Ghosts

Mathew Baynton on Ghosts, clowning and his inner Regency era poet

If only the director could see their Narrator Three now. The snub marked the beginning of Baynton’s steady rise to Brit-com stardom, from comic turns like the innocent but inane Deano in Gavin and Stacey (2008-2010), to creating and starring in several dearly beloved sitcoms, the most recent being BBC One’s Ghosts (2019-).

A Good Girl’s Guide to TV Adaptations

Emma Myers sits indoors, looking contemplative

On paper, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder has all the hallmarks of a top-tier series. Originally published in 2019, Holly Jackson’s young adult novel is a cultural phenomenon, going viral on TikTok, winning the British Book Awards’ Children’s Fiction Book of the Year in 2020, and the hearts of its two million readers.

As well as being known intellectual property, it feeds into the thirst for TV crime drama, and for young adult shows in the vein of Heartstopper and Sex Education.

BBC to air one-off episode of Horrible Histories celebrating show’s 15th anniversary

Cast members Mathew Baynton, Martha Howe-Douglas and Laurence Rickard in historical dress

The new episode – ‘Terrifying Tower of London’ – was filmed on-location at the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It follows Rattus Rattus as the beloved rodent teams up with AJ Clark, one of the Tower’s Beefeaters, officially known as Yeoman Warders. The two navigate every twist and turn of the Tower’s long history, from its being built by William the Conqueror all the way to the present day.

Laurence Rickard on Ghosts series five, Kylie Minogue and the emotional "double whammy" of the Christmas finale

Ghosts, the beloved BBC One sitcom about a found family of unexpectant stately homeowners, and their needy gaggle of ghostly housemates, returned for its fifth and final series last Friday. But a few days before, The Mirror forced the cast into prematurely confirming on X that "there might be one last present under the Christmas tree this year."

Ghosts’ final series will be followed by a surprise Christmas special

The creators teased on social media that “there might be one last present under the Christmas tree this year.”

In previous series, the Christmas specials have given more backstory for the ghosts, with audiences getting a glimpse at former politician Julian’s (Simon Farnaby) relationship with his daughter back in series two. Last year’s special saw Scout leader Pat (Jim Howick) receive home videos from the family he left behind. Additionally, in a particularly touching festive moment, renaissance poet Thomas (Mathew Baynton) listened to The Smiths for the very first time.