Creators and stars Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton played an inspired 'trick' on fans of their anthology series Inside No 9 this week by creating an episode that didn't even 'exist' and broadcasting an alternative episode that nobody expected.
Viewers tuned in expecting to see the trailed Hold On Tight! which appeared to be inspired by 1970s sitcom On The Buses and featured guest star Robin Askwith. But after an announcement explaining a change of programming instead the BBC seemed to be broadcasting a quiz called 3 By 3 fronted by Lee Mack.
Some viewers were confused (maybe the same viewers who were confused by the famous live episode Dead Line, when the transmission 'failed' and an old episode had to be aired instead...) and even switched channels. Others spotted some clues in what appeared to be a very mainstream quiz show with Mack playing a lighthearted role as host very similar to his role in the ITV1 show The 1 Per Cent Club.
You didn't need to be a maths buff to work out, for example, that 3 x 3 (which it was also called) equals 9. And as the quiz progressed some of the questions seemed to be referencing Inside No 9. One answer given before the question was even finsihed, was Witchfinder General. An early Inside No 9 episode, The Trial of Elizabeth Gadge, clearly owed a debt to Witchfinder General and was set during the same historical era. In fact Reece Shearsmith played Hopkins in the BBC comedy The Witchfinder.
Shortly after the broadcast started Robin Askwith simply tweeted: ".?"
As the quiz went on things did not seem quite as normal as they did at first glance. Mother and daughter team Margaret and Catherine Oakwood were winning and daughter Catherine seemed to be able to pull obscure answers out of thin air. She was no music fan – perhaps they didn't even allow music at home – and yet somehow she guessed that the Arctic Monkeys debut single was i Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.
Other things also sounded somehow sinister, such as a remark about excavating a basement, which felt more Josef Fritzl than Grand Designs.
And then when it got to the final question, well, we won't spoil that moment (though just before there end there did seem to be an unexpected Chris Morris reference*). You'll have to watch for yourselves...
Lots of people were clearly in on the stunt, which must've taken a lot of organising. As I wrote in my preview earlier today, reviewers had not been given access to the episode which was very unusual as they had already been given access to next week's episode.
Some electronic TV guides seemed to have been tweaked to be part of the prank. As usual a special film spoof poster had been produced, despite the episode not existing. A trailer for the fictional episode was even made.
After the broadcast Reece Shearsmith tweeted: "Hope you enjoyed our (bus) ride!". Steve Pemberton thanked Robin Askwith for being so game. Pemberton had, in fact, mentioned a BBC Inside No 9 quiz in his tweets last week and maybe that was part of the long gamne.
Interestingly this seems to have been the first episode that did not feature Shearsmith or Pemberton. And in the advance publicity when the series was announced Askwith was billed as an upcming guest star, whereas Lee Mack was not mentioned.
Producer Adam Tandy tweeted after the credits rolled: "Thanks for watching the bus replacement service on #insideNo9 this evening. So chuffed that the @bbc team are showing Summer Holiday on BBC4 for all disappointed no.9 bus enthusiasts. nb @chensonmusic"
Watch Inside No 9: 3 By 3 here.
Credit: BBC/James Stack
*According to social media this may just be a coincidence. It has been suggested that – spoiler alert – the mother is hearing the daughter saying "fuck you" and thinks that's the answer. Also I don't think the screening of Summer Holiday on the same night featuring a London bus was planned. BBC4 often shows a classic film on Thursday nights. Nice coincidence though.
