Did you spot Mark Gatiss’ sneaky cameo in The Dead Room?
The new ghost story’s writer and director couldn’t resist including a small part for himself
Mark Gatiss’ new ghost story for Christmas The Dead Room had a small but intriguing cast including veteran thesp Simon Callow and Bodyguard’s Anjili Mohindra – but did you notice that Gatiss himself also had a small role in the spooky drama?
Listen closely during The Dead Room’s mind-bending, 70s-infused final moments and you might notice the writer, director and actor providing the voice of a radio announcer working during the 1976 heat wave, chatting about the latest news in a segment beamed directly from haunted actor Aubrey Judd’s (Callow) memories.
“Mr Denis Howell, up til now Minister for Sport, has been appointed Minister for Drought by the Prime Minister Mr Callaghan,” Gatiss reads in a vintage news broadcast.
“With the temperature still hitting 30 degrees centigrade and a whopping 89 degrees Fahrenheit, there’s no let-up in sight. Mustn’t grumble, eh John?”
It’s not a massive surprise that Gatiss managed to find himself a part in his latest project – after all, when co-creating the BBC’s smash-hit Sherlock he managed to bag one of the biggest parts as Mycroft Holmes – but it’s still a nice little detail that you might not have spotted on first watch. Especially if you were as terrified at the end as we were….
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The Dead Room is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer
