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 the house with its new living occupants, a married couple played by Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe. It was written and performed by the collective group Them There, who had previously worked together on productions including Horrible Histories and Yonderland.

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 a euphemism 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.

Cast Characters

Main

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. Simon Farnaby as Julian Fawcett MP – a poltergeist, he is 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 3:00 am 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 'Robin'/ Rogh – The oldest ghost: a caveman who lived on the land Button House now occupies and was killed when lightning struck the 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 gay 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 they pass through her. 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 cellar and, as a result, are experts on the house's heating system. They also collectively dislike Julian. 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 whose ominous singing of the nursery rhyme "Ring a Ring o' Roses" can be heard by the living and scares 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'. As a wealthy businessman, Julian had previous encounters with him in life. 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 to Mary, teaching her how to speak her mind, before moving on to the afterlife. Jessica Knappett as Lucy – a suspicious woman who introduces herself as Alison's lost paternal half-sister, but is really trying to scam Alison into giving her part of the inheritance from their alleged shared father. Emma Sidi as Eleanor Higham – Kitty's abusive adoptive sister. She only regretted her unkindness when Kitty died of a venomous spider bite. Her descendants include Isabelle, 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, whom Thomas views as his rival, in a period drama filmed at Button House. 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 Julian's first day as a ghost. Alison classes her relation to her as 'step-great-auntie' 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 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, a Catholic plot mistakenly believed to have been led by Humphrey. 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. Rich Keeble and Caroline Sheen appear as Toby and Claire, respectively – parents to two girls (Ethel and Biddy) having a birthday party at Button House. Michael Fenton Stevens as Tony Vanoli – a singer mistakenly booked by Mike to appear at the children's birthday at Button House.

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".