The \u201cHorrible Histories team\u201d who write and star in Ghosts must be pleased with how the show has been embraced by the public? \u201cYeah, we really are. It\u2019s always nerve-racking when you start a new show. Well actually, the first thing is you feel incredibly lucky to be able to get the show commissioned in the first place. I spoke to the others when we launched series one and Jim [Howick] was like, \u201cI didn\u2019t sleep at all!\u201d You always live in fear of people absolutely hating it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite any anxieties, Ghosts proved a hit with viewers, its mixture of funny and moving a potent one. \u201cYeah I think so, that just comes from us as a team. That really helps with the voice, or tone, of the show. Audiences obviously respond to the characters and the more real and emotional you can make them the better the connection with the audience.\u00a0You expect that from an out-and-out drama but I think it should be in comedy, too\u2026 It\u2019s quite a hard balance to strike because of course you\u2019re labelled as a sitcom so people come to it going, \u2018Right, make me laugh then!’\u201d<\/p>\n For those who have somehow missed the show, Ghosts follows the misfortunes of Alice and Mike, a likeable young couple who inherit Button House, a huge but dilapidated mansion that they plan to turn into a luxury hotel. But a near-death experience then enables Alison to see the spooks from across the centuries who occupy the house.<\/p>\n For the more mature viewer, Ghosts recalls 70s children\u2019s TV favourites such as Rentaghost and The Ghosts of Motley Hall \u2013 going farther back, even the wonderful late-60s private-eye drama Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). I\u2019m also reminded of the Dick Lester Musketeer films, where it was often advisable to watch and listen to what was going on in the background, and superb throwaway gags abounded.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a loyal audience that has enjoyed the show, but how does Ghosts have such cross-generational appeal? \u201cWe\u2019re all more or less the generation that grew up watching shows before things became labelled \u2013 when the BBC started to have more channels and more options, then Channel 4 launched its comedy. We were all coming into the industry at that time but before then, comedy was just comedy.<\/p>\n \u201cI would watch pretty much anything but Blackadder was on at nine o\u2019clock at night and we would all watch it\u2026 That\u2019s the place it comes from. If you can appeal to everyone just by making it a comedy, making it accessible, that\u2019s the tone we\u2019ve tried to strike from the get-go.\u201d<\/p>\n Nevertheless, before its 8:30pm home, Ghosts did start out in a post-watershed slot. Was that an uncomfortable fit? \u201cI think so, I can\u2019t remember the decision-making around it, it was just sort of, let\u2019s test the water and also the content. There are a few sort of \u201cEeugh!\u201d bits in it, Pat\u2019s death being one of them! <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t sure and the channel wasn\u2019t quite sure \u2013 we had a chat about it and we agreed to come earlier. That wasn\u2019t an issue, everyone just felt very comfortable with that because we knew that families were watching it anyway. Of course, it\u2019s fine. When stuff goes out for the first time you have to sort of dip your toe in and no one\u2019s quite sure unless you\u2019ve got something that\u2019s completely sweary and adult-themed. But we didn\u2019t want it to be any earlier [than it now is].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Willbond\u2019s own two sons are \u201cjust starting to have a bit of interest in it\u201d, having grown up with school friends asking them if his dad is in Horrible Histories. \u201cI<\/span>t\u2019s brilliant when the entire school gets over that and it just becomes a really pedestrian thing!\u201d<\/span><\/p> And so to the character of the Captain himself \u2013 a disciplinarian Army officer\u00a0who served at Button House when it was used as a military HQ during the Second World War. Did Willbond base him on anyone in particular?<\/p>\n \u201cI had a very odd childhood in that I was at boarding school and it was a very military establishment, not by name but it was very military.\u00a0It was what I grew up with and I was surrounded by people like him. My way of dealing with that, I guess, was to create a character who was lovable and misunderstood but also utterly absurd in his belief that everything has to be regimented and \u2018just so\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we were coming up with the show we decided relatively early on that we should pick a character\u2026 we all started to pitch to each each other\u2026 \u2018What if he was a World War Two captain, talks a good game but actually is completely emotionally confused?\u2019<\/p>\n Initially the Captain was a figure of fun but his big secret is an important one in terms of representation. \u201cWe were really tentative at first and didn\u2019t want it to become a joke that landed incorrectly. It had to be sensitive\u2026 at the time [the 1940s], if you were gay it was still illegal, which is just extraordinary. And then once you start to tap into that it creates a really interesting base for a character that lives in a comedy. And I\u2019m conscious now that should we move forward\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n All six of the troupe are writers as well as performers, either alone or in tandem. Is that something Willbond enjoys? \u201cIncreasingly so. And I get quite obsessed with story. I\u2019m very lucky to work closely with Larry [Laurence Rickard], mostly, because he\u2019s so brilliant at joke structure it\u2019s just insane. It\u2019s like, \u2018How did you find a joke out of that?!