Ghosts · Season 1 · BBC One
Ghosts Season 1
Ghosts Season 1 is a WORTH-IT, BollyMeter 7.5/10. 6 episodes on BBC One from 15 April 2019.
Updated
What BollyAI Thinks
Series 1 of Ghosts aired on BBC One in April-May 2019, created by and starring the ensemble (Martha Howe-Douglas, Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, among others), and quickly earned an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score. The Guardian praised it as 'sweet, funny, clever and warm' at a time when British prestige TV had grown relentlessly dark. The Independent found it 'sweet, but with a little edge'. The core premise - a historical cross-section of British society haunting a single house, from a medieval knight to a 1980s Tory MP - gave the writers a structural device of almost inexhaustible comic potential. Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe as the living couple provided grounded emotional anchors for the ensemble's more baroque period characters. Critics noted the show's light touch on its absurd premise, treating the ghosts with genuine character depth rather than pure punchline.
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The Room
“What an exquisite exemplar of British comedy rep theatre Ghosts has been.”
The Observer“Television has grown very tense in recent years, but there is a lot to be said for TV that is sweet, funny, clever and warm.”
The Guardian
Standout Episodes
The hours worth arguing about - premieres, finales, and the turning points. BollyAI reads the room episode by episode.
- E1Who Do You Think You Are?8.0
The pilot does the difficult work of introducing eight distinct ghosts and two living leads while establishing the warm register that would sustain five series. Den of Geek described it as 'a masterclass in making the audience fall in love at first sight', with each ghost's quirks readable within minutes. The central premise - Alison and Mike inherit Button House and discover it is fully occupied - lands with the right mix of panic and delight.
The moment: Alison's first moment of realising she can see the ghosts after her near-death fall - the camera holds on her face as a room full of dead people stare back.
“A masterclass in making the audience fall in love at first sight.” - Den of Geek
- E3Happy Death Day8.5
The episode that shifted the show's register. A flashback to 1984 shows Pat's death by archery accident, and critics across outlets identified this as the episode where Ghosts earned genuine emotional investment alongside its comedy. Den of Geek ranked it among the series' best, noting it was 'the first time we really consider that all of the ghosts are just normal people' who lost their lives in mundane, unjust ways.
The moment: The flashback reveal of how Pat dies - an arrow through the neck mid-sentence, absurd and oddly moving at once.
“The first time in the show that we really consider that all of the ghosts are just normal people.” - Den of Geek
- E6Getting Out8.2
The S1 finale became memorable for its final sequence, in which Robin and Mary improvise a fantasy dinner so the ghosts can enjoy a meal with Alison and Mike despite being unable to eat or touch anything. Den of Geek described it as 'a memorable season finale', and the warmth of that scene established the emotional grammar the show would develop across four more series.
The moment: The ghosts' improvised dinner pantomime - each performing eating in their own style while Alison and Mike play along.