Ivan Radford | On 04, Jan 2024

How long is forever? Over its five seasons, Ghosts has beautifully explored that question with its inspired premise of a haunted house sitcom. Sitcoms, by definition, stay the same, with characters and situations reset in perpetuity, creating a limbo in which laughs happen and people never leave. The parallel of that and the afterlife has made the comedy from the Horrible Histories team one of the most surprisingly moving and profound shows of the past decade. And, it goes without saying, the funniest.

For its fifth and final chapter, Ghosts teases the notion of people finally moving on. We begin imagining what that might look like, as Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) wakes up to find no ghosts anywhere in the house. That unnervingly unfamiliar set-up turns out to be an April Fool’s prank, leading Alison on a campaign of revenge and us to remember just how good the writing team is at finding new, inventive twists on their format.

But that niggling sense of what the future holds never truly goes away over the ensuing five episodes, as Alison and Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) find themselves grappling with two developments: first, their growing financial worries, and second, that Alison is expecting a baby. The latter puts the former in a new light, and – unexpectedly for a show that’s about ghosts – what follows is a timely tale of people navigating a cost of living crisis, as their usual routine of emergency home repairs collides with insurance claims (from Season 4’s freak fire), proposals to buy the land and turn it into a golf resort and episodes of Is It Cake? on Netflix.

The latter, of course, is a favourite of Kitty’s, and Lolly Adefope doesn’t waste a second to be laugh-out-loud funny in her childlike enthusiasm – one running joke in which she’s convinced she knows the gender of Alison and Mike’s baby is hilariously observed. The rest of the cast are, as always, flawless, able to turn from silliness to sentiment at the drop of a hat. And so we find ourselves giggling at scout leader Pat (Jim Howick) as he disagrees with sleazy politician Julian (Simon Farnaby) over north-south divides, chuckling at increasingly fun uses of Sir Humphrey Bone’s decapitated head and being tickled by Mathew Baynton’s scene-stealing poet, Thomas, who swoons like never before at the notion of Alison having a family. (“Think of the child!” he cries in never knowingly underplayed pain.)

The show’s secret weapon, though, remains caveman Robin (Laurence Rickard). While Martha Howe-Douglas’s Fanny can get a laugh with a single look and Jim Howick’s goofy 80s manchild can make any line hysterical, Robin’s frequent displays of unsuspected wisdom bring a perspective that feels all the more fitting as the show’s closing chapters look back as well as forward – the fact that he can also apparently speak fluent French is the icing on the cake, especially when Kiell Smith-Bynoe’s Mike is trying to woo a French businesswoman to buy the estate, the perfect balance of good intent and chaos.

Whether it’s Mike and their neighbour Barclay (the delightfully snooty Geoff McGivern) getting trapped in a safe or learning the Captain’s first name in a moving spotlight for Ben Willbond’s stoic military veteran, Season 5 underlines the fact that every scenario that the series has thrown up has led, in some way, to growth for these characters. While it’s maintained the sitcom format, it’s snuck in some beautiful character development, not quite letting its characters stay frozen in stasis after all. Alison and Mike, too, have deepened their relationship to the point where the show could almost be a drama just about them and still work.

That over-arching philosophy leads Ghosts to its spot-on Season 5 finale, which circles back to Alison’s accident at the start of the show, as Julian acknowledges his involvement – and, at the same time, begs Alison and Mike to stay and continue to live with them rather than go ahead with their decision to sell up. That celebration of found family, which has always been key to the show’s warm heart, takes us into the Christmas special that formally bids farewell to the show.

Of course, the baby is now in tow, and with little Mia comes Mike’s meddling mother, Betty (Sutara Gayle), who becomes convinced that Button House is haunted. Amid some astute gags about the spirit of Christmas, exorcisms and attempting to speak in baby talk, this found family reflect on their ties to each other. Learning from seeing Betty outstaying her welcome with Alison and Mike, the ghosts ultimately change their minds and suggest that what is best for Alison and Mike is for them to leave the house for good.

It’s a rare opportunity for agency in the afterlife, and it paves the way for these friends part ways on their own terms – a final act of change and growth that lets these characters move on from limbo in the most natural, kind way possible. It’s a perfect send-off for this masterpiece of British TV. By not outstaying its own welcome, Ghosts cements itself as a timeless gem that you can check into any time you like.

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