Ghosts (2019) Review: A Haunted House Full of Heart

Is Ghosts worth watching?

Yes. Ghosts is a warm, clever and consistently funny British sitcom whose ensemble of squabbling spirits becomes a genuine found family over five series. The team behind it builds each episode with a precision that its silliness disguises, and the show slowly gathers real emotional weight. The reservation is that its gentle humour favours smiles over big laughs, and the living couple at its centre are less vivid than the dead around them.

What is Ghosts about?

Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) are a young, cash-strapped couple who unexpectedly inherit Button House, a vast but decaying country mansion. They plan to turn it into a hotel, but after an accident, Alison discovers she can see and hear the ghosts of people who died on the estate over the centuries, and they are not pleased about the newcomers.

The spirits include a Romantic poet, a caveman, an Edwardian lady of the house, an army captain from the Second World War, a scout leader with an arrow through his neck and a disgraced politician who died without his trousers. Each is stuck in the house, with their own era’s manners and grudges, and they have had far too much time with one another.

Ghosts was created and written by Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond, the comedy troupe best known for Horrible Histories, who also play most of the ghosts. It is a British series in English. This review covers the complete run: five series and 30 episodes, broadcast from 2019 to 2023, alongside its Christmas specials.

An ensemble that works as a family

The show’s great strength is its cast. Because the writers also perform, the ghosts feel tailored to their actors, and the comic chemistry is immediate. Mathew Baynton’s lovelorn poet Thomas, Ben Willbond’s stiff Captain and Jim Howick’s relentlessly cheerful scout leader Pat each have distinct rhythms, and the group scenes, often simple arguments about a television or a vote, are masterpieces of comic timing.

Over time, the show reveals the sadness beneath each ghost: lost loves, unfulfilled lives, secrets from centuries past. These glimpses are handled lightly, but they give the characters depth, and several episodes land with surprising emotional force.

Silly on the surface, precise underneath

Ghosts has the gentle, low-stakes feel of a traditional family sitcom, but it is built with real craft. Running jokes are set up and paid off across seasons, the historical humour draws on the troupe’s gift for bringing the past to life, and the rules of the ghosts’ existence are used consistently for comedy and character. The format also makes room for inventive episodes, from flashbacks showing each ghost’s death to farcical attempts to deal with visitors.

Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe provide a grounded, likeable centre, and Mike’s frustration at living with invisible housemates he cannot hear is a reliable source of laughs.

Where the gentleness limits it

The show’s warmth can also be a weakness. It rarely aims for the sharp, cutting humour of the best British comedy, and some episodes feel slight, with low-stakes plots that resolve easily. The living couple’s storylines, particularly around money and the house, are less engaging than the ghosts’ antics, and with such a large ensemble, some spirits get less development than others.

Who should watch Ghosts?

It suits families, fans of gentle ensemble comedy and anyone who enjoys historical humour or British sitcoms with heart. At 30 half-hour episodes across five series, plus specials, it is an easy binge. Content is mild, with some innuendo and references to death, making it suitable for older children and up.

Other British comedies worth exploring:

• Inside No. 9 for British comedy that also plays with ghosts, history and the uncanny, often far darker.
• The Office for another classic ensemble sitcom built on a group of mismatched people stuck in one place.

For more British favourites, visit the BBC catalogue or our comedy section.

The verdict

Ghosts is a charming, cleverly constructed sitcom that turns a haunted-house premise into a story about loneliness, friendship and making peace with the past. Its humour is gentle rather than sharp, but its cast and craft make it one of Britain’s most rewarding comedies of recent years.

Rating: 4/5