Ghosts co-creator wanted Inside No. 9 star to play scrapped character
The actor was in mind to play a lonely ghost neighbour.
Ghosts co-creator Mathew Baynton has detailed a character that was scrapped from the show – and the Inside No. 9 star that he had in mind to play him.
The actor, who played Thomas Thorne, was reflecting on his experience making the sitcom at the launch of a new behind-the-scenes companion book titled Ghosts: Brought to Life (available now).
The series attracted a number of guest stars over the course of its run, including celebrity fans Jennifer Saunders and Kylie Minogue, as well as past collaborators of the cast and crew.
When asked whether there was anyone he wished could have made an appearance, Baynton told RadioTimes.com who he wanted to play a pitched character that ultimately didn't make it into the series.
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"There was a character that we scrapped," he began. "An early idea was that there was a guy who haunted an empty field where there used to be a house next door.
"And that was going to be a running gag through the first series, was that every now and again you’d just cut to this lonely ghost in a big, long wide [shot]. Just a tiny figure, sort of shouting across at the house, trying to get anyone to have a conversation with."
Baynton continued: "In my head, that was always Reece Shearsmith. But then we didn’t have that part in it."
The actor, who recently re-teamed with Ghosts's Simon Farnaby for Wonka, explained that the character did have a tangible – if inessential – influence on the storyline of the early drafts.
"When Mike and Alison move in, they all take against them and want to haunt them out," he explained.
"It was this idea that Alison would be able to point to the ghost next door and say, 'If we can’t save this house, it will end up getting knocked down and you’ll be like Pete next door'. So there was a clear image of a worse fate for them that would keep them in that unhappy truce with her."
Baynton added: "But then we’d overwritten the scripts and it was a really easy thing for the production to cut, so we don't have to cast someone and film them in a field."
Of course, there's no guarantee that Shearsmith would have agreed or been available to take the role, but it's an interesting insight into what this never-before-seen character might have looked like.
Fans can find more insight into the making of the beloved sitcom in Ghosts: Brought to Life.
Ghosts is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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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.
