Reece Shearsmith teases 'spine-tingling' Inside No. 9 Christmas special
The show's new Christmas special, The Bones of St Nicholas, is set to air this week.
Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's black-comedy anthology series Inside No. 9 had dabbled with Christmas just once before, in the season 3 episode The Devil of Christmas.
Now they're back, with a festive ghost story called The Bones of St Nicholas which is set in a reputedly haunted church - and according to Shearsmith, viewers should be prepared for a "spooky", "Christmassy" treat.
He said of the special: "The prospect of doing a special episode of something that is on-going is always exciting. You want to make it different in its own way and a treat for the viewer. To do something where we can embrace the tradition of the ghost story of Christmas, which we’ve never really done before, was brilliant.
"We were delighted to be asked to do it and then we hit upon this idea, and it's come together in a lovely way and is a real treat for Christmas. Even if it wasn’t spooky, it’s very Christmassy. I think it will be great to settle down and watch on a late December night and have your spine tingled."
Alongside Shearsmith and Pemberton, The Bones of St Nicholas also stars Shobna Gulati and Simon Callow, and tells the story of Dr Parkway, who has booked an overnight stay in a reputedly haunted church on Christmas Eve. What follows is said to be a "twisted ghost story for Christmas".
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This special follows the show's seventh season which aired earlier this year, with an eighth and a ninth both confirmed for the coming years.
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However, after that it seems like the show may be coming to an end - just last week Pemberton told The Sun that the pair "feel it is a good time to pause Inside No. 9 after we finish filming season 9 next year.
"We’re not saying it’s over for good. After all, The League of Gentlemen came back, but we won’t be looking to make any more episodes for the time being."
Inside No. 9: The Bones of St Nicholas will air at 9pm on Thursday 22nd December 2022 on BBC Two. Meanwhile, all previous episodes are available to stream now on BBC iPlayer.
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