'Inside No. 9' - Series 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton have written all episodes of 'Inside No. 9' and played the lead roles in the majority of them. They have also taken a turn at directing some episodes. Shearsmith and Pemberton first rose to fame as part of the hugely successful 'League of Gentlemen' comedy group, who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1990s and early 2000s with their eponymous radio and tv shows. 'League of Gentlemen' was a very dark comedy series which fused often uproarious comedy with horrific and grotesque elements and characters. Following the success of 'League of Gentlemen', Shearsmith and Pemberton worked on the surreal mystery horror comedy series 'Psychoville', which once again, fused the duo's twin loves of horror and comedy to excellent effect.

In 2014, the first series of 'Inside No. 9' was broadcast. It is anthology series, inspired by shows such as 'Tales of the Unexpected', with each episode being a self-contained story, usually set in a confined area and connected only by the fact that each takes place behind a door marked with the number nine.

Shearsmith and Pemberton have used the anthology set-up to great effect, allowing them to present a completely different story each week, and often in wildly differing genres. While some of the episodes do play with the comic horror which is such a trademark of the duo's work, many other genres such as mystery, kitchen-sink drama, slapstick comedy and musical comedy have formed the setting of various episodes.

Answer: Golden Hare

Shearsmith and Pemberton had considered other ways of connecting the individual episodes of the series, including having the same postman appearing in each episode, however they considered that this might place constraints on the format and instead settled on having the connection between episodes restricted to taking place a location marked with the number 9.

However, the duo decided that each episode should feature an appearance by a common object. The hare is visible in every episode, though it often takes an eagle-eyed viewer to spot it! Finding the hare in each episode of number nine has become a popular challenge for many fans of the show.

Answer: Inside a wardrobe

This episode takes place during Rebecca and Jeremy's engagement party, which is being held at Rebecca's family's mansion. The party guests engage in a round of the titular game, a variation of hide and seek in which players find a place to hide and, when their hiding place is located by another player, they must share their hiding place with the person who found them.

The aim of the game is for most of the players to end up crammed into the same hiding place, like sardines in a tin. The crowded hiding place in this episode is a wardrobe located in a an apparently seldom-used bedroom in the large manor house.

Shearsmith and Pemberton were inspired to confine the action of each episode of 'Inside No. 9' to a contained space with a limited number of characters after they created an episode of their previous show, 'Psychoville', which had a similar premise. 'David and Maureen', the episode in question, was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's film 'Rope', and featured a very small cast in a single room and only two camera shots.

The duo were fascinated by the simultaneous constraints and opportunities that such a limited setting could offer to the telling of a range of stories.

Answer: Justin Edwards

'Sardines' had the largest cast of any of the episodes of the first series. Katherine Parkinson, Tim Key and Anna Chancellor have appeared on a number of British television and radio shows in a range of genres. They are joined by other popular British actors such as Timothy West, Ben Willbond and Julian Rhind-Tutt as well as Shearsmith and Pemberton, who both appear in almost every episode. 'Sardines' features a superb ensemble performance from the whole cast as tensions build, dark family secrets are revealed and the seemingly harmless party game descends into horror. With a cast of memorable characters and a compelling story, it is a sometimes uncomfortable, frequently hilarious and eventually taut and tense half-hour of surprises, completed by a disturbing and memorable twist.

Shearsmith and Pemberton greatly enjoy subverting the audience's expectations and the surprising twist, wonderfully exemplified in this debut episode, would become one of the show's hallmarks. While each episode features Shearsmith and Pemberton, the rest of the cast changes completely between episodes.

Answer: It featured virtually no dialogue

Shearsmith and Pemberton had long had an idea of making a silent comedy. They had featured an extensive silent sequence in an episode of 'Psychoville', but it did not comprise the whole episode. 'A Quiet Night In' features many of the elements of classic silent comedy, but with many of the darker twists typical of Shearsmith and Pemberton's work.

The story revolves around the attempt by a pair of hapless burglars, played by Shearsmith and Pemberton, and their attempt to steal a painting from a house belonging to Gerald and Sabrina, portrayed by Dennis Lawson and Oona Chaplin. Oona Chaplin is the grand-daughter of legendary silent comedy star Charlie Chaplin so her casting in this role is particularly significant.

Answer: Gemma Arterton

This superbly written and performed episode tells the story of school teacher Tom, played by Reece Shearsmith, whose life and relationship with his girlfriend begin to deteriorate when he invites a homeless man called Migg, played by Steve Pemberton, to move in with him.

The episode has a disturbing and claustrophobic atmosphere and is heavily inspired by the plays of celebrated British playwrite, Harold Pinter. Tom's girlfriend Gerri is played by Gemma Arterton, who has appeared in a number of movies but who first rose to fame with her role as the Bond Girl Strawberry Fields in the film 'Quantum of Solace'.

Answer: Tamsin Greig

Sally, who works for the charity WishmakerUk, has arranged a special surprise for terminally-ill Tamsin, by having her favourite pop star, Frankie J Parsons, attend her ninth birthday party. Unfortunately the moment is somewhat ruined when Frankie appears to collapse and die while blowing up a balloon. Realising that the balloon containing the star's last breath might be worth a considerable amount of money, Sally and Tamsin's parents begin squabbling over ownership of the precious object. Despite the seemingly macabre subject matter, this may be the lightest and most straightforwardly comic episode of the first series.

The episode is a wickedly funny satire of greed and the cult of celebrity and has a surprisingly sweet and satisfying ending. Tamsin Greig is a wonderful comic actress, known for her roles in sitcoms such as 'Black Books' and 'Friday Night Dinner' and her role as Debbie Aldridge in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera 'The Archers'.

Answer: Macbeth

As the cast and crew prepare to perform one of Shakespeare's most dramatic and violent plays, ,personal and professional tensions and jealousies begin to bubble to the surface, as events back-stage start to eerily echo the chaos and treachery taking place on stage.

The episode, like the play Macbeth, is divided into five acts, further emphasising the parallels between events happening on and off stage.

Answer: Julia Davis

Felicity has the stressful job of attempting to prevent the high profile West End production of Macbeth from going off the rails when it appears that the famous actor playing the eponymous lead role has started drinking again, and is regularly going on stage too drunk to perform properly.

Despite appearing to be competent and good at her job, Felicity is not immune from the sinister plots and machinations taking place behind the scenes. Julia Davis is a superb comedy writer and performer who has developed a highly individual comic style.

She has written and starred in several shows including 'Nighty Night', 'Camping', 'Sally4Ever' and 'Hunderby'. Her work is often known for its extremely dark themes, grotesque characters and surreal elements.

Answer: Helen McCrory

'The Harrowing' is a fitting end to an excellent debut season and sees Shearsmith and Pemberton returning to their comfort zone as they present us with a chilling tale of gothic horror. A teenager, Katy, has been hired by brother and sister Hector and Tabitha, played by Shearsmith and McCrory respectively, to look after their house and their disabled brother Andras.

The house is suitably creepy and the walls are covered with disturbing paintings of hell. As Katy reluctantly explores the spooky mansion it soon becomes obvious that something very sinister is afoot and the scene is set for terror.

Helen McCrory has enjoyed a long and distinguished career on screen which included playing Cherie Blair in the 2007 film 'The Queen' and Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter film franchise.