The episode appeared to be a parody of the 1970s ITV sitcom On the Buses,[1] with Shearsmith playing the driver Clarke, Pemberton as conductor Wolfie, and Askwith as passenger Mr.

The episode came with a fake synopsis which read: "Wolfie and Clarke love their bus – but perhaps not as much as the mysterious Mr Cole and his dolly-bird nieces.

9, "Dead Line", which had been billed as a live episode broadcast especially for Halloween, about a man who receives phone calls from the dead, which in fact was a trick, the real story of the episode veering wildly off-course into a story about the broadcast being overrun by spirits haunting the TV studio and starring Shearsmith and Pemberton as themselves.

[6] Juliette Harrisson writing for Den of Geek argued that both of these hoaxes were an example of tricks that could only be performed on broadcast television rather than streaming services, saying that they best work when people are made to watch them at certain times as part of a schedule.

[7] Writing on Twitter, Askwith said that being part of the hoax was, "a hard secret to keep", adding it was "interesting to watch the anger and despair turn to delight" as the real episode aired.

9 finale, "Plodding On", which is set in a wrap party for the series and sees the actors playing versions of themselves.

One scene sees Askwith in a toilet with Shearsmith, suggesting ideas to make the episode real, including writing his own script.

Shearsmith suggests a third way, which leads to the episode's credits being filmed in the style of "Hold on Tight!"

The credits star the main actors in "Plodding On"; Shearsmith, Pemberton, Sian Gibson, Amanda Abbington, Katherine Parkinson (with both Abbington's and Parkinson's names switched due to their likeness in appearance), Askwith, Tim Key, Rosie Cavaliero and Nick Mohammed.