| "The Devil of Christmas" | |
|---|---|
| Inside No. 9 episode | |
 A poster for the episode, showing Rula Lenska as Celia, Steve Pemberton as Julian, Reece Shearsmith as Klaus and Jessica Raine as Kathy | |
| Episode no. | Series 3 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Graeme Harper |
| Written by | Steve Pemberton Reece Shearsmith |
| Editing by | Joe Randall-Cutler |
| Original air date | 27 December 2016 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Devil of Christmas" is a Christmas special of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9, and the first episode of the third series. It was first aired on 27 December 2016 on BBC Two. The episode was directed by Graeme Harper and written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. Stylistically, it took heavy inspiration from classic 1970s anthology programmes, such as Beasts, Thriller, Tales of the Unexpected and Armchair Thriller, and was filmed using authentic equipment. Pemberton intended the episode to be a recreation of this kind of classic programming, with critics characterising it as a homage, pastiche or loving parody.
"The Devil of Christmas", which is set in December 1977, begins with an English family (played by Pemberton, Rula Lenska, Jessica Raine and George Bedford) arriving at an Austrian Alpine chalet, where their guide (played by Shearsmith) tells them the story of the Krampus. It shortly becomes apparent, however, that viewers are watching a film, and a director (voiced by Derek Jacobi) provides commentary on the events. The critical reception of "The Devil of Christmas" was very strong, with praise directed at the writing, acting and production. As a recreation of 1970s anthology programmes, it was considered a success. The ending, critics noted, was extremely dark; though many offered considerable praise for the final twist, a minority criticised it as gratuitously unpleasant.