The Guardian and Inside No 9 conspire over crosswords

Last night’s edition of Inside No 9 contained an extra surprise for crossword fans.

For the episode, about a student who breaks into the study of a famed compiler of puzzles, featured the exact-same grid and cryptic clues that appeared in yesterday’s Guardian.

The crossword was compiled by Steve Pemberton, who played a professor who used Sphinx as his pen-name in the episode – the same setter’s name used in the newspaper.

In a subsequent interview in The Guardian, the comedian said: ‘It’s a great honour for me to have a crossword in the Guardian as Sphinx, and I hold my hands up to the many mistakes I will have made in the cluing. 

‘I hope people will realise that I had to take some artistic licence. We changed the clue for 3d, for example, as the one in the programme would not have passed muster with the mighty Guardian crossword editor, but it made sense in the context of the show.’

Pemberton, who write Inside No 9 with his co-star Reece Shearsmith, confessed to being a fan of the puzzles, saying he introduced the rest of the cast of West End comedy Dead Funny to the pastime.

 ‘I used to do the Guardian crossword in Benidorm every day with the late, great Kenny Ireland who played the cheerful swinger Donald,’ he said. ‘I’m delighted to dedicate this, my first printed crossword, to him.’

Crossword expert Alan Conor, who offered advice on the script and conducted the interview, said: ‘If you did both – solved the puzzle, then watched the episode – then you probably had a worlds-colliding moment of deliciously giddying uncertainty’

The stunt has echoes of a 2008 Simpsons episode, when the New York Times ran the same crossword that Lisa completed in the animated show.

Published: 1 Mar 2017