"Nana's Party" is the fifth episode of the second series of the British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No.

Written and directed by Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, the episode starred Claire Skinner as the obsessive-compulsive and aspirational Angela, who is hosting a party for the 79th birthday of her mother Maggie, played by Elsie Kelly.

Much of the episode's plot revolves around a practical joke with a fake cake that Jim has set up in an attempt to fool Pat.

Moving the cake reveals the head of the person hiding under the table, but, in the meantime, the hidden character can hear conversations taking place nearby, unbeknownst to those who are not in on the joke.

Television critics responded positively to "Nana's Party", which was praised as a typically-strong instalment of Inside No.

For example, a paramedic was added to the opening scene in order to add a sense of danger and foreboding,[2] and the character Angela's "borderline OCD" was accentuated.

[4] Pemberton, too, called it a "domestic" story, describing it as playing upon the classic British plot device of a family party going wrong.

[4] With "Nana's Party", the writers wanted to produce something "dark" and "suburban", with Pemberton citing the playwright Alan Ayckbourn as an influence.

[8] 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.

She was one of several members of the cast of the film Life Is Sweet (others being Alison Steadman and Jane Horrocks) who have starred in Inside No.

[11] 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.

[26] 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.

[29] 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.

Guillem Morales and Dan Zeff each took on directorial duties for two episodes, while Pemberton and Shearsmith decided to direct the remaining two.

[34] "Nana's Party" represented a directorial challenge insofar as Pemberton and Shearsmith were both on-screen for a relatively large amount of the episode.

[26] "Nana's Party" required more direction than "Cold Comfort", due in part to the larger number of actors.

Jim plans to play a trick on Pat—a practical joker and the husband of Angela's sister, Carol (a recovering alcoholic)—by hiding under the cake.

As the three settle, Pat plugs in his mobile to charge—something Jim had asked Angela to prevent—and secretly places ice in a bucket.

Maggie wants a photograph with the food on the table, and Carol lights the cake's candles, which burn towards the flammable fake cake—under which Jim is still hiding.

Downstairs, Jim persuades Angela to take up position under the table as Pat replaces the soap in the toilet.

Maggie talks about Pat's "frozen willies"—novelty ice cubes—as a distressed Jim makes her a drink, and Carol dances with the uninterested Katie.

Katie wants to talk to her mother, but chaos ensues when Maggie chokes on an ice cube, which Pat reveals contains a fake spider.

Plotlines following a birthday party in disarray are common, particularly in plays, and an episode with a similar theme was also included in the first series of Inside No.

[43] The episode's action revolves around the practical joke involving the cake and, in particular, viewers' attempts to guess what has caused injury, as they know that the paramedic will be coming.

[45] Maggie is unaware of the chaos around her, instead distracted by the tablet[40]—on which she plays a game somewhere between Clash of Clans and Minecraft[49]—or retelling the birthday card joke.

[40] As a "Middle England suburban" comedy, "Nana's Party" is "all about the depths and heartaches lurking beneath apparently happy families".

[37] Raeside, in the course of a review of the whole series for theguardian.com, claimed that one of the writers' strengths is "pulling at the loose threads of suburban life to reveal the worst of humanity just under the soft furnishings", and that, in "Nana's Party", despite the viewers' assumption that there would be a "gory" conclusion, the "tragedy was an altogether more gruesome punctuation to the story as Pemberton's face betrayed the total emotional collapse going on within".

[43] Jack Seale, also writing for theguardian.com, claimed that the script was able to move "effortlessly from funny to dark to desperately sad".

[42] Phoebe-Jane Boyd, in a review of the episode for the entertainment website Den of Geek, wrote that the tension in "Nana's Party" was "cranked up fantastically", as the story's genre, and viewer's expectations, shift.

[38] Bennion also praised the cast, claiming that Skinner, Ashbourne and Kelly were strong, but that Shearsmith gave the best performance.