Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's acclaimed anthology series Inside No. 9 will take a break after its ninth season, according to a new report.

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The hit show has been a reunion for the writing partners, who previously worked together on The League of Gentlemen and Psychoville, challenging them to tell a different self-contained story set in just one location with every episode.

The series has attracted some big name guest stars over the years, including Mark Gatiss, Diane Morgan, Sophie Okonedo, Daniel Mays, Jason Isaacs and Daisy Haggard among those to appear in the season 7 cast.

The show scored a double-renewal from the BBC after another successful run – taking it through to season 9 in 2024 – but that could be the end of the line for the ambitious series, according to the latest comments by Pemberton.

"We feel it is a good time to pause Inside No. 9 after we finish filming season 9 next year," he told The Sun.

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Fans will be sad to bid farewell to the show, but there is hope that it could return in some form in the future, with Pemberton adding that he and Shearsmith would be open to the possibility.

"We’re not saying it’s over for good," he continued. "After all, The League of Gentlemen came back, but we won’t be looking to make any more episodes for the time being."

Shobna Gulati, Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Simon Callow in Inside No. 9: The Bones of St Nicholas
The cast of Inside No. 9: The Bones of St Nicholas. BBC/James Stack

Previously, the duo have expressed interest in turning Inside No. 9 into a stage show, noting that the single location format would be a natural fit for that medium.

The BBC declined to comment when approached by RadioTimes.com.

The show's eighth season gets underway with a Christmas special due to air next week, following a group of people camping overnight in a disused church – only to find an unknown presence lurking around the premises.

Inside No. 9 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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