What do you think?
Rate this book
Inside No. 9: The Scripts, Series 1-3
Take a further peek behind the door marked 'number 9' as the scripts from series 1-3 are collected here for the first time. An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, read how each 30-minute self-contained story with new characters and new settings, sprang to life from the page.
Each series is prefaced by a foreword from the show creators, giving readers and fans behind-the-scenes insight to this creative phenomenon. It is a beautifully written series, some stories comic, some tragic, all highly original and inventive. As well as Steve and Reece, it has featured guest appearances from a plethora well-known actors including Jack Whitehall, Peter Kay, Sheridan Smith, Gemma Arterton, Keeley Hawes, Alison Steadman, Conleth Hill, and David Morrissey.
Relive the show's every enjoyable moment down to the stage directions with Inside No. 9: The Scripts: Series 1-3.
Each series is prefaced by a foreword from the show creators, giving readers and fans behind-the-scenes insight to this creative phenomenon. It is a beautifully written series, some stories comic, some tragic, all highly original and inventive. As well as Steve and Reece, it has featured guest appearances from a plethora well-known actors including Jack Whitehall, Peter Kay, Sheridan Smith, Gemma Arterton, Keeley Hawes, Alison Steadman, Conleth Hill, and David Morrissey.
Relive the show's every enjoyable moment down to the stage directions with Inside No. 9: The Scripts: Series 1-3.
- GenresDramaNonfiction
416 pages, Paperback
Published November 12, 2020
42 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Steve Pemberton
25 books43 followersSteven James Pemberton is an English actor, comedian and writer, best known as a member of The League of Gentlemen with Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson. Pemberton and Shearsmith also co-wrote and appeared in the sitcom Psychoville and the comedy-drama Inside No. 9. His other television credits include Doctor Who, Benidorm, Blackpool, Shameless, Whitechapel, Happy Valley and Mapp and Lucia.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 16, 2020
Inside No.9 is a BBC Two anthology series from the minds of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (League Of Gentlemen, Psychoville).
Each story is set within a “No.9” - this could be a room number 9 or house number 9 on a street... the possibilities are endless.
The 9, and also a brass hare ornament hidden in each episode for viewers to spot, are the only things that link the stories.
I am a fan of the anthology format, as it gives the writers a chance to play with genres and each episode is a brand new story. This collection of scripts for the first three seasons of episodes really highlights just how wonderful Reece and Steve’s writing partnership truly is.
From the tear-jerking ”12 Days Of Christine” to their humorous turn as two Witchfinders in ”The Trial Of Elizabeth Gadge”, there is a No.9 story to evoke every emotion.
All genres are covered from horror to comedy and everything in between. You really don’t know what type of story is coming next, which makes it all the more exciting and enjoyable.
Reece and Steve both play a character within each episode, with two exceptions - Reece not being in ”The Last Gasp” and Steve not being in ”The Harrowing”. This gives them a chance to showcase their wide range of acting abilities as well as writing.
No.9 is one of those rare gems of a show where each episode is consistently brilliant and of the highest quality. It’s one of the few shows that gives an unparalleled, truly excited feeling upon discovering it.
There is often a “twist” (very clever!) ending to the episodes, but it is only right to not focus too heavily on trying to work out or guess what that ending may be, and just follow and enjoy the main bulk of the story.
Each story is set within a “No.9” - this could be a room number 9 or house number 9 on a street... the possibilities are endless.
The 9, and also a brass hare ornament hidden in each episode for viewers to spot, are the only things that link the stories.
I am a fan of the anthology format, as it gives the writers a chance to play with genres and each episode is a brand new story. This collection of scripts for the first three seasons of episodes really highlights just how wonderful Reece and Steve’s writing partnership truly is.
From the tear-jerking ”12 Days Of Christine” to their humorous turn as two Witchfinders in ”The Trial Of Elizabeth Gadge”, there is a No.9 story to evoke every emotion.
