Dozens of BBC viewers took to social media in horror after a contestant’s head exploded on, what was supposedly a new quiz show hosted by Lee Mack, leaving many understandably traumatised.
On Thursday, May 18, Lee Mack, a well-known comedian, appeared on the BBC to challenge three teams of three contestants in what appeared to be a new game show called 3 by 3.
Sounds simple enough, right?
But just as Mack was giving his final delivery, one of the competitors had her head blown up, which left viewers in total shock.
The Three Tenors and Quiztopher Biggins, two quiz teams in the episode, had already been eliminated at that moment, leaving Margaret and Catherine Oakwood, a mother-daughter duo, left to take on the last challenge.
Margaret could be seen confined inside a soundproof room while the pair had to separately come up with the same correct answers on their own.
But that’s where things took an unexpected turn.
Margaret’s final mistake prevented the Oakwoods from winning the big cash prize, and that’s when things started to get crazy. Margaret then looked to be imprisoned in the booth, desperately trying to escape, before her head burst on video.
Little did people know, that the show was actually the first episode of the dark comic anthology series Inside No. 9, which usually features its creators Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton.
However, viewers were tricked into thinking the show, which was advertised as taking place on a bus, had changed slot with a new game show hosted by Mack.
Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton even went as far as to film several clips for the show as a teaser for the episode, but it turns out that was all just a ploy to distract viewers from anticipating the latest episode, keeping with the true Inside No. 9 experience.
Part way through the show some viewers already guessed that the gameshow was fake, but others didn’t pick up on it, leaving them traumatised.
Dozens took to social media to share their horror at the unexpected head explosion, with one Tweeting: “I turned on my tv at 10:30, i noticed a new game show with lee mack, i’m a fan so i stayed, completely unexpecting of what is about to happen. imagine the SHOCK i got when her HEAD EXPLODED? i had no idea what inside no 9 was! new experience (i feel insane).”
While a second wrote: “I’ll defend that episode to the death. What made it so good was the believability. How they wrote all the little nuisance and events of banal quiz shows in perfectly. Just a few little hints that something wasn’t right and wham, head explosion. Incredible.”
“Managed to avoid spoilers before watching last week’s Inside No 9, and was rewarded with a superb episode. Just delightful, the way it played with the viewer: those gentle early hints that something was off, gathering intensity with a creeping, building sense of unease, until… !” a third said.
It clearly got people talking!
What did you make of the show?
