Erik Sykes’ “The Plank”.  Mel Brooks’ “Silent Movie.  And now “Inside No. 9 – A Quiet Night In”.

Some of the very best comedy has few, if any spoken words.   “Malthouse Passage” in “The Plank”.  “No”, spoken by none other than Marcel Marceau in “Silent Movie” and a few words at the end of “A Quiet Night In”.

The limitations of the medium mean the actors have to be more engaging, to deliver a far greater performance to get across the message – while at the same time they can convey far, far more in a few gestures than in many lines of dialogue.

“Pick it up!”

“I can’t, I’m allergic to dogs.”

It takes longer to type it that it did to watch it last night.

If you’ve got access to the BBC’s iPlayer, you must – must – watch it.  The series is young, this was only the second episode, but has such a pedigree, such a strong cast.  At times it might edge towards “League of Gentlemen” but given the writers and performers, that’s not surprising.

Dark comedy doesn’t get any better than this.