'We started flirting with the idea... now it's heavy petting' says Steve Pemberton

An Inside No 9 stage show is ‘definitely on the cards’, creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have said.

The pair have been talking about taking their hit show into theatres since 2020, when Pemberton said: ‘We certainly have talked about doing stage versions, whether it be pre-existing scripts or new ones.’

And now he’s gone further, saying: ‘It is definitely on the cards. We have flirted with the idea of doing a play and now we are moving into the Heavy Petting stage.’

In comments reported by the Daily Star’s Hot TV column, he added: ‘I think a stage play is good because the episodes are in many ways little theatre pieces

‘They started off life in our minds as plays and there is no reason why we couldn't transfer them.’

He and Shearsmith appeared at the BFI in London on Friday to launch the seventh series, which will air on BBC Two later this year and feature guest stars including Jessica Hynes, Daniel Mays, Diane Morgan, Sophie Okonedo, Jason Isaacs and the pair’s former League of Gentlemen collaborator Mark Gatiss.

Synposes of two forthcoming episodes were revealed to coincide with the BFI event. They are:

Merrily, Merrily: Laurence has arranged a reunion with his old university chums at a remote lake. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, of course. As they strike out across the empty lake, the conversation takes them into choppier waters.

Mr. King (pictured): Alan arrives at a small village primary school in rural Wales. Passionate about teaching, he throws himself into the new job, but finds himself overshadowed by his charismatic and much-loved predecessor, Mr King.

Published: 16 Mar 2022