Diddle Diddle Dumpling

Diddle Diddle Dumpling is the fifth episode of the third series of Inside No. 9.

## Diddle Diddle Dumpling

### Produced By

Adam Tandy (producer)Jon Plowman (executive producer)

Spring

David, a middle class stay-at-home dad, lives with his wife Louise and daughter Sally. While out jogging, he encounters a single slip-on dress shoe. David keeps an eye on the shoe, and, by the time Louise arrives home that evening, has moved it to the dinner table. Louise drops it on the floor, though David's attention remains on it. Later, in daytime, David chastises Sally for playing with the shoe, and Louise is angry that he has hung posters advertising his find that feature their phone number.

Summer
The family celebrate Sally's birthday, while the shoe sits under a sofa. Later, Chris, a family friend, visits. He may have a job for David, but, to Louise's horror, David begins talking about his "project". Louise has binned the shoe; David is mortified, and Louise challenges him to not speak about the shoe for two minutes. He fails, and storms out to search the bin. Louise and Chris share a tender moment, but David does not notice; he is more concerned with how Chris could help him publicise his search for the shoe's owner. David's multimedia campaign and reward offer, initially unsuccessful, ultimately result in a visit from a young man who has a matching shoe. David interrogates him at length. Once satisfied by his account, and having spent a final few moments alone with the newly matched pair, he reluctantly hands it over, holding back tears.

Autumn
Sally and Louise are happy in the kitchen, when David, smartly dressed and with a confident manner, returns from work. Despite Louise's reservations, Sally performs a piece she will present in her school assembly, involving the nursery rhyme "Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling":

> Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John,
>
>
> Went to bed with his trousers on!
>
>
> One shoe off, and one shoe on,
>
>
>
> Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John!
>
>

Despite a pained expression, David applauds, hugging his daughter.

Winter
Louise encounters the shoe outside her house. Inside, David confronts her about a photograph he has found—Louise's college friend, Ted, is the man to whom David gave the shoe. He has also found a receipt for a new set of shoes, bought by Louise shortly before Ted's visit. David accuses Louise of giving him false hope, and, in response to her exasperation, says that it was never about the shoe. David is in grief, having never recovered from the death of Sally's twin brother, Joseph, six years earlier. Like the shoes, the children were "Two halves ... and one of them's gone", though he believes that "they should be together". Louise finds blood on David's hands, but it is not his own. He had driven to Norfolk to retrieve the shoe from Ted, but does not remember what he has done. The emergency services arrive outside.

On a cabinet is a photograph of a smiling David holding two infants. He is wearing the shoes. Over the credits, security footage from 15 March 2016 shows David placing the shoe outside his house before jogging away.

## Cast

 Keeley Hawes
 Mathew Baynton
 Rosa Strudwick
 Steve Pemberton
 Danny Baker