All genres are covered from horror to comedy and everything in between. You really don’t know what type of story is coming next, which makes it all the more exciting and enjoyable.
Reece and Steve both play a character within each episode, with two exceptions - Reece not being in ”The Last Gasp” and Steve not being in ”The Harrowing”. This gives them a chance to showcase their wide range of acting abilities as well as writing.
No.9 is one of those rare gems of a show where each episode is consistently brilliant and of the highest quality. It’s one of the few shows that gives an unparalleled, truly excited feeling upon discovering it.
There is often a “twist” (very clever!) ending to the episodes, but it is only right to not focus too heavily on trying to work out or guess what that ending may be, and just follow and enjoy the main bulk of the story.
January 24, 2021
Quite possibly my favourite TV series. Pemberton and Shearsmith are absolute masters of their craft, storytelling doesn’t get much better or clever than this. Episodes that can leave you disturbed, in fits of laughter or floods of tears. Reading the scripts was a real joy to appreciate the writing and the tiny not so tiny changes and differences were a joy to discover.
December 8, 2020
This is an interesting and insightful read for fans of the TV series. I thought the most interesting episodes in terms of the original scripts were A Quiet Night In (who knew so much could be written about a (mostly) dialogue-free episode?) and Diddle Diddle Dumpling. I also enjoyed the forewords of each series book, written by the shows main authors - Steve and Reece. If your a fan of this show then I'd definitely recommend getting this and if you can afford them (and if their still available), the collectors edition, hardback ones are definitely worth the price with the colourful artwork and the signed series 1 book.
November 30, 2020
I love this show and the scripts. As a writer, I love reading scripts and this is a beautiful edition of the scripts of the first three series of the show. I can't wait for more.
July 23, 2021
This is the best show currently on television.
I cannot say enough about the genius of Inside No. 9. It’s like everything Black Mirror should have been without being overwhelmingly, hopelessly depressing with every passing episode. Don’t get me wrong, this show isn’t a happy, joyous romp, but the moral questions it brings, and the topics being focused on feeling more human than anything, so it’s easier to swallow. Most of the problems people are dealing with are real, human issues and thus could have ended up another way depending on the choice a person makes. I find that aspect of the show to be incredibly interesting as often the moral seems to simply be if you don’t act like an asshole to people you’ve made the right choice.
This book is a compilation of the scripts from the first 18 episodes of the series, aka series 1-3. There are some real standouts in this collection that I loved reading just as much as watching. Quiet Night In is a fantastic episode containing almost no sound or dialog at all, so reading the script for it was particularly fascinating. It was fun to figure out how they went to a script full of descriptions to the final product on TV, and I loved it. The Understudy is another great one that honestly would have been a perfect short story if it was published years ago.
Honestly, it just rules. If you like horror, psychological thrillers, anything remotely supernatural, or Twilight Zone-esque, I would HIGHLY recommend this to you!
Blog / Twitter / Instagram
I cannot say enough about the genius of Inside No. 9. It’s like everything Black Mirror should have been without being overwhelmingly, hopelessly depressing with every passing episode. Don’t get me wrong, this show isn’t a happy, joyous romp, but the moral questions it brings, and the topics being focused on feeling more human than anything, so it’s easier to swallow. Most of the problems people are dealing with are real, human issues and thus could have ended up another way depending on the choice a person makes. I find that aspect of the show to be incredibly interesting as often the moral seems to simply be if you don’t act like an asshole to people you’ve made the right choice.
This book is a compilation of the scripts from the first 18 episodes of the series, aka series 1-3. There are some real standouts in this collection that I loved reading just as much as watching. Quiet Night In is a fantastic episode containing almost no sound or dialog at all, so reading the script for it was particularly fascinating. It was fun to figure out how they went to a script full of descriptions to the final product on TV, and I loved it. The Understudy is another great one that honestly would have been a perfect short story if it was published years ago.
Honestly, it just rules. If you like horror, psychological thrillers, anything remotely supernatural, or Twilight Zone-esque, I would HIGHLY recommend this to you!
