The co-creators of the BBC comedy Ghosts have spoken about why the show's original pilot was kept under wraps.
Speaking at the Edinburgh TV festival, Mathew Baynton explained that the show's creators turned down the initial broadcast slot offered for Ghosts as they felt it was not yet ready to air.
"[The pilot was an opportunity to] make some mistakes and learn from them. We made a sort of taster. It was like a third of a pilot or something, and it taught us a huge amount," he said (via RadioTimes).
Related: Ghosts season 4 potential release date, cast, plot and more
Baynton went on to explain how the original pilot looked, adding: "In the taster tape, we locked off [the camera] and [appeared as] eight ghosts, went and got changed, [then filmed as] eight more, then went and got changed [again].
"We were going to have a house that was so endless, you would discover new ghosts every week."
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When the team watched back the pilot, Baynton said that the show creators realised that having a "ballroom full of ghosts" didn't fully fit with the series they were going for.
"[Ghosts] is about people who are stuck together with people they can't get on with," he continued. "If there are 100 ghosts, they can all just find some friends and avoid the ones they don't like."
Related: Ghosts boss shares promising season 4 update
Ghosts follows the married couple Alison and Mike Cooper (Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe) as they attempt to renovate a crumbling house inherited by Alison. Their plans are thrown into doubt when the house's resident ghosts do everything in their power to stop the renovations.
A near-death experience for Alison leads to her being able to interact with the ghosts, and she then forms a co-living arrangement with the house's deceased inhabitants.
A fourth season of the show was confirmed late last year and, while there is no official release date yet, filming for the series wrapped in March this year.
Ghosts seasons one, two and three are available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Season four will air on BBC One and on BBC iPlayer.
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Brenna Cooper is a freelance journalist, who currently specialises in entertainment reporting. She joined Digital Spy in 2022, writing TV and movies stories for the site. After graduating with an NCTJ accredited Journalism Masters from the University of Sheffield in 2020 she has since embarked on a freelance career.
Brenna previously produced lifestyle content for Checklists.co.uk and has a specific interest in music, reviewing live acts and interviewing bands such as Confidence Man and Amyl and the Sniffers.