\u2019<\/p>\n And does he believe in ghosts? \u201cThat\u2019s a really hard one. I like to think that it\u2019s true. I\u2019ve read a couple of books and it\u2019s just so massively intriguing. A friend had a theory that old buildings have such long histories that the walls still hold all those personalities, which I thought was quite poetic. Someone\u2019s gifted me a book about a lifelong quest of hunting for ghosts. You kind of err between going \u201cThis is absurd\u201d to \u201cThis is quite cool, this is quite fun\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Filming of Ghosts looks from the end-of-series blooper reels like it ought to be a riot but, Willbond says, \u201cWe\u2019re so diligent on the scripting and logic and all the character motivation and movement that by the time you get to shooting it, the time on set is so limited, particularly during COVID.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That said, he adds, \u201cWhat\u2019s nice, coming back for a third series, is that everyone knows what they\u2019re doing, there\u2019s no peripheral nervousness, everyone\u2019s all set and that includes the crew as well, so mistakes tend to be in the moment and really just making each other laugh \u2013 it depends how lively you\u2019re feeling in the morning!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Although the sextet behind Ghosts doesn\u2019t have a name to present to the general public \u2013 like, say, the Pythons did \u2013 Willbond explains, \u201cOur little company sign-off is \u2018Them There\u2019. That came out of every time we sat down and said, \u2018We\u2019ve got to call ourselves something!\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In any case it\u2019s clear the team\u2019s chemistry\u00a0is as strong as ever, 12 years on from the start of Horrible Histories on CBBC (they\u2019ve since done three series of the Sky sitcom Yonderland<\/a> and the Shakespeare comedy film Bill). \u201cIt\u2019s true. I still marvel at the fact that we can do this.\u00a0<\/span>Being with each other, we know instinctively whether something\u2019s working or not and it\u2019s just lovely to be able to do it\u2026<\/p>\n Nothing was announced at the end of series three on BBC One, so will Ghosts continue? All Willbond can say is, \u201cInteresting c<\/span>onversations are happening\u2026 I\u2019m going to leave it there!\u201d\u00a0However, Ghosts will<\/em> return inasmuch as an American version is due to land next month\u00a0on CBS. Asked about the remake, Willbond says, \u201cThat\u2019s the single most bizarre thing, to see what was in your head suddenly be cast through a transatlantic lens.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are lovely and they came over to see us and pitched in the way that US networks pitch and it all gets frenzied. Then they did a pilot that was picked over by executives, and seeing it, you\u2019re going, \u2018Oh you\u2019ve done that. Well\u2026\u2019 and your voice recedes into the background as the American machine takes over! Which is fine. I can\u2019t tell you what\u2019s funny for the American Midwest. I don\u2019t know\u2026\u201d<\/p> Away from the team, Willbond clearly picks his projects carefully, with recurring appearances in many acclaimed series, from There She Goes to The Thick of It, plus that other filmed sitcom with a superb cast and a cult following, Rev. \u201cI loved that, I loved it because I got to watch Tom [Hollander] up close and I got to hang out with that fabulous cast. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou get to watch amazing actors up close and you\u2019re going, \u2018Oh yeah!\u2019 then you chat to them and you realise that they\u2019re just as nervous and anxious as you are\u2026 \u2018I thought you were super confident?\u2019, \u2018No no no.\u2019 Everyone\u2019s the same. It was such a great script and it was lovely just to be be around.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n As for the future, Willbond is bursting to discuss a \u201csuper-secret project\u201d that he\u2019s \u201cincredibly excited about\u201d, but he adds, \u201cI cannot even begin to tell you about it\u2026 I\u2019d be in so much trouble!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Clearly Willbond, like his Ghostly comrades, is still moving forward at top speed \u2013 and still buzzing with ideas.<\/p>\n Ghosts series 1 to 3 are available on DVD and on BBC iPlayer. If you\u2019re looking for more to watch, head over to our handy TV Guide<\/a> or our Comedy<\/a> hub.<\/strong><\/p>\n The actor\/writer from Ghosts talks to Radio Times about the supernatural, the origins of his character and “messing about” for a living. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":4682,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/ghosts-star-ben-willbond-on-kindred-spirits-and-comedy-camaraderie-in-bbc-series-scaled.jpg",2560,1706,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/ghosts-star-ben-willbond-on-kindred-spirits-and-comedy-camaraderie-in-bbc-series-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/ghosts-star-ben-willbond-on-kindred-spirits-and-comedy-camaraderie-in-bbc-series-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/ghosts-star-ben-willbond-on-kindred-spirits-and-comedy-camaraderie-in-bbc-series-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/ghosts-star-ben-willbond-on-kindred-spirits-and-comedy-camaraderie-in-bbc-series-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/ghosts-star-ben-willbond-on-kindred-spirits-and-comedy-camaraderie-in-bbc-series-1536x1023.jpg",1536,1023,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/09\/ghosts-star-ben-willbond-on-kindred-spirits-and-comedy-camaraderie-in-bbc-series-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The actor\/writer from Ghosts talks to Radio Times about the supernatural, the origins of his character and \"messing about\" for a living.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/4681"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Screenshot\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/09\/Screenshot-2021-09-07-at-13.58.33-eb24e7a.png?quality=90&resize=574%2C413"\" "\\"\"Screenshot\\"")
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