Blog / Twitter / Instagram
April 11, 2023
If you like the TV show, then you will love the scripts. Presumably if you’re reading this, then you will already be a fan.
The scripts are fascinating because they obviously have lines (and in a couple of cases, entire scenes) that didn’t make the edit in a 28 minutes TV show. Diddle Diddle Dumpling has a final scene that explains what happens, and who Steve Pemberton’s character really is, which actually is a less effective ending than leaving Reece alone, smeared in the blood of, well, that would be spoiling it.
Likewise, in 12 Days, there’s an interaction between Christine and Adam’s colleague/girlfriend that doesn’t make the edit but makes Adam’s infidelity more explicit and shows Christine’s stronger side. Again, it’s the subtlety of the show that has made fans of us all so deleting it on telly was the right thing to do.
Well worth a read
The scripts are fascinating because they obviously have lines (and in a couple of cases, entire scenes) that didn’t make the edit in a 28 minutes TV show. Diddle Diddle Dumpling has a final scene that explains what happens, and who Steve Pemberton’s character really is, which actually is a less effective ending than leaving Reece alone, smeared in the blood of, well, that would be spoiling it.
Likewise, in 12 Days, there’s an interaction between Christine and Adam’s colleague/girlfriend that doesn’t make the edit but makes Adam’s infidelity more explicit and shows Christine’s stronger side. Again, it’s the subtlety of the show that has made fans of us all so deleting it on telly was the right thing to do.
Well worth a read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2024
This collection of stories are for those who enjoyed the episodes and would like to see what dialogue or scenes may have not made the final cut.
In that sense, if you've seen the episodes the read is easy and light. I do enjoy the forward and extra bits of information given in the forwards before moving onto the next series. I plan on rewatching all of these episodes with the script in hand to hear the differences.
I often pictured the episode and just enjoyed being able to read the dialogue and how well each story was written and scripted to fit its respective style. My emotional reactions often matched to how I felt watching the episodes which is a huge compliment given these are just the scripts.
A must-have for Inside No. 9 fans!
In that sense, if you've seen the episodes the read is easy and light. I do enjoy the forward and extra bits of information given in the forwards before moving onto the next series. I plan on rewatching all of these episodes with the script in hand to hear the differences.
I often pictured the episode and just enjoyed being able to read the dialogue and how well each story was written and scripted to fit its respective style. My emotional reactions often matched to how I felt watching the episodes which is a huge compliment given these are just the scripts.
A must-have for Inside No. 9 fans!
July 24, 2021
Utterly brilliant!
Love the show to death, both Reece and Steve are amazing writers and these scripts are extremely enjoyable to read.
If I had to choose a favourite it would definitely be ‘Sardines’ but I also have alot of love for ‘Empty Orchestra’ which wasn’t as well received as other episodes.
Love the show to death, both Reece and Steve are amazing writers and these scripts are extremely enjoyable to read.
If I had to choose a favourite it would definitely be ‘Sardines’ but I also have alot of love for ‘Empty Orchestra’ which wasn’t as well received as other episodes.
July 24, 2021
Absolutely loved it!
As a huge fan of "Inside No.9" it was lovely to get an insight into the scripts, the changes to what was actually filmed/edited into the final episode. Beautifully bound, and signed too, I highly recommend for any fan.
As a huge fan of "Inside No.9" it was lovely to get an insight into the scripts, the changes to what was actually filmed/edited into the final episode. Beautifully bound, and signed too, I highly recommend for any fan.
August 29, 2024
Reflections and lessons learned/the content of this book made me feel…
…grateful for the weird. Such a random and creeping collection of stories to unsettle and make you think. And of course, just a matter of lines in one of the episodes still made my sob with an existential crisis…
…grateful for the weird. Such a random and creeping collection of stories to unsettle and make you think. And of course, just a matter of lines in one of the episodes still made my sob with an existential crisis…
August 17, 2021
Anything my God the absolute LOML and I will never stop ranting about how good the show is
October 18, 2021
I loved reading the scripts and seeing all the bits that had been cut and how it was originally written.
