A character says that the line from the drama review "Joe Myers played the king as if somebody else had already played the ace" was "stolen from George Bernard Shaw, I believe". In fact, it's an alteration of a line from a review by the American writer Eugene Field, Sr., commenting on an actor's performance in "King Lear": "Mr. Clarke played the King all evening as though under constant fear that someone else was about to play the Ace." Field also wrote the children's poem "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod".
After the successful opening night of the play, the cast adjourn to Prospero's bar. Prospero is the protagonist in Shakespeare's, The Tempest.
Not yet listed on IMDb is Colin Dexter's customary cameo appearance. This is in the scene where Lewis and Hathaway are meeting Graham Wilkinson, Deputy Manager of the Randolph, in the hotel bar. This starts at about 22:48, and Colin is in the background having a drink with a couple of women.