Ghosts creator teases character return in “unexpected” Christmas special

Last night's season 5 finale ended in dramatic fashion, as Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) considered selling up over a dark secret. Fortunately, their minds were changed by a passionate speech – from Julian (Simon Farnaby), of all people.

To mark the launch of the official tie-in book Ghosts: The Button House Archives, series co-creator Laurence Rickard spoke to RadioTimes.com about what to expect from the last episode – starting with the tone.

"The joy of being able to do it in this way and kind of end twice is that you get to scratch that [dramatic] itch a bit at the end of season 5, so that you can do something that's tonally slightly different [in the special]," he explained.

Rickard, who plays both caveman Robin and beheaded nobleman Sir Humphrey Bone, went on to drop hints about the episode's storyline – including the return of a familiar face – and those fateful final scenes.

"I think certainly the final three or four minutes will be quite unexpected," he continued. "And it's possible we'll get to see a character that we've had before again and there's certainly a step change very early on – something that we haven't done before in the show.

"One of the things we always hope that we do is keep things fresh and that we're never retreading the format, so hopefully it will still feel like we're doing things that we haven't done before right up until that final furlong."

Rickard added: "It's terrifying, though – it does feel very emotional. I know I'm going to be affected by it even though, obviously for us, it finished nine months ago, I think seeing it go out will be quite an emotional moment."

Read more:

• Ghosts star Martha Howe-Douglas reveals she almost played Alison
• Ghosts co-creator admits it was "tricky to say no" to continuing show

In another exclusive interview for The Button House Archives, co-creator Mathew Baynton confirmed that himself and Jim Howick are the credited writers on the final episode.

"But everyone's work goes into every script," he hastened to add.

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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