Read
January 28, 2025what a good show
September 7, 2021
This book serves as a companion to the BBC comedy series Inside No.9 and considering this is one of my favourite shows on T.V, this book was never going to disappoint me. However, I think it also serves as a great source of inspiration for anybody studying the craft of script writing or are just intrigued by it, so my review here is split into two parts.
Firstly, the actual show in my opinion is incredible and anyone not watching it needs to invest some time in it. The creators, writers and stars of it are Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, who are perhaps most famous for being half of the comedy group The League of Gentlemen (with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson). To me, they are comedy geniuses and do not get enough credit for how clever their writing actually is. To summarise it, Inside No.9 is basically an anthology series, with every episode being completely different from the last with only one thing in common - they are all linked by the number 9 in some way. It is firstly a dark comedy series, but there have been many genres explored, meaning there is certainly at least one episode that will appeal to you. Inside No.9 is also known for its twists, with many episodes culminating in a plot twist that is unexpected. This book is essentially the scripts of all episodes from the first three series and it is very refreshing to actually be able to read it on a page and see things like the stage directions actors followed and how the twists unfolded.
This brings me onto my second point in the review, which is that this book is also good for anyone that loves reading plays and loves studying scriptwriting. Shearsmith and Pemberton's craft is fully on display here and the book is a great exploration of their ambition as writers and how the highly imaginative plot twists came to fruition. In general, it is a great way of seeing how a TV series is written and bought to life and even if you're not a fan of the show or even aware of Inside No.9, its the opportunity to go behind the scenes and see how its done.
Overall, clearly you will probably get more out of this book if you watch and love the accompanying TV series, but because I love Inside No.9, my feelings towards the book are just as glowing. Shearsmith and Pemberton have covered so many genres already; I have no idea how they come up with so many inventive ideas and to see these in print is just as spellbinding as watching them. They do not get enough credit as writers and actors and if anyone reading this hasn't watched the show, I strongly advise you do it - its the most original, imaginative thing on T.V and even if you don't like an episode, the next one will be so different that you'll definitely find one that cleanses your palette.
Firstly, the actual show in my opinion is incredible and anyone not watching it needs to invest some time in it. The creators, writers and stars of it are Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, who are perhaps most famous for being half of the comedy group The League of Gentlemen (with Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson). To me, they are comedy geniuses and do not get enough credit for how clever their writing actually is. To summarise it, Inside No.9 is basically an anthology series, with every episode being completely different from the last with only one thing in common - they are all linked by the number 9 in some way. It is firstly a dark comedy series, but there have been many genres explored, meaning there is certainly at least one episode that will appeal to you. Inside No.9 is also known for its twists, with many episodes culminating in a plot twist that is unexpected. This book is essentially the scripts of all episodes from the first three series and it is very refreshing to actually be able to read it on a page and see things like the stage directions actors followed and how the twists unfolded.
This brings me onto my second point in the review, which is that this book is also good for anyone that loves reading plays and loves studying scriptwriting. Shearsmith and Pemberton's craft is fully on display here and the book is a great exploration of their ambition as writers and how the highly imaginative plot twists came to fruition. In general, it is a great way of seeing how a TV series is written and bought to life and even if you're not a fan of the show or even aware of Inside No.9, its the opportunity to go behind the scenes and see how its done.
Overall, clearly you will probably get more out of this book if you watch and love the accompanying TV series, but because I love Inside No.9, my feelings towards the book are just as glowing. Shearsmith and Pemberton have covered so many genres already; I have no idea how they come up with so many inventive ideas and to see these in print is just as spellbinding as watching them. They do not get enough credit as writers and actors and if anyone reading this hasn't watched the show, I strongly advise you do it - its the most original, imaginative thing on T.V and even if you don't like an episode, the next one will be so different that you'll definitely find one that cleanses your palette.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews