Welcome to The Killer’s Lair where terrible experiments have been performed on young women. Trapped inside, can Jason and his family get free before they succumb to the wicked Dr Death?

The lair is in reality an Escape Room, specifically Locked & Loaded’s room 9, hosted by out of work actor Doug (Reese Shearsmith). Jason (Steve Pemberton) is a bit of an expert at these and has brought his family together before their eldest daughter (Kalli Tant) leaves for university. It’s soon clear from a discussion with her mother (Class’ Katherine Kelly) that something significant is planned for later in the day which will have major consequences for the family. Meanwhile the younger daughter (Maddie Evans, House of the Dragon) works more closely with her dad, until the women are forced to leave him behind…

I’ve done a couple of escape rooms myself and this is an accurate recreation of the type of scenarios and puzzles one encounters – who doesn’t love a good acrostic or a bit of Morse Code? The occasional fourth-wall breaking moments when a hint is needed or a prop doesn’t work properly are also spot on. What’s most interesting about them though is the way the solvers’ natural tendencies are revealed and the level of cooperation that ensues. It’s a lovely setup for some family drama and in this case some potential horror. Watching some of it back revealed just how clever the direction is (a fifth episode from George Kane since his debut with season eight’s The Bones of St Nicholas), with lighting used to occasionally separate characters from the rest of the tight environment. The script too is telling you more than you think it is, like many of the best episodes of this show.

I absolutely loved this one although I can’t really say why without giving it away. I vaguely guessed what was going on quite early (I think by this time in the series’ long run you’re rather supposed to) but not the specifics. It also has possibly the cleverest use of the number nine so far and, if you’re a Linux user, one of the cleverest titles.

Verdict: Gripping, involving, properly scary and potentially heartbreaking, and for me the best episode in a long time. 9/10

Andy Smith