The guest stars set to appear in Series 8 of Inside No. 9 have been revealed.

Confessions Of A Window Cleaner and Carry On Girls star Robin Askwith is set to return to the screen in one of the episodes. A first look picture shows him alongside creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith in what appears to be a spoof of 1970s hit On The Buses.

It's been confirmed the comic acting line-up for the new series will also comprise of Amanda Abbington (The Family Pile), Anita Dobson (The Rebel), Asim Chaudhry (People Just Do Nothing), Phil Daniels (Time Gentlemen Please), Claire Rushbrook (My Mad Fat Diary), Frances Barber (Dodger), Mathew Horne (Gavin & Stacey), Moyo Akandé (Guilt), Samantha Spiro (Sex Education) and Sheila Reid (Benidorm).

Actors Leon Herbert and Menyee Lai and newcomer Ayda Kiiza will feature in the new run too.

The five new episodes will debut on BBC Two this spring. They follow on from Christmas special The Bones of St Nicholas. Broadcast in December, the episode brought Inside No. 9 its biggest audience to date, with over 2.7 million now having watched the spooky festive tale.

The BBC says: "The episodes will stay true to the show's popular anthology format, each delivering an original story and a cast of new characters that bring a mix of horror, thriller, drama, comedy and surprising twists."

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton comment: "We are thrilled to invite viewers inside a new set of funny and frightening number 9s; take your shoes off, make yourself at home and switch your devices to Do Not Disturb. Well it might work..."

Josh Cole from BBC Studios says: "We're thrilled to be making a new series of Inside No. 9 with the unassailable Reece and Steve, and look forward to delighting and upsetting viewers in equal measure."

Commissioning editor Gregor Sharp adds: "Reece and Steve are masters of their craft and it's a delight to see such a brilliant line up of guest stars joining them for another series of perfectly formed dark comedy masterpieces."

All previous episodes of Inside No. 9 are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer. It was confirmed in June that a ninth series of the hit show would also be made, which is expected to be shown in 2024. In December, Pemberton updated fans by saying "We feel it is a good time to pause Inside No. 9 after we finish filming Series 9", adding "We're not saying it's over for good. After all, The League Of Gentlemen came back, but we won't be looking to make any more episodes for the time being."

A transmission date and the titles and synopsis for the five new Series 8 episodes will be revealed this spring.