Viewers were shocked and confused after a person seemingly died on a BBC 2 game show that was hosted by Blackburn-raised comedian, Lee Mack.

According to its description, 3 by 3 was described as a “replacement” to the advertised Inside No. 9 episode that was set to air last Thursday (May 18).

In the game show three teams of three compete for a big cash prize by answering general knowledge questions.

As the show went on confused viewers took to Twitter after noticing some strange things about the show, especially the Oakwood family.

At the end of the episode one contestant, Margaret Oakwood, was trapped in a box. In a gory twist her head exploded in a gory finale.

Lee can be seen screaming ‘get the producers out here now’, before running off the set.

It turns out that the ‘game show’ had been an episode of Inside No.9 the entire time, as confirmed by the continuity announcer who said: “Well that was a shock. It just goes to show that you never know what to expect when it comes to Inside No.9.”

Lancashire Telegraph: Lee Mack on Inside No.9, episode '3 by 3'Lee Mack on Inside No.9, episode '3 by 3' (Image: BBC)

While long-term fans were not fooled, some people who were channel hopping were shocked and disturbed by the show and thought it was real.

One social media user said: “Almost a shame I’m watching Inside No.9 on iPlayer as watching it live I would have thought I had wrong channel.

“Incredible TV.”

Another said: “Sat down to watch Inside No. 9 only to get an ‘in a change to the billed schedule’ and this 3 by 3 nonsense.

“Format needs a bit of work, but a good range of question subject and difficulty, and some superb endgame strategy by the winner.”

“This is so weird,” said another. “The Oakwoods seem like bad actors, not real contestants. Surely a gag?”

Commenting on the episode, another said: “I am still in shock.”

“Is 3 by 3 on BBC2 a spoof or what? Genuinely confused by the whole thing,” said another.

The show’s Blackburn co-writer, Steve Pemberton, said: “Kudos to the brilliant Lee Mack for the Inside No.9 episode.  He brought so much to this episode.

“We wrote the script not knowing who the host would be, so it was an amalgam of many styles so we could tweak it.

"When Lee came on board we went through it with him and he added some great lines, as well as genuinely improvising with the contestants. Amazing to watch!”

You can watch Inside No.9 on BBC iPlayer.