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Ghosts TV sitcom brought back to life as a feature film

Helen BushbyCulture reporter
News imageBBC/Monumental/Guido Mandozzi Cast photo of the characters from the show outside Button House, in costumeBBC/Monumental/Guido Mandozzi
The full-length film will see the return of the characters from the BBC One show

Ghosts, the Bafta-nominated TV comedy about a young couple who inerit a crumbling mansion with spooky inhabitants, is being made into a feature film.

Ghosts: The Possession of Button House will see the return of its writers, creators and stars Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond, along with actors Charlotte Ritchie, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Lolly Adefope.

The show ran for five series on BBC One, with the final episode, a Christmas special in 2023, being watched by 7.2m viewers.

"We never planned to come back," the show's creators said.

"But when we had the idea for this story, we all got so excited that we couldn't resist returning to our haunted home for one more adventure.

"We can't wait to be together and to welcome some brilliant new faces, to tell this soul-stirring tale of life and death."

Howe-Douglas added on Instagram: "You're going to need popcorn."

News imageBBC/Monumental/Robbie Gray The characters of the show in a still from the TV series, all in costume in a rowBBC/Monumental/Robbie Gray
The show often shows the ghosts, who are confined to the house and its grounds, playing modern games and watching TV

The ghostly inhabitants of the mansion, Button House, come from a variety of historial periods, ranging from prehistoric man right through to the present day.

Ritchie and Smith-Bynoe play Alison and Mike, a modern couple who recently had a baby in the final series.

The new film will be made at the same site as the TV series - West Horsley Place in Surrey.

It will be directed by Simon Hynd, whose other TV credits include Ghosts, Motherland and There She Goes.

Eva Yates, director of BBC Film added: "We are overjoyed to be bringing our beloved Ghosts back once again, this time for a hilarious and cinematic adventure, for the enjoyment of audiences on big and small screen alike."

Ghosts was also made into a hit US version, which is currently in its fifth season, with a sixth already commissioned.

The series and format, distributed by BBC Studios, has also been licensed in six territories, most recently in Czechia, with local versions also produced in France, Germany, Australia and Greece.

BBC Film, Lionsgate and BBC Studios gave the green light to make the feature film to Monumental Television, part of ITV Studios.