(pictured in 2003) co-wrote, co-directed and starred in the episode with
Steve Pemberton.
Writing "Nana's Party" was the first episode of
Inside No. 9 to be written by the programme's creators
Reece Shearsmith and
Steve Pemberton. BBC producers felt the episode worked as the opening episode of a
sitcom, but Pemberton and Shearsmith were not happy to develop the idea into its own series, given the events of the plot. As such, the script was shelved, and revisited during planning for
Inside No. 9 second series. A number of changes were made from the original script when the concept was revisited. For example, a paramedic was added to the opening scene in order to add a sense of danger and foreboding, Shearsmith said that the episode's focus on a grandmother's birthday party felt "domestic" and "homely". The writers intended to play off the idea of a hidden character being able to hear conversations revealing secrets. For the writers, there is humour in characters spending time talking earnestly to a cake; they noted that the prop cake had features resembling a face. The original script ended with a knife being plunged into a fake cake followed by the revelation, contrary to viewers' expectations, that no one was under it at the time; instead, the writers upped the drama in the story, making it possible that any of the characters injured. For the writers, the original plot was, in a sense, darker, as some characters got away with wrongdoing in a way they do not in the final version.
Casting and characters (pictured in 2013) played Carol, Angela's sister. As each episode of
Inside No. 9 features new characters, the writers were able to attract actors who might have been unwilling to commit to an entire series. "Nana's Party" featured
Claire Skinner as Angela, who is hosting a party. Skinner enjoyed the "funny" script and her "nice" character.
Eve Gordon (trained at the
Nottingham Television Workshop) starred as Angela's daughter Katie, and Pemberton starred as Angela's husband Jim.
Elsie Kelly played Angela's mother Maggie, on whose birthday the episode is set.
Lorraine Ashbourne played Angela's sister Carol, and Pat, Carol's husband, was played by Shearsmith. Ashbourne said she was "thrilled" to be working with Pemberton and Shearsmith, for whom she had great admiration. She described the character of Carol as "hilarious", characterising her as "sexually frustrated" and "sad". To reflect Carol's
alcoholism, Ashbourne swilled whiskey around her mouth before filming. Shearsmith wore a red wig to play Pat, something he had never done before. His skin-tone needed to be changed to match the hair, necessitating a white spray on his face every morning. In order not to give the impression that Pat was a
thief or
murderer (rather than simply a
practical joker), Shearsmith was directed to chuckle while Pat set up his jokes. Christopher Whitlow plays a paramedic seen at the beginning and end of the episode. The scene featuring the paramedic at the end of the episode was longer in the final cut than had been initially intended in order to show more of the character's actions.
Filming and direction The second series of
Inside No. 9 was filmed from the end of 2014 into early 2015. "Nana's Party" was filmed in January, and was the final episode of the second series to be filmed. The writers saw a number of houses before selecting the one used in the episode; they wanted an
open plan home to allow for easy movement between rooms. The one chosen was close to
Twickenham Studios. A "deckhouse" was added to the house's garden; despite there already being two sheds, neither would have been visible on-screen. A new one was thus added. The executive producer
Adam Tandy suggested that
deckhouse would be preferable to
shed, as the latter term suggested the site of something awful. Scenes in a bedroom used the room mostly as the production team found it. The room featured a number of books not seen on-screen, which reminded Shearsmith of a script (in the end not used for
Inside No. 9 second series) of an episode set in a library. The front room had a buffet, including a
prawn ring; by the third day of filming, this had begun to smell, and needed to be removed. Pemberton and Shearsmith, in addition to writing and starring in "Nana's Party", directed the episode. This was the second episode they jointly directed in the second series after "
Cold Comfort", their directorial debut. The pair did not know, while writing for the series, which episodes they would be directing, meaning that their writing was unlikely to be influenced by the knowledge. Pemberton and Shearsmith had always intended to try directing, and the second series of
Inside No. 9 offered them the opportunity.
David Kerr, who had directed all of the episodes in the first series, was unable to return for the second.
Guillem Morales and
Dan Zeff each took on directorial duties for two episodes, while Pemberton and Shearsmith decided to direct the remaining two. Shearsmith said in an interview that the pair had considered directing episodes in which they did not appear much, but scheduling concerns left them with "Cold Comfort" and "Nana's Party"; both episodes feature the writers quite heavily. they were, however, tired, not least because it was the final episode of the series filmed. Pemberton and Shearsmith leaned strongly on Stephan Pehrsson, their
cinematographer. While Pemberton and Shearsmith handled
staging, Pehrsson handled cinematography. ==Plot==