No one could have guessed it \u2013 and that’s part of the fun! *SPOILER ALERT* <\/p>
Ghosts co-creator Mathew Baynton has explained why such an unexpected direction was taken for the death of Kitty (Lolly Adefope), which was finally revealed in the recent fifth season.<\/p>\n
Fans had long theorised exactly what caused the Georgian noblewoman to perish in Button House, leaving her to wander the grounds as a restless spirit for centuries after.<\/p>\n
In the episode titled Pineapple Day, co-written by Baynton and Jim Howick, viewers finally learn the truth \u2013 and we\u2019re willing to assume that not a single one of them saw it coming.<\/p>\n
The episode flashes back to Kitty\u2019s final day among the living, when she was thrilled to attend a dinner party arranged by her father at which the most exciting dish was pineapple \u2013 a rarity in those days.<\/p>\n
Kitty asks to hold the fruit and cries out at a sharp pain, with her mean sister Eleanor (Emma Sidi) assuming she had jabbed herself on one of the spikes on its outer skin. In reality, she was bitten by a venomous spider \u2013 ultimately leading to her death.<\/p>\n
In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com<\/a> to celebrate the launch of Ghosts: The Button House Archives<\/a>, Baynton revealed that this was certainly not the original plan for the character.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all presumed that her sister would have poisoned her for the inheritance. That was always the kind of\u2026 \u2018that\u2019s probably what we\u2019ll do\u2019,\u201d he began. And the longer you leave it the more that\u2019s going to feel unsatisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n Baynton continued: \u201cPartly as writers I suppose, but also just thinking about the audience \u2013 you\u2019ve led them so far with that being the only crumb of possibility\u2026 then it felt like it would be really disappointing to just do the expected thing.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we started talking about, \u2018Are there other things we can do? And maybe even there\u2019s some feeling of redemption for the sister?\u2019 And so we started talking about those other options and then we thought the fun is all of those options.\u201d<\/p> Pineapple Day sees the ghosts of Button House attempt to piece together the events of Kitty\u2019s final hours on the mortal plain to settle the matter of her death once and for all, with a number of theories gaining momentum before the big reveal.<\/p>\n Baynton added: \u201cThe fun is the audience have an expectation about how she died and we\u2019re going to subvert that, give them something else and make them go, \u2018Oh, it was that!\u2019 And then something else.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd hopefully, they\u2019ll be in the same position the characters are, where they\u2019re going, \u2018Maybe it was the sister, maybe it was the maid\u2019\u2026 And then the only satisfying way is to go, \u2018Is it A, B or C? No, it\u2019s not any of those, it\u2019s D.’\u201d<\/p>\n He laughed: \u201cAnd D turned out to be a spider!\u201d<\/p>\n Ghosts is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Comedy<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0<\/b>subscribe now<\/a><\/b>\u00a0and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who with a special issue of Radio Times. <\/b><\/p>\n