Ghosts creator reveals what gag he wishes had been "cleverer": 'It was a placeholder'
Mathew Baynton isn't entirely sold on one Thomas Thorne storyline.
Ghosts co-creator Mathew Baynton has revealed the single joke from the hit series that he wishes could have been "cleverer".
The actor, who plays failed poet Thomas Thorne, has co-authored Ghosts: Brought to Life with his collaborators on the show: Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond.
The book gives fans a glimpse behind the scenes of each episode, with the entry for season 5 episode 3 – Pineapple Day – seeing Baynton confess that he wasn't entirely sold on Thomas's sudden affinity with gangsta rap.
"Of all the episodes we’ve ever written, that was one time where I’d be willing to hold my hands up and say I’d have liked to have come up with something cleverer," he writes in Brought to Life.
In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Baynton explained in greater detail exactly why he felt the joke wasn't up to par with the show's typical output.
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"It felt like a placeholder idea to me," he began. "It's an episode where there's quite a lot... of plot threads going on. The process was often about layers of detail, where you figure out the story, you figure out broadly three, maybe four, plots – and who is involved in which.
"And very often there will be a story where you can find a way for three or four ghosts to be on the same mission. And the next layer of detail is trying to make sure that all four of those do have some distinct, however small, little A to B story within that."
Baynton continued: "And just having Thomas say 'b***h' quite a lot until until someone calls him out, it just was really a placeholder thing in my mind. It was like, 'Well, we'll come up with something better,' and we just didn't [laughs]."
The actor explained that his comments in the book stem from the "slightly unsatisfying" construction of the gag, but did admit that "it is kind of funny".
Elsewhere in our chat, Baynton revealed which Inside No. 9 star he'd imagined for a role in Ghosts, while the cast shared thoughts on what happens after the finale – and an update on their future collaborations.
Ghosts is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Ghosts: Brought to Life is available on Amazon.
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