First image and cast details revealed for series 8

It looks like 1970s sitcom On The Buses is back in this first image from the next, eighth, series of Inside No 9.

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith pose alongside Robin Asquith – star of the 1970s Confessions Of sex comedies – in this shot. And they are all sporting period hair and uniforms as the pose in front of an old Routemaster bus.

The picture has been released by programme-makers BBC Studios, as the full guest cast for the forthcoming series is released.

The line-up also includes Amanda Abbington, Anita Dobson, Asim Chaudhry, Phil Daniels, Claire Rushbrook, Leon Herbert, Mathew Horne, Menyee Lai, Moyo Akandé,  Samantha Spiro, Sheila Reid and Ayda Kiiza.

And in one episode Shearsmith  will be reunited with Frances Barber, with whom he’s currently starring in the West End comedy The Unfriend.

The series follows on from last year’s Christmas special, The Bones of St Nicholas, which has so far been seen by 2.7million viewers.

In a statement,  Shearsmith and Pemberton said: ‘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…’

Josh Cole, head of comedy at BBC Studios, added: ‘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.’

Inside No9 started in 2014, and Shearsmith and Pemberton have previously said they will take a break after the already-commissioned ninth series.

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.’

Awards won by the show include Best Scripted Comedy at the 2021 BAFTA TV Awards, Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme at the 2019 BAFTA TV Awards for Pemberton, the comedy prize at the 2016 Rose d'Or, two RTS Awards and two BAFTA TV Craft Awards.

On The Buses, created by Ronald Chesney and Ronald Wolfe, aired on ITV from 1969 to 1973. It was based on the lives of bus driver and conductor  Stan Butler and Jack Harper, played by Reg Varney and Bob Grant, and especially their run-ins with inspector Cyril 'Blakey' Blake (Stephen Lewis).

Published: 27 Jan 2023