Ghosts' Charlotte Ritchie reveals favourite episode: 'It's so meta'
The Code of Silence star has fond memories of an early taste of Button House madness.
Ghosts star Charlotte Ritchie has revealed which episode of the beloved BBC sitcom ranks as her favourite.
The actor played haunted homeowner Alison in the series, who suffered a near-death experience shortly after inheriting the historic Button House, which allowed her to perceive its apparitional inhabitants.
What began as a nuisance blossomed into an unconventional family over five heartwarming seasons, which concluded with Alison and husband Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) moving on to the next stage in their lives.
There's certainly no shortage of classic Ghosts episodes across the run, but Ritchie told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that her favourite remains one of the earliest chapters – and the first that the cast and crew ever shot.
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"We filmed episode 4 first in season 1, where they're filming a drama at Button House," she recalled, referencing Free Pass, in which Alison and Mike desperately try to raise renovation funds by allowing a TV company full access to their dilapidated home.
"We had fake First ADs [assistant directors] and real First ADs and fake cameras and real cameras," continued Ritchie, on the challenge of filming a show-within-a-show.
"It's so meta and has such great jokes about Thomas [played by Mathew Baynton] ruining a shot and Mary [Katy Wix] not understanding how the people got into the screen."
Ritchie also fondly remembers early hints about The Captain's sexuality – a running plot thread finally paid off in season 5 – which began to be sewed in Free Pass as Ben Willbond's character developed a fascination with a male member of the crew.
She added: "I think it's a great episode, but it was [also] a great introduction to the tone of the show and what we were doing. I felt like we were onto such a good thing as soon as we did that. I was like, 'Yeah, this is going to be awesome'."
After five years on Ghosts, Ritchie has moved into more dramatic roles as of late, including the icy Kate Galvin on Netflix thriller You and DS Ashleigh Francis in ITV's brand new Code of Silence, starring Rose Ayling-Ellis.
Ghosts is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
