Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s horrifying anthology series returns on Sunday with a live Halloween special. Here are the finest moments from the first four seasons

From cryptic crosswords to children’s party games, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s compulsively horrifying anthology series Inside No 9 has converted all sorts of seemingly innocuous subjects into spine-tingling TV, unearthing incest, murder, modern slavery and more from beneath a host of apparently mundane setups. As well as supplying an endless parade of gob-smacking twists, Inside No 9 sees The League Of Gentlemen duo experiment wildly with the televisual form, telling stories via the medium of CCTV, iambic pentameter and silence.

On Sunday, they return with another ambitious premise: a Halloween special that will also be its first live episode. To get warmed up – or, rather, suitably chilled – we look back at the show’s finest moments so far.

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10 Cold Comfort

Series 2, episode 4

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Disturbing ... Pemberton and Shearsmith in Cold Comfort. Photograph: Sophie Mutevelian/BBC/Sophie Mutevelian



Told exclusively through the medium of CCTV, this episode is set at a crisis support helpline – a place where the office politics are a lot more disturbing than the distressing phone calls it receives. Jane Horrocks is a sarky co-worker, while Shearsmith plays the horrible boss. But is either one the crank caller driving newbie Andy to despair?

9 A Quiet Night In

Series 1, episode 2

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Miraculously funny ... Eddie (Steve Pemberton) and Ray (Reece Shearsmith) in A Quiet Night In. Photograph: Des Willie/BBC

Drawing on silent-movie-based gurning and comedy crime caper pratfalls, this almost dialogue-free episode follows two burglars as they attempt to steal a painting from an ultra-modern house while its inhabitants remain inside. Violent, surprising and impeccably choreographed, this miraculously funny instalment is a technical marvel.

8 To Have and to Hold

Series 4, episode 4

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Suburban horror ... Harriet (Nicola Walker) and Adrian (Steve Pemberton) in To Have and to Hold. Photograph: Sophie Mutevelian/BBC

Shearsmith and Pemberton are experts when it comes to inserting the disturbing into the domestic – this tale of a wedding photographer who loses interest in his wife (primetime drama queen Nicola Walker) holds its nerve right until the end, before dramatically excavating the horror that exists beneath the couple’s comfortable lives.

7 Zanzibar

Series 4, episode 1

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Conceptually brilliant ... the cast of Zanzibar. Photograph: Sophie Mutevelian/BBC



Even the show’s bleakest episodes are shot through with humour, but every now and then Shearsmith and Pemberton produce something lighter and brighter. Set in a hotel where guests interact in iambic pentameter, this homage to Shakespearean comedy is one of the show’s most straightforwardly humorous – and conceptually brilliant – episodes. This being Inside No 9, however, death and despair still feature prominently.

6 Tempting Fate

Series 4, episode 6

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On occasion, Inside No 9 mines more traditional horror territory, relocating the tropes of the supernatural to run-of-the-mill settings. Taking place in a hoarder’s flat, the final episode of the most recent series takes some paranormal perennials – a spooky statue; a grainy VHS; three wishes that backfire spectacularly – and watches as three cleaners attempt to outsmart an ancient curse.

5 Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room

Series 4, episode 2

There is nothing overtly horrifying about this instalment, the story of an ageing comic who reunites with his erstwhile partner for a one-off show. Instead, the episode is buffered by a gentle hum of sadness. At rehearsals, the duo reckon with the turbulent history of their friendship – but the real reason behind their attempted reconciliation is heartbreaking.

4 The Devil of Christmas

Series 3, episode 1

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Old-school ... Celia (Rula Lenska), Julian (Steve Pemberton), Kathy (Jessica Raine), Klaus (Reece Shearsmith) and Toby (George Bedford) in The Devil of Christmas. Photograph: BBC/Sophie Mutevelian

Filmed entirely on mid-century camera equipment, this impeccably styled drama-within-a-drama tracks a director as he provides voiceover commentary for a shonky seasonal horror he made in the 70s. But the reason why he has decided to return to this particular work only makes sense in the final few seconds, when the footage’s terrifying denouement is revealed.

3 Sardines

Series 1, episode 1

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Party time ... Stu (Reece Shearsmith) and Carl (Steve Pemberton) in Sardines. Photograph: Gary Moyes/BBC



The idea behind Inside No 9 was sparked by a single-setting, real-time episode of Shearsmith and Pemberton’s previous comedy-horror series, Psychoville (which was in turn inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope). The show’s debut outing sticks to that premise, centring on a claustrophobic party game that involves the entire cast hiding in a wardrobe. Tim Key is on top form as a pallid and oleaginous guest who is not all he seems.

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2 The Riddle of the Sphinx

Series 3, episode 3

Facebook Twitter Pinterest From crosswords to cannibalism ... David (Reece Shearsmith), Nina (Alexandra Roach), Professor Squires (Steve Pemberton) in The Riddle of the Sphinx. Photograph: Sophie Mutevelian/BBC

A Cambridge don and master cryptic-crossword-setter is accosted by a young woman who works in Greggs and wants to learn the tricks of the puzzle trade. That is the initial premise, anyway – a series of increasingly wild left turns mean this episode ends up focusing less on nerdy word games and more on cannibalism, pufferfish poison and incest.

1 The 12 Days of Christine

Series 2, episode 2

The show’s most spectacular episode stars Sheridan Smith as Christine, a woman whose life has been punctuated by inexplicably spooky events. As the real reason behind the story’s fragmented chronology and odd occurrences slowly dawns, the episode morphs into a goosebump-inducing – and devastating – piece of drama.

Do you agree with our top 10? Which is your favourite episode of Inside No 9? Let us know in the comments.