Ghosts (2019 TV series)

Ghosts is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from April 2019 to December 2023. It follows a group of ghosts from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing it with its new living occupants. It is written and performed by the collective group Them There, who had previously worked together on productions including Horrible Histories and Yonderland.

Ghosts was the first post-watershed comedy by the ensemble, although some television critics said that it was suitable for adults and children alike, and it was moved to a pre-watershed slot from series 2 onwards. Reviews were positive, with critics appreciating its high joke rate, premise, and strong ensemble. It is produced by Monumental Pictures, part of ITV Studios, in association with Them There  and filmed on location at West Horsley Place in Surrey. A tie-in book, The Button House Archives, was released on 26 October 2023.

Premise
Alison Cooper unexpectedly inherits the vast but crumbling Button House from a distant relative. The house is haunted by numerous squabbling ghosts from across the ages who died on its grounds and are invisible and intangible to the living. Ignoring their solicitor's advice to sell the property, Alison and her husband Mike decide to move in and renovate it, with the idea of turning the house into a luxury hotel.

At first, the ghosts are not happy with the living couple's plans and conspire to get rid of the newcomers. After various failed attempts to scare them, one of the ghosts pushes Alison from an upstairs window, resulting in her being clinically dead for three minutes. When she awakens from an induced coma two weeks later, Alison discovers that her husband has arranged a huge mortgage, and that her near-death experience has given her the ability to see and hear the ghosts.

Initially believing the ghosts to be an after-effect of her accident, Alison eventually accepts the truth and confronts them. Because the Coopers cannot leave for financial reasons, and the ghosts are bound to the mansion's land until they can ascend into the afterlife (which they refer to as being 'sucked off', unaware that the phrase is considered an innuendo in modern times), both sides eventually agree that they have to coexist as best they can. Meanwhile, the house requires a lot of work, and Alison and Mike devise several schemes to assist their perilous finances.

Living

 * Charlotte Ritchie as Alison Cooper – A young woman who has inherited a mansion from Heather Button, a distant relative of unspecified relation. After a temporarily death-inducing experience caused by Julian pushing her out of a window, she is able to see, hear and interact with ghosts.
 * Kiell Smith-Bynoe as Michael 'Mike' Cooper – Alison's husband, who has grand plans for the house but is not adept at putting them into action. Although at first believing the ghosts to be Alison's hallucinations, Mike comes to accept them and often tries to communicate with them despite being unable to see them.

Ghosts

 * Lolly Adefope as Katherine 'Kitty' Higham – An excitable, overly chummy, naïve Georgian noblewoman who wishes to be friends with everyone. She has repressed her unhappy memories of her adoptive family, particularly those of her sister. She died from the bite of a venomous spider concealed on an imported pineapple in 1780. As she is the only main ghost who is not white, some reports have speculated that the character may be inspired by the real-life story of Dido Elizabeth Belle.
 * Mathew Baynton as Thomas Thorne – A melodramatic and easily-infatuated Regency Period Romantic poet, who was fatally shot in a duel in 1824. He falls in love with Alison at first sight, despite her being alive, married, and distantly related to him.
 * Simon Farnaby as Julian Fawcett MP – The most recently-deceased ghost: a disgraced Tory MP who died of a heart attack in a 1993 sex scandal while not wearing trousers. He can physically interact with the corporeal world to a limited degree if he concentrates hard enough, typically with only a forefinger to nudge small objects or press buttons.
 * Martha Howe-Douglas as Lady Stephanie 'Fanny' Button – A pompous, overbearing Edwardian lady of the manor and distantly related to Alison. She was pushed out of a window in 1912 by her adulterous husband George, and can be seen in photographs, earning her the nickname "the Grey Lady" (a ghost archetype). She unconsciously re-enacts her death every night at 3am until Julian alters a clock so that she does it a few hours later, making her scream serve as a morning alarm.
 * Jim Howick as Patrick 'Pat' Butcher – A friendly, polite leader of a uniformed youth group resembling scouts, who was accidentally shot through the neck with an arrow on the Button House grounds in 1984 by one of the uniformed boys in his care.
 * Laurence Rickard as Rogh/'Robin' – The oldest ghost: a caveman who lived on the land Button House now occupies and was killed when lightning struck a tree he was using to hide from a bear. He can manipulate electricity (likely due to his lightning-themed death) and enjoys playing chess, which he learned from Julian, as well as performing ancient rituals for the moon, which he calls 'Moonah'. He can also be heard by living animals. Despite speaking in broken English, his witnessing thousands of years of human history has made him very wise and level-headed. According to the fourth episode of the second series, all the other main characters are distant descendants of his.
 * Rickard also appears as the head of Sir Humphrey Bone – A Tudor nobleman who accidentally decapitated himself in 1575 after being mistakenly accused of his French wife Sophie's plot to assassinate Elizabeth I. He struggles with his body (played by Yani Xander) dropping his head and failing to pick him up.
 * Ben Willbond as 'The Captain' – A stern, closeted homosexual World War II Army officer, who was stationed at Button House during his service, never saw frontline combat, and had secret romantic feelings for his lieutenant. Still obsessed with his time in the war and his rank as an officer, he fancies himself as the de facto leader of the ghosts and likes to orchestrate plans using military strategy. He died of a heart attack when he attempted to reconnect with his lieutenant after the war by sneaking into a combat veterans' gathering at Button House. In the fifth series, his given first name is revealed as James.
 * Katy Wix as Mary Guppy (series 1–4) – A Stuart era witch trial victim who was burnt at the stake in 1612 and smoulders when stressed. The living can smell burning if she passes through them. Though Mary is timid and superstitious, she is outspoken in other ways. She has a gentle flirtation with and closeness to Robin, but ascends into the afterlife in the fourth series.

