More spooky goings-on in Ghosts

The ‘other side’ has been a rich seam for entertainment creatives to mine for generations.

From spooky warnings of strange creatures lurking outside the prehistoric cave to modern ghost hunts, packed to the gills with digital detection technology, humans have been fascinated by things that go bump in the night for, well, just about forever.

Almost every facet of the ghostly realm has been explored on the big and small screen too, with some productions doing it more successfully than others.

Imagine (if you can) a world without the shock twist of The Sixth Sense, and how M Night Shyamalan’s denouement delighted audiences who didn’t see it coming.

Picture Juliet Stevenson’s heartbroken face turning to joy when her alter ego Nina’s grief brings back her recently deceased cellist lover Jamie (played by the incomparable Alan Rickman) in Truly Madly Deeply.

Then there’s Hollywood big hitter Ghost, a sentimental slush-fest that won Whoopi Goldberg an Oscar.

Not to mention the numerous Ghostbuster films, Rentaghost (for those of a certain age), every version of A Christmas Carol ever made, Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, and that little cutey Casper.

It would be entirely fair to assume that, as a genre, there was nothing new or original to be extracted from ghosts.

Then, in 2019, several cast members from Yonderland and Horrible Histories came together and produced something entirely fresh.

Created by and starring Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond, Ghosts follows the fortunes of Alison Cooper (Charlotte Ritchie), who inherits the crumbling Button House from a distant relative.

Ignoring all advice to sell up, take the money and run, Alison and her husband Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) decide to move in, renovate the place and turn it into a luxury hotel.

None of which goes down well with the several squabbling spectres from a range of eras, who also call Button House home.

Their attempts to push the couple out result in Alison having her own brush with death and, after awakening from a coma, when she gets home she can see her cohabitees.

From this premise has sprung four series that have seamlessly blended wit and comedy as Alison and Mike’s lives move forward, delighting fans of all ages, while the critics have been eating out of the palms of the writers’ hands.

In this, the final season, we’re inching ever closer to the knowledge that by the time the final credits roll, things at Button House will never quite be the same again.

But, before everyone begins dabbing at their eyes, there are a few episodes still to enjoy – especially if you manage to avoid the mountains of spoilers online.

This week, the ghosts are officially bored, prompting Pat to devise some new entertainment for the gang.

Meanwhile, Mike and Alison host their international buyer at Button House in order to confirm the land sale, but his behaviour threatens to scupper the whole deal.

Plus, Humphrey is offered a fresh perspective on his strained marriage and finally learns some French, thanks to a little help from a rather unexpected source.