Reece Shearsmith

Reece Shearsmith

Date of birth: 27-08-1969
Hull-born Reece Shearsmith is a quarter of The League Of Gentlemen alongside Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson (who writes, but does not perform)

They net at Bretton Hall drama school in their late teens, and began performing a sketch show at London’s Cockpit Theatre in 1995, soon afterwards landing a residency at the Canal Café pub theatre, which compelled them to create new material at a fast pace.

In 1997 they won the Perrier, and their subsequent radio series On the Town with The League of Gentlemen, set in the fictional town of Spent, won a Sony Award.

In 1999 the League moved to television – and Royston Vasey – with subsequent series in 2000 (including a typically sinister Christnmas special) and 2002; plus a feature-length film, The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, in 2005.

On stage, they toured large regional theatres in 2000, had a six-week run at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in spring 2003, and toured a pantomime-themed show The League of Gentlemen Are Behind You in 2005.

Outside of the League, Shearsmith played the insane villain Tony in the Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer comedy Catterick; Robot-Wars obsessed TA soldier Dexter in Spaced; and neurotic Dr Flynn in BBC Two hospital sitcom TLC.

On the West End, he appeared in Art in 2003, alongside his League Of Gentlemen costars, in As You Like It at the Wyndhams in 2005, and in The Producers as Leo Bloom in 2006.

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Guest stars revealed for Inside No 9's final series

Including Matthew Kelly, Charlie Cooper and Susan Wokoma

Matthew Kelly is to make his small-screen comeback in the final series of Inside No 9.

The former Stars In Their Eyes presenter will be making a guest appearance in the ninth series of the show, which creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton say will be the last.

It will be the 73-year-old’s first TV appearance in a decade, since playing Cyril Babcock in four episodes of Benidorm.

Other guest stars revealed today are: Dorothy Atkinson, as seen in Mum, Catastrophe and Guilt’s Mark Bonar, Charlie Cooper (This Country), Philippa Dunne (Motherland), Siobhan Finneran (Happy Valley), Joel Fry (Plebs), Katherine Kelly (Coronation Street), Eddie Marsan (Vera Drake), Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point), Adrian Scarborough (Gavin and Stacey), Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake) and Susan Wokoma (Chewing Gum).

Filming is under way on the final six episodes, to air in the spring.

The BBC has also issued the first image from the series – above –  featuring its creators and stars on the platform of Merseyrail’s Moorfields underground station, with Pemberton in a pink frock and blue hair.

In a statement, he and Shearsmith said: ‘It is with mixed emotions that we announce we have started filming the final series of Inside No 9. 

‘We overheard some crew members the other day describe us as ‘a couple of Wonkas’ and that seems an apt description. We take the finest ingredients (stellar casts and creatives) and blend them with our secret recipe to produce unique confections that are delicious and often deadly.

‘It has been the greatest privilege to have been allowed to make 55 wildly different episodes and we’ll miss the yearly challenge of trying to entertain and surprise our audience. We honestly feel like golden ticket winners - which makes us not a couple of Wonkas, but a pair of Charlies.’

Jon Petrie, director of BBC Comedy added: "Reece and Steve have, once again, served up a stellar line up of guests to star alongside them in their funny, beautifully crafted and totally original scripts. Inside No. 9 will be hugely missed, but this final series promises to be a treat for all their avid fans.’

Launching in 2014, Inside No. 9 is now BBC Two’s longest current running comedy and consistently ranks as one of the biggest comedies across the channel, as well as winning an armful of a wards.

Josh Cole, head of comedy at BBC Studios Productions,  which makes the show, added: ‘"Inside No. 9 is an all time comedy great, and Reece and Steve’s achievement in writing 55 extraordinary episodes is little short of breathtaking. There is something so special about this show, and we will miss making it more than words can say.’

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Published: 20 Dec 2023

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