Fans on social media have reacted with delight after Inside No 9 came full circle to deliver a star-studded final episode.
The BBC anthology series is being brought to an end after nine seasons by creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith.
In a statement announcing the final season, Pemberton said: “We feel it is a good time to pause Inside No. 9 after we finish filming season 9 next year. We’re not saying it’s over for good... but we won’t be looking to make any more episodes for the time being.”
Prior to Wednesday night’s episode, rumours had abounded that the show would be a two-hander starring just Pemberton and Shearsmith.
That was soon proved incorrect as a host of guest stars from previous episodes all turned up, playing fictionalised versions of themselves.
They included former Coronation Street star Anne Reid, The IT Crowd’s Katherine Parkinson, Ted Lasso’s Nick Mohammed, and Sherlock’s Amanda Abbington.
The callback-filled episode, titled “Plodding On” was partly set in a toilet cubicle, a reference to the very first episode “Sardines” which was set inside a wardrobe.
On X/Twitter, longtime fans praised the finale for its many references to the show’s history.
One wrote: “Love how they’ve brought back so many stars for the final #InsideNo9”
While another added: “all the episode references are making me so emotional it’s really coming full circle”
Another wrote: “Can’t believe how many people have come back for the finale! Beautiful!”
One fan predicted: “the series will get lots of hits on iPlayer after this”.
And one summed up the general mood by writing: “That was the perfect way to end a series. I’m gonna miss that magnificent show. #InsideNo9 is quite simply the best.”
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The series has long been known for wrong-footing viewers. In 2018, the series aired a terrifying live Halloween episode that at first appeared to be the victim of technical difficulties.
Last year Inside No 9 pulled off another impressive stunt that tricked many viewers watching live. Those tuning in were told by the announcer that there had been a change to the schedules and, instead of Inside No 9, a Lee Mack-presented quiz show would air in its place.
Viewers then watched on as Mack hosted 3 By 3, a seemingly normal quiz show featuring nine contestants. However, when the quiz show took a terrifying turn of events in its closing moments, the Inside No 9 credits rolled, and viewers who might have not clocked the prank realised they’d been tricked once again by Pemberton and Shearsmith.
To mark the final episode, The Independent’s Michael Hogan hailed Inside No 9 as “the most inventive, ingenious programme on our screens.”
