Filming underway on new series of Inside No. 9

As Gein's Family Giftshop enter No. 9 for series two.

Filming has begun on the new series of BBC Two’s Inside No. 9, with a host of well-known faces joining Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith for a second outing of the show.

Alice Lowe, Alison Steadman, Claire Skinner, David Warner, Jack Whitehall, Jane Horrocks, Jim Howick, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Mark Benton, Michele Dotrice, Paul Kaye, Sheridan Smith and Tom Riley have all been confirmed for the new series, which is due to air later this year.

While Manchester sketch group Gein’s Family Giftshop – consisting of Kath Hughes, Ed Easton, James Meehan and unseen writer/producer Kiri Pritchard-McLean – will also enter No. 9 for the first time.

The surprise casting came about after Pemberton and Shearsmith went to see the Giftshop’s debut Edinburgh Fringe show over the summer and were so impressed they offered the trio a part on the spot.

Pritchard-McLean, of Gein’s Family Giftshop, told Giggle Beats: “It’s so exciting because what those guys did and are doing is the reason we do comedy. No League of Gentleman, no Gein’s – simple as that.”

Each individual story in the series will once again be set in a different location with completely new characters. From a sleeper car on a French train to a séance in a grand Victorian villa, and from a 17th century village to a volunteer call centre, Inside No. 9 is an anthology of tales of the unexpected.

Pemberton and Shearsmith are also making their joint directorial debut on two episodes in the new series. They said: “We are delighted to be handing over the keys to six new No. 9‘s. We hope they will amuse, shock, horrify and surprise…but not necessarily in that order.

“Once again we have enjoyed working with some of the best comic talent in the country. Now we are getting old, it’s nice not to have to play all the parts.”

Watch a clip of Gein’s Family Giftshop in action: