Uncanny is a BBC radio and television series created by Danny Robins featuring explorations of the paranormal and supernatural phenomena, first broadcast in 2021. The radio series is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and as a podcast on BBC Sounds. A television version for BBC Two was first broadcast on 13 October 2023. The format has also been adapted as a touring stage show and since 2025 the television series has been accompanied by a visual podcast discussion called Uncanny: Post Mortem broadcast in both TV and podcast formats.
Each episode, Robins interviews a witness who has had an uncanny experience; topics include poltergeists and other ghosts, UFO sightings and cryptids. The story is punctuated by contributions from two experts who attempt to explain the experience; one expert is usually sceptical and will look to a rational psychological or natural explanation, the other will look for parallels with other similar cases. This is characterised in the series as "Team Sceptic" and "Team Believer". Experts include Caroline Watt, Chris French, Ciarán O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow. The theme tune "Don't Have Nightmares" is by indie band Lanterns on the Lake.
Uncanny has run for five series on radio, plus a number of Uncanny Live specials recorded in front of a live audience and various Christmas and Halloween specials. Special episodes have featured guests such as Mark Gatiss, Laura Whitmore, Laurence Rickard and David Baddiel. The fourth series, Uncanny USA, featured cases exclusively from the United States and was broadcast from April 2024. A series examining famous supernatural cases from the past, Uncanny: Cold Cases was broadcast in 2026.
Radio episodes Series 1 No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes11The Evil in Room 61123 October 2021A professor recounts a haunting he experienced as a student at Alanbrooke Hall, a demolished Queen's University Belfast hall of residence in the 1970s. Alanbrooke Hall formed the subject of several subsequent episodes as further witnesses contacted the programme.22The Hanging Room30 October 2021A teenager and her family move to an old farm house in the countryside in search of a new start.33The Todmorden UFO6 November 2021Policeman Alan Godfrey has a close encounter - could it be connected to an unsolved murder in the area?44My Best Friend's Ghost13 November 2021A young woman is visited by the ghost of her closest friend.55Return to Room 61120 November 2021Another witness to the goings on at Alanbrooke Hall tells their story.66The Brooklyn Poltergeist27 November 2021A British model is made to feel unwelcome by her American flatmates...and the resident poltergeist.77The Angel in the Bathroom4 December 2021A suicidal man is saved by divine intervention.88The UFO in the Playground11 December 2021Follows up on the Todmorden UFO case, and features stories of two childhood UFO sightings in Wales and Africa.99I Will Kill You All18 December 2021Journalist Hannah Betts recounts how her family were terrorised by the legacy of a Victorian murder.1010Don't Sleep in this House25 December 2021A climber spends a terrifying night at an abandoned cottage in the Scottish Highlands.1111The Curse of Luibeilt1 January 2022Continuation of previous episode. The climber returns to the cottage to confront the presence.1212Fatal Collision8 January 2022A delivery driver is involved in a life-changing accident.1313The Return of Elizabeth Dacre15 January 2022Moving to a large house at the seaside, a young family are haunted by visions of the house's former occupant.1414The Haunting of Tanfield House22 January 2022An art student is haunted by a poltergeist.1515Bloody Hell Ken29 January 2022Updates on the cases featured in the series - including Alanbrooke Hall.16SpecialSummer Special Part 1: Canadian Horror Story25 June 2022Something seems very wrong during a family holiday to a fishing village in Newfoundland.17SpecialSummer Special Part 2: The Room Next Door2 July 2022Further evidence in the Canadian case from another witness.18SpecialSummer Special Part 3: Uncanny Live29 July 2022Recorded at the Hay Festival19SpecialUncanny Meets Ghosts27 September 2022Danny Robins discusses ghosts with special guest Laurence Rickard, co-creator of the sitcom Ghosts.20SpecialChristmas Special23 December 2022A terrifying encounter for a mother and son in a Scottish council house.21SpecialUncanny Live with Mark Gatiss30 December 2022With special guest Mark Gatiss
Series 2 No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes221The Boy in Room 38 April 2023A young woman takes a job as a cook at Ampleforth Abbey and finds herself alone in her accommodation - except for the sound of a crying child.232My Family's Poltergeist15 April 2023A malevolent poltergeist plagues a family.243Leave the Lights On22 April 2023Continuation of the previous episode.254Inside Room 61129 April 2023More evidence from the haunting at Alanbrooke Hall.265Uncanny Live at UncannyCon6 May 2023With special guest Laura Whitmore. A group of women find themselves with identical bruises after visiting Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh.276An Angel Called Bernie13 May 2023A soldier's life is saved by the ghost of his grandmother.287The Rendlesham UFO20 May 2023Retired USAF officer Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt recounts his experience in the famous Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980.298The Guest Book27 May 2023A young couple discover why the previous occupant of their Victorian shop never went upstairs.309The Beast of Langeais3 June 2023Two backpackers visit the Château de Langeais in France and have a terrifying encounter after dark.3110Harry Called20 June 2023A student participates in a Ouija board session, and receives a message from "Harry". He is soon plagued by telephone calls and visitations.3211Uncanny Live at Hay17 June 2023With special guest David Baddiel at the Hay Festival. A London Underground guard sees the ghost of a lost girl at Russell Square station.3312The Ghost That Followed Us Home24 June 2023A ghostly girl spotted on family holiday to France appears again closer to home.
Series 3 No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes34SpecialSeason 2 Case Update20 September 2023Looking back on some of the cases from the second series with further evidence.351The Blue Man30 September 2023The apparition of a blue figure in a bedroom in Wales is witnessed by multiple people over many years.362Uncle Jack7 October 2023A couple move into a dilapidated cottage - could the footsteps from the floor above be the ghost of a late relative?37SpecialMiss Howard, The Bearpark Poltergeist and The Oxford Exorcism - Case Update31 October 2023Updates on the three cases in the television adaptation.383The Ghost Who Hated Parties8 November 2023Three students in Waterford, Ireland find their revelries disturbing a resident spirit.394Elton's Phone15 November 2023A child's toy telephone starts ringing in the night, heralding a sequence of increasingly disturbing incidents.405Double Trouble22 November 2023Two doppelgänger cases are examined - a family from Newcastle witness themselves driving the other way in their classic car, and a disabled woman's suicidal thoughts are ended after seeing a vision of herself as an older woman.416Good Evening29 November 2023A nurse moves into a regular suburban house with her husband and newborn baby, but keeps hearing the voice of a well-spoken man in her ear.42SpecialChristmas Special: The Haunting of Daisy May Cooper25 December 2023Danny Robins joins writer and actor Daisy May Cooper to investigate whether her house is haunted.43SpecialS3 Case Update14 February 2024Updates on the cases from series 3.
Three repeated 'Classic Cases' with new introductions by Laurence Rickard, Daisy May Cooper and Reece Shearsmith were broadcast on 14, 21 and 28 October while the television adaptation was on air.
Series 4: Uncanny USA No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes441The Flood30 April 2024A man's Voodoo-practicing aunt dies in Hurricane Katrina. After inheriting her Ouija board, he soon regrets attempting to contact her.452Dad's Phone7 May 2024A controlling former spy promises to contact his daughter after his death if he can find a way. After his death from cancer, his old phone starts ringing.463The Platte County Poltergeist14 May 2024A family build their dream house in rural Missouri - but are soon troubled by poltergeist activity and visions of a man in an upstairs bedroom. Can a new house be haunted?474The Hairy Man21 May 2024Three relatives prospecting for gold in the Alaskan wilderness encounter a tribe of humanoid creatures outside their cabin in the forest. Could it be the legendary Bigfoot?485The Mystery of Willow Creek28 May 2024Danny visits Willow Creek in Humboldt County, California, the "Bigfoot capital of the world" and hears what happened next in the case from the previous week.496Series 4 Case Update4 June 2024Updates on some of the cases from series 4.507The Burnt Man11 June 2024A man is troubled by visions of a charred figure he saw as a child while living in the Mojave Desert.518What Lies Beyond18 June 2024Double bill. An 911 emergency responder in Maine receives a call warning about a fire that doesn't yet exist. A funeral home in Kansas is troubled by one of its occupants.529The Labor Day UFO25 June 2024Interviews with multiple witnesses and unwilling participants in the 1969 Labor Day UFO incident in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.5310Arthur's House2 July 2024After buying a cottage in the upmarket California town of Montecito a woman finds herself made less than welcome by the ghost of its previous owner.
Halloween: Trilogy of Terror No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes54SpecialHalloween Special with Stewart Lee29 October 2024Danny is joined by comedian Stewart Lee to examine some spooky cases; a man tells the story of a child being physically moved by a ghost near Loch Ness, a man recalls sharing a dream with Rick Astley, a man's father is terrorised by Black Shuck in The Fens and a woman experiences a time slip back to a World War II pub.55SpecialHalloween Special: Meadow Cottage Part 15 November 2024A family are terrorised in their 200-year-old house in the Lake District.56SpecialHalloween Special: Meadow Cottage Part 212 November 2024The story of Meadow Cottage continued.
Halloween Countdown A series of short cases from listeners' emails released daily on BBC Sounds in the run-up to Halloween 2024, beginning on 1 October 2024.
Uncanny Christmas No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes57SpecialReturn to Luibeilt25 December 2024In series one, Phil recounted a terrifying night spent in a haunted climber's bothy at Luibeilt in the Scottish Highlands. Fifty years later, Danny and his producer join Phil on a hike to spend the night at the ruined bothy and record their experiences.58SpecialUncanny Live with Reece Shearsmith3 January 2025Actor and writer Reece Shearsmith joins Danny for an episode recorded at UncannyCon at the Royal Festival Hall.
Uncanny Summer Specials 2025 No overall No. Title First broadcast Notes58SpecialThe Torrelaguna House Part 110 June 2025A former soldier staying at a medieval mansion in Torrelaguna, Spain sees a terrifying creature on his bed.59SpecialThe Torrelaguna House Part 217 June 2025Further witnesses attest to the strange goings on at the house.60SpecialUncanny Live at the Hay Festival 202524 June 2025Danny is joined by Ciaran O'Keeffe and Evelyn Hollow for a recording made at the Hay Festival 2025.
Halloween Advent Calendar New short cases from listeners every day during October 2025.
Series 5