Steve Pemberton

Reece Shearsmith interview

As his new collaboration with Steve Pemberton - Inside No. 9 - comes to our screens, Reece Shearsmith talks about his inspirations, so-called 'dark comedy' and a possible League Of Gentlemen reunion...

Radio Times review

A pensioner expires under the hairdryer in Blow 'n' Go, leaving Kenneth and Liam in a pickle. Drippy Martin wakes up after the stag do in bed with (he believes) a teenage girl. Donald and Jacqueline, cavorting in lycra and anti-grav boots, take on the lads, Michael and Tiger, in a beach-volleyball contest. And Tonya Dyke (magnificent Hannah Waddingham) resorts to Abba at the karaoke to get the better of oily Mateo.

Sounds a riot, doesn't it? But apart from the odd racy line, Benidorm is creaking like an old banger in need of lubrication. The Garveys (Steve Pemberton, Siobhan Finneran and Sheila Reid - all of them a gift to any writer) deserve better material.

Say hola! as Derren Litten's bawdy carnival returns for seven more weeks of fun in the sun. Solana regulars, the Garveys, check in - Madge already looking like she's been dipped in creosote, but with Mick detained at the airport. (Litten had to write around Steve Pemberton who was tied up on Whitechapel.)

The swingers are back, too ("Jacqueline and I have extraordinarily high gag reflexes," warns Donald) and take extreme action when hotel manager Joyce reneges on her promise of a free holiday.

And expect friction from new arrivals, the Dyke family from Watford. Brassy mum Tonya - don't ever call her Tanya - feels she's a cut above: "I wouldn't kennel my dog in this place."

TV Preview: Inside No. 9

Fans of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's previous work will know they like to combine the hilarious with the genuinely unsettling, and this series is no exception. Causing huge laughs and genuine fear by turns, Inside No. 9 will certainly be one to watch.

Interview with The Garveys

RT's Patrick Mulkern meets his sitcom heroes, Steve Pemberton, Siobhan Finneran and Sheila Reid.

Online extras planned for Inside No. 9

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith are keen to explore how the series can make the most of digital media so we're going to invite the audience into an extra No. 9 by creating a special digital storytelling experience.

Steve Pemberton guests as a bizarre, equine-obsessed vet inspector who turns up at Sara's very peculiar practice. The place is even more shambolic after Daniel deserts his post to play sex games in his suburban front room. So Sara's simple-minded friend Justine (Nicola Walker) steps in to staff the reception desk, adopting a northern accent because she's a fan of All Creatures Great and Small.

It's a cheerful half-hour of amiable nonsense led by Sue Perkins. I know it hasn't set the world on fire, but its heart is in the right place and the gags are often clever.

It's a cameo-crammed episode of Sue Perkins's vet-based comedy tonight. She's joined by long-time collaborator Mel Giedroyc, on top form as a brusque Russian. Then Steve Pemberton pops up as a veterinary inspector with a penchant for horses. Despite feeling curiously detached from any sort of reality, Perkins's script is sprightly and her presence is somehow reassuring - awkward but always amiable.

Sue Perkins has become one of the faces of BBC Two in recent years, presenting all maner of food and pop-historical programming. Now she returns to her comic roots in this self-written sitcom, starring as Sara, a successful female vet about to turn 40 - but still frightened to tell her parents (Jeff Rawle and Harriet Walter) that she's gay. Her motley gang of friends set an ultimatum: if Sara fails to reveal her sexuality within six weeks, they will. To make matters even more chaotic, they arrange for her to attend a series of sessions with an eccentric life coach.

In her acting debut, Perkins is likeably beleaguered and sardonic, while there's a strong supporting cast of Nicola Walker (Spooks, Last Tango in Halifax), Dominic Coleman (Miranda), Shelley Conn (Mistresses) and Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It, Getting On) - not to mention lots of four-legged extras. Guest stars also pop up throughout the six-part run, including June Brown, Steve Pemberton, Mark Heap, Dawn French and Perkins's Great British Bake Off co-host and original comedy partner Mel Giedroyc[/o]. Pitched somewhere between the slapstick Miranda and the sardonic Grandma's House, it's a highly promising, enjoyably daft opener.