Recurring

 * The plague victim ghosts – An indeterminate number of ghosts who died during the Black Death and whose bodies were buried in a plague pit under the cellar. Although they can go upstairs if they wish, they prefer the basement and dislike Julian, so they keep to the cellar and are experts on the house's heating system. Eight of them are portrayed by the actors who play the main ghosts.
 * Anya McKenna-Bruce as Jemima – A young plague victim ghost who lurks in the pantry and sings ominous nursery rhymes that can be heard by the living and scare people and ghosts.
 * Geoff McGivern as Barclay Beg-Chetwynde – Alison and Mike's neighbour with whom they have a land dispute over Button House's access road. He always gets Alison's name wrong, calling her 'Annabel'.
 * Nathan Bryon as Obi – A friend of the Coopers who often appears at their home for parties.
 * Bridget Christie as Annie – The ghost of a Puritan woman who died in 1711 after choking on a piece of bread and haunted Button House prior to the first series. She was close with Mary, teaching her how to speak her mind, before moving onto the afterlife.
 * Jessica Knappett as Lucy – A suspicious woman who introduces herself as Alison's paternal half-sister, but is really trying to trick her into giving her money.
 * Emma Sidi as Eleanor Higham – Kitty's abusive adoptive sister. She only regrets her unkindness when Kitty is dying of a poisonous spider bite. Her descendants include Isabelle, Fanny, Heather and Alison. An idealised version of Eleanor as remembered by Kitty is played by Charlotte Ritchie, while other characters from this fantasy are portrayed by the rest of the main cast.
 * Richard Durden as Charles Worthing – Mike and Alison's solicitor, who gives Alison the news that she had inherited Button House from her distant relative Heather Button, and provides counsel for the Coopers whenever legal matters arise due to the manor.
 * Peter Sandys-Clarke as Anthony Havers – The Captain's lieutenant and close friend during the war, towards whom he was unable to admit his romantic feelings.

