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"Dead Line"
Inside No. 9 episode
Poster designed by Andy Bottomley
Directed by	Barbara Wiltshire
Written by	Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith
Original air date	October 28, 2018 (2018-10-28)
Running time	32 minutes
Guest appearance
Stephanie Cole as Moira O'Keefe
Episode chronology
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"Dead Line" is a Halloween special episode of the British black comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. Written by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the episode was directed by Barbara Wiltshire and was first broadcast live on 28 October 2018, on BBC Two. It stars Pemberton, Shearsmith and Stephanie Cole. The episode was filmed at Maidstone Studios representing Granada Studios, infamous for supposedly being haunted, and its many disasters.

Plot

Arthur Flitwick (Steve Pemberton) returns home with a phone he has found and wishes to return it to its owner. He calls the last number dialled, Moira O'Keefe (Stephanie Cole). She says it belongs to Elsie Mitchelle, and advises Arthur to contact the local vicar, Reverend Neil (Reece Shearsmith). That evening, Neil enters the house, enquires how Arthur found the phone, and attempts to collect it. Arthur says he prefers to keep the phone and return it to Elsie; after some time, Neil leaves.

Technical issues arise, and the characters are inaudible. An announcer (Becky Wright) apologizes for the issues with the sound, and the issues eventually become unfixable. "A Quiet Night In" is rerun to replace the timeslot, and is also marred by technical issues. A spirit is seen outside the house. The announcer apologizes once again, but is cut off by intermittent whispering. She asks "Is someone there?" and screams.

The episode cuts to live CCTV footage of the set. It then suddenly cuts to archived filming of Public Enemy Number One. Bobby Davro is put in stocks, and the prop falls. Davro's face is smashed into the floor, nearly killing him. Another cut shows a feed of Pemberton and Shearsmith complaining about the technical issues and the episode in general.

An episode of Most Haunted is broadcast, discussing the hauntings that occur within Granada Studios. It then jumps back to studio footage of the phone ringing. Cole picks it up and talks for a while with an unknown person. Meanwhile, Pemberton and Shearsmith learn they are being broadcast while reading through various historical disasters within Granada Studios.

Rehearsal footage of the episode is shown. Arthur is covered in blood in his bathroom, holding a knife, as Moira helps herself into his apartment after receiving a message from Neil. Arthur hastily dresses up, and denies that he ever met with Neil. Moira discovers Neil's head inside the microwave. Arthur claims that Elsie's ghost contacted him through her phone, and that Neil murdered Elsie for money from her will. Breaking character, Cole inquires about the characters' motives to Pemberton and Shearsmith. As Pemberton moves away from the camera, a figure is visible behind him.

Back to live studio footage, Shearsmith comes to talk with Cole. In a possessed state, she states that the studio belongs to the ghosts and they are trespassing, advising Shearsmith to leave. Indifferent, he goes to make a cup of tea, and Cole kills herself by slicing her neck. A water bucket falls over by itself, and television screens shut off. The Most Haunted episode is then played, where they discuss that just opposite Granada Studios, the Church of St John's has a graveyard with 22,000 bodies.

The broadcast cuts to Shearsmith's bodycam, making tea. He hears banging and investigates. Pemberton puts down the prop of Neil's head, and he jumpscares Shearsmith. Pemberton contacts the water and electricity, electrocuting him, and is paralyzed.

The broadcast cuts to a mock news broadcast of "Alan Starr", who hanged himself in Granada after suffering schizophrenic episodes and paranormal incidents. He recorded "voice phenomena" of a spirit saying "let us be". Genuine archive footage of a news report on a fire at Granada Studios is broadcast. Costumes, sets, and props for The Jewel in the Crown stored in the building were all destroyed. The episode cuts back to Shearsmith, running for aid but the studio is now abandoned. He gets increasingly panicked when the lights go out, and the camera keeps cutting. He is then jumped by the spirit of Alan Starr and falls to his death.

Footage of The One Show is played, of an interview with Shearsmith and Pemberton, where Shearsmith denies the existence of ghosts. A clip of "A Quiet Night In" is played, of Shearsmith and Pemberton getting shot, repeated constantly, at increasing speed. A cut to black, and a whisper is heard: "Let us be".

References

1. "Inside No. 9: the road to Dead Line's devilish deception". Den of Geek. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
2. Hogan, Michael (2018-10-28). "Inside No 9 Live, review: A prank pulled off with aplomb, this was a televisual trick and treat". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
3. ^ "How did Inside No 9 spring the biggest live TV surprise of the year?". the Guardian. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2021-06-15.

External links

• "Dead Line" at IMDb
• "Dead Line" at BBC Programmes
• "Dead Line" at the British Comedy Guide

• Inside No. 9 episodes
• Halloween television episodes