Matthew Kelly joins Inside No 9 cast for final series
Matthew Kelly has joined the cast of 'Inside No. 9'.
The former 'Stars In Their Eyes' host - who fronted the singing competition on ITV between 1993 and 2004 - will be part of the upcoming ninth and final series of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's creepy horror comedy anthology.
With filming underway for the last run of episodes - due to air on the BBC in 2024 - it's been confirmed Matthew will be involved.
The 73-year-old star first stepped onto the small screen in 1980s sitcom 'Holding the Fort', and after leaving 'Stars In Their Eyes', he appeared in the likes of 'Bleak House'.
Joining him across the series will be 'This Country' star Charlie Cooper, Mark Bonnar, Dorothy Atkinson and 'Happy Valley' actress Siobhan Finneran.
'Derry Girls' star Philippa Dunne has also been announced alongside 'Plebs' actor Joel Fry, Vinette Robinson, Eddie Marsan, Adrian Scarborough and recent 'Taskmaster' favourite Susan Wokoma.
Commenting on the final series, 'Inside No. 9' creators Steve and Reece admitted they felt "mixed emotions".
They said in a statement: "It is with mixed emotions that we announce we have started filming the final series of 'Inside No. 9'.
"We overheard some crew members the other day describe us as 'a couple of Wonkas' and that seems an apt description.
"We take the finest ingredients (stellar casts and creatives) and blend them with our secret recipe to produce unique confections that are delicious and often deadly.
"It has been the greatest privilege to have been allowed to make 55 wildly different episodes and we’ll miss the yearly challenge of trying to entertain and surprise our audience.
"We honestly feel like golden ticket winners – which makes us not a couple of Wonkas, but a pair of Charlies."
Meanwhile, Jon Petrie - director of BBC Comedy - said the show "will be hugely missed", although Reece noted there is a chance it will be back in the future.
Jon added: "Reece and Steve have, once again, served up a stellar line up of guests to star alongside them in their funny, beautifully crafted and totally original scripts."
