Inside No. 9: Last Gasp

"Last Gasp" is the fourth episode of the first series of British dark comedy anthology television programme Inside No. 9. It first aired on 26 February 2014 on BBC Two. The story revolves around the ninth birthday of the severely ill Tamsin (Lucy Hutchinson). Tamsin's parents Jan (Sophie Thompson) and Graham (Steve Pemberton) have arranged with charity WishmakerUK for singer Frankie J Parsons (David Bedella) to visit as a treat for their daughter. Frankie dies after blowing up a balloon, leading to arguments between Graham, WishmakerUK representative Sally (Tamsin Greig) and Frankie's assistant Si (Adam Deacon) over the now-valuable balloon containing Frankie's last breath. The story, written by Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, was inspired by someone Pemberton had seen on television who collected air from different places. The episode is more comedic than others in the series, and critiques celebrity culture and human greed. "Last Gasp" received a fairly negative critical response; in retrospect, Shearsmith claimed that "people hated" the episode. Several critics, including Gerard Gilbert of The Independent, Jack Seale of Radio Times and comedy critic Bruce Dessau—though complimentary of Inside No. 9 generally—considered "Last Gasp" to be weaker than the previous three episodes, but not unwatchable. Other reviewers gave a more positive response, but a particularly scathing review by columnist Virginia Blackburn was published in the Daily Express. On its first showing, "Last Gasp" drew 872,000 viewers, lower than any previous episode. Pemberton subsequently sold a balloon containing his own breath on eBay, with proceeds going to a Sport Relief charity.