Guest appearances

 * Sophie Thompson as Bunny Beg-Chetwynde – Barclay's alcoholic wife.
 * Rory Fleck Byrne as Toby Nightingale – An actor who plays Lord Byron, Thomas' rival, in the period drama filmed at Button House. Alison develops a crush on him which drives Thomas into agony. He falls into the floor when Mike and Alison fail to inform the crew of the weight limitations.
 * Rosie Cavaliero as Fiona Legge – A hotel developer who attempts to buy Button House as cheaply as possible and con Alison and Mike out of money.
 * Ania Marson as Lady Heather Button – The great-granddaughter of Fanny and the last Button of Button House. When she dies in the first episode at the age of 99 and moves on into the afterlife shortly after, Alison Cooper comes to inherit the house. She also appears in a flashback from when Julian first becomes a ghost.
 * Jackie Clune as Gwen – A tourist who visits Button House to find proof that ghosts are real, after Lady Button appears in a photo which circulates online.
 * Holli Dempsey as Isabelle Higham – The daughter and later owner of Button (previously Higham) House who was in a relationship with Thomas before he died, but then married his cousin Francis, and whose descendants would inherit and live in Button House (including Alison, George Button and Heather Button). She was descended from Kitty's sister, Eleanor.
 * Isabella Laughland as Clare – A woman who plans and ultimately has her wedding to partner Sam at Button House.
 * Leon Herbert as Errol Cooper – Mike's father.
 * Lorna Gayle as Betty Cooper – Mike's mother.
 * Sujaya Dasgupta as Zara – A documentary presenter, who visits Button House to produce a show on the Bone Plot.
 * Jennifer Saunders as Lavinia Colebrooke – Fanny's mother, who determinedly planned to marry off her daughter.
 * Christopher Villiers as Simeon Colebrooke – Fanny's father and a compulsive gambler.
 * Rufus Wright as Lord Bummenbach – A visiting Lord who brought a pineapple to a lunch Kitty and Eleanor's father hosted, unaware it contained a venomous spider that ultimately killed Kitty.
 * Anna Crilly as Joy Kielty – A representative of Mike and Alison's insurance company who investigates their claim that their guest house was struck by lightning in the series 4 finale, before they can receive the payout.
 * Anna Crilly as Joy Kielty – A representative of Mike and Alison's insurance company who investigates their claim that their guest house was struck by lightning in the series 4 finale, before they can receive the payout.

Production
According to Mathew Baynton, the idea of a haunted house was one of the first ideas the writers developed after the end of Horrible Histories. However, they were initially uncertain because there was "no jeopardy that we could write into it" and they created the sitcom Yonderland for Sky One instead. When that series ended, they "realised the boredom of eternity and the existential aspects of the ghosts idea was unique... We realised it was a house-share sitcom—and as soon as you stop thinking about those kind of major drama stakes, you unlock a story that is really domestic and petty." Mike and Alison, the two living characters, were introduced as a foil for the ghosts, and to introduce "the stakes, the worries about money, life and everything you need for a story".

Writing in Broadcast, Jim Howick noted that the 2016 episode of Who Do You Think You Are?, where EastEnders actor Danny Dyer discovered he was related to Edward III of England, formed the basis of the idea of Alison: "We loved the idea of Danny Dyer's royal lineage... We've mirrored this with our character Alison, who discovers her aristocratic roots, which she embraces immediately and takes on with relish."

Baynton recalled that BBC head of comedy commissioning Shane Allen was looking for a pre-watershed primetime sitcom for BBC One. During the writing process, the intention was to make an adult show, but one that would appeal to older children, along the lines of Blackadder: "We wanted to do something that has a properly creaky atmosphere. I love the idea that some kids might stay up for it. It's great as a kid when you think something isn't quite for you and it's a bit cheekier." In the event, the programme was scheduled at 9.30 on Monday evenings after the sitcom Not Going Out. Baynton noted in the i newspaper that as the original audience of Horrible Histories would now be grown up, "hopefully we're making something so they can continue to watch us!"

Baynton said the Tim Burton film Beetlejuice provided the writers a "useful tonal reference" as did The Rocky Horror Show. Jim Howick, addressing its similarity to the 1970s series Rentaghost, noted that most of the writers were either slightly too young or too old to have watched it, but the series did make knowing use of many of the clichés of horror programmes, such as headless Tudor noblemen.

The programme is filmed at West Horsley Place in Surrey, England, a large country house unexpectedly inherited by the writer and former University Challenge presenter Bamber Gascoigne in 2014 from his great aunt, the Duchess of Roxburghe, under circumstances not dissimilar to those depicted in the series. Some scenes were also filmed on London Road and Clandon Road in nearby Guildford with outside images of the famous Bettys Tea Rooms in Harrogate, North Yorkshire rebranded as "Sandrine's" in the penultimate scene of the final episode of series three.

Filming of the second series started on 13 January 2020. It started airing, on BBC One, on 12 September that year. The series was moved to a pre-watershed slot of 8.30 pm. Production on the third series began in early 2021 and finished on 7 April 2021. It premiered on 9 August 2021. Filming of the fourth series wrapped on 16 March 2022.

Series 4 of Ghosts was covered in the BBC podcast series Inside..., which is a companion podcast to popular comedy series and offers a deeper, behind the scenes look into each episode via discussions with the writers and cast members. The Ghosts episodes are hosted by Nathan Bryon, who plays Obi, a friend of Mike and Alison in the series.

A fifth and final series, broadcast from 6 October 2023, was confirmed by the BBC in December 2022, with a final Christmas special being confirmed shortly before the broadcast of the final series.

Series 5 (2023)
The fifth and final series premiered on BBC One on 6 October 2023 at 8.30 pm.

Special
A special 7-minute-long episode for Comic Relief, broadcast on 17 March 2023, guest starring Kylie Minogue with a cameo appearance from Jason Donovan. Minogue had been due to appear in the sketch in 2022, but that appearance was cancelled due to her contracting COVID-19.

Broadcast
Ghosts also airs on Paramount+ and CBC Gem in Canada. It used to be available in the US on Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max (now Max) until they lost the streaming rights to the show 12 September 2023. In November 2023, due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike causing a delay in production of the show's American remake, CBS began to broadcast episodes of the British series as Ghosts UK on linear US television.

Reception
Critical reception to the series has been positive. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first series holds approval rating of 83%, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critical consensus said: "The perfect blend of spooky and silly, Ghosts's ghastly giggles are a delight." The second series received an approval rating of 100%, based on five reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The third series also received a 100% approval rating, but with a higher average rating of 8.7/10, based on six reviews.

Stuart Jeffries in The Guardian wrote: "In making us giggle at the supernatural, Ghosts is very British – a mash-up of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit and Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), not to mention the manifold sillinesses of Hammer horror films. But it is American in the sense of having a gag-to-airtime ratio much higher than British sitcoms normally manage these days." Michael Hogan in The Daily Telegraph was similarly positive, comparing it to the 1970s' children's sitcom Rentaghost but noting that "This deliriously daft supernatural romp, however, was none the worse for that."

Susannah Butter in the Evening Standard said the first episode reminded her of a property show, watching the couple view a terrible flat, before making their escape to the country. She was critical of the post-watershed scheduling of 9.30 pm, saying "it feels like a show that children would enjoy" and noting: "This is a gentle ensemble comedy. Alison and Mike are wide-eyed, charming and likeable. I would gladly have them as friends, even though they can't sing...Nothing about this show is scary." Carol Midgley in The Times was also confused by the scheduling, noting that "Ghosts is smut[-] and swearword-free" and calling it "a curiously life-affirming comedy about death".

Contrasting it with the bleak "sadcoms" such as Fleabag and After Life, Pat Stacey in the Irish Independent noted "It's joyously, infectiously silly, yet at the same time whip-smart. It's just the ticket to scare those sadcom blues away."

A second series was announced a week after the transmission of episode 6. The BBC Press Office announcement noted it received a consolidated average of 3.7 million viewers across the series, highlighting its popularity with 16–34-year-old viewers. On 8 October 2019, Rickard confirmed that a third series had also been commissioned.

In April 2021, the sitcom was nominated for the Scripted Comedy BAFTA Award and the Comedy Writer BAFTA Craft Award.

Due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, CBS aired Ghosts starting on 16 November 2023.

Series 5, released all at once on iPlayer on 6 October 2023, received particularly high praise from critics with five star reviews in The Telegraph and The Guardian.

Adaptation
An American adaptation of the series was announced on 29 November 2019 by CBS. On 4 February 2020, it was announced that a pilot had been ordered to be produced by BBC Studios, Lionsgate Television and CBS Studios. On 4 March 2020, Rose McIver was cast in the pilot. On 1 July 2020, Utkarsh Ambudkar was also cast. On 9 December 2020, additional casting of Brandon Scott Jones, Richie Moriarty, Asher Grodman, Rebecca Wisocky, Sheila Carrasco, Danielle Pinnock and Roman Zaragoza was announced. On 31 March 2021, it was announced that a full series had been ordered. The series premiered on 7 October 2021. On 24 January 2022, it was renewed for a second series which premiered on 29 September 2022. In January 2023, it was renewed for a third series.

A German adaptation is in production by BBC Studios Germany and a French adaptation is being prepped.