditional for creators to take home a prop or two from a wrapped show, and the ones chosen by Reece Shearsmith include: the straw doll that was used in his sacrifice scene in The Wicker Man-inspired “Mr King,” the leather portfolio used by Pemberton’s character in Christmas special “The Bones of St. Nicholas”, the Scaramouche mask he wears in commedia dell’arte episode “Wuthering Heist”, and the model of his own decapitated head created for Halloween special “Dead Line”.
Natalie Dormer’s No. 9 Claim to Fame
Of the many, many death scenes filmed for Inside No. 9 (burned to death in wardrobe, drowned in bath, stabbed, guillotined, shot, bitten by vampire…) the final one you see in the entire run is Natalie Dormer’s character falling from the balcony in classical music period piece “The Curse of the Ninth.”
Real-Life Episode Inspirations
Donna Preston’s character Bev in series six episode “Hurry Up and Wait” was inspired by a real experience the creators had while filming The League of Gentlemen. Told to wait between scenes in a residential house that they thought was empty, they came across the house owner wearing a dressing gown and telling them, “I’m having a glass of champagne. It’s my birthday today.” It went straight in the script. Series three episode “The Bill” was inspired by Pemberton and Shearsmith witnessing a fight over who got to pay the bill at Stella’s Room Café in Muswell Hill.
A Horror Poster Pedigree
Graham Humphreys, who designed nine of the show’s excellent episode posters (for “Sardines”, “The Harrowing,” “The Devil of Christmas,” “The Riddle of the Sphinx,” “Tempting Fate,” “Private View,” “Nine Lives Kat,” “The Bones of St. Nicholas,” and “CTRL, ALT, ESC”) is a celebrated artist who also designed original posters for Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead film series.
Past Projects Revisited
In fan-favourite episode “Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room,” the punk dummy and professorial ventriloquist outfits were inspired by an old photograph of Pemberton and Shearsmith wearing those same outfits on stage in their own pre-TV comedy double act. And series one episode “Tom & Gerri” was adapted from a play the pair had written very early in their careers called “The Dole Boy”.
The End of the End?
The final shot Pemberton and Shearsmith filmed together for Inside No. 9 is actually the final scene of the series (it’s not always the case). In series nine finale “Plodding On”, the pair reconcile in the toilets at the wrap party bash and Pemberton (playing himself) asks what they should do next. Shearsmith (playing himself) says “There is a third option…”, which cues up the punchline montage of scenes from an On the Buses-inspired, 1970s-styled sitcom “Hold on